Security

Losing your data could mean losing your business

Your data is your business. Lose it or see it stolen and your business will suffer. This is the hard truth of the Internet age. This means we’re all in the business of IT security now. Every business owner or manager needs to understand enough about IT security to make good decisions and ask the right questions.

Download our new guide ‘Business IT security for non-techies’ and learn how to create your own security plan.

Good housekeeping

You can take basic steps to protect your data by good housekeeping. By this we mean not opening suspicious emails with attachments requiring you to enter personal data for example; by making sure you have ‘Automatic Updates’ selected in your System and Security Control Panel; and by choosing strong passwords for safer online transactions.

Download Microsoft Security Essentials – it’s free for up to 10 PCs

Microsoft Security Essentials is free to download and provides protection for up to 10 PCs, guarding against viruses, spyware, and other malicious software. Microsoft Security Essentials runs quietly and efficiently in the background so that you are free to use your Windows-based PC the way you want - without interruptions or long computer wait times.

 

Microsoft Security Essentials (2:56)

Theresa Burch, Director of Product Management for Microsoft Security Essentials explains how you can safeguard up to 10 PCs – free of charge.

 

Download Microsoft Security Essentials

If your business has more than 10 PCs, you can protect your computers with Microsoft Forefront Endpoint Protection.

You may also find these programs useful:

• Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool: checks your computer for infection by specific, prevalent malicious software and helps to remove the infection if it is found.
• Windows Defender: protects your computer against pop-ups, slow performance and security threats.

Your changing business

In a typical small company with several PCs, it's common for people to store files on their own desktops. But this can mean that you don’t always have access to the latest information and it can make backing up your information difficult. If this sounds familiar, now may be the time to think about storing your data centrally. Windows Small Business Server lets you store all of your critical business information and email in one place and provides administrative tools to better manage security.

Need some advice?

Enter your postcode into our Pinpoint tool (below right) to find a Microsoft Small Business Specialist Partner near you.