It seems that I’ve  started this session with a bit of an obsession about security. The latest Snapchat hack suggests I’m not wrong.

I recently began reviewing work I did for old and former clients and what I was doing for them.  I was not surprised to see that, in some cases, over 50% of the callouts or support calls were to do with virus problems. Most of those problems were caused by lack of anti-virus software or out of date software.Many users , both personal and business, seem to have the idea that computer purchases are  like buying cars. You pay for it,  give it some energy to run and maybe just maybe get it serviced each year.   If this sounds like the beginning of sales pitch then you might be right and there are lots of small business who will provide this service for $49.99 or similar but it’s not mine. You could check out the guys at Pisys.Net though – they are my go-to shop.

It is very much an example of the penny watching that small or micro businesses can spend a lot of their time doing.  Ironically, the cheap fix, not accompanied by some better security awareness, is just money for old rope for the computer fixers.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with looking for the best price but  if that involves multiple payouts something else will suffer.

Which brings me to what I wanted to talk about here – Anti-virus software and some pointers.

Choose one that suits you and your needs.

Do some research into which ones are recommended or talk to someone who can help you with it.  As always you’ll find the same names mentioned.  Remember though that  some reviewers  have their own reasons for nominating a particular package.

Don’t be cheap

Free anti-virus software is largely aimed at home users and good as some of it is there is a reason for paying for it.  Security software these days can come as cheaply as 30 per user per year and most will offer good small business deals. Most new computer/laptop purchases also offer a one year subscription.  Don’t forget to renew. It is far cheaper than multiple virus cleaning.Make sure you have up-to-date anti-virus

As obvious as this is often the problems suffered by users can be due to lapsed subscriptions.

Scanning and monitoring

There’s no point paying for it if you keep turning off the scan every time it runs. Set them up to run when they won’t bother users.

Educate yourself and other users

Find time to read up on simple security procedures and make others aware. If needs be get someone in to talk about it.

Computer security is no different to the type of security we use everywhere else in our lives and requires the same vigilance.  Anti-virus software is one such tool so use it!