Computer security: a matter of concern and tips to avoid trouble

With so much of today’s business being transacted online, computer security is a major issue affecting businesses and consumers. For online businesses, there can be problems in the form of stolen credit card information, mailing or personal information. If you are selling information, your content may be hacked into and copied. This affects the business and customer adversely, since the customer is likely to blame the online business. This erodes the image of your business and discourages other customers from trusting you with their information. No one likes their email inbox to be bombarded with viruses and spam. If they feel that your site has something to do with it, your business and reputation will suffer long term damage. To avoid problems with your business’s computer security, follow the guidelines listed below.

Never allow external storage devices:–
Do not permit anyone to take data out of your system in any form of external storage device, such as floppy disks, CDs etc. for any reason. Obviously, this compromises your safety and that of your customers.

Limit employee access:–
Restrict employee access to files, folders and areas within the system that they require in their day to day work. Do not allow anyone to gain access to any information that they do not require. Make sure that you install systems that lock out employees who do not have authorization.

Third party outsourcing:–
Outsource your payment system to a third party such as PayPal, so that your liability is reduced in case of any computer security problems. This third party will have the necessary technological support to ensure that the customer and your business are safe. But to be sure of this, you will need to do a thorough check on your selected provider or choose a reputable one.

Check on your technology vendor:–
It is important to ensure that your technology vendor has taken steps to protect the server and the software in your system appropriately with firewalls etc. If it is possible and affordable, look into getting a third party security audit of the system from both ends – the server provider & the software at your end since leaks may be from either end. Pages that contain sensitive data should be appropriately protected with software security locks.

Newsletter email lists:–
If you have a newsletter, make sure that your online business keeps its mailing list secure and that no recipient can tamper with it or gain access to the list. This is essential in protecting the privacy of your customer information.

Affiliations with reputable associations:–
Form affiliations with trusted business and computer security organizations, such as BBBOnline, to ensure that customers feel safe coming to your site. The additional benefit of this is the identification of any flaws in the security through a check up.

Educate customers:–
It is imperative to educate your customers about computer safety. Ensure that they know your online business will not send them emails soliciting information and that if they receive any such mail, they should report it to you at once.

Content:–
Protect your content by ensuring that it is safe behind firewalls and other applications that prohibit unauthorized entry. As for public content, simply provide your visitors with updated and informative content regularly since good quality cannot be copied.

The advantages of working online as compared to offline

With millions of people on the Internet now, there is an explosion of online businesses. This means that there will be both successes and failures, but that is characteristic of any type of businesses – Internet or offline. You may have heard stories of people, acquaintances even, who have made a lot of money working on the Internet. Some of them claim to not even have put any money down on their online business and working a few hours a day. True or false, take these stories with a pinch of salt, and be ready to work hard and put in the required amount of investment to make your online business a success.

However, starting an online business does have potential advantages to the owner as opposed to an offline one. The most common advantages are:

•Low start up costs –

while the Internet is not necessarily the place for easy, quick riches with no effort, in many cases, the costs of start up can be low compared with brick and mortar businesses. Rent, maintenance, inventory and many other costs may be cut down or completely avoided. Sometimes just a few hundred, smart planning and a great business idea can get you started.

•Extensive marketing opportunities –

There are a number of tactics and tools that Internet-based marketing affords – from SEO to affiliates and email marketing. Additionally, these marketing tools are easily accessible and generally much more cost effective than offline business marketing tools.

•Easy tracking of results –

Something offline businesses spend a lot to achieve can be automatically and cheaply achieved by an online business. The simplicity of tracking preferences, tracing potential customers and access to contact information makes marketing and customer relationship management that much easier for an online business.

•Global reach –

While an offline business may have no reach beyond a small local area, an online business is empowered by the Internet to achieve a global audience, much more economically. With the correct marketing, the online business can tap into a huge Internet audience for its products and services.

•Manage and transmit information –

The Internet is a great way to manage incoming information and transmit information to present and potential customers and employees. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) can be posted on your website and these FAQs act as a 24 hour helpline for the small business. It’s a great way for online businesses to display changing information, receive customer feedback through remarks posted online, or display sound or video clips to help sell a product. And this is all done at a much lower cost than an offline business that offers these services would pay.

•Easy reach to local or specialized markets –

The Internet offers the online business a cheap and easy way to connect to its local market. By linking to other local sites, an online business can drive local traffic to its site at a cost much lower than that of advertising in your town to create awareness. Access to specialized markets can also be achieved best by working through the Internet.

With the numerous advantages of starting an online business, as opposed to an offline one, it should come as no surprise that plenty of success stories exist in this domain.