The Summer Olympics kick off tomorrow and competing athletes should not be the only ones in peak condition for the games.
Small businesses should also be prepared for the impact the Olympic Games can have on business operations, including lost employee productivity, network bandwidth drain and elevated security risks.
[source: Small Business Daily] David Attard, product manager at GFI Software, shares four tips to help small businesses overcome the competition and emerge victorious this Summer Olympics season:
Don?t underestimate the consequences of uncontrolled Web browsing. Even for small businesses, the productivity loss from leisure surfing can have big financial consequences. In addition, uncontrolled Web browsing can also result in reputational losses, legal liabilities, security issues and other risks that can negatively impact the business. Understanding the severity of leisure surfing is the first step toward eliminating it in the workplace.
Educate employees on browsing best practices. Knowing many people will be looking for all things related to the Summer Olympics over the next couple of weeks, cybercriminals will use their best tactics to trick even the most vigilant Web browsers into visiting infected sites, downloading malware-laden files and divulging personal information that can be used for nefarious purposes. Educate employees about the security risks associated with Web browsing, and make sure they are knowledgeable about browsing best practices and aware of the company?s Internet Usage Policy. Simple tips, such as avoiding Websites with which they are not familiar, can prevent users from clicking on malicious links in search engine results or downloading rogue applications offering free video streaming. Remember, Web security issues don?t just happen to users visiting suspect websites. Cybercriminals are now better than ever at disguising their scams to look like legitimate offers.
Manage bandwidth. Throughout the Summer Olympics competition, employees may be tempted to stream live events, watch video recaps and keep up-to-date with the latest Olympic Games news and event standings on bandwidth-intensive sites ? which can have a negative impact on network performance. Small businesses are then left with the challenge of preventing bandwidth drain without impeding business processes. However, this hurdle can be easily overcome with a Web monitoring solution that enables IT admins to monitor browsing activity in real-time to cancel bandwidth-intensive activity; block only the bandwidth-consuming audio and video streaming elements of a website; and define Web browsing policies based on bandwidth consumed (e.g., 100Mb of streaming media downloads per week).
Monitor employee Internet usage. Monitoring browsing activity in real-time can also help companies prevent hours of lost productivity caused by employees? interest in the Olympics during work hours. Tracking what search engine terms employees are using and what pages they are visiting in real-time enables companies to immediately remediate violations of pre-defined Internet Usage Policies. But, this doesn?t have to mean blocking websites or categories of websites altogether. Similar to Internet Usage Policies based on bandwidth, an advanced Web monitoring solution will also allow IT admins to define policies based on time spent browsing specific types of sites (e.g., 30 minutes per day on sports sites) ? so sites that are valuable to the business aren?t compromised.
Educating employees on Internet usage best practices and implementing a comprehensive Web monitoring solution is a winning combination that will help small businesses maintain productivity, manage bandwidth and secure corporate networks during the Olympic Games and beyond.
Being social generates new opportunities... please share!
Source: http://ted360.com/will-the-summer-olympics-put-your-business-at-risk/
anencephaly tesla model x lou gehrig toby mac blue ivy carter photos purple squirrel blade runner
কোন মন্তব্য নেই:
একটি মন্তব্য পোস্ট করুন