With an increasing number of businesses, from large corporate companies to small start-ups, having an online presence these days, it’s only logical that you would want your business to carve out some online space to stay competitive.

However, you need to be careful in how you go about doing this. Here are some ways to protect your small business online.

  1. Malware and Spam Protection Software

Even though having protective software should be common sense when it comes to the internet, there are still some who often ignore this simple tool. Considering the amount of resources it takes to recover from a virus infection, choosing the right protection should be your first point of call However, don’t just use the first thing you see without shopping around. There is a plethora of protective software out there that claims to be the best. Beware of free protective software online, as it more often than not includes malicious software itself. Speak to your IT team to ensure you’re on the right path. Remember that there is no absolute protection against malicious software and that half of your online security depends on you and your staff. More on that just below.

  1. Awareness and Education

No truer words have been spoken than, “Prevention is better than the cure.” Solely relying on protection software is just plain bad practice. Educating staff in safe practices when surfing the net and opening emails will ensure that you’re not having to deal with malware every week. We all know that visiting porn sites is a big no-no, as most of them contain viruses. But porn sites are not the only ones responsible for what we in the IT world call a “drive-by infection.” Most sites offering free video streaming services and free games are notorious for containing drive-by infections. These sites do not require you to download or click on anything, as their “payload” is triggered just by visiting the website. Do not open any email attachments you are unsure of and do not click on any links from emails whose sender you do not recognise. It’s simple! Of course, there will always be the odd person who will break these rules. This is where hardware security comes in.

  1. Secure Routers

There are numerous types of routers out there, the best of which come with hardware level filtering. This is basically a function that blocks off certain websites and IP addresses at a hardware level. Ask your IT team if your router is capable of doing this. If not, it might be worth investing in one that can.

  1. Domain Reputation

So now your network is secure. You will always have one foot online and this comes in the form of your domain. The World Wide Web works off of trust. Everybody trusts everybody else to do the right thing. If they don’t, they get ignored, shunned or, at worst, blocked by the spam police. It sounds funny but it’s true. Your marketing department is probably itching to send out that mass email telling your customers and, by extension, the whole world, how great your product is. However, before they press that send button, consider investing some time in making sure your mail servers have the right stuff.

A good mail server will always have solid pointer records (PTR records) or reverse DNS. This basically states that your emails come from a clean domain and the emails you are sending are not spam. Speak to your domain host and make sure this is being taken care of. This will also help your marketing emails get to their target audience by not being blocked by recipients’ virus and spam protection software.

Lastly, ensure that your marketing emails all have an “unsubscribe” button that is easy to use. If one of your customers can’t unsubscribe from your marketing email, what you send may be marked as spam. This can prevent future emails, whether they be marketing or otherwise, from reaching your customers.

  1. Windows Updates and Security Patches

We’ve all had that annoying experience of trying to work through a Windows update while it’s occurring. It seems that we get these updates more often than we’d like, though the aim is of course not to annoy us but rather help us protect our computers. Windows updates essentially make sure that any bugs and security holes that can be exploited are patched. This will work well with your virus/spam protection software and boost your protection both online and offline. To alleviate the pain of having to wait for your computer to update, have your IT people schedule the updates to occur overnight rather than during business hours. Not only will this save your sanity, but it will save you precious time which you can use on better things like running your business.

These are just some of the ways you can protect your business online. There are more, and most are not as complex as you might think. Speak to your IT team about online protection.

Disclaimer: Arrow Voice & Data is not an affiliate of and does not support any Trend Micro or Symantec products. For support or questions regarding these products, please visit their respective websites.