12 Important updates to do to keep your Business Secure

It’s National Preparedness Month! It’s a perfect time to update your technology to keep your business secure.

Do you have a small business and never update your software? You are not alone. Many small business owners (and even large companies) forget to update their apps, software, phones, and computers. Recently, even hospitals were hit recently with ransomware and didn’t even know it because their systems weren’t up-to-date. Does this make you worried? Do you want to do something about it? If you are still uncertain if you need to do something about it, keep reading. By not doing these updates, you are putting your business at risk to many possible issues, not just ransomware.

Benefits of doing app updates with your business

Are you still not convinced? Here are benefits to keeping these areas of your technology updated:

Improving Your Security – The more you keep your technology updated, the better you will be. I know it may be costly, but you are not only protecting yourself, but you are also protecting your clients and customers. It is possible to pass the infection to another computer by email or even calendar appointments through email.
Improve Performance – Some apps do not do well with older systems. Just recently, I found my Anti-virus app had major issues with my Windows 10 and had to find another application that would function more behind the scenes, so it will not hog my memory. Just by changing the app, my system is now running more smoothly.
Protection against viruses – Viruses can spread in different ways. Making sure your antivirus and malware applications are updated and include browser protection and will also scan your email managers, the more likely you will reduce these risks.
User-functionality and compatibility – It helps your system keep up with technology. The more your applications are up-to-date, the more likely your system will have fewer issues with other out-of-date applications.

Does this convince you, yet? I hope so. Now, remember there are several different types of technology that need to be updated. Here is a list of several that you need to visit and update on a regular basis.

Smartphone
Tablet
Laptop
Desktop
Website/Blogs
Smart Cameras
Smart Cars with displays

While some of these are not small business related, I wanted to show you that technology is everywhere and it is easy for us to forget about updating the different types. But, in this post, I am going to focus on your computer and website. Read on to find out the tasks to complete on your websites/blogs and your business computer.

ON YOUR WEBSITE: Excellent plugins should always be updating and making their product more secure. Be sure you update it as soon as you can. Here are several that should be updated regularly.

WordPress JetPack
Anti-Virus software you have installed on your site
Malware you have on your site
Plugins you use in your website

Remember before you install any plugin, be sure that the plugin updates on a regular basis. Some plugins are created and ever updated. When this happens, and WordPress releases new versions, you may find that the plugin doesn’t work any longer.

NOW, ON YOUR COMPUTER: Every computer gets updates on a regular basis, especially newer computers. Make sure all the updates are doing automatic updates. Nowadays, it should be setup that way. But if you don’t know if yours is updated automatically, check out the list below and manually do it yourself by opening the application and check for updates.

Operating System (OS)
Internet security software
Adobe Reader
Java
QuickTime Player
Microsoft Office package
Browsers (keep plugins to a limit)
Computerized credit card scanning system
Tablet and the plugins on your tablet used for business
Phone and the plugins on the phone used for business

Other tips that you may not have thought of to keep your business secure:

Set up an automatic backup system and check periodically that it is work. Some backup systems stop working but don’t notify you of the issue. Add a recurring appointment on your calendar for once a month to check this out to make sure it is still working.
Treat the internet as a foreign city, be careful where you go and what you do. Use Chrome’s Incognito mode when visiting areas you haven’t visited before. Have a separate computer just for browsing the web. And make sure that computer is not connected to any email and has excellent malware software updated on it.

Since it may be overwhelming to do all this, you can use this checklist below to tell you to check the different applications on your computer. Feel free to print it. Here are 12 critical updates to do to keep your business more secure.

Well, there you have it. By keeping your computer and apps updated, you will hopefully never have an issue with security.

Now, let’s continue the conversation. What do you do to remind you to keep software up-to-date? Did I miss anything that you update? Please feel free to leave a comment below.

Visit these posts to help you keep your business even more secure.

The Most Essential Security Practices to Keep Your Business Safe