Best Practices

Keeping your customers safe requires your own computer systems to be fully protected. The best policies in the world won't protect your customers if your network and resources are at risks for preventable attacks.

Protecting your network and systems requires a lot of the same steps as protecting a single computer, only on a larger scale.

Use a firewall. A good firewall keeps criminals out and sensitive data in.

Install and maintain anti-virus software. Computer viruses can steal and corrupt your customers' personal data. Install good anti-virus software on all your computers, and make sure it stays up-to-date.

Install and maintain anti-spyware software. Like viruses, spyware can compromise your customers' personal data. If kept up to date, a good anti-spyware program will protect you and your customers from most of it.

Use spam filters. Spam can carry malicious software and phishing scams, some aimed directly at businesses. A good spam filter will block most of it and will make your email system safer and easier to use.

Updates to your operating system and business software often close serious security gaps. Set your software to auto-update, or make sure to download and install the updates yourself regularly.