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Protecting Your Small Business from Virus and
Apathy Risks Disaster Recovery Planning Tips
By Joshua Feinberg

Data disasters tend to strike when you least expect. Small businesses without a formal in-house computer support function are especially vulnerable to these potentially catastrophic risks.

In the first of this three-part series, we outlined some straightforward ways to get your company prepared for data disasters with backup systems, physical security and PC/workstation security.

Last time, we looked at some basic local area network (LAN) and power protection issues to consider when mapping out your small business disaster recovery plan.

Now in this concluding segment on disaster recovery planning tips, we'll focus on virus prevention, as well as some simple organizational and management steps you can take to get proactive about disaster recovery planning.

Virus Protection

Is antivirus software installed on every desktop PC, notebook and server in your organization?

How current is the antivirus software?

Are you entitled to updates and upgrades through your existing antivirus software license?

If the update process is not automated, how often do you update virus definitions? How often do you update the core-scanning engine?

If the update process is automated, or supposed to be automated, how often do you verify that the antivirus software is in fact being updated as promised by the software vendor?

Are your end users permitted to install their own software applications? If so, what controls are in place to prevent end users from inadvertently introducing viruses into your office's technology backbone?

How are your e-mail client applications and server(s) protected to keep viruses from spreading through inbound (POP3), outbound (SMTP) and other related mechanisms?

Have you done anything with hardened security settings on programs, such as Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Microsoft Word or Microsoft Excel, to lessen the risk of virus damage?

Do you use the Microsoft Windows Update and Microsoft Office Product Updates Web sites to regularly install critical security patches?

Are your end users trained on how to recognize telltale signs of a virus?

Organizational Issues

Do you keep common, easy-to-replace spare hardware parts, such as a mouse, keyboard or monitor, on hand to minimize downtime? In the event a crucial system was to fail without warning, do you have a spare system on hand?

If you were unable to get into your office for several days following a disaster, would your company be able to operate in another location? What are the most critical functions that you need to get up and running immediately?

Do your employees have a list of key personnel home phone numbers? Is a hard copy of this list kept at employees' homes?

Do you have an up-to-date inventory of all of your hardware and software assets, as well as current, coherent system documentation, stored on- and off-site?

What's the chain of command for deciding that an event is in fact a "disaster" for your company?

How will key personnel and strategic vendors be notified in the event of a disaster?

The Bottom Line

Just because your company is a small business doesn't mean it's immune to big data disasters. While it's impossible to plan for every conceivable small business data disaster or contingency, there are a number of relatively painless and inexpensive best practices your company can put into place right away to get proactive.

Use the virus prevention and organizational tips in this article to help fortify your disaster recovery planning defenses -- on a small business budget.

Copyright (C) 2002, KISTech Communications Corporation

Joshua Feinberg is an internationally recognized small business technology expert, consultant, columnist, author, keynote speaker, and trainer. He is a published Microsoft Press author, as well as the creator of and two-year veteran writer of the Microsoft Direct Access "VAPVoice: Notes From the Field".
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