There are some incredible online security systems available these days for businesses, and the best managed IT services in Nashville will be able to put them in place to protect your data. However, even with excellent security technology, you’ll still need to ensure that your employees are following protocol to keep the information protected. Here are five steps that all of your staff should bear in mind when keeping your private data secure online.

#1: Backup your work 

Even with the best IT support in Nashville, there can be an instance when the wrong email is clicked on, or someone downloads spam and your computer loses everything. Backing up your work and important documents that can’t be duplicated is vital to keeping everything protected. Recovering this information takes a lot of valuable time (if it can be recovered), so be proactive and back up your work starting today!

#2: Keep computers clean

If you provide your employees with a laptop, you should also provide them with a list of acceptable downloads and uses for the computer. You don’t want to have a vulnerable network because a few people on staff decided to install an application to watch movies or listen to music, and these rules should be clearly stated so there is no confusion about what is acceptable and what is not. Knowing exactly what programs are allowed on computers will keep your IT services in Nashville running smoothly and without disruption.

#3: Be on the lookout for spam

Before opening an email, employees should spend time looking at what the content is by paying attention to the title and address. Spam can often be caught before you even click the open button. Make sure people aren’t just absently opening emails without looking at them first. When opening emails, even from reliable sources, be sure that everyone is also looking at the links for anything suspicious. If clicking on the link doesn’t provide any benefit for the workday or looks odd, don’t click it and alert IT support in Nashville.

#4: Make sure passwords are strong

We know that it can be difficult to keep up with a zillion passwords, but you still need to develop a system to keep those passwords secure for yourself and make sure they are strong. Get creative with these and add many elements so that they are not easily deciphered and have a hard copy that you keep hidden in a physical location.

#5: Tell IT support in Nashville when there is a problem

If you have a strange screen that pops up every time you turn on your computer, or you notice other peculiar nuances, don’t just brush them to the side. Always communicate with IT support in Nashville when you notice that something is not normal, even if it’s small. Think of it like a car, when your check engine light comes on, often the car will drive just fine for a bit, but by letting this go on over time, you’ll have missed the window to have a small issue fixed and you’ll need a whole new engine now. IT support in Nashville will be there for both repairs, but the sooner alert them to a problem, the better.