Mike Gray

During this crisis, there has been a strong uptick in bosses requesting spy software to be installed on remote employee computers. The spy software can track how many emails a user sends and see how long they are in front of the computer.

I do not agree with the use of spy software to keep track of remote workers. I understand that managers are used to having their employees close at hand. Managers think that these workers will take advantage of their new freedoms. Just don’t do it. It is a massive violation of trust between a worker and their employer. No amount of spy software is going to get your employees to produce for your company.

Trust

If you cannot trust your employees enough to let them do their job, then maybe you shouldn’t have hired them. If you can’t trust them, fire them. Harsh? Yes, but it’s true. What is the benefit of working with someone you can’t trust? It’s a huge waste of your time if you are always wondering if they are getting the job done.

You should judge whether your employee is doing their job by looking at their productivity level. If their productivity level is low, don’t install software to peek into their day to day activities. No, you need to go talk to them. Crazy concept, but yes talk to them to find out what is going on. Something may be going on with their lives that’s driving down their productivity. At that point, you can work with them to figure out how you can help. That’s just good leadership. Let me just add too that trust is a two-way street. You need to allow your workers to trust you and know that you are not micromanaging them.

Making a Choice

If you find through talking to them that they just are unproductive, slow, and inefficient you need to ask yourself a question. Has the employee been given the best tools for the job? Maybe you haven’t provided the best tools for the job. If you have and they are just unable to do the job then maybe it’s time to part ways. With the right tools maybe they could be more productive.

I think we went off on a bit of a tangent because this post is not about productivity tools. I do want you to think about that before you would ever lose trust in an employee or even worse choose to install spyware on their remote working computer.

Photo by Tobias Tullius

When we approach any new customer, we have some steps in mind that we want to take to ensure good small business network security. Sometimes, the customer has a majority of these steps already covered. Sometimes they go 0 for 10.

You might think that network security is only something big businesses need to worry about. You’d be wrong. If you’re hacked, comprised, or struck with ransomware, your business will suffer and it will cost you time and money trying to recover.
Here are some steps to take.

1. Use G Suite or Office 365 for your email and productivity suite
2. Restrict local users to only standard accounts on workstations
3. Ensure all Windows patches are installed
4. Backups of all of the critical data
5. Make sure all workstations have up to date antivirus
6. Train your users to identify phishing emails and other security concerns.
7. Don’t use a residential router
8. Don’t have a wireless network without a password
9. Set workstations to lock after a certain length of time.
10. Have workstations that are no more than 3 years old and are running the latest operating system.

Are there any additional steps you would add to ensure good small business network security? Which is the most important of these steps?

Photo by THE 9TH Coworking

We tend to see more phishing emails making the rounds when we are in more turbulent times. What exactly is a phishing email? Phishing is the fraudulent practice of sending emails purporting to be from reputable companies to induce individuals to reveal personal information, such as passwords and credit card numbers.
Here are some hard and fast rules when it comes to phishing emails.

• If you are unsure whether a link from a company is legit, go to your web browser and type in the address instead of clicking the link.
• UPS and FedEx will never send you an update about a package that requires you to click a link. Won’t happen. Ever.
• If you get an unsolicited email from a company you’ve never heard of telling you there is a problem with your computer, it’s fake. In that email, they’ll say call immediately before its too late. Don’t call, it’s a scam.
• When you get an email that looks like it’s from your bank or PayPal saying they need to update information in your account. Don’t click on the link. Paypal and financial institutions will never send an email asking you to update your info. It will never happen.
• Microsoft will never send you an email asking you to download an update. Never.
• You get an email that looks to be from someone high up in the organization asking you to send money to someone else. Stop! Call the higher up and verify by their voice that this is their legitimate request.

These are just a couple of scenarios that criminals will use to try to get your info. Don’t get fooled. Take a minute. Step back. Look at the email address that it came from. Is the spelling way off? Examine the web address of the link.

You need to be extra vigilant. Around every corner, criminals are attempting to fish for your info in phishing emails. Don’t be a victim.