Business

...mobility and ease

In the beginning computers were created to provide a humble, yet sophisticated, platform for users to inter-connect their business affairs and build any artwork they needed to communicate their message to another company. With time this logic has not changed but the capacity to deliver this message has figuratively travelled light-years from its original status.

Our reliance on PCs has grown immensely as we use them to create emails, official documents and displays for work purposes, as well as, enhance our social profile by networking online. Along with the many benefits we receive from our online presence, we also garner a higher risk of losing the information we share. Online timetables, names and contact lists are shared on servers throughout the office, making modern office computing inoperably connected to server technology.

As more of us turned to the miracle of the laptop, the information we carried along with us became a new frontier for virus spreading. Sure we could sit in the park typing up excel files, or watch a movie on the plane to a conference in the Bahamas, but our virus catching risks also grew as we attempted to stay on top of things by connecting to foreign networks.

There are now numerous types of laptops geared to suit any need, whether big or small, or even entertainment-based. The emergence of the netbook in particular has offered a great option for businesspeople who must take their work with them wherever they go. Of course the amount of memory on these is limited, which is why some choose to bank on bigger widescreen options, however all are equally dangerous in terms of viruses. Similarly these are all equipped with the same security systems and data loss from any can be extremely damaging.

Data protection is a huge issue now in companies and businesses have become very aware of the impact one computer, which may have been contaminated by a foreign network, can have on a whole network. Losing company data can become a legal affair with the company claiming negligence on your part –all for not having antivirus software.

The most ridiculous pest to businesses, and one which people often ignore, is slow operation speed due to viruses which feed of the power from your system. Countless hours are lost due to this problem, which could be solved fairly easily, if not avoided altogether. Being one of the most common issues presented in PCs, viruses can go undetected for years, when antivirus software could have detected it immediately, removed it and sped up systems instantly.

Computers are certainly the most innovative creation of our generation - a revolution we can be proud of. However, there is little use in praising such a good invention and then let it go unprotected. Using genuine software to secure its efficiency is imperative for any business.

While the computer has revolutionised the way we work, it is vital that businesses have an effective antivirus and data security policy in place. If they do not, the consequences could be severe.