onth’s ers & ers
1. Malware
Wisdom tells us that the Mac operating system – OS X – is superior to Windows and is immune to the plague of trojans, viruses and other assorted nasties that can cripple a Windows machine. In fact, OS X is no more or less immune to attack than any other operating system, with a recent spate of attacks on the computing system. The threat of malware is imminent, with the virus stealing your passwords and giving free access to all your financial accounts. An infection can also add your Mac computer to a botnet – a network of zombie computers that can be used for criminal ends such as launching a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack or spewing out spam. In terms of protecting your computer, the key is making sure you religiously complete the updates to your operating system. USB keys can also contain infected documents, either deliberately or unknowingly boobytrapped, as well as websites offering software to download. Use tools such as the free ClamXav tool and Sophos also produces a free tool for Macs.
2. Tax relief loss A valuable tax benefit for venture capital trusts investing in SME’s is being
removed. Any investors in a venture capital trusts (VCTs) who are currently benefiting from upfront tax relief of 30 per cent on investments of up to £200,000 a year will be affected. Under the Finance Bill, investors will lose this tax relief if the companies they are funding receive more than £2million from VCTS and other forms of ‘State-aided risk-capital investment’ such as Enterprise Investment Schemes and Seed Enterprise Investment schemes in any 12-month period. This move will bring the UK in line with EU rule that limit State-backed investment into firms. Although the Government has agreed to delay this measure until it receives royal assent in the summer, it is still very likely that it will be introduced. The rule could have a hugely damaging effect on growing businesses trying to access VCT funding, with a spokesman for the Forum of Private Business adding: ‘This is creating an additional barrier to funding for small businesses by making it less attractive to invest when we need to go in the opposite direction.’
3. Olympic holiday leave As the countdown to the Olympic games begins, leading recruitment
consultants Badenoch & Clark have revealed that many employers have not yet put in place an official leave policy for those attending the events. Organisations are facing increasing pressure to communicate an official leave policy for those who have tickets, or risk the potential of growing absenteeism over the 2012 Games. For the few employers that have formalised and communicated their annual leave process for London 2012, a tenth (10.4%) have stated that it will be on a first come, first served basis, and a small percentage (6.9%) have been advised that annual leave will not be allowed on certain key event dates.
13 entrepreneurcountry
s strikes the Mac
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