TECHNOLOGY
Tom Copson
Cyber security a growing threat for local firms
Get up to speed and boost your network connectivity
By business broadband provider Glide
When you’re in the flow of your work, there is nothing worse than a troublesome internet connection slowing you down. Network speeds can massively affect a business’ productivity, so to keep your office running smoothly, business broadband provider Glide has listed its top tips to get your internet running at full capacity.
REBOOT YOUR MODEM AND ROUTER This might seem simple and obvious, but turning your router off and on again really is a very effective way of speeding up your internet connection. Unplug the device, wait for two minutes and plug it back in. After a few minutes everything should be back up and running at a greater speed.
MONITOR YOUR REAL TIME NETWORK Looking at your network connections in real time allows you to identify active devices, applications and users that could be slowing down your internet speed. If there is an app that is not crucial to the business it could be wasting valuable network speed. Once you have identified what could be slowing you down, your IT manager can set a cap on the amount of bandwidth allocated to a specific application or user, which will then reduce its impact on the rest of the business.
VIRUS AND MALWARE SCANS Make sure you are running virus and malware scans regularly and at a convenient time. High quality programmes that scan your computer for harmful software are essential, but they can slow down your internet speed. To make sure they are as unobtrusive as possible, you should arrange with your IT manager to schedule these at specific times, such as out of office hours. It is recommended that you run a scan at least once a week.
CLEAR YOUR BROWSER CACHE Your browser cache is where files are stored to help load web pages, especially those you use most often. While they are generally quite helpful, when the cache becomes too full it may affect your browser’s performance and slow it down. Each browser has its own way of clearing the cache, so do a quick Google search if you’re unsure how to do it. It’s up to you how often you do this, but once or twice a year is the usual recommendation.
CHECK YOUR INTERNET SPEED If you have completed the four tips above and are still not happy with your internet performance, it’s a good idea to do a speed check. Online tests such as
glidebusiness.co.uk/speed let you see what internet speeds you’re actually achieving. It’s advised to do several speed tests throughout the day in case your speeds are varying at different times. If you are getting a slower speed than you were promised by your service provider, get in touch and they should be able to talk you through your options.
Forty-two percent of businesses with 100 or more employees have fallen prey to a cyber-attack in the past year, according to recent figures from business and financial adviser Grant Thornton UK LLP. “The annual global cost of
cybercrime is estimated to hit $6tr by 2021 as cyber attacks increase in quantity and sophistication every year,” said Tom Copson, Director in the firm’s East Midlands team. “The number of East Midlands businesses with an online presence and which are using online transactions continues to grow, a strategy that for many represents the difference between survival and extinction. “Most mid-market
businesses with ambitions to grow know it is important that they embrace technology, however, with this comes an increased threat from cyber- crime, and the region’s business leaders tell us that effective cyber security is rapidly becoming a critical issue on their agendas. “Cybercrime has evolved
from being the act of an individual, to one of the many tools used by organised crime syndicates. No industry is safe from the possibility of a cyber- crime attack and being prepared is the first step local businesses need to take to help defend their business. “As cybercrime has evolved,
traditional defence strategies such as the hardening of firewalls and intrusion prevention systems are no longer sufficient. Resilience is now about the management, rather than the elimination, of cyber risk. Businesses must recognise that their security measures need to go beyond just software.”
business network March 2019 75
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