CategorySecurity systems

We published to our small business POS software customers today reminder advice on the best steps to follow to protect the business against impact from malware. This is especially relevant today because of the overnight Petya attack in the UK and elsewhere, including in Australia.

Being early with consistent professional advice helps our small business customers protect their businesses.

Here is best practice advice on which any computer user can rely:

MALWARE WARNING.
A new malware attack on computers is sweeping the world. It has hit the UK government, big businesses (shutting down the Cadbury factory in Tasmania) and small businesses. Please protect your business. Here is our advice.

1. Tell all who use your computers to not open any emails that look suspicious in any way.
2. Do not click on any links unless you are 100% sure.
3. Do not open attachments unless you are 100% sure.
4. Make sure you have the latest Windows update running on every computer.
5. Never connect a computer to your network unless you are sure it is clean.
6. Advise all employees of these requirements.

The easiest way to recover is if you use a professional cloud backup.

Tower Systems continues to help independent small business retailers reduce the possibility of impact from a crypto locket attack.

The help and service from Tower Systems is preventative as well as recovery focussed should the prevention advice be ignored.

In the Tower newsletter, regular weekly email and other communications the company ensures its thousands of small business retail customers has the information they need to properly an thoroughly deal with an attack.

The assistance from the company starts with the preventative, in the form of plain English computer use advice.

Here is a copy of the rent advice widely circulated by Tower Systems to its POS software customers:

COMPUTER USE POLICY

1. The computers in this business are business tools. Their security is vital to the safe running of the business.
2. Do not use any computer for any form of personal use without permission. This means:
   1. No playing games.
   2. No looking at porn.
   3. No Facebook.
   4. No browsing websites unless they are websites used regularly by this business for running the business.
   5. No connecting your phone to the computer.
3. Do not open emails including business emails unless you have permission.
4. Do not click on any link in any email unless you are 100% certain the email is from a trusted source.
5. Do not clear the browser cache.
6. Never put a USB stick in a computer unless you are certain of the source.
7. Never permit anyone to use a computer in the business unless you have permission.
8. Never give anyone a computer password from the business.
9. If someone you don’t know calls and tells you to do something with the computer, make sure they have authority.
10. Never write down any business password you are entrusted with.
11. Never connect a USB stick with the computer unless you have permission.
12. If you do something wrong own up to it immediately.

This is advice we suggest a retailer ives to all employees. It has been written for that purpose.

If you use our cloud backup service, recovering from a crypto locker is easier. Regardless, backing up every day in any method gives you a faster and lower cost recovery option. We offer a professional cloud based backup service. We use it ourselves and are happy to recommend it to our customers.