If you grew up in the internet age, there’s a chance you remember website limitations at school. Even in the early years, the internet was a staple in classroom teaching. But, there was always that one person who entered a forbidden site and got taken out for a good old telling off.
When you’re young, limitations like these seem like nothing more than a pain the backside. In fact, many kids do what they can to find loopholes or bad sites which haven’t been blocked yet. But, they miss one major fact. In part, those sites are banned to stop distractions and inappropriate content. But, they’re also forbidden to prevent viruses entering the school system. After all, even just one hacker could gain access to student information. And, that would be terrible news for the school’s legal standing.
It’s worth remembering this when you branch into the business world. Remembering the days when teachers could tell you what to do might not be your idea of fun. But, you’re the one in a position of power now, and your reputation as it risk if a breach takes place. With that in mind, you may want to follow suit, and ensure work computers are never used for compromising means. Read on to find out how.
Put a clear policy in place
Merely telling staff not to use work computers for personal searches might not do the trick. After all, most team members are guilty of personal Google searches during downtime. And, there’s nothing wrong with that until they compromise security. As horrible as it is to be the grumpy boss who doesn’t allow fun, it’s necessary. You should already have cyber and data security measures in place, but careless searching could still cause trouble. So, inform staff of computer limitations and outlining the action you’ll take for failure to adhere. You may even want to go all out and update your contracts with this policy in place. Sometimes, fear is the only way to ensure your system stays safe.
Find ethical ways to monitor the system
Even with a policy in place, there’s a chance team members will take liberties. This is especially the case if you have no way of knowing. Of course, monitoring computers is tricky. It could lead to low team morale if you aren’t careful. But, you need to do something. As such, you should seek ethical ways to track computer usage. A fantastic option here would be to highlight certain keywords in searches and such. That way, you can detect issues without compromising privacy.
Practice what you preach
Of course, it’d be pretty embarrassing if you let a virus into the system through your own personal searches. As the manager, it’s crucial you practice what you preach in any aspect of business. And, this is no different. Make sure to limit your computer usage to adhere to those new rules. By making your efforts visible, you can even increase the chances of staff following without complaint.