Privacy is hard to come by these days. It seems all the news we are seeing as of late is aimed towards the Social Media giants that have full access to our messages. WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger’s, and other apps have all come under scrutiny. Even Google has access to your emails these days and there has also been the issue of the spyware on Apple devices as of late.
Private Email Servers
Most businesses have their privacy locked up tight. They use Microsoft Exchange cloud servers or other email providers that guarantee encrypted company email systems. However, not all companies are using their own software.
Some companies still use Yahoo or Gmail addresses – this is especially true in countries such as Asia. The problem here is that even though these email addresses are generally safe, the company does not 100% privacy.
Small businesses should look at packages provided for business email users. Office365 business email plan charges just $15.00 a month for an email account. It is private and comes with full customer support.
Social Media Comms Apps
Also, quite a few businesses use Social Media platforms as a form of communication. Of course, when it comes to customer service social media is sometimes essential. However, there is no reason a company should be using social media to send private documents.
Private documents should always be sent via a secure communication channel operated by the company itself.
VPN Software for Encryption
Rather than spending large sums of cash on an IT system that needs maintaining constantly, business owners can opt in for VPN software (internettegizlilik). Each computer in their office can have a VPN installed for as low as $25 a year.
If the speed of the internet connection is important for daily operations, then a slightly higher package would be needed.
Using Encrypted Online Data Storage
Storing files locally on an office computer is seen as bad practise. If the files are on a laptop, and the laptop is lost or misplaced, then the files are lost. Fortunately, there are plenty of very good solutions out there that allow people to privately store their files online.
Google Drive is arguably the most well-known, but there are also other decent options out there like Dropbox too. Once you reach a certain data limit, you will be required to pay a monthly fee, which is generally around $10.00.
That $10 per month can give a small business all the data storage it will ever need. However, if the company needs to store large files, then the cost is higher. Graphic design, marketing, financial, and other such businesses generally need a lot of space to store their files. Even then it only costs a few extra bucks to have enough data to store all the business’s online.
In this article we have discussed how small businesses are protecting their right to privacy. We ruled out social media as a medium for communication of sensitive information. We looked at how all businesses large or small should consider using a business email provider for their emails. We also looked at how VPNs help to encrypt internet connections as well as how offline data storage is a great option to make sure files are not lost should a laptop be misplaced.
