Security basics

Short, practical guides your whole team can follow.

• Turning on multi-factor authentication
  The single most effective step against account takeover, explained for Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace, with an authenticator app rather than text messages.
• Spotting a phishing email: five quick checks
  A thirty-second routine for any message that asks you to click, pay or sign in, and what to do when one slips through.
• Strong passwords without the headache
  Why long passphrases beat complicated ones, why reusing a password is the real danger, and how a password manager makes it easy.
• Think your account has been hacked? Do this now
  The warning signs that someone else is using your email or Microsoft 365 account, and the first steps to take while we lock it down.
• Lost or stolen laptop or phone: what to do
  Report it to us first, then to the police if it was stolen. What we can do remotely to protect your business data.
• Phone and text message scams
  Scammers now call and text as well as email. The common scripts, and the simple rule that defeats almost all of them.
• Working safely on public Wi-Fi and while travelling
  Hotels, airports and coffee shops are fine for most work if you follow a few simple habits. What to do and what to avoid.
• Why most staff should not be administrators on their computers
  The single setting that stops most malware in its tracks, how it affects day-to-day work, and how you still get software installed.
• USB sticks and external drives
  Handy, easy to lose, and a classic way for malware to get in. When they are fine to use, when they are not, and the better alternatives.
• Browser extensions and free software: what to install and what to avoid
  Free tools can be useful or dangerous, and it is hard to tell which from the download page. How we check software, and the signs that something is best avoided.
• Preparing for a cyber insurance questionnaire
  Insurers ask the same questions every year, and a wrong answer can void a claim. What they ask, what the questions really mean, and how we help you answer accurately.
• Sending sensitive documents and information safely
  Contracts, ID, payroll files and banking details should not travel as ordinary email attachments. The safer options, in order of preference.
• What happens during a security incident
  From the first phone call to the written review afterwards: how we handle a suspected breach, what we need from you, and what you may need to tell others.