This is a direct branch off from my last post. I realized something with most small to medium businesses in Jamaica – there’s very little thought given to IT. Whether internal or external IT suggestions – most of it is glossed over until something happens. We’re more reactive than proactive.
To reduce the risks associated with owning tech in Jamaica – here’s some info to get things going.
POWER – UPS – SURGE STRIP
Regardless of you being a home user or a business – you NEED power protection. JPS is not the most reliable power company, and they cannot guarantee clean power to you just by virtue of how things are.
A great example that was given to me by a friend was this – imagine that you’ve built a new home on a newly commissioned area that JPS has put in a brand new transformer. You’re getting the best and cleanest power off the grid in your area. But…5-10 miles down the road – nowhere near you – someone is running a business that does welding. The electrical noise generated on the line will affect your supply – believe it or not. Now imagine being a business and there are dozens of other buildings nearby with varying power requirements. How can JPS guarantee that YOU will get clean power?
While an ONLINE UPS would be best – the cost is very heavy per unit. The cheapest single unit costs around JMD$80,000 – meaning that’s what it would be for ONE PC. Quite expensive if you should outfit all your devices with an ONLINE UPS. So the next best thing is the LINE INTERACTIVE UPS – or SWITCHING UPS. These are the more common ones that make a “click” when they switch from JPS to battery and back. They provide good enough protection for your equipment – but as with most things, there are some brands that work better than others.
FORZA has become very popular in Jamaica – but it’s not a brand that I’d recommend for their UPSes at current. Their surge strips and other devices seem fine, but brands I’d recommend include:
- APC
- Liebert
- PowerWare
If you can’t afford a UPS – at the very least – get a surge strip. And not one of the cheap ones from the supermarket – a good surge strip from APC – or even a Forza one. The surge strip will at least protect the system in the event of a high voltage surge.
If you’re in a place that has lots of outages – maybe a fridge guard would do better. At least those stay off until power has returned to a constant supply for 5 minutes – I think the timer varies with different models.
BACKUP
This is something that – surprisingly – isn’t taken as seriously as it should be. If you’ve followed the news, you’ll realize that lots of business locally have fallen victim to ransomware and other cyber attacks. Without even considering the darker side of computing, there’s the fact that devices may fail due to age or factory faults. With no proper backups available, a failed drive could grind business to a halt.
Speak with your IT personnel to discuss local and cloud backup solutions. You can do one or both depending on your needs and budget.
MAINTENANCE
This is another sore point for most places. If the systems are working – “just keep swimming” as the statement goes (Finding Nemo reference). Excessive dirt buildup over time can lead to part failure. Static buildup due to the dirt, or having the dirt become “caked” into the circuitry may then cause breaks and failures – or cause failures after cleaning is done. That last one is funny – imagine dirt literally becoming a part of the circuitry and holding the pathways together – then you get it cleaned – then it fails because the circuit is now broken. Things like this actually happen – and it’s not the fault of the technician – unless THEY didn’t schedule your servicing.
Each environment is different, and some systems require more maintenance than others as a result. Typically, home and office systems should be good with 1-4 times per year. This depends on the environment primarily, as a system elevated (on a desk) will have less dirt than one on the ground – typically. And a system in an AC environment will have less than one that’s not in an AC room – typically.
Laptops will usually require less maintenance – again – based on the environment. One that is used by a person that has it on a bed, couch and any kind of fabric surface will find that it’s more dirty than one that’s always kept on a desk, table or flat surface. Even if it’s used in a bed or couch, a laptop that’s kept on a book or cooling pad will have less dirt than one placed directly on the fabric surface.
With laptops – again – there are variables. Some have intake from the back, the bottom (typically) or the top – right through the keyboard keys.
SECURITY
This is another topic that I can’t get into much right now. It will depend on the business/home and how the staff/users utilize the resources. There are always best practices that should be followed, and each person should take the time to review their surroundings – work or home – and do their best to not place the equipment at risk.
Let’s give some examples.
- Don’t click on links in emails that seem suspicious.
- Don’t go to illegal websites.
- Don’t click on pop-ups.
- Even if you know the sender – should the email seem suspicious, call and validate the information with the sender. Their account could be compromised.
IN CLOSING
Check with your IT person/s to verify what needs to be done. Have security reviewed by your IT person/s and take steps to secure your systems. Use password managers. Don’t randomly click yes/allow unless you’re SURE about what’s being run. Do what’s needed to stay safe.
LINKS
The link below was found as one of the first Google results from a search I did.
https://intellipaat.com/blog/cyber-security-tips-best-practices/
Here’s a link from Norton – a well known antivirus vendor.
https://us.norton.com/blog/how-to/cyber-security-best-practices-for-employees#
You can check for other similar links from the results below.
Google – Free IT Security Best Practices