Have you ever had a virus infect your company IT network and someone say to you, “Wow. I don’t understand how that got through our firewall!” When that happens, there’s a good chance that someone brought the virus in from the outside by physically carrying a laptop or some form of removable media into the office right past the firewall. This allowed the infection to go “around” instead of “through” the firewall.

That’s why you need to secure your the individual workstations as well as the network. And whether you have three computers or 300, you need to have everyone on a domain model, not workgroup model, with a dedicated server. That will give you a central management point so you can take care of all the machines automatically.

Also realize that your company’s computer network is only as strong as its weakest link. Often I hear in companies that the CEO won’t let anyone from IT touch his or her computer. But if all the other computers in the network are up to date except the CEO’s, your company is still vulnerable. So you have to make sure everyone’s computer, even the CEO’s, is protected.

This is why it is so critical that you understand the importance of securing your network as well as individual workstations, and visa versa. When your IT professional says they want to make your computer safe, let them — that’s what they get paid to do!

What are your thoughts on this topic?