Tips for the Small/Home Office

By Joshua Erdman
Digital Foundation, inc.

Digital Foundation has provided some important tips for small offices and home computers. Since small businesses usually cannot afford to employ their own System Administrator this page should definitely come in handy.

Improve Network Performance
Lower Internet Costs
Share the Internet Connection
Simplify Computer Maintenance
Virus Protection
Security

Improve Network Performance

Use a switch to separate the hubs. This will reduce overall network traffic. The article below explains it in more detail:

Article: Switches vs. Hubs

Lower Internet Connection Costs by Sharing

I have run across many Small Offices that have dial-up for all their computers so each employee can get e-mail and information from the Internet. If you do the math here:

$13 per phone line
$15 per dial-up account
1 cent per minute that you are connected online

This quickly adds up to $25 per user each month. DSL costs are down to $30 monthly. With the speed of DSL you will save all kinds of money, employees can get the data they need from the Internet faster, you can get rid of all those extra phone lines, and you can share the DSL connection over the local network.

Digital Foundation can help you with ordering a DSL connection and sharing it to all your computers. We have also provided an article on Sharing your Internet Connection for more information.

Using Windows XP

Windows XP is by far the best Windows Operating System to date. It is easy to use and very robust. Read up on our Windows XP features article for more information.

Virus Protection

Anti-Virus software is a must have for EVERY computer. Read our Anti-Virus Article for more information

Security

Security is very important, especially for a business. Good security ensures protection of a company's intellectual property and protects computers from the spread of viruses. Best practices require that you use a firewall for your internet connection and always use a strong passwords that are changed often.

For more information, read our articles about good passwords and answers to common security questions.

Digital Foundation provides Security audits, please visit our website for more information.

Article last reviewed: 12/30/2005

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Created by: Digital Foundation, inc.

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