It’s not a matter of if, but when. You might think that as a small business owner, your company is not a target for malicious hackers or attacks, but this couldn’t be farther from the truth. Size doesn’t matter when it comes to maintaining business continuity in light of security threats – both natural and manmade – anyone and everyone is susceptible. Think about what kind of information you could lose from various business security threats – years worth of tax records, confidential employee information including Social Security numbers, signed customer contracts and customer contact records, just to start.

When an eight person law firm in Miami was hit by Hurricane Ike in 2008, it was forced to close its doors after a decade of being in business. Everything they had was destroyed and irretrievable. Although this was a natural disaster, the business owner could have taken some relatively easy and cost effective precautions to ensure his business was safe from common small business security threats. Fortunately, for today’s small business owners, there are many software applications available that are adept at maintaining business continuity. These applications are easily accessible and simple to implement, making your business safer in case the unthinkable should occur.

The Keys to Maintaining Business Continuity

I see many small businesses make the same common mistakes when it comes to securing their data and maintaining business continuity; I’ve listed them (below) in an effort to help companies protect themselves from business security threats. Most companies I talk to believe they are secure, when in fact, they are unmistakably vulnerable.

Mistake #1: “My data is secure; I’ve got it backed up on-premise.”

Let’s say you are fortunate enough to have a security system, a fire detection system and are part of a secured office park with security personnel roaming the grounds 24/7. Just because your premises are secured doesn’t mean your records are safe from business security threats. In fact, it’s the opposite. Many businesses commonly make the mistake of backing up files only on-premise or back-up on premise and remove discs or tapes manually on a regularly scheduled interval (ex. once per month). The smartest solution to combating business security threats is to have all your data saved and stored in an off-premise data center. By having your data backed up off-site, you ensure the safety of all your important files and you get the added benefit of being able to access important files from any Internet connected computer (with the right security authentication of course!)

Like in the earlier example of the law firm affected by Hurricane Ike, if it had stored all of its files off-premise in a hosted data center, the employees would have been able to save all of the files, retrieve and reinstate them and gotten the business back up with minimal interruption. Backing up to an external hard drive or NAS (Network Attached Storage) device is critical to maintaining business continuity and preventing data loss due to hardware failures. However, small businesses commonly face fires, floods, thefts, and other business security threats that require backups to be offsite. Make sure your business has a secure backup solution in place to allow data to be stored offsite. These solutions are relatively inexpensive in terms of maintaining business continuity, especially considering the alternative.

Mistake #2:”I just bought a new PC, so I’ve already got the latest and greatest security software loaded.”

You may be thinking to yourself “I already have all the security I need.” Yes, Microsoft Windows does have a firewall feature guarding against common business security threats, but these off-the-shelf components aren’t nearly enough to support the needs of a company. Ideally, small businesses should employ the same “defense in depth” strategy large enterprises use to secure their internal networks. PCs should have their software firewalls enabled and properly configured, and have a firewall router on the network’s edge to provide a second layer of defense against business security threats. This way, if a PC’s firewall is not configured properly, there is still a layer of protection between the computer and Internet threats. By selecting a managed firewall application, small businesses will shield themselves from critical network threats, block unnecessary Internet traffic, and restrict applications used on your network. This type of security product is a necessity for protecting small business networks from malicious Internet threats and maintaining business continuity.

Mistake #3:”I installed new security protection software in the past couple years or so.”

As you may know, many laptops and desktops come with pre-installed free trials of a brand name security offering, although this will keep your desktop secure for a brief time, many small businesses commonly make the mistake of letting this software expire and forgetting to update it. In order to protect your desktops and laptops from online business security threats, you must install a secure desktop solution to protect PCs from viruses, spyware, and other Internet-borne attacks. Sold as a bundle as part of many communications and IT services, secure desktop applications have no expiration dates to keep track of. The best part of this software application is that updates are automatic, which means there are no more software upgrades to install–reducing the cost of IT management. Maintaining business continuity is easy–just secure your desktop as soon as you can!

Mistake #4: “I have to update my browser and operating system (OS) security patches myself, and I just don’t have the time.”

Small businesses can easily be taken advantage of due to low security on their browsers and operating systems, but these types of business security threats can be easily avoided with automatic security patch updates. Many small businesses take the burden of updating their PCs with the latest software versions on themselves, but OS security can be easily automated, which makes maintaining business continuity a breeze. Yes, small businesses should ensure the updates take place and check in on them regularly, but today’s technology helps alleviate some of the time it takes to manage the situation.

By avoiding these common culprits of business security threats, companies can protect one of their most precious assets – data and files. Most businesses will face many threats in their lifecycle. Learn from the mistakes others have made and take these steps towards maintaining your business continuity.

In the period of economic uncertainties banks, financial institutions and money lenders are facing the rise in the cases of credit default. If the loan sum is not secured in opposition to some sort of assets then these people suffer serious losses because they do not anything to bank upon in case of credit default. Under the secured loan borrower uses his/her fix or other changeable assets as precautions in order to secure the amount in use as a loan. Lenders consider more at simplicity under this segment of loans as the money given to the borrower in the form of loan is on the safer side as the loan amount is secured against the security which can be repossessed by the money lender in case of credit default by the borrower. The market worth of your possessions decides how much money you can avail as a loan by putting it as collateral. Also, your ability to repay the loan and you’re in general economic situation will be vital deciding factors.

The borrower enjoys a better hand when he/she opts for a secured loan. The guarantee put forward by the borrower serves as the security of loan reimbursement. This reduces the danger of the lender contacts with the borrower. As a result, the lender is prepared to propose a few privileges to the borrower. The first and primary advantage of secured loans is that a person is able to borrow at a considerably low interest rate. This proves very helpful in the long term as the individual can save hundreds of pounds on the interest being rewarded over the loan term.

A bad credit secured loan, as the name suggests, refers to a loan that is perfect for borrowers with bad credit. Bad Credit history refers to past dealings where the individual might have missed or have being unsuccessful any imbursement in any of the dealings which led to defaults, arrears, CCJ, IVA or even bankruptcy. The asset that is to be positioned as security can be something like house, property, vehicle or other valuable belongings.

The amount typically raised by the viable association is 3, 000; this amount can be go forward enlarged up to 75, 000 too. And, borrowers achieve the reimbursement of these secured loans for a period ranges in between 5-25 years. The loan can be use for purpose like home, meeting wedding expenses, to consolidate debts, paying off education fees, purchasing a car etc.

The sanction procedure of secured personal loans are extremely effortless and hassle free as you don’t need to stand in elongated loan queues and hang around for your turn to come up. If you have PC with internet connectivity at your residence then you can begin the application procedure anytime as per your convenience. Just fill out the e-form with service, private and checking account information and submit it on lenders site. Within least duration of time you’ll get approved for the funds and straight get submit it in your account.

This is one of the reasons why lots of people are worried of obtaining a UK secured loan. A borrower, mainly one who has a bad credit history, should carefully assess his credit requirements and the capability to meet repayments if a uk secured loan is required. It would be wise for a borrower to look into alternative options of availing credit before opting for a secured loan. If nothing else is feasible, then the best way would be to be to shop around for a UK secured loan with the lowest rate of interest and also arrange for a payment safety plan.
As Secured Loans UK are backed by security, most lenders approve loans even in cases of C.C.J’s, defaults, bankruptcies and arrears. This makes secured loans very attractive to people all over UK, who would otherwise not qualify for a loan from their local bank. Secured Loans UK are ideal for homeowners as well as non-homeowners.

When it comes to listing profit of secured loans UK, I can go on, but exploiting these opportunities is something you have to take accountability for. The market for secured loans UK is so wide that it can confuse a borrower. Searching for the ideal secured loan UK is the main effort you require to make. Every lender seems to have options better than the other, so choose wisely. Weigh every option – when finalizing your loan consider the interest, the loan term, the monthly repayments, the lender’s fees, credit requirements and any other hidden costs. Don’t debate on clarifications – that is your right. Make sure you know accurately what you are getting into.

The approval process of secured personal loans are very easy and hassle free as you don’t need to stand in long loan queues and wait for your turn to come up. If you have PC with internet connectivity at your home then you can start the application process anytime as per your expediency. Just fill out the e-form with employment, personal and checking account details and submit it on lenders site. Within least span of time you’ll get approved for the funds and directly get submit it in your account.

Of late, insurance companies have not remained the same, your premium can vary by hundreds of dollars from one insurance company to another and the only way to get the best and the cheapest auto and home owner insurance is to search for companies to get insurance quotes quickly and easily. Furthermore, you can even talk with insurance professionals and ask about other additional ways to lower your auto and home owner insurance premium rates. One of the most accepted and proven benefit of combined auto and home owner insurance is that you will have only one set of contact information to keep track and that you will only have to deal with one agent who understands your combined coverage, which means only one phone number for any questions or claims. Insuring a combined auto and home owner insurance will also help the agent to better keep on top of any changes to your policy that will be of benefit to you, ultimately less paper work, no more extra phone callings, no need to keep the timetable to pay the premium and many other things.

No matter what type of insurance policy you have, be it auto and home insurance, accident insurance, flood insurance, earthquake insurance, medical compensation insurance, home owner insurance, auto owner insurance, theft and fire insurance, personal insurance etc,it is advised and recommended to personally review all the insurance coverage once a year, and insurance contract should come in the mail in about 30 to 60 days before your policy renewal, which gives you ample time to review the different coverage areas to be sure that everything is accurate and most importantly ensure that nothing is incorrect as mentioned in the auto and home owner insurance policy because companies can make mistakes, and you might end up losing money or the extra benefits.

Always see that the payment of auto and home owner insurance are paid on time or in advance to prevent its lapse, it could cost you a lot of money in the long term. Auto and home owner insurance companies will review your claim history and payment history.

A new study suggests the security of a five-year mortgage costs little or nothing beyond a riskier variable-rate mortgage, providing you get a jumbo-sized rate discount.

“Interest costs on discounted closed five-year mortgages have been close to, and often lower than, those of variable-rate mortgages since late 1996,” senior Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. economist Ali Manouchehri writes in the study.

Homeowners have made variable-rate mortgages hugely popular in the past few years in the belief that you can save on interest costs by pegging your mortgage rate to your lender’s prime lending rate. As the prime rises, or as has generally happened in the past few years, fallen, so goes your mortgage rate.

The prime rate at the major banks is now 4.5 per cent, while the posted five-year rate at the big banks is 6.15 per cent. In just one year, the variable-rate choice would save you about $1,700 on monthly payments toward a $150,000 mortgage amortized over 25 years (assuming a level prime rate).

Historically, you would also have saved a lot. The CMHC study shows that five-year mortgages taken out from 1993 through 1998 would have cost anywhere from $50,000 to $5,000 in additional interest paid over the term of the loan (the example is based on a $100,000 mortgage amortized over 25 years).

The flaw with this analysis is that it doesn’t reflect real-world mortgage pricing. These days, very few people take out a mortgage without a sizable discount off the posted rates at major banks.

For that reason, the CMHC’s Mr. Manouchehri decided to compare discounted five-year mortgages with discounted variable-rate mortgages. Incidentally, five years is the most popular term by far for fixed-rate mortgages at about 59 per cent of the total.

The size of the discounts Mr. Manouchehri applied was based on the difference between posted major bank rates and the best deals available from other lenders. For five-year mortgages, he used a discount of 1.25 of a percentage point; for variable-rate mortgages, it was 0.4 of a point off prime.

For five-year mortgages taken out between 1993 and mid-1996, the five-year mortgage was costlier in terms of interest costs. Since then, however, variable-rate mortgages have generally been a little bit more expensive.

Obviously, there’s nothing in this study that decides the fixed-rate versus variable-rate debate once and for all.

In fact, the CMHC study may just confuse anyone who recalls some research done for Manulife Financial back in 2000 by York University finance professor Moshe Milevsky. His research found that the extra interest charged on a five-year mortgage would have cost $20,000 on average between 1950 and 2000 for a $100,000 mortgage amortized over 15 years.

To make some sense of the variable-rate versus five-year question, let’s go back to the CMHC study.

It shows that five-year mortgages, discounted or otherwise, were especially bad choices for a three-year period starting in mid-1993. Rates were high for a while back then, but they subsequently fell.

You were a spectator to these rate declines if you were stuck in a five-year mortgage, while people in variable-rate mortgages would have benefited almost immediately.

It’s a different world now, though. Five-year mortgage rates are close to a 50-year low, which suggests they’re far more likely to rise over their term than fall.

So what’s the best choice here, variable-rate or five-year fixed rate? People who want to pay rock-bottom mortgage rates for as long as possible will probably still want a variable-rate mortgage. Remember, you can lock this sort of mortgage into a fixed term without penalty in most cases.

The case for the five-year term looks almost as strong, though. First, the CMHC study tells us there may not be a significant cost to locking your mortgage in for five years, and you might even save a little over a variable-rate mortgage.

Second, the likelihood of higher rates in the years to come would suggest that this is a good time to lock in.

If you had a variable-rate mortgage discounted to 4 per cent, the prime would have to go up by 0.85 of a percentage point to equal the current five-year rate. That’s not a lot of ground to cover in the span of 12 to 18 months when the economy is doing well.

Arguably, the variable-rate versus fixed-rate debate is all about risks and rewards. Right now, the five-year option offers much less risk, and almost as much reward.