Computers are very detailed machines that function by set rules, codes and languages. Everything follows a pattern and schedule in order to operate efficiently. Computer viruses can affect the cosmetics of a computer such as the screen and display appearances or the simple functions such as the way the keyboard operates or the functionality of the drives. Some of these symptoms may seem to be only a minor inconvenience, but when you see these signs you should wonder what may have caused the change and what else may be going on that you can't see. Other symptoms can include loss of files, decrease in memory space, slow operation and damaged programs.
™
The writer of the virus determines how they will infect the system as well as what they want the virus to do. In most cases, a virus will perform damage to the host system, and may do this while performing another function such as retrieving information, and then spread to the remainder of the network.
A computer virus is similar to a medical virus in that it often occurs even when precautions were taken to prevent virtual assistant services uk it. Particularly malicious viruses steal information and data, which may be confidential. This may be customer or client information of a personal nature whether medical, financial or some other form. It may be company information specific to employee's records, user names and passwords or other functions of the business. Information may simultaneously be erased. It can pick up information from any other computer in the network. It can locate other users and obtain their information.
There are many programs available and they are a must-have for an individual's personal computer and certainly for that of a business. Strong measures must be taken to prevent viruses within a company, as one infected computer is opening the door to the entire network, putting clients, customers and even employees at risk. Businesses should understand that the condition of their system is susceptible to change with every employee that signs into the network.
Training should be instituted to prevent damage by teaching employees how to determine what is safe use of the system, how to update their protection programs and how to know if something is questionable and when to bring it to the attention of the IT department. It is always helpful to set up the virus protection programs to run automatically and the individual systems or the network as a whole can be set to automatically update the programs that are install along with fixes and patches as needed. In addition to anti-virus programs a filter may also help to block viruses.
While the anti-virus is placed inside the firewall, a filter is placed on the outside and closer to the server. Users may be limited as far as what can be received and may not be able to open attachments. This will undoubtedly create an inconvenience, though it is in the best interest of the company and will save money by eliminating loss of business if a shutdown is needed to correct a problem. A virus usually spreads very quickly and for a large company this can be costly. Prevention is always the least costly way to reduce the risk of virus.
The first time I became interested in hiring a virtual assistant (VA) was after I read the book the 4- Hour Workweek. In that book it spoke of how to cut your work hours down to just 4 hours by engaging virtual assistants to assist you. It specifically extolled the benefits of hiring a virtual assistant overseas in order to benefit from strong exchange rates. So, I conducted an online search for a VA overseas but quickly became overwhelmed. The number of websites where I could hire virtual assistants was too numerous to count. Being new to the whole world of working with a VA, I wanted it to be easy, quick and secure.
Where I Hired my Virtual Assistants – I hired my first virtual administrative assistant from oDesk – a company located in California that has VAs, of all kinds, around the globe. If you've previously tried to find a VA online, you know it can be frustrating. However, once you get to the oDesk website, you're going to breathe a sigh of relief, because they have amazing tools on their website to help you choose the perfect VA.
Even though I praise oDesk, realize they don't do All of the work for you. You'll have to do some footwork before finding your perfect VA, virtual receptionist, etc. "There's someone for everyone" – the saying goes. So what will you have to do? First, after you post your job, you'll probably get over 100 applicants within the 1st 24 hours. You can hire from this pool or, you can do a search of your own and invite qualified candidates to interview for your position. This will dramatically reduce the number of candidates you have to filter through. What criteria you search for, in either scenario, will depend on what work you want the VA to do. I'll share with you what I did below.
What to Look for in a Virtual Assistant – The first time I hired a virtual office assistant, I was looking for someone to do Internet research. It was important to me that they speak perfect English, so, rather than waiting for applicants to reply to my job listing, I took the proactive approach. I used oDesk's search criteria to search for a virtual administrative assistant who had "call center" experience and then I invited them to interview for my position. I entered "call center" in the search box on oDesk. I figured that if a VA has worked in a call center where they have to communicate with English speaking customers (you know, like those Dell call centers they have in Asia), that they spoke good English. This brought up many candidates. Then I filtered that list for other criteria like feedback scores from other jobs, I looked for test results on English tests, Microsoft office applications like excel and also, what their hourly fee was for certain jobs they have done. (All VAs post their desired rate as well as all previously charged virtual assistant rates.) It's a good indicator of what you might charge.
After I came up with my list, I then contacted a few of them and invited them to interview for the position. After conducting the interviews, I hired 3 for a test run. I gave each a short assignment which lasted no more than one hour. I also paid them for the 1 hour test. The one who performed the task the best, I hired for a much longer assignment.
I got 12 months of work done in just 3 months by hiring virtual assistants. It's by far the one of the best business decisions I have made.