Have you been given a clean IT Bill of Health?

What do I mean by that? I mean, that nobody has access to files, folders, and data who shouldn’t. Devices that you’ve decommissioned can no longer access your network. No new devices are currently connected to the network that you don’t know about. Everyone is using strong passwords to protect network access. Permissions for active users are in alignment with your security policies. You don’t have ports open to the internet for potential external penetration. Etc., etc., etc. You get the point.

I know that running a full blown network audit can be disruptive, very time consuming, intrusive and costs a lot of money. But you can catch 90% of all issues, and 100% of the most common ones, by asking your IT administrator to run a Network Detective scan. Ten minutes is all it takes for an average size network… 20 to 30 minutes tops for a large enterprise. There are no agents to install, and you don’t need to disrupt the business and anyone from doing what they’re doing. Just run the Network Detective scan software on your domain controller, input a few pieces of configuration data, and the rest happens automatically.

This software is so quick and easy to use, we usually run it for free for new customers just to show them what they’re missing in terms of proper network security and administration. Then, for a nominal fee, we perform quarterly network assessments for all of our clients. We do this as both an insurance policy against new hidden security holes and to uncover any new undocumented discrepancies between network configurations and company policies.

Have you been to your “IT doctor” lately for a regular check-up? For most small businesses with simple networks, an annual network assessment might be enough. But you should start with a quarterly check-up to see if anything new shows up. If everything shows up clean, try another one in 6 months. If you still get a clean bill of health with no new uncovered issues, then it’s probably safe to wait a full year until your next IT health check.

What do you think of the concept of having an outside “IT Doctor” to do an independent “check up” on your network’s health?