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Please submit general IT questions to our IT Expert. The takeITon campaign does not operate a technical helpdesk. For technical queries, businesses should consult a specialist IT Consultancy.

Q. How can I protect my computer from viruses and spyware?

A. There are a large number of providers of antivirus software. Most of these products can be obtained on a subscription basis and may cost around £100 per year. Others may be available free of charge. Look for a supplier that has good widespread use as they will generally be up to date with the latest malware threats.  To install the software you will normally visit the vendor’s website and then follow the instructions to set up on your PC. Some computer hardware suppliers may sell you a new PC with a free trial subscription for some antivirus software. This is a useful service and worth taking advantage of, even if it only lasts for 60 days before you need to register.

Antivirus/malware suppliers include:

F-PROT
SOPHOS
SYMANTEC 
LAVASOFT
MICROSOFT
MCAFEE

Businesses in the East of England can access free guides on a broad range of IT topics. Click here to view a takeITon Guide to computer viruses and malware:
http://takeiton.businessitguide.com/guides/view-guide/25/ 

Q. What can I do to increase traffic to my business website?

A. One of the most powerful aspects of the internet is the ability for websites to link to each other. By having links to and from other websites, businesses will drive more traffic to their site. Inward links from other sites to yours are the most valuable, but they must be relevant to your site's content.

It is possible to buy website links from marketing companies which aggregate websites and will interlink them in an effort to drive up traffic. However, the focus should still be on quality and not quantity. Businesses should also be wary of this method as many of the better known web search engines will filter out data from such aggregated sites; some will even place sites that are seen to be falsifying links in this way onto a black list to be ignored in all future searches.

Using Pay-per-Click marketing can give very quick results in getting a placement at the top of search results. Google Adwords dominates this form of website marketing and provides detailed instructions on setting up well targeted campaigns. You specify the maximum amount you are prepared to spend per day and also the duration of each campaign, so costs are totally controllable.

Businesses in the East of England can access free guides on a broad range of IT topics. Click here to view a takeITon Guide to search engine optimisation:
http://takeiton.businessitguide.com/guides/view-guide/69/ 

Q. Is it safe to take payments online?

A. There are many benefits to setting up an online payments system. Once setup, online transactions are generally simple to manage and enable you to focus on sales and marketing rather than the logistics of order payment. However, taking payments online is possibly the most risky activity many small businesses will undertake. As a small business owner you will be aware that there is a lot of credit card fraud going on, and online transactions are one place where it is prevalent.

Unfortunately the onus will very much fall onto the small business merchant if anything goes wrong with the transaction, and payments can be retrieved if there is a dispute with the customer. If you decide to build a shopping website you MUST ensure that it is secure and will be free from abuse. You must take professional security advice and have your site audited by an objective, independent expert.

Businesses in the East of England can access free guides on a broad range of IT topics. Click here to view a takeITon Guide to Online Transactions:
http://takeiton.businessitguide.com/guides/view-guide/71/