Workers are in many cases the last line of defense against threats such as malicious code, disgruntled employees, and third parties with ill intentions. Therefore, your work force should be educated on what your organization considers appropriate security-conscious behavior and what security best practices they need to incorporate in their daily business activities. You can find free guidance, samples, and templates for creating a security awareness program at the Microsoft’s Technet Security Center.

That’s just one aspect of TechNet, a free online resource for IT professionals. In addition to awareness resources, it has information, guidance, and tools for managing the Microsoft IT infrastructure, including a malware removal starter kit and a data-encryption toolkit for laptops.

Since many IT managers focus on job specialization, Microsoft introduced TechCenters to improve accessibility to content by job specialization.

The Security TechCenter (www.microsoft.com/technet/security [2]) is localized in 13 languages and is focused on offering high-quality security content, including on-demand Webcasts, distribution of Microsoft security bulletins, prescriptive guidance, and training tools to assist IT Professionals in the day-to-day job of securing their company’s computing environment.

The TechNet Security Center is designed for all IT professionals; however, there is a Small Business Security page [3] and a Mid-Size Business Security page [4] designed to provide resources to help small and mid-size IT professionals protect their businesses and reduce the risk from viruses, hackers, and other threats.

By Thomas Dawkins, Group Product Manager, Trustworthy Computing Group, Microsoft Corporation.