A person joins or leaves: managing access safely
A practical joiner, mover and leaver process covering accounts, devices, MFA, business information and verification of access removal.
Knowledge centre
IT knowledge centre
Practical guidance and terms used in the configurator, for people responsible for business IT.
Find a guide for the task at hand
Instructions, checklists and practical scenarios for business owners, employees and people responsible for IT. Search by topic or choose an area.
Backup restore testing: from selecting data to accepting a working service
A practical recovery exercise covering isolation, timing, data checks and evidence that the business service works again.
IT inventory and documentation: organise knowledge about business systems
Build a useful record of devices, services and access, then keep it current for outages and changes of IT provider.
Protect your business
Cybersecurity in practice
Start with networks and accounts, then plan how to recognise and respond to threats.
Business networks: Wi-Fi, firewalls and remote access
Separate visitors from business resources and limit the impact of a compromised device.
Read guide →Secure sign-in and user permissions
Named accounts, roles, sessions and removing access when employment ends.
Read guide →Business passwords and password managers
Organise business passwords, share access safely and respond to exposure.
Read guide →MFA, authenticator apps and passkeys: what to choose
Compare SMS, authenticator codes and FIDO2, and plan account recovery.
Read guide →Common cyber threats to small businesses
Phishing, payment fraud, ransomware and outdated software: reduce everyday risk.
Read guide →Suspicious sign-in or attack: the first steps
What to do after a fake sign-in page, compromised email or encrypted files.
Read guide →VLAN best practices for a business network
Network zones, traffic rules, access and trunk ports, and isolation tests.
Read guide →IT support and business continuity
How to choose IT support for your business
Questions about scope, response times, responsibility and billing that help you compare providers.
Read →Prepare for a conversation about IT support
A short checklist to help define scope, priorities and working arrangements.
Read →A backup is only the beginning
Plan your backups and verify whether your business can recover access to its data after an incident.
Read →MFA and phishing: protecting business accounts
Why an additional sign-in factor matters and why people still need clear rules for suspicious messages.
Read →IT glossary
Plain explanations of infrastructure, security and support terms.
WorkstationPhysical serverVirtual serverEquipment ageSite / branchResponse timeSLAOperating systemUTM / firewallVPNBackupMFAActive Directory / domainMicrosoft 365Initial IT reviewPhishingRansomwarePasskey / access keyEDRNetwork segmentationVLANRPO and RTO
- Workstation
- A computer or laptop used for work. Count the devices that require support.
- Physical server
- A physical device providing server services, including a virtualisation host. Administration of the host and guest systems must be scoped separately.
- Virtual server
- A server virtual machine, running on local infrastructure or in the cloud. Do not count its physical host again in this category.
- Equipment age
- The approximate age of most computers. It helps plan maintenance and replacement; age alone does not determine a device’s condition or security.
- Site / branch
- A separate office or location with infrastructure covered by support. Multiple branches usually need separate network and travel arrangements.
- Response time
- The agreed time to start handling a request. It is not the time to repair the fault. Support hours, priorities and clock rules must be agreed.
- SLA
- An agreement explaining support hours, incident priorities and response times. A response within two business hours means work starts within that period; it does not promise a repair within two hours. The agreement should explain when timing begins and any exceptions.
- Operating system
- The software a computer or server runs, such as Windows, Linux or macOS. Choose the main system; discuss mixed environments during the review.
- UTM / firewall
- Equipment protecting and controlling network traffic. The calculator assumes one managed device; additional devices and licences require clarification.
- VPN
- A connection used to access agreed network resources remotely. Access and device requirements should be defined.
- Backup
- A recovery copy that allows data to be restored to an earlier state. Synchronisation alone is not a complete backup plan.
- MFA
- Multi-factor authentication: confirmation using more than one category of evidence.
- Active Directory / domain
- A service for centrally managing user accounts, computers and permissions. It needs administration, documentation and a recovery plan.
- Microsoft 365
- A set of services and applications including email and collaboration tools. Features depend on licences; IT support does not automatically include licence fees.
- Initial IT review
- An assessment of infrastructure, access and risks before ongoing support begins. Migrations and modernisation need separate scope and pricing.
- Phishing
- An attempt to impersonate a trusted person or business in a message or website to steal passwords, obtain money or make you open a harmful file. Familiar branding does not prove a message is genuine.
- Ransomware
- Malicious software that can lock a computer or encrypt files. Criminals demand payment and may also threaten to publish stolen data. Paying does not guarantee recovery.
- Passkey / access key
- A way to sign in without typing a service password. You confirm access with a fingerprint or PIN on a phone, computer or security key. The credential is bound to the legitimate service, helping resist fake sign-in sites. Plan recovery if a device is lost.
- EDR
- A tool that monitors activity on computers and servers to detect suspicious behaviour and help IT respond. It may allow an affected computer to be isolated from the network. It needs configuration and someone to investigate alerts.
- Network segmentation
- Dividing a business network into zones with controlled communication. Visitors might reach the internet but not company files. VLANs help separate zones; firewall rules control traffic between them, limiting how an attack can spread.
- VLAN
- A virtual local area network: a way to divide shared network infrastructure into separate groups of devices. For example, visitors can be separated from staff computers without separate cabling. Firewall rules control which connections are allowed between groups. Explore VLAN best practices →
- RPO and RTO
- Recovery objectives describing acceptable data loss and target recovery time; they need suitable design and testing.
Website and email security
Website and email security
Website and business email threats, security updates and practical guidance on CERT Polska tools.
CERT Polska and moje.cert.pl
An introduction to CERT Polska, the free moje.cert.pl portal and practical use of domain assessment results.
Secure email: SPF, DKIM and DMARC
Check business email authentication, understand the CERT Polska test and deploy DMARC without blocking legitimate messages.