ICT Management > Strategy & Planning
Using Your Computer > Using the Internet & Email

Small Organisations and Computer Equipment

By Lasa Information Systems Team

A significant number of smaller organisations operate without owning their own equipment. This raises a number of issues about information security and how to make best use of loaned or shared access equipment.

For many small organisations with little income and no paid staff buying a computer is a significant commitment, especially in the current economic downturn.

Many organisations will therefore use other approaches to using ICT. This may come in the form of donated or loaned hardware or they are using community resources such as libraries or an internet café.

Loaned equipment

Many organisations are instead using hardware that has been given to the organisation by a supportive patron. As with accepting second-hand computers (see the Knowledgebase article Accepting Second Hand Computers) it is not just about getting free equipment!
The first question that any organisation should ask if they are offered loan equipment is “does it do what we need it to?”. Think about what the organisation wants to use hardware for and evaluate if the donated machine can achieve this.

If the hardware is fit for purpose it is important to agree responsibilities between the loaner of the hardware and the organisation benefiting from it. It is important to clarify who is responsible for…

• the operating system and license?
• icensing any other software on the computer
• any repairs required to the hardware
• insuring the hardware?

Obviously the answer to these questions will depend on the person or organisation loaning the equipment. There is no right or wrong answer but it is essential that there is clarity of there the responsibility lies.

Using shared computers.

Although using shared computers is a really good way of being able to carry out work for your organisation, especially for being online there are a number of considerations and steps that you can take to make your information more secure:

1. When online do not check the “remember my ID on this computer” box. Many browsers and websites offer this option. This is useful if you are the only user of a computer but should not be done for shared computers.
2. Never leave the computer un-attended when logged in. This may seem obvious but it is a common occurrence. People will often log on to a computer to “secure” its use but it is best not to take that chance.
3. Always sign out of any websites (and computers) completely. Even if you have not requested the computer to remember your login details it is important you always sign out, otherwise it is like leaving the front door unlocked for any thief. You could be updating information on your website and if you don’t sign out it is possible someone else could get in to the back-end of your website and cause a large number of problems.
4. Clear the browsers cache. Every computer will (if settings have not been changed) keep a copy of sites you have visited. It is good practice to clear the cache when you have finished using a shared computer, some shared computers will not allow this and the cache will be cleared automatically, it is worth checking though.
5. Watch out for the “shoulder surfer”. If you find it annoying people reading a newspaper over your shoulder on the train then apply the same vigilance to people lurking over your shoulder when you are entering any password information when using a shared computer. This is especially true if you are in a busy internet café.
6. Ensure password security – never save and change them regularly. Just a reminder again never to save passwords on a shared computer. Good practice for passwords is to change them regularly, this is especially important if using shared computers. Changing passwords is a really good way to stop unwanted access to information. This is especially important on shared computers because of possible spyware on the computer.
7. Avoid secure transactions as much as possible.

How much can you do?

With the growth of web 2.0, see the Knowledgebase article Web 2.0 For The Voluntary Sector there has been a huge expansion in what organisations can achieve from shared equipment using online resources.

This includes:

1. Blogging – as long as you have an internet connection small organisations can set up and run their own blog.
2. Document sharing, tools like GoogleDocs – allow a number of people to work collaboratively on documents.
3. Meeting scheduling – tools like eventbrite enable orgasnisations to arrange meetings and record attendees.

For small organisations managing how ICT is used is vital no matter who owns the hardware they are using. To discuss this issues further visit the knowledgebase hardware forum, if your organisation is in this position it would be really useful to hear about your experiences.