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Computer Competency Test For Non-IT Hires?
wto605 writes "As computers are used for more and more vital business functions, small businesses must have office employees who understand the dangers of, and how to recognize and avoid, malware, spam, and phishing. After having been stung by monthly virus cleanups (at $75 an hour) due to an otherwise competent office manager, my parents have realized they need to be aware of their employees' computer skills beyond the ability to type a letter in Microsoft Word (currently the closest thing they have to a test of computer competence). The problem is, as a small business, they have no IT expert who would be able to judge a potential employee's competency. I'm wondering if anyone knows of a good way to test these security/safety awareness skills, such as an online test, a set of questions, etc. I have already pointed them to Sonicwall's Spam and Phishing test, but it definitely does not cover all of the issues facing computer users."
Anybody can have a bad day.
Just because someone is competent with a computer doesn't mean they can't be the vector for an infection. If you start with that premise you'll realize how completely futile it is. What you need instead is a tutorial program to reduce risks. Things they should and shouldn't do, etc.
And proper anti-virus processes and procedures.
competency tests are all racist. they only seek to restrict minorities. you cannot legally require these - the courts have ruled. live with it, right wing tea bagger.
Why offer general internet access from office PCs anyway? Lock them down tight. If you want to be nice, have an unlocked PC or two with a completely separate Internet connection that can be used during break times for any minor personal details - checking personal email, reserving plane tickets, etc.
A lot of people can recognize such things already. They just don't want to take the time to bother with it. So dock the cleanup costs out of their pay, suddenly they'll be a LOT more careful about what they trust.
When I was younger, the mother of one of my friends was bad enough about it that her computer needed wiping on a weekly basis. My friend wasn't much of a computer person, but he at least knew what not to do. Unfortunately he was stuck using the same machine and so still had to deal with it. For a while I was fixing it for them for free since he was a friend, but when I started charging $20/hour for cleanup his mother changed her ways amazingly quickly.
GENERATION 667: The first time you see this, copy it into your sig on any forum and add 1 to the generation
But the place I work at gave me a computer with Ubuntu installed to use. I requested this after the McAfee incident last week. Apparently I'm the only one...
Get parallels or VMware if they really need Windows from something, have them run it in a virtual machine. Yes there may be an upfront cost to switch from MS Office for Mac from the windows version, but if the VM gets infected, nuke the VM and install a fresh one.
Something we learned real quick was that higher up front costs with macs were quickly recovered since we weren't dealing with these type of problems on a regular basis.
Hell, I have programmers that are good programmers but frankly don't know the first thing about systems administration.
"The problem with socialism is eventually you run out of other people's money" - Thatcher.
I've started seeing companies go the route of getting rid of workstation computers. You, dear employee, get to bring in your own computer and connect up to our virtual workspace environment. No data ever ends up on your computer, and only a couple of key ports are open to our virtual space. The virtual space can't get to the Internet, you don't have admin access, etc. You can do whatever you want on your own computer, but when you get a virus, crash the OS, bust a hard drive, it's your problem to contact your computer vendor and get it fixed. You get a day to get that resolved, or we start making you take your vacation days or get docked pay until you're back up and running.
May sound like crap, but there are potentially some real benefits to getting workstations off of IT's plate.
----- Connection reset by beer
Have the pre-hire install Ubuntu. No prompt, no job. Ubuntu can do anything.
But from what I've seen there's no good answer. Management in small businesses (and in business in general) is usually not concerned with someone's computer security skills or credentials, unless they're hiring someone for an IT position. Even then, it's not uncommon for someone without basic skills to make the cut.
As an IT manager (or, the only IT manager) at a smallish (25 seat) company, I've been confounded by the fact that management doesn't seem to care about basic IT literacy. They're much more concerned with how qualified someone is to be an accountant, an admin or a lawyer (and I'm not picking on any of these professions -- just using a few examples).
Unfortunately most people who possess these skills (valuable non-IT-related skills) don't know much about computers -- and the older, more experienced (and thus more valuable) employees tend to know even less.
I once tried to get a basic IT related questionnaire added to our interview process for all employees. Management wasn't interested because they feared that it might disqualify an otherwise valuable employee. I've long since come to terms with the fact that at most companies, IT skills are only important for IT-related positions. Sure, they may make an applicant slightly more attractive, but it really has no influence over the hiring process.
But since you ask the question -- if it were a perfect world (at least, according to my definition), we wouldn't hire anyone for a desk job that couldn't type at least 40 wpm. We wouldn't hire anyone who couldn't explain the differences between a good and bad password. We wouldn't hire anyone anyone who thought thinks it's safe to give their password out to a stranger or to click on a link that they didn't trust.
But that's not the world we live in. Unfortunately, if my company were to stick to those guidelines we would have to downsize dramatically. We'd definitely stop growing.
The truth is that people who aren't involved in IT related work generally don't care about IT. And while I find it frustrating, I can't blame them. For most people, particularly older people, IT just doesn't make sense. Unless and until it does, good luck!
Facts have a liberal bias.
but you can't fix stupid.
Hire *good* people.
Step 2: work on developing their skills.
You see, what you're asking is like "how do I handle all the fame and adulation after I become a rock star?" The hard part is finding good people. If you can find 'em, they're worth training because they're *trainable*.
So if you've got somebody who can do a great job and adds to the team, but doesn't know what the hell phishing is, don't worry about that. You can teach a good hire what phishing is. You can't teach a bad hire who knows what phishing is to be a good employee.
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
Got 10 out of 10, but doubt few people could, especially with the limited information shown.
Some of those they consider "legitimate" are very borderline in my view, especially that UPS one.
Also, the testing site makes a big deal about misspellings and formatting in some of the "phishing" emails. And yet the The Bank of Choice one, that's supposedly "legitimate", has an obvious spelling error in it too!
Ron
To test if they're too noobie for the job, design a form on paper that phishes their info. Personal info, more private that your regular form at Burger King. If they fall for it, kindly show them the door. Hire the ones that alert you of the problem.
Kind sir, computers are "fad". A mere inconsequential passing fancy. Computers are either used as tools of amusement (aka Windows, the formerly best $80 Solitaire game money could buy) and for destruction of the world (aka, hypertrading systems on Wall Street and cruise missile guidance systems).
Why does a small business need computers? Think about how much more efficient you could be without all of those mumbo-jumbo computers and all the click-happy workers amusing themselves while back-doors and trojans compromise your network and data (on company time of course).
Carbon paper, filing cabinets, and shredders. This is the path to an efficient small business. You may even want to question why your small business needs so many phone lines. Sorry I could not be more helpful, but just step back and ask yourself, "is all this technology really necessary?" I think you will agree, it is a fad that simply over-complicates everything.
Myself, I'm mostly a self-taught computer geek. Many of you are also or are at least aware of acquaintances or friends who get by being self-taught, I've always been a firm believer in competency tests vs. degrees.
Work experience is another consideration, as I would test the competency of either a grad or a long-running self-taught previous employee somewhere else. The applicant's general knowledge may be good and well documented, but how are they able to specialize when the need arises?
I was able to ge promoted upwards to the career I have now based on the merits of my passion to learn -on the job or not- as well as well as my ability to apply new ideas quickly. Not everyone is as lucky whether they have the skills or not. which is why I believe a lot of budding IT professionals and/or programmers would get in the door a lot easier with a competency test. On the flipside, maybe less losers would get in the door too.You never know, it could happen. :)
The European Computer Driving License may be helpful here. See http://www.bcs.org/server.php?show=nav.5829 for a syllabus.