Guides

All OwnerSec guides

Plain-English guides for UK SME owners. Start with passwords if you share logins in chat. Use the phishing first-hour guide if someone clicked a bad link. Use the week-after cleanup checklist once containment is done. Use the lost-laptop checklist the day a device goes missing. Test backups before you need them. Come back for Cyber Essentials and endpoint protection when buyers or insurers ask.

Cyber Essentials

Cyber Essentials password and MFA requirements in plain English (2026)

What Cyber Essentials v3.3 actually asks about passwords and MFA, in plain English. The 12 character rule, lockouts, cloud MFA and the auto-fail to avoid.

How to share passwords securely at work: a UK small business guide

Share logins through a password manager, not WhatsApp or a spreadsheet, and change shared passwords when someone leaves.

Incident response

My business email has been hacked: what to do now (UK SME guide 2026)

Take the account back, reset MFA, remove forwarding rules, protect payments and tell the right people.

NordPass vs 1Password vs Bitwarden for UK small businesses (2026)

Business plan prices, shared vaults, staff leavers and EU data storage compared, with our pick for each type of team.

Staff leaver checklist: lock down access when someone leaves (UK SME guide 2026)

What to do before, on and after someone's last day: Microsoft 365, MFA, shared passwords, devices and banking.

PHP2Shell PHP vulnerability: what UK small businesses should do (2026)

Check if your website runs on PHP, ask your host to update, back up, update WordPress, and look for signs of trouble.

Cyber insurance

Cyber insurance: what UK SMEs actually get asked (2026)

What insurer questionnaires ask about MFA, passwords, backups and Cyber Essentials, and how to prepare honest answers before the broker chases.

Using ChatGPT and AI tools safely at work: UK SME guide (2026)

What not to paste into ChatGPT, Copilot or Gemini, training settings, AI notetakers, and a one-page staff AI policy.

Remote-work security checklist for UK owner-managers (2026)

MFA, password manager, encrypted laptops, home and public Wi-Fi, file sharing, and payment rules before anyone works away from the office.

How to set up MFA in Microsoft 365: a beginner's guide for UK SMEs (2026)

What MFA is, authenticator vs SMS vs keys, turn-on steps for you then the team, and common Microsoft 365 gotchas.

Incident response

The week after a phishing click: UK SME cleanup checklist

Password resets, MFA re-enrol, vault hygiene, and when file recovery is safe versus restore from backup.

Incident response

Lost or stolen staff laptop: UK SME day-one checklist

Locate, lock or wipe, revoke Microsoft 365 and Google access, rotate vault items, and when file recovery helps.

Is OneDrive a backup? What UK SME owners need to know (2026)

Why OneDrive and SharePoint sync is not a backup, what Microsoft 365 keeps for you, the gaps, and a simple plan to close them.

Authenticator apps and MFA for UK SME staff accounts (2026)

Named accounts, authenticator apps, Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, and MFA on the company password manager.

Password managers

Best password manager for a small UK business (2026)

1Password vs Bitwarden vs Keeper - which fits a 2–50 person company, and how to roll it out in a week.

1Password vs Bitwarden for a 10-person UK company (2026)

Head-to-head for a typical 8–15 person firm: polish vs price, sharing, and what to do this week.

Do UK SMEs need a VPN? When yes, when no (2026)

Travel hygiene tool or wasted spend? A checklist so you buy (or skip) for the right reasons.

Cyber Essentials for beginners: what it is, what it costs and how UK small businesses start

What the certificate covers, common myths, and a starter checklist before you talk to a certifier.

How to stop staff reusing passwords (without being the IT guy)

A one-week owner-manager plan: tool choice, shared logins first, MFA, and a two-line house rule.

Shared logins: why shared Gmail is a liability for UK SMEs

Shared office@ passwords feel efficient until a leaver, a phishing click, or a buyer questionnaire.

Best antivirus for small business UK: cheap endpoint protection for under 50 staff (2026)

Defender for Business vs Bitdefender GravityZone - cheap enough, visible enough, revocable on day one.

Incident response

What to do in the first hour after a phishing click (UK SME guide)

Contain, reset, tell people, then harden. A plain-English first-hour checklist for UK SME owners.

Backup and ransomware restore test for UK SMEs (2026)

Why a quiet restore drill beats a backup icon you never click. 3-2-1, quarterly test, and a one-week checklist.

Invoice fraud and change-of-bank-details checklist for UK SMEs (2026)

How new bank details scams work, what to verify before you pay, and a one-page finance checklist.

Do UK SMEs need security cameras for a small office or home office? (2026)

When a door camera helps, when to skip it, and how it sits beside passwords and MFA.