CAIDA
CAIDA, which stands for the Cooperative Association for Internet Data Analysis, says they "provide tools and analyses promoting the engineering and maintenance of a robust, scalable global Internet infrastructure." Frankly, the word "robust" makes us cringe anymore, but we should all be more forgiving of CAIDA -- because this site may be the best of the anti-virus lot. Organizationally, CAIDA is a collaborative of government, commercial and educational concerns that respond to network and computer security threats. Looking for technical info, advice, or that next step? Start here.

Incidents.org
This site is short on design, but an absolute treasure in terms of virus- and security-related content. It offers up a higher-level technical menu, more sophisticated and broader in its scope. Still, if security is your direct responsibility, or belongs to someone in your employ, you'll wanna see this.

IT Zone
The Information Technology (IT) Zone is a technology-focused resource center from Ziff Davis Media, with their expressed role to serve small- to medium-sized businesses. The ITZ contains resident content, links and other resources to expose those with few or no access to IT resources some level of same. From networks to systems to automation to data management to file backups, the ITZ ought to be on your list of must-visits. This site is growing, but has some lofty ideals. If it lives up to its promise, it will make a positive difference on the health of your business.

Microsoft Security
This site from Microsoft is dedicated to enabling the small business and home computer user to protect their computers, networks and files. The site is full of info regarding network security, wireless, firewall management, identity management, and much more. The info available here can help large companies, too, by helping their employees that work from home improve the security of those boxes that interact with networks at work.

From strategies to tactics to specific recommendations, Microsoft has started what may be a decent resource for the manufacturing professional.

Microsoft's TechNet
Love 'em or hate 'em, MS isn't going anywhere for a while. And with their success and saturation across our systems comes a preponderance of security issues. MS TechNet offers alerts and patches for security issues that anyone running a MicroSoft product or server can put to good use.

Sophos
Sophos is a worldwide company committed to virus and spam detection, prevention and protection for business environments. Of course, they have products for sale – but their site also contains a wealth of anti-virus info that can help you prepare your own strategies for inoculating your own business. The site is simple; content is available in many languages and is easy to find.

Trend Micro
Trend Micro sells antivirus solutions, and this site contains some of your typical, sales-related fare and content. But they also offer some monitoring utilities for current virus threats and information about security and hoaxes, and genereal security advice.

Tucows
This site sprang from humble beginnings—a guy, a computer, a phone line, and some passion—to become one of the Web's premier sites for downloads of low-cost (and sometimes FREE) software and utilities. A must for smaller/medium-sized shops or individuals looking for security solutions, or Web site or computer network improvements.

And by the by, there's something else you can get from this site, and it's not a download or utility: this site was built from just a few links to what you see now GRADUALLY OVER TIME. Manufacturing concerns of all sizes should take note of (and emulate) that strategy for their own Internet/Intranet/Extranet applications.

ZDNet Tech Update
The ol' standby for computer- and Web-related issues, ZDNet (just select "Security Update" from the menu) contains a wealth of info that can help you understand, keep up with and deal with Security Issues ranging from virus promulgation to firewalls to virtual private networks (VPNs).

Whether this is over your head, or is just your techie cup of tea, there's a plethora of info here that can help you enable and protect your business and customer relationships.