Everybody needs a little help now and then. Small businesses certainly need help on a regular basis, especially when new and striving to become bigger businesses. While you might think the best information will come from your bank or your accountant, that's not always the case. You may find great information in odd places, like the official Michigan Web site or Home Depot. Yes, Home Depot.

Dan Lohrmann, Chief Information Security Officer for the State of Michigan, introduced me at my keynote speech at the ITEC Detroit show and sat on my “How to Fix IT” panel of experts. Dan’s a smart guy and his enthusiasm for good security and best practices in technology bursts past the borders of Michigan. The state collaborates with several other states in multiple programs to provide better security for state government, which you would expect, and information to citizens, which surprised me.

In a fit of Texas pride, I checked the Texas.gov Web site. Alas, Dan and his cohorts in Michigan beat the Texas Web site like a dirty rug when it came to cybersecurity information for citizens. Michigan has plenty, but I couldn't find a thing on the Texas site. So much for Texas pride.

Luckily, citizens from every state can read the information here. During the panel discussion in Detroit, the issue of Acceptable Use Policies came up and how to use one to protect your company from employees surfing, um, inappropriately. Having an Acceptable Use Policy spelling out what's appropriate and not, even though you may think common sense would be the guide, makes it easier to discipline and, if necessary, fire employees causing trouble. Since lawyers love discrimination lawsuits against employers, covering your, um, tracks with paper when discharging an employee will reduce legal exposure considerably. Michigan's Web site has a policy you can download and use for no charge.

The Michigan Department of Information Technology site has much more than just a few policy templates. You'll also find training about all types of security, including identity theft and credit card security. One thing I really appreciate (Thanks, Dan), is that backup ranks No. 4 on the Security Best Practices list. Not everyone considers backup a security issue, but I do, and I'm glad to see Michigan agrees.

James Gaskin writes books (16 so far), articles and jokes about technology and real life from his home office in the Dallas area.