Whether you look at it as the end of summer or the beginning of fall, the season change offers a convenient point on the calendar to change passwords and review certain security basics.Security issues, challenges, changes come at small and midsized businesses so constantly that it's all too easy to forget to schedule routine matters such as password changes.

That's where the calendar can come in handy. Today, the first day of fall (or autumn if you want to be more formal) provides a good chance to implement a four-times-a-year password tuneup, for instance.

In addition to setting yourself and your employees a regular, seasonal discipline of changing passwords (and making sure strong passwords are in place throughout your company), the change of seasons -- or other, calendar-marked schedule -- creates a several-times-a-year schedule for looking over some other security basics.

Review your company's password policy -- and if you don't have one, this is a good time to create one and distribute it to your staff.

While new passwords are being put in place, make a quick physical inspection for password and other security-related scribbles and Post-its in plain view. Remind employees that passwords should never be written down and stored in the workplace.

With summer formally over, odds are your summer help, if any, is long gone. Seasonal workers' passwords and log-ons should be long gone by now, too, but it's worth re-checking to be sure.

By seasonally regularizing those few steps, you're regularizing your company's password practices and policies, and, if you stick to it, doing so four times a year.

It ought to take less time than dealing with these matters on an occasional or improvisational or whenever-you-feel like it basis.

And it will almost undoubtedly take less time than raking those leaves that will all too soon begin to fall