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As you prepare your budget for the upcoming year, it’s crucial to recognize that technology investments are key drivers of success, not just operating costs. But what is a budget without a solid plan? Click on the graphic to see 5 strategies you be...
Cybersecurity is a major concern for every company today, as data is becoming exponentially more important in nearly every aspect of business. With increased usage comes increased risk, of course, especially for sensitive data and information. There are many reasons to have a DRP, or...
Having a disaster recovery plan is essential for any business, as it results in better recovery of data when an unexpected event such as a weather incident or cyberattack causes an outage. If you’re in the healthcare business, or if you deal with sensitive patient...
Businesses that are concerned with what would happen if a disaster struck are often focused on what’s known as a disaster recovery plan. This plan takes a well-rounded look at all potential threats to the business — from natural disasters to cyberattacks — and creates a strategy...
When disaster strikes, can your business still remain operational? If you don’t have a disaster recovery plan in place, and a disaster recovery site to relocate to, your company may experience significant disruption to operations. Whether the incident in question is a natural disaster, weather...
As we continue to suggest things you can do to protect the integrity of your company and customer data, here is a blog that covers an old level of security that we still rely on everyday. That protection is the password, so let’s talk about...
Even the simplest business possesses data that is proprietary and confidential. Customer and prospects lists, sales data, and personal data about customers such as their credit cards, names, addresses, birth dates. Maybe even medical information or social security numbers. If any of this data is...
One of the biggest questions we get from clients and prospects is “What can we do to protect ourselves from cyber attacks?” It is a sensible concern. A cyber attack that freezes operations or seizes data can ultimately shut a company down for good. There...
You should be using an array of security tools to protect your business data. Some can be highly sophisticated, but there is one tool that we all still rely on heavily to secure access to our business systems and data. The password. But they can...
If you haven’t already considered migrating your data storage to the cloud, you are probably in the minority of businesses. While it may seem intuitive that somehow your data is safer if it is stored “ at home,” on location at the site of your...
Cloud storage has transformed the way businesses store and manage data, but for some, it also raises concerns about data protection. This blog post discusses a few security measures that can be deployed when using cloud storage. Data Encryption One of the fundamental security features...
Your Cloud Questions: Answered The cloud is now the preferred method for data storage. However, justified or not, there are a few worries you might have about migrating to a cloud solution. Isn’t my data safer at home? While cloud storage offers enhanced security measures,...
In this blog post, we will explore how cloud storage can support your firm. For SMBs, data loss or system failures can be catastrophic, leading to significant financial losses, brand damage, and even business closure. Having reliable backups and disaster recovery solutions is essential to...
Your employee quit your organization. Make sure your data hasn’t When someone new joins your organization, how do you manage their onboarding? Chances are, you already have processes in place for everything. The employee paperwork is taken care of by the HR, the on-floor assistance...
System & software updates: Why you shouldn’t be skipping them for later We all know how annoying it can be when you get a pop-up asking if you’d like to update it or worse still, your system starts to update itself. The general tendency is...
A “Free” Covid Vaccine can give you a virus (and infect your IT network) With the pandemic still raging in most parts of the world, cybercriminals have come up with yet another novel technique to lure unsuspecting victims and steal their data–the free Covid-19Vaccine scam....
What does cyber insurance typically cover? Pandemic or no pandemic–cyber insurance is a must-have. And, not just that, some of your clients may insist that you have cyber insurance coverage before they trust you with their data–especially if you are operating in the B2B market....
Why does your business need cyber insurance? The WFH model makes businesses much more vulnerable and easy targets for cybercriminals. Some of the reasons include A lot of people accessing their work data from home networks, which lacks high-level security The inability of businesses to...
Do you have staff working from home? With the pandemic still around, the answer to that question is most likely a “Yes”. And, that makes sense too, why risk the safety of your staff when you can operate equally well or even better with them...
The challenges in establishing data security best practices in a WFH environment The COVID-19 pandemic changed the landscape of the corporate world drastically by making WFH, mainstream.. What does that mean for your business data? How does it change your business’s cyber risk profile? Download...
Demystifying Ransomware: Understanding its Impact on Businesses In today’s interconnected digital landscape, cyber threats continue to evolve and pose significant risks to businesses of all sizes. Ransomware, in particular, has emerged as one of the most notorious and destructive forms of cyberattacks. In this blog...
Managed Service Providers are experts in protecting against cybercrime, just as you are an expert in producing and selling a product or service. Focus your energies where they are put to the best use. Your MSP will work to protect your business from ransomware attacks....
In today’s digital age, businesses face an ever-increasing threat from cybercriminals, and one of the most prevalent and damaging forms of cyberattack is ransomware. Ransomware attacks can cripple an organization, leading to data breaches, financial losses, and reputational damage. However, by implementing robust cybersecurity measures...
Leave virus protection to your MSP Doctor Cyberattacks on individuals and businesses for nasty purposes is nothing new. Stealing data, disrupting business, national activities, and just causing general mayhem has been going on for as long as there has been a digital world to attack....
Passwords: boring but they matter Passwords are something that you and every employee can use to protect your data and maintaining this important protective wall against criminals is relatively easy. Take the time to follow basic good practices, most of which are relatively easy to...
Four easy ways to thwart cyber criminals With all the talk about cybercrime and the recent spate of headlines about ransomware, concerns for your data security and the safety of your business keep growing. Avoiding a data breach is critical to your business, so it...
Three common sense data safety reminders When it comes to smaller and medium sized businesses, anything that distracts from the day to day concerns about bringing in revenue tends to fall by the wayside. With that in mind, we have put together a list of...
No matter how much people hear “data safety,” they still can get sloppy about their cybersecurity. One of the reasons is that there are so many constant reminders that the warnings just become that much more background noise. Today, let’s do a quick review of...
Password Hygiene Best Practices According to a report by Verizon, 80% of data breaches are caused by weak or stolen passwords. In addition, the report found that 60% of users reuse the same password across multiple accounts, making it easier for hackers to access multiple...
Effective password management is an essential aspect of cybersecurity. With the increasing number of online accounts and services, remembering all those passwords can be a daunting task. Password management tools provide an effective solution to this problem. This blog discusses the benefits of using password...
If the lock to your home’s main door breaks, do you fix it or just let it be? My guess is, you would get a locksmith to fix it for you at the earliest. And, what do you do if you lose the key? Use...
5 Ways SMBs Can Save Money on Security Small-to-medium sized businesses and large enterprises may seem worlds apart, but they face many of the same cyber-security threats. In fact, in recent years, cyber-criminals have increasingly targeted SMBs. This is because it’s widely known that...
Phishing email statistics suggest that nearly 1.2% of all emails sent are malicious, which in numbers translated to 3.4 billion phishing emails daily. Extortion of over 33 million records is expected to occur by 2023 with a ransomware or phishing attack occurring every 11 seconds....
Four Key Components of a Robust Security Plan Every SMB Must Know Most businesses are now technology dependent. This means security concerns aren’t just worrisome to large corporate enterprises anymore, but also the neighborhood sandwich shop, the main street tax advisor, and the local...
Just Because You’re Not a Big Target, Doesn’t Mean You’re Safe Not too long ago, the New York Times’ website experienced a well-publicized attack, which raises the question – how can this happen to such a world-renowned corporation? If this can happen to the...
Stay Secure My Friend… More Hackers Targeting SMBs Many SMBs don’t realize it, but the path to some grand cybercrime score of a lifetime may go right through their backdoor. SMBs are commonly vendors, suppliers, or service providers who work with much larger enterprises....
Cloud Monitoring Can Be the Difference Maker for SMBs It’s a fast-paced world. Not only do people want things, they want things right now. This sometimes-unnerving need for instant satisfaction has only intensified now that we have Wi-Fi and mobile devices that keep us...
Why Hybrid Clouds are More Than Just Another Trend It should come as no surprise that many small to midsize business owners take pride in overseeing every aspect of their startup business. Naturally, many are apprehensive when it comes to surrendering control of their...
Why More SMBs are Turning to the Cloud to Reduce TCO More small and mid-size businesses (SMBs) seem to be taking the initiative to learn more about the benefits of the cloud. Determining why SMBs have this sudden keen interest in the cloud isn’t...
How SMBs Can Utilize the Cloud To Build Their Business There has been a lot of talk lately about the cloud and its ability to put small to midsize businesses (SMBs) and startups on a level playing field with large global enterprises. Can this...
Why SMBs Must Proactively Address the Threat of Mobile Hacks More cyber criminals are targeting small-to-medium sized businesses. One reason for this is too many workplaces have insufficient bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policies in place. Some have none at all. Although firms are generally more knowledgeable...
3 Things to Consider Before Jumping Into BYOD You’ve read it time and time again. “Bring Your Own Device” isn’t a trend, it’s the future. Workplaces where companies let workers use their own devices for work purposes are the new normal. BYOD attracts new...
A Smarter Approach to Mobile Device Management More people today use personal mobile devices like smartphones and tablets for business purposes. Such devices, coupled with greater Wi-Fi accessibility and cloud services, have empowered us with the ability to access data and do business from...
4 Essential Pieces of Any Small Business BYOD Strategy Believe it or not, once upon a time, kids at the bus stop didn’t have cell phones and the mobile device strategy of many businesses was typically “you’ll take what you’re given, refrain from using...
Keep Your IT Guy and Outsource IT Services, Too Everyone in the office loves Eric. Sporting a different ironic t-shirt everyday, Eric is the one we call when technology spits in our face. Whether it’s a slow system, a bug that needs to be...
How to Trim the Fat From Data Center Costs When smaller businesses look to cut costs, they commonly take shortcuts that are risky to their bottom line. They may go out of their way to avoid upgrading dated hardware, buying software licenses, or increasing bandwidth....
Click, Click, BOOM – You’re in Business But Is Your Technology Ready? It’s a fast business world. Brilliant business ideas can be conjured up at some hipster-filled vegan coffeehouse, a website is thrown together, and poof… in no time at all there is a living,...
Three Steps To Fix IT Management for SMBs Small-to-medium-sized businesses (SMBs) tend to have a more difficult time managing IT than larger enterprises. Despite being as technology dependent as larger enterprises, SMBs have tighter budgets and fewer resources to devote to IT management. This...
Inquiring SMBs Want to Know… What’s the Difference Between a Help Desk and NOC? It’s no secret that any growing small-to-medium sized business must monitor and manage its business technology in the most cost-efficient way. The tricky part is figuring out how to do...
Understanding Managed Services and How They Benefit SMBs Small to medium sized businesses (SMBs) receive a lot of calls each day from slick sales people peddling the next technology trend that’s going to save them money and revolutionize how they do business. They’re all...
Are Managed IT Services Right For You? A Few Things to Consider How do you get a small business to recognize the value of manages IT services? In the start-up environment, we encounter an eclectic bunch of personality types. There is a reason people...
Is That a Business Continuity Plan in Your Pocket or a Bunch of Jargon? Technology is full of difficult jargon. To further complicate things, certain terms are often used in a different context between one publication or service provider and the next. An example...
8 Cold Hard Truths for SMBs Not Worried About Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity The foundation of any successful business continuity solution is the ability to retrieve data from any point in time from anywhere. When the topic of data recovery and business continuity comes...
Think Quicker Recovery Time, Not Quicker Backup – While incremental backups are much faster than executing a full-backup, they also prolong recovery time. In the event of data loss, a full restore will require loading the most recent full backup and then each incremental...
Your website represents your business and so building and maintaining it need to be of primary concern to you as a business owner. We often find business owners struggling with their websites saying things like: “My website looks great, but I am not...
Did you know that 50% of small business owners think their businesses are too small to be targeted by the thieves of the virtual world? Contrary to popular belief, 72% of hacker attacks often happen to smaller firms – firms with less than...
Many SMB owners think IT downtime only costs them a few productive hours, but there’s a lot more at stake when your systems go down. Customer satisfaction and loss of brand integrity are just two of the key losses apart from the more evident costs...
Did you know that this year there will be more mobile web surfers than stationary ones? That means more prospects are accessing your business website more through their smart phones, tablets or other mobile devices than with a laptop or PC. If you...
Seven things that pandemic taught us about data security As workers fled home to handle everything remotely, organizations had to quickly address new threats and questions that were raised about maintaining the integrity and safety of their data. From the IT perspective, the pandemic… Reinforced...
Stars of the show: Cloud and VOIP Despite annoying challenges presented by the abrupt shift to the WFH model thanks to the pandemic, there were some tech heroes that saved the day. These two made WFH possible. The cloud The cloud is that platform whereby...
Two reasons to pay attention to software Software matters. What your employees use can impact your firm and your customers. Pay attention. Make rules. New software applications In the pre-pandemic phase, even when companies had staff working from home they were fewer in number and...
Access matters when things go to **&?)! The COVID-19 pandemic brought a multitude of lessons along with it, on both the personal and professional fronts. From the business perspective, the pandemic turned things upside down across almost every industry. One of the biggest trends that...
Outsourcing: an overview Outsourcing today simply involves using external entities to handle specific, specialized business functions so that organizations can focus on their core competencies. The idea of seeking outside support for areas that are not core to a business is many decades old. However,...
Can you do this at home? Outsourcing HR, real estate portfolio management, tax audits, etc is fairly common nowadays. This whitepaper discusses another function which, when outsourced, can bring greater efficiency and effectiveness to your business’s overall functioning–IT. IT is one of the core functions...
Outsourcing has become a fairly common element in business processes today. What started off as a means to cut business costs and take advantage of cheaper resources based offshore has now become an essential part of running a business today. (Its definition doesn’t necessarily include...
Quality matters: Get the best IT is one of the core functions of any business. There’s no aspect of a business that is untouched by IT. Outsourcing IT is a big decision and it is not surprising that many organizations choose to manage their IT...
Train your staff: Your first and best firewall Protecting your organization against cyber threats can seem like a challenge that involves extremely high-tech wizardry, sophisticated knowledge etc.. Much of this is true. Protecting your data and your company against cyber threats requires skilled professionals. But...
Three best practices to protect your data. While malware and phishing attacks have evolved over time and are constantly becoming more and more sophisticated, there are ways to protect your data from them. Here are two best practices to observe no matter the size of...
Ransomware vs. other malware attacks There is no end to the volume and type of malware out there in cyberspace. For a very long time, organizations were aware that viruses could attack their data, render it corrupted and unusable. They were also aware that malware...
Everyone wants to go phishing. You are very much aware that your company or organization is at risk, every minute of the day, from cyberattacks, malware, ransomware, and even benign errors that can put your data at risk. Even a failed backup procedure could mean...
You’ve been hijacked! Has it ever happened to you that you opened the web browser on your PC and it looked a bit off? Then you perhaps did a Google search for something or tried to access your email only to have a dozen ads...
When someone new joins your organization, how do you manage their onboarding? Chances are, you already have processes in place for everything. The employee paperwork is taken care of by the HR, the on-floor assistance and other training is probably provided by a senior team...
VPN 101: Remote access and safety As we know, the Coronavirus pandemic has brought about a paradigm shift in the way businesses function. Home is now, ‘The Office’. With WFH taking root, companies and employees alike are experiencing so many benefits that it looks like...
System & software updates: Why you shouldn’t be skipping them for later We all know how annoying it can be when you get a pop-up asking if you’d like to update it or worse still, your system starts to update itself. The general tendency is...
A “Free” Covid Vaccine can give you a virus (and infect your IT network) With the pandemic still raging in most parts of the world, cybercriminals have come up with yet another novel technique to lure unsuspecting victims and steal their data–the free Covid-19Vaccine scam....
Cyber Security training basics: Password best practices & phishing identification As a business you know the importance of ensuring that your data is safe from the prying eyes of cyber criminals. While anti malware software programs and firewalls are essential to doing this, another important...
What does cyber insurance typically cover? Pandemic or no pandemic–cyber insurance is a must-have. And, not just that, some of your clients may insist that you have cyber insurance coverage before they trust you with their data–especially if you are operating in the B2B market....
Why does your business need cyber insurance? The WFH model makes businesses much more vulnerable and easy targets for cybercriminals. Some of the reasons include A lot of people accessing their work data from home networks, which lacks high-level security The inability of businesses to...
WFH means more vulnerability to cybercrime. Here are some methods to stay safe WFH opens up whole new horizons in terms of flexibility, productivity, and cost savings. But, it also opens your business up a little more to cybercriminals, as you can’t have a hands-on...
Data security in a WFH setup Do you have staff working from home? With the pandemic still around, the answer to that question is most likely a “Yes”. And, that makes sense too, why risk the safety of your staff when you can operate equally...
The challenges in establishing data security best practices in a WFH environment The COVID-19 pandemic changed the landscape of the corporate world drastically by making WFH, mainstream.. What does that mean for your business data? How does it change your business’s cyber risk profile? Download...
4 Lesser-known benefits of hiring an MSP You are probably aware of the most common benefits of signing up with an MSP such as On-demand IT support: Having an MSP ensures that you get priority IT support when you need it. Scalable IT infrastructure: With...
Whether you have your in-house IT team, or have outsourced your IT needs to be taken care of by a Managed Services Provider, you need to know what are the possible risks to your business from the IT perspective. Having an IT risk checklist can...
What to consider when investing in cyber insurance As a business, you are probably aware of the term, cyber insurance. With the cybercrime rates rising consistently, cyber insurance is increasingly becoming a necessity for survival. Here are a few things to consider before you sign...
Cyber insurance: What’s the cost and what does it cover Cyber insurance covers a range of elements, the most basic being the legal expenses incurred as a result of falling victim to cybercrime. This includes legal fees, expenses, and even any fines that you may...
Cyber insurance 101 What is cyber insurance With cybercrime becoming a major threat to businesses across the world, irrespective of their size, cyber insurance is fast becoming a necessity more of a necessity than a choice. However, the concept of cyber insurance is still fairly...
How the Coronavirus crisis is the gateway to the other kind of virus To say the COVID-19 pandemic gave the whole world a tough time would be an understatement. Economies collapsed, joblessness rose, people lost their loved ones and livelihoods to the disease. Adding to...
Your employee’ social media account was hacked. How does it affect you? Did you know that social media accounts are one of the favorite targets for cybercriminals? You may think cybercriminals would prefer to hack online banking accounts or shopping accounts, but that doesn’t seem...
Are your data security measures strong enough? Let me start this blog by asking you a question. How did your business respond to the security threats brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic? The reason we are discussing this is because a recent survey conducted by...
WFH is here to stay. Are you ready? The year 2020 was nothing like what we had seen before. At a certain point in time, it felt like the world would come to a standstill. With lockdowns and travel restrictions imposed across the world, businesses...
Data security in the ‘Work-from-home’ environment 2020 threw a lot of challenges at the world. One of them, from the business perspective, that overshadowed the others was cybersecurity. How to ensure data safety and security in an environment where businesses can’t really control what employees...
How the cloud is a solid survival tool for your business during a crisis One thing the Coronavirus pandemic taught businesses is the fact that it is important to move with the times and adopt and adapt to the latest technology. While you don’t have...
Tech agility: A must-have for crisis survival It is a known fact that survival of any species depends on its ability to adapt to change. One major change for businesses in 2020 was the need to switch to the work-from-home model to keep things running...
What the COVID-19 crisis taught us about the cloud and business continuity The COVID-19 pandemic has changed life as we know it, in many ways. While its impact on our day-to-day lives has been huge, the impact has been even more severe from a business...
What’s your argument against an SLA with an MSP? (And why it doesn’t hold water) Part-2 In our last blog post, we discussed 3 reasons SMBs usually cite for not signing a service level agreement with an MSP. In this blog post, we suggest how...
What’s your argument against an SLA with an MSP? (And why it doesn’t hold water) Part-1 Managed IT services are becoming more popular by the day. Businesses, big and small, are bringing managed service providers onboard to handle their IT requirements. The bigger IT players...
Equip your business with the IT foundation it needs to compete and win In a recent industry survey, it was found that one of the biggest factors holding back small and mid-sized firms from achieving their business goals was IT. One may argue that smaller...
Transitioning from average to best-in-class with IT Many small or mid-sized businesses don’t focus much on IT as they should. For a lot of them, the focus is on customers, ensuring they have enough staff to meet their client needs, expanding their business and driving...
WFH: Remote Data Access and Data Security This may be the single biggest concern you may have to address when looking at WFH. When your employees are working in your offices, you control their methods of access to company data. For example, when they are...
Three different issues about WFH you may have not considered. Today’s blog is a look at three different issues that don’t get much coverage in discussions of the implementation of a WFH policy. Much of the conversation tends to focus on productivity and oversight issues....
WFH: How we got here. If you’ve been in the workforce for a while, you remember what life in the office was like a few decades ago. The uniformity of the structure was pretty much the same, no matter what office you worked in. It...
The Positives of WFH You are probably caught up in overseeing a Work-From-Home policy that you may have never intended to initiate. It can be concerning, and there are a lot of policy issues that an employer has to consider when they begin to implement...
Keylogger 101 We have all heard of hacking, virus, ransomwares, etc. as they keep coming up in the news every now and then. But, have you heard of keyloggers? In this blog post, we discuss keyloggers and how they can be used to gain unauthorized...
Understand your Cookie to manage it better! There are 3 kinds of cookies, each having different functions. One of them is session cookies. If it weren’t for session cookies, you wouldn’t be able to do any online shopping, banking, social media posting or any other...
Social media security Social media is a great tool for SMBs to get the word out about their products and services, and also to build their brand and connect with prospective customers. It offers paid marketing avenues as well such as PPCs, marketplaces, etc., But...
How to manage cookies effectively so they are not a threat to your data Avoid third-party cookies: Third-party cookies are primarily used for online advertising and retargeting, so you won’t miss anything significant by avoiding these cookies. So, whenever you see a cookie alert on...
Five reasons to invest in a password management system ASAP Password management tools are software programs that put up enough security and safety mechanisms in place to ensure there’s no password breach. Your employees can use the program to generate random, high-security passwords as per...
Gaining a competitive edge during the pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic has been tough on everyone. The lockdowns, the need to follow social distancing–though indispensable–have been tough on individuals and also resulted in a lot of revenue loss to businesses. For SMBs though, this time has...
Insider threats: Not as uncommon as you think When we speak of cybercrime and data theft, we typically think of seasoned cybercriminals. But you’d be surprised to know that the cause of businesses becoming victims of cybercrime is most often their own employees–sometimes on purpose,...
Eight common password mistakes to avoid Research points out that more 80% of data breaches happen due to password hacking, meaning that poor password hygiene is responsible for a majority of cybercrimes that follow data breaches. To make sense of this statistic better, let’s first...
Best practices for remote desktop access Remote desktop access is an essential in these days when businesses are expected to be responsive to their clients almost 24/7. Moreover, there has been a surge in the remote desktop access practice with coronavirus pandemic. But, did you...
Three things to consider when investing in new software When running a business, you will often find yourself in need of new software tools to enhance the productivity, efficiency, effectiveness and even the security of your various business processes. These software programs range across a...
When you visit a site, probably for the first time or from a new device or browser, you will see an alert that mentions the site uses Cookies to offer you a more personalized experience and asks you if you are okay with it. Let’s...
As a business, there is no doubt today that you need to make your presence felt on major social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. But social media also exposes you to cybercriminals. In this post we talk about the steps you...
Four reasons to opt for the co-managed IT services model Co-managed IT services model is one in which the business has its own IT team, but still contracts with an external managed services provider for certain services. In this blog we discuss four benefits of...
Why MSP relationships fail A lot of SMBs opt for managed service providers who can help handle their IT requirements, and for the most part, it works well. Almost everyone knows the benefits of having a MSP manage your IT. Increased cost savings, ability to...
Best practices for data safety in a remote work environment Do you have staff working from home? Of late, due to the Coronavirus crisis a lot of businesses shifted to the remote working environment. While it raises some data security concerns, they can be overcome...
Thinking of hiring a Managed Service Provider, but not sure how to go about it? Here are a few things to do before you zero in on one. Figure out what you have already The first step in a good plan is to figure out...
Multi-Factor Authentication 101 You have probably already come across the term multi-factor authentication. The concept is not new, but has caught on really quick of late. In this post, we will discuss what multi-factor authentication is and why you should be adopting it. What is...
5 Lesser known benefits of choosing the co-managed IT model Even companies with IT staff on their payroll can’t deny having an MSP onboard offers benefits that exceed what they get from having just an in-house team. This blog explore 5 lesser known reasons why...
4 things to do to ensure your business continuity planning is a success Working on creating a contingency plan for your business? That’s great! Here are 4 things you need to consider when preparing your new business continuity plan. Audit of your business continuity plan...
How safe is your data when your staff works from home? The Coronavirus crisis has changed the world as we know it. With social distancing, lockdowns and work from home becoming the new normal, cyber criminals are exploiting the situation to their gains. This whitepaper...
What are the essentials of a business continuity plan? An unexpected emergency can wipe out your business! A business continuity plan can help it survive. But, what should a good business continuity plan cover? Read this blog to find out. A list of your key...
3 Reasons to prepare a business continuity plan if you haven’t done so already A business continuity plan is the blueprint you need during an emergency to keep your business running smoothly. If you don’t already have one, here are 3 key reasons why you...
Business continuity planning: A must-have, not a luxury Business continuity planning is not an alien concept anymore. In recent times we have witnessed a lot of events that only serve to further intensify the need for business continuity planning. Examples include natural calamities like hurricanes,...
Partnering with a managed service provider (MSP) is one new approach being used by many companies like yours. Experienced MSPs have access to newer tools that reduce costs by automating many routine in-house labor intensive processes. Break-fix is labor intensive, and labor is one of...
Did you know that 50% of small business owners think their businesses are too small to be targeted by the thieves of the virtual world? Contrary to popular belief, 72% of hacker attacks often happen to smaller firms – firms with less than...
Research has revealed that over half of all users end up opening fraudulent emails and often even fall for them. Phishing is done with the aim of gathering personal information about you, generally related to your finances. The most common reason for the...
Many SMB owners think IT downtime only costs them a few productive hours, but there’s a lot more at stake when your systems go down. Customer satisfaction and loss of brand integrity are just two of the key losses apart from the more evident costs...
Did you know that this year there will be more mobile web surfers than stationary ones? That means more prospects are accessing your business website more through their smart phones, tablets or other mobile devices than with a laptop or PC. If you...
In an age where most business happens online, not showing up in Google search results can really hurt you. While there’s no real shortcut to showing up consistently on web searches, there are a few quick fixes to get your site to show up on...
1. Backup Files Every Day – As catastrophic as data loss is, the number of businesses that still are not backing up their network is unbelievable. According to the Symantec Small to Medium Size Businesses (SMB) data, only 23% of SMBs are backing up their data...
4 things to consider before starting a WFH initiative In our last blog, we talked about 5 things to plan and analyze before you initiate a WFH policy. In this blog, we address four interrelated issues that need careful consideration. Equipment – It should be...
Implementing work from Home: Planning Matters Work From Home, also commonly known as telecommuting, is a fairly general term that encompasses a range of workplace policies. Most generally, it refers to a policy permitting an employee to work from home (or any other approved remote...
Why we still worry about Work from Home policies If you have been in the workplace for a few decades, you may remember that the idea of telecommuting began to appear in the late 90’s as Internet access from home began to become more common....
7 ways a Work From Home policy can help your business In the last several years, the concept of WFH has become increasingly more popular. Though some still remain skeptical, it has been gaining in popularity and become more widely accepted among management circles. That...
Cyber hygiene: The key to your business’s good cyber health We all know that basic hygiene is a must to lead a healthy life. Did you know that the same rule applies to IT as well? There’s something known as cyber hygiene that plays a...
Free Internet Access? Don’t fall for this one One of the popular internet scams that has been doing the rounds since 2017 is the one about “Free Internet”. This scam seems to resurface and somehow manages to claim quite a few unsuspecting victims. Here’s how...
Online shopping? Watch out for these red flags Who doesn’t like online shopping? Online shopping has opened up a whole new world to us. Get whatever you want, whenever you want, without wandering from store to store. It doesn’t matter if it is too hot...
DNS Cache poisoning: What every SMB must know In one of the most common poisoning attacks, the attacker poisons the DNS Cache with the aim of leading visitors to a fake website. In a DNS cache poisoning case, the attacker gains control of the DNS...
Here at Huntington Technology, we are all working to keep everyone safe while assisting you with your technology. Below are some basic guidelines that we are having our team follow and we’re asking that our clients do their best to follow as well. Each day...
Protecting yourself against poison attacks Data poisoning by way of logic corruption, data manipulation and data injection happen when the attacker finds a way to access your data set. The kind of poison attack varies depending on the level of access the attacker is able...
Poison Attacks: A quick overview Smart technology is everywhere. Not just in our offices, but even in our day-to-day lives with tools like Google Home and Alexa becoming a commonplace. With technology becoming smarter every minute, the risks are increasing by the minute as well....
Employee training will form a big part of the cybersecurity initiative that you will take on as an organization. You need to train your employees to identify and respond correctly to cyberthreats. Here are some employee training best practices that you can make a part...
Strengthening your cybersecurity policies Formulating strong IT policies and laying down the best practices for your staff to follow is one of the best ways to prevent your business from becoming a victim of cybercrime. In this blog, we explore the various areas your IT...
Our very own Steve Krasnick, founder and CEO of Huntington Technology, provides tips on remaining productive (and safe) when working from home along with a slew of other great subject matter experts dealing with how to handle business from a financial, technological, and efficiency perspective...
For any organization, its employees are its biggest assets. But, what happens when your biggest assets turn out to be your greatest threats or liabilities? That is how cybercrime can change the game. In a recent study, it came to light that employee actions account...
Huntington Technology wants to make sure with our current climate that everyone is staying safe not only physically, but virtually as well. Below are some great tips and tricks that MalwareBytes recently shared. We'd like to recommend that everyone take a few moments to review these as a way to keep your digital life protected.
3 steps you can take to protect your data in the Cloud Moving to the Cloud offers tremendous benefits for SMBs that range from lower IT costs to any-time access to data and certainly more reliability in terms of uptime. But, data in the Cloud...
Is the Cloud really risk-free? The Cloud presents plenty of benefits that make it a very attractive choice, especially for SMBs who don’t want to be burdened with higher in-house IT costs, putting your data in the Cloud is not risk-free. Just as storing data...
Things to consider before switching to the Cloud More and more businesses are switching to the Cloud to store their data and rightly so. The Cloud offers numerous benefits over the traditional, physical on site server. For example, Anytime, anywhere access to your data: Information...
Get smart about smartphones With flexible working schedules, remote teams and Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies in force, it is has become commonplace for employees and business owners alike to use smartphones for work purposes. A quick reply to an email, sharing that sales...
Why you need the cloud? When talking to our clients, we have noticed that SMBs often think the cloud is something for their bigger counterparts to explore. We hear objections like, “But, it’s too complicated.”, “The cloud sounds expensive.”, “We are a small business, we...
Don’t sign up with that MSP just yet! The decision to sign up with a MSP is a big one–you are essentially trusting someone with the backbone of your business–your technology infrastructure, so you need to make sure you pick someone with whom you can...
The biggest threat to your I.T infrastructure: Your own employees Did you know that your employees often unwittingly ‘help’ cybercriminals gain access to your system? Often, employees play a part in compromising the security of your IT infrastructure, even without them realizing it. For example-...
3 things your Managed Services Provider (MSP) wants you know Are you considering bringing a MSP on board? Or perhaps you already have one. Either way, for you to truly benefit from your relationship with a MSP, you need to build a solid bond with...
Don’t make these IT mistakes as you grow! During the course of IT consultancy, we come across a lot of clients who are not happy with the way their IT shaped up over the years. They feel their IT investments never really yielded the kind...
Hiring seasonal staff? Here are a few things to consider from the IT perspective In many industries, there are seasonal spikes in business around specific times. For example, CPAs/Accounting firms, though busy all year, generally see a spike in business around the time of tax...
3 Things to consider before you sign-up with a cloud services provider More and more SMBs are migrating to the cloud and that is not a surprise considering the numerous benefits the cloud can offer them. For a SMB, the cloud is a cost efficient...
Ransomware emails: How to identify and steer clear of them Ransomware attacks have suddenly become more prevalent. Each year sees more of them. Hospitals, NPOs, shipping giants, etc., have all been victims of ransomware attacks. Your business could be too! Did you know that emails...
How good is your password? Did you know that having a weak password is one of the biggest security risks you face? This blog focuses on the best practices related to passwords that you can follow to ensure passwords are not your weakest link. Avoid...
Think you are too small to be targeted by a cybercriminal? Think again. When I meet with clients, especially SMBs, I often hear them say that they feel their business is too insignificant to be a target of cyber-criminals. Why would someone go after...
Keeping your data safe: Access Control Cyberattacks are a commonplace today. Malwares such as viruses, worms and more recently ransomwares not only corrupt your data or hold it hostage, but also inflict irreversible damage on your brand and business. As a norm, most businesses these...
Cyberattacks and the vulnerability of the small business You cannot go a day without reading about some big name company or even government agency being hacked and critical data being compromised. What you don’t see in the media is that most of the attacks happen...
Have you been focusing on software packages and anti-virus tools to protect your data from hacking? That may not be enough, because it overlooks one of the biggest causes of security breaches. All of the security software and expertise in the world is useless if...
Yes, today’s blog is about office phone systems. You have one. They are dull, necessary, and no one wants to deal with them. They need to be re-configured for new employees, they’re confusing, and the telco lines probably cost you more money than you’d like....
The cloud refers to using off site computing resources and storage to supplement or even replace the use of on-site/in-house resources. Instead of buying hardware and software to support your business, you are basically outsourcing this set of tasks. There are 4 benefits for the...
Recently, we talked about ways the cloud brings value, business protection, and economies of scale to the smaller firm that they could never achieve by themselves. Today, we look at a final benefit of the cloud. Protection against on-site disaster – If a disaster strikes...
Many small firms are pretty busy handling their own business, and don’t give much thought to what they would do if a natural disaster from a bad snowstorm to much worse hit their physical location and cut power, or physical access to the building. What...
If you’ve been following the news, the Internet of Things is getting increasing attention. You’re probably also thinking this is some Silicon Valley fancy thing that will take years to reach the rest of us. Not really. You probably already have some items of your...
So you feel relatively comfortable that you have created cyber security around your data and your employees are trained to avoid security errors in their day-to-day business ( a MAJOR source of security breaches, by the way.) However, you may be overlooking one area where...
Any business that stores customer payment information must comply with a number of state and federal regulations. The legal, healthcare, and financial sectors have a number of laws tailored specifically for them (such as HIPAA or CISPA). If you run almost any kind of...
Not-for-profits have an unusual issue regarding security. Firms that have trained, paid full-time employees have a strong level of control over the actions of their workers. NPOs, however, may rely heavily on volunteers whose time in the office may be minimal and sporadic. You may...
Did you know the illicit trading of personal data was worth $3.88 billion last year? Cybercrime is a growing industry known for its innovation. It goes far beyond the image many of us have of some hacker kid in his basement. Many who engage in...
If you are a smaller Not-for-Profit, it is likely that your organization has been driven from its inception by individuals strongly motivated with a passion for their cause or humanitarian goal. As a result, it is also possible that the leadership has little interest in...
You can have all the locks on your data center and have all the network security available, but nothing will keep your data safe if your employees are careless with passwords. Change Passwords – Most security experts recommend that companies change out all passwords every...
How the cloud saves smaller firms money OK. You pay someone to store all of your data in the cloud, as opposed to keeping it on your own server and backing it up. And you pay on an ongoing basis. How is that possibly going...
Data regulation and our business: You are probably regulated these laws Small firms are probably aware that there are laws regulating the handling of data, but they probably assume that these apply only to larger firms and that they are too small to have any...
A security hack doesn’t have to mean theend of your company Statistics are showing that each year over 50% of small firms are victims of a cyber attack or data breach. Why does this matter? Most smaller firms have not prepared business continuity plans to...
Don’t steal… It isn’t nice and makes youvulnerable to security hacks Don’t steal. It isn’t nice. And… it make you extremely vulnerable you security hacks if you “steal” software packages. Smaller firms often will use unlicensed software packages to save money. This is especially true...
Cybercrime: In-house protection that only YOU can provide From the political world to the corporate, all we hear about is hacking, hacking, hacking. Everyone gets hacked, data is stolen, etc. So, the cry goes up for better security protections for everyone’s data. Firewalls,...
VoIP: A money saving solution for your company’s technology backbone When small business managers think about their IT infrastructure, they think about their employee’s mobile devices, cabling, Wi-Fi, laptops, a printer, and Internet connectivity. These are the basics of their IT infrastructure. However,...
SAFETY PUP SAYS…. Update One thing smaller firms and individuals are often reluctant to do is download updates to their operating systems and individual apps and programs. Why? Well, because it takes time and you have to reboot the device. Other reasons are a...
With Ransomware, The ONLY Cure Is Prevention It just keeps showing up in the news. Ransomware seems to just not come to an end. If you haven’t heard, ransomware is a particularly nasty virus that freezes access to your data and then...
We’re back. In the last post, we talked about building momentum toward a trade show exhibition. Today, let’s look at your efforts during the show itself.You already should have sent out a reminder the morning of the show in posts on all your...
Going to a tradeshow for the first time? Don’t make the mistake of viewing this as a 1-2 day discreet marketing event. Instead, view your exhibit at a tradeshow as the central feature of a much longer and holistic marketing plan that builds...
Smaller firms often struggle just to keep up with maintaining a website. Worrying about a scaled down version for mobile users seems like just too much trouble. Today’s blog is all about why this matters to you and why should you bother with...
You can have all the locks on your data center and have all the network security available, but nothing will keep your data safe if your employees are sloppy with passwords.There are many ways data can be breached, and opening some link they shouldn’t...
“You’re FIRED!” ( now give me your password)Losing an employee is not usually a good experience. If they leave voluntarily, you lose a valuable asset. If they have to be fired, you have the arduous task of the progressive discipline process and the final...
Defense in Depth Part IIIn our last blog we started talking about the different layers of security necessary to fully defend your data and business integrity. Today we will look at the human aspect of it, and network defenses. The human layer refers to...
In the 1930s, France built a trench network called the Maginot Line to rebuff any invasion. The philosophy was simple: if you map out all the places an enemy can attack, and lay down a lot of men and fortifications at those places,...
Phishing Scams – A People ProblemThere are some things that only people can fix. There are many security risks to which your data is susceptible, but there is one method that remains a wonderfully effective hacking tool. That is the phishing scam. This...
This cyberattack scheme hasn’t garnered nearly as much attention as the usual “break-in-and-steal-data-to-sell-on-the-Internet version,” but it can be even more debilitating. Ransomware attacks have begun appearing in the last few years and its practitioners are so polished that in few cases they even...
You hear on the news all of the time about big cyber attacks on large corporations, and even government agencies. The trouble with this news coverage is that is suggests a distorted view of where cyber attacks are taking place. These attacks are...
Hearing “all of your confidential information is extremely vulnerable, we know this because…” is bad news, but whatever follows the ellipses determines just how bad. Consider two scenarios. “All of your confidential information is extremely vulnerable… we know this because a hacker...
Benefits of Using VoIP Technology More and more businesses are implementing Voice over Internet Protocol or VoIP technology because of its versatility, flexibility and cost effectiveness. With new developments in this technology, the scope of its applications is widening. It is becoming...
BYOD: Why is This Concept So Attractive to Employees? Bring Your Own Device, or BYOD, to work was an idea a few years ago that is becoming a reality very fast. To use your personal smartphone, tablet or laptop for work seems...
VoIP: A New Dimension in Communication for SMBs Voice over Internet Protocol or VoIP is about a decade old technology that is gaining popularity among individual subscribers and businesses. In conventional systems, phone calls are made using telephones or handsets that are...
SMBs: It is Hackers v. You – Don’t Let Them Score Selling stolen IDs and other personal data is a lucrative trade for hackers. They are always looking for sources where vital information is stored. As a small to midsize business you...
Business Disaster: What Threatens Small Businesses the Most? There are many threats to the integrity of a small business, and not all of them are as dramatic as a cyberattack or a hurricane. Every small business needs to do a risk assessment to...
Data Protection and Bring Your Own Device to Work BYOD refers to a firm’s policy of allowing employees to use their own personal phones, tablets and laptops for all their work applications.This is a pretty common policy, and it has many benefits,...
Everyday Human Error Can Affect Data Protection Are you under the impression that data loss is all about putting up firewalls to protect against evil cyber attacks? Some of the biggest sources of data loss include sloppiness, human error, and just plain...
Disaster Recovery Plans: Do You Have One? Disaster recovery and business continuity plans are issues that almost all small businesses fail to think about. More frequently, they decide they haven’t the resources to address such “unthinkables.” If your business was down for 1-2...
Why Small Businesses Shouldn’t Avoid Making Disaster Recovery Plans. Entrepreneurs and small businesses, especially ones that are fairly new, often don’t think about making plans to recover in case of a disaster. However, it is the smallest business that most likely has...
Outsourcing? Really. Its OK: How it can save time and money Almost by definition, small business owners and entrepreneurs cringe at the concept of outsourcing. Those who start their own companies like the control and autonomy it provides them. Unfortunately, that preference...
Run your Business, not an IT Company You went into business because you have an interest and expertise in some particular product or service. You began the firm to offer that product or service, but a dirty little problem came along with...
The Cloud: Are there security issues? For many, the idea of offloading their data to another physical/virtual location can seem like a security risk. It seems counter intuitive that moving data away from “ home” is safer. But is that really true? Any...
Loss of Data: Causes and Prevention The adoption of technology from the simplest of matters to the most complex problems has rendered us heavily dependent on it. We love paying our bills minutes before they are due. We enjoy seeing loved ones...
Be Proactive: How to Avoid Potential Network Failures For small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs), an IT network failure can be devastating because they don’t have the resources of large corporations to bounce back from such disasters. Preparation against such devastation may be...
It is Heaven! Using the Cloud to Challenge Big Business Has anyone suggested you begin moving your business to the cloud? Cloud data storage or cloud computing? What is this, anyhow? And isn’t it something for huge companies? In the last...
Smaller firms less likely to keep up to date on the basics that protect them. On the never ending problem of cyber security, small firms often do not have any/much in-house IT support. As a consequence, they may be less likely to...
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 11, 2018 | CONTACT: Steve Krasnick, 248.357.7200 Protecting Clients’ Data from Ransomware, Theft, and Natural Disasters Southfield, MI (May 11, 2018) – Huntington Technology, Inc. today announced it has achieved exclusive Enterprise partner status with Datto, the leading provider of total data...
Cyberattacks and the vulnerability of the small business You cannot go a day without reading about some big name company or even government agency being hacked and critical data being compromised. What you don’t see in the media is that most of...
Denial is not a solution: Something you owe your customers and your employees Why do so many people procrastinate about making a will? Why is it so hard to get young people to buy health insurance? Because it is one of those...
Limited investment capital and planning for trouble Small businesses often fail to take the time to make business continuity plans. One aspect of a business continuity plan involves developing plans to handle the loss of physical infrastructure and hardware. Unfortunately, smaller and...
Data Protection Laws and PIIs Last week we discussed the overall concept of “Data Protection Laws,” which govern the handling and securing of specific data. While these laws are wide ranging, most of these laws reference Personally Identifiable Information (PII) This “refers to information that...
Are you subject to Data Protection laws? This blog introduces a new topic that many may be unaware of: Data Protection laws. These are laws that define fully, or in part, what type of data is covered by government regulations, proscribe general...
Ransomware Part II In our last blog, we explained what ransomware is, and why it can be an especially troublesome virus. Today, let’s look at what you can do to avoid falling victim. Prevention is the best cure. Follow standard “data...
Ransomware part I The daily reports of cybercrime are important reminders about the need to protect your business from malicious behavior that could threaten the success of your business. There are so many different things that can attack your computer, steal your...
HT’s own William Bluford was at DattoCon16 this year and accepted an award on our behalf for the Datto Hall of Fame! Huntington Technology Selected for Datto Hall of Fame During DattoCon 2016 Dateline, Date – Huntington Technology today announced the company was selected as...
What does end of support for Windows 2003 mean for you? After July 14, Microsoft will no longer be issuing security updates or providing support for any version of Windows Server 2003. The end of life of Windows Server 2003 has serious implications to your...
Greetings and News from the team at Huntington Technology Hello HT business colleagues and friends, Best wishes to all of you for a very happy, healthy and safe holiday season! We want to keep you informed of important tech news and happenings at Huntington Technology. We...
Black Friday and Cyber Monday are just around the corner, and companies will be kicking off their holiday shopping madness. It’s also a time for thieves to be on the look-out for ways to tap into vulnerable networks and systems. If you run a small...
Moving Day! Is your company growing? Have you outgrown your current office space and looking to move somewhere new? Moving into a new office can be exciting, but what about your technical environment? Are you prepared to move your servers, computers, and cable/internet connections on...
Did you know that almost 90% of all email messages to our clients are SPAM? That’s what our SPAM filter statistics are averaging across all of our clients. That’s more than 300,000 emails that are blocked each month! In the modern office, network security is...
Do you know when you should worry about backing up your files and protecting your IT infrastructure? The answer isn’t AFTER something bad happens… It’s BEFORE! So, if you have questions like: How can we GUARANTEE backup of ALL data on ALL servers, no matter...
For better or worse, we’re more reliant on our handheld gadgets than ever. So when things go wrong — e.g. your smartphone’s battery dies at the worst possible moment or your tablet takes an unplanned dip in the pool — it helps to know what...
Monthly tech news + tips from Huntington Technology, Inc. Does your business have a cybersecurity plan? In 2012, companies with just one to 250 employees — what we commonly think of as small businesses — were the victims in more than 30 percent of...
Monthly tech news + tips from Huntington Technology, Inc. Turn your small business into a tech powerhouse Ensure your business possesses the right technology to succeed. Continue reading » Can CRM programs boost your small business? Does your small business use customer relationship...
Every business wants to cut costs, right? In our continued economic slump, we’ve found that many businesses have an added extra urgency in this regard—which explains the renewed interest in our VoIP telephone service. And though VoIP has been around for several years, business owners...
Monthly tech news + tips from Huntington Technology, Inc. Email Etiquette for a Busy World How to be a graceful and effective communicator in the digital age. Continue reading » 5 Tips for Better Digital Productivity Quick and easy tips that’ll make you...
Monthly tech news + tips from Huntington Technology, Inc. Soaked Gadgets: How You Can Save Them Accidents happen. Here’s what to do when they involve liquids and electronic devices.Continue reading Sit Too Much? Build a Standing Desk Maybe you’ve heard: prolonged daily sitting is bad...
Monthly tech news + tips from Huntington Technology, Inc. Square and Your Business: Match Made in Heaven? Should businesses cheer the arrival of Square? Continue reading » Business Owners: Meet Big Data Do you know what big data is? As a business owner,...
With a couple of recent studies showing that telecommuting can actually *improve* worker productivity and morale, we expect that more local businesses will let their employees work remotely. Which is great! Except for one thing: *data security* Telecommuting raises specific security concerns that should be...
Are you struggling to maintain your IT infrastructure? Is your IT environment causing delays or minimizing productivity? Are you concerned that your systems aren’t secure and disaster-proof?
If you answered ‘yes’ to any of those questions, it’s time to consider what’s best for the future of your business. In today’s rapidly evolving technological landscape, maintaining an efficient and modern IT infrastructure is more challenging than ever. For growing businesses, in-house IT management can be an unnecessary drain on resources that could be spent on marketing or expanding other areas of your workforce. With outsourced IT solutions, you can better manage your IT budget and invest your resources with more flexibility.
Building relationships is at the core of our company values. At Huntington Technology, we believe that the first step in a successful partnership is truly getting to know your company. That’s why we always start with a free IT assessment to discover the who, what, where and why of your IT support needs.
At Huntington Technology, we take pride in being on the cutting-edge of the IT industry and using our knowledge and experience to help companies grow and thrive. When you partner with us, we will share in your achievements and deliver solutions and will drive our mutual success. Choose a team that offers turnkey solutions and responsive support whenever a challenge comes your way: choose Huntington Technology. From our offices in Southfield, MI and East Windsor, CT, we support businesses of all sizes. For professional IT services in Detroit MI, Troy MI, Manchester CT, Springfield MA, Hartford CT – or anywhere in the nation – choose Huntington Technology. Our experience covers a complete range of industries, and our training allows us to handle specialized needs, including healthcare facilities that require HIPAA compliance and financial institutions that need advanced security.
