Fires, floods, ransomware attacks, or pandemics, such as COVID-19, that prevent people from working in the office are all reasons your organization needs a disaster recovery plan. However, while thinking about how to recover from a disaster, don’t forget to include business continuity (a.k.a) disaster avoidance as a cost-effective element of your overall disaster recovery plan. What is the difference between…
When we talk about data security, we’re basically talking about two things: making sure information and applications are available to people who are authorized to use them, and keeping everyone else away. Identity management, also known as identity and access management, is key to our ability to do that. Identity management is the process of defining who you are and what you’re…
Organizations are always looking for ways to effectively manage costs, improve productivity, and scale efficiently. One method proven to help achieve these goals is to outsource IT support to a managed service provider (MSP). We’ve outlined nine key reasons businesses are outsourcing IT support to managed service providers. 1. Cost reduction due to economies of scale in design and operation Problems can be solved once and solutions are shared across a larger scope. The…
Looking for ways to save money on IT support services for your business without sacrificing productivity or functionality? Here are 8 proven ways to help: 1. Standardize your systems Every piece of software and hardware you add to your computer network will have its own issues, both in terms of its own operation and in terms of interoperability with other systems. Say…
By Derik Belair, President and CEO, Augmentt There’s a famous phrase you’ve probably heard before: to err is human. Those words sum up why your security posture needs to focus on human actions–or the absence of them. When seen from this lens, cybersecurity becomes about much more than cleaning up after mistakes. It’s about proactively putting into place measures to…
In the past decade, the number of known malware programs has risen from 65 million to 1.1 billion. The ways in which cybercriminals deploy the malware have also increased in number and sophistication. While advanced security technologies are available to defend against these cyberthreats, many can be thwarted with basic security practices. However, research is showing that many small and mid-sized…
Whether you’re counting the days until you can return to the office or your hoping you can work from home forever, you’ve spent more than enough time working on your home computer by now to know whether it’s up to the task. If you’re starting to realize that it’s not, let us recommend some alternatives from Dell, HP and Lenovo…
Just when you think you and your employees have learned how to recognize and avoid a social engineering attack, the criminals have come up with another way to trick you out of your cash and your sensitive data: the fake LinkedIn profile.
In the work-from-home era, a good headset can make all the difference between being able to focus on your work and, well, sharing distracting or embarrassing background noise with everyone on an important call. But what makes a good headset?
Based on a survey conducted by ResearchCorp.org and sponsored by Xantrion, see how organizations responded when asked how confident they are about the effectiveness of their security measures and see how your company is doing in comparison to those surveyed.
Most companies use direct deposit to pay their employees. In the United States, for example, more than 80% of workers have their paychecks deposited directly into their personal bank accounts. This practice is providing many opportunities for cybercriminals to perpetuate their latest scam — trying to get businesses to deposit employee paychecks into their accounts. Variations of the Direct Deposit…
BYOD (bring your own device) refers to the practice of employees using their personal devices—such as smartphones, laptops, PCs, tablets, and other gear—on the job for the sake of convenience and comfort.
As some workplaces reopen and others make plans to do so, we may start seeing business as usual. However, if the coronavirus re-emerges over the summer or fall due to a decrease in social distancing and other factors, organizations will need to be prepared for a return to remote work and other pandemic-induced workplace changes.
Using free WiFi at airports is convenient but potentially dangerous. According to a Coronet study, these four airports are the riskiest: 1. San Diego International Airport in California. There is a 30 percent chance of connecting to a medium-risk network and a 11 percent chance of connecting to high-risk hotspot at this airport. The researchers even found an “evil twin”…
This past week, we turned our attention to refining our return-to-work strategy. In our opinion, our strategy not only needs to work for us as a business, it also needs to work for clients and employees. To make that happen, we reached out to both for input.
During the hardest times, this quote is especially true—people always remember how you make them feel. In 10 or even 30 years, people will remember the coronavirus pandemic and how their companies made them feel during this unprecedented time.
Although virtual meetings are the new norm, we’ve all attended ones that have gone awry. By taking them as seriously and thoughtfully as physical, in-person meetings, you can use them as a way to be known as someone who’s digitally-savvy and professional—qualities your clients and colleagues will value.
Even though you are no longer working within the protection of your office, you still need to safeguard the privacy of employee, client and business partner information. Follow our ten tips so you don’t let security slip now that you are working at home.
Companies facing a crisis — such as the current COVID-19 pandemic — must identify who will manage the company’s response. In many cases, this involves the creation of a crisis management team, which can help divvy up the many responsibilities.
Now that everyone is working from home, we can’t necessarily rely on communication methods we know and love. We need to branch out and start using new tools that can help us stay connected even though we are apart. One of those new tools is Microsoft Teams.
As we attempt to slow the spread of COVID-19 by working from home, it’s not surprising people are running into Internet issues. We are relying on and stressing our connectivity like never before. If the result of your issues are poor online meeting and video conferencing quality, the following are some recommendations to improve your situation.
One of the less deadly effects of COVID- 19 is the explosion of online scams. COVID-related email phishing attacks have spiked 667 percent since March 1, according to Barracuda. Read this article to learn more about some of the most common scams exploiting coronavirus fears, and some measures you can take to avoid falling for them.
While some of you are veteran remote workers, working from home, especially on a regular basis, might be new for others. The following are some best practices to help guide you through it.
We have home hardware recommendations in order to help you be comfortable and productive in your home office.
While you might have managed a couple of team members remotely to date, managing a fully remote team, while balancing the challenges of being remote yourself, might be a new experience for you. The following are some best practices to help guide you through it.
In the past, Mac devices have largely been out of cybercriminals’ crosshairs. While hackers occasionally launched malware attacks against Mac machines, they targeted Windows devices much more often. But this is no longer the case.
The California Consumer Privacy Act is designed to educate and protect California consumers about personal information that is being collected and sold, primarily by large, California companies.
Only 66% of working adults correctly answered the question “What is phishing” in 2019 Proofpoint survey. This means one-third of adults do not know that phishing is a form of fraud in which cybercriminals try to scam people into providing sensitive information (e.g., login credentials, account information) or performing an action (e.g., clicking a link, opening an email attachment) in…
Microsoft will no longer support many business apps in 2020 because they are reaching the end of their lifecycles. Find out which popular programs are reaching this point so you can plan any needed upgrades and adjust your 2020 IT budget accordingly.
Microsoft Edge has several features to manage auto-play clips. For starters, Edge is designed to automatically silence these clips on background tabs — in other words, on web pages that are open but not currently being displayed. (Their tabs are greyed-out.) Edge also lets you mute auto-play clips on individual web pages as well as stop clips from running automatically…
