TechTidBit - Tips and advice for small business computing - Tech Experts™ - Monroe Michigan - Page 55 of 98

Most Employees Use Work Computers For Outside Activities

December 12, 2014

Thomas Fox is president of Tech Experts, southeast Michigan’s leading small business computer support company.

GFI Software, a leading software tool provider for companies like Tech Experts, recently released a report that found the personal use of company computers and other devices is leading to major downtime and loss of confidential data in many businesses.

The study of about 1,000 small business employees who used a company-provided desktop or laptop computer found that 39 percent of them said their businesses have suffered a major IT disruption caused by staff members visiting non-work related websites with work-issued hardware, resulting in malware infections and other related issues.

Even more alarming, the study showed nearly 36 percent of staff members said they would not hesitate to take company property, including email archives, confidential documents and other valuable intellectual materials, from their work-owned computer before they returned the device if they were to leave their company.

The Real Risks Of Running Outdated Software

December 12, 2014

Michael Menor is Vice President of Support Services for Tech Experts.

Are you still holding onto your trusty old server that’s aging towards uselessness?

Or perhaps you are still running important applications on older servers with old operating systems because they’re “good enough” or “doing the job just fine.”

In many ways, your old server is like a trusty old car. You know where the kinks are and it gets you where you need to go.

But lurking below the surface of that trusty old car, and your old server, can be hidden risks that can result in very big problems, even dangers. Usually, when least expected.

Security risks are the number one danger of older technology. The older your operating system or application, the longer the bad guys have to find and exploit vulnerabilities.

This is especially true when the manufacturer is no longer actively maintaining support. Dangers can lurk across the entire aging application platform.

Your older versions of SQL Server are at risk. Perhaps you are still using an old FTP server that’s innocently sitting in the corner. Or you have some older network equipment and appliances.

The bottom line is anything that listens on the network is a potential threat to the server, and therefore your business.

If that software or firmware isn’t up to date, you’re doubly at risk of a major security incident.

Here are the top 5 risks you’re taking with running outdated software:

Crashes and system downtime
Aging systems are more vulnerable to failure, crashes and corruption causing significant downtime.

Targeted technology upgrades can reduce total annual outage risk and reduce downtime.

Increased costs
Outdated software is more expensive to maintain than newer versions. Failing software increases costs by overloading IT personnel. The process of applying patches is also costly and time consuming.

Updated software portfolios not only decrease maintenance costs but also free up IT budgets for more strategic and innovative programs.

Decreased productivity
Aging software applications that crash or require maintenance result in reduced employee productivity.

Modernizing software increases productivity by improving the efficiency and quality of work.

Security holes
Mission critical software is more vulnerable to security breaches as it ages. A security breach can compromise sensitive customer and employee information, and proprietary company data.

Legal and regulatory compliance risks
Updated software ensures compliance to governance, regulation and policy as regulatory bodies continue to mandate new global requirements.

This is especially important for healthcare professionals that need to comply with new HIPAA regulations.

With older technology, any of the above risks can strike you at any time. The consequences can be loss of productivity, or worse, loss of critical data that negatively impacts your business.

Perhaps “good enough” isn’t really good enough after all.

(Image Source: iCLIPART)

The Human Factor In Network Security

December 12, 2014

Scott Blake is a Senior Network Engineer with Tech Experts.

As you’re aware, disaster can manifest in many forms. In the past, we have included articles about weather-related events and how to best prepare your business against disasters.

However, there is another type of disaster that’s unlike flooding or fires that can also have devastating effects on your business.

The Human Factor
When it comes to safeguarding your business both physically and virtually, you have the power and controls available to give the edge against company espionage, cyber-attacks, or absent-minded employees.

It comes down to three basic areas: Software, Hardware and People. Once you have a firm grasp and control over these areas, you will have reduced your risk level considerably.

Software
Make sure all of your company’s electronic devices – from company-owned smart phones, tablets, laptops, workstations and servers – are running anti-virus and have a firewall in place.

While some devices are easier to secure and manage than others, this is a critical area, so be sure to make the best attempt to cover all your devices.

Be certain that your data storage devices are running backups and the backups are indeed good. As an added form of protection, encrypt your data being stored, making sure you save the key offsite as well.

That way, if your data is comprised either through internal access or external, it will become very difficult to use the data that was stolen.

The size of your company and the amount of sensitive data you have will dictate the frequency of your backup schedule. Remember, it never hurts to be overprotective when it comes to your data.

Hardware
Have security/firewall devices in place. Make sure they are fully configured for your business and that the firmware is up to date.

A lot of security devices add increased measures through the firmware updates.

They often have the ability to fully lock down your internal network as well. Restrict Internet access to only websites necessary for your business operations.

If your business offers Wi-Fi access for either internal use or guest use, make sure that controls are in place to limit access to your company’s internal network. The best precaution is to place the guest Wi-Fi on a completely separate network.

While Exchange mail servers can increase overhead, they will also add a level of increased security to combat against viral infections being delivered via email and attachments.

I’m sure everyone is well aware of Crypto-Locker and its variants. The majority of Crypto-Locker infections were delivered through infected PDF files sent as attachments.

People
By nature, humans are (and will always be) the most random aspect to safeguard your business from. It is vital that you run full background checks on any employee that will be given access to sensitive data or hardware.

Restrict the use of portable media such as flash drives and external hard drives while employees are working on or in the server room. Some companies may go as far as banning all portable media devices entirely.

Be proactive in actively monitoring your employees and watch for any changes in behavior, appearance, attitude and tone of speech. These can all be signs something is wrong.

If you have questions or you’re looking for suggestions, call Tech Experts at 734-457-5000, or email us at info@mytechexperts.com.

(Image Source: iCLIPART)

Don’t Forget Your End-of-Year Data Backup

December 12, 2014

In a ritual akin to spring cleaning, computer users far and wide are backing up their data en masse. Although backing up your vital data is a wise idea to prevent the loss of important documents during crashes or even computer theft, it often goes undone.

By the end of the year, however, an amazing amount of data would have been stored which may slow computers’ performance. This is a silent reminder to clean out the cobwebs and back up the files you want to keep.

There are various ways to back up your data, and one is readily available right on your PC. Windows users can access backup tools by pressing the Start button, typing “backup” in the search area, then clicking “Backup and Restore.”

This allows users to back up files instantly. Similarly, Mac users can open the System Preferences menu and select Time Machine. It will promptly perform backup tasks with the selection of the appropriate disk to store the files.

However, the aforementioned tools on your PC or Mac, don’t address more complex situations where your computer may be completely damaged or lost.

Therefore, it is also advisable to back up important documents, such as financial records or critical documents or emails, on a separate device.

If you depend solely on your computer’s backup system, your backed up data is vulnerable to the same threats that can damage the whole computer.

There are various data storage solutions on the market. The more expensive ones offer extra features, but the main factor to consider is the data storage size that you will need to have on the device.

Alternatively, simply upload your most important data to cloud storage, which can also be automated for future backups.

Other computer users prefer to back up data on an external USB device and keep it in a safe place.

It would also be best to automate your backups based on a recurring schedule that takes into consideration the particular files/folders that change often and/or are the most critical and include them in the backup set.

If you require assistance in figuring out the most appropriate automated backup solution for your home or business, give us a call at (734) 457-5000 and one of our technicians will be glad to help.

My Laptop’s Ethernet Port Isn’t Working. What Can I Do?

December 12, 2014

If the Ethernet port is damaged, purchase a USB to Ethernet converter.
The laptop Ethernet port is integrated into the motherboard, which makes it hard to replace only that part without swapping out the entire motherboard.

Since it just doesn’t make sense to throw the proverbial baby out with the bath water, just make it possible to plug into another port that is undamaged with a USB to Ethernet converter.

Fortunately, these converters are relatively inexpensive, so there’s no need to despair. Converters are available at virtually any store with an electronics section and there isn’t much difference between converters.

One thing you may wish to consider is to purchase the latest model of adapter, even if your current laptop is not new.

These converters are backward compatible, so the latest USB 3.0 to Gigabit Ethernet adapter works with even the oldest computers with older USB ports.

With the latest version as part of your arsenal, you can still use it in the future with a newer laptop.
These adapters have another great feature which is that they don’t require any technical knowledge, saving you time and money for installation and troubleshooting in case of problems.

Simply plug it in the USB port, and it’s ready to deploy your Ethernet connection, getting you back online without any hassle.

Windows automatically detects the adapter and the operating system installs the appropriate drivers for you.

Remember to use an in-line surge protector on your Ethernet cable, particularly if you travel frequently.

IT Policies Companies Under HIPAA Regulations Must Have

November 30, 2014

HIPAA (the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) and HITECH (the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health act) have been around for quite some time. Even so, many companies covered by these laws are way behind when it comes to implementation. When you really think about it, even companies not covered by these laws should have the requisite policies and procedures in place.

Access Control Policy
How are users granted access to programs, client data and equipment? Also includes how administrators are notified to disable accounts.

Security Awareness Training
Organizations must ensure regular training of employees regarding security updates and what to be aware of. You must also keep an audit trail of reminders and communications in case you’re audited.

Network Security And The “People Problem”

November 30, 2014

Security teams that focus on what is already happening and the layers of defense being breached are constantly in reactive mode.

Reviewing reams of data produced by technology – firewalls, network devices or servers – is not making organizations more secure. With this approach, the team fails to prevent breaches or respond in a sufficiently timely way.

Instead, the addition of more data and more complexity perversely prevents achieving the end result: protecting sensitive information.

The significant breaches of today are executed by people infiltrating the organization and attackers are doing this by assuming identities or abusing insider privileges.

There is a gap between the initial line of defense (the firewall) and the company’s last line of defense (the alerts received by the security team and their following analysis.)

Tracking user activity, especially connections between suspicious behaviors and privileged users, would allow organizations to close this gap.

True understanding of identity has the ability to cut through the overwhelming explosion of data that can render security organizations blind and unable to respond to real threats or even detect if they are under attack.
It is time to incorporate identity into the organization’s breach prevention strategy and overall security. We have to stop accepting a gap approach to security, which is usually focused on data and devices rather than people. In light of the budding perimeterless world, identity will increasingly be the primary factor that matters to the security team.

Identity data is pervasive, yet typically absent from the security world view. For security organizations, our corporate identity (the personal identity elements we bring to our corporate environment) and our behavior are aggregate details essential in building a picture of what is happening within – and beyond – the corporate perimeter.

Together, they offer deep context to inform the security team of the appropriate response to potential threats and real attacks.

The critical piece in this approach is the security organization’s ability and capacity to understand the full scope of identity: who the person really is behind any given device and whether they are behaving abnormally.

This is particularly helpful when identifying attackers that have managed to acquire privileged user credentials.

Identifying Normal Behavior
One way to reduce the scope is to focus on the highest risk identities first. If you accept that the greatest risk comes from people inside your organization that can access sensitive information – known as “privileged users”, which can also include non-human accounts that may have access – then the correct steps are as follows:

1) Reduce the number of privileged users/identities and accounts.

2) Limit the privileges any one user has to systems and applications necessary to do their job.

3) Integrate the identities of privileged users into security and risk monitoring to spot behavior that may indicate a breach.

Closing the Gap
As more and more of the computing environment breaks outside of the control of central IT organizations, spearheaded by the move towards BYOD (or Bring Your Own Device), the ability to recognize who a user actually is and what is normal for them becomes a foundational part of effective security monitoring.

Without such identity-powered security, security teams will continue to struggle to differentiate whether the events they are monitoring are worth a reaction and that hesitation allows attackers to execute more and more damaging data breaches.

Furthermore, security teams will continue to operate in reactive mode and fail to prevent breaches or respond in a sufficiently timely way.

If identity is a central component to security management, then security teams will be in a better position to understand the behavior of users and will spend far less time trying to identify the meaning behind the events they are seeing.

People will continue to be our biggest point of exposure and with a keen focus on user behavior and activity, we will be in a much better position to limit the impact of breaches.

(Image Source: iCLIPART)

When Nature Strikes Part 2 – Fire In The Sky

November 30, 2014

Fires in or around server rooms and data centers can ruin your data and put your business at risk. It’s a must to set up fire protocols when you build your room or building.

As I mentioned in Part One of “When Nature Strikes,” the two most important protocols to have in place for any “in case of…” are 1) Have a Plan and 2) Secure Your Data. When dealing with the possibility of fire destroying your server room or data center, you’ll want to make sure you also have Suppression, Containment and Insurance protocols in place as well.

Have a Plan
Disaster recovery plans are now becoming a requirement for many industries. To be prepared, businesses need to locate and define the regulatory requirements of their individual industry, which will also help avoid fines, penalties or negative press associated with noncompliance.

Trying to implement or even design a plan while in the middle of a disaster will only lead to a less than successful recovery. Make sure your team is ready for action and everyone knows what to do. It’s better to be overprepared than have a plan that goes up in flames.

Secure Your Data
Back up your data regularly. Manage a duplicate copy of all data, programming, and company processes at a different physical location or in the cloud. That way, you can continue working at a secondary location if your system crashes. One way to do that is to keep copies of all your data, programs, bare metal backups and virtual machines in data centers in other states.

If you maintain data backups and business software on location, make sure you store them in a fire rated safe. Fire safes can be purchased anywhere from $100 to thousands of dollars for a fully-loaded safe.

Suppression
Fire suppression systems for server rooms and data centers are essential to the server room itself. A fire suppression system will automatically extinguish a fire without the need of human intervention.

Design standards for fire suppression systems for server rooms and data centers are carried out with strict guidelines as the fire suppression agents used can be dangerous if not designed correctly. Fires within these types of environments are suppressed in two different ways.

Reduce Oxygen – This method uses argon, nitrogen and sometimes carbon monoxide to displace the oxygen in the room. The objective of this method is to reduce the oxygen level to below 15% in the room. By reducing oxygen to this level, it will suppress the fire.

Chemical and Synthetic – Most chemical and synthetic fire suppression agents have some form of a cooling mechanism. These systems use less gas and maintain a higher level of oxygen. However, high doses of any synthetic or chemical agent can be toxic, so making sure your design is correct is absolutely necessary. Synthetic fire suppression systems will deliver its payload within ten seconds.

Containment
A fire doesn’t have to be inside your data center to jeopardize IT equipment. Because radiant heat and smoke from fire in an adjacent room can be enough to damage sensitive network hardware, creating a protective barrier between your server room and the potential fire not only blocks indirect damage, but prevents flame spread as well.

Lightweight, flame-resistant ceramic panels can be used to build fire-safe archive rooms and data centers within larger, standard-construction buildings.

Insurance
Recovering from fire damage is expensive. Business insurance is crucial and it’s not only for physical property. The right kind of insurance will replace lost income as well. Make sure your business insurance policy is up to date and has the correct coverage to support your business in crisis mode.

Make sure you have all of your suppression and containment systems built and installed by certified professionals. Insurance companies will require this in order for you to acquire the policy and even collect on it.

No one wants to get burned after a fire. Again, make sure your company insurance is up to date and has the appropriate coverage needed to rebuild your business.

If you have questions or you’re looking for suggestions on prepping your business for recovery, not disaster, call Tech Experts at (734) 457-5000.

(Image Source: iCLIPART)

Consider These Great PC Upgrades

November 30, 2014

If you are in the market for a new PC, check out these tips on how to upgrade your PC and get more value for your dollars before you pull out your credit card.

A solid state drive
Nothing like an SSD to give you a more practical and noticeable performance increase. With more capacity and more chips and channels, you are guaranteed faster performance.

A faster CPU
You may want to add a new CPU if your computer is old and if the before-mentioned SSD does not entirely fulfill your needs.

Get more memory
With more memory, your operating system will spend less time moving data to disk and you will be able work with more open apps and large files.

Choose a larger display
While a touch screen might blow up your budget, you can opt for a 23-, 24-, 27-inch 1080p model for an affordable price and it will offer you a much better and productive computing experience.

Better gear: keyboard and mouse
Explore the world of wireless, wired, touch and ergonomic keyboard and mouse models and choose one that makes sitting at your computer a breeze.

After all, all our work is done with a keyboard and a mouse, and they need to be as much comfortable as possible.

Security Tips For Your Smart Phone

November 30, 2014

Today it is fairly easy to carry out business tasks using smart phones. Emailing, browsing the Internet and even creating or editing documents is now a breeze.

So technically, smart phones are now carrying a large amount of sensitive data that needs to be protected. Not only are Smart phones subject to the same threats as PCs, but they are also quite easy to misplace and lose.

Here are a few tips that will help you mitigate some of these security risks:

Screen lock the phone
Whenever you leave your phone unattended, lock your smart phone to require a password or PIN code or set it to lock after few minutes. This will prevent unwanted access and will protect your data in case the phone is lost or stolen.

Enable remote device wipe
Check if your phone allows the memory-wipe function in case it is lost or stolen. Some phones have this feature embedded, but most others will require that you download an app and potentially pay for the service that goes with it.

Apply system updates
From time to time, smart phone vendors, mobile carriers, or hardware manufacturers update the operating systems on their phones. These updates usually include useful and necessary security-related improvements.

Turn off Bluetooth discovery mode
Many people leave their smart phones on Bluetooth-discovery mode around the clock. On some phones, this feature is set by default; however, check your phone and make sure it is disabled when you are not using it. Failing to do so, your phone will constantly be discoverable to others and allow people to connect to your device without prior authorization.

Install mobile anti-virus
Malware purveyors are increasingly targeting smart phones. It is now important to use anti-virus software for your phone just like you would do for your PC.

This is particularly important for Android devices as they are built on an open platform susceptible to malware.

« Previous Page