Many South Florida business owners believe that working with an outsourced IT vendor seems expensive and complicated, so instead of hiring an IT guy they try to tackle the responsibilities themselves.

The truth is, we’d all have strong, hard to crack passwords if we had impeccable memories, but we don’t. 

So instead of creating a unique password comprised lower case, upper case and special characters as recommended by PCMag, most of us are guilty of taking the easy way out and just using something like this - Saltlife2018.

The problem is, even a low-grade hacker could run a script to crack your not-so-clever password (no offense!).   If a hacker gained unauthorized access to our computer, network, smartphone or tablet, it would cause us a world of trouble. Yet most of us think, “if could never happen to me!”

Have you ever called into a service provider and been told that your hold time is going to be about 30 minutes?

Have you ever sent an email to a service provider that somehow disappeared into the ether?

Have you ever been given a specific service time window only to find that the guy shows up late  or doesn’t show up at all?

Your South Florida business is growing at an alarming rate, and you’ve climbed many high hurdles to get there.  So, what’s next?  What decisions will you need to make in Q1 2018 in order to maintain the growth of your business?  It’s become apparent you’re going to require help from additional resources, one of those being an IT Provider.  But, what kind of IT Provider is your organization looking for? 

Google Chrome Has a “Security System” for Your Computer

If you’ve got a sophisticated alarm system in your home, chances are you’ll sleep better knowing that its technology will set off a loud siren, alert the emergency responders and most likely scare your intruder away.  With cyber threats on the rise, wouldn’t it be wonderful to have a “security system” for your computer too? You worry about all the different ways you can be victimized.  The simple truth is, the more proactive we are in practicing online safety, the safer we will be. 

We all intend to do it every year, yet only the strong-willed follow through. I’m talking about our New Year’s Resolutions and this year I think the focus should be on the good health of the IT systems of our South Florida based businesses!

An IT Audit is performed by a third party and is an in-depth analysis of a company’s technical environment, including its existing computer applications, hardware infrastructure, IT plan and IT related personnel. The Audit results in a detailed written report and guide that recommend strategic business initiatives pertaining to rightsizing internal and external practices and systems. In a nutshell, the audit will help to uncover areas of concern and will offer solutions to fix these issues.

Just when you think you’ve got a better handle on Cyber Security! Now you can add WI-FI to the list of what makes us vulnerable to cyber-attack. This new attack, dubbed by experts, as “KRACK” is real and you’re going to want to read this! If you’re one of the 6.8 billion people who own a smartphone or one of the 300+ million global WI-FI users then you’re at risk along with the rest of the world!

What is 2FA?

Two Factor Authentication is an additional layer of protection beyond your password. With millions of people online every day, processing millions of transactions, how do you prove your identity to websites? When you’re in front of a bank teller or a bartender, it’s simple! You show them your driver’s license and you attempt to replicate the same smile you made in that photo twenty-five years ago! But how do you suppose you prove who you are to a website today?

October is Cyber Security Awareness Month.  I guess "scary" doesn’t just apply to Halloween these days.  One of the scariest things this season is knowing how insecure our financial information can be.  Recently Equifax revealed that more than 143 million consumer accounts were compromised in a breach and then last week Yahoo announced that every single one of its' user accounts were breached back in 2013.  This news isn't easy to swallow because it's serious.  Serious threats to personal data are at an all-time high. Everyone, including individuals and businesses of all sizes, needs to remain diligent in their protecting themselves from hackers and privacy breaches.