The Best Defense Against Ransomware Attacks is Knowledge and Then Applying That Knowledge!

The best defense against ransomware attack is knowledge and then of course applying that knowledge. Knowing what you need to do in order to protect yourself is critical to the safety of your business. The recent "wannacry" ransomware attacks provided us with valuable information, which are basically opportunities, to learn or re-learn how to defend and secure our networks. As with most attacks, our attackers leave behind clues in their wake. The Cyber Ransomware Attack labeled “Wannacry” recently took a "second go" at attacking its’ victims.

We depend on many different tools, services and securities in life to help keep us safe. Question is, do we take the proper precautions to make sure they’re working, that they're doing their function? We don’t live in a perfect world and that's exactly why we should be testing our managed security systems often.  Last night I decided to test my home security system. I tested the signals within the house and then tested the signal from our home to the monitoring center. Protecting my family is single-handedly the most important thing in the world to me.  If you have a home security system, I think that you should think about breaking into your house this weekend (I think you know what I'm saying)   

Don’t fall victim to Cybersecurity scams. Be on alert from fraudulent email senders.

Earlier this week I received a spoof email (under most circumstances this wouldn't be weird), however I received the email while writing this article about "email spoofing." Talk about coincidence. Email spoofing is a relatively newer form of spam, it’s a term used to describe fraudulent emails in which the sender’s address and other parts of the email header are altered in some way to appear as though the email originated from a different source.

Business owners may not yet be aware that having a dual monitor configuration for staff can improve business productivity by up to 45%, making basic business tasks more efficient.   

To Tablet, or not to Tablet?

In the last 24 months, we have seen a huge increase in releases of tablets. These next-generation mobile devices have no doubt helped with our digital lifestyle but several questions should be considered:

Regardless of their size, many small businesses still need to meet strict compliance regulations, such as PCI and HIPAA. In addition to any special requirements, there are a few security technologies every small business should have in place.

Here are our four security must-haves.

Firewall – It sounds passé, but firewalls are still the de facto solution for minimum security. Small businesses are no exception. We frequently see vendors attempting to coax small business owners into boxes bigger than they need, with full redundancy and licensing. As expected, most small business owners will balk at the price tags that hang off these shiny new boxes. The truth is,  for bandwidths typical in smaller organizations, a small ASIC-based firewall even with gateway services (e.g. anti-virus, anti-spyware, IDS or IPS) can be found for an affordable price. Even if it’s not tweaked to perfection, having some firewall solution is better than none. And no organization should rely on their Internet provider for this security.

This Tech Tip addresses some frequently asked questions about how to safeguard your computer data on a personal and business level.  First, it makes sense to designate one or two specific folders on your computer as the main folder for confidential file back-ups for several reasons.

To most business owners who have spent years or decades and thousands of dollars

Time-Saving Tech Tips for Your Keyboard!

You're going to love these tips!  Check out some cool typing and keyboard shortcuts – some simple time-saving tricks you may not be aware of: