Who knows how this international incident will play out, but we do know now that it can provide us some lessons that we can apply to protecting our business and network.

Have a strong firewall to protect your network from the outside world.

Had Crimea had a stronger border, like a firewall, outsiders would not have access to their territory.

One of our clients set up our technical consultant, Chuck Barry, with an assembly line at their office to roll out 6 of 20 new machines that will be replacing their aging Windows XP machines. By proactively replacing their Windows XP machines before April 8th, they are avoiding potential down time and ensuring compliance standards that their clients require.

I had the benefit of hearing Chet Wisniewski, Sophos Security Expert, today and he shared some great info about the latest security threats and how to protect yourself from them.  One of my favorites was his strong recommendation not to use that banking app on your smartphone or tablet.

November is Child Safety and Protection Month. There is plenty of information out there about keeping kids physically safe from cuts and bruises. But as more and more youngsters have access to the internet and borrow our devices, we thought it would be a good idea to share some guidelines about keeping young ones safe when they are surfing the web or using electronics.

On April 8, 2014, Microsoft will no longer support or update Windows XP or Office 2003.  What does this mean?  These programs will be even more vulnerable to outside attacks. Take action before you get in a lurch!

They will still work but, and it’s a big BUT…You could be facing serious security and compliance issues if you continue to use these programs.

Fair warning – this post is somewhat lengthy but important in order to protect you from a potentially damaging new virus threat.

A new type of ransomware virus is on the loose. This type of threat encrypts your files so that you cannot access them.

Let’s face it, bad things happen.  Since September is National Disaster Preparedness month, it’s a good time to “brush up” on some simple things you can do to protect your business.

Review your business insurance.  Make sure you have sufficient coverage to replace all of computer equipment, electronic devices and the like in your office.

As mobile devices continue to evolve become more critical to business success, many business owners are forced to answer this question.  Do you allow employees to “Bring Your Own Device” or BYOD to work or do you provide “Corporate Owned, Personally Enabled” devices?

What are the risks with B.Y.O.D.?  Here are 3 major risks for you to consider:

An employee’s device that connects to your network could be a conduit for viruses, hackers, and thieves.

Tom, one of our resident virus experts, shared this article reviewing a report that Google produces.  The report summarizes the amount of websites that Google detected as compromised or actively distributing malware.  To quote the blog commentator, Daniel Cid, "What is really scary from their report is the amount of legitimate compromised sites hosting malware compared to sites developed by the bad guys for malicious purposes.

What motivates people to create computer viruses?  Well, the ability to cripple a network is one motivator!
 
Computer crippling viruses are still out there but not as often as viruses mentioned in previous emails.  The reason being is that if a computer is disabled, it is no longer able to spread the virus to other computers.