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If you follow our weekly DynaSis blogs, you know that we regularly put out some very important information. As much as we would like to believe that you eagerly await each Tuesday’s post, read every one, and even save many of them, realistically speaking, in today’s impossibly busy work environment, we know that’s just not true. Consequently, we have decided to recap some of those from the past year that we believe can be most helpful to you, and give you links to the full posts.

Cloud Back-up for Business Speed & Efficiency

Mobility and efficiency have been given much greater emphasis by businesses over the past ten years, all made possible by the tremendous advances we have seen in technology. Employees can now remain fully connected to their offices and peers while they are on the road. This post will help bring you up to date on how these technologies can make your business more mobile, and will also let you know how cloud technology can protect your business from data loss, corruption and theft while your people are traveling or working from home. See the full post here.

Solving Major Problems Before They Become Major Ones

This addresses a partial list of problems that may erupt, including your network going down and along with it your email, phones, and internet; printers and other devices not working; computers freezing; slow performance; corrupted files; recurring viruses; and so much more. The basic concept of solving these minor problems before they become major ones has long been one of our major driving principles and in this post, we discuss why. See the full post here.

Making Technology Work for Your Company

We always say that “today every company is a technology company” and we find that becomes more true with every passing year. Technology is great in so many ways, but when it moves so quickly, it can be very hard to keep up. In this blogpost, we look at how managed IT support companies in Atlanta, like DynaSis, can keep you up to speed on the latest developments for both business productivity and cyber security. See the full post here.

Myths About Managed IT Support Managed IT support (or managed IT service) means outsourcing some or all of your IT support to a third part provider. For some business executives, this seems a bit scary, like you are giving up important control. In this blog post we address concerns such as: “Outsourcing is more expensive (it’s not)”, “Outsourcing will make us less secure (not true)”, “Service levels will suffer (the opposite is true)”, “Outsourcing only works for large companies (it’s best for small to mid-sized firms)”, etc. This post is a great way to begin a conversation with us that can lead to a complimentary IT service and security assessment so you can better understand where your IT network is today, and where it can be in the future. See the full post here.

VoIP Training for Non-Technical Employees

This blogpost addresses modern VoIP telephone systems from two perspectives: first, most end-users (your employees) are unaware of most of the great features that modern phone systems provide. For some, productivity and efficiency can be significantly improved, and boredom and fatigue reduced, when they become more familiar. On another level, employee failure is still the leading cause of cyber security problems and this post also discusses how employee training can have a positive effect. See the full post here.

Speeding Up Slow Running PCs.

This is a problem we hear about fairly often, and one that can be prevented and/or fixed. In this post we explain how pre-installed software and bloated registry files, among other things, can cause slowdowns, and how this “clutter” can be eliminated. We also discuss the importance of installing software manufacturer updates on a regular basis. See the full post here.

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We hope this “reboot” of some of our recent posts is helpful. And remember, at DynaSis we have been working with small to mid-sized businesses in Atlanta for more than a quarter century and would love to begin a no-obligation conversation and IT network and security assessment with you, so give us a call at 678-373-0716.

 

 

 

No one is perfect. Mistakes are made. Some are big; some are small; most importantly, many can be easily averted. Technology in particular is a place where easily avoidable mistakes happen every day, so here are a few things you should look at within your organization.

Skipping (or not doing) Backups

Backups are about the most important thing you can do to protect your business. Stuff happens. No matter whatever else you do to protect your data, stuff happens. Cyber theft, ransomware, fire, flood, weather, employee error. Stuff happens. As a managed IT support provider, we consider it so important that we have written a whole white paper on the subject, and we STRONGLY suggest you read it. We also have more information on our website. Then call us so we can provide a complimentary IT network security assessment

Skipping Updates

Big mistake! It’s a war out there with hackers and software developers hard at work fighting with each other. The hackers are trying to break into your network (and everyone else’s) by seeking out vulnerabilities and weaknesses in the programs, while the software people work like beavers patching and fixing so they can protect their customers, including you. If you aren’t taking advantage of the hard work they do by installing their updates, you really have no one to blame but yourself when things go haywire. Again, the IT pros at a qualified managed IT support company will monitor, manage and maintain your IT network, including 24 x 7 installation of patches and updates.

Understanding What You Are Agreeing To

We all do it. We see this mountain of text that we are supposed to read before we hit “OK” or “Next”, or “Continue.” Admittedly, most of the time there is nothing noxious in there, especially when dealing with large reputable companies…most of the time. However, by not reading what is in front of you, you could be agreeing to terms and conditions you may not like, or may potentially put your company, or at least your computer, at risk. You may inadvertently be giving permission to download bloatware and/or other software you really don’t want on your device. Some downloadable software will have a blanket “I Agree” box at the bottom, but will give you the option within the document to opt-out of these downloads. If you skip to the bottom, you miss this opportunity. Our thinking: it’s always better to have your IT pro do the installs, anyway.

Surge Protection & Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS)

Electricity is great, can’t live without it, but it is also inconsistent. It goes out. It surges. And surges can cause a lot of damage. Many surges are caused when lightning hits power lines. The lines may not be damaged, but the increased electrical flow can fry computer components in a split second. The easiest way to avoid this is by simply using surge protectors. What’s that? You have them throughout your company? Wanna bet! You probably did at some point, but as time goes by, you added new equipment, or someone needed a protector and the only place they found one was at someone else’s work station. It’s not uncommon to do a survey of a growing company and find 10% of equipment unprotected.

If you want to take it a step further, use an uninterruptable power supply (UPS). In addition to protecting your equipment, they will supply a brief amount of battery power so you can save your work. Note, however, that most UPSs are not intended for long-term use, but they will give you enough time to finish and save what you are doing.

Not Working With an Experienced, Qualified IT Support Provider…

…like DynaSis. We have been providing managed IT service in Atlanta for small to mid-sized businesses for more than a quarter century, so if you would like to speak with us, give us a call at 678-373-0716.

 

As more and more companies look to convert from cable to wireless connectivity, it is important to understand the difference between consumer grade and business grade wireless installations. Going wireless in your office should not be accomplished by going to your neighborhood electronics store and latching on to the latest router and modem.

The process should start with qualified technicians, and they can best be found through a managed IT support provider. Unless your in-house IT people have real world experience in determining the correct placement of wireless access points (WAPs), they will likely run into trouble if they try and do this on their own. If they attempt “overkill coverage”, placing too many WAPs can actually cause more problems than it solves, and existing wiring and metal studs inside your office walls can have a seriously negative impact on the installation.

One way to check is to create a heat map that shows the strength of wireless signals. Although not always necessary, this can be important at times, because it is not uncommon for the actual signals emitted to either be stronger or weaker than what is promised on the box. A heat map can help determine where to locate/relocate WAPs to get better results. One question that comes up is, why be concerned about signals that are too strong? The answer: when your signal is strong enough to spill out into the street, you are more exposed and that means more risk. People in your organization may run the same risks as those using public WAPs, like at Starbucks, and while requiring a password to get onto your wireless network is good, it will protect you just so far.

Making sure you have the right signal power can also mean the difference between downloading a file in a few seconds rather than a few minutes. For some of your employees, this may not be important, but for others, this may be a critical element in their productivity, not to mention frustration levels.

Of course, there is a cost involved, but it need not be overly expensive and the initial evaluation can usually be accomplished in a single day. You will likely need to have new cables run to the spots where new WAPs will be installed, and of course there will be some new equipment, but we believe that the final result, when done properly, will be well worth the cost and effort. One more suggestion: set up separate internet signals for guests, and have your own employees use this guest connection for their own mobile phones and other personal devices. This can keep malware that may be on their devices from infecting your business network. This is just part of the common-sense security precautions we would suggest for any business.

If you would like to discuss a complimentary assessment for wireless, or for a network and cyber security assessment, give us a call at 678-373-0716. DynaSis has been a Managed IT Service provider serving the needs of Atlanta’s small to mid-sized businesses since 1992.

5 Ways Managed IT Support Benefits Your Business

Here at DynaSis, we have been providing managed IT support for small to mid-sized businesses in the Atlanta Metro area since 1992, so we may be a bit prejudiced about the value of such a service, but this bias comes from seeing first hand the benefits that our clients have realized. Here is what we have found:

Effective Management of IT Costs

When you manage your own IT network, you have to be prepared for unexpected costs at any time. This can include needing expertise that your in-house person or small team doesn’t possess, equipment failure, employee turnover, etc. When you are working with a qualified managed IT service provider, however, they will have people readily available with the training necessary to handle virtually any problem that may arise, and at fixed monthly costs. Since they take on the responsibility of keeping your infrastructure up and running, it behooves them to make sure everything is in tip-top shape at al time. Truly a win-win situation.

Training

Technology today is moving at lightning speed and the only way anyone can keep up-to-date is through ongoing training. This costs you money and means your IT person (people) will be out of the office at seminars and even out-of-town classes. If they are not, you run the risk of them not being prepared. When you engage the right managed IT support company in Atlanta, they make sure that their people are up-to-date and they can do it better because that training benefits many clients. This way you know that you have the availability of experienced specialists.!

Up-To-Date Technology

Along with keeping training current, your IT support provider will be better able to make sure your technology, including all-important security protections, are the most current and most effective available. They are also in constant touch with the best IT vendors in the business and together with your staff, can implement the projects that can help move your business forward. (See our White Paper on A Digital Business in a Digital World.)

Concentrate on Your Business

Your time is valuable and as important as IT is these days, and as time-consuming as IT considerations can be, you will find it is a great relief to be able to take this concern “off your plate.” The right IT company can effective function as your CIO and/or CTO. Until your company has reached the point where it makes sense to staff these expensive positions, the team at your support provider will very effectively fill the bill.

Support: 24 x 7 x 365

Effective IT Support has to function around the clock. Your employees are in the office, working from home, on the road, and need support when they need support. Cyber intrusions also take place around the clock and equipment fails around the clock. Can your company really rely on people who, as well-meaning as they may be, are in the office from 9 to 6, then hard to reach? Or taking a sick day? Or on vacation? While we may have saved this for last n this list, it is by no means the least important. The right, qualified IT service provider will monitor, manage and maintain your IT infrastructure 24 / 7 / 365 because in today’s environment this is all-important.

So if you have ever considered working with a managed IT support company, or would just like to start thinking about it, give us a call. No pressure. No obligation. Just an open and frank discussion. 678-373-0716.

 

For the past few years, we have published an annual white paper on Cyber Security, and, as we continue this tradition for 2018, you can expect to see this year’s version within the next two weeks. This year, however, we are expanding our focus to include a number of topics both directly and indirectly relating to cyber security. These include cyber security regulations, the Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence, crypto currency, fake news and biometrics. Why? Because in the world today, these things all impact cyber security.

If crypto currency hasn’t given ransomware life, it has certainly enabled it to move to the forefront of cyber crime. It has made the payments of ransoms relatively easy and profitable for bad actors. Unfortunately, it has also paved the way for “amateur” criminals who can end up causing way more damage than they actually planed.

Advanced government cyber regulations are coming into effect in Europe and we expect other countries will follow (hopefully the USA). The problem may be in what some are calling the “Y2K effect”, meaning that many, if not most, companies seem to be way behind in preparing to augment required policies. This could be a problem for US companies doing business overseas.

Artificial intelligence will be used by criminals in highly sophisticated ways that will target governments, companies and consumers. Huge amounts of personally identifiable information (PII) has been compromised in the huge data thefts will have heard about this year, including Anthem and Equifax. We believe that this information can and will be used to psycho-graphically and demographically target consumers, governments and companies.

Fake news ties in with the use of artificial intelligence by cyber criminals to affect the behavior of people. (We are not going to look at fake news from a political perspective.)

We have long been proponents of multifactor password encryption, and still are, but it is also time to take a good hard look at biometrics. Apple has brought biometrics to the consumer forefront with the introduction of facial recognition, and with the cyber bad guys getting more clever every year, biometric recognition is probably in your future.

And then there is the Internet of Things (IoT), the technology that allows you to close your garage door from across town, control you're a/c or heat from your smartphone, or ask Alexa to play something by Frank Sinatra or Bruno Mars. It’s great stuff, but the security of these devices is quite questionable.

As a lead-in, we would suggest reading last year’s piece on Cyber Security 2017, and look for the upcoming update.

Ransomware has been the big cyber security news story during the past year, and with good reason. It is extremely aggressive and is capable of locking down files, only freeing them up when a ransom is paid. Importantly, however, you must understand how ransomware works and avoid certain misconceptions. Below are some misconceptions and the truth about them. (Note: if you want to learn more about how ransomware works, and how a managed IT support provider can be effective in stopping an attack, read our article “Attack! How Two Companies Prepared for Ransomware.”

Misconception: Ransomware will only affect the computer it initially infects and, while causing damage there, will also stop there.

Reality: Understand this – cyber criminals are really smart and are constantly working on new ways to get into your files. Think of it the same way you think of a program like Microsoft Office.  Office started with limited features, lots of bugs, and got better and stronger over time. Ransomware is going through the same transition. Early versions of ransomware generally infected a single machine and stopped there. Today’s ransomware is much more aggressive and will not only attack the computer in which it lands, some versions can quickly migrate and lock-down an entire network. Some versions will also steal data and credentials from throughout your network.

Misconception: Cyber criminals who use ransomware are only interested in on-premises networks.

Reality: In a recent survey, 35% of infections spread through well-known SaaS (Software as a Service) platforms such as Google Drive, Dropbox and Office 365. They found that infected files that were synched on Dropbox, for example, were not automatically wiped clean of the infection. If colleagues use such files on Dropbox, they can bring the infection back to their own computers and in this way, the infection can rapidly spread throughout the network. Some advanced ransomware does not trigger the lockdown until some time has passed. This allows the bug to migrate throughout the network.

Misconception: Ransomware infections are easy to detect and can be stopped before they spread.

Reality: It can take even experienced users several minutes to realize and diagnose the problem. Ransomware is usually designed to encrypt files very quickly and in the few minutes it takes to realize what happened, it can spread throughout the infected device and into others.

Misconception: Antivirus software will stop all ransomware before it can do real damage.

Reality: By necessity, antivirus software is reactionary, meaning that until there is an attack by a new virus or a new form of an existing virus, the antivirus manufacturers cannot produce the antivirus to fight it…they need to see it to beat it. Consequently, you need to do several things to protect your company:

Misconception: Once the ransom has been paid, your files will definitely be freed up.

Reality: We have seen cases where the cyber-criminal was unable to unlock the files that his ransomware encrypted. What happened? The perpetrator apologized and walked away, leaving years of data permanently locked and essentially destroyed. (Read the article “Attack!” Mentioned in the note above.)

DynaSis has been providing managed IT support and IT security to small and mid-sized companies of all types throughout the Atlanta metro area since 1992. For a complimentary IT assessment, or to just start a discussion, give us a call at 678-373-0716.

Cloud Migration Strategies for Small to Mid-Sized Businesses

While we recognize the relevancy of keeping data storage on premises for many small to mid-sized businesses, we also recognize that for many other companies, moving data to the cloud is often the next logical step in computing. This migration can lead to cost savings through workload reductions as well as capital equipment costs. Add to this unlimited scalability and the ability of your employees to access data from anywhere, at home, on the road, even on vacation, along with increased network protection, and the logic starts to add up.

But making the move isn’t necessarily the easiest thing in the world. Cloud migration has great benefits for many companies, and is something we believe you should at least consider, but in order to make the implementation flow smoothly, you need to plan this out. Here are our thoughts on making this happen:

Cloud Infrastructure

In broad terms, there are three types of cloud infrastructure that can be examined.

Public: These include well-known companies such as Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google Cloud Compute. All three have tremendous scalability but also provide their clients with less control…you have to follow their rules. If you have to deal with strict government regulations, this could become problematic.

Private: While private clouds will give you more control, which can also give you better performance and even a higher level of security, your in-house IT team and/or your managed IT service provider will have to remain involved. Many companies have determined that this is the option that works best for them because of the control and security issues.

Hybrid: Hybrid systems, where some data and functionality reside in the cloud and some within your own facility, are also a common choice. A qualified managed IT support company can help you make this determination.

The DynaSis Business Cloud can be implemented as a public, private or a hybrid solution. Contact us for an analysis.

Data Backup & Disaster Recovery

Nothing in the IT world is more critical than effective, professional data back-up and recovery preparedness. Stuff happens. Brilliant cyber criminals are at work 24 x 7 figuring out how to steal, destroy, and/or lockdown your data files. Equipment crashes. Fires happen. Floods happen. Tornadoes and hurricanes happen. Employee theft and destruction happen. Your customers may be sympathetic to your problems when these things occur, but they fully and rightly expect you to be back up and running just as soon as possible. You need to review and understand the service level agreements (SLAs) provided by your service providers. You and your managed IT support provider, or your in-house IT team, need to set proper recovery point objectives (RPOs) and recovery time objectives (RTOs), and understand how these will be met.

Data Governance & Security

Cloud migration is a disruptive process. Please don’t think that you can totally eliminate the disruption. You can’t. But you can manage it. You are also going to have to accept that giving up some level of control of your data is not necessarily a bad thing. If you are a large company with a large in-house IT team, you probably have a number of individuals on whom you can rely for network security. A small to mid-sized company, however, even with its own small in-house IT team, cannot afford the level of support and security that the right IT support company, along with the right level of cloud storage and data backup, can provide. If you carefully research and choose the right partners, you will soon take comfort in the services they provide.

Cost

Many companies delay looking into cloud solutions, or managed IT services, because they believe these will increase their expenses. Here at DynaSis, we almost always find that our clients’ costs are less than they were previously spending, plus they have all the benefits started above, along with having a tremendous operational burden lifted.

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At DynaSis we have been providing managed IT support to Atlanta’s business community for more than 25 years. If you would like us to provide you with a complementary IT Network and Security Assessment, please give us a call at 678-373-0716 or visit us at www.DynaSis.com.

Everyone has things in life that they would rather ignore…letters from the IRS, toothaches, creepy crawly sounds in the attic…but the reality is that these things rarely get better by ignoring them. Your company’s IT problems fall into the same category. Like the rest, if you don’t fix them, they will probably get worse.

Here is a partial list of problems you might have encountered recently and then we will talk about why they need to be addressed promptly:

Does this sound familiar? But this is the short list. There is no question we could double or triple it. The point is that these are little signs of trouble that business owners and managers tend to put aside. Your people start and restart computers, open and close applications, or develop other little workarounds, all because they don’t want to confront the underlying issues. And they applaud themselves, as do you, for solving the problem. But they really haven’t.

This is a band-aid approach and it can work…until it doesn’t. It could be that these issues don’t seem big enough to worry about, or it could be that management just doesn’t want to spend money on finding a solution, so the warning signs go ignored. But wasting time and annoying your employees aren't the real issues. Taking these seemingly innocuous actions can be very dangerous because they ignore the fact that there can be serious problems that are triggering these minor symptoms, and you can end up with equipment failure, data loss, expensive repairs or be forced to replace expensive equipment that could have been saved.

We said earlier that these early warning technology problems are similar to IRS letters, creatures in the attic, and toothaches. How? Take care of them when they first show themselves, and you will be avoiding real headaches down the road. If your company hasn’t had a professional IT support and security assessment lately, at DynaSis it’s complimentary and you will learn a whole lot about your IT infrastructure and how fixing small problems can prevent bigger ones down the road. Give us a call at 678-373-0716 or visit our website www.DynaSis.com.

Developing Your Company’s BYOD (Bring Your Own Device to Work) Policy

There was a time not that long ago, when every human being around you wasn’t carrying a cell phone, when a child of 12 didn’t assume that he/she was entitled to the latest and greatest device, or when, if given a cell phone (or a beeper) by an employer, employees understood that they had to follow certain rules. Of course, as personal cell phone use grew, it meant that, more and more, people were carrying around multiple devices, and given the size of many smartphones these days, that would be rather burdensome.

Today most employers realize that allowing employees to use their own phones and other devices for business is a benefit for both sides, but it can also be problematic. If the employer chooses to pay for a portion of the monthly cellphone bill, does this make the device a “company” asset? Does the company have any control over it at all? Some companies have taken that approach and demand the right to use the GPS application in a privately owned phone to track employees’ whereabouts, especially if these people spend time on the road.

Perhaps more importantly, personal privacy as well as corporate security issues can arise when these devices are synched to the employer’s network. Larger firms often have BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) to work policies, but smaller companies, as often as not, will leave it to chance. Surveys of this size business prove the point: 88% of employees are doing at least some business on their own devices, indicating the potential for disastrous consequences, yet only 17% of these companies have a BYOD policies to deal with the situation. Another 29% have plans to implement BYOD security protocols in the future, but experience tells us that, ultimately, many of these plans will never be executed.

We believe this is important enough to share with you some guidelines for establishing your company’s own policy. Smartphones can be hacked and they can provide cyber crime entry into your IT infrastructure. We encourage you to do it now, not after your first cyber security attack or data loss. These are our suggestions:

1: First of all, your company’s BYOD policies should be in writing. In smaller companies, it is not unusual for policies like this to be verbal and never be committed to “paper”. In today’s work-world, with telecommuting and the use of home office equipment becoming commonplace, clearing defining employee responsibilities and employer rights is critical.

2: Allowed Devices: Clearly define what devices you will allow employees to use for work.

3: Data Deletion: You must be able to delete any and all company data on a remote basis without the owner’s permission. With the right mobile device management application, this is not at all difficult to accomplish, and you can do so while leaving the device’s owner’s contacts, personal photos, music, etc., untouched.

4: Employee privacy: People who use their devices for work must understand that while you have no desire to intrude on their personal lives, your access to these devices might also give you access to their images, email, texts and other information residing in these devices. As an employer, you have an obligation to protect the privacy of your employees, as well as protecting your company.

5: Tracking: As we stated above, some organizations use the GPS tracking applications within their employees’ smartphones to track their daily progress. When this fits into your business plans, this must be fully understood by the employee and, again, you have a duty to protect privacy.

We strongly encourage you to start the process of creating your own company BYOD to Work policy. If you need some assistance, please give us a call.

 

DynaSis has been providing managed IT service in Atlanta to the small to mid-sized business community for more than 25 years. Whether your company is looking for total managed IT support, ranging from 24 x 7 x 365 helpdesk, to the monitoring, managing and maintaining of IT networks, or designing and installation of IT infrastructure, or if you are looking for one or more specific services to assist your in-house IT team, we are here to help. Give us a call today at 678-373-0716, or visit us at www.DynaSis.com.

 

Making Technology Work for Your Company

Technology has become pervasive. So much so that we like to say that today every company is a technology company. Every one uses technology. And innovations come so fast and furiously that it seems like it’s a full-time job keeping up. Just how much can the average business executive know about network security, cloud computing, servers, ransomware, processors, routers or firewalls? There is so much information out there, so much to know, that anyone trying to learn it all would spend years catching up. That’s why companies like ours exist, but there are still some things you can and should do on your own to be more efficient, to make sure your network is secure, and eliminate the tech logjam that way too many companies deal with. Here are easy steps:

1: Employee training. This is an important protection that is much too easy to overlook. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” is an attitude that may work in plumbing or highway repair, but not in technology. Did you know that the majority of infrastructure problems occur when employees click on something in an email? Or that productivity is lost when employees are embarrassed to ask questions about how to get the most out of the applications they are using, like Word or Excel? As a business owner or executive, you need to make sure enough time is taken to train your people on their technology. Everyone who applies for a job these days claims expertise in Office, or Office 365, but most only know the fundamentals and can be wasting time for years to come.

2: Keep your equipment up-to-date. I know. You really don’t want to spend money on new equipment when the old stuff seems to be working fine. But once equipment manufacturers stop supporting older models of hardware and software, you open yourself up to a wide variety of security problems and failures. Outdated security is a prime target of cyber-criminals as they know that the manufacturers are no longer providing security updates.

The amount of time wasted on waiting for slow machines is also astonishing. If you lose 10 minutes a day, which may not seem like much, that comes to 43+ hours a year, or a full week of work lost, not to mention the frustration level of your employees.

3: Securing your network. No-brainer here. But many small businesses assume that because they are small, they are safe. Nothing could be further from the truth. Cyber criminals prefer going after small businesses because they know these businesses are less likely to have the protections in place that keep them out! Various recent studies have shown that as much as 43% of cyber attacks these days are against small businesses. If you aren’t sure how to secure your network, you need to be working with a qualified managed IT support company.

4: Security patches. This is one that many businesses do not keep up with. Patches are generated by software manufacturers when a flaw or weakness is discovered. These flaws and weaknesses are what are explored by cyber-criminals to attack a company’s infrastructure to either steal data or install ransomware. The trick is to get these patches installed BEFORE your network is attacked. This is another area for which meeting with an experienced managed IT support company may make sense.

5: Passwords. If you read our blogs and white papers, you know that this is something we preach about regularly. There is good reason. It’s way too easy to use a simple password over and over but the downside could be catastrophic. Here are two schools of thought on passwords:

A: Use a combination of upper case, lower case, number and characters…but they should not relate back to you. For example, fTr$#u& would be considered strong. mYbDayApr14 is not. Criminals use algorithms that can process thousands of variations of your birthday in seconds.

B: New thinking says that it is better to use a string of words that have no relation to each other, but that you can easily remember, for example, housebaseballrabbit or bathtubcrownextreme. The number of possibilities for 26 x 26 x 26 for 20 letters, is 766 nonillion possibilities (30 zeros), and that becomes unmanageable for the cybercriminal, yet is easy for you to remember.

6: Backup your data. Nothing is more important. In fact, we recently wrote a whole White Paper on Data Backup & Disaster Recovery, so rather than repeat ourselves, we strongly suggest you take a few minutes to read it.

Those are six important steps you can take to make sure your technology is working for you, not against you. Here’s one more: speak with a managed IT service provider that can offer you the services you need to make sure your network is safe and secure and your employees are functioning at peak performance. At DynaSis, we have been providing managed IT service in Atlanta to small and mid-sized companies of all types for more than 25 years. We will provide you with an extensive complimentary infrastructure and security assessment, and a review of the services we believe will be both cost effective and enable you to take full advantage of the technology that can power your business forward. Call us today at 678-373-0716, or visit us at www.DynaSis.com

 

 

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