In today's competitive, always-on landscape, businesses need to be one step ahead of their competitors to thrive and retain their customers. Your business functions on technology and it should be reliable and efficient.

In light of October being National Security Awareness Month, your first objective should be to ensure that your network and interconnected devices are secure against the proliferation of ransomware and malware knocking at your firewall's front door.

• Is your firewall's firmware/software up-to-date?
• Are you using all of the features included?
  • DNS protection to block botnets and malicious websites.
  • Antivirus scanning to prevent malware entering your network in the first place.
  • Blacklisting web applications that reduce employee productivity (Facebook, Instagram, Game Sites, and websites that go against company policy)
  • Reporting that gives insight into the data traversing your network
  • Alerting that proactively removes a device from the network.

    Features like these and more are commonplace with what are being called Next Generation Firewalls.

Speaking of Next Generation, the same applies to Antivirus. Several new security software companies have brought new software to market which takes a new approach to Antivirus software. Gone are the days of downloading updates and definitions; now heuristics and intrusion detection and prevention are here.

We're testing these Next Generation products and have found that some are capable of stopping malware in it's tracks and restoring any data and settings that were modified back to their original state—usually in the blink of an eye.

Contact us today to learn more! We'd be happy to have a conversation over the phone, email, or coffee!

Ctrl + X to Cut

Think about X marking the spot in the text where you want to cut words, an image, or a URL. Drag your cursor over the selection to highlight the particular text/table/image/file (or a part of it). If you don’t want it at all, the cut function is another version of delete. If you want to move the selection, this is your first step.

Ctrl + V to Paste

With this simple shortcut you can place the information you just cut (or copied using Ctrl + C) anywhere you want. The important thing to remember is that the paste function only holds one selection in memory. So, if you cut a phrase from one place, don’t get distracted by an image you want to copy or other text to cut. You want to paste what you have first, then go back and copy or cut the next thing so as not to risk risking losing anything.

Ctrl + Z to Undo, Ctrl + Y to Redo

If only this shortcut was available in real life. We could retract that thing we inadvertently said to Uncle Steve, or take out the salt we put in a recipe instead of sugar, or avoid leaving the house for the gym without our running shoes.

Still, Windows users are able to undo their most recent action with this key combination. Whichever Windows program you’re in, you can use Ctrl + Z to reverse your last action. To redo something, go with Ctrl + Y.

Alt + Tab to Switch Screens

There are many things you can do with Windows. Perhaps you’re multitasking: you have a PowerPoint open, as well as an Excel spreadsheet, and Internet Explorer, too. By pressing Alt and then the Tab key, you can switch between tabs or screens. If you hold down the Alt button while tapping Tab, you’ll scroll through all screens.

Ctrl + N to open a new window

Pressing Ctrl+N together opens up a new document file or browser window, depending on the program you’re in. It saves you a few drop-down menus and works in most Windows applications and Web browsers.

Ctrl + F to Find

This is another one we’d love to see in the real world. Using the find shortcut calls up a pop-up box where you can enter text or numbers. You can use this shortcut to find what you’re looking for on a Web page, in a PDF document, or in your rough draft of a speech. In fact, you’ll be able to see how many times your search text appears and toggle from one selection to the next.

Ctrl + Mouse Scroll Wheel to Zoom in or Out

Forget your reading glasses? Looking at a too-small info-graphic? Having a tough time locating the right tiny file on your desktop? You can zoom in with this shortcut. Using this shortcut on your desktop makes files and folders larger. In your browser, this function zooms in on the page.

Want to know more about Windows and technology to streamline processes? Our experts can help you find the right computer solutions for your home or office.

The techie in us couldn't resist posting this great imagery of hurricane Dorian as of 9/2/2019.

Check out https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/satellite.php and look at the GOES Gulf and East Coast links for looped imagery like the one below.

Please be cautious of Dorian. With Hurricane Irma, we experienced winds that were primarily from one direction. While it looks like we've dodged a bullet, shifts in the direction of the winds as the eye crosses over can pack a punch due to the saturated ground. 

Please be safe and alert, especially as the hurricane gets closer. Being prepared is key as the storm approaches, ensuring that we don't wake up to find out Dorian didn't turn North. 

The Hurricane DR Checklist for Businesses

• Check recent backups on all systems. Your backup solution or service provider should provide access to an easy to understand status page.
• Ensure recent backups were sent successfully to the cloud (or other DR site) for each server.
• Keep in mind, you should establish a method to test your backups through a recovery process quarterly (you may not have time to do this in an emergency).
• Make sure that any site you/your end users go to have power generation, Internet, and cell phone connectivity.
• Take corrective action as soon as possible, we're here to help via chat, email, or phone.

Does your business email system have minimum protections in place? There are some simple mail flow rules that can be added to prevent email spoofing, and more advanced techniques to reduce spam. For outgoing email, it’s important to have the correct records in place such as SPF, DMARC, and DKIM to ensure your email doesn’t end up in someone else’s junk box (or blocked entirely).
The Office 365 Security Road map can be found here. These tasks can be overwhelming and sometimes complicated so we recommend against beginners or non-technical users changing any Microsoft Exchange settings, however.
IT Protectorate can review your environment, find areas for improvement, and implement configuration changes to mitigate risk of users being tricked into clicking email. One of the classic cases is someone in accounting receiving an email from the CEO asking to transfer large sums of money into an account. The untrained user may be afraid to question it and just transfer the money as requested…to that prince in a foreign land posing as an executive.
While protecting against everything can reduce productivity, we recommend training end users by presenting them with scenarios such as these and tracking when they fall for the email. IT Protectorate can setup fake email campaigns that track who your problem users are, then we can schedule specific training to reduce the chances of them giving away passwords or transferring money in the real world.
Things like this tend not to be obvious but it is important to have proper checks and balances in place in the digital world. Our focus is on a balance of security and productivity, we’ll be glad to assist in protecting your business data!

We’re keeping it simple today. We’d like to offer a checklist that covers simple tasks or things to keep in mind that will prevent fraud at work and your home.

1. Use strong, unique passwords; we recommend a minimum of 8 characters. If the account has any kind of administrative, remote access, or access to secure or critical data—we recommend a minimum of 12 characters.
2. Use Two-factor authentication whenever possible. It’s one more step for you, but it is one of the better barriers against your account getting hacked.
3. Make sure your account information and profiles are up to date. This is critical as you’ll be notified at your active email or phone number when someone is attempting to reset your password.
4. Keep an eye on your credit reports, look for suspicious activities that weren’t initiated by you.
5. Be wary of clicking links from unknown sources. This includes email, all messaging apps, or even someone trying to help you (always verify the sources identity).

What do you expect from the technology that helps run your business? Is it a benefit or a burden? We believe your success is our success and strive to help guide our customers through their digital transformations. Most importantly, we get you thinking about defining goals and setting clear intentions. This helps develop realistic expectations around the digital systems that help employees clock in or look up information to ensure they deliver quality customer service.

The first question is what are we trying to accomplish? How are we going to measure the success of this implementation? What does success mean to us?

Having walked our customers through countless upgrades, hardware failures, and data recoveries, we’ve found that clients with clearly defined goals use their technology to its fullest. Translation: thinking about the value of your data or what your customers need from your database means we can recover exactly the data you need from the exact day two weeks ago that you needed it. Or, when a customer calls in needing a serial number from an air conditioning system, pool pump, or hydraulic jack they purchased from you four years ago, they happily get that serial number quickly and think of you the next time they need your products or services.

What are your biggest operational challenges? Where would you like to see the most improvement? Thinking through these questions will help you define your businesses goals regarding the technology that helps store and retrieve data for you and your customers.