Versatile Technology Group, LLC - News Blog

Read On For An Easy Way To Remember Your Passwords And Maintain High Security…One of the hardest habits we struggle to get our clients to break is writing down their passwords on sticky notes by their PC. Obviously this is a security risk. Another bad habit is choosing really easy-to-remember passwords such as “password”.

But admittedly, it CAN be hard remembering all of those darn passwords that are always changing. To solve this little dilemma, we’re suggesting to our clients to stop using passwords and use “pass-phrases”.

What is a “pass-phrase” you ask? They are letters and numbers put together in an easy-to- remember phrase such as “GoEagles09!” These are MUCH easier to remember than a random cluster of letters and numbers, which means you won’t have to write them down on a post-it note anymore!

Pass-phrases can be built from anything, such as favorite quotes, lines from movies, sports team names, a favorite athlete’s name and jersey number, kids’ names and birthdates, pets, and so on.

All you need to do is be a little creative to get numbers, letters and punctuation into the phrase. Since introducing this to our clients, we’ve found (believe it or not) they actually have fun doing this! Just don’t get so proud of your pass-phrase that you share it with others!

#1 Overconfidence
User overconfidence in security products is the top threat to your network.  Failure to “practice safe software” results in nuisance attacks like porn storms (unstoppable rapid fire pornographic pop-ups) and more subtle key loggers that steal passwords.  Surveys promising free stuff, result in theft of information like your mother’s maiden name, high school, etc. used to answer common security questions leading to theft of otherwise secure data.  Think before you click!

#2 Social Networking Sites
Social networking sites like Facebook are exploding in popularity.  Threats range from malware (e.g. viruses, worms, spyware) to scammers trying to steal your identity, information and money.  Many businesses and government agencies are using these sites to communicate with clients and constituents, so simply blocking access is no longer reasonable.  Defending your company while allowing employee access requires social network education for your employees and the enforcement of strong acceptable use policies.  We can help you develop a policy, then monitor compliance using a Unified Threat Management device that controls and reports on network access.

#3 Attacks On Mobile Devices
Everyone is going mobile these days not just the “road warriors”.  Once limited to laptop computers, mobile network devices now include PDAs, handheld computers and smart phones, with new appliances appearing in the stores every month.  Mobile devices often contain sensitive data yet they are easily lost or stolen.  Be sure to password protect and encrypt data on all mobile devices whenever possible.  Include mobile devices in your acceptable use policy.

#4 Cloud Computing
“The Cloud”, in its most simple form, involves using the Internet to access and store your data.  When you access e-mail using a web browser, you are working in “the cloud”.  Using the cloud for automated off site backup is rapidly gaining popularity and is just the beginning.  Companies like Microsoft, IBM and Google envision the day when we will use inexpensive terminals instead of computers to run programs and access data located somewhere on the Internet.  You need to be sure that any data you store and access across the Internet is secure not just where it is stored, but during the trip to and from the Internet.

Moving is always a pain in the rump, but it doesn’t have to be a horrific, expensive experience. The number one lament from someone who’s experienced a “bad” move is, “I didn’t know I needed to…” followed closely by “I completely forgot that…” In other words, it’s what you don’t do that makes the move a disaster.  To make your move easy and effortless, here are the 5 most common mistakes you want to avoid:

Mistake #1 — Not Using A Checklist
This may seem like a no-brainer to those who manage projects, but project management may not be a forte of someone placed in charge of your move (like an office admin). Even those who use a list typically fail to make the list detailed enough. See page 2 of this newsletter for a free starter guide.

Mistake #2 — Trying To Save Money By Using Your Employees To Move Your Computer Network
Don’t ask your staff to disconnect, move and reconnect computers, phones and other devices just to save a few bucks. You’ll frustrate them and end up with phones ringing at the wrong extension, lost cables, and workstations that get dropped rendering them useless. You don’t want to let the movers do this job either; they may be great at moving furniture, but a network is a lot more sophisticated and sensitive. Be smart and hire an IT pro to pack and move your network. Doing so will help you avoid communication blackouts and extended downtime.

Mistake #3 — Not Hiring The RIGHT IT Firm To Move Your Network
While we’re on the topic, make sure you know what to look for when outsourcing the move. A few things to look for would include references from other clients, proof of insurance (get them to fax you a copy), a service level guarantee limiting the amount of time you are down, and a professional, organized approach to quoting the move.

A real pro will insist on visiting your current location as well as your new location to conduct a detailed site survey. NEVER hire anyone who wants to quote moving your network over the phone. Additionally, look for an IT company that will apply the charges for conducting your site survey against the total cost of the move if you choose them.

Mistake #4 — Not Giving Your Phone, Internet And Cable Vendors Enough Advance Warning
Eighty percent (80%) of unexpected communications blackouts and cost overruns on network moves are caused by failure to properly plan voice, data and electrical installation in advance. Just because the prior tenant had computers and telephones is no guarantee that the cabling is suitable for your phones and your computer network. Advance planning will help you avoid emergency rush fees or band aid fixes to make things work.

Internet and telephone connections require as much as six weeks advance notice to be installed, tested and ready the day you move in.

And if you are building a new office, don’t leave it up to the builder to decide how many power outlets, network and phone connections you will need. Remember, changes and additions after the walls are up are at your expense. With printers, scanners, faxes, and other technologies connecting directly to the network these days, the rule of thumb of one electrical outlet, one phone and one network connection per employee is woefully outdated. Consult your IT provider in the early planning stages to ensure you have what you need before the drywall goes up.

Mistake #5 — Poor Communication With Vendors And Employees Prior To, And During The Move
Failure to communicate changes before and during the move results in confusion, downtime and increased expense. Remember, your computers and phones will be unavailable for a period of time before, during and immediately after the move. A little planning can minimize the impact on your business.

• Give your employees, customers, and vendors the anticipated downtime schedule.
• Make a cell phone list of important phone numbers (like tech support contacts, the phone company, cable company, etc.) and give it to your employees. You may also want to provide vendors and customers with a list of employee cell phone numbers to use during the communication blackout that will take place during the move.
• Confirm, confirm, confirm! Call your vendors several times to make sure they have the move on their schedule and planned; don’t assume anything!
• Ask your IT provider to temporarily reroute important e-mail and phones to another location during the move, or set up a web portal to enable you to access e-mail from a laptop or home computer so you’re not completely disconnected.

Five Solid Reasons Why You Should Throw Away Your Tape Backup And Switch To Our insure:IT Backup Solution This Month:

1. Because It’s FREE!!!
In case you haven’t been paying attention, we’ve been knocking ourselves out trying to get your attention to upgrade your current tape backup to our new insure:IT Backup Solution.  There’s a mountain of evidence and several smart reasons why you should upgrade your backup this month, such as:

2. You’ll be able to be back up and running MUCH faster in the event of a disaster; and a “disaster” doesn’t always have to be a catastrophic earthquake or business fire; data can also become corrupt or get erased due to hardware failures and software “glitches”.  With our insure:IT Backup Solution, you can literally be back up and working within 24 hours or LESS, where your current tape system could have you down for days—possibly even weeks— while we relocate all your software, re-build the server, re-install and configure the software, and retrieve your data.  That’s just crazy! Sure, tape backups are better than nothing, but now there IS a better alternative!

3. Tape drives have an average failure rate of 100% - yep, that means all tape drives will fail at some point, often without any signs or warnings! Tapes are very sensitive to heat and moisture; so if you are taking your tapes home with you in your car, there is a very good chance the data is useless. And the worst part is that tape failure often gives no warning whatsoever - the only way to know if your data is actually in a format that can be restored, is to perform regular, monthly (even weekly) test restores. When is the last time you did that with one of your tapes?

4. If your office gets broken into, is destroyed by a fire or flood, or gets hit with an earthquake, EVERYTHING is going down with the ship, including your tape backups and software disks. You just cannot afford to ignore the importance of having an offsite copy of your data! Plus, our new insure:IT Backup Solution will enable you to ‘plug back in’ and start working from any location—even if you and your staff are forced to maintain a “virtual” office for a period of time.

That’s Why We’re Pulling Out All The Stops To Give You A FREE Month Of Service!
Why would we do this? Couple of reasons… Because we’re in a giving mood.  So if you call us before May 31st, we’ll give you the first month of service absolutely free! Second, we know you are just busy and probably not thinking about your backups. After all, if it’s not broken, why fix it, right? Wrong! If your seat belt in your car was broken, you’d have it fixed ASAP even if you weren’t planning on crashing anytime soon. Same goes with your data backup. We hope you NEVER have to resort to an emergency backup, but if you do, you can have complete peace of mind knowing your data will be there and you can continue working regardless of what happens.

To secure your first month of FREE service, call NOW: 901.383.1050 or e-mail us at info@vtgtn.com. Click here to download a brochure on our insure:IT Backup Solution.

While spam, pop-ups, and hackers are a real threat to any small business network, there are 3 security measures that you should be focusing on FIRST before you do anything else…

Worry About E-mail Attachments, Not Spam
Sure, spam is annoying and wastes your time, but the REAL danger with spam is in the attachments. Viruses and worms are malicious programs that are spread primarily through cleverly disguised attachments to messages that trick you (or your employees) into opening them. Another huge threat is phishing e-mails that trick the user by appearing to be legitimate emails from your bank, eBay, or other password-protected entity.

Here are 3 things you must have in place to avoid this nightmare:
1. Keep your anti-virus up-to-date and enabled. Okay, this sounds like a no brainer, but it’s not uncommon for an employee to disable their anti-virus software unbeknownst to you. Which brings us to #2…

2. Train employees on what they are (and aren’t) permitted to do with the company’s computer, e-mail, Internet access, etc. One thing that should be on the list is that they should NEVER open suspicious attachments or respond to phishing emails. We highly recommend creating an AUP (acceptable use policy) to teach your staff what NOT to do.

3. Put monitoring software in place to not only maintain the health of employees’ desktops, but also to automatically “police” employees from accidentally (or intentionally) visiting a phishing web site, downloading a virus, or visiting questionable web sites and content online.

Fear Downloads Before Pop-Ups
Did you know that most computers and networks get infected with viruses because the user actually invited the threat in by downloading a file (screen saver, music file, PDF document, pictures, etc.).? Again, this comes down to training the staff on what they can and cannot do with your computer network; but the best way to avoid this from happening is to remove the temptation by installing monitoring software that will prevent employees from downloading unsavory items to YOUR network. We also recommend installing and maintaining a good firewall, which will block Internet traffic to and from dangerous sites.

Lose Sleep Over Backups Before Hackers
You are more likely to lose data from hardware failure, accidental deletion (human error), flood, fire, natural disaster or software corruption than a hacker. Sure, you should do everything to keep hackers out of your network, but not backing up your data to a remote location is crazy. At a minimum, you should have an onsite AND offsite copy of your data, and you should be testing your data backups regularly to make sure your data CAN be restored in the event of an emergency.

What You Don’t Know CAN Hurt You
Since we are on the subject of protecting your network, can I talk straight? 99% of the business owners I work with wait FAR too long to have us check and update their computer network’s health and security. Because they are not performing regular maintenance, almost every single network we review is completely overlooking these 3 security risks! At some point, disaster will strike and they find themselves in a real mess with a network that is completely down (that’s when they call us in a panic). By then, the damage is done and it often costs thousands of dollars to restore their network back to normal. Even then it’s not uncommon for them to permanently lose irreplaceable accounting, client, and business data – not to mention hours of downtime. What saddens me even more is the fact that almost every one of these costly disasters could have easily been prevented if someone had checked their network’s security and health to remove these threats on a regular basis.

Why Should You Care About This?
Because your computer network is the core of running your business. Try to imagine what it would be like if you walked into your office one day to discover all of your data was lost or corrupt. That’s why regular maintenance is so important. REMEMBER: Keeping your network safe is a moving target; the security updates you installed today may be rendered useless tomorrow because new threats are emerging daily.