In the midst of the coronavirus, business owners are facing a host of new challenges. To slow the spread of the virus, you may have been asked to suspend services or allow your employees to work from home. At the same time, however, you also need to continue to bring in revenue, stay productive, and focus on growth as much as possible.
Making the shift from an in-office to a remote team quickly, especially at a time when everyone is dealing with untold stresses, can be difficult, and the right approach is essential. Check out these tips.
Decide What You Need to Stay Productive
Creating a remote team isn’t easy as handing your workers a laptop and telling them to check in once in a while. If you don’t have a current work-at-home policy, you need to create one from scratch, and you may need to adjust workflows, find new tools, and create new security policies. As you try to facilitate this shift, keep these types of questions in mind:
What can my employees accomplish from home?
Can they handle core business activities from home?
Even if my business is deemed essential, can I send some employees home?
What types of projects do I want to prioritize during this time?
What applications do I need to facilitate workflows and keep everyone connected?
How can my employees work from home without compromising the security of our network?
What can I do to make this new arrangement as productive and comfortable as possible for myself and my team?
Consider Providing Employee With Devices
Don’t necessarily encourage your employees to use their own devices when working from home. Their home computers and tablets have all kinds of music, videos, images, and other downloads that may be infected with malware, and their devices are usually not equipped with the same level of antivirus or malware software you use in your office.
To reduce the threat of cyberattacks, consider providing your team with company-approved and secured devices. However, if you already have a bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policy for your office, you may want to continue having employees use their own devices because in this situation, you’ve already taken steps to secure those devices.
Help Your Workers Secure Their WiFi Access Points
As a general rule of thumb, your employees home WiFi networks are probably less secure than the WiFi you use in your office. To secure these access points, instruct your team to do the following:
Use stronger encryption
Create more complex passwords
Hide your network names
Use firewalls
To help your employees with these steps, you may want to create detailed tutorials or contact an IT managed services provider to help you.
Route Traffic Through a Two-Factor Authentication VPN
To secure your tech environment as much as possible, consider having your employees access your network through a virtual private network (VPN). A VPN encrypts all the information passing from your employees’ computers to your network. Even if a hacker gets onto our employee’s WiFi network, they cannot see keystrokes or any of the data being transmitted.
Also, try to choose a VPN that supports dual-factor authentication. Then, your employees have to enter a username and a password, but they also have to use a second authenticator such as a code texted to their phone number or email address. This layer of security provides extra defense against cyber criminals.
Consult With an IT Managed Services Provider
Returning to business as normal may not be possible for a while, and a managed IT services provider can help identify the tools and processes you need to support your new networking environment, while also taking steps to ensure your network is as secure as possible.
In difficult times, you want your business to survive, but if possible, you should try to thrive. Our managed IT services can help you adapt to this quickly changing environment.
Customized Computer Services, Inc. (CCSI) has been serving the Dallas-Fort Worth area for over 29 years providing computer, printer and Managed IT services. Contact us and find out how we can help your business.
According to Google more people are moving from the white screen mode to the dark screen mode on their PCs, phones and tablets. A simple setup that lets you choose the background color of an app window to black. Why is this move becoming more popular with PC and phone users? Here are some reasons why some are moving to the dark screen.
Health and Well-being:
People are spending more time watching videos, browsing
social media, on their tablets and smartphones. American adults spend more than
11 hours per day watching, reading, listening to or simply interacting with
media, according to a new study by market-research group Nielsen. The exposure
to brightly lit screens has resulted in more people experiencing what is referred
to as Digital Eye Strain. Digital eye strain is painful dry eyes that you get
from being exposed to bright white screens.
“Everyone can relate to being in a room where the
lights are turned down and you’ve got this white screen blinding you,”
said Sameer Samat, Google’s VP of product management for Android and Play,
during an interview at Google I/O.
It’s not just Digital Eye Strain, there is more to it a
cascade of underlying symptoms that affects the body. Headaches and blurred vision are just some of
the symptoms. Other symptoms include
insomnia due to suppression of melatonin, a hormone needed for sleep.
A Standout Appearance:
After staring at bright white screens for years it may take your eyes some time to acclimate to dark mode. Once you get use to the dark mode the colors seem to pop out on the dark background. According to the levels of contrast and performance of different color background more colors stand out on dark background than any other color.
Battery Saving:
Google’s VP of product management Sameer Samat also said that it will help conserve battery. He said, “there are few things that get you battery savings for free. Lighting up fewer OLED pixels will get you farther in the day.” For example, at 50% brightness, the Dark Mode interface in the YouTube app saves about 15% screen energy compared to a flat white background. At 100% screen brightness, the dark interface is saving a whopping 60% of screen energy. While OLED screens are mainly used by Android devices. Apple will drop all LCD screens by 2020 and deliver all future generation devices with OLED screens. As both IOS and Android should get the native dark mode later in the year, it seems to be a promising upgrade to our phones battery life.
Drawbacks of Dark Mode:
The dark theme settings will not replace the bright white daytime screen mode. Bright white screens are apparently easiest to read in daylight and outside sunlight. This is why an automatic switch from day and night is a must-have feature to eliminate switching manually between the two screens.
Customized Computer Services, Inc. (CCSI) has served the Dallas-Fort Worth area for over 30 years. Providing Managed IT and other IT related services. Contact us and find out how we can help your company with its information technology needs.
Cyber-security company Trend Micro says the personal data of thousands of its customers has been exposed by a rogue member of staff.
The company says an employee sold information from its
customer-support database, including names and phone numbers, to a third party.
It became suspicious after customers started receiving phone
calls from scammers posing as Trend Micro staff.
The company says it has contacted those whose details were
exposed.
Trend Micro said it believed approximately 70,000 of its 12
million customers had been affected.
“It’s every security firm’s nightmare for something
like this to occur,” cyber-expert and writer Graham Cluley told BBC News.
“You can have all the security in place to prevent
external hackers getting in but that doesn’t stop internal staff from taking
data and using it for nefarious purposes,” he said.
“If a cyber-security firm like Trend Micro can fall
victim to a security breach, it can happen to any company.”
Trend Micro provides cyber-security and anti-virus tools to
consumers, businesses and organizations around the world.
In August 2019, it received reports many users of its home
security software had been receiving scam phone calls.
The scammers knew so much information about their targets
that Trend Micro suspected its customer support database had been breached.
It later found out its systems had not been attacked over
the internet and it was instead facing a “malicious insider threat”.
“The suspect was a Trend Micro employee who improperly accessed the data with a clear criminal intent,” the company said in ablog post .
“Our investigation revealed that this employee sold the
stolen information to a currently unknown third-party malicious actor.”
The company said it was working with police and the employee
in question had been fired.
It said its customer-support staff would never call people
“unexpectedly”.
“If a support call is to be made, it will be scheduled
in advance. If you receive an unexpected phone call claiming to be from Trend
Micro, hang up and report the incident to Trend Micro support using our
official contact details below,” the company said.
It can be extremely hard on a company’s bottom line and public perception when isolated data breaches lead to litigation and public scrutiny of the company’s policies and procedures for data protection. To avoid being on the receiving end of unwanted litigation and publicity, shrink the window of opportunity for your employees to act maliciously.
Organizations can employ several mechanisms to protect against these and other threats: 1) removing local administrative access so that only enterprise administrators can access sensitive data; and 2) deploying software that locks any unauthorized applications from being introduced to the system; and 3) requiring all administrative actions to be logged; and 4) implementing role-based access controls. Keep in mind that company data and IT administrators and related independent contractors have the most access to data and computer systems, and as a result, represent the most significant threat to data security.
Customized Computer Services, Inc. has served the DFW for over 30 years. we have help many of our clients et up protocol system to help companies protect their data from outside threats as well as internal threats.
IT departments are always under constant constraints to do
more with less when it comes to the budget allotted to them. When it comes to server
upgrades, businesses often side with keeping their servers running as long as
they can. Sometimes even risk keeping an outdated server going for longer than
it should. The older a server is, the
more likely it is to fail resulting in loss of productivity.
With new technology and new advancement new servers are more
reliable, help increase productivity, reduce running costs and are more admin
friendly. New servers might be more cost
friendly than keeping an old server going over the long run.
When should a business consider upgrading their servers? Here
are some reasons to consider when upgrading the server.
1. Speed of the
server: If the server is running very slow, and downloads are painfully slow,
opening files takes what seems to be forever to open. When the server slows
down to a crawl this can become time consuming for the business and as a result
the server now affects the productivity. It’s a good idea to keep an eye on the
processor and disk usage if it exceeds 75% it is time to consider an upgrade.
2. An attention
seeking server: There is nothing worse than a needy server which requires you
to continuously put out fires and troubleshoot issues all in an effort to just
keep the server going. If time that should be spent elsewhere is being spent on
the server all in the sake of keep the server running than it might be a good
time to upgrade the server.
3. Server is making excessive
noise: A noisy server is a good indicator of impending failure. Usually noise is attributed to the wear and
tear of the moving parts of the server.
If the noise has increased over time it may be a good idea to start
looking for replacement parts or think about replacing the server.
4. Server is running
out of space: When you start running low on free disk space or RAM, there is
only one solution to this and that is when you will need to upgrade the server.
Taking on more staff, installing more applications or a software upgrade will
all require more storage and memory capacity. Depending on your server’s
specifications, you may be able to simply upgrade the server’s existing RAM and
hard drives. If this isn’t an option or if it would only be an interim
solution, it might be wiser to upgrade to a server that can provide the
capacity you need to accommodate future growth instead.
5. The warrant has
expired on the server: You no longer have the protection of the original
manufacturer warranty which means that someone else needs to step in and help
should a problem arise with the server’s hardware or software. If you don’t
have qualified support staff in-house, there’s the expense of calling someone
in to troubleshoot server problems. Even if you do, chances are you’ll
need to replace or upgrade failed parts. Either that or you might consider
upgrading the server’s warranty if they still offer that option for the server.
6. Server end of life: There is a good chance the option of extending the warranty may not be an option if the server is at the end of life. End of life means updates, services and extended warranty for that particular server will no longer be available as it will be deemed obsolete by the manufacturer. Without the necessary updates if you continue to use the server will leave the server susceptible to possible security issues. Without services you will have to find a tech to service the server and that can get costly and there is no warranty either for your protection.
7. Cost of keeping
the server running: With new technology and advancements servers are become
more efficient to run. Keeping an older
server running may not feasible. The old servers tend to use more electricity
to power it. Keeping the room cooler to
prevent overheating uses more energy, and maintenance cost to keep the server
working increase as well. If the server
is using up man power and constantly requiring parts to keep it going then it
may be time to consider upgrading.
8. How critical is
the server for your operation: This might be the most important reason to
upgrade your server. If your business relies on the server to host critical
functions, then there is no way you can afford to let the server go down.
Business continuity is important and it might be a good idea to look to upgrade
the server every three to four years because server failure is not an option
afforded to the business at hand.
Upgrading a Server can be costly but it has its benefits as well. If you are in the market for an upgrade or want an assessment of the current server or servers that you have contact Customized Computer Services, Inc (CCSI) at (817) 459-4000. CCSI has been providing services to the Dallas-Fort Worth area for over 30 years.
Cybersecurity is a vital aspect
of business. Cyberattacks happen in many
different ways it can be some hacker forcing their way through a security wall
or exploiting a piece of software, many cybersecurity breaches occur when
employees inadvertently allow an attacker in. In most cases, the employee is oblivious
of their part in the attack. Employees can be a company’s weakest link in cyber
security and yet can also be the biggest asset.
The best way to keep your company’s data safe is to teach your staff to
avoid potentially risky behaviors and to know what to do in case of an attack.
Educate Employees on Data
Security
If employees know how to recognize data threats, scams and other malicious cyber menaces, they are better employees. Ongoing cyber education helps to build a more responsible organization and gives employees the insight to know how to avoid potential security threats.
Consistent Training is Key
Cybersecurity training and information should be shared on a consistent basis. Monthly emails or videos are a great way to keep the training going. Occasional training, including informal trainings before shifts, can keep the awareness up without requiring you to subject your employees to long, tedious seminars about cyber security.
Additionally, keeping a line of
communication open is important. Having a phone number that people can call
with questions or if there’s an incident can reduce problems and improve
response time.
Cyber Security is Everybody’s
Responsibility
Making sure that everyone who has
access to the company network is in on the cyber security training will help to
ensure that each employee recognizes their responsibility. Everyone in the
company is vulnerable, but everyone is also capable of improving cyber security
as well, simply by being trained and vigilant.
With new cyber threats occurring on
daily basis it is easy to lose sight of cyber security as a company goal. It is
important that management reinforce consistently the message of data security
and keep the employees vigil to threats. Employees should know and be made
aware of the following.
Breach fatigue:
Breach fatigue is the slow
cultural acceptance and normalization of data breaches. This isn’t surprising,
given the almost daily news reports of new data breaches. Data breach fatigue
is a real and dangerous problem because it could lead to your employees being
less inclined to follow the right protocols. Luckily, there are steps you can
take to fight breach fatigue. Work to change workplace attitudes
around data security by frequently reminding employees about the potential
dangers.
Passwords best practices:
Although having strong passwords
is a relatively low-tech method of security, it is one of the most fundamental
and practical ways to enhance cybersecurity. Unfortunately, this is also one of
the least practiced security measures according to the Center for Internet
Security.
The good news is that creating good passwords isn’t
difficult and they can go a long way in securing your system. With a few quick
guidelines, your employees can make sure their passwords are good enough to
protect your business from the risk of a data breach.
Phishing:
Phishing is a malicious attack that tries to trick individuals into providing sensitive information like passwords or account details. These attacks usually come via email enticing you to click external links which contain malware. They can also occur via social media, text messaging and even through phone calls.
What makes phishing so dangerous
is that most people don’t realize they’re being attacked. The large volume of
messages sent usually leads to somebody getting caught.
Spear phishing:
Spear phishing is a more dangerous form of regular phishing because it targets a specific user. These emails use private information to pose as someone in your email list or as an organization you may be familiar with. This way they seem more trustworthy. To avoid these attacks, train your employees to always be suspicious of emails that ask you to click a link or provide specific information. Be aware of emails that have poor spelling, punctuation, and grammar.
Ransomware:
Ransomware is a form of malware that blocks access to your computer or data until a ransom is paid. These types of attacks tend to make headlines for extracting billions of dollars from businesses. Department of Homeland Security reports an increase in ransomware attacks and notes that data recovery isn’t always guaranteed. The best ways to reduce your risk of ransomware attacks is to train your employees to recognize the signs of a ransomware attack such as files that won’t open, missing file extensions or lock screens.
Training employees on cybersecurity is essential in todays business world, according to The State of IT Security for 2019, found that email security training and employee training were heart of the problems faced by IT security professionals. Over 30% of the employees were not aware of what phishing or malware was according to survey done by Wombat Securities Technologies. According to the FBI June 14, 2016, Business Email Compromise has accounted for over $3 billion of loss.
Take the first step in protecting your business against cyber threats contact Customized Computer Services Inc. (CCSI), we work with our clients to develop protocols for best practice and educate their employees on possible cyber threats. CCSI has been serving the DFW area for 30 years.
