Why Your Business Is The PERFECT Target For Hackers … And What You Need To Do NOW To Protect Yourself

Everybody gets hacked, but not everything makes the evening news. We hear about big companies like Target, Home Depot, Capital One, and Facebook getting hacked. What we rarely hear about are the little guys – the small businesses that makeup 99.7% of employers in the United States, according to the Small Business Administration. It’s these guys who are the biggest targets of cybercriminals.

Basically, if you run a business, that business is a potential target. It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in, what you sell or how popular you are. Cybercriminals go after everybody. In 2018, a cybersecurity survey by the Ponemon Institute found that 67% of small and midsize businesses in the US and UK were hit by a cyber-attack.

For the cybercriminal, casting a wide net makes the most sense because it gets results. It puts them in a position where they are able to extort money, steal sensitive information, and ultimately profit off of destroying the property, prosperity, and reputation of others.

Why do cybercriminals love to target small businesses? There are a handful of reasons why small businesses make sense to attack.

1.  Small Businesses Are The Most Vulnerable. Business owners, entrepreneurs, and executives aren’t always up-to-date on network security, current cyber threats, or best practices in IT. They have a business to run and that’s usually where their focus is. Unfortunately, that means cybersecurity can take a back seat to other things, like marketing or customer support. This also means they might not be investing in good network security or any IT security at all. It’s just not top-of-mind or they may feel that because it’s never happened to them, it never will (which is a dangerous way of thinking).

2. Small Businesses Don’t Take IT Security Seriously. Coming off that last point, it’s true that many businesses don’t properly secure their network because they feel that they aren’t vulnerable. They have the mindset of “It hasn’t happened to me, so it won’t.” Along those same lines, they might not even take password security seriously. According to research conducted by Trace Security, upward of 80% of ALL breaches come down to one vulnerability: weak passwords! Even in 2020, people are still using passwords like “12345” and “password” to protect sensitive data, such as banking information and customer records. Secure passwords that are changed regularly can protect your business!

3. Small Businesses Don’t Have The Resources They Need. Generally speaking, medium to large companies have more resources to put into IT security. While this isn’t always true (even big companies skimp on cybersecurity, as the headlines remind us), hackers spend less time focused on big targets because they assume it will take more of their own resources (time and effort) to get what they want (money and sensitive data). Many small businesses lack the resources like capital and personnel to put toward IT security, so hackers are more confident in attacking these businesses.

Just because you haven’t had any major problems for years – or at all – is a bad excuse for not maintaining your computer systems. Threats are growing in number by the day. While many small businesses might think, “I don’t have the time or resources for good security,” that’s not true! You don’t need to hire IT staff to take care of your security needs. You don’t need to spend an arm and a leg securing your network. IT security has come a LONG way in just the last five years alone. You can now rely on IT security firms to handle all the heavy lifting. They can monitor your network 24/7. They can provide you with IT support 24/7.

That’s the great thing about technology today – while many hackers are doing everything they can to use technology against us, you can use it against them too. Work with a dedicated and experienced IT security firm.

Tell them your business’s network security needs and they’ll go to work fighting the good fight against the bad guys.

3 Reasons Why Recessions Are Awesome For Great Companies

It may be jarring to read the words “recession” and “awesome” in the same sentence. Recessions are bad for most people. I will not make light of how horrible recessions are for the vast majority of companies and their employees, (as well as for not-for-profit organizations and governments).

For most companies, recessions mean increased stress at work, stalled career progression or even layoffs, uncertainty, increased board and shareholder pressure, increased financial strain and a feeling of looming danger in the pit of your stomach, which is no fun to wake up to every day!

But for great companies, recessions can be awesome.

What are great companies?

Great companies make great products or deliver great services to customers. They provide a wonderful work culture that attracts and retains talented people. And because they take great care of customers and employees, great companies don’t have a dangerous debt burden. They are profitable and able to pay their bills to suppliers while delivering an attractive return to investors in dividends and equity appreciation.

How are recessions awesome for great companies?

Recessions allow great companies an opportunity to do the following:

1. Shake loose the cobwebs of complacency.

“Success breeds complacency,” said Andy Grove, the legendary CEO of Intel. And while I’m not here to suggest everybody embrace full-on “paranoia” in the workplace (Only The Paranoid Survive), I am here to suggest that great companies have to keep hustling to stay great. A recession provides an opportunity for a wake-up call to great companies that may start to coast on past greatness and help them get back on track.

2. Take customers and colleagues away from lesser companies that don’t deserve them.

As lesser companies stumble during recession (e.g., shutting locations, letting service and quality drop, highlighting dysfunction in the culture, etc.), it’s the perfect time for great companies to pick up more customers and talented people. I remember when a successful business services company with 70 locations around North America entered the ’08 recession. Lesser competitors were closing branches and laying off people, and service was slipping. But the CEO of the successful company was not fearful about the recession. Instead, he sensed the opportunity to win more customers with better service and poach some top talent away from the struggling competitors. The recession allowed this great company to gain market share and build a stronger leadership talent pipeline.

3. Increase the rate of learning of your leaders.

Time seems to move more quickly for me during harder times than during easy times. This can improve the learning curve of your up-and-coming leaders. Just remember to not make too many decisions for them; that will stunt their growth. Allow your leaders to come to you with problems and solutions, and coach and support them. Let them test and learn various approaches to leading through uncertain times.

Geoff Smart is chairman and founder of ghSMART. Geoff is co-author, with his colleague Randy Street, of the New York Times best-selling book, Who: A Method For Hiring, and the author of the No. 1 Wall Street Journal best seller Leadocracy: Hiring More Great Leaders (Like You) Into Government. Geoff co-created the Topgrading brand of talent management. He is the founder of two 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organizations. SMARTKids Leadership Program™ provides 10 years of leadership tutoring, and the Leaders Initiative™ seeks to deploy society’s greatest leaders into government. Geoff earned a BA in Economics with honors from Northwestern University, and an MA and PhD in Psychology from Claremont Graduate University.

New Microsoft Edge Features that will Make you Want to Switch Browsers

The latest iteration of Windows’s default web browser was built from the ground up using the same code as Google Chrome. It’s a similar yet entirely different browser that offers faster loading times, improved security and support, and better compatibility with websites and extensions, among other outstanding features. Here’s what else you can look forward to in the new Microsoft Edge.

1. Collections

Collections allow you to gather information from different sites, then organize, export, or return to it at a later time. Doing these can be especially difficult if you’re working across several sites and multiple devices.

To use this feature, simply click on the Collections button and a pane will open on the right side of your browser window. Here, you can easily drag and drop web pages, text, images, videos, and other elements into a group, which you can then import to a Word document or Excel workbook.

2. Vertical tabs

Vertical tabs are a handy feature if you often find yourself opening dozens of tabs at once at any given time. Instead of having to hover over or click on one to see which page it’s on, you can easily find and manage your tabs on the side with a single click. You’ll never have to lose track of or accidentally close tabs again.

3. Smart Copy

How often do you copy content from the web and paste it into a document only for it to become an ugly mess of text that needs to be cleaned up? This won’t be a problem if you use the new Microsoft Edge. The Smart Copy feature makes it easier to select, copy, and paste web content — including any images or links — while preserving its formatting.

4. Tracking prevention

Whenever you visit a site, online trackers can collect information about your internet activity, including pages you visit, links you click on, your search history, and more. What’s alarming is that they can do this even when you’re not on the site. Companies then use the data collected to target you with personalized advertisements and experiences. This can seem highly intrusive, if not downright creepy.

The new tracking prevention feature in Microsoft Edge is designed to keep you from being tracked by sites that you aren’t accessing directly. It’s enabled by default, and it gives you control over the types of third-party trackers to be detected and blocked, thereby enhancing your online privacy.

5. Password Monitor

Millions of online personal credentials are frequently exposed due to data breaches and sold on the dark web. To keep your online accounts safe from hackers, Microsoft developed the Password Monitor. When enabled, this feature notifies you if the credentials you’ve saved to autofill is on the dark web. It then prompts you to take action, allowing you to view a list of all the leaked credentials and then leading you to the respective site to change your password.

6. InPrivate mode enhancements

Sometimes, you may want extra online privacy when browsing the internet, especially if you’re sharing devices with other people. When you use the InPrivate mode, your history, cookies, and site data are automatically deleted once you finish a web browsing session. What’s more, your searches aren’t tied to your account, so you don’t have to go through the hassle of deleting your search or browser history.

7. Immersive Reader

Built into the new Microsoft Edge, Immersive Reader makes reading online easier and more accessible by removing distractions on the page and creating a simplified environment that helps you to focus. This feature also gives you access to a variety of capabilities, including hearing text read aloud or adjusting the text size.

8. 4K and Dolby Audio

If you enjoy binge-watching the latest series on Netflix or just want a high-definition entertainment experience when viewing content online, then this feature is for you. Microsoft Edge is the only browser on Windows 10 that lets you watch Netflix in stunning 4K resolution and supports Dolby Audio and Dolby Vision.

9. Give with Bing

Bing now comes with a Give Mode feature that allows you to support the causes you care about by simply searching using the search engine. As part of the Microsoft Rewards program, you can earn reward points for searches and donate these points to one out of more than a million nonprofits to choose from. This includes the CDC Foundation and other organizations supporting the COVID-19 response.

10. Easy switching

Microsoft Edge is available to download for Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android. What’s great is that you can easily copy or migrate your bookmarks, form fill information, passwords, and basic settings to the new Microsoft Edge with just a single click.

If you want to learn more about the latest features of Microsoft Edge and how to enjoy these benefits on your business computers, give us a call today.

Is Your Cloud Solution Going Over Budget?

The cloud is the perfect solution for small- and medium-sized businesses like yours. For a small monthly fee, you get access to cutting-edge technologies and 24/7 support from a team of cloud experts. But without proper management, cloud costs can quickly go over your budget. Here’s what you should do to keep it from becoming too expensive.

Don’t go for stand-alone services
Stand-alone services are the biggest price trap in the cloud. Spending on a stand-alone cloud software may seem harmless now, but if you decide to purchase similar services, the costs can quickly pile up. Then, there’s the issue of integrating these systems together, which costs even more time and money.

The best way around this is to find a service provider that offers a suite of products that work seamlessly together. Platforms like Office 365 or G Suite are great examples, and offer you differently priced packages based on the size and requirements of your business.

Team up with integration experts
If you do need to subscribe to a stand-alone service, you’ll want to integrate it with the rest of your cloud platform. But if you have limited experience with integrations, mistakes are likely to happen and cause downtime, which will inevitably cost you time and money.

The more economical option is to partner with a cloud integration expert, as they can quickly configure and deploy your systems with zero mistakes.

Understand cloud backup costs
While cloud backups are great for keeping your data secure, you must know how much you’re paying for them. If you plan on storing your data for a long time, you may be charged more. At the same time, if you store more versions of your data, it will cost you more.

One way you can keep costs down is to ask yourself whether certain files even need to be stored in the cloud. Mission-critical files like customer information, legal document, and business plans should be stored in the cloud so you can retrieve them right away after a disaster, but routine documents like time sheets can probably be stored in less expensive data centers.

Remove unnecessary accounts
Most cloud service providers charge you based on the number of users per month, so if you’re not diligent about removing accounts when employees have left your company, you could be throwing your money down the drain.

To avoid this, you need to have de-provisioning procedures in place for when an employee’s contract is terminated. Create a spreadsheet of each employee in your payroll and note down their cloud subscriptions. When an employee leaves your company, you must delete all their business accounts and give the relevant manager access to all their documents.

It’s also a good idea to schedule regular audits to make sure you’re not paying for people who’ve already left your company.

Work with a trustworthy provider
Last but not least, you’ll want to partner with a cloud services provider that not only gives you the best deals on cloud solutions, but also proactively monitors your account and warns you about any issues regarding the computing resources and storage space you’re using.

If you’re looking to keep cloud costs under control, talk to us today. If you’re looking to keep cloud costs under control, talk to us today. At Net Activity,  we’re the experts at making the cloud work for each and every client, and we’d love to speak with you about how we can do the same for you!

Have you updated your firmware yet?

When was the last time you checked if the firmware of your gadgets is up to date? If it has been a while, then you need to do so right away. This is because you might be using outdated firmware, and doing so makes you vulnerable to data breaches and other cyberattacks.

What is firmware?

Firmware is a basic type of software that is embedded into every piece of hardware. It controls the device it’s installed on, cannot be uninstalled or removed, and is only compatible with the make and model of the hardware it is installed on. Think of it like a translator between your stiff and unchanging hardware and your fluid and evolving software. For example, the firmware of a TV remote control processes the button presses and sends that data into a format that the TV can understand.

Why is firmware security important?

To clearly explain the importance of firmware security, let’s use the firmware installed in a router as an example.

When you buy a router and plug it in, its firmware allows it to connect devices to your wireless network with almost zero input from you. However, if the router manufacturer is outside of California, then they might still be using the same username and password for the same router model, if not for all router models. If you don’t change these default settings, you could be exposed to hackers.

Default usernames and passwords is an example of a known vulnerability, and firmware could have other vulnerabilities that cybercriminals could exploit. Black hat hackers could use these to spy on you, steal or corrupt your data, or even damage your systems. Unfortunately, firmware exploits are not rare occurrences. Not too long ago, a cybersecurity professional discovered that sending a 33-character text message to a router generated an SMS response that included the administrator username and password.

How do I protect myself?

The best way to defend yourself from firmware exploits is to immediately roll out firmware updates from the device’s manufacturer. With that said, you need to keep in mind that every manufacturer has different procedures for checking and updating firmware. For instance, if you have a D-Link router, typing “192.168.0.1” into a web browser will allow you to access its firmware and update process, assuming you have the username and password. If you’re unfamiliar with your router manufacturer’s procedures, you can type “[manufacturer name] router firmware update” on any search engine like Google.

But remember, routers are just one example of how firmware affects your cybersecurity posture. Hard drives, motherboards, and even mice and keyboards need to be checked as well. We understand this can be extremely tedious, and that’s why we highly recommend hiring an IT provider to take care of it for you. If you’re curious about what else we can do to help, give Net Activity a call today!

6 Must-Have Elements on any Successful Website

In a recent survey of 1,800 customers, 42% said they’re “very unlikely” to purchase from ugly websites. That’s not so surprising. After all, there are plenty of competitors’ websites that are more visually appealing and user-friendly that they can visit. If your business website fails to make a critical good first impression, it could lose money. You can avoid that by improving these elements on your website.

A variety of professional photos

From pictures of your products to team photos, high-quality images are arguably the most important thing on your website. Blurry, outdated, or irrelevant pictures tell your site visitors that you don’t care about their browsing experience. In-house photos are the best option, but stock images shouldn’t cause any problems as long as they are optimized for mobile viewing and relevant to your content.

Navigation

Aside from subpar images, linking to nonexistent pages is one of the best ways to turn site visitors away. Make sure it’s easy to navigate your site and remove outdated or irrelevant pages. You can’t sell 404 pages to customers, and if that’s all visitors can find, it’s game over.

Clear copywriting

The last thing you want to do is to confuse your customers, so it’s important to keep all of your product or service descriptions as straightforward and simple as possible. If what you’re selling has detailed information such as dimensions or technical requirements, make sure the description is easy to find but not obtrusive.

Promises to site visitors

Any website that ships products should make its returns policy as visible as possible. This establishes trust early. Explicitly stating terms of return is also important because some online shoppers make purchase decisions based solely on the clarity of a return policy.

Even if you don’t run an eCommerce site, you also need to prominently display privacy commitments, such as those mandated by the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

About page

Your brand needs a story behind it that customers can relate to. Every company website should have an About Us page that describes your team, its culture, and what sets you apart from the competition. Whatever your story is, make sure it’s accessible from any page on your site.

Design

Not everyone is a web design expert, but in today’s gig economy, one is never too far away from such a career. If your budget is tight, there are DIY site builders specifically geared toward small businesses. Or with a relatively low monthly expenditure, you can hire a managed website provider.

With more revenue originating online, small- and medium-sized business owners can’t afford to overlook the importance of creating a fully functional website.

For more information on building a modern website, call us today!

Speed up your Windows 10 PC with these 4 easy tips

When your computer shows signs of slowing down, don’t feel compelled to buy a replacement just yet. You can still speed up your machine — and do it for free, too. We’ve listed four effective tips to make your Windows 10 computer faster:

Prevent programs from launching at startup

Windows makes certain programs readily available by loading them at startup. While Microsoft likely has good intentions for doing this, this auto-launch feature slows down your computer. To fix this issue, you’ll need to adjust your settings.

Open the Task Manager by pressing Ctrl+Shift+Esc to see the programs that launch during startup. On the startup tab, you can easily disable any programs you don’t want launching at startup, such as media players and optional accessories that don’t have to be active all the time. But to be on the safe side, keep essential apps, such as antivirus software, enabled.

Get rid of useless applications

Having too many programs installed on your computer uses up valuable memory and hard disk space. This slows down your computer and makes the machine work harder than necessary. Quickly uninstall programs you don’t need by following these steps:

• Tap the Windows key on your keyboard and type “Add or remove programs” (this will show you all the apps stored in your computer).
• A link to the system settings will appear. Click on the link.
• Select the program/s you no longer want, and click Uninstall.

Once you do this, you’ll then be guided through several steps to complete the uninstallation process.

Organize your disks

It’s important to regularly clean out your computer of data you don’t need. Thankfully, Microsoft’s Disk Cleanup tool makes it easy to do so.

To find the tool, tap on the Windows button on your keyboard and type “Disk Cleanup.” If you click on the link, the tool will automatically find files that take up too much memory space, such as temporary Internet and system memory dump files. Just click OK to send these files to your Recycle Bin.

Turn off apps running in the background

You may not know it, but there are a lot of programs running in the background as you use your computer. Microsoft enabled their native universal apps to do this so you can quickly access their features. However, this also slows down your CPU. Disabling them will reduce the burden on your computer and speed it up.

To find out what programs are running in the background, press the Windows button on your keyboard and type “Background apps.” Find the programs you don’t need running and toggle the On-Off button.

By following these four steps, you’ll see a noticeable difference in the speed of your PC. If you want to learn how to optimize your Windows system further or need assistance with your other Microsoft products, give us a call at 216-503-5150.

Collaborate Better for more Successful Workflows

If your business is like many others, you’ve pushed off some of your more capital-intensive plans and focused on efficiency. Now that things are starting to reopen in many places, it’s been made clear that keeping your business running with remote workers is a good strategy, but you can’t keep your projects on the back burner forever. Using video conferencing solutions to help run your projects can be a good stopgap that can give your business some flexibility. Let’s take a look.

Restarting Projects

While your employees were doing DIY home improvement projects, your business’ improvement projects have laid dormant. As the new normal will present situations that were not only rare a short time ago, they are not completely aimed at improving your business’ situation in the same manner as the projects you had planned before this whole thing hit. If your strategy is like many other businesses, you will have to be cautious to not put your employees in harm’s way. With a projected second wave of COVID-19 still possible, it’s going to be important for project teams to forge ahead even if they are being forced to work from remote locations.

One of the best collaboration tools you have at this point is your video conferencing solution. Not only does it give your team the ability to meet with each other from remote locations, solutions today are built with the ability to integrate some of your most important software into the meetings. These integrations can go a long way toward giving your project team members the resources they need to efficiently and effectively complete difficult projects.

Collaboration Strategies

Sad to say, solid collaboration isn’t just the act of people working together. True collaboration is measured in the successful delivery of professional goods and services. If your project teams need to work together to get your offerings out the door, and they are being forced to work remotely, invest in a video conferencing solution that provides both an option-rich interface with the ability to interact as a team or one-on-one. This is crucial because the more time you spend in meetings, the less time is spent being actually productive, even if the contents of the meeting are critical to the success of the project.

Once you have a reliable conferencing solution in place, you can use it to run points over operational difficulties, projects, and even whole staff meetings. Here are some suggestions on how to use your video conferencing solution to get the most out of your team.

1. Don’t be brief to save time – Many people will try to keep meetings as short as possible. That’s actually a good practice, but if your team needs communication on the specifics of a project or task, brevity may be counterproductive.
2. Don’t send too many messages – Do you follow up using instant message, email, and phone? This is complete overkill. With a video conferencing platform, you can quickly address all the issues present for that day at once, not over multiple forms of communication. If things do require a write up after the fact, assign one person to compose meeting minutes.
3. Don’t just use the video conference for work – Part of working for a company is the camaraderie your staff shares. Things like birthday parties and staff meetings can be a respite from the continual flow of work-related information.

Using video conferencing for collaboration means having a strategy that keeps people connected while reducing the feeling of anxiety that comes from being overwhelmed with information. If you would like to talk about video conferencing solutions that can help your business get the most out of your remote staff, call the IT experts at Net Activity at 216-503-5150.

Keep your Mobile Devices Safe with these Tips

Mobile devices are generally less secure than laptop and desktop computers. While there are available anti-malware applications for smartphones and tablets, they aren’t as comprehensive as those for laptops and desktops. Additionally, some mobile devices aren’t compatible with certain security applications or measures implemented by businesses. That’s why it’s even more important to keep track of and manage all the mobile devices your staff uses to access sensitive company data. Here are a few helpful tips to do so.

Ensure mobile OS is up to date

The updates on Apple and Android operating systems (OS) improve overall user experience, but their most important function is to fix security vulnerabilities. Reduce your business’s exposure to threats by installing updates for all devices as soon as they become available. Don’t wait for a few weeks or months to update, as this gives cybercriminals ample time to exploit vulnerabilities on devices that run on an outdated OS.

Install business applications only

Downloading apps seems harmless. But lenient policies on what should and shouldn’t be downloaded on company mobile devices could lead to staff downloading and installing non-business-related apps from third-party stores, most of which are notorious for malicious advertising codes and other threats. It’s imperative that employees download and install only business applications necessary for their work on their company mobile devices.

Be careful when connecting to public Wi-Fi networks

Emergencies may compel you to use password-free Wi-Fi networks in hotels, airports, cafes, and other public places. Connecting to an open network can expose your confidential information and sensitive company data to cybercriminals connected to the same network.

You can avoid this by providing a practical internet data plan, preferably one that includes roaming services, for remote workers. And if you really have to connect to a public Wi-Fi network, don’t use the connection for transferring sensitive data.

Enable phone tracking tools

Losing a company-issued mobile device is unfortunate but inevitable. Devices can be misplaced or stolen, but enabling Find My iPhone for iOS devices, GPS Phone Tracker for Android, or any device-tracking app helps users locate lost phones. Some also have the option to delete data on stolen devices. Downloading and setting up such an app only takes a few minutes, and it will give you peace of mind knowing that even if your phone is lost or stolen, its contents will not be compromised.

Screen SMS carefully

SMS phishing can be used to trick you into clicking malicious links. Cybercriminals send messages purporting to be from someone you know, asking you to urgently disclose confidential information. Should you encounter such an SMS, you can either delete it or alert your IT department. You can also block unknown senders without even opening their message.

Mobile devices are becoming more critical to operations. And with more devices open to attacks, businesses must bolster their cybersecurity efforts. Malicious actors will exploit every possible vulnerability, and that includes those in unsecured smartphones and tablets. Get in touch with us if you need comprehensive security solutions for your business.