Is Your Mobile Data Safe?

In 2018 there are certain technologies most businesses have begun to embrace. Cloud computing, high-end network security, collaboration technologies, and some others have begun to be utilized by businesses, large and small, to build a more productive enterprise. Apart from these technologies, there are a few that every business person should know, if only to understand what is possible; and what is on the horizon for their company.

Blockchain
With cryptocurrencies being in the news lately, many people have come to hear the term “blockchain”. This kind of secure ledger technology has many applications from data and application security to communications. The blockchain allows for enhanced and reliable security for data; specifically, the ownership of data.

Internet of Things
The Internet of Things has been growing exponentially every year; and, going forward will have to be an important line item on any business’ mobile device management policy. By communicating with other devices over the Internet, it naturally opens up security issues for any organization. Since a majority of devices will be connected to the Internet over time, businesses will have to take that into account when devising and supporting their mobile device policy.

Chatbots
Many of today’s businesses are utilizing technologies to help them support their products or services. While the importance of maintaining an open line of communication with clients and customers is indisputable, many companies lack the internal resources to dedicate the commitment to comprehensive support. Improvements in chatbot interfaces have made them an increasingly viable option for companies to field incoming messages, as artificial intelligence attends to many concerns and greatly reduces the number of problems that your staff has to deal with.

As a result of these improvements, more industries are likely to increase their use of chatbots for a variety of purposes.

Subscription Model
The ability for most solutions to be delivered and maintained via an Internet connection has led to a shift in software deployment. Instead of needing to buy a new version of the software every year, the subscription model allows companies to pay a monthly fee for the security of knowing that the software they are using is the most recent (and secure) version available.

Automation
It should come as no surprise that a technology that allows focus to be shifted from menial tasks to other, more pressing considerations would be welcomed in the business world. Automation permits exactly this, with artificial intelligence and predetermined processes stepping in and providing certain business needs.

While there are many processes and fields that still require a human touch, automation allows for more time to be committed to them, and less to “busy” work.

Tip of the Week: Protecting Your Mobile Device in 2 Easy Steps

Mobile devices are one of the greatest tools available for business use today. However, because society has come to rely so much on mobile devices, these devices have become a treasure trove for cybercriminals to obtain information from. For this week’s tip, we’ll go over some simple ways to protect yourself from such threats.

Do You Really Need to Connect?
Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity give our phones a heightened level of utility, but this benefit can also come with severe risks. Mobile devices, for the sake of simplicity and convenience, are ready and willing to connect with any Wi-Fi or Bluetooth signal they can. Unfortunately, this puts them at risk of being hijacked by any threat that may be lurking on the signal.

To mitigate this risk, make sure that you aren’t connecting to Wi-Fi or Bluetooth signals that aren’t secure and trustworthy. In fact, when not using them, keep these connections disabled just in case.

The same goes for public charging stations. These can also be used to spread threats, so it is better to rely on a portable charger or a wall outlet to power your device.

Furthermore, if you are connecting to something, make sure you aren’t sharing more than you need. For instance, if you need to rent a car while on a business trip, there’s nothing wrong with using Bluetooth to make hands-free calls. However, if prompted, there is no reason to sync your contacts with the car’s storage, effectively handing them to the next person that rents that car. Being cautious as you connect will only help you to stay safe in the long run.

Keep it Locked Up
The contents of your phone shouldn’t be available to just anyone who picks it up. Whether you have access to sensitive business information through the device, or you have apps that help you manage the rest of your life, your information is at risk unless you have protections in place to keep it safe.

The simplest way to do so is to leverage the phone’s built-in security features. Whether your phone accepts PIN numbers, passcodes, or a pattern set it up so that only you know how to open it. Furthermore, with more devices today leveraging biometric and facial recognition technology, there are other means for you to secure your mobile device.

Lowlife Ransomware Hackers Now Asking for More Than $1k Per Attack

Ransomware remains a very real threat, and is arguably only getting worse. Attacks are now able to come more frequently, and there are opportunities for even relative amateurs to level an attack against some unfortunate victim. However, this is not to say that there is nothing you can do to keep your business from becoming another cautionary tale.

Ransomware, in review:
First of all, it’s important to understand exactly what ransomware is. A form of malware, ransomware will infect your system and encrypt your data. It gets its name from the fact that the attacker will demand a ransom in order for your data to be decrypted. What’s worse, if you pay, you’re taking the distributor at their word that they will decrypt your data once the money has changed hands.

Understandably, this form of ransomware can be a highly potent weapon against many users, who simply won’t know how to handle the situation beyond paying and hoping for the best. Of course, since the motives behind ransomware are financial, a lot is directed towards business targets, as they not only have more funds available but are also heavily reliant on their data to function.

Ransomware repercussions
The nature of ransomware means that those that distribute it can usually name their price for the decryption key. After all, it isn’t as though victims have anywhere else to turn other than the hacker (or so the hackers want them to believe). Due to this, ransoms for encrypted data have shot up--in 2015, the ransom to decrypt an infected computer would cost about $294, on average. That price had jumped to average $1,077 per computer in 2016.

In addition to this increase in ransom demands, there was a 36 percent higher rate of ransomware attempts between 2015 and 2016, 68 percent targeting consumers. This left a still-considerable 32 percent being leveraged towards businesses.

Does it get worse? Sure does.
As if it wasn’t bad enough already, ransomware is now able to be utilized by just about anybody who has a grudge or a desire for some extra cash. Ransomware is now offered as-a-Service, allowing an attack to potentially come from far more sources than before. Some variants of ransomware, such as Karmen, will only cost an aspiring cyber criminal $175 to cash in on.

Thankfully, there are steps being taken to eliminate the threat of ransomware. For instance, there are decryption tools to help undo the damage that Karmen can cause because it was derived from the open-source ransomware project Hidden Tear. Other tools and resources are available to help identify which ransomware has infected a given system, like this one from security researcher Michael Gillespie.

However, there are also steps that you can take to avoid a ransomware infection, like following best security practices and computing mindfully. Net It On is here to assist you in putting these procedures in place, as well as helping you recover should ransomware strike. Give us a call at (732) 360-2999 today.

Tip of the Week: Did You Know Microsoft Word Calculates Math Equations?

You know Microsoft Word as a word processor that lets your organization compose documents. Yet, you may not know the extent to which you can use this application. You might be surprised to hear this, but you can even perform mathematical calculations using Microsoft Word!

First, you’ll need to open up a new document in Word. This will be your playground throughout the duration of this blog article, so feel free to try out this process as we walk you through it.

Look in the All Commands tree for the Calculate command. You can find it in File by navigating through Options.

The next step is to use the Quick Access Toolbar to find All Commands. You want to add the Calculate command to the Quick Access Toolbar for easy access.

Once this has been done, you’ll be able to solve an equation that you’ve typed out. All you have to do is highlight it with your cursor.

To put this new mechanic to the test, just type something basic like =4+4 into the document. Once you’ve highlighted the equation with your cursor, click the Calculate command that’s now located in your Quick Access Toolbar. You’ll now see the result of the calculation at the bottom of the screen in the left-hand corner, where you would normally see the number of words in the document.

That’s about as simple as it gets. This lets you stay in your Microsoft Word document without exiting just to go to your calculator application. In fact, many other apps that you have will also have hidden features that let you do more than meets the eye. For example, Microsoft Excel can also perform a variety of mathematical functions within its spreadsheets. All of this cross-functionality is one of the main reasons why a productivity suite like Microsoft Office 365 is so helpful for SMBs.

What other hidden tricks found in Microsoft Word can you think of? Let us know in the comments, and be sure to subscribe to our blog for more great tips.

The Fallout From Data Loss Isn’t Pretty

Data loss: it’s not a fun term for any business to hear. However, when one considers all of the ramifications that data loss can have upon a business, it swiftly transitions from “not fun” to “alarming.” Have you taken the time to think about what losing your business’ data would really mean for your company?

Downtime
There’s a reason that ‘downtime’ is considered a dirty word in an IT professional’s vocabulary. A loss of productivity is quite literally the opposite of what a company’s IT solutions should deliver. However, if a data loss incident were to occur without any mitigating measures in place, downtime is essentially guaranteed--along with all the negative consequences that it brings along with it.

These consequences include the financial impact that downtime will have on your business directly. After all, your business will not be able to generate revenue throughout the downtime incident, which means that the total amount you would have otherwise earned can be considered a cost. Combine that with the financial amount it takes to return to operations, as well as the potential business that has now been lost due to the downtime incident, and the sum total quickly becomes considerable.

Data Leakage
Of course, when considering data loss, the “why” needs to be established. If the answer involves your data storage being compromised by an outside party, you need to consider what data was lost. If it just so happens that personnel records were breached, exposing your employees’ personally identifiable information, or your customers’ financial data, you will almost certainly have some major problems on your hands.

Destroyed Reputation
Look at it this way: would you trust a company that had allowed your personal data to be stolen, putting your livelihood and good name at risk? In fact, would you trust a company that had allowed anyone’s personal data to be stolen? Probably not, and guess what? Your potential clients and customers feel the same way.

Whether they’re an existing client whose data was breached, or a prospect who heard about your issues with data security, there’s a good chance that they will lose any faith in your ability to protect their information. Therefore, existing clients will jump ship, and prospects will quickly turn to other options. Perhaps worse, those who were affected by your data loss will likely vent online, preventing many from ever approaching your business afterwards. While there are ways to mend fences with these clients, they are all expensive.

Clearly, data loss is something that no business is truly prepared to experience, which is why we’re here to help prevent it. To learn more about how Net It On can help protect your company’s data, give us a call at (732) 360-2999.

2-in-1 Mobile Devices Give Businesses the Best of Both Worlds

As computing and business have become more intertwined, it has become more important for software solutions and other business-essential tools to be ready at a moment’s notice. This tendency has contributed to the rise of mobile solutions, although there is still a need for the power a desktop provides. That’s why we are big fans of convertible ultrabooks, or 2-in-1 devices.

These versatile solutions offer the best parts of both mobile and desktop computing experiences, and are right for the business user.

Consolidation and Cost Savings
Perhaps most important to many business users is the potential cost savings that a convertible laptop brings with it. Since it serves as both a laptop and a tablet, you can avoid shelling over additional funds to supply your workforce with both solutions. Plus, since it can serve as a desktop workstation when it has been docked, a single device could foreseeably fulfill every computing need your employees have.

Functionality
Windows 10 was specifically designed to work with 2-in-1 devices. This is why the transition from laptop to tablet is comparatively seamless, and running multiple applications is equally simple. It also should be said that these devices have the power to do anything that a typical laptop can handle.

This does mean that most 2-in-1s won’t meet the standards that serious graphic designers, video editors, or similar occupations will demand of them, but there are even a few options that will fit the bill for this level of use. Some 2-in-1s will include a built-in stylus for exactly this purpose.

In addition to the abilities that the devices themselves boast, they also permit the user to interact with them in the way that the user prefers--namely, whether to use a mouse or the touchscreen. This is especially important, considering the prevalence of touchscreen-based devices in everyday life. This functionality in a 2-in-1 solution means that habits from the rest of life are more easily translated over to work computing, boosting productivity and enhancing efficiency.

Flexibility
This benefit is a pretty straightforward one: a 2-in-1 device can adapt to serve pretty much any purpose you could have in the office environment. Whether you need a laptop to type at or a quick video screen to showcase a presentation, these devices can do it all, and then some.

If you agree with us and think that 2-in-1 devices may just be the best choice for your business, give us a call at (732) 360-2999.

Tip of the Week: Looking to Free Up Hard Drive Space? This Free Tool Can Help

No matter how much we wish it weren’t so, all PCs have limited amounts of storage space on them. This means that the user will eventually run out of space, and they will have to find a way to resolve this issue as soon as possible so as to avoid unsaved work. Plus, your performance will take a hit, so it’s best to look for a way to resolve this issue. Thankfully, a free tool like WinDirStat can help you free up space by identifying where all of your free space is being taken up, and how you can make some wiggle room with your PC’s largest files.

Before we dig into the details, we want to add a disclaimer about deleting any large files that might be on your company-provided computer. Users should always check with a company’s IT administrator before deleting anything large like this on their PC. By doing so, you could avoid accidentally deleting files and apps that are crucial to your organization.

The Windows Directory Statistics, or WinDirStat, is a tool that lets you see a visual “treemap” of how the space on your hard drive is being used. To download this free app, just go to the developer’s website: https://windirstat.net/download.html

When you first open up WinDirStat, the program will read your drive’s directory tree and show you three displays:

• Directory List: You’ll see what looks like a tree view of Windows Explorer, but it will be sorted by file type and subtree size.
• Treemap: You’ll be shown the entirety of the directory tree.
• Extension List: This shows statistics regarding file types.

Each of these files are represented by colored rectangles, and the size is proportionate to the file’s size. You will notice that these rectangles are arranged by directories and subdirectories. Therefore, the rectangles will be proportionate to the size of the subtrees. Additionally, the colors of the rectangles will indicate file type, and you can use the extension list to find the color that you’re looking for.

With this knowledge in mind, you’ll be able to make the best decisions possible regarding which files you want to delete to free up space for other uses However, you still need to be wary that deleting this files isn’t the only option at your disposal. Deleting large files that could hold value, like a video, simply because you don’t access it frequently, would be foolish. It’s ideal to simply get it removed from your drive through the use of an external drive, a network drive, or the cloud.

Granted, if your goal is to free up hard drive space and improve the way that your PC functions, you’re better off reaching out to professional technicians like those at Net It On. We can help your organization get the most out of its technology solutions, including your data storage procedures, reach out to us at (732) 360-2999.