Managed Network Articles
With all the hype about the cloud, it is hard to know what is fact vs. fiction. Following up to my last article, this month's article is intended to remove some of that cloudiness and let the light shine through on the advantages and disadvantages of cloud offerings.
- The Cloud Got You Feeling Foggy? (Part I)
What is "the cloud"? What does "the cloud" mean for your business? What are the advantages / disadvantages? Most importantly, how do you assess if the "the cloud" is right for your business? This is the first of three articles to help every small business owner answer these questions.
With the attack on Google earlier this year by China, that may have gotten you thinking, "If Google, an IT powerhouse can be hacked, anyone can be hacked." And you're not alone. Many businesses have decided to beef up secuirty measures for 2010 and it's a good decision.
The process of budgeting for your IT expenses can be frustrating one without the right approach. So how do you simplify the process, achieve your IT goals for the upcoming year, and save money all at the same time?
If you are a small business owner and you find yourself saying "We have a "guy" who does "that," make sure you're asking your "guy" the right questions so your company data is protected.
If you have been putting off the decision whether or not to provide the means for employees to be able to telecommute, it is time to make a decision. If you are not sure, there are a couple key factors you need to consider.
As the technology partner to scores of small and mid-size companies, SSE is often asked: "What do companies like us typically budget for IT?"
What if competitors could view all your emails and other information sent from your computers? "Impossible!" you might say. Well, think again. Industry research published in the fourth quarter of 2008 reports Malware risks are growing exponentially. Spyware is one of the most basic forms of malware that slows your computer and leads to system crashes.
Many hackers send out emails advertising a "grand prize." The email provides a website link for user registration. More often than not, users register with the same login and password they use for all of their computing - even work - giving hackers the access they covet. Hackers may also pretend to be associated with a vendor or business associate. Typically, this creates a false sense of security, leading employees to be more willing to divulge the details that hackers are seeking.
According to the National Archives and Records Administration in Washington D.C., 93 percent of companies that lost data for 10 days or more due to disaster filed for bankruptcy within one year. Half of all businesses without data management for this same time period filed for bankruptcy immediately.
External menaces like viruses and spyware are not the only threats to your computer. Threats from internal sources can also cause dramatic problems. Trusted inside sources generate more than 70 percent of unauthorized data access, according to Gartner, the world's leading provider of research and analysis of the global IT industry.
When Microsoft released it's new Vista operating system to corporate customers in November of 2006 it took less than a month for programmers in Silicon Valley and Russia to identify a security flaw in the new operating system. The flaw made it possible to increase a user's privileges on a computer. This is not an isolated incident; programmers routinely find new vulnerabilities in Microsoft's software. Therefore, Microsoft routinely releases critical updates or "patch" to address these issues, but generally by then whatever flaw is discovered has been comprised on millions of PCs by malicious hackers. Many businesses remain at risk every day due to insufficient "patch management" systems.
