Old tech isn’t just slowing you down

Old tech isn’t just slowing you down

by | May 22, 2020 | News 2020

Technology moves on so quickly.

As lovely as it is to keep up with the latest models of phones, laptops and tablets… unless you have an endless pot of money, it just isn’t realistic.

But when your devices are really out of date, they can start to expose you to all kinds of problems. And I’m not just talking about how much slower they’ll run.

Older devices are at a higher risk of attack from malware and hacking. That’s because they aren’t able to run the most current protection.

It also means that at some point you may not be able to run the most up-to-date versions of the applications that you use, because the device wouldn’t support it.

That means you’d have to work on an unsupported version. And it also puts you at risk of attack. When things go wrong, you’d have nowhere to turn to rectify it.

We’re not suggesting you need to run out and upgrade all of your devices. But it’s vital that your equipment’s functionality meets your business’ needs.

If you’d like some help to identify any changes you may need to make, we’d be delighted to help.

Call us on 01732 617744 to arrange a chat or drop us a line at [email protected].

Your long lost uncle emailed

Your long lost uncle emailed

by | May 15, 2020 | News 2020

I bet you’ve received an email along those lines before, haven’t you?

These phishing emails promising you thousands, if not millions of pounds from a wealthy relative, if you just send over your bank details.

Erm, no thanks.

But while most of us are clued-up to this kind of nonsense, the scammers are getting smarter.

Would you be so sure that a member of your team wouldn’t fall for an email from someone they know, asking them to change some payment details?

Or to log into their account to “update their information”?

You and your staff are your biggest weakness when it comes to a data breach.

Not because anyone has any ill-intent. But simply because some of these tricksters are so believable.

Especially with the work from home revolution. The number of scams has gone up enormously in the last few weeks.

For this reason, it’s really important to train your people – ALL of your people (including yourself) – in cyber security.

With cyber criminals getting more and more sophisticated, you can’t really afford poor judgement.

We’d love to help. Cyber security training can be done remotely. Call us on 01732 617744 to talk or drop us a line at [email protected].

Especially working at home, you’re a target

Especially working at home, you’re a target

by | May 7, 2020 | News 2020

Small businesses are often a big target for cyber criminals because they lack the security measures of larger corporations.

In fact, hackers are targeting all businesses, all the time, using clever automated tools.

With this in mind, is it time you step up your business’s security measures?

I’m not suggesting you need to take things up to an MI5 level.

But weak or non-existent security should be very high on your agenda to improve. Here are some areas to look at:

  • In your workplace, use a firewall to keep your network secure
  • Make sure everyone uses a different password for every application. And ensure they are randomly generated
  • Use multi-factor authentication across the business (this is where you generate a code on your mobile to finish logging in)
  • Backup your data so that you don’t lose it should the worst happen
  • Even if you only have a couple of employees, make sure they’re trained in cyber security
  • Wash your hands. No, wait, that’s a different kind of virus…

You can see, there are a whole host of things you should be utilising to protect your business.

Would you like us to do a security audit, to identify what’s most urgent to be fixed in your business?

Call us on 01732 617744 or drop us a line at [email protected].

Plan for the return to your workplace

Plan for the return to your workplace

by | May 1, 2020 | News 2020

We have no idea when the lockdown will end, of course. Or how any kind of phased return will work.

But we do know it WILL happen. So it makes sense to be as prepared for it as you can be (those businesses that were fully prepared for working from home had a much less stressful experience when the lockdown started).

There are three areas to consider:

  1. People: If it’s a phased end to lockdown, you might have some people at work and some still working from home. You need a plan for every scenario
  2. Hardware and software: What’s been difficult during lockdown? What’s caused frustration? What needs to be upgraded or changed?
  3. Data: Now’s the time to check your data security hasn’t been compromised in any way, by all the recent unplanned changes to your setup.

If you need help pulling your “end of lockdown” plan together, or making it happen quickly and efficiently, we can help.

Start by getting our brand new guide on preparing to return to your workplace.

Instantly download this new guide

You can also view our video:

 

And if you do want us to help you pull your plan together and implement it, call us on 01732 617744 or drop us a line at [email protected].