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GS Blog

Cloud computing offers some potentially heavenly benefits for all kinds of businesses. The ability to store data and run apps via the cloud helps small businesses scale affordably while also offering cost benefits for established major enterprises. Plus, nothing beats the security of knowing that you can always pull data down from the cloud if your local storage resources sustain loss or damage. But that doesn’t mean you should just consign everything to a single cloud provider and consider your work done. Instead, keep these important tips in mind during your cloud adoption/migration process.

“Layoff” has been the name of the game in the tech industry lately. You’ve no doubt seen the various headlines about Twitter, Amazon, and other tech giants letting huge numbers of IT workers go. But what does this massive belt tightening mean for smaller businesses and their ability to keep their IT departments up and running?

Here at Gravity Systems, our Austin business tech support team has responded to plenty of trouble calls related to malware and hacking efforts over the years. If you’ve struggled with the problem in your own business, you may feel as if you’re constantly playing the world’s most dangerous game of Whack-A-Mole, with new bad actors popping up the moment others get brought under control. While no one likes being the bearer of bad news, we feel an obligation to make sure you know about the current state of the malware nation. Here are a few fresh threats to watch out for.

Have you noticed that the more heavily people rely on technology, the more they tend to gripe about said technology? Perhaps you’ve even done your own share of griping, especially as ultra-fast, ultra-reliable Internet connectivity has grown more critical than ever. A few years ago, for instance, you might have made relatively little use of videoconferencing programs, whereas today a stuttering Zoom connection can sabotage a critical meeting. Like it or not, you can no longer get by with so-so speeds. You need better solutions for both your wired and wireless connectivity – and your answer may lie in a combination of Gigabit Ethernet and WiFi6.

As a small business in Austin, you might not have the means to have your own in-house IT team. You do, however, have the ability to have a 3 rd party IT team that acts as your own in-house team for a fraction of the cost and headache.

Are you thinking about choosing managed services for the first time? Considering ditching your current break-fix model for something more proactive?  If so, let’s walk through a few options and considerations.  

If your internet connection goes out, your cell phone wireless connection can come to your rescue. Almost all Smartphones have “Wi-Fi tethering” or hotspot access and it can be used to access internet from your laptop or tablet. The process is different for each platform.  The most common cell phone platforms are IOS, Android and Windows. This post helps you to understand the methods of setting up Wi-Fi tethering.

The Cloud, with regard to computing, networking, and data storage, has become a ubiquitous marketing term that means many things.  Essentially, any time you access your data over the Internet you are utilizing ‘The Cloud’.  Today, it’s easy to find cloud service providers that will host your email, data storage, applications, or even your entire computer network.  It’s very important to account for several considerations when deciding if ‘The Cloud’ is right for your business.

Remote access tools allow you to extend your business computer network beyond the confines of your office building.  If you have employees in remote locations, branch offices, or home offices, the ability to drive a computer and access shared files, ERP systems, or other resources in the corporate office can mean a huge boost to productivity.

Almost all businesses have a website nowadays and find it is an important part of their branding and customer outreach strategy.  While the content, images, and layout of your website decides how the website is received, the speed and availability will decide the volume of traffic you get (and keep!). Your hosting provider, for the most part, controls the speed and availability of your website. This is the reason why you must choose a reliable web hosting service provider. 

Are you all using the same passwords for all your PCs? Do you use same password for all your accounts just because you don’t want to remember multiple passwords?

If the answer to these questions is yes, you may want to change your password strategy! If your password gets hacked for one account, hackersare now trying to access all your accounts using the same password.  This can leave your business and personal data at risk.  Password security is an important aspect of keeping your confidential data confidential. 

 

Choosing a strong password seems easy, but does take some perseverance. Employees may find it difficult to figure out a password they could use when they create a new account that is strong enough to avoid hacking and still easy enough to remember. It’s time to become a password guru! This blog will help you and your employees choose passwords that will help keep your confidential data safe.

  • There are some basic rules for creating appropriate passwords. Most websites will guide you about such rules. In simple terms, a strong password is a combination of upper and lower case letters along with numerical and special characters.During your HR on-boarding, make sure you brief your employees about password security and require strong passwords on the network and for business related websites.  Thankfully, many websites no longer allow you to create an account unless you have chosen a strong password.
  • When you are using numbers, do not use them in succession. ‘123’ or ‘12345’ is a very poor combination. Use numbers randomly. Also, do not use your home or office address; such passwords are very easy to crack.
  • Choose a password reminder tool. Many employees do not use complicated passwordsbecause they feel they can’t remember the password when needed. With the new crop of password tools available, the focus can be on creating strong passwords, not remembering them.  Tools such as LastPass are very helpful. Lastpass remembers all your passwords and also does security checks regularly to ensure that the websites that you are about to use are safe. If they are not, LastPass will warn you. It will also prompt you when it is recommended to change a particular password.  Brief your employees about such tools and ensure that they use them instead of trying to use sticky notes on their monitor to remember their passwords!
  • Change your password regularly, at least once in every two months. This will give an extra layer of security.
  • Do not let your employees use a universal password. Encourage them to use a different password for each account they operate.
  • Beware of “phishing” emails and websites.  Legitimate websites will never ask for your password via e-mail or phone.  If you get an email asking you to update your password, do not click the links in that message.  Instead, type the website into your browser and login from there.  Also, be sure to make sure that important sites such as email and online banking sites are using SSL and that the certifies are valid.  If you get an unexpected “certificate warning” message on one of the sites you frequent, close your browser and try again.  If you still get it, try from a different computer or call your IT team. 
  • Test your passwords before using them. Many online tools help you check the strength of your passwords; just be sure to obfuscate the real password by replacing a few characters!
  • Do not hesitate to choose a complex password. Almost all sites give you the option to reset the password via email or text if needed.  Resetting a password is easy, and is less work than trying to recover from a hacked account. As there were some tips provided by a seo company in phoenix 

We hope this blog encourages your employees to be more proactive in ensuring the security of your organization. For more such helpful details, read our other blogs or log on to www.gravityusa.com