Don’t Live in Regret; Back Up Your Data!

How many of us as individuals or business owners know we should back up our data on a regular basis? How many of us actually do so? Making backups of our important files is something everyone agrees should be done, so why is it that so many individuals and  businesses fail to regularly back up their data?

One assumption that no longer holds true is that making backups is complicated and cumbersome. The process in the past required multiple floppy disks or tapes that would be used to back up your files and programs. Restoring these files and programs after a loss would take quite a bit of time. The process today is much simpler. Operating systems such as Windows and Mac OS make it very user-friendly; you can simply purchase a USB external hard drive, follow the step-by-step instructions on setting up the automated backup process, and let it do its thing. 

Another assumption is that restoring files from backup is a messy endeavor. Again, that process has been made much easier.  In Windows and Mac OS, you can actually go back to a specific point in your previous backups where you can restore individual files that may have been lost, corrupted, or otherwise overwritten by mistake. Mac OS’s backup system, Time Machine, even lets you go into the folder via a special graphic user interface to find and restore a particular file just as if you were looking for it normally. 

Thankfully, there are several options for backing up your files that don’t include floppy disks!  These backup options are fairly inexpensive and are simple to set up and maintain. You can use an external USB hard drive, optical disks (although these kinds of discs such as CD-ROM and DVD-ROM are being used less and less), flash drives, and even use a cloud-based backup system such as Carbonite or Barracuda. Cloud backup systems differ from the others in that your data is physically stored on a company’s server which you access via the internet.

No matter which storage type you choose to use, you are saving yourself time and money by making sure your important files are backed up so you don’t have to reinvent the wheel if something were to happen to your computers on site or at home. You should back up regularly and back up often; again, with today’s technology, making regular scheduled backups is as easy as following a few steps for setup and letting the computer do the rest of the work. 

Don’t Neglect Patches & Updates

For most users, security patches & updates are regular annoyances that are dealt with promptly or put on the back burner until you’re harassed by Windows to the point where you do it just to shut it up. Worse yet, some users ignore critical updates, sometimes to their own detriment. So what’s the point of all these patches and updates? Does it matter if you update them immediately or wait?

There are two main reasons why it’s a good idea to go ahead and run those pesky Windows updates regularly. First, Windows regularly puts out security patches to its software. These critical updates are designed to fix a flaw in the operating system’s code that a malicious user could exploit to gain access to your computer and files and/or install software on your computer, oftentimes without you knowing the exploit has already been carried out. Most users don’t even know they’ve been hacked because there aren’t any obvious signs like we see in the movies. Your computer can be exploited simply for its extra processing power along with an army of other similarly infected computers on the internet; modern hackers aren’t always going after sensitive info like passwords and bank account info. 

Second, since operating systems are being updated and pushed out more frequently, there is more of a chance that the underlying code will have flaws in it that need to be updated. These updates may or may not be critical, but they are designed to help things run more smoothly for users. We’d all like our software to run perfectly out of the box, but that’s never been the case with any software. Since the advent of the internet, software developers have taken advantage of its connectivity to fix those problems that prior to the internet would have been a bug that you just had to live with. 

The downside to more complicated operating systems that do more and more is that you’ll have more frequent software updates and patches. It seems like there are updates on an almost daily basis. One of the ways you can make these updates less of a hassle is by scheduling when your computer checks for and applies these updates. You can set times for when your system checks for and applies updates to your computer so you aren’t dedicating time when you should be working to run maintenance. You can also choose to run most updates immediately and then choose to delay restarting your computer to apply those updates until a more convenient time. 

So, running regular updates and security patches is an important part of regular computer maintenance that doesn’t have to be put off until a more convenient time. These software updates can be of high importance and at the very least will help your operating system run more smoothly. You have the ability to structure when and how these updates are run and applied to your computer. How and when you choose to run your operating system’s updates is up to you.  If all of this still sounds like too much trouble for you, please contact us to schedule a consultation for a monthly or annual maintenance contract.  We’ll take over the work of backing up your crucial systems and regularly running security patches, updates, virus updates, malware protection and all of the other crucial tasks necessary for a secure, modern IT environment.

Yes, You Need to Have Antivirus Software

“I’m a small business with only a few computers. Do I really need antivirus software?”

We are all connected to the Internet, whether we like it or not (and whether we know it or not). Because you and your devices are online all the time, you are vulnerable to viruses, Trojan horses, adware, ransomware, and all other types of malicious software (malware). So yes, you DO need to have antivirus software installed on your computers. 

You’ve probably heard of Norton and McAfee; they’re two of the bigger antivirus products out there. They tend to have corporate contracts with companies like Dell, Xfinity, and other large businesses so they can get their software out to a lot of users. They sell software packages for home users as well, but here’s the thing: there are good, secure, free alternatives out there for you to use that don’t require an annual purchase or a subscription fee.  As a matter fact, most software is moving to this model versus an annual purchase of a newer software version, so you end up spending even more money. Antivirus products like AVG Antivirus, Total AV, and Avast Antivirus offer reliable alternatives to many comparable paid antivirus software. 

Now, keep in mind that most of these free alternatives do have paid versions; one of the tradeoffs for using free software is you’ll have some sort of periodic attempt to upsell you to a paid version of some sort. Additionally, some companies use notification alerts to prompt you into upgrading your service to something you don’t necessarily need. You’ll want to research the products offered and read any relevant reviews in order to determine what software might work best for you and your company. 

Once you’ve made your decision, you will need to set up your antivirus software to run on a regular basis; this could be daily or weekly depending on how often your computers are in use. Make sure you pay attention to how often the program updates its virus definitions, that is the database that lists past and current malware threats security companies have identified. 

Bottom line: yes, you need antivirus software on your computer. You don’t need to shell out a ton of money, or any, in order to protect yourself from malware, but you do need to have something that is reliable and updated regularly. 

They Are Listening and Watching Everything

A record number of people have been shopping online this holiday season. The holidays are a time when people increasingly communicate with family and friends with always-connected devices. NPR has published a recent article referencing Mozilla’s “Privacy Not Included” guide, which reviews Internet-connected products based on the privacy features they provide. We recommend you read the article and check out the guide before you buy that newest must-have gift for friends and family.

Stay Safe Online: Use a VPN

We continue to make rapid advances in technology and we are spending more and more of our time online performing tasks that used to chain us to our computers at home. While we experience the freedom and increased productivity this brings, we need to be aware that we are increasingly exposing ourselves to possible attack over the internet.  With much more powerful cell phones than even a decade ago, it’s become commonplace for most of us to bank and pay bills online, communicate with family, check our email, read news, and frequent social media sites.

It used to be that you only had to worry about security on your home network, but those times are long gone.  Before we had faster cellular data speeds like 3G and 4G, users had to rely on public Wi-Fi.  It used to be you’d have to go to a coffee shop or a hotel to find reliable(ish) Wi-Fi, but now you can hop on at most restaurants, retail stores, and even some outdoor public places. Most people don’t question connecting to these networks and don’t think about the digital trail they leave behind.  Since we are doing so much more of our business––both personal and personal––on the go, how do we secure ourselves from malicious actors?

One of the easiest ways to enhance our personal network security, short of not jumping on public Wi-Fi at all, is to use a virtual private network, or VPN.  Think of a VPN like a tunnel on the information superhighway, to use an old term.  Using a VPN puts your data inside that tunnel so that nobody can see it, with the possible exception of the VPN provider (often your data is encrypted from the VPN provider as well).  If, for example, you’re on a public network and someone was able to hijack the network and see all of the traffic, your activity would not be seen by the hacker because everything you send and receive through a VPN is in an encrypted tunnel.  

Many online banking services and other activities of a more sensitive nature use HTTPS security on their sites which does encrypt activity between you and the website, but a hacker could still monitor what sites you are visiting even if they couldn’t see what data you are transmitting.  More websites are using HTTPS, but it’s still a good idea to use a VPN in addition to secure browsing.  A VPN hides and encrypts all network data traffic, not just web browsing.  

There are free options when choosing a VPN, but you want to make sure the app you use is from a company you trust.  Paid VPN apps exist as well; one app that is particularly easy to set up and use is Encrypt.me, formerly Cloak VPN.  Setup is fairly straightforward, you can use it on multiple devices (e.g., phones, desktops, laptops, etc.) with one subscription, and you can set the app up to automatically connect to untrusted networks and add any trusted networks like your home network or a friend’s house, for example, to a list of networks that the app can ignore.  The app has different tiers and pricing depending on your needs; you can even purchase a week or month long pass for trips.

No matter which VPN you choose (there are many!), make sure that you do your homework and read many reviews until you know you can trust the provider and that the app is easy for you to use. You can almost always try the app out for a trial period to see how you like it and see if it suits your needs. 

Use Find My iPhone to find or disable your phone if it's lost or stolen...