CEO Article by Larry Johnson
At the risk of repeating myself...data is everything to a small business in this day and age. If you lose access or control of your data, you lose everything. October is the spooky time of year, so it is appropriate that it is also Security Awareness Month.
Your desktop or laptop has so many on-screen diversions that it’s easy to lose focus on important tasks. Here are a few tips to help you avoid distractions at work and boost your productivity.
Monitor Productivity Levels
Start by tracking how much work you complete on an average day.
Since its release in 2015, Windows 10 has gotten a bad rap for supposedly gathering too much personal information from its users. Whether you believe Microsoft’s operating system is invasive or you just want to pull out all the stops to keep your personal information safe, here are some Windows 10 settings you can tweak to protect your privacy.
CEO Article by Larry Johnson
The Olympics have just finished, and we have had some examples of great performances in the Tokyo games. I watched as two USA wrestlers were down to the last seconds when they won their matches. Gable Stevenson was down to less than 2 seconds when he came back to win, and David Taylor had less than 14 seconds when he won his match.
Successful businesses make technology work for them, not the other way round. When used correctly, technology can make every task much easier to accomplish. So if you’re looking to increase staff efficiency, incorporate technology into your daily operations with the following methods.
Travel restrictions are easing and people are anxious to take long-awaited vacations. Our family saw this first hand as we took an out-of-state trip over Memorial Day weekend. The airports bustled with long lines and airplanes announced full flights. People had weathered the pandemic and were ready for a change of scenery!
As we all take a collective sigh of relief that the confinement of the past year and a half is ending, we also need to be reminded that vacations can quickly turn sour if cyber safety practices are not part of your travel plans.
Now that most businesses are emerging from the doldrums of forced lockdowns and remote work, it is important to reinforce some of the basics for your business. Small businesses are required to have a constant drive to innovate and improve the business. If you are not a thought leader in your space, you must find ways to surpass the services and products offered by your competitors while giving customers a reason to remain loyal as you grow.
Hacker's Favorite Movie Quote
"Do you feel lucky? Do you punk?" This Clint Eastwood 1971 movie quote could be the mantra of all 21st-century hackers. If you feel lucky, gamble on using short passwords. Include your birthday or your pet's name. Use the same password across all of your accounts and NEVER change it.
There’s a March Madness of a different kind that happens each year during this time of tournaments: the onslaught of phishing emails that users fall for over and over again.
With pools that take place in our offices, among friends, or to the individual who wants to join a group online, hackers are handed a very easy way to get us to click as we look to participate and enter our bracket choices.
This last month I served on jury duty and watched as one of the evidence presented was a pretext phone call. Later that same week, I received a cybersecurity training email that taught me about pretexting as a form of social engineering. Who would have known that my cybersecurity awareness training could have real-life implications in the courtroom!
Social engineering is a type of crime that manipulates people into giving up their confidential information to bad actors.
