Tech Tips Archives

April 27, 2018

Small Business IT Checklist

I know from experience that many businesses chug along nicely with their network running on autopilot. Then something happens; a computer crashes, a virus infects the server, a file is accidentally deleted. It is at times like this that many business owners will suddenly be acutely aware of how ‘hands-off’ they have been with one of the most critical parts of their business – their IT systems. As the saying goes, it is not a matter of if but rather when a network will have a problem. Here is a checklist of the most common IT questions that every business should be able to answer or should find an answer asap.

Backups – Protecting your data is at the top of the list. Do you have a reliable backup solution for your servers and workstations and have you tested the backups to be sure they work?
Antivirus – Are all of the workstations and servers on your network protected with an up-to-date antivirus and anti-malware application? How are you notified if a machine gets infected?
Inventory – IT equipment can become outdated or obsolete before you know it. An accurate and updated inventory of your network, including purchase date and warranty information is a valuable asset.
Firewall – The first line of defense protecting your company’s machines from the wild west of the internet is a firewall appliance. Some companies may be trusting the security features of the router provided by their ISP, but they shouldn’t. Investing in an enterprise-grade network firewall will beef up the poor protection of a simple internet router.
Updates – Software companies are constantly working to counteract malicious entities who are continually trying to find weaknesses in their products. It is very important that companies have a way of ensuring that security updates are installed on all machines in a timely manner. Do you have a way of knowing which machines have the latest security updates and which may be missing?
Software Licensing – Although many software companies are employing user or subscription-based licensing models, I have found some companies using bootlegged, cracked or illegal software. A good network-wide software inventory, which includes licensing information will ensure that every machine has a valid license and protect your company from possible legal ramifications.
Procedures – A company’s network is an ever-changing collection of workstations, servers, routers, switches, software applications and users – each with their own purposes, security requirements and procedures. Documenting your company’s IT policies and procedures with a method of changing them when necessary will help keep your IT infrastructure organized and under your control.

Infinity Networking can help your company with any of the items on this small business IT checklist. Please contact us today for a free consultation.

Mark Flores

April 27, 2018

April 20, 2018

Upgrade or Replace?

As your network equipment gets older, technology continues to progress and businesses will need to decide if it would be smarter to upgrade their aging computers or replace them. Many businesses try to postpone or delay upgrades of their IT systems to save money, however they also need to realize that these IT systems are some of the most important assets that keep a business running. This guide will help you navigate the pros and cons of this important decision.

General Rules of Thumb – When considering what to do with an older system or aging software, there are few commonly held principles among IT professionals.

The useful life expectancy of most business computers is about 4-5 years
Most operating systems can be useful for 4-6 years or more, but they are usually supported by the manufacturer for years beyond that time
As the components of a computer get older, replacement parts become harder to find and thus more expensive
Newer operating systems and business applications require more powerful hardware to run efficiently

Reasons to Upgrade

If you purchased your system just before a new version of the operating system or a business application was released, you should take advantage of the newer version and upgrade. Some companies offer ‘software assurance’ which allows you to upgrade to a more recent version of software for free during a certain time period
If your machine’s primary function requires better hardware performance, such as accounting or graphic design applications and is not performing well, then an upgrade of the hardware (RAM, graphics, hard drive, CPU, etc.) would be advised
If you find that your hard drive space is getting used up faster than you expected and your machine is less than 5 years old, you should have a trusted computer professional upgrade your hard drive to a larger size (either through a disk-cloning procedure or a backup and restore)

Reasons to Replace

Older computers may still work fine after years of faithful service. But just like an aging automobile, it is inevitable that sooner or later an older machine will likely fail at some point and require expensive repairs or replacement. Rather than waiting for the problem to occur (and the costs of downtime and lost productivity), it is best to replace aging systems every 4 to 5 years
One of the important reasons to consider upgrading an operating system (OS) are the advancements in security that have been implemented in the more recent version. Although older OSes continue to be supplemented by security patches and hot-fixes (as long as they are still under the manufacturer’s extended support – unlike Windows XP), newer operating systems such as Windows 10 come with built in advanced security features that are designed to protect against modern IT security threats…
…Which leads to the domino-effect reason for replacement; once you have a newer OS, you may find that your existing hardware is either incompatible or under-performing, which means you will need to Upgrade or Replace

Budgeting for Success

In a seemingly never-ending cycle of IT repair, replace and upgrade expenses, the best way to prepare your company for this treadmill is by creating a realistic IT budget. In an upcoming article, I will go into more detail about how to create an IT budget as part of a comprehensive Company IT Plan. For now, take inventory of your existing workstations, servers and network devices and determine approximately when they were purchased. Choose a few of the oldest candidates and start to budget for their replacement. Six months later, rinse and repeat until you have no network devices older than 4-5 years. You will have saved your company from an inevitable headache down the road.

Mark Flores

April 20, 2018

April 18, 2018

Notes from the Field – Remote Access; a Common Threat to a Business Network

I believe that many of the IT-related issues I encounter during site visits or the advice I provide for a client based on real-world experience could be a benefit to other companies as well. This is the first installment of a continuing series of Blog posts called “Notes from the Field” – observations, advice and warnings about IT issues I have come across that may be of interest to your business.

Companies can spend thousands of dollars hardening their cyber-defenses. They may have invested in a top rated firewall appliance, employed enterprise-grade antivirus and malware protection on each workstation or they may even use comprehensive cloud-based security services. Many companies, however, have a common but often hidden security threat that they don’t even know about. And the worst part is that these threats come from within their own organization.

Almost every company for whom I provide IT support has employees who have installed Remote Access software on their workstations. In almost all cases, they have installed this software for legitimate reasons; they need access to their files from home, they wish to remotely control their machines while traveling, etc. Popular Remote Access applications include LogMeIn, Teamviewer, GoToMyPC, VNC, Windows Remote Desktop and Chrome Remote Desktop.

Although these programs may be convenient and they may even utilize strong encryption, they are also designed to bypass a company’s firewall protection unless the firewall is configured to specifically block these applications. Obviously, there are many legitimate reasons to use Remote Access software. But a company that does not monitor the use of these applications is opening doors straight into the company’s private and important data. An employee who is using a simple login and password (most Remote Access applications do not require password complexity or multi-factor authentication) can easily give full control of your business’ internal network to anyone they wish without you ever knowing. How do you feel about a terminated employee who still has back door access to the network?

Here are a few simple things that your business can do:

1) Decide on a company policy for remote network access and inform your employees.

2) Find Remote Access applications already installed on your company’s workstations. You may need to run a network security scan, a network software inventory or just go around to every workstation and check manually.

3) Configure each workstation so users cannot install their own software. This is usually done by Group Policy.

4) Configure your company’s firewall to block Remote Access applications.

5) If you do need to allow some users remote access, standardize on a commercial application that requires strong password security, includes encryption and has a way to audit usage. When a user does not need remote access any longer, uninstall the application or change the password.

If your company is concerned about hidden Remote Access applications within your network, Infinity Networking can assist you in identifying and mitigating this possible threat. Contact us today to request a network security scan.

Mark Flores

April 18, 2018

April 11, 2018

5 Step Facebook Security Check

Facebook has been dominating the headlines this past week after privacy and security concerns set off alarm bells across the globe. Although you may have been using Facebook for a long time and “never post anything interesting,” you would be surprised at the way this social media giant is able to profile your personality and preferences. More than likely, you have little or no idea of what your online presence says about you. Here are 5 things you should do right now to give your Facebook profile a checkup:

1. Click the down arrow at the top right corner and select Settings. Click on Security and Login. Familiarize yourself with the contents of this page. It will display your recent login locations and let you change extra security settings.

2. Click on Privacy. The settings on this screen control who has access to your profile, posts and likes. Make sure that your visibility to other Facebook users is how you want it. Remember that any category that is set to ‘Public’ can be viewed and shared by anyone on the internet. Do the same review on the Timeline and Tagging section.

3. Now for the scarier parts of Facebook. Click on Apps and Websites. Note all of the apps that you have given permission to view your profile information. If you do not use a particular app any longer, check the box next to it and click Remove. For all other apps, click View and Edit to customize your settings.

4. For an even scarier part of the settings, click on Ads. Facebook’s programming uses a combination of these sections to paint a picture of your personality. The sections called “Your Interests” (note that there are multiple tabs in this section) and “Advertisers You’ve Interacted With” probably make sense, but you can remove any of these. Under “Your Information” you can choose to allow advertisers to know much more about you. If you want to block them from knowing your employer or interests, turn that section off. Finally, under Ad Settings, you can control whether you want Facebook to tailor ads based upon your web browsing habits (yes, web browsing, not just Facebook).

Have you checked your Facebook security settings recently?

Mark Flores

April 11, 2018

Category: Tech Tips

Small Business IT Checklist

Upgrade or Replace?

Notes from the Field – Remote Access; a Common Threat to a Business Network

5 Step Facebook Security Check

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EMAIL US

HOURS OF OPERATION

OVER 25 YEARS EXPERIENCE

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Category: Tech Tips

Small Business IT Checklist

Upgrade or Replace?

Notes from the Field – Remote Access; a Common Threat to a Business Network

5 Step Facebook Security Check

CALL US

EMAIL US

HOURS OF OPERATION

OVER 25 YEARS EXPERIENCE

OUR SERVICES

MAILING ADDRESS