A survey by StaySafeOnline.org shows some disturbing results – that a large number of small business, while largely dependent on their computer systems, do not see themselves as threatened by hackers and online thieves. This results in a significant percentage of them having poor or mediocre security.

StaySafeOnline.org, a website of the National Cyber Security Alliance, has recently released a study that chronicles the cyber security practices and attitudes of small businesses. Conducted in partnership with Visa, the study shows some interesting, if not disturbing, results.

It turns out that many small businesses (about 65% of the respondents) are highly dependent on their computer / IT / data systems, where they store important information, from sensitive company financial records to personal client information such as credit card info, addresses and phone numbers, and more. However, as many as 85% believe that they will not be targeted by hackers and online thieves, and less than half have data security systems in which they are confident. In general, small businesses have, at best, a mediocre security system.

Few realize, though, that it only takes one breach to compromise a company’s finances and relationships with clients. And if you have less than stellar security, stealing from you is easier. You might not have as many online assets as big businesses, but hackers can make a hefty profit by victimizing several easy marks as opposed to bigger and riskier efforts with more secure systems of larger firms.

Don’t take a risk with important data, and don’t compromise the relationships and reputation you’ve built with your clients over the years. Good security is always worth it. If you’re interested in knowing more about beefing up your security through company policies, software, and user education, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We’d be happy to sit down with you and discuss a security blueprint that’s cost effective and custom built to meet your specific needs.

Reference: National Small Business Study

With the new Microsoft Windows Multipoint Server, better and improved features are designed to make business operations much more productive and cost effective. With support for thin clients and older workstations as well as better connectivity with other Microsoft Server products, the new Multipoint Server is sure to be a much more versatile tool to help you do business better.

Cost efficiency and value are some of the major concerns many businesses – especially small ones – have these days. It is essential for small businesses to be able to minimize expenses while keeping productivity and quality up to standards.

Microsoft’s Windows Server systems have always been designed with this concern in mind. And with the new version of Windows Multipoint Server, better and improved features are designed to enable businesses to be more flexible in the way they use Windows products while keeping costs to a minimum.

What’s different this time around? For one, while we always recommend using the latest systems, Windows Multipoint Server 2011 accommodates older systems – so if you still have some older workstations you haven’t been able to upgrade just yet, you can still squeeze some more productivity from them until you can upgrade. Windows Multipoint Server 2011 also supports thin clients (computers that depend on a server for the majority of their calculations), laptops, and netbooks using the regular LAN network – among other methods.

Another new feature of the new Multipoint Server is that it can be backed up by Windows Small Business Server Essentials, and it also provides better connectivity with Windows Small Business Server 2011 and Windows Home Server 2011. Through Windows Multipoint Server 2011, administrators can also view and interact with station desktops connected to it.

If you want to know more about the new Windows Multipoint Server, please give us a call and we’ll be happy to sit down with you and discuss how it can improve the way you do business.

As the worldwide use of Facebook continues to grow, more and more scams are appearing on the popular social networking website. Using promos, “interesting” links and all other sorts of strategies to trap you, a grain of salt is always needed when dealing with things outside of what Facebook offers.

As more and more people continue to use Facebook – both for personal and business purposes – it seems to follow that all sorts of unscrupulous individuals and groups will find ways to exploit this popularity for their own illicit benefit.

In the same way people are phished through email, hackers and scammers use similar techniques to fool Facebook users into falling for their tricks. The combination of curiosity and trust is what hackers rely on to make users fill in contact details for non-existent promotions, visit suspicious websites, or download fake software, all through Facebook. While Facebook has instituted some additional security measures to counter this threat, the consensus is that it is a generally lukewarm, or even cursory response to the issue.

What makes it worse is that you aren’t usually the first victim – those links and whatnot appear on your News Feed courtesy of a contact who has fallen into the same trap. So always be wary of events or promos your contacts invite you to join.

The most important thing is to have both the right knowledge and software to prevent getting scammed not only on Facebook, but anywhere else on the Web. Facebook is just a new medium for scammers and hackers to steal information and data – and they’ll do the same thing once the next big thing on the Web comes along.

If you want to know more about Facebook scams and how you can better protect yourself – both through training and the right software solutions – please feel free to give us a call so we can help you set up a more secure system for your business that’s custom-built to meet your specific needs.