How to Choose the Right Cloud Storage Provider

Cloud, Cloud Backup, Data Volume, Security, Speed, Uptime, , , , ,
19
Jun 2018

Storing files in the cloud is becoming increasingly popular for businesses, but how do you choose the right cloud storage provider when there are so many?

There are a wide range of factors to consider when choosing a cloud storage provider, so it’s no surprise that settling on one is difficult. All providers will offer different options and plans, but the good news is that there are set basics which will apply to your business. The first step is making sure you can find a provider who can satisfy your basic needs..

To help you get started, we’re going to look at what these foundations of cloud storage are and how they apply to your organization.

Data Volume

The amount of data that your organization processes is important when it comes to choosing a cloud storage provider. After all, different providers are going to have different capabilities when it comes to storing data. The basic plan available through Dropbox, for example, is 2GB and while that may be fine for an individual running their own business, an organization with 250 employees is going to need a little more. Obviously, numerous pricing plans are available for different providers depending on your storage needs, so it makes sense to calculate your storage needs (and future needs) and compare prices.

Uptime

Cloud servers are not infallible and they can fail just as easily as your own servers can. However, certain service providers’ networks fail more than others. And this can present a serious problem for your operations if your data is unavailable when you need it most. Therefore, you should always ask cloud storage providers to demonstrate their contingency plans in the case of server failure and, more importantly, statistics which show the reliability of their servers in terms of uptime.

Speed

Download speeds are one of the most essential elements of cloud storage for you to consider. The speed at which you can download your data can have a significant impact on your ability to do business. Say, for example, you’ve suffered a data disaster and need your data restored as soon as possible, if your cloud storage provider has a cap on their download speed then it’s going to take longer to get back up and running. That’s why you need to make sure you understand the download speeds that are available from your cloud storage provider.

Security

If your data becomes compromised then cloud storage provides a useful backup. However, there’s no guarantee that your cloud storage provider is safe from security breaches. And, if they are compromised, then the safety net of their backup is suddenly removed. This leaves you in a precarious situation whereby the safety of your data is significantly reduced. Therefore, understanding your cloud storage provider’s security measures are paramount. The main factors to consider are the provider’s physical security of their servers and the level of encryption they apply to stored data.

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

Read More

5 Best Ways to Secure Your Backups

Backup, Backup and Recovery, Encryption, Password Security, Security, , ,
14
Jun 2018

Data backups are crucial when it comes to protecting your data; it’s even more important to ensure that your backups are kept secure and available.

For many people, having data backed up is enough. However, what they fail to understand is that a backup is not infallible. In fact, there are a whole range of issues that could affect the stability of a backup. And, if your organization is in the midst of a data disaster, the one factor above all else that you should be concentrating on is security. Your backup, after all, is your lifeline to resuming productivity, so it should be as secure as possible.

To get you started, we’re going to look at the five best ways to secure your backups:

  1. Password Protect Your Backups

At the very least, you have to make sure that your backups are password protected. While, yes, it’s possible for a password to be cracked, it still acts as a deterrent and guarantees some level of security. The stronger the password, of course, the more protection you provide to your backup, so make sure that it’s unique and contains a mixture of uppercase, lowercase characters and numbers.

  1. Restrict Backup Access Rights

The more people that have access to your backups, the more risk there is that they could be compromised or damaged. Therefore, you should only ever assign access rights to the backup software to those members of staff who genuinely need it. Nominating those with access in advance will help to not only protect your backups, but also ensure that restores are completed quickly if the need arises.

  1. Integrate Encryption

There’s every chance that your entire backup could be snatched in the case of a data disaster, so it’s vital that it’s protected. After all, your backup is likely to contain data pertaining to your customers/staff and this could be highly sensitive. However, by encrypting the data contained within your backup, you’re rendering it next to useless in the hands of external parties.  Along with password protection, it’s a simple yet highly effective layer of defense.

  1. Store Physical Backups in a Safe

Although we live in an age where cloud backups are grabbing all the headlines, it’s still important that physical backups are also maintained. These can include: DVDs, optical disks and data tapes. Naturally, due to the data contained on them, these storage methods represent a high security risk and can’t just be stored on a shelf. The best solution is to invest in a safe, but make sure it’s fireproof as high levels of heat can easily distort and damage physical storage devices.

  1. Log all Backups

Most backup software will log details of the backups carried out, but when it comes to working with physical backups it’s a little different. As your physical backups will be stored somewhere, there needs to be a logging process of what is going where. It’s very easy for a single DVD to go missing, but, with a logging system in place, you should discover this sooner rather than later.

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

 

Read More

What are the Benefits of Upgrading Your Hardware?

hardware, Repairs and Upgrades, Security, upgrade hardware, , ,
05
Jun 2018

Upgrading hardware can be a costly affair, so it’s often easier to stick with your existing hardware. How many benefits, though, are you missing out on?

New hardware is constantly being released, but there are two main reasons that organizations shy away from investing:

  • The initial costs are deemed too high when the current hardware can meet a certain level of performance
  • The downtime involved in installing new software is a major turnoff due to the break in productivity it can cause

However, aside from these necessary evils, upgrading your hardware can bring a wide range of benefits that your organization cannot ignore. To help you understand why upgrading could make a real difference to your productivity, here’s a list of the benefits:

Enhanced Performance

New hardware will almost always be quicker and more productive than your existing hardware. Technology advances at such a rapid pace that external hard drives hold more storage space than ever, printers print more sheets per minute and servers can operate at much higher speeds. With this increase in productivity, your organization can achieve more and increase the time available to advance your operations even further.

Increased Security

Cyber security is becoming more and more important, so it’s no surprise to find that it’s become a major selling point of new hardware. Not only is new hardware protected from all existing threats, hackers are unfamiliar with these new systems. Therefore, there’s less chance of them becoming vulnerable to security threats for a significant period of time. Additionally, support will be available for new hardware for much longer than your existing technology.

Downtime is Reduced

While it’s true that installing new hardware results in a certain amount of downtime, new hardware will actually reduce your organization’s IT downtime in the long run. Older hardware becomes less reliable over time and this is why crashes on older systems can easily become commonplace. However, with hardware upgraded, you’ll soon discover how your downtime is reduced due to the increased reliability of your new hardware.

Better Communications

Upgrading hardware can seriously boost your organization’s ability to communicate. Video conferencing software, for example, has now expanded into 4K technology and this not only looks fantastic, but also allows your organization to communicate clearly and professionally. And when it comes to communication technology, you want to be using the very best to engage with your staff and your customers.

Better Experience for your Employees

Your employees want to be using the best technology as it makes their jobs easier and more productive. Say, for example, your network is prone to lags in speed, this is going to seriously frustrate your employees who are unable to connect to certain applications. However, with upgraded hardware you’re enhancing your employees’ experience. No longer is there any delay in completing tasks and, as a result, they can achieve more than ever in a timely manner.

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

 

Read More

How to Keep Your Business Servers Safe from Hackers

Backup and Recovery, Hacking, Security, Servers, Windows Server, , ,
21
May 2018

The computer servers that support your business are the backbone that keeps your organization productive, but how do you keep your business servers safe?

Every week seems to bring a new security threat and you can rest assured that the number and ferocity of these attacks isn’t going to subside anytime soon. Your business servers, of course, contain untold amounts of sensitive data that could be used to harm not only your business, but also your customers. Therefore, keeping on top of your servers’ security is paramount in protecting your data from the all too real threat of hackers.

To help you stabilize and improve the security of your business servers, we’ve put together a plan of recommendations to help you meet your security objectives.

Run an Antivirus. Regularly.

Viruses can spread from file to file very quickly and, before you know it, your entire server can become compromised. However, a piece of antivirus software can prevent the majority of existing viruses taking hold of your servers. Quarantining infected or suspicious files allows you to analyze anything that is flagged as potentially dangerous, so installing antivirus software really is a prerequisite of good security practices. And, to really maximize its effectiveness, run it regularly as an infection could occur at any point during in the day.

Update Your Server Software

Many pieces of malware work by exploiting security vulnerabilities in software such as Petya and NotPetya, but these vulnerabilities could be easily avoided by patching. Installing patches, though, can feel like a tiresome task, particularly when your organization needs to stay productive. To put things into perspective you need to weigh up the minimal downtime of installing updates against the havoc caused by an infected server. The answer’s pretty obvious, right? Install those patches and install them immediately.

Educate Your Staff on Security Threats

Your staff are the first line of defense against any cyber-attacks on your organization, so it’s crucial that they’re trained in what to look for and what to do in the case of an attack. Naturally, they’re not going to be partitioning infected servers or installing critical updates, but they can do the very basics. And this can be as simple as good password practices or understanding how to identify a phishing email.

Backup Your Data

Ransomware has become a major issue for businesses in the last couple of years and, in many cases, paying the ransom doesn’t even guarantee the release of your files. And this is why it’s vital that your organization embraces backups to help safeguard your data in the event of a ransomware attack. Backups have been a cornerstone of IT security since the dawn of the digital age and their importance should never be underestimated.

Keep Web Browsing Separate

The internet is a portal to untold amounts of information, but it’s also a gateway to untold security threats. And this is the last thing you want your business server exposed to. Providing internet access through a separate server (to your main server), therefore, allows you to minimize the risk to your most important data.

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

Read More

Improving WiFi Security for Your Business

Network, Security, Security Threats, WiFi, wireless network, , , ,
11
Apr 2018

Wireless networks are crucial for organizations to operate in the modern business landscape, but it’s critical that your wireless network is secure.

Increased mobility, production and scalability are the three main reasons why your organization will have embraced WiFi. Allowing you to remain competitive, WiFi is a service that you simply can’t be without. Therefore, security is more crucial than ever when it comes to wireless networks.

To help you get a better understanding of how to defend your network, we’re going to look at improving WiFi security for your Business.

How to Protect Your WiFi Network

There are many ways that you can secure your WiFi network, keep hackers out and ensure that productivity remains at an all-time high:

  • Keep on Top of Updates: Your router and associated hardware will regularly receive firmware updates that improve performance and, more importantly, patch any potential security issues. Unfortunately, many people put these updates on the back burner as the install processes are considered a little fiddly. However, while the install time and necessary reboots are irksome, they pale in comparison to your WiFi network being compromised.
  • Change Default Login Credentials: In order to access WiFi devices for the first time, these devices will come with default login credentials to allow the owner to configure them for their network. These default credentials, however, represent a major security risk as they rarely differ between devices. And that means that anyone with a list of default credentials – freely available online – can log on to your WiFi devices if they haven’t been changed.
  • A VPN Can Hide Your Network: A virtual private network (VPN) is a useful service which provides additional security to your WiFi network. A VPN server will hide all the connection details of PCs and devices on your network, so this makes it significantly harder for hackers to find a flaw in your defenses.
  • Keep Guest WiFi Networks Separate: Most organizations provide a guest WiFi network for visitors or staff to access with their own devices. While this is a generous offering, you need to make sure that guest WiFi networks are kept separate to the rest of your networks. Surrounding the individual networks with firewalls also helps to ramp up the defenses between your sensitive data and external breaches.
  • Secure Ethernet Ports: Network peripherals are always at risk of being compromised by unsecured ethernet ports. By simply plugging a cable into an ethernet port, a hacker can gain a foothold into your wireless network. The solution to this problem is, thankfully, relatively simple: enclose network peripherals within locked cases and limit key ownership.
  • Enable WPA2 Encryption: If your WiFi network is not encrypted then it means that the data being transferred over it is open to external parties. As a business, it’s a certainty that the data transferred over your network will be sensitive e.g. customer details, payroll information and emails. However, by enabling WPA2 encryption on your network, it will guarantee that your data will be scrambled as it’s transmitted. As a result, anyone ‘listening in’ will be unable to exploit the data.

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

Read More
1 … 24 25 26 27 28 … 48