by Felicien | Jun 28, 2018 | Education
A foolproof guide for increasing efficiency in Excel
Excel often gets a bad rap. It is misunderstood as the groan-inducing, spreadsheet monster with tricky-to-navigate features. However, the truth about Excel lies in the user’s commitment to making the most out of the feature-rich platform. If we put aside Excel’s tedious reputation, creating step-by-step guides for mastering Excel efficiency really is a no-brainer.
The Marvelous Macro: How Macros Make Your Life Easier
What better place to start than by creating a macro in Excel. Creating a macro is hands-down the best possible way for users to automate repetitive tasks and get tedious work done more efficiently. Can you think of something that you or one of your team members does repeatedly in Excel? Whether it’s data entry or calculations, creating a macro can help streamline team processes and seriously boost productivity.
Basically, a macro lets you record an action or series of actions that can then be run repeatedly as needed. The creation of a macro is essentially a duplication of some specific set of mouse clicks and keystrokes, which gets recorded and saved to help you work smarter not harder. The best part about macros? They’re completely customizable. Once you’ve created your macro, you can make tweaks and edits to ensure they work just the way you want them to.
Productivity Game Changer: Working Smarter Not Harder with Excel
When you think about it, this is a game-changer that’s super easy to implement. Consider this. Perhaps one of your team members creates daily, weekly or monthly reports for managers, customers or other staff members. The creation of these reports, on a repetitive basis, can be extremely tedious when done manually each time. This results in long completion times and a huge decline in morale for your tied-up workers.
Creating an Excel macro for projects like these helps keep your team moving forward while still staying on top of boring, yet mission-critical reports. An Excel macro can be tailored to help workers format names, color-coded report data, and customize formatting and presentation. The macro can then be run and applied to any selected cells, meaning monotonous tasks really do become as easy as the click-of-a-mouse.
How to Create a Macro in Excel – A Fool-Proof Guide
Alright, ready to cut to the chase? How exactly can you and your team start taking advantage of the Excel macro feature in hopes of improving productivity, efficiency, and morale? Check out the fool-proof step-by-step guide below.
Creating a Macro in Excel
Initial Steps
Before you record a macro, you must ensure the Developer tab is visible on the ribbon. As a default, Excel keeps the Developer tab hidden. In order to get it front and center, complete the following steps:
Go to Excel > Preferences > Ribbon & Toolbar
Under the Main Tabs list, select the Customize the Ribbon
Then, select the check box beside Developer and then click
Record Your Macro
You’re now ready to record your series of actions to create your macro. With your desired keystrokes and mouse-clicks in mind, follow these steps to record your macro:
Under the Developer tab, select Record Macro.
If you wish, enter a name for the macro in the Macro Name
Enter a shortcut key in the Shortcut Key
Enter a description in the Description
Select OK to start recording.
Carefully perform the series of actions you wish to automate.
Once you’ve finished the sequential actions, select the Developer tab from the Code group and select Stop Recording.
Fine Tuning Your Macro
In order to make the most out of your creation, be sure to check out the different ways you can customize and edit your macro. To edit a recorded macro, follow these steps:
Under the Developer tab, click
Select the name of the macro you wish to customize and choose
This will open the Visual Basic Editor. Here, you can witness how your recorded actions play out as macro code.
This is where the creativity comes in. Experiment with your code, then close the editor to run your macro again. Tweak and customize as much as you wish until the macro is running just as you envisioned.
Back to Basics: Reaping the Productivity Benefits Already Built into Your Infrastructure
It’s that simple! Suddenly, your team members have a more streamlined and efficient way of completing even the most tedious of Excel tasks. This means increased productivity, a boost in morale and a more efficient team overall. By keeping your team moving and productive, you keep your team occupied and happy, which can only have positive impacts on your day-to-day operations and ultimately, on your bottom line.
In an increasingly crowded marketplace of digital productivity solutions, it can become easy to get lost in the shuffle and postpone the mastering of your operational pains. However, when professionals remember to get back to basics, a world of difference can be discovered.
Excel has been on the scene for decades and Microsoft is working all the time to optimize features and prioritize user experience.
By paying attention to what your existing digital infrastructure can do for your business, professionals can save time, money, and frustration. Good leaders understand the trials their employees endure each day. Any organization can make solid improvements without subscribing to new or trending efficiency solutions.
IT experts know that helping professionals make better use of their existing infrastructure is a core part of the managed-service mission. Professionals don’t need all the very latest tools and gadgets to help their team navigate technology more productively. They simply need to learn how to maximize those tools they’re already using.
With a humble and level-headed approach, a strategic IT partner will be committed to helping every client make better use of what they have and become the masters of their own tech infrastructure.
If you’re looking to get a better handle on the tech resources your team uses daily, don’t hesitate to reach out to a team of IT experts for advice and consultation. One phone call can put your company on the path to revamping your existing infrastructure and mastering operational needs.
by Felicien | Jun 28, 2018 | Education
Common Security Threats and How Microsoft Security Helps Mitigate Them
Advanced modern technologies such as cloud computing and virtualization have completely revolutionized the workforce. Remote working arrangements have now become increasingly commonplace. Along with this advancement is an expanded network footprint characterized by myriads of virtualized workloads. This includes personal devices and computers that represent multiple points of connectivity as well as potential vulnerabilities.
In the middle of all this, we find every organization’s weakest link as far as cyber security is concerned: the human element. Untrained employees, who comprise a huge percentage of the workforce in most organizations, will readily click malicious URLs or browse suspicious websites. All without realizing that they may be enabling malicious scripts to run and allowing weaponized documents to get past their systems’ standard defenses.
Bad actors are well aware of these human tendencies and are always out to exploit them in dozens of different ways. This represents a few of the numerous ways in which organizations are susceptible to potential cyber-attacks.
Attack vectors that commonly lead to data leaks within organizations
Security threats within an organization can originate from within the organization or from outside.
Internal threat
The threat originates from within the organization itself and includes acts of espionage or various methods of employee data theft.
External sharing of sensitive information
In some instances, a competitor or some other party interested in the company’s data can approach an employee and offer them payment in exchange for sensitive, privileged information.
Compromised employees or industrial spies may share sensitive data with outsiders. They pose a serious internal threat to data security.
Lost device(s)
With mobile or remote employees, a lost device may fall into the hands of anyone who can then access their files and download them for use in any harmful way.
Mobile employees, especially cloud users, may also attempt to log into the company’s database remotely from an unknown PC. If the PC is infected, this can seriously compromise the security of the data itself.
External threat
This threat is initiated by forces from outside the organization and often exploits various weaknesses in the data security system or network infrastructure. Unintentional data leakage can occur through any of the following:
Phishing attack
Phishing refers to the fraudulent attempt by bad actors to obtain sensitive information including usernames, passwords, and sometimes credit card data – depending on the intentions of the attacker. They often do this by disguising themselves as a trustworthy party in electronic communication methods such as emails.
Normally, the data thief creates a Web page replicating an existing one to trick a user into submitting their personal, financial, or login details that the cybercriminal can then use for illicit purposes.
In many cases, the untrained individual receives an email from what appears to be a reliable source asking for reauthentication. Upon clicking the link and providing the requested information – often a username and password – this individual allows the attacker to infect their machine with malware. The cyber-thief may additionally be able to steal the individual’s identity.
Once an employee’s device is compromised, the attack can spread throughout the organization in any of the following forms.
Internal sharing of malware
Through an infected device, an attacker can spread the malware throughout the organization’s network. They may be able to access various databases to which the victim has privileged access. They can then steal whatever data they want once the network is compromised.
Identity theft
With stolen credentials, an attacker will have unrestricted access to sensitive information while disguised as an employee. A stolen identity gives the bad actor an easy way into the organization’s network. Once inside, they can set about moving around, searching for sensitive information to steal while impersonating a legitimate user.
How Microsoft Security increases your protection against these threats
Microsoft has multiple ways in which it can increase your protection against various threat scenarios at different levels. For starters, there is the Windows Defender Antivirus program which could block known threats on user’s devices.
Microsoft also has the Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection program that can detect, investigate, and respond to new or unknown threats using the power of AI – eventually mitigating the infection on personal devices.
Office 365 Advanced Threat Protection allows for a reputation check, making sure that the URLs you’re clicking on are legitimate. This can be a great way to safeguard employees from phishing attacks.
This also comes with Multifactor Authentication that is specifically designed to prevent hackers from logging in to the potential victim’s account. This is a perfect way to protect users from identity theft. Requiring the device to be compliant also helps prevent the spread of malware from one infected device to another.
Cloud Protection
Microsoft has the Office 365 Cloud App Security which spots abnormal behavior. This means it can prevent intentional data leakage and seal off that loophole.
To protect the data itself, Microsoft has Azure Information Protection which allows for policy controls to be put in place ensuring that only certain people can view these files.
Intune, a security management tool, also allows users to create conditional access rules in their device around the data itself. This ensures the safety of data in the case of a lost device or attempted login from unknown PCs. An untrusted device wouldn’t be able to access files protected by Intune.
Conclusion
With these protection metrics, Microsoft 365 is the go-to solution for any organization. These security measures work to safeguard your network from various security threats by preventing, controlling, detecting, and responding to any threat scenario.
by Felicien | Jun 28, 2018 | Education
Exploring strategies for understanding and responding to online gaming addiction
It’s no secret that professionals across the healthcare and technology industries have been scratching their heads about online gaming for years. More and more, professionals – particularly in the healthcare sector – have developed a growing concern about just how impactful online gaming can be – especially for the smartphone generation.
For modern youth who spend an increasing amount of time plugged into laptops and smartphones, professionals worry that the allure of online gaming can result in a downright addiction—an addiction that results in irrational cravings and an uncontrollable need to keep playing.
There’s no doubt that just like with any other addiction, this type of compulsive online game use can have serious detrimental consequences in the real lives of over-users. A strong compulsion for internet games can have negative impacts on youth relationships, schooling, and employment, in addition to their physical and mental health. That’s why, healthcare professionals across the globe are emphasizing the need to recognize over-gaming for what it is – a behavioral addiction.
Concerns Take Effect: World Health Organization Declares Gaming Disorder as Classified Disease
Recently, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that ‘gaming disorder’ will be officially recognized under their International Classification of Diseases. This is an incredibly significant move by the WHO and the formal classification will greatly improve awareness and understanding of the disorder. Further, with a formal classification, impacted youth and families will have more options for treatment, help, and funding.
The official WHO classification defines online gaming addiction as such:
“…impaired control over gaming, increasing priority given to gaming over other activities to the extent that gaming takes precedence over other interests and daily activities, and continuation of escalation of gaming despite the occurrence of negative consequences.”
Thanks to this informed decision by the WHO, families looking for more serious and dynamic treatment options will have global support behind them. This means the opening up of spots for gaming addicts at inpatient clinics and long-term rehabilitation facilities.
Keeping a Watchful Eye: Is Your Child Showing Signs of Gaming Addiction?
Understandably, the WHO announcement has many parents giving a second thought about their own children’s online habits. Young kids play video games – this is not a new phenomenon and games are not inherently dangerous to kids. However, there are key warning signs to be on the lookout for if you’re concerned your child’s gaming borders on over-use or addiction.
Check out these top 4 warning signs to ensure your child’s game use isn’t out of control:
1. Preoccupation & Compulsion
Does your child spend all their time playing a specific game or set of games? Do they have a hard time talking about anything else when they are offline? If your child seems to have a compulsive need to log on and play or if they can’t seem to think or talk about anything else, gaming addiction could be present.
2. Over Spending Time & Money
Are you constantly catching your child red-eyed and up way past a normal bedtime, playing an online game? Does your child have a habit of overspending their money or yours on video-game related purchases? If all your child’s time and money are being directed toward their game use, they could be suffering from gaming addiction.
3. Erratic Emotions
Does your child get irrationally emotional when they are unable to access or play their game? Do they get very defensive when you question them about their game use? Does your child have strong emotional reactions when they aren’t doing well in their game? If you notice that your child’s emotions are hard to regulate and seem to spike and drop based on gaming outcomes, it may be time to get professional help.
4. Neglecting Other Areas of Life
Has your child recently seen their grades drop? Does your child often ask to stay home sick from school just to spend the day playing games? Does your child neglect their part-time job, friendships, or extra-curricular activities in order to game? If so, your child is likely struggling with a serious addiction to gaming.
A Playbook for Parents: How to Curb the Risk of Gaming Addiction in Your Kids
All of this information is understandably worrisome for parents – especially as the younger generations become more and more reliant on technology for occupation and entertainment. That’s why, no matter how frightening gaming addiction seems, there are always concrete strategies for parents and kids to rely on, in hopes of stopping addiction in its tracks.
Check out these strategies for managing gaming addiction:
1. Recognize the Cravings
First things first, there has to be an acknowledgment of a problem. Understanding that your child has compulsive cravings for a game will help remind both you and them that this is a disorder. Recognize when the cravings to play happen and try to get to the root cause.
2. Get Active, Get Outside, Reconnect with Friends
Encourage your child to physically move their body. Exercise or team sports are a great way to get positive endorphins pumping. Encourage your child to spend time with friends, go outside, and become more active. This can be a great first step in breaking the cycle of addictive behavior.
3. Be Aware of Viral Games
For today’s social media generation, a new game can go viral in no time at all. This is a huge trigger for kids who have a tendency to get addicted quickly. With all their friends talking about how awesome a new game is, kids will want to see what all the hype is about. Knowing what to look for is half the battle, so make sure to keep an eye on new games that are sweeping kids up in a viral tornado.
4. Be Firm
No one likes giving tough love – especially when we know our kids are struggling. But unfortunately, tough love will be required in the fight against gaming addiction. There will be times when your child is begging you to play for just one more hour. They may get nasty and try to disobey your rules. Do your best to remain firm.
5. Enlist Tech Help
In the struggle to face gaming addiction head-on, it may be helpful to install some kind of parental controls, making it harder for your kids to spend unattended time online. There are various tools available to block sites and monitor your children’s internet use so you can make sure their habits aren’t out of control.
No matter what approach you take, staying in-tune with your kids’ gaming habits and internet use is a noble task for all parents. The world our children are growing up in is increasingly digital and they’re faced with countless games and apps to avert their attention and get them hooked. Parents need not snatch away the smart-phone every time, but they do need to stay on high alert to make sure tech use doesn’t escalate into compulsion and addiction.
If you’re worried about your child’s online gaming or internet use and aren’t sure how to get better control of the issue, why not reach out to a local team of IT experts. IT professionals are well-versed in a variety of solutions that will help you better monitor and manage your kid’s online activities.
You don’t have to ban the internet completely, but you shouldn’t ignore the issue either. Consult a local team of tech specialists to help find a happy medium that will keep your kids healthy, safe, and connected.
by Felicien | Jun 27, 2018 | Education
Common Security Threats and How Microsoft Security Helps Mitigate Them
Advanced modern technologies such as cloud computing and virtualization have completely revolutionized the workforce. Remote working arrangements have now become increasingly commonplace. Along with this advancement is an expanded network footprint characterized by myriads of virtualized workloads. This includes personal devices and computers that represent multiple points of connectivity as well as potential vulnerabilities.
In the middle of all this, we find every organization’s weakest link as far as cyber security is concerned: the human element. Untrained employees, who comprise a huge percentage of the workforce in most organizations, will readily click malicious URLs or browse suspicious websites. All without realizing that they may be enabling malicious scripts to run and allowing weaponized documents to get past their systems’ standard defenses.
Bad actors are well aware of these human tendencies and are always out to exploit them in dozens of different ways. This represents a few of the numerous ways in which organizations are susceptible to potential cyber-attacks.
Attack vectors that commonly lead to data leaks within organizations
Security threats within an organization can originate from within the organization or from outside.
Internal threat
The threat originates from within the organization itself and includes acts of espionage or various methods of employee data theft.
External sharing of sensitive information
In some instances, a competitor or some other party interested in the company’s data can approach an employee and offer them payment in exchange for sensitive, privileged information.
Compromised employees or industrial spies may share sensitive data with outsiders. They pose a serious internal threat to data security.
Lost device(s)
With mobile or remote employees, a lost device may fall into the hands of anyone who can then access their files and download them for use in any harmful way.
Mobile employees, especially cloud users, may also attempt to log into the company’s database remotely from an unknown PC. If the PC is infected, this can seriously compromise the security of the data itself.
External threat
This threat is initiated by forces from outside the organization and often exploits various weaknesses in the data security system or network infrastructure. Unintentional data leakage can occur through any of the following:
Phishing attack
Phishing refers to the fraudulent attempt by bad actors to obtain sensitive information including usernames, passwords, and sometimes credit card data – depending on the intentions of the attacker. They often do this by disguising themselves as a trustworthy party in electronic communication methods such as emails.
Normally, the data thief creates a Web page replicating an existing one to trick a user into submitting their personal, financial, or login details that the cybercriminal can then use for illicit purposes.
In many cases, the untrained individual receives an email from what appears to be a reliable source asking for reauthentication. Upon clicking the link and providing the requested information – often a username and password – this individual allows the attacker to infect their machine with malware. The cyber thief may additionally be able to steal the individual’s identity.
Once an employee’s device is compromised, the attack can spread throughout the organization in any of the following forms.
Internal sharing of malware
Through an infected device, an attacker can spread the malware throughout the organization’s network. They may be able to access various databases to which the victim has privileged access. They can then steal whatever data they want once the network is compromised.
Identity theft
With stolen credentials, an attacker will have unrestricted access to sensitive information while disguised as an employee. A stolen identity gives the bad actor an easy way into the organization’s network. Once inside, they can set about moving around, searching for sensitive information to steal while impersonating a legitimate user.
How Microsoft Security increases your protection against these threats
Microsoft has multiple ways in which it can increase your protection against various threat scenarios at different levels. For starters, there is the Windows Defender Antivirus program which could block known threats on user’s devices.
Microsoft also has the Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection program that can detect, investigate, and respond to new or unknown threats using the power of AI – eventually mitigating the infection on personal devices.
Office 365 Advanced Threat Protection allows for a reputation check, making sure that the URLs you’re clicking on are legitimate. This can be a great way to safeguard employees from phishing attacks.
This also comes with Multifactor Authentication that is specifically designed to prevent hackers from logging in to the potential victim’s account. This is a perfect way to protect users from identity theft. Requiring the device to be compliant also helps prevent the spread of malware from one infected device to another.
Cloud Protection
Microsoft has the Office 365 Cloud App Security which spots abnormal behavior. This means it can prevent intentional data leakage and seal off that loophole.
To protect the data itself, Microsoft has Azure Information Protection which allows for policy controls to be put in place ensuring that only certain people can view these files.
Intune, a security management tool, also allows users to create conditional access rules in their device around the data itself. This ensures the safety of data in the case of a lost device or attempted login from unknown PCs. An untrusted device wouldn’t be able to access files protected by Intune.
Conclusion
With these protection metrics, Microsoft 365 is the go-to solution for any organization. These security measures work to safeguard your network from various security threats by preventing, controlling, detecting, and responding to any threat scenario.
by Felicien | Jun 27, 2018 | Education
The Top 5 Cybersecurity Risks Your Company Hasn’t Considered
Exploring the leading cybersecurity threats facing business professionals today
There’s no getting around the prevalence of cybercrime today; it’s happening more and more, all across the globe. Even worse? The identity thieves and malicious attackers lurking behind the scenes are getting better at exploiting weaknesses to get their hands on confidential business data.
Understandably, business owners are often scrambling to ensure they’re doing enough to keep security tight. Maybe they invest in some “total solution” software or perhaps they overload a tech savvy employee with IT security work. Some business owners simply decide to roll the dice and hope for the best. Whether it’s doing too much or too little, business professionals often get caught up in a less-than-ideal approach to cybersecurity.
So, with all the horror stories in the headlines about companies and government agencies getting breached, what’s a business owner to do? The key is to remain focused and strategic so you can put together a level-headed plan. This involves taking a closer look at some of those gargantuan cyber threats we often forget about.
Narrowing Down the Doom: 5 Concrete Risks You Can Focus on Fixing Today
In order to develop a realistic and strategic approach to cybersecurity, you have to cut out all the noise. Put the headlines and your own fears to the side and try to stay focused on the things you and your staff can control. Think long and hard about the various ways cyberattacks could occur in your organization and then consider how you can work to close the gaps in each section.
Check out these Top 5 Security Risks that your organization must be carefully managing:
1. Your own team
No one likes to admit that internal risks exist, but the reality is that employees are the weakest link in the cybersecurity chain. Sometimes these internal threats are malicious, but most often it’s a matter of ignorance and carelessness. In fact, human error is the catalyst for the vast majority of cyber-attacks on businesses.
The reality is, an uninformed and unprepared team can have drastic consequences for your organization’s cybersecurity. You may have employees who are more likely to click a malicious link or download a bad file from a phishing scam. Perhaps your team receives fraudulent business email compromise (BEC) scams that seem legitimate. No matter the error, your workforce – when uninformed – can put your organization at serious risk.
How to tackle an uneducated team:
The best way to counteract employees who aren’t in the know is to teach them! Yes, this will require some investment of time and resources but in the long run, your organization will be stronger and more secure.
Find ways to get your team on board and help empower them to be cybersecurity superheroes. Help them determine how to identify threats and create an environment for open and honest communication about suspicious activity of any kind. With an informed and vigilant team, your cybersecurity woes will be reduced significantly.
Password malpractice
Passwords are supposed to keep your organizational and employee data safe and secure. But when’s the last time your team changed their passwords? Is there a culture of password-sharing or posting in your office that threatens security? For that matter, have you and your team ever had an open conversation about choosing strong passwords? These are questions you must ask yourself in order to get on top of password malpractice.
How to manage password malpractice:
Like with any other part of your business, best practice for password management is to have standard operating procedures in place to ensure your team knows what is expected.
Make it a rule that passwords must be kept private and changed on a 30 or 60-day basis. Mark calendars with password change dates and makes it a group activity. Make it a rule that passwords must be unique and not repeats of old passwords or other accounts. Ensure there is a chain of command for access and control – superiors should never be sharing login credentials with employees – no matter how convenient. Finally, consider setting up two-factor authentication at all endpoints to add an extra layer of verification security.
2. Patch procrastination
In an increasingly digital workforce, hardware and software updates seem to pop-up daily. However, it is becoming blatantly clear that updated software and hardware are a critical part of maintaining strong cyber security. Why? Because updates very often include patches designed specifically to fix security holes or glitches. Who can forget the massive WannaCry scam from 2017? Even though a patch had been released in March, it had not been installed on countless machines who were then infected by the virus in May.
Even with the high profile WannaCry case, it is still common practice for many business professionals to avoid or put off software updates. Sometimes there is fear of change or increased technical issues once an update is installed – and this can happen. However, for the most part, updates are designed correctly and will work wonders by patching unseen security flaws. This can make a huge difference in keeping your network secure.
How to stop patch procrastination:
Again, schedule your updates and mark them on calendars as much as possible. Taking the time to make a physical note will help emphasize the importance of staying on top of patchwork.
Most importantly, when your machine gives you a reminder to install an update – install it! Get out of the habit of clicking “Remind Me Later” – your network will thank you. It’s not just about security either. Staying on top of updates and patches will help your systems run at optimal capacity at all times. Make updates to your new habit and explain this priority to other administrators.
3. Other organizations
This is perhaps the biggest risk that business professionals often forget. It’s not just your own cybersecurity practices you should be worried about – it’s the other companies you work with. Vendors, business partners, consultants – basically any organization that your company deals with can impact the safety of your business data.
Even if you have the strongest internal cybersecurity plan in place, if a third-party vendor has less than perfect cyber security practices, attacks could find a way to access your network. The recent Petya attack is a good example of this. The bottom line is that any company that you transmit data to and from is a potential vulnerability for your own network. The last thing you want is to invest time and money to keep your network secure, only to have it breached thanks to another organization’s lax policies.
How to counteract the poor cybersecurity practices of others:
First, its critical to make your own standards clear to the partners you’re working with. While you can’t force them to get smarter about their own security, letting them know that you take cybersecurity seriously right off the bat is a great way to be transparent and encourage their vigilance.
Second, there are technical tools available to help mitigate the risks involved with external vendors. Network segmentation or divided servers can help ensure vendors only access the necessary parts of your network and nothing else. This can be a great safeguard that will help mitigate the risk of vendor weak spots.
4. Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) chaos
Alright, it’s no secret that pretty much everyone has a computer in their pocket or purse these days. Between smartphones, tablets and laptops, taking your favorite machine on-the-go is now easier than ever. Understandably, this has translated to the workplace with the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) craze. BYOD can be a convenient, cost-effective, and morale-boosting practice for small businesses.
However, there is a downside to letting endless personal devices through the doors and onto your business network. In fact, the security risks involved can be pretty serious. Simply put, personal devices likely do not have the same security standards and protocols that corporate devices do. This can leave your organization wide open and much more susceptible to hacks and data breaches.
How to balance BYOD benefits and risks:
Said it once and we’ll say it again: get policies and procedures on paper if your organization allows staff to bring in their own devices. Make sure your employees know the risks involved and come up with some detailed policies that will keep your network as secure as possible.
Make sure personal devices are only able to access the corporate networks through a virtual private network (VPN). Additionally, ensure that all employees have two-factor authentication set up on their accounts to maintain adequate verification. Just like all the other areas, proactive education is crucial. An informed team will make all the difference.
5. Putting Your Plan in Action: Consult the Pros if Necessary
Now that some of the basic groundwork has been laid, it’s time to ditch the hopelessness and procrastination and get your plan in action. There’s no denying that business professionals are constantly on-the-go, but making cybersecurity a top priority is a critical way to ensure your IT infrastructure is protected.
But hey, it can be a tough process to start. If you’re feeling lost or unsure, don’t hesitate to reach out to a local IT partner. A team of experts can help you begin thinking technically and strategically. It’s not just about calling someone in to fix the problem. The right IT partner will help empower you and your team so you’re thinking more like an IT expert.
by Felicien | Jun 26, 2018 | Education
Have you ever used public Wi-Fi in a coffee shop? – In a hotel? – While sitting at an airport waiting for your flight?
We’ve yet to meet a remote worker who can say “no” to all of these questions. Running a business means being a road warrior and using public Wi-Fi from time to time.
However, there are precautions you should take when using public Wi-Fi. Just a single visit online in a coffee shop or airport terminal can put your confidential data at risk. “Free” doesn’t always mean safe. With viruses, malware, and hackers just waiting to infect your laptop, working remotely can be like navigating a minefield.
The following are four tips to help you work securely when using public Wi-Fi.
Tip 1 – Avoid Crowded Cafés
We’re in the midst of a workforce revolution. People no longer want to be tied to their desks. And if you need help finding a space that offers fast Wi-Fi, plentiful workspace, and outlets, there are a number of new sites and applications that rate businesses on these things and more.
Try Google’s Popular Times Feature – Plug in the name and location of your café, and the hours you’d like to visit, and Google will let you know how busy it is. Since introducing the Popular Times feature in Google Search and Maps in 2015, we can now determine how busy a particular site is during different times of the day, and days of the week.
Even better – Google updated this “popular” app to add a real-time look at how crowded a café is. This is a great tool if you want to lessen the chance that someone sitting at a table too close to you will eavesdrop on your email messages and browsing.
Tip 2 – Find New Places To Work Online
If your local café is too crowded, you may want to find another place to work. However, you need one with adequate space, power outlets, and Wi-Fi bandwidth. There are a number of new sites and apps you can use to help you find just the right place for you.
WorkFrom.com
WorkFrom’s mission is for work/life betterment in an office-optional economy. They want to help people everywhere find and share trusted spaces to work remotely. It’s the world’s largest recommendation website for trusted spaces to work remotely. Its database spans more than 300 cities and towns. You can download it from the Apple App Store or from Google Play.
WHA by Work Hard Anywhere
This is an iOS app that you can download to your iPhone from the Apple App Store. It uses your iPhone to give you nearby, work-friendly spots where you can use your laptop. You can apply filters to rate Wi-Fi speeds, the number of outlets, workspace size, parking, bathrooms and more.
Tip 3 – Stay Secure
Hackers take advantage of your thirst for Wi-Fi by creating networks that have legitimate-sounding names so you’ll be fooled into logging on. These are called rogue hotspots. They are typically located in airports and other busy locations. Always double check with a manager to determine if the Wi-Fi you choose is a safe hotspot.
Take note: Even official public Wi-Fi’s can be compromised. So, it’s always best not to do any banking, bill paying or shopping over public Wi-Fi.
Always look for websites that have “https” before sending any personal information. Also look for a small lock icon in your web browser that indicates the website is safe. You can use a virtual private network (VPN) to add an encrypted layer of protection for your data to pass through. You can try free ones like CyberGhost VPN, or paid ones which tend to be faster like HotSpot Shield Elite or proXPN.
CyberGhost VPN is mostly free and totally safe. Some of the aspects are free; others aren’t. It’s also very easy to use. With it, you can surf anonymously, unblock streaming and other websites, and protect your Internet connection from being tampered with while using public Wi-Fi. Although a VPN isn’t appropriate for time-sensitive gaming, it can figure out if and where it can direct you to stream services such as news or movies. Many other VPNs can’t do this.
HotSpot Shield Elite is a subscription-based service that allows you not only to secure your connection while surfing on public Wi-Fi, but it also lets you access sites not normally available when you’re outside of the U.S. (such as Pandora and Hulu). It’s the paid version of Hotspot Shield with faster and more stable streaming.
proXPN VPN lets you surf the web securely via public Wi-Fi or when you’re at work or home. They offer a lifetime premium subscription that provides unlimited bandwidth via their ultra-private global server network. You can surf with complete anonymity. proXPN will even unblock geo-locked content so you can browse freely from anywhere in the world with an Internet Wi-Fi connection. And they say it never logs your online movements so others can’t track or steal your confidential data. proXPN VPN got a 4-Star Rating from PC Magazine.
Tip 4 – Stay Private
It can be difficult to remember that when working online in public, your screen and everything you do can be seen within eyeshot of strangers. There’s a term for this – it’s called “Shoulder Surfing.” Always pay attention to where you sit and who’s nearby.
One way to protect yourself is by using a laptop privacy filter. You simply slide it over your screen. It limits the viewing angle to only straight on. Also, be sure to dim your screen’s brightness setting. The lower the brightness, the more effective the privacy filter will be at narrowing the viewing angle.
Do you feel like you can’t win when security risks are coming at you from all directions? We understand, and we can help. We’ll do all we can to protect your confidential data and your business. Partner with our cybersecurity experts for the safeguards you need.
