All posts by SystemsNet Administrator

Updates are Critical for Your Devices. Here’s Why:

Manage Service, ,
Hands of a tech updating her laptop's software programs and operating system.

Keep your devices updated to decrease your chances of getting hacked.

If there is one piece of advice that IT pros can give to professionals and business managers, it’s to update. Update your computers, phones and tablets. Update your web server, your software tech stack, and your cybersecurity defenses. Update your operating system, your drivers, and even your printers and routers. Why? Because updates are released for very good reasons.

Outdated technology isn’t just clunky, it’s also dangerous. Hackers thrive on unchanged default settings and known security gaps. So, even if your software and devices are working perfectly, it’s vital to keep up with regular performance and security updates.

 

What Is an Update?

An update is when new software is released that improves your current technology. Sometimes, an update fixes a previous problem. Sometimes, an update may add new functionality, or expand the software to integrate better with other programs. Updates come in all sizes and purposes. Let’s look at a few examples of updates that are easy to understand.

Adobe, for example, often releases a new edition and most users will update to get better features or the fix to a previous flaw. Windows 11 is an update from Windows 10. If you get a cool new web camera or microphone, you might need to install the latest drivers to use them -and this, too, is an update.

 

Why Should You Update?

Many people don’t see the point of updating if your programs and devices work well already. However, updating offers both a myriad of benefits and plays an important role in risk prevention.

If your devices or software go out-of-date, they will stop performing at their best, may lose support from the developer, and lose integration other technology. Worse, the older any technology is, the more time hackers have had to identify vulnerabilities. The latest updates often include security patches that close known vulnerabilities and decrease your chances of getting hacked. Likewise, not updating your software is like leaving the backdoor unlocked when you know there’s a thief in the neighborhood.

One of the biggest recent threats that updates can help protect you from is malvertising – or infected ads on legitimate sites. If your device, firewall, and virus scanner are up to date, malvertising is far less likely to affect your computer.

 

What Should Be Updated?

Updating happens at almost every level of device technology. You should occasionally update the operating system of each device and computer you use, and check for updates of hardware, firmware, and drivers.

Every program you use should be updated regularly, and so should the devices themselves. Update your programs, the browsers you use, and your defense software. Update the operating systems on your phones, tablets, computers, laptops, servers, and even often-forgotten hardware like your router and printer.

 

How Do You Update?

Updating will have a standard procedure for every device and program, and that process is usually quite simple.  Every computer, phone, and tablet operating system has a simple OS updating system that will check for, download, and install updates on a schedule or on command.

Navigate to the Apps section of your settings. From there, you can check for, download, and install updates for individual apps and programs.

Your web browsers will often ask to update themselves, and this is also true for many cloud platform programs.

To update your drivers, you will often need to download the latest driver and install it through your Device Manager menu. This may also be true of some software.

To update more complex software, there may be a plugin or update manager found through the internal dashboards. In almost all cases, updates and patching have been made easy, and the paths easily researched.

 

Taking Control of Your Update Cycle

Staying updated keeps your system running with optimized performance and security. When you’re ready to take control of your update cycle, contact us to up  your game and learn more about managed IT services.

Why manage your IT alone when you can have a team of experts at your disposal?

Manage Service, , , , , ,
Team of IT experts working on a computer - managing a company's IT systems.

Having an expert team handling your cybersecurity burden is the best option for your business.

The more technology evolves, the more systems’ security becomes complicated. You have more cybersecurity threats now, than the average 90s person. You have to be on the lookout for hackers who may sell or buy your credentials and private information on the dark web.

Furthermore, on top of an in-built spam filter, you need an additional third party spam filter to improve email security. And if you are using cloud services, then you need to initialize multifactor authentication, otherwise hackers will easily own your accounts.

All these measures may sound overwhelming, and a solution like SentinelOne’s Singularity XDR may sound appealing. Who doesn’t want an automated, AI-integrated cybersecurity software that gives you full control over threats?

Even if you could individually monitor and deal with threats, why would you want to burden yourself when you can have experts handle your cybersecurity burden?

In this post, we look at our last 4 blog posts to show how recent security concerns require innovative tools to deal with. We elaborate why you need to outsource cybersecurity to your managed service provider instead of handling these modern security concerns by yourself.

You Need a Third Party Spam Filter

Even if you have Office 365, you need a third party spam filter for optimum protection. Office 365 uses Microsoft’s Exchange Online Protection (EOP) as the built-in spam filter. However, EOP does not provide the level of protection against malicious emails required by most organizations. Some spam and phishing emails make it past EOP’s protection and endanger the organization.

Therefore, third-party spam filters are required for optimally spam protection. Third-party spam filters are preferred because they are AI-integrated and are constantly learning to identify and block new spam and phishing threats as they occur.

These spam filters also provide DKIM and SPF email authentication protection, which ensures your emails are not spoofed. Phishing attacks are commonly launched through spoofed emails, which are difficult to detect without DKIM and SPF email authentication protection.

You Need To Protect Your System From Dark Web Hackers

The Dark Web exists, and it can really hurt your business. Hackers sell and buy stolen credentials on the Dark Web. For as little as $8, they can get hold of your organization’s usernames, and account passwords, wrecking havoc to your system.

You should make an effort to monitor the Dark Web for your details. If your credentials are already on the Dark Web, the best you can do is immediately change your passwords and initiate multifactor authentication.

You Need Multifactor Authentication for Your Cloud Services

Hackers with your credentials can access and own your accounts. Most of our data is stored in the cloud, where access is authorized to any remote user with matching credentials. Multifactor authentication activates additional security measures that confirm that the remote user is indeed an authorized user.

Multifactor authentication is a quick, easy solution to the problem of hacked credentials.

You Need an AI Assisted Cross-stack Solution to Monitor and Respond to Threats

With evolving technology, the areas of vulnerability and attack vectors have increased. Solutions like SentinelOne’s Singularity XDR give customers a unified and proactive approach to almost all potential points of attack. You can monitor and respond to threats as they occur.

Get All These Services From Your Managed Service Provider

From the above points, it is evident you need to protect yourself against a number of cybersecurity threats. Luckily, there are tools you can use to constantly keep ahead of these threats. However, it is overwhelming to operate all these cybersecurity tools effectively. That is why 41% of businesses outsource their cybersecurity needs.

Outsourcing cuts the costs that would have been used in training and hiring employees, and buying and leasing tools for cybersecurity purposes. Most significantly, outsourcing gives you access to a team of experts dedicated to your cybersecurity.

about your security for your business? Contact us here, so we can review your current policies and look at ways to protect and secure your company’s data without breaking the bank and get you back to concentrating on what you do best.

 

Why SentinelOne Is Perfect for Your Business Security

Security, , , , ,

Concept of using SentinelOne solutions - Employee using a laptop and touching a digital padlock with data protection.

Giving customers a unified and proactive security system.Technology as we know it is rapidly evolving, and many cyber-solutions are quickly being rendered obsolete. Attack vectors and areas of vulnerability multiply with evolving network technology. Hackers now have numerous points to infiltrate your system, from endpoints to the networks to the cloud.

The most innovative and quick acting enterprises have attempted to address the cybersecurity points of vulnerability independently by developing specific solutions to threats. None of the proposed technologies pre-SentinelOne attempted a single solution that connects the dots and protects all points of vulnerability.

The pre-SentinelOne solutions made it overwhelmingly difficult to solve threats that targeted all vulnerability points at once. To fix this urgent product niche, SentinelOne developed Singularity XDR, a solution that monitors and protects all potential points of attack.

The Singularity XDR gives customers a unified and proactive security system that simplifies the process of monitoring, identifying and preventing attempts at security breach. The following is why you should seriously consider using SentinelOne as your cybersecurity solution.

Cross-stack Application Facilitated by in Built Artificial Intelligence

Singularity XDR, SentinelOne’s successful creation, can be integrated into all parts of your technology system, be it the endpoint, the internet of things (IOT), cloud, threat intel, identity, email, network, or your secure access service edge (SASE). This across the board compatibility is what is referred to as cross-stack application.

Cross-stack applicability gives the SentinelOne Singularity XDR an edge over other competitors. SentinelOne applies advanced artificial intelligence (AI) software to meticulously monitor all vulnerable points and facilitate streamlined operations and workflow.

Singularity XDR employs artificial intelligence to automatically unify and extend the detection, analysis, and response. With this technology, you can seamlessly view the security status of any point in your system through simple applications and even automate your responses to threats.

With all this power in your hands, you can very easily eliminate security blind spots and stealth attacks as they occur. Singularity XDR has attracted positive reviews from well-known technology enterprises that have put it into use.

Proven Track Record Used by Enterprise Companies

Nothing points to true quality than customer approval, and SentinelOne has nothing but stellar approval ratings from some of the most successful companies in the world. SentinelOne is trusted by 3 of the Fortune 10 companies and hundreds of the Global 2000 companies.

World leading companies like Electronics Arts, Samsung, Aston Martin and TGI Fridays have satisfactorily trusted SentinelOne to protect their valuable systems. IT professionals from these companies have consistently labelled SentinelOne the best cybersecurity measure in the market.

Even though many huge enterprises use SentinelOne, it is still affordably available to businesses with limited budgets, hence making it a cybersecurity favorite for any type of enterprise.

Cost Effective for Small Business Budget

With all the positive SentinelOne reviews, you would assume that it is expensive and hence unaffordable for businesses with limited cybersecurity budgets. However, nothing could be further from the truth.

SentinelOne offers a range of ‘Singularity Platform Packages‘ which are affordable by business of any stature. Prices range from $36 to $9 per agent per month. Regardless of the size of your business, your cybersecurity is definitely worth more than $36 to $9.

Protect Your Enterprise With the Latest Technology

Take your cybersecurity to the next level with SentinelOne’s AI assisted cross-stack solution to monitor, detect, analyze and respond to security threats.

Using an antivirus is not sufficient protection for your business, cyber criminals have gotten smarter and can exploit many points of vulnerability. It’s time to take the next step to effectively protect your business. Contact us here for a review of your current policies and an assessment of possible security mechanisms.

 

Why Do I Need Multi-Factor Authentication for My Cloud Services?

Security, , ,
Employee holding a smartphone while entering a multi-factor authentication code for his personal data.

Incorporating multi-factor authentication into your cloud services.

In the modern world, getting hacked and/or having your credentials stolen from a once-trusted service is like catching a cold. It may not happen to everyone every year, but it’s pretty darn common, and the environment moves too fast for anything to be guaranteed 100% hacker-proof. When it comes to user accounts, employee accountability, and keeping your proprietary data secure is worth the effort – especially when that effort is fairly quick, easy, and familiar for all users.

Multi-Factor and the Cloud

Multi-factor authentication is the padlock on the locked shed of your user and data security. Hackers buy and sell stolen login credentials and specialize in new ways to steal them. A password is only so secure, and even live anomaly detection systems are not perfect. The importance of security only increases as we move to the cloud – where data is available to any authorized user at any time – as part of the core principles of cloud service. Two-factor authentication takes that security one step further (or more) in ensuring that the real authorized human is on the other end of every login.

If you don’t have it now, you need to have these services on your business applications and systems to prevent your business from being the next cybersecurity breach in the news.

Office 365

If your team uses Office 365, you use your Microsoft password and login for everything which means being compromised just once can give access to all your work logins at once. This is one of the primary sources of internal wire fraud attacks.  A lot of time it occurs in this manner where once they have access to your email they email other employees requesting gift cards or to do a wire transfer.

Multi-factor, however, prevents hackers from being able to take the final step just to login. The need to have both the stolen login credentials and the victim’s personal phone at the same time makes this prospect nearly impossible -which is why there are scams where hackers will ask you to relay your multi-factor codes. Don’t do that.

VPN Connections

VPNs are Virtual Private Networks. If your business works with a VPN, then you have opened an internal network space so it is available for remote employees through a VPN login. If one internal user’s login is compromised, the entire virtual network and all your internal file systems may be put at risk.

Multi-factor authentication, however, requires that a live human in the company receive a text every time an account tries to log in. If it is their account and they weren’t trying to access the system, this throws an immediate red flag. Not only is the hacker unable to get past the login stage of their planned intrusion, but they might be more profoundly caught.

You can also use each un-initiated multi-factor text message as a trigger to change passwords company-wide, invalidating all previously stolen credentials on the spot.

Multi-Factor is a Modern Necessity Made Easy

Today, we need more than passwords to secure every account, and multi-factor authentication is a quick, easy solution to an ongoing challenge.

Whether it be office 365, VPN connections, or other cloud-based software, having multi-factor authentication prevents thieves from accessing your data because they are not going to have your cell phone. When you have your wallet stolen, you cancel credit cards to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands. Your phone is the modern wallet and today, you or a business can remotely wipe your phone if it is lost or stolen to keep your data from falling into the wrong hands.   Today, a person’s phone is the last key to gaining access to company data through multi-factor authentication.

Are you ready to incorporate multi-factor authentication into your cloud services? Are you ready to help your employees and infrastructure evolve beyond password security? So are we.

If you have not already implemented MFA on your line of business (LOB) software, give us a call and we can assist you in navigating these waters to protect your business.  Contact us here so we can review your current policies and look at ways to tighten your security so you’re not the next business target that we read about in the news.