SMART Blog

Cybersecurity is one of the most talked about problems facing the modern business. This is because cybercrime has increased precipitously while businesses have moved more of their processes onto the computer. Planning how to protect your business’ crucial digital resources from corruption and theft has never been more important. We’ll take a look at some of the problems we are seeing that are negatively affecting small and medium-sized businesses' ability to do business effectively.

Spring seems to be the natural time, after what are commonly dreary winter months, to revitalize and refresh your environment - why shouldn’t your business be included? Not only does it help your operations, a clean environment also has many direct benefits for your employees. Let’s review the effects of keeping your business, and its technology, in order.

Insider threats contribute to a significant number of data breaches. These cases of data exposure are enabled by a member of your staff, whether they intended to harm your business or simply made an honest mistake. With so much focus directed toward the threats out in the world, sometimes we forget that the biggest dangers can be among our ranks. To make up for this, we’ll discuss a few ways to keep insider threats from doing your business too much harm.

Mistakes happen, especially where technology is involved. There are plenty of ways that user error can occur when using a computer--many of which are avoidable through simple preventative measures. For our tip this week, we’ll go over some behaviors to avoid when using a computer.

Each worker within an organization is delegated some sort of responsibility based on their role. Managers are responsible for managing, while human resources keep all workers accountable for their responsibilities. Yet, there are multiple responsibilities designated to all employees who use technology for their everyday duties.

With the surge in the number of small and medium businesses that have fallen prey to malware and cyber criminals, there is a lot of focus of what an organization can do to prevent being a victim and how the company should handle themselves after an attack. There is another key factor to preventing cyber criminals from penetrating into your network: your employees.

Here’s something that you might not have noticed about opening Windows applications on your desktop; by default, they will generally open in a smaller window, giving you the ability to customize their size as you see fit. If you want a full size Window, it’s as easy as clicking on the maximize button in the top-right corner, but what if you didn’t want to go through this every time you open the app? There’s a solution for this, and we’ll help you find it.

Here’s a question: on a scale of one to ten, how confident are you that your employees are acting in the best interests of your organization’s network security? How confident are you that you’re setting a good example when it comes to handling your business’ security? Unfortunately, any confidence you have on this matter may be misplaced.

Today, we want to talk about something that not a lot of businesses would want to think about. What would happen to your organization if it were to suddenly experience a hacking attack? While security solutions can go a long way toward protecting your organization, you still want to make sure that you’re not relying solely on your security tools for protection. Rather, you should always stay vigilant, even if you don’t think something could go wrong.

Generally speaking, if you have a choice, you should probably avoid using a public computer. As a rule, these machines feature minimal security precautions, along with maximum risk to any data accessed by the PC. But if a situation ever arises in which you have no choice but to use a public computer, be sure to follow these security best practices.

DId you know that February 13 was National Clean Out Your Computer Day? Even if you missed it, go grab yourself a can of compressed air and your trusted IT technician, and don't miss out on this annual opportunity to improve your computer’s performance.

Cybersecurity is increasingly becoming one of the most important concerns of business. Here are some good ways your employees can contribute to your company’s technology security practices.

Anthony and Sonia Alika recently found out that the Internal Revenue Service is not an organization to mess with. Having been busted for filing fraudulent tax returns through the often-exploited Get Transcript site managed by the IRS, the couple will spend some time in the slammer in addition to paying restitution.

When was the last time that you ran into a computer problem that was easily solved just by simply restarting your computer or unplugging a device from the wall, then plugging it back in? Oftentimes, simple troubleshooting tactics are enough to resolve a problem. But more often than not, there are issues that can’t be easily resolved.

Social media may be a great way to connect with other professionals and communicate with your friends, but it can be dangerous if you have poor posting habits. Before you share something, think twice about whether it contains any sensitive information that could be risky to yourself and your business.

The best way to get the most life out of your smartphone is to take care of it. Or, you can ignore proven best practices and witness your smartphone meet its untimely demise. By not taking care of your smartphone in these five ways, you’ll be sure to doom your device.

Most companies have to have a workforce, generally one of considerable size. Unfortunately, the more users you have, the more potential risks you run into. Of course, your workforce doesn’t collectively intend to be a security risk, but the digital world is a complicated place, with threats around every corner and malicious programs just waiting for your employed end-users to slip up. Here are ten such honest slip-ups to watch out for:

A computer is a complex machine that demands routine maintenance and caretaking. If ignored, the machine’s lifespan will be cut short. Here are four best practices to ensure you get the most out of your PC.

Smartphones have been great for enhanced productivity and accessibility, but they can also result in some rather rude social behavior. While productivity might be on the rise, manners seem to be in decline, thanks to people not knowing how to properly use their smartphones in public. Here are four smartphone etiquette tips that every device owner should abide by.

In order for your business to be competitive, you need every aspect of your company operating at maximum efficiency. If just one component of your business isn’t functioning properly, then you’ve lost the competitive edge. This principle applies especially to the network of a small-to-medium-sized business.