October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month. This is the perfect time to start thinking about the things you should be doing to keep your small business safe. 

Many small businesses think they will not be the target of a cyberattack. This is not true. They may actually be more vulnerable because they don’t have the processes in place to protect their business. This is one of the reasons we at Murph Consulting are so proud to work with small businesses. Our team is here to not only help you keep your systems up and running but to keep your business and your data safe in the process.

Today we will share with you ways to protect your data and your business and how we can help you do just that.  

Keep Your Software Up To Date

We cannot stress this enough. Many of the updates to your operating system, as well as any applications you use, include patches for security risks. If you skip these updates, you are putting your business at risk. We use software here that does this automatically.

Make Sure You Have An Antivirus Solution

Not all antivirus solutions are the same. It’s important that you have a strong, centrally managed antivirus solution that doesn’t slow your computers down. That’s why we offer a trusted solution to our clients for as low as $30 per year.

Use Two-Factor Authentication

Multi-factor authentication (MFA) should be used whenever possible to add an extra layer of security to your account login process. This includes services such as email, social media accounts, and all cloud-based services you use. We understand the process of setting up MFA for your accounts can seem daunting. Our team offers a service that will set up all of your various services and users for you, saving you time and aggravation. 

Protect Your Passwords

Long gone SHOULD be the days of having a password like “Password1” and/or using the same password for multiple websites. We all have way more logins and passwords than we should be expected to remember, and with a password manager like 1password, we no longer need to.

When you use a password vault, passwords can be purposefully complex to keep them safe and because they’re in the vault, you don’t have to try to remember them. That is a VERY liberating feeling. You will even get monthly reports of security password weaknesses on your team.

If you use a lot of shared passwords, this service allows you to share those passwords with your team without them even seeing the password and allows you the ability to quickly shut off someone’s access to this portal should they leave the company.

If you have questions about implementing and managing a password vault for your team, we can help. 

Are You Backing Up Your Emails?

In the fast-paced world we live in today, many people use their emails as a form of maintaining documents. They depend on being able to go back into their inbox and retrieve certain emails. But your emails may not be as safe as you think.

Did you know that the email service you use (and yes, this includes Microsoft and Google) doesn’t actually back up your email? It’s true. If emails are deliberately or accidentally deleted and it’s realized several weeks later, your service won’t be able to restore them. These providers themselves recommend a third-party backup solution because of this.

That’s where we come in. For just $4 a month/per mailbox, we can get you backed up with an unlimited retention date.

Build A Proper Firewall

A proper firewall and networking equipment are a must for even the smallest business. Using the modem/router provided by your ISP or the cheapest router off the shelf at best buy simply won’t cut it anymore. Let us help you decide on the right firewall for your business.

Your Biggest Weakness Is Your Staff

We know we talk about phishing scams a lot but it is important to know how to spot them. We recommend training your team and will even work with you to do so. We prefer a service that will randomly send emails, once a month, to each employee that is a very real-looking fake email. Should the employee click on anything they shouldn’t, they are sent to a website that very respectfully explains what they clicked on and has them take a quick security test to better prepare them for the next fake email they will get.

You Are Not In This Alone

One of our most popular services is monitoring and remote management. We use a program here that automatically monitors our client’s computers for things like failing hard drives and software corruption, creates tickets for those problems, and most importantly, has a ransomware detector built in. That does everything it should if it sees anything weird happening to your computer (like all of your files suddenly being maliciously encrypted). It stops that process, removes the computer from your network so it doesn’t infect other computers, and still allows us remote access to fix it.

In other words, our team is here to help you every step of the way. You don’t have to do this alone. If the thought of losing important data or being duped by a phishing scam has you losing sleep, don’t hesitate to call.

Here at Murph Consulting, we combine IT expertise with human-to-human support. Our Help Desk with a Heart ❤️ is here to help you with your IT needs. Let us know how we can help. Contact us today at 917-924-4084.

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