security Archives

The Top 5 Common Tech Issues & How to Solve Them!

Welcome to another "Troubleshoot Thursday," where we address some of the most pressing tech problems that businesses face today. As a leader in the tech consulting sphere, we've often been approached with a range of technical glitches, big and small. Today, we'll be sharing the top 5 tech issues our clients frequently encounter and, more importantly, how to solve them! 5. Slow Computer Performance Explanation: Nothing is more frustrating than a lagging computer, especially when you have a mountain of tasks to complete. The reasons for this lag could range from too many background apps running, malware infiltrating your system, or simply outdated hardware. Solution: Background Processes: Regularly open your task manager to see which applications are hogging your system’s resources and close unnecessary ones. System Scans: Schedule regular malware scans to ensure no malicious software is slowing down your computer. Hardware Upgrades: Sometimes, all your computer needs is a ...

Kristy Mossoian2023-09-14T14:53:14+00:00

How to Choose the Right Managed IT Company

When looking for an IT company to manage your firm's technology, reading reviews is an excellent first step. We often choose our lawyers, healthcare providers, and even phone carriers based on word of mouth or reviews. Choosing an IT provider is no different. Start with reviews. Just don't stop with reviews. A company may have dozens of 5-star reviews yet be unable to service your firm. Some IT companies are specialized, while others may lack the necessary experience in your industry. We've compiled a list of IT-specific questions for you. These aren't questions you will get answers to out of a Google review. Some of them may not apply to your situation, but most will. You should be familiar with these before deciding on a provider. Experience in our industry Some newer IT startups will try to use their "new company vibe" to entice clients. However, think about the ...

Red Level2023-02-16T16:01:20+00:00

Azure Information Protection

How do you ensure your organization's confidential documents are accessible by approved eyes only? Fear not. Azure Active Information Protection can be your trusted friend to ensure that the sensitive data is well protected when appropriate groups or policies are set up and implemented. Specifically, Azure Information Protection, which is data loss prevention (DLP) for documents can be utilized to secure your confidential data. This blog provides a high-level overview of the DLP solution for Microsoft Azure. There are some different ways to start leveraging the platform and protecting your sensitive documents. Labels Place appropriate labels on your documents - you can have these labels applied by the users as they're editing documents Using client application and plugins into the office applications to apply labels when editing documents Customize your labels to control access to the documents by department or personnel. Create visual marking on the documents, such as header, ...

Red Level2023-02-16T16:01:33+00:00

Multi-Factor Authentication Conditional Access Configuration

Multi-Factor Authentication Conditional Access and Policies Configuration Multi-factor authentication (MFA) creates an extra step to verify user identity who wants to gain access to your server or database. MFA provides greater security with that layered authentication approach. When hosting MFA on-premises, you can lock down the server or cloud applications that are tied in with Microsoft ADFS (Active Directory Federation Services) in the environment that you have deployed. In this blog, we will be discussing a couple of different ways to manage the cloud version MFA, including setting up conditional access for your MFA. MFA Management Console Go to your Groups and select MFA authentication You should see a list of your users with an indication if they have already enabled MFA Enable MFA for your administrators or selected users By enabling MFA, your users or admins will be prompted to set up their second form of authentication device when ...

Red Level2023-02-16T16:01:34+00:00

Windows Security Update Headache? Try This Fix.

Security matters – we all understand that. No matter how highly refined an operating system or environment may be, there will always be some areas of vulnerability – and there will always be someone looking to take advantage of them. Generally, we can be grateful for the fact that Microsoft is pretty diligent about rooting out these vulnerabilities and addressing them; those periodic security updates have undoubtedly saved an incalculable amount of grief. That’s not to say, though, that the update process will always be hassle-free. Safety comes at an occasional cost, at least in terms of convenience. Many of us were reminded of this with the recent release of Windows Security Update Fix KB4103727. Users who have implemented the patch and who use remote desktop to connect to a server can find themselves shut out unexpectedly. An error message such as the following is typical: The problem is ...

Clay Osborn2023-02-16T16:01:38+00:00

U.S. Federal Government Data Breached – Can You Protect Your Organization

The U.S. federal government has joined Target, Home Depot and Sony as the latest major organization to report that their systems have been breached by hackers. The damage? Notifying up to 4 million current and former federal employees that their personal financial data may have been compromised. Gone are the days when IT could simply build up a massive, defensive wall of protection and believe that the data living behind it would be safe from attack. Organizations now need to shift their security strategies from "if" to "when" their systems will be breached— and design their cybersecurity plan accordingly. According to a 2014 report by the Ponemon Institute, a research organization specializing in privacy, data protection, and information security, some 43% of companies experienced a data breach in the preceding year. Michael Bruemmer, vice president of credit information company Experian's data breach resolution group and sponsor of the ...

Red Level2023-02-16T16:01:59+00:00