How to Find Balance Between Productivity vs. Security and Compliance

how to find balance between productivity vs security and compliance
However, in order for each one of them to work successfully, business owners must find common ground between each of them.

The truth is productivity, security, and compliance are all important to your business. However, in order for each one of them to work successfully, business owners must find common ground between each of them. More importantly, it’s imperative to define how each of them apply to your business needs too. On the one hand, you’re business is always trying to meet the demands of higher productivity and then on the other hand, security and compliance become just as important.

How does your business find a way to balance their goals of productivity, security, and governance? 

How To Balance Productivity, Security & Compliance 

Your business may define productivity as producing 500 units one week and then 800 the next. It’s obvious your level of productivity has increased. Your business was more productive in the second week than in the first, right? For a service provider, your productivity is defined by the number of customers your business is able to serve. However, today, productivity means giving your employees the flexibility of doing their job which could mean logging into your network from a mobile device, but this opens the door for exploitation by hackers. So, how do you continue to balance productivity, security, and compliance? The experts suggests; “a professional blend of management, resources, and strategy.” 

The need for productivity has created a demand for device compatibility, new workforce benefits, new technology, and vendors that have access to your network information. This has created IT obstacles that have never existed before which insights the need for a balance between productivity, security, and compliance. In fact, it may be harder for small business to keep up with the demands of all three, but here’s how your business can find the perfect balance: 

Choose To Be Adaptive & Context-Aware 

Stop asking users to authentic themselves and take the matter into your own hands. For example, when a user is logging into your network, background authentication checks like: are they using the same device, has their number recently been ported or are they logging on from a geographical location are all safety and compliance measures that can help you form the perfect balance between productivity too when met with the right tools. Your governance rules may be more stringent with a administrator who can change your system configurations or your finance staff who can access sensitive data over employees with less privileges. 

Think Technically “Smart” 

Why give your employees access to more of your network than what they need to do their job? The best balance between productivity and security is the least-privilege rule. Never give your employees access to more than what they need to avoid a security risk, but with the ability to still remain productive. For instance, any data that users upload to the cloud should be encrypted or blocking any downloads from a bring-your-own device (BYOD). 

Utilize Adoption & User Experience

Users absolutely hate things that get in their way. For instance, complex password requirements and hardware tokens feels like it is enabling their work which impacts their productivity. However, there are proven technologies that will streamline and improve the user experience while protecting your security. Use single-on features that don’t require a key fob, adaptive authentication (that remembers their device and log-on pattern), or even go passwordless. 

Bottom line: How do you balance productivity, security, and compliance? Identify the most profitable balance between the three along with what works best for your employees and for your business. 

You’re invited to contact us at the AE Technology Group for more details on balancing your productivity, security, and compliance. We’re you IT support and managed services professionals. Together, we’ll focus on the productivity of your team while protecting your business security and keeping you fined tuned with the current compliance standards. 

How to Avoid These 4 IT Mistakes As Your Company Grows

how to avoid these 4 it mistakes as your company grows
Mistakes

Have you noticed that your technology is struggling to keep up as the company expands over time? If so, you’re not alone. Many companies solely focus on increasing their sales without considering whether their technology will be able to  accommodate their growth.

Here are several IT mistakes you should try to avoid as your business starts to grow:

Mistake #1

Your Technology Does Not Align With the Company’s Overall Goals

Your technology should always align with the goals of your business. After all, not every product is going to be a good fit or meet your needs. Once you have outlined the company’s strategic goals, you should only invest in technology that will help you achieve them.

Mistake #2

Your Employees Are Not Supportive

Do your employees know why your company uses certain technology over others? They are less likely to embrace it if they don’t understand its purpose. This can lead to unsupportive employees who can lower the morale in the workplace. You can avoid this mistake early on by explaining to them in detail how your technology ties into the company’s overall mission.   

Mistake #3

You Don’t Explore Your Technology’s Full Capabilities

Technology has made significant strides within the last couple of decades, but many companies are still not taking advantage of all its capabilities. Talk with your managed IT service provider to learn more about how you can fully optimize it. You should also train the employees on how to use your software and equipment.

Mistake #4

Your Technology Isn’t A Priority

Sadly, some small business owners and managers are so focused on driving sales that they forget to prioritize their IT. You can use technology to increase efficiency and productivity. To prevent this from happening, you should work with a dedicated IT service provider to oversee your company’s technology.

Schedule a Consultation Today

For more information on how to avoid costly IT mistakes, please contact us our managed services IT company today. We’d be happy to perform a free audit and give an on-site consultation.

Why Is 2-Factor Authentication Important?

why is 2 factor authentication important
2-Factor Authentication

Hacking is becoming more common as major websites have had data leaks containing emails, passwords, and other sensitive information. This kind of hacking has made international headlines and brought the issue of cybersecurity and internet safety to the forefront. Any computer that gets infected and that contains your personal information can make the victim of identity theft. The most serious cases of hacking will include hackers getting far more than just your email and password. Oftentimes, such information and data security breaches will include hackers getting access to even more of your sensitive information such as your credit card or bank account numbers or even your address, phone number, and social security number.

Many people use passwords to keep the bad guys out of their information and out of their accounts, however, sadly, in 2018, that’s not always enough of a protective barrier to keep your sensitive information safe. Today’s most sophisticated hackers have learned how to use methods like phishing and pharming to test billions of password combinations till they find yours. Once they do that, all of the sensitive information contained inside is theirs for the taking!

Many internet users are even easier targets as they likely use the same password for multiple accounts on multiple websites because it makes their information easier to remember. If you do that, once a hacker gets access to one site, they have access to all of the sites with the same username and password combination, which can compromise more of your personal information that would otherwise be compromised if you used different combinations for each site.  

To combat this increasing issue of hackers getting into people’s information, many websites are taking to using what is called “2-factor authentication” which is essentially a system that double-checks a person’s identity to make sure they are the person who should be accessing the account before letting them in. This 2-factor authentication can be required every time a person logs in or if they are logging in from a new device, for example.

Many websites that you already use have this 2-factor authentication option. Sites like Facebook and Gmail are great examples of sites that give users this option. Users simply have to use their settings to request 2-factor authentication as an option. One example of 2-factor authentication is entering a code that you are texted or emailed to access your account if you forget a password or want to change a password. This is confirming you are who you claim you are, so you have already engaged in a 2-factor authentication process.

This 2-factor authentication is even more crucial when protecting personal information such as your banking information or personal email where further personal information may be attainable. It’s unfortunate that we live in a world where people try to take other people’s information but it is happening more and more often these days. Protecting your information should be your number one priority and 2-factor authentication is the latest way to do just that.

For more information about 2-factor authentication and how you can protect your personal information please feel free to contact us at the AE Technology Group for further assistance.

5 Handy Tips To Keep In Mind When Using Microsoft Word

office 365 business plans

Microsoft Word is one of the most common software suits in the world and is likely to be the leading name recognized around the world. However, the software is so well known that it’s hard to call anyone who uses such basic software something of a “power user”.

However, for our weekly tips we are going to dive a bit deeper into the true capabilities of Microsoft Word and show you how you can up your game a bit to get the most out of the software.

The following are 5 handy tips to keep in mind when using Microsoft Word:

  1. Faster Backspacing: It’s very frustrating to use a word processor such as Microsoft Word when you realize that you have messed up typing a word or sentence for the first (or tenth) time, especially when you are trying to get a document written up by a certain deadline or within an allotted time frame. However, the good news is that there is a shortcut to backspacing more quickly than constantly hitting the “Backspace” key again and again or holding it down to watch a sentence disappear. Consolidate the process by hitting the “Ctrl” key and Backspace key. This will delete an entire word rather than just a letter at a time.
  2. Side-By-Side Documents: If you need to compare two documents while looking at them both at the same time. Whether comparing documents or editing them simultaneously Word does allow you to open two documents side-by-side and even scroll through them simultaneously. Once both documents are opened, click “View” and select the “View Side By Side” option to see your documents appear side-by-side on the same screen.
  3. Spike Text: Cut and paste is probably one of the most often-used and most useful features that Word has to offer. Microsoft has now also added another function that can make the feature even more useful as this feature is more condensed. It is called Spike. If you are looking to move a section of information that you have already typed needs to be moved, however, the text that you want to pull out is spread throughout the rest of the text. Rather than doing multiple copy and pastes while also deleting it from that section to compile in another section, you can Spike it. You can select each section you need and remove it from the text by pressing “Ctrl” and F3. This will appear to cut the content but if you simply select “Ctrl”, “Shift”, & F3 you will be able to empty the clipboard into the new section or even into a new document to move text more effectively.
  4. Finding Your Location: Every word processor, including Microsoft Word, trains its users to save the content before they close the document when they are finished working on the document (at least for that section). However, it can be quite irritating when you reopen the document and the cursor is at the top of the page when that is not where you need the cursor to be to continue writing. It can be hard to remember where you left off, especially if you are editing a section of text or are looking to work on a certain section of the document. To help put your cursor where you want it Microsoft Word lets you press “Shift” + F5 to take you to the last place where you left off.
  5. Easy Hyperlinks: Hyperlinking in your text can give something you are writing more credit or help take a reader to another website with more related, pertinent information. This also applies to many business documents or when you want to cite other sources in your work. To do it in a quick and easy manner, highlight the text you want to link and press “Ctrl” + K and a new window will come up. Then add the URL that you are linking to the address bar and press “Enter” to complete hyperlinking the text.

These are just 5 of the great tools that Microsoft Word offers to help make working on their Word Processor easier. Give these tools a try the next time you are using Microsoft Word and enjoy the time it saves you and the increase of productivity you can gain from these shortcuts.

While millions of people worldwide use Microsoft Word, few know of these secret shortcuts that can make the platform more functional for your needs. These are our “weekly tips” that are here to teach you 5 ways to make Microsoft Word work better for you.

For more information on Microsoft Word and how to get this word processing platform to meet your personal needs or those of your company or business, please feel free to contact us at the AE Technology group for further assistance.

Computer Tip of the Day: Browse Safely

browse safely
Browse Safely

All of us at one point or another have used the internet for work, school, entertainment, etc. We spend countless hours browsing the news, shopping, watching videos, even ordering food all from our computers or smartphones.

In fact, in 2015, it was estimated that young ones between the ages of 16 and 24 spent more than 27 hours a week on the internet. But as activist Simon Wiesenthal once said, “The combination of hatred and technology is the greatest danger threatening mankind.” This is clearly seen in how technology and the internet are being used to hurt people. According to Cybint, there is a hacker attack every 39 seconds, affecting 1 in 3 Americans each year. With all this being said, it’s clear that precautions must be taken to browse safely and protect data.

Use Strong Passwords

Most, if not all websites today store personal information one way or another, and they keep track of this information using passwords created by the user.

When a hacker obtains a password used by a company or individual, they can use it to obtain data such as SSN’s, Card Information, Addresses, etc. When a hacker has the data available to them they can hurt the individual or company by using it for selfish gain. Here are a few tips for better password protection:

  • Between 8 – 12 Characters
  • Use Special Symbols (@, !, $, _)
  • Combine both letters and numbers
  • Use both uppercase and lowercase letters
  • Here’s an example (@P3t3rJ_1215)

Avoid Shady Emails

Especially for those in the workplace, email is used for many things such as communicating with clients or subscribing to a newsletter.

Due to its use, this is a common tool for hackers to corrupt your computer with malware or viruses via hyperlinks. They can even send false emails to obtain personal information from you and steal crucial data. Here are a few tips to open emails carefully:

  • Do not open emails from unknown sources
  • Avoid downloading attachments in emails
  • Do not give out your email to anyone, only trusted sources
  • Delete spam mail as quickly as possible

Ensure Data is Encrypted

Due to an increase in online forms and data sharing over the internet, attackers use un-encrypted sites to steal information such as passwords, usernames, card information, etc.

When visiting a site to fill out a form such as a bank website, for example, ensure that the website is HTTPS encrypted. An easy way to verify if a website is encrypted is to see if a padlock in the address bar is locked as seen here.

Use Antivirus Software

There are thousands of new malware and viruses being launched every day and it can be hard to keep track of how to protect yourself against such threats that can hurt your computer and yourself.

Thankfully, companies have devoted themselves to help protect you against the nastiest of attacks by offering software (both paid and free) to block those attacks. These companies use tools such as encryption and firewalls to protect your computer and your data. Here are a few trusted companies that offer Antivirus software:

While the internet can be a scary and dangerous place, you can protect yourself with the right tools and precautions to enjoy browsing to the fullest.

The above tips are just a few of the many things that can be done to browse safely, yet there are many more that can offer added protection. If you would like to know more about these tips and tricks for safe browsing, please contact us to learn more; we’d love to hear from you and help you browse safely!