Studies and news reports are showing a marked increase in the number of small and medium-sized businesses that are being targeted by hackers. One major reason for this is their general lack of security systems, making them very vulnerable to theft.

In physics, there’s a concept called ‘the path of least resistance’. The meaning is plain enough – objects that move in a system take the path where they will encounter the least challenges and hurdles in order to quickly move to wherever they are going.

Apparently, the same principle applies to hackers nowadays. Instead of targeting larger firms for that big ‘score’, hackers are now considering it more feasible and much easier to victimize smaller firms and companies, even for a much smaller amount of money.

Why is that? First, smaller companies generally have much more vulnerable IT systems. Security is minimal or average at best, and the hackers don’t get as much heat or attention when compared to trying to breach the much more complicated, state-of-the-art security systems of bigger firms and businesses. Take a small newsstand business in Chicago: cyberthieves were able to install a Trojan in the cash registers which sent swiped credit card numbers to Russia. When the jig was discovered, Mastercard subsequently demanded an investigation – at the expense of the business owner – and the proprietor had to shell out a hefty $22,000.⁽ⁱ⁾

A survey in the United States reveals that more than half of small or medium-sized businesses believed that they ran no risk of being victimized by hackers, and less than half of the respondents had security systems in place.⁽ⁱⁱ⁾ That looks like a path of least resistance, as far as hackers are concerned.

The loss of a few thousand bucks may not be much for a big business, but it can make a significant dent on the profits and sustainability of smaller organizations. And in the case of implanted viruses that steal credit card information, your reputation can also take a big hit. So if you want your business to stay truly safe before it’s too late, please contact us so we can discuss options and blueprints to make your business secure.

References: (i) and (ii)

If you use an iPad, there is a switch conveniently located at the right side of the device which you can set to either lock the orientation of the screen or to mute the audio when you slide the switch—depending on your preference.

To set your preference, go to Settings > General, and under the "Use Side Switch" section, choose either "Lock Rotation" or "Mute."

With more and more businesses using online banking for its convenience and ease, more and more hackers and cyber-thieves are also making it their mission to infiltrate and manipulate these transactions for their benefit. More than ever, it is important for businesses to ensure that they have the proper security protocols in place to prevent cyber-theft.

Online banking is a tool that many businesses utilize because of the ease, efficiency, and convenience it offers. Especially when it comes to small and medium-sized businesses, online banking is a great way to manage and track finances for day-to-day operations.

However, the increase in online banking also has the unfortunate effect of luring unsavoury parties such as cyber-thieves and hackers who target and steal from the businesses who use it. This is why security experts are urging companies to beef up their security systems to keep them safe from cyber and identity theft. The more companies rely on the internet, especially when it comes to managing finances through online banking, the more prudent it is to take steps to prevent that hard-earned money from being stolen.

One tip experts give is to establish proper protocols for transacting with the bank, such as requiring two people to verify a transaction before it is approved. This helps create a checks-and-balance system that hackers will be hard-pressed to get around. Having a dedicated workstation used for only online financial transactions is also recommended, as this lessens the likelihood of it being infiltrated by Trojans, viruses, spyware, and other malware that may come from the machine being used for other purposes. Having the right anti-virus and anti-malware software – as well as regularly updating it – can also go a long way in keeping your online banking transactions safe from unfriendly eyes.

Your finances are the lifeblood of your business, so if you are interested in how you can make your online banking experience safe and secure, we'd be happy to sit down with you to discuss security solutions that are tailor-fit to your specific requirements and needs.

The knee-jerk reaction to Facebook of most businesses is to throw it out the door. But many companies also need to realize the value of using a massive social networking platform like Facebook to help the business grow and put itself out in the market more.

When it comes to Facebook, the usual default attitude of businesses is to shun it completely. And while there is merit to the argument that social networks, Facebook especially, can hamper and derail productivity in an organization, there is also a lot Facebook can do to help your business grow.

Reports cite that as many as 800 million people around the world are on Facebook – that's a larger-than-life audience that makes marketing experts giddy with excitement. When you think about it, Facebook presents a huge marketing opportunity for you and your business to connect with a lot of people who may become potential clients in the future. Think of having a Facebook page as a mini-website of sorts, one that supplements and complements your main website.

Since it's a medium to establish rapport with potential clients, experts suggest that a business Facebook page must contain more interesting content – related to your business, of course – designed to attract readers and visitors, rather than hard-sell information about your products and services. Your Facebook page serves as a complement to your website, not a duplicate of it. If you consistently serve up interesting and useful information, people will then go to your website to see what you're all about.

Also, don't hesitate to establish more personal relationships with people who visit your Facebook page – the 'likers' and the people who comment and ask questions. Answer queries promptly and make yourself visible. One of the points of having a Facebook page is so people won't feel intimidated by a stiff corporate front – a Facebook page tells them that you're a company that's willing to hear them out and listen to what they want.

If you want to know more about how to use Facebook pages to help your business grow, please give us a call and we'll be happy to sit down with you to draw up potential strategies to increase your online presence and potential client base.

If you, for example, install multiple media player applications on your Android device, you’ll find that Android will give you the choice of which application to launch by default when you open a media file or document. However, you may later want to change this default setting.

To do so, go to Settings > Applications > Manage applications and then press the "All" tab. Choose the application that you previously selected as default, and scroll to the section "Launch by default" and press the "Clear defaults" button. Next time you open that particular type of file in the future, Android will prompt you again to choose a new default app.

Ever surfed for the number of a pizza place on your iPhone and just wanted to dial the phone number straight from the webpage? If you are using the default browser on your iPhone, which is Safari, that's no problem at all.

Safari automatically converts numbers that look like phone numbers into links. If you press those links, a popup window will appear giving you the option to call the number from there or cancel. No need to write down or even copy and paste the numbers.

If you are using Internet Explorer and Windows 7, you may have noticed that when you mouse over an IE browser window, a preview of the open tabs in the browser is shown. While this is useful to give you an idea of the sites you have open, it can get annoying if you have multiple tabs open at the same time. If you would prefer to disable this feature, you can.

Just go to Tools > Internet Options (in the upper right-hand corner of the browser) and then click on the "Settings" button in the window that pops up. In the list of Tabbed Browsing Settings, uncheck "Show previews for individual tabs in the taskbar." Click on OK and you should be good to go.

A very useful feature in Microsoft Office is called "AutoRecover", which automatically saves your document at specified time intervals so that in case of an application or system crash, Office can recover its latest version.

By default this is set to 10 minutes, but you can change this easily by clicking on the Office button within the application, and then clicking on the "Word Options" or "Excel Options" (or other application) button in the lower right hand side of the window. Go to the "Save" section and look for "Save AutoRecover information every…" and change the settings there. Be sure to click "OK" to save your preference. A word of caution: setting the interval at very short timespans such as every 1 minute can slow down your computer with frequent writes to the hard disk. Try a number between 5 minutes to 10 minutes first.

Leaving your computer for a short time but don't want anyone peeking at your desktop or files? Simply lock it. When you lock your desktop, anyone who wants to use it will have to log in using their username and password.

One way to do this is to press Ctrl+Alt+Del and then click on "Lock Computer." A quicker way is to press the Windows logo key and the L key.

With Microsoft's move to transition users to the newer Windows 7 and Windows 2008 R2 platforms through XP support discontinuation announcements, it may be high time to start thinking of an upgrade – and how you can execute it efficiently and cost effectively.

One of the standard expectations when using technology is the inevitable need to change and upgrade. Technology moves forward on the principle that things that already seem great can be made even better – and more often than not, the improvements are worth the change.

This principle applies to the operating system and SMB platform you may be using now. While it may have served you well so far (after all, if it ain't broke, why fix it, right?), that doesn't mean that things can't get any better – and in a measureable way that improves your productivity. With systems like Windows 7 (which isn't exactly 'new', since it's been around for a good while) and Windows 2008 R2 gaining ground in the market and proving their worth, it may be time to start thinking about moving up and upgrading your current software.

Here are some thoughts to start the ball rolling: studies and tests have shown that Windows 7 and 2008 R2 outperform their predecessors in almost every conceivable situation. And considering Microsoft's recent announcement that they will discontinue support for Windows XP by 2014, the possibility of needing to upgrade becomes more pressing. Like it or not, you will eventually get left behind as technology marches on.

Of course, we realize that it's not as simple as waving a magic upgrade wand and that's that. It's important to understand the way you do business in order to accurately assess how an upgrade will affect your operations. So please contact us and we'll be happy to sit down with you and find ways to implement an upgrade in the most efficient and cost-effective manner possible.