Part 2 – How we approach AntiVirus in Small Business

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My approach to Small Business Antivirus is multi leveled. I keep Antivirus as simply one component of my data protection strategies under the Security Umbrella. My first strategy in protecting a client or myself for that matter is to take measures to stop viruses and other attacks before they reach our shores. A few years back after several of our clients were attacked by crypto viruses we implemented OpenDNS to all clients. This is a DNS cleansing service that protects your network and mobile devices by filtering out malicious sites. A few years after we implemented OpenDNS they were purchased by Cisco, this validates the value of their product imho. In the years since we implemented it we have not had a single crypto infection or any other virus for that matter. Good news is for the client that did get crypto infections our comprehensive RESTORE strategy had clean copies of their data, we cleaned the crypto and recovered all of their data by the time the next shift started. We succeeded in recovering 100% of the clients data but we still suffered downtime and disruption that we have since eliminated. Next we cleanse inbound email through a couple of different cloud services Mimecast and Office 365 built in tools are our go to products. This means that we have a high level of control over cleansing our mail prior to it ever getting into our inboxes and our systems. Once we have the inbound data stream cleaned up we insure that we have up to date and appropriately implemented firewall in place and some good centralized Antivirus and Malware solutions and we are ready to compute.

What can we learn from Computer System AntiVirus Strategies – Part 1 of 3

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As a long time computer tech/systems engineer I am well versed in AntiVirus techniques. In the IT world we have a veritable toolkit full of software, hardware, and cloud based services to identify, prevent, block, clean and anhilate computer based Viruses. In the computer world virus are generally unseen threats created by programmers to do various things to your computer systems, they often are designed to be stealthy, highly contagious, able to make your servers, software, and data sick, locked until you pay a ransom, or simply permanently deleted. Software virus’ and malicious software also hides itself, stays alive and dormant, to strike even after you’re convinced its gone, or just reinstalls on your very next reboot. In IT circles we use terms like outbreak, infection, perimeter defenses, firewalls, quarantine, disinfect, clean, and we sometimes worry about running out of tp. This all sound familiar. In my next blog post I will talk about how we prepare and what we do in an outbreak. This will sound familiar too.

Scott Gorcester 3/18/2020 (Snohomish “ground zero plus two Zombie Apocolypse”)

P.S. The Zombie Apocolypse comment is tongue in cheek

Focus on Running Your Business, We’ll Focus on Running Your IT

As technology continues to evolve, so do your technology needs. But many businesses lack the internal resources they need to fully manage IT on their own and—when your resources are lagging behind—your business lags behind your competitors.

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Anywhere Access to Business-Critical Apps

Mobile Productivity

Provide Employees with Anywhere Access to Business-Critical Information with ManageOps and Citrix

With today’s mobile workforce, employees in businesses of all sizes and in all industries want – or actually demand – remote access to business-critical apps and data to help them achieve work-life balance. They’re working from home offices, collaborating with customers and colleagues, working with stakeholders in different time zones, and using a variety of networks.

Forward-thinking businesses like yours are stepping up to deliver mobility because they are seeing the value of moving beyond just providing basic network access to providing secure, portable, always-on, always-connected working environments that follow and empower employees with access to business-critical apps regardless of their location, choice of device or connectivity.

According to analyst firm ESG, nearly one-third (32%) of IT professionals believe that mobile devices have become crucial for their organization’s business processes and productivity, while another 55% consider them to be very important.

When asked why their organizations were embracing mobile computing, more than half the respondents identified a desire to increase employee productivity (52%), improve specific business processes (51%), and/or provide employees with access to specific mobile applications and services for various lines of business (51%).

For some industries like banking, financial services, government and healthcare, real-time information enabled by secure mobility can make all the difference in critical decision making – having a drastic impact on revenue, economic decisions or even saving lives.

The end-user experience is of paramount importance in delivering mobile access to business-critical apps and the evolving threat and regulatory landscape is forcing IT organizations to achieve better security. They now need to protect critical business apps and data, maintain internal corporate standards and governance, and meet compliance and policy regulations for their industries.

But all of this is complicated many times over by the fact that employees are accessing apps and business-sensitive data over personally owned devices that are not controlled by IT. This creates security and management challenges for your IT organization as you need to provision, secure and support hundreds or maybe even thousands of devices and their data.

You know this is a necessary step for your business, but how do you make it all work?

App and desktop virtualization solutions from ManageOps powered by Citrix are the answer. Our solution empowers you to deliver the mobile access your employees need to business-critical information while delivering the security your business requires. And it simplifies IT management rather than adding complexity.

 

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However, according to surveys conducted by the American Red Cross, more than two-thirds of small businesses fail to implement basic continuity measures. The primary reason being, most of them just don’t believe a disaster will strike them.

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Change never comes easy. But if switching to another Managed Service Provider (MSP) will benefit your business, then maybe that’s a great option and the new direction you must take.

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2015 has come to a close. You’re now tying up loose ends to launch into a successful 2016. Likely, you’re still reviewing last year to discover business successes you can repeat and areas that need improvement.

Also consider this for a moment: How much time did you spend using technology, struggling with it, and maybe being hampered by IT? Wouldn’t you like to reduce the stress IT woes have on your team’s energy and morale?

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