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In the past two years, consumers switched to rely more and more on e-commerce stores to fulfill everyday shopping needs. But people are picky and are willing to change to other sellers if they are concerned for their privacy or security.  Online stores are just as susceptible to data breaches as other small businesses, and when you're dealing with customers' personal information, your consumers will notice. But there are ways to fortify your e-commerce security to protect all its data.  1. Stay Up to Date with Firewalls and Safety Plug-Ins E-commerce stores have a lot of incoming traffic, so firewalls are essential to keep the threats out while allowing customers to seamlessly navigate your shop. You can also couple your firewall with security plug-ins to see a breakdown of your store's traffic – plug-ins can help tell you when you're under threat of hacking attempts. 2. Use HTTPS You’re likely familiar with this acronym, hypertext transfer protocol secure, that sends information between your website and your customer's web browser. It's the gold standard of security, and the default HTTP is not enough to protect data in the modern landscape of cybersecurity. Not only will HTTPS protect your customers throughout the payment...

  We have been using email for decades, and it’s easy to take its vulnerability for granted. We send and receive dozens of emails a day – messages with confidential information are at particular risk for data breaches.    Technology is getting smarter, but so are the malicious hackers that want to intercept your information. From phishing scams to spam messages and beyond, emails are a lot more exposed than we think.   What Are the Best Ways to Protect Your Emails?   While having firewall and malware software is a good idea, the specific steps you take to protect your emails don’t have to be overly complicated. Implementing some habits every day, week, or month can go a long way in adding a layer of security to your account.   Keep Your Email Accounts Separate   It seems like everyone has at least two email accounts – a personal account, a work account, and sometimes more. Keeping your accounts and emails separate is a good practice to adopt.    Only sending work emails from your work account, not your personal account and vice versa can reduce security risks. If one account is compromised, you can more easily...

Chances are, your small business doesn't have a team of in-house technology professionals whose job it is to catch and fix all tech problems. Small companies have less staff, and IT support can fall to the bottom of the priorities pile. But unlike large corporations, small businesses have fewer in-house resources to protect themselves from data breaches, server crashes, and general technological disasters. That's why outsourcing the technical aspects of your business to a fully managed service provider is the answer. Here are a few reasons why letting someone else manage your technology is better for you, your business, and your employees. 1. Improved Productivity Think back to the last time you had even a minor tech emergency. You have to stop what you were doing, attempt to diagnose the problem, and try to tinker with your machines hoping that you can fix it and get back into your workflow. You and your employees already have full days doing your jobs and growing the business. Being bogged down by IT problems can only flame frustration. Getting IT professionals to take care of these tasks for you lets your staff get back to doing their jobs uninterrupted. 2. Ensured Security As much...

With more and more companies switching to a work-from-home model, employees need to be more careful with work data. Many employees lack the knowledge about how to best keep data safe and secure, and those preying on them know that this gap in understanding exists. Are Remote Workers More at Risk of Hacking? Since remote working has changed the way we use our devices, they are at risk of data breaches in different ways. Home devices may be targeted by cybercriminals looking to use a home network to access business devices. Third-party applications, messaging, and emails will be more at risk of phishing messages as a result. Remote workers are most at risk of data breaches, and it's a trend that will continue as remote working becomes the new normal. Businesses are becoming increasingly vulnerable in their device security, as well as their data security. Why are Remote Workers More Vulnerable to Security Breaches? As we get comfortable working from home, we naturally let our guard down. We feel safe in our house at the best of times, so we think our devices are safe too. But the reality is that outside the firewall protections offered with company servers, we are...

From the inception of the internet, viruses and malware have been popping up amongst web users. No pun intended.  Is your computer acting off? Are boxes popping up on your screen, telling you your computer is infected? Your computer may have been infected with malware or a virus. It's not always easy to determine whether your computer has become infected with a virus, worm, Trojan or spyware; authors of malicious software do their best to disguise their work. However, you can look out for certain signs that your computer is infected. How to Tell if You Have a Virus The first tell-tale sign you have been infected by a virus is if things just seem off. If one day your computer was normal and the next it’s having unexplainable problems, chances are you were infected. There are a few key signs to look for when it comes to malware.  Ads and pop-ups:  If you are seeing a lot of ads suddenly, there is very little doubt you have a virus on your hands. Pop-up ads will show up on screen, even when you are not browsing the internet. Things are slowing down: This is a huge tell-tale sign. If your computer...

When you run a small business, you’re often pulled in several directions all at once. Not only are you in charge of everyday operations, but you must handle payroll, employee issues, and anything else that pops up. Which small business apps are best? That will largely depend on your business and your own preferences. If you don’t have the time to wade through an endless list of apps, we’ve compiled a list of options to get you started! Best App for Project Management? Basecamp Basecamp is the most well-known project-management app of this trio, and it might be the easiest to use of the bunch. The interface is streamlined and intuitive, and it’s easy to invite collaborators, chat within projects, attach files, create checklists, and track your progress. You can also create helpful workflow calendars that keep everyone on track and on the same page. Best App for Workflow? Workflowy WorkFlowy is a web-based organizational tool that enables users to create lists: personal to-dos, notes, team projects, research papers, and many more. It is a text-based, zoomable document that is flexible enough for organizing ideas in one's own way. Best App for Payment? Square Square could be a life-saver, if your...

Purchased by Facebook in 2014 for $22 billion dollars, WhatsApp is a cross-platform application that uses an Internet connection to unify business communications. It allows users to write messages, share files, set groups, as well as make voice and video calls without using SMS mobile data.

Email has been one of the primary correspondence methods for businesses for several years. In addition to communicating with your team, clients, and peers, emails also bring you the latest blog in a subscription, or sales and marketing messages from prospective vendors. With dozens of emails flowing in throughout your day, emails can become a distraction that results in a significant loss of productivity. These three tips can help you cut down on time that you waste when compulsively checking your emails.

An educated workforce provides the business world with intelligent prospective employees who want to leave companies better than they were when they arrived. Thankfully, technology has made it even easier to achieve a quality education with concepts such as online learning and live streaming taking the frontlines. How are today’s students utilizing modern technology in the classroom?

The modern business needs a reliable source of information technology support. Historically, this was provided through a method known as break/fix—if your business technology was to break, a technician would come in to fix it. While this approach works, there are many trade-offs to using it that a business shouldn’t have to accept. Now that there is the managed services model, businesses no longer do.

Have you found that your smartphone battery doesn’t last as long as it should? If you’re a business owner who uses your mobile device very frequently, you might notice a rather significant change in the quality of your device’s charge over time. How can you make sure that this decrease in power doesn’t create problems for your productivity?

When it comes to hacking and cybercrime, it can literally be a few seconds that will ruin your business. One single chink in your network’s armor is all it takes for your data to be compromised. Modern SMBs need to take every opportunity to ensure they’re using best practices to help keep their network safe and secure. Here’s a look at four network security bad habits that you and your team can fix today.

A corruption case in Pakistan has taken a new twist, thanks to an unexpected source: Calibri. The font is being examined as key evidence, as its presence in key documents has caused a few bumps in the case. This is because the font is used in documents that are dated a year before the font was released.

We are never shy about insisting that certain standards are met when devising passwords, but many major companies are seemingly far less worried about password security than we are. A recent study conducted by the password manager developer Dashlane paints a troubling picture of the state of password security, providing anecdotal evidence in the form of some very well-known and trusted companies scoring at the low end of the password security spectrum.

We talk about network security a lot, and for good reason. The majority of today’s businesses rely heavily on their information systems and there is plenty of danger presented by Internet-based threats. However, some organizations spend so much time worrying about cyber threats that they forget that physical threats exist outside the technology plane. Your organization needs to take steps toward securing its on-site premise, as well as the digital space in which your business exists.

There’s a lot to be gained by utilizing a company letterhead on your correspondence and other printed materials, especially in terms of company recognition and professional impression. Utilizing Microsoft Word makes it easy to add this detail to your documents. For this week’s tip, we’ll show you how easy it is to create a letterhead in Word.

Cloud computing has helped many businesses over the past few years. The many benefits it provides have enabled a variety of businesses in many industries to improve their functionality. The retail sector is a prime example of one such industry. Here are a few benefits that the cloud has imparted to those in retail--benefits that your business could enjoy as well.

Of any solution that might help your business out of a jam, a data backup is possibly the most important. However, a backup is only as reliable as it is configured to be. To ensure your backup is optimized to your business’ needs, we’ve compiled a few questions to ask as you examine your backup solution.

A slow computer is many things, but most of all, it’s an annoying problem to have. When you have work that needs to get done, a slow computer can hold you back from reaching your maximum potential. Do you struggle with technology that’s running at less than maximum efficiency? We’ll discuss some of the ways that you can resolve the issue of a slow computer.

Your business is running as smooth as can be and your employees are performing their day-to-day duties in an admirable fashion. Everything is falling into place as you close in on a project deadline with extra time to spare. In a single moment, however, that all comes crashing down as your server experiences a fatal error, or your workstations start to run sluggishly. If your organization suffers from technology difficulties, how do you approach them?