Category: Data Backup and Recovery Articles

Whether it’s from malware attacks, natural hardware depreciation or data theft, IT companies and their huge amount of crucial corporate data are always at risk. It is for these reasons, that companies put antivirus suites into place and implement hefty levels of hardware and software-based security solutions.

However, among today’s threatening risks, data theft has got to be one the most destructive as it presents potentially irreparable damage to your company. The probability of it taking place escalates further when employees are operating within a mobile office or the confidential information needs to be taken to an off-site location.

We’ve all heard of horror stories of laptop thievery even in heavily secured locations like airports, hotel rooms, boardrooms, and, interestingly enough, even within the office premises. Compact storage devices like external hard disks and USB thumb drives are even easier to lose track of. These can lead to the exposure of proprietary data that can heavily affect both IT companies’ competitive edge and overall reputation.

The First Line of Encrypted Defense

And so security is beefed up even further with the office IT support team defining security policies by encryption. For these, Microsoft came up with its own secure encryption system for entire disk volumes called BitLocker Drive Encryption, geared expressly for the Ultimate and Enterprise Editions of Windows Vista.

Now with Windows 7, the encryption specifications are further expanded into BitLocker To Go to include removable storage devices as well. It mans the security layers of your external storage, providing a Fort Knox of encryption to protect your files. The contents of your portable storage can only be accessed using a password and without it, the entire storage device is deemed utterly worthless.

Naturally, you or anyone from your IT support arm can define the password and the recovery policies. You can also choose to have the drive automatically unlocked when plugged into specific computers. BitLocker also includes the BitLocker To go Reader utility on the your encrypted drive which automatically launches when you hook it up to a USB port on a machine running Vista or Windows XP.

Creating a Security-Aware Workplace

When you have already set up BitLocker To Go on your external storage devices, it’s important that you create and maintain a security-aware workplace.

Theft of a physical drive is merely one way data can be stolen. There are keyloggers that track password and figure keypresses and data mining Trojans Horses that can pass on from one unsecure drive to a laptop to network server. And, to top it off, these can spread undetected. It’s highly recommended that businesses, especially IT companies dealing with sensitive client data, enforce the strict use of protected drives.

Encrypt Before You Distribute

Most companies nowadays issue USB thumb drives or external hard disks for use among its employees, and it’s best to have them run through BitLocker To Go first before handing them to their intended users. Similarly, previously distributed drives should also get the Microsoft encryption treatment, and the importance of using only these drives for work, should be stressed.

For drives that already contain files: what you can do is create a backup on a PC for all its contents and while you run it through BitLocker, have your natively installed antivirus software suite take a gander at the files before you drag them back to the drive. This way, you can be sure both are clean and security is invigorated for re-use.

Possibilities of social engineering and hardware pilfering in any type of environment should never be underestimated with or even without chances of unscrupulous business competitors. So it’s always best to protect you and your data from these potential risks.

Contact All Covered at 866-466-1133 or point your Web browser to www.allcovered.com to get in touch with our experts to know more about how you can keep your sensitive data secure and for all your other IT consulting needs.

Contact All Covered

del.icio.us | Reddit | Slashdot | Digg | More

Since small businesses joined large conglomerates in relegating their mission critical processes to data infrastructures, IT companies are always faced with the dangers that come with a network-based working environment. And that’s on a daily basis.

Disasters in the data center or in the physical server room are not unheard of, turning the IT support leg of any company into tireless workhorses which could have been prevented had there been proper data security policies or sturdy data backup and recovery solutions in place. And this is where IT consultants and their expertise are pulling in the muscle, by leveraging on data disaster plans that will definitely secure the continuous flow of productivity in the office.

As the risks grow exponentially, developing a remote offsite data backup plan has become crucial and a necessary investment. It will prevent downtimes, the loss of vital data and revenues and, eventually, potential damage to the overall business.

Assessing Your Needs

When creating a data disaster prevention plan, there are several factors the IT support department should consider and most of them depend on your business’ needs and overall data infrastructure. These include your nature of business and the risks and potential benefits you will have to face once a backup solution is in place, among others.

There are some companies that only use small-scale backup solutions like the use of external hard disk drives on USB hookups or maybe even decent PC-based backup applications and server storage; and these are enough for them. Others, on the other hand, require larger solutions that include third party data software suites and even remote data data center mirroring. Service oriented companies and businesses dealing with eCommerce fall bluntly in this category.

Remote Backups

Investing in data backup solutions are one of the best contingency plans your business can get on board with. In the data center, the word “redundancy” is one word that often gets bounced around and it should be part of your data disaster plan’s prevention checklists.

This means that while your gigabytes (or most likely, terabytes) of data are stored and backed up locally, it’s important to have another copy mirrored remotely on a data center on a different location. This is one backup solution many large entities, especially IT companies and Web services, are utilizing to ensure their data’s constant availability. You can also use IT outsourcing services for your data to be safely backed up in a disaster-proof data center with an accompanying backup solution that can be accessed locally. This will save you from the potential headache should you encounter some unfortunate data loss later on.

Backup Frequency

An important question to ask when setting up your data disaster plan in place is “how often should I backup?” As a general rule, backups are usually performed during weekends as they usually take up several hours to an afternoon or even an entire day to accomplish depending on the size of your library of data and your network connection’s speed. A day’s worth of backup time would ideally be the extent for IT companies running a 24/7 operation, on the other hand. The succeeding data backups will most probably take far lesser time to complete.

As a side note, while a backup is in the works, many IT service teams take the opportunity to do hardware refreshes and perform routine diagnostics. And it is recommended that you do to make sure there really is no downtime even from the technical aspect.

Data backup and recovery is crucial element in any given business to ensure both the productivity and the security of a company’s data infrastructure. Contact All Covered to learn more about it to help you find the perfect solution for your company. Just call us at 866-446-1133; our IT experts are always at the ready to help you with your IT consulting needs.

Contact All Covered

del.icio.us | Reddit | Slashdot | Digg | More

Electronic mail is an indispensable business tool that facilitates businesses to proficiently be in touch – both internally throughout the entire organization and externally with clients, consumers, and associates. However, unguarded email stored on devices and servers or sent transversely over the Internet in clear text poses a critical risk to an organization’s most sensitive data: legally sheltered information such as customer records as well as classified company information such as financial and intellectual property data. Disclosure of this information to illicit parties may propose unwanted results such as brand name damage, monetary loss and legal consequences.

Some of the pre-existing threats are computer viruses, spam, adware and spyware. A computer virus, in general, is a diminutive file that is sometimes attached in an email or a file download which can do number of things to your computer. One immediate effect that most viruses do is directly go through to the host’s address book and multiplies by accessing through the contact’s emails.

On the other hand, adware and spyware are small files attached to some programs that have been downloaded, with or without the host’s awareness. Basically, these programs do not spoil the computer. Rather, it installs software that steals information on your computer, giving spyware companies access to private account information and passwords.

There are a few practices that help safeguard a company’s emails. Some of them are:

• Avoid opening anonymous attachments
• Purchasing virus protection that is activated and up to date
• Get an adware and spyware removal software
• Staying away from spam or unsolicited emails which may have adware and spyware
• The use of an Internet firewall.
• Keeping files of important information on zip disk, writeable CD, tape, another hard disk or any other form of external storage.

One of the suggested measures in securing data confidentiality and compliance related record sent through email is the utilization of email protection. Email protection is a service that facilitates in keeping business email addresses free of spam and viruses. It specifically intends to save time lost in separating junk email and helps safeguard computer from viruses enclosed within emails. Email security is an increasing worry among organizations due to the esteem of its form and function for communications. Many companies and organizations are taking extra measures for securing electronic messages to guarantee the authenticity and privacy of email messaging.

In addition, not all antivirus tools are identical. There are several factors that must be included in preparation to generate IT security for an email security system in any large, medium, small business or organization:

• Encryption System – a free solution infrastructure that can be used to encrypt and decrypt email messages that control susceptible information.
• Content Security Software – the majority of organizations arrange content security software to guarantee that sensitive information will not be disclosed and sensitive substance is not exposed within the organization or sent outside of the organization by accident or on purpose.
• Reputable Antivirus Software – the most popular way in securing a virus- free environment is through installing reputable anti-virus software that can scan and detect all email attachments for possible threats.

Business email protection providers have compliance officers who can recognize what companies have to do in the area of electronic storage to abide by with regulations. The data protection concern looks tiresome but it is essential that it must be carefully prepared in order to protect data from outflows and fatalities. With these actions in place, there is a point of assurance that data is protected and not at risk.

All Covered can provide your business with safe, secure, virus-free email protection. You can also contact us by calling us at 866-446-1133 or visiting at www.allcovered.com.

Contact All Covered

del.icio.us | Reddit | Slashdot | Digg | More

Accessorize your smart phone with the right add-ons and make your phone work harder.  By adding a protective case and a set of headphones with a built in microphone to your phone, you can enjoy optimal functionality from your most frequently used personal technology tool.  Whether you use a BlackBerry, Android, iPhone, or other smart phone, manufacturers have the right accessories to meet your needs.

Identify your needs

Everyone uses their smart phones differently.  That means that there is no one-size-fits-all solution, so consider the following when you select your accessories.

Protective case

• Make sure that the case will protect your phone from shock if it gets dropped.
• Be practical and don’t let the sales person sell you something that won’t meet your needs.  For instance, do you really think that you will go deep sea diving with your iPhone?  If that scenario is unlikely, then forgo the $300.00 water-resistant protective case.
• Consider how you will carry the phone and when you will be using it.  If it lives in your bag or on your desk, chances are that you don’t need a belt clip.  However, if you take your phone with you when you jog, or when you’re running around the office, you might find a belt clip useful.
• Research name brands and case styles.  Read reviews written by people that don’t have a vested interest in selling a specific product.  Check out cases from companies such as INCASE and BELKIN.

Headphones and microphone

Identify your phone usage style.  Do you mostly use your phone as an MP3 player, or is the phone constantly attached to your ear for back-to-back conference calls?  Or perhaps a combination of both?  The great news is that there are many different audio accessories to meet your needs.

• Bluetooth devices are wireless and make it easy to take phone calls when you are on the move.  While most Bluetooth devices are intended for phone use only, several Bluetooth models will also playback music.   Unfortunately, if you are an audiophile you might not be satisfied with the sound quality that most Bluetooth devices offer since current technology is unable to fully reproduce high fidelity audio signals.  Consider devices manufactured by ALIPH, PLANTRONICS, and SENNHEISER.
• Traditional over-ear headphones with inline microphones will give you the best surround sound experience and often have a noise-canceling feature that makes it easy to make phone calls and listen to music.  The drawback to over-ear headphones is that they are large to tote around when you aren’t using them.  Check models manufactured by BOSE and SENNHEISER.
• Ear buds with inline microphones are ideal for anyone that wants to have one device that will make phone calls and play music.  Most ear buds have a small button that will let you easily toggle back and forth between phone calls and music.  With the correct fit, ear buds are noise isolating.  Look for models manufactured by BOSE, KLIPSCH, SENNHEISER, and SHURE.

Learn more

Before you run out to buy accessories for your smart phone, consider your needs, do some research, and talk to the mobility experts at All Covered at 866-446-1133.

Contact All Covered

del.icio.us | Reddit | Slashdot | Digg | More

Almost every business today is connected to the Internet. This fact makes any company, large or small, a target for hackers, network attacks and malware. The biggest security threat to any company today is internal, and experts in the field suggest you protect your company by layering components in a full security strategy that includes technology, policies, procedures, and best practices.

The fact is that small businesses today face the same basic data protection challenges as large businesses. The dangers and potential costs of unprotected data can be catastrophic. Unfortunately, most of the time, <a href=”http://www.allcovered.com/business/”>small business IT</a> departments, if they have one, have far fewer resources to address the problem than larger businesses.

A multi-layered strategy is good for you

As branch offices proliferate and employees spend more time on the road or working from home, critical business data is being created and stored usually on a laptop or desktop away from the main office. According to an established IT research firm, most small businesses have less than four IT personnel and a storage budget of less than $50,000. In order to address data security threats and to ensure data protection, small businesses must first:

• Identify data loss vulnerability points, both electronic and paper-based
• Create and develop a data security policy. This should both protect all sensitive data and ensure its availability and restrict access.
• Communicate this data protection policy to customers as a strategy to strengthen the business–customer trust relationship. This also helps differentiate the company from competitors.
• Identify and deploy the right tools to protect sensitive data depending on their type of business.
• Know the steps to take if they believe to be a victim of a data compromise.

If you’re beginning your small business, it might be a good guess that your security strategy consists of simply a firewall and antivirus software. That may have been adequate several years ago, but a good security strategy should be multi-layered.

By layering security using complementary technologies, your small to mid-sized business IT services can address all of the threats it faces. For instance, firewalls and antivirus software may protect a company at the gateway, but they would be ineffective if an insider bypassed the gateway. E-mail and web filtering software would close this hole and add another layer to the security program. Intrusion detection and file monitoring solutions would also aid in detecting changes made to the system by malicious individuals.

Specific steps to implement layered security can vary between organizations, but a good place to start is with risk analysis. IT managers and (or in the case of small businesses without one) company owners need to take the following steps to establish the level of risk that their company faces:

• Identify the company’s network assets.
• Determine the value of each asset as well as the cost associated with its loss.
• Identify threats to each asset.
• Determine vulnerability to identified threats.
• Prioritize assets by level of importance.

Selecting your data protection provider

Needless to say, IT support is absolutely necessary for business data protection. It is highly recommended that you pick a company that truly understands the needs of a small business. The great thing today is that it is not necessary for IT technicians to be on site in order to service your IT network. This can be done remotely and has proven to work well.  IT support must be superb, because without great support the technologies used by a small company will be rendered useless; if it cannot be brought online immediately after a problem.

All Covered can assist you in determining the best security strategy for your company that minimizes the risks to your data, network and users. Contact us at 866-446-1133.

Contact All Covered

del.icio.us | Reddit | Slashdot | Digg | More