eGuard Tech BLOG

It’s Monday morning and one of your employees notifies you that they lost their laptop at a Starbucks over the weekend, apologizing profusely. Aside from the cost and inconvenience of buying a new laptop, could you be on the hook for bigger costs, and should you notify all your clients?
Maybe, depending on where you live and what type of data you had stored on that laptop. Forty-six of the fifty states, plus Washington D.C., Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, have security-breach laws outlining what businesses must do if they expose any kind of client or employee personal information, and practically every single business is directly affected by these laws. (Currently, the only states without such laws are Alabama, Kentucky, New Mexico and South Dakota, but that is likely to change.)

Since companies are storing more and more data on their employees and clients, states are starting to aggressively enforce data breach and security laws that set out the responsibilities for businesses capturing and storing personal data. What do most states consider confidential or sensitive data? Definitely medical and financial records such as credit card numbers, credit scores and bank account numbers, but also addresses and phone numbers, social security numbers, birthdays and in some cases purchase history—information that almost every single company normally keeps on their clients.

With millions of cyber criminals working daily to hack systems, and with employees accessing more and more confidential client data, there is no known way to absolutely, positively guarantee you won’t have a data breach. However, your efforts to put in place good, solid best practices in security will go a long way to help you avoid hefty fines. The definition of “reasonable security” is constantly evolving, but here are some basic things to look at to avoid being labeled irresponsible:
• Managing access. Who can access the confidential information you store in your business? Is this information easily accessible by everyone in your company? What is your policy about taking data out of the office on mobile devices?
• IT security and passwords. The more sensitive the data, the higher the level of security you need to keep on it. Are your passwords easy to crack? Is the data encrypted? Secured behind a strong firewall? If not, why?
• Training. One of the biggest causes for data breaches is the human element: employees who accidentally download viruses and malware that allow hackers easy access. Do you have a data security policy? A password policy? Do you have     training to help employees understand how to use e-mail and the Internet responsibly?
• Physical security. It’s becoming more common for thieves to break into offices and steal servers, laptops and other digital devices. Additionally, paper contracts and other physical documents containing sensitive information should be locked up or scanned and encrypted.
The bottom line is this: Data security is something that EVERY business is now responsible for, and not addressing this important issue has consequences that go beyond the legal aspect; it can seriously harm your reputation with clients. So be smart about this. Talk to your attorney about your legal responsibility. Then, to get more information and training on IT security, visit us online at http://www.eguardtech.com/it_disaster_recovery_backup_solution.html or call us for a FREE Security Audit at 202-465-4670.

Is your computer plugged in? Do you use a power strip with a surge protector? If so, you are a heartbeat away from disaster and don’t even realize it. The same electricity you depend on to run your computer and network is also trying to destroy your data.
Believe it or not, electricity is one of the biggest threats to your computer network and the data it contains. Here are four computer power problems you must know about and how to prevent them.
1.) Transients – Commonly known as surges and spikes, these are caused by lightning storms, wind, squirrels shorting out power lines, auto accidents, etc. Several times each week these spikes can travel up the power cord into your computer damaging everything from power supplies to motherboards. Conventional wisdom says use a power strip with a surge protector and you are safe. As usual, conventional wisdom is dead wrong. After several months, these surge protectors become useless having been zapped by the surges they were designed to protect against.
2.) Blackouts – Whether momentary or prolonged, the sudden loss of power can corrupt your PC to the point of not being able to start up again when the lights come back on.
3.) Sags – This is when the power drops below normal. Have you ever seen the fluorescent lights flicker for a moment? Then you have witnessed sag. Sags are more common than surges and are caused when equipment like air conditioners, blow dryers, water heaters, laser printers, copy machines and other electrical equipment are turned on or come out of sleep mode. A typical small office will experience 30 or more sags each day. Sags cause many of the weird and unexplained problems computer users complain about every day.
4.) Noise – Ever been watching TV and seen fuzzy pictures and/or white lines or dots when you turn on a blender or vacuum cleaner? This is the result of electrical noise. While a fuzzy TV picture is an annoyance, this electrical noise causes many computer problems including loss of data.
So how do you protect yourself from electrical problems? The most simple and inexpensive solution to all four of these hazards is a battery backup. The battery backup (also known as a UPS or Uninterruptible Power Supply) senses when there are problems with the power and automatically switches to the battery protecting you from computer damage and data loss. A UPS provides several minutes of power during a complete power outage; allowing you to properly save your files, close your programs and shutdown your computer. This ensures the safety and integrity of any data that may have otherwise been lost.
Choosing the correct battery backup for your computer or server can be tricky. Having one with a battery too small is the same as having none at all. For most desktop computers, a battery backup with a 500VA or larger rating should be sufficient to keep you going through momentary power problems. Protecting your server(s) with business/network grade battery backups requires detailed knowledge of the servers components, features, and total power consumption. If you want help in determining the best protection for your specific network, give us a call: 202-465-4670.

Want to save money while simultaneously saving the planet? Then listen up…
We’ve come up with 5 easy ways to go green while still keeping adding to your bottom line profits.

1) Power down your servers and workstations at night. A recent Gartner study measured carbon emissions from a variety of IT devices and found that the top three are PCs/monitors, data centers, and fixed-line telecommunications systems, in that order. PCs and monitors alone contribute 40% of total carbon emissions, data centers around 23%.
In fact, PCs worldwide consume about 80 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity every year. What’s more, as much as two-thirds of that is wasted, according to Kevin Klustner, CEO of Verdiem, an IT energy monitoring and management company, translating to $5.4 billion of energy waste each year.
However, thanks to our Total IT Care program, we can power down your PCs overnight and have them up and ready when you walk into your office in the morning, saving your electric bill and lowering your carbon footprint on the environment.
2) Stop Printing Non-Essential E-mails, Faxes And Documents. Not only will this save your company money on ink and toner, but you’ll reduce the amount of paper and ink waste clogging up landfills. We can also install software to make your faxes show up like e-mails. That way you can easily delete the ones that aren’t essential and save a ton of paper and ink. Plus, you won’t run the risk of losing the only paper copy you have!
3) Stop Wasting CD’s and DVD’s. CDs and DVDs can hold a lot of data, but most people only use a tiny portion of the space by burning small files. This results in a lot of unused and wasted space (it’s the equivalent of storing a postage stamp in a warehouse). CDs and DVDs are difficult to recycle so use them intelligently and conservatively.
4) Change Your Power Settings. Almost all computers have lower energy settings that will power down the computer (or parts of the computer) that aren’t being used. For example, after 10 minutes of inactivity, set your PC to power off the monitor, modem and spin down the hard disks. Most systems have pre-determined profiles that make it easy to set up.
5) Turn Off Peripheral Devices When Not In Use. Specialized peripherals like printers, scanners and bar code readers consume large amounts of energy and, in some offices, are rarely used. Keep them turned off until they’re really needed.
6) Recycle – Earth 911. This tip is two-fold. First, if you need to upgrade a
computer, printer, or other electronic device, look for energy and earth friendly machines. Many manufacturers are selling “green” versions of their devices that conserve energy and use fewer resources to operate, such as printers and copiers that use ink more efficiently.
Next, don’t just throw your old equipment into the trash! First, computers contain components that require special recycling procedures. If not disposed of properly, they can sit in a landfill for YEARS. The federal government requires businesses to donate or recycle old electronic equipment that the EPA considers hazardous waste. If you are caught violating these laws, you could be fined.
If those aren’t reasons enough, you never want to throw your old electronic equipment into the dumpster because your identity could be stolen. So how do you get rid of them safely and without harming the environment?
Here are two ideas…
If the machine or device is less than 3 years old or otherwise in good working condition, consider donating it to your favorite charity, or look for charities that specialize in refurbishing old computers for charitable donations. One good web sites is www.earth911.org or www.youthfortechnology.org
If the machine is too old to give away or refurbish, then consider www.pcdisposal.com or www.1800gotjunk.com.

It’s the relationship you spend more time on than any other. It deepens every year. And when things go wrong, you become afraid, tearful, and in some cases so enraged that you lash out by throwing things—but you’re willing to go right back into the relationship no matter what happens.
What are we talking about? The bond you have with your computer. If you work in an office, chances are you spend more time staring into your computer screen than having conversations with real live human beings. And you probably spend more time at your PC than you do with your significant other, best friend, and even your kids.
According to research conducted by SupportSoft Inc., a firm in Redwood City, California, that makes software for computer help desks, people are spending an increasing amount of time at their computer. This survey also revealed how computer problems can unleash powerful—even dangerous emotions. When confronted with a dead computer, 19% admitted to wanting to hurl it out the nearest window, 9% felt stranded and alone, 11% used language normally reserved for special occasions, 7% did so loudly, 3% did so tearfully and another 3% vented their wrath on inanimate objects.
With these results it should come as no surprise that 48% said they would rather help a friend move than deal with a computer problem, and 30% said they felt more frustration with their computer now than in previous years.
Want to have a healthy relationship with your computer? Then check out our [name of managed services plan] at www.insertyoururlhere.com. We’ll make your computer “behave,” which will lower your stress and anxiety, reduce computer problems to zero, and give you more time to spend with REAL human beings.

New research shows that when most people communicate via e-mail, they’re not thinking about how the other person will process the information, but are communicating egocentrically.
According to the article, “Think your e-mails are clear? Maybe not,” by Johnathan Silverstein on the ABC News website, egocentric means that people are approaching an e-mail purely from their own viewpoint, and not that of the recipient.
Justin Kruger, an associate professor at NYU and Nicholas Eply, an associate professor at the University of Chicago, are the authors of a paper on the subject recently published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology that says people are not as good at expressing themselves and their emotions via e-mail as they think they are. The world of e-mail communications is chock full of horror stories of misunderstandings and miscommunications. According to Kruger, it’s hard for most people to get beyond their own perspectives and realize how impoverished our communications can be for the recipient.
So, the next time you send an e-mail, take a moment to stop and think about how it might come across to the other person.
Additionally, when you receive a harsh-sounding e-mail, don’t jump to the conclusion that the sender is angry or being hurtful. They might just have an “egocentric” style of communication!

What’s the most common password? You guessed it…”password.” Obviously this is not the best way to protect yourself against hackers and online thieves. But even if you don’t use the word “password,” you might be using an equally easy password to decipher.

We suggest you DON’T use the following passwords for really important web sites, such as your online banking web site or other financially related sites.

• Your name or your spouse’s name.
• Your children’s names.
• Your pet’s name.
• Your birth date.
• The last four digits of your Social Security number.
• Your phone number.
• Your address.
• A series of consecutive numbers, such as “1, 2, 3, 4.”
• A single word that would appear in a dictionary.

Your best bet for creating a strong password: Use combinations of letters, numbers and special characters.

Would you like to completely eliminate the cost and hassle of upgrades, patches, and other support issues associated with Microsoft Office, e-mail, and other applications you use?

Do you dread the profit-sucking outlay of cash every time you need to upgrade Microsoft Office, purchase new applications, or when you add a new PC to the network?

Would you like to be able to access your e-mail, database, and other applications while on the road without having to deal with synchronization problems once you get back to the office?

Then you’ll definitely want to consider SaaS.

SaaS is geek-speak for “software as a service” and it’s quickly growing in popularity for companies who want to offload the heavy costs of installing and maintaining a computer network.

Until recently, companies purchased software and then ran their applications on their own servers and computers. As you know from experience, this leaves the entire responsibility (and cost) of upgrades, troubleshooting, security, and maintenance up to you.

With the new SaaS model, you don’t pay to own the software—you only pay to use it via the Internet. Since you, the SaaS provider, are responsible for keeping the applications available 24/7/356, THEY take care of all maintenance, scalability, disaster recovery, security, upgrades, and more. And since you are only renting the application along with hundreds of thousands of other companies, you only pay a small fraction of what it would cost to purchase, install, and maintain the software on your own.

Why are so many business owners opting for SaaS instead of the traditional network model?

• Low Cost of Entry and No Heavy Annual License Fees. SaaS is delivered on a subscription basis, usually billed in a per-user, per month basis. This completely does away with the heavy up-front costs of purchasing and installing new software, upgrades and annual license fees.
• No Maintenance Costs or Hassles. You offload the need to support, secure, and upgrade the PCs and servers in your office. All maintenance is done by the SaaS provider.
• Drastically Lowered Hardware Costs. You can use the most up-to-date applications on older and less powerful PCs without any negative effect on speed or performance of the application. This eliminates the heavy costs of upgrading aging technology and protects you from expense spikes.
• Access Your PC from Anywhere. You can access your desktop—securely– from any PC at any remote location. This eliminates synchronization issues and gives you the freedom to work from anywhere.
• No Expensive Commitments. Under the “pay as you go” model of SaaS, you can buy an application for two employees and then after a few months, give access to an entire department. Plus, if you find out you don’t like a particular application, you simply cancel that service without penalty.
• Improved Security. Software as a service providers are in the business of providing uninterrupted, reliable services. They know that data must be backed up religiously, and information security is a fanatic priority. Skilled technicians, network redundancies, stand-by power, up-to-date security and intrusion detection are mandatory for any SaaS provider, but usually ignored by most small businesses.
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Offsite backups have been touted in the past few years as the answer to everyone’s bad habit of not doing backups. Once signed up for an online service it’s easy to ‘set it and forget it;’ but too many business owners don’t know what they are buying and end up paying a lot more than they should. They also end up shocked when they discover they weren’t backing up the right files or that they can’t restore the files as quickly as they had hoped.

If you want to make sure you don’t get burned by your online backup, avoid these 3 common mistakes:

Mistake #1: Not choosing an online backup service that offers a file versioning feature. In the old days of tape backups when a proper tape rotation was used, it would be possible to go back to a specific version of a file from different time periods. In other words it was possible to restore a spreadsheet you worked on last night and three weeks ago.

Mistake #2: Backing up everything. In most cases, only data files need to be backed up. Some business owners accidentally select their whole server and/or computer when beginning the process and end up paying to back up files and programs that do not need to be copied. This can lead to exponentially higher monthly charges with no added benefit. It’s often best to have a professional help you set up your backup criteria the first time to make sure you’re not missing files or data that might be buried a few levels deep—or backing up unnecessary files.

Mistake #3: Not having a local backup. Online backup services are great as a daily backup and eliminate the headache of changing tapes, disks, etc. However, if you only have an online backup, it can take a few hours to a few days to fully download your data back onto your server. That’s why it’s always a good idea to have a current local backup using inexpensive hard disks or other mediums. Aside from being able to retrieve data a lot more quickly from your local backup, it can make the process of rebuilding an entire system a lot faster and less painful.

The numbers are staggering: according to the 2006 Identity Fraud Report, identity theft cost consumers and businesses a whopping $56.6 billion dollars. Identity theft occurs when someone steals your name, Social Security number (SSN), bank account number, or credit card to open accounts, make purchases, or commit other fraudulent crimes.

The Methods They Use To Steal Your Identity

The methods identity thieves use include low tech strategies (like going through your trash can, also known as “dumpster diving”) to highly sophisticated phishing scams that include cloned PayPal or bank websites that trick you into giving your username, password, or account number. Other ways include:

• Stealing records from an employer or bribing an employee who has access to the records.
• Hacking into the company’s employee records.
• Stealing mail, such as bank account or credit card statements, tax documents, pre-approved credit cards, or new checks.
• Abusing their employer’s authorized access to credit reports.

How Identity Theft Affects You

Once someone has stolen your identity, they can use your credit cards or bank account to purchase expensive consumer goods like computers and electronics that can easily be resold for cash. They can also open and charge up new credit cards, which can be a real mess to straighten out with vendors and credit reporting agencies. Other criminal activities include taking out auto loans in your name, opening a new phone or wireless service in your name, or writing counterfeit checks to drain your bank account. Some have even used it to file for bankruptcy to avoid paying debts they’ve incurred, or to avoid eviction.

How to Protect Yourself and Your Employees

Never give your personal information, Social Security number, credit card number, or bank account numbers over the phone or online unless you know for certain you are dealing with a legitimate company. Make sure your employees are given an AUP (acceptable use policy) that educates them on the dangers of phishing scams and spam e-mails designed to either trick you into giving your information or installing a virus that secretly steals the information stored on your PC without your knowledge.

You can recognize a secure website, as it has an https:// at the beginning of the web address (regular web sites only have http:// and no “s”) at the top of the page on which you are submitting your information. It also must have a picture of a lock in the bottom right corner of the page. If you don’t see both of these measures in place, do not submit your information.

And even if you DO see this, use a credit card instead of a debit card or pay by check option because you’ll get security protection from your card’s issuer. Visa, MasterCard and American Express all have a zero liability policy. If you notify the bank of unauthorized transactions, you pay nothing. And some credit card companies offer one-time use numbers to prevent someone from stealing your account number and using it for unauthorized charges.

Shred all medical bills, financial statements, credit card applications, tax statements, or any other mail that contains confidential information about you before you throw them into the trash.

Never open e-mails or attachments from e-mail addresses you are unfamiliar with, and NEVER respond to e-mails that ask you to verify your account information because your account is being closed, suspended, or charged. If you want to verify this, call the bank or the company to see if it was a legitimate e-mail.

Signs That You’ve Fallen Victim to Identity Theft

If you see any unexplained charges or withdrawals from your bank accounts, if you receive credit cards that you did not apply for, or if you start receiving bills or collection letters for items you have not purchased, someone may have stolen your identity.

Always follow up with the business or institution to find out exactly what is causing the situation as quickly as possible. The faster you act on identity theft, the easier it will be for you to clear your name.

And One Simple, Inexpensive Solution That Will Prevent Them All From Doing Damage

Is your computer plugged in? Do you use a power strip with a surge protector? If so, you are a heartbeat away from disaster and don’t even realize it. The same electricity you depend on to run your computer and network is also trying to destroy your data.

Believe it or not, electricity is one of the biggest threats to your computer network and the data it contains. Here are four computer power problems you must know about and how to prevent them.

1.) Transients – Commonly known as surges and spikes, these are caused by lightning storms, wind, squirrels shorting out power lines, auto accidents, etc. Several times each week these spikes can travel up the power cord into your computer damaging everything from power supplies to motherboards. Conventional wisdom says use a power strip with a surge protector and you are safe. As usual, conventional wisdom is dead wrong. After several months, these surge protectors become useless having been zapped by the surges they were designed to protect against.

2.) Blackouts – Whether momentary or prolonged, the sudden loss of power can corrupt your PC to the point of not being able to start up again when the lights come back on.

3.) Sags – This is when the power drops below normal. Have you ever seen the fluorescent lights flicker for a moment? Then you have witnessed sag. Sags are more common than surges and are caused when equipment like air conditioners, blow dryers, water heaters, laser printers, copy machines and other electrical equipment are turned on or come out of sleep mode. A typical small office will experience 30 or more sags each day. Sags cause many of the weird and unexplained problems computer users complain about every day.

4.) Noise – Ever been watching TV and seen fuzzy pictures and/or white lines or dots when you turn on a blender or vacuum cleaner? This is the result of electrical noise. While a fuzzy TV picture is an annoyance, this electrical noise causes many computer problems including loss of data.

So how do you protect yourself from electrical problems? The most simple and inexpensive solution to all four of these hazards is a battery backup. The battery backup (also known as a UPS or Uninterruptible Power Supply) senses when there are problems with the power and automatically switches to the battery protecting you from computer damage and data loss.

Choosing the correct battery backup for your computer or server can be tricky. Having one with a battery too small is the same as having none at all. For most desktop computers, a battery backup with a 500VA or larger rating should be sufficient to keep you going through momentary power problems. Protecting your server requires detailed knowledge of the server functions and power consumption in order to pick the right battery backup solution.