Posted by Jim Van on December 23, 2011 under data security, entrepreneur, eOffice, Internet, mobility, Online, portability, security, Web | 
Boy, there’s been so much hype about The Cloud in 2011, you’d think you were surrounded by meteorologists on meth some days. I recently counted 27 emails in a single day pitching a variety of service and products ranging from security, storage and servers to marketing tools and portable devices. It seems like everyone is in The Cloud, and it’s the newest thing, and is going to change our lives forever. Or is it yet ANOTHER bubble. Read more of this article »
Posted by Jim Van on December 3, 2011 under business continuity, data security, disaster recovery, security |
It happens. Despite all the due diligence, a solid security policy, regular updates to your security software, your business gets hacked. Congratulations! You’re now part of an estimated 62,000 strong group of businesses worldwide that have been hacked in 2011 alone, according to the Computer Security Institute, a non-profit industry watchdog group that follows such things.
So, now that we’ve established that, what are the next steps you should take? The first few minutes can make all the difference…. Read more of this article »
Posted by Jim Van on September 23, 2011 under business continuity, data security, disaster recovery, security, small business |
The Remote (Online) backup industry is exploding. As with any ‘explosion’, there’s almost always a bubble (remember the dot com bubble? We’d prefer not to…it’s embarrasing). In any bubble, there are plenty of ‘experts’ selling their services, some of whom are experts, and some of whom will move on to the next big thing as soon as this bubble deflates.
Unfortunately, many businesses lack the knowledge about remote backup to ask the right questions of prospective suppliers. With hundreds of companies offering remote backup, it’s challenging to choose the right provider with whom one can entrust the company’s critical business data. Here are some minimal criteria that all providers should meet. If a prospective vendor doesn’t meet all of them, you might consider moving on and looking at another: Read more of this article »
Posted by Jim Van on September 16, 2011 under business continuity, data security, disaster recovery, security, small business |
The Difference Between Home and Business Online Backup Plans
I’m not sure about you, but my inbox is full of online backup offers for as low as $6/mo to backup up to 50gb of my data. Yipee! Just three years ago, the same amount of data backup would’ve cost me north of $75/month. Prices have really fallen. Or have they? Read more of this article »
Posted by Jim Van on August 19, 2011 under data security, eOffice, mobility, portability, security, small business |
We continue our focus on security with this week’s post: Mobile Security.
Read more of this article »
Posted by Jim Van on August 12, 2011 under data security, mobility, portability, security, small business |
Last post, I focused on three simple steps everyone should take to improve their computer and network security tenfold. But there’s more… Read more of this article »
Posted by Jim Van on August 5, 2011 under data security, eOffice, security, small business |
I was recently asked to write a piece concerning small business network security. Regular readers of this blog may observe that security is often a topic here. There’s a reason for that: a recent study by Comcast, no small player in providing internet services to small businesses, found that a shocking 74% of respondents had some sort of security ‘incident’ over the past year. Here’s how to keep your business out of that group: Read more of this article »
Posted by Jim Van on June 17, 2011 under data security, security, small business, Uncategorized |
With security breaches in the daily news (and some real whoppers lately), the term ‘zero-day attack’ or ‘zero-day vulnurability’ or some other zero-day term keeps popping up. So…just how many of you know what zero-day refers to, and why it’s important to know? Read more of this article »
Posted by Jim Van on June 10, 2011 under data security, entrepreneur, security, small business, Uncategorized |
Like all of us, you’ve probably heard or read about a spate of major security breaches in recent weeks, in which data on millions of users was leaked to unauthorized sources. Chances are pretty good that data would include sensitive information on most everyone who reads this posting. Are cyber-criminals getting better? Is software protection less effective? Just what’s the reason? I have some thoughts, and (of course) some advice…. Read more of this article »
Posted by Jim Van on June 3, 2011 under data security, entrepreneur, security, small business |
I know…it’s yet another primer about computer security….but, in conversations I’ve recently had with both clients and friends (sometimes, they’re one and the same…), it’s become pretty obvous to me that many users don’t understand computer security and the simple steps to ensure that your system is safe and secure, and that your data (or your clients’) is protected. Read more of this article »
