It is critical to ensure that you protect your company’s data. It is highly likely that you have a substantial amount of sensitive information that can be devastating in the wrong hands. Understanding the signs that your data has been breached can significantly help you to act quickly and protect your important information. Here are some of the most important signs to look out for that may indicate that your data has been breached.

The Importance of Knowing when your Data has Been Breached

It is extremely important to know when your data has been breached. This will significantly help you to prevent various issues from arising and protecting your company and your customers. The sensitive information that your company has can be devastating when it falls into the wrong hands. This can occur in multiple ways, such as phishing attacks. When you are aware that your data has been breached, you will be able to act more quickly in order to protect your sensitive information. Understanding the signs that your data has been breached can go a long way toward protecting your company.

Inform Employees

Training your employees is an important component of protecting your company’s valuable data. It is critical to ensure that they are able to spot phishing attacks and refrain from clicking on harmful links. This can go a long way toward protecting your critical information. Proper training can go a long way toward caring for the sensitive information that is stored by your company.

Presence of Odd Usernames

Pay attention to the usernames that are present in your system. Odd usernames may indicate that someone is present in your system that shouldn’t be. Some commonly used usernames that may indicate a security breach is admin, test, guest, or another variation of these usernames.

Critical File Changes

One strategy that hackers use is to immediately change, modify, or disable critical files and systems. This is generally done in order to prolong their detection and prevent them from being caught. When they disable your critical files, it is highly likely that you will allocate all of your resources toward resolving the underlying issue. When you do this, the hacker will be able to avoid detection. If an issue like this arises with your system, you should be aware that there may be a breach in the security of your company. Ensure that you have measures set in place to handle this situation and find a hacker.  

Unusually Slow Internet

When your internet seems to be running much more slowly than usual, it is possible that you are experiencing a security breach. This same thing applies to equipment that may be functioning much more slowly than usual. Pay attention to the changes in internet speed. If there is no other potential explanation for the slow internet, it is likely that your security has been breached.

Malfunctioning Devices

Issues with the devices in your office can indicate the presence of a hacker. If a device starts having issues, is functioning much more slowly, or is otherwise not working as intended, it is possible that it is the result of a security breach. Random popup ads or notifications may additionally serve as a sign of a security breach.

Obvious Device Tampering

When a device has obviously been tampered with, it may be the result of a security breach. Whether this tampering was done in the building or remotely, it can still indicate that the device is unsafe. One sign of this is a device that is running after it was turned off. It is important to train your employees to not log in or work on a device that appears to have been tampered with. If they login to a device after it has been tampered with, it is possible that the hacker will gain access to sensitive information. Though this is often computers, it is also important to look at other devices in your office. For example, a Bluetooth printer may begin malfunctioning due to a malicious intruder.

Locked User Accounts

Everyone has had the experience of forgetting a password to access their accounts, especially if they have just recently had to change their password. However, getting locked out of a user account is a sign of a security breach. If you are completely certain that you have the right password for the account but are unable to access the account, it is possible that a hacker has breached your security and stolen your information! If you are positive that you are using the right password, don’t simply change the password and move on. Make sure that there hasn’t been a breach in your security and that your information is still protected. You should also ensure that good usernames and unique passwords are used.

Unusual Outbound Traffic

It is crucial to ensure that you regularly monitor your company’s internet traffic. If there is an abnormal amount or strange kind of outbound traffic, it is possible that your business is in the midst of a security breach.

Abnormal Administrative User Activity

Administrative accounts are often incredibly important for a business’s regular operations. However, abnormal activity on an administrative user’s account may indicate that something is wrong with the system. It is possible that there has been a security breach that can be devastating to your company.

Regularly Run Scans

Many issues can arise when your company experiences a security breach. Due to the devastating nature of breaches, it is important to regularly run scans on your technology. This can help to identify problems early on and prevent breaches from occurring in the first place. Outsourcing your IT to a professional company can also aid in protecting your company’s crucial data.

Here at Crossaction Computers, we have the expertise necessary to protect your business’s technology requirements and ensure that it continues to function as intended. These services can help to prevent security breaches, protect your technology from viruses, and provide a large array of other benefits. To learn more about the signs that your business has experienced a security breach or the services that we offer, contact our expert team at Crossaction Computers today!

There are many benefits that come with outsourcing your IT management. Understanding the benefits can help you to make the best decisions for your company, especially when it pertains to the IT components of your building. These services tend to be especially valuable for small companies, because they can help to save a substantial amount of money, as well as provide improved productivity. At Crossaction Computers, we offer a broad array of services designed to meet your company’s IT-related demands. Here are a few of the top benefits of outsourcing your IT management.  

Common Reasons for Outsourcing your IT Management

There are many reasons that companies begin to consider outsourcing their IT management. The various reasons help to ensure that you make the best decisions to improve your company’s IT management. Many businesses choose to outsource their IT management because their IT department is overtaxed or too busy. This can prevent the company from making important improvements or developing as efficiently as they otherwise would be able to. They may simply be tired of managing an internal IT department or don’t require an IT department. In some situations, companies choose to outsource because they aren’t getting the results that they want or they wish to reduce their overall expenses. These are just a few of the reasons that many businesses decide to outsource the IT management of their company.

Experience

When you outsource your IT management, you ensure that the IT processes of your business are handled by experienced, competent individuals. These individuals focus solely on IT work, rather than having other elements to their jobs. Outsourcing IT management helps to ensure that these processes are completed efficiently and effectively. It also prevents the necessity of having to hire and train IT employees on your own, which can be both time and cost-consuming.

More Consistent Results

When you have less specialized workers working on your company’s IT, there can be fluctuations in your business’s IT processes. Outsourcing the IT management helps to ensure far more consistent results over time, which can prevent you from losing a valuable amount of time when issues occur with your IT management.  

Improved Productivity

Outsourcing your IT management practices helps to reduce issues with your technology. This helps to ensure that your employees can continue to operate on your business. These services help to eliminate forced downtime when your technology malfunctions. By ensuring that your IT continues to function smoothly, you can ensure that your business operates efficiently and that your employees can continue to be productive.

Reduce Labor Expenses

One major problem with internal IT departments is that your IT employees tend to be most beneficial when there is an issue with your technology. However, then you still have to pay your IT employees when everything is going smoothly and they are simply sitting around waiting for something to go wrong. Outsourcing your IT management helps to ensure that you will have IT employees available when an issue arises, but you don’t have to pay them for their presence the rest of the time. It can also ensure that more employees can be allocated to ensure that your technology is up and running far more quickly.

Focus on your Business

If you are considering the outsourcing of your IT management, it is highly unlikely that your business revolves around IT. When you allow someone else to handle the IT aspects of your business, you clear up more time for you to focus on your own business. This helps you to remain much more productive and focused on your company’s specialty, rather than attempting to resolve IT issues or handle other technology aspects.

Control IT Expenses

When you have an internal IT department, it is highly likely that your IT expenses will fluctuate. Outsourcing your IT management helps to protect your company and prevent excessive costs from arising.

Quickly Implement New Technologies or Projects

Outsourcing of IT management helps to provide a far more flexible work force. This allows new technologies or upgrades to be made quickly and effectively to your business. Through outsourcing your IT management, you can ensure that any upgrades to your technology are made quickly and accurately, which helps to provide further benefits to your company.

Reduce Risk

Issues with the IT aspects of your business can result in disaster to your company. For example, this can allow malicious sources to access the important information of your company. When you have your IT processes outsourced, you can ensure that the IT management continues to be secure and safe, which prevents substantial issues from arising. Effective virus protection can go a long way toward protecting both your technology and your critical information. Outsourcing your IT management also helps to ensure that your data is backed up securely. They help to keep your data safe around the clock, which goes a long way toward protecting your business. It can also be useful to ensure that your data is kept at a separate location from your business in order to prevent devastation when a natural disaster strikes.

Compliance and Security

An IT-oriented company is always aware and up-to-date regarding any necessary regulations for your business. For example, hospitals have to have certain security precautions to protect medical records and ensure that they remain in compliance. When you outsource your IT management, you can rest easy that your technology will meet all of these demands. This can go a long way toward protecting your building from substantial damage.

There are many reasons that you may choose to outsource the IT aspects of your business. It can save you money, keep your data more secure, prevent substantial issues from arising, and provide many additional benefits. Understanding these various benefits can help you to make the best decisions for the IT of your property. Here at Crossaction Computers, we offer many services to improve the functionality of your business’s IT. To learn more about the services that we offer, or the benefits of outsourcing your IT management, contact our experts at Crossaction Computers today!

It is incredibly important to choose unique passwords in order to provide the best security for your private information. When you repeat passwords, it will become easier for hackers to access multiple accounts. In addition, complex passwords can prevent hackers from accessing any of your accounts, which can go a long way toward protecting your private information. However, it is also extremely important to choose good usernames for your accounts in order to provide additional protection for your accounts. This can go a long way toward improving your online identity and reducing the likelihood of substantial issues from occurring with your online accounts. Here are a few tips for helping you to choose a good username for your various accounts in order to protect each of these accounts.

Choose One you Can Remember

With the plethora of accounts that you are likely to have, it can be incredibly difficult to remember various usernames. Choosing a username that you can remember can make it much easier to access your accounts. However, it is not a good idea to simply use the same username for each of your accounts. You should consider crafting a username made up of things that are meaningful for you. This can go a long way toward ensuring that you can remember them. Be conscientious about the fact that your username may be visible to various other people.

Never Use your Social Security Number, Address, or Phone Number

Your username is often visible to other people, which is why it is crucial to withhold sensitive information and never use it in your username. It is important to never use your address, social security number, or phone number in part of your username. Doing so can provide hackers with the information that they can use to guess your passwords or otherwise infiltrate into your personal information. You don’t want to provide strangers on the internet with information like your address or other issues. You may also want to refrain from using your full name as your username. This can help to protect you in the long run. It may also be wise to refrain from adding your birthdate in your username, because this can lead to even more information that potential hackers can take and use.

Keep your Password Safe

It is important to keep your password safe to prevent anyone from accessing your private information. Never give your password to another person. You also need to take the steps to ensure that your password is unique. Don’t repeat passwords and don’t use passwords that are rather easy to guess. It is critical to ensure that you keep your password safe to prevent malicious hackers from accessing your account. It is also important to familiarize yourself with common phishing tactics. Never give your username and password to suspicious sources. Only ever enter your information when you are trying to access your account. Failing to do so may allow hackers to infiltrate into your accounts.

Consider Combinations

If you are having trouble thinking up a username, there are several strategies that you can implement. Various combinations of other things can help you to create unique usernames. Consider adding combinations of your name or nickname, things that inspire you, your various interests, things you enjoy, and many other things. Considering these various combinations can help you to make usernames that are easy to remember while simultaneously being unique from your other usernames. You may also want to consider some replacements to ensure your usernames are more difficult to guess, such as replacing the letter “S” with $. This can help you to increase the overall security of your accounts.

Your Username Impacts your Online Identity

It is important to remember that your username will have a substantial impact on your online identity. It is important to refrain from using anything inappropriate as a username. This can cause substantial issues, such as difficulty with a job search or dating profile, even if the username is on separate accounts. It is also important to ensure that your username reflects the type of account that it is for. You will want to ensure that it fits the account, whether the account is a business, social, or personal account. Take some time to consider your username in order to ensure that your online identity reflects exactly what you intend it to. In many situations, you will be stuck with the initial username that you choose.   

Use Multiple Usernames

It is important to use multiple usernames for each of your various accounts. This helps to prevent a thing that is known as the “cascade effect.” The cascade effect allows a hacker to access multiple accounts if you use the same usernames and passwords for each account. When they gain access to one account, they will attempt to use the same information to access additional accounts. This can be positively devastating to your life. If it is necessary to repeat your usernames to ensure you remember them, take care to only use one username for each account type. For example, only use a username once for a financial account and use a different username for every other financial account. You may, however, be able to repeat the first username for use on a social media account. In most situations, it is ideal to simply use unique usernames for all of your various accounts.

Prevent Same Username and Password Combinations

Never use the same username and password combination for any two accounts. Even if you repeat your username, it is critical to use unique passwords in combination with every username. This can go a long way toward protecting your accounts and keeping your private information secure.

Here at Crossaction Computers, we offer multiple services designed to protect the security of your business or personal information. With the increased reliance on technology, it is increasingly important to take steps to protect the way you leverage technology. To obtain more information regarding the best ways to protect the information of your business, contact our experts at Crossaction Computers today!