Ulistic Projects Blog

How Do You Know That You Can Trust Your Cloud Provider?

8 Important Questions You Should Ask

Whatever industry your business may be in, chances are you’re using some form of cloud solution in your daily work life. From food service to retail and construction, from legal services to medical practices, finance and more, there’s a place in the Cloud for everyone. But now that we’re all here, what are we doing to ensure our cloud solution is truly secure?

We lock the doors to our workplaces when we leave for the day, but there’s no key to turn on our cloud storage security. So, what do business owners like you need to know to keep your digital world as safe as the real world?

While there are many common cloud software suites being used by providers that offer cloud storage-as-a-service, it doesn’t mean that their operations are equal. Ensuring your cloud security should begin before uploading your first file.

Here Are 8 Important Questions That You Should Ask Before Choosing A Cloud Provider

Does your cloud provider have a regular backup schedule?

Depending upon your specific solution, any cloud provider worth their subscription cost will run regular backups with redundancies for all the data it stores. The backups are often stored separately from the primary storage which adds another level of security against data loss. In the event of an incident in one location, data can instantly be restored from one of the other backups.

Do they stay ahead of issues?

Along with an alternate storage location for those backups, ensure you’re getting the protection you are paying to receive. Because a cloud provider’s reputation largely relies on its ability to deliver on its promises of security and reliability, staying ahead of issues before they become problems is every good provider’s top priority.

Does your provider conduct security audits and make them available to you?

Reputable cloud providers conduct routine security audits of their systems to ensure your data is safe from a variety of threats, including malware, data corruption, system failure, or damage to your physical infrastructure. Even better, these security audits are typically available to the provider’s customers because they want you to know that your data is in good hands.

Do they offer Security Awareness Training?

With all the security tools available today, it would be much more difficult for cybercriminals to gain access to data if it wasn’t for the single biggest source of security breaches – human error. The end user remains the biggest threat to the security of business data. Knowing that your cloud provider can educate and empower you and your employees in the practice of good security hygiene is an important step in ensuring your data safety.

What about Cloud Compliance Support?

Can they deliver cloud infrastructure solutions for closely regulated industries and ensure the data they collect, store, and access for you will be protected in line with compliance regulations such as HIPAA, PCI-DSS, and more?

They should also provide support 24/7 to ensure that any issue or concern you may have is addressed and taken care of quickly and effectively.

Will their Standard Uptime SLA meet your business requirements?

Some cloud providers offer SLAs (Service Level Agreements) with 99.9% uptime, while others offer 99.999%. An SLA with 99.999% uptime will cost more than one with a 99.9% uptime. However, it may be worth the price.

There’s a significant difference between the two:

• A 99.9% uptime equals 8.77 hours of downtime per year.
• A 99.999% uptime equals 5.26 minutes of downtime per year.

Evaluate your needs and consider how much downtime is acceptable to ensure your business runs smoothly without reputational damage or major revenue loss.

What’s included in their Disaster Recovery Plan?

The cloud provider’s disaster recovery plan is extremely important. Ask about site visits and audits to estimate the vendor’s recovery time and the impact of a potential failure.

Does the provider have a reliable process in place? Is the provider’s staff knowledgeable and ready to react under the worst possible conditions? Unfortunately, disasters occur so it’s critical for your business and your cloud provider to be prepared.

How often do they test their disaster recovery plan?

A disaster recovery plan alone doesn’t ensure that downtime will be minimized in the unfortunate event of a disaster. The cloud provider must test their plan on a regular basis to ensure the plan is effective. Ask the cloud provider to disclose the results of disaster recovery tests on a regular basis.

When Selecting A Cloud Provider, Be Sure To Do Your Homework First

Your business needs a robust and comprehensive data security policy. And your cloud provider should play a role in the development and execution of this very important strategy.

Cloud computing and storage have changed the way we store and share data in all types of businesses – from the cost savings of off-site storage and the ease of collaboration to the peace of mind regarding disaster recovery and more.

But with the trust that we put in cloud solutions, it’s very important that this trust is also earned by the cloud provider.

There are many reasons why you would want to download a live video from Facebook, whether it is yours or someone else’s. Sometimes a video is shared into a very active group and finding it later would be a bit tasking. Another reason why someone may want to download their own live videos is to keep a copy for future reference, or even upload it to another social media platform like Instagram.

For whatever reason you may have, here is a step-by-step explanation on how to do it. First, this article will outline the process of downloading your very own live video from Facebook, then explain how to download someone else’s live video from your wall, or a group where the video was shared.

Previously, Facebook didn’t have this feature and it was difficult to download a live video but now it is available and very easy to use.

Downloading your own live video from Facebook

Step 1

Locate the video on your Facebook account page profile or on your feed. On the left side bar you will see under “Explore”, a button for Live Videos. When you click on that button, it will generate all the live videos you have shared or the ones that have been shared on your wall. Find the one you would like to download, then click on it to open it.

Depending on the method you choose to access the video, say through your feed, you will also be required to click on the time stamp. Once you click on the time stamp, it will open the video. On the right side of the screen, you can also view all the comments about the video.

Step 2

On the upper right side, there are three dots. Click on them and you will get a number of prompts including one allowing you to download your video. Click on this and you will start downloading the video automatically. It will be saved to your device as an MP4 video.

Now you have the video downloaded to your hard drive. You can share the video to your other social media platforms, email it to someone, or use it for whatever purpose you like.

Downloading someone else’s Live Video

Downloading someone else’s live video from Facebook is totally different from downloading your own. This is because of the strict privacy measures put in place by Facebook. The steps are a bit complicated and you may need to use a third party site in order to download the video and save it directly to your device as opposed to saving it on your Facebook page as a feed. There are other strategies of course, such as switching to the mobile version of Facebook. The bad news is that this is no longer supported by most web browsers. So for now, we will discuss the other option of using third-party software to download someone else’s live videos. One of these programs is called SaveFrom.net.

Step 1

Find the live video, open the time stamp, and play it. Locate your browser’s address bar, which is always at the top of the page. This displays the URL to the video. Highlight and copy the link. Alternatively, just right click on the video and then choose the option, Show Video URL. This is another method of copying the link.

Step 2

Go to the SaveFrom.net site and paste the web link there.

Step 3

Click the download button and you will have a drop-down menu with two options: download your video as an MP4 or in High Definition (HD). Choose a suitable format to save the video to your device.

Browser Extensions

Some browsers, such as Chrome, do have download extensions that you can use to download a Facebook Live Video. These extensions include Fbdownloader and Social Video Downloader, just to mention a few of them.

The trick to choosing the most suitable method to use when downloading a live video is the time it takes to do this and also the quality of the video saved. Choose a method that is best for your situation.

Wrap Up

Live Videos on Facebook are becoming a common trend lately and they are preferred because they have a larger social media following compared to YouTube. It’s common to see everything from funny cat videos to breaking news stories. Millions of people all over the world use Facebook today and everyone enjoys viewing the many videos found there.

In addition, more people are using Facebook as compared to any other social media platform. The important thing to consider is time and quality of the video. Depending on the device that you are using, you may have a number of options to choose from when downloading your video as discussed above.

Time is money, but most of us value both. Microsoft knows how important these two things are. They have developed some programs that will help you work faster with your computer or preferred device. This article will review some helpful features from Microsoft that will help you get your work done faster and more efficiently. These technologies include Cortana, Outlook, and finally the Microsoft Edge browser.

Microsoft Cortana

Microsoft Cortana is like a digital assistant who does everything asked of her. Before you start working with Cortana make sure to link it into your work account. Then navigate to the bottom left search bar. There, you can type anything, such as a random question. Let’s say you type something like: “What do I need?” Cortana will automatically generate a pool of different things she can do for you.

Simply put, you can set a reminder on your PC for a doctor’s appointment and Cortana will alert you on your phone. This is so helpful, especially if you are away from the office. It collects information from all your devices, such as your phone contact list. Cortana can send email reminders and give you alerts based on your location. Did you know that you can even attach a photo to your reminder? Yes, with Cortana you can do that!

Cortana simply ensures that you keep up with your busy schedule. Like all smart voice assistants, Cortana has the ability to find information ranging from flight schedules, traffic conditions, and even weather changes in your area. She can immediately give you updates on all these things and more.

With time, as you interact and use Cortana, she gets to know you personally and improves the kind of assistance that she provides. These customized services make this virtual assistant especially helpful. She helps keep track of your favorite things like music, hobbies, and sports. She can learn about your favorite hang-outs or places you like to eat. She can give you suggestions and inform you of any updates in relation to these things. Do you have a favorite celebrity that you enjoy following? Cortana can give you timely updates on what your favorite celebrities are doing.

The Cortana virtual assistant is constantly advancing in knowledge. The developers add new features all the time, plus she learns as you use her. This new type of technology is advancing at a rapid pace. It includes the convenience of being available for all of your devices. Information is synchronized across phones, computers, and tablets both at home and at work. Every time you use any of your devices, the information gets updated. Cortana remembers. This definitely saves you time and it offers a new kind of convenience that people are beginning to enjoy and expect.

Microsoft Outlook

Here is a tip to help you reduce the number of emails that are related to conversations in your inbox. You just go into Outlook into the messages in your inbox. At the top left of your menu, you will see something called “clean up.” When you click on this icon, it will give you different options like:

• Clean up conversation
• Clean up folder
• Clean up folders and subfolders

This allows you to delete individual conversations or entire conversations. This feature goes through your conversations, streamlining everything, leaving only the most recent conversation. Your inbox gets a quick but thorough clean-up.

Microsoft Edge

Microsoft Edge is the most secure, dependable web browser on the market today. It has a whole host of features within itself, but here are a few that stand out.

Imagine a busy day at work and you have been conducting research and your desktop has a number of Tabs open. Maybe you’re not ready to close any of them! Microsoft Edge allows you to use a tab manager which pushes aside the tabs for you to use later.

When you want to reopen those tabs, you simply go to the left of the screen, open up the Tab Manager, and select the tab that you want to reopen.

Ink within Microsoft Edge

The ability to ink within Microsoft Edge is now at your fingertips. All you need is a stylus. Go to the Microsoft Edge and circle what you need, annotate it, capture it, and send it to the recipient of your choice.

Wrap up

Microsoft is constantly searching for new ways to improve the efficiency of their products just to make your life easier and more enjoyable. That is why Microsoft Windows 10 is a modern day hack on your computer that will make work stress-free. It helps you get everything done more efficiently so you can still achieve the best results in a shorter time frame. Being organized is part of working smarter and so is mastering these simple tools. Knowledge is power, and with what you have learned here, you can save time and improve your work life.

We are all familiar with a situation where we are not able to find a suitable meeting place or time because all the boardrooms have been booked and our tiny personal offices can barely host more than three people at a time. Yet, you have to work together with other team members in order to produce a document with merged data and beat that deadline.

Microsoft Office 365 has features that can help users collaborate without necessarily sitting in the same room. This article will explore some of these features and how users can make the best of them in order to achieve the desired results.

Cloud Attachments

Previously, if you had an attachment that you needed to share, you had to email it across the networks; it was so tedious and time-consuming. Not to mention the long hour spent sifting through your inbox and trying to clear out files. The worst part of this process is often that no one knows whether they’re working on the right version of the file. You may not have the most current draft so all your hard work could be for nothing. Those days are gone for team members who work in the cloud.

What is it actually like to share files stored in the cloud?

Using Outlook.com, go to create a new email and click on attach file. There will be a pop-up menu with a number of options to attach a file the old way or to attach a cloud file. Once you attach a cloud file, it will give you further options to change permissions so the document can be shared with everyone in the company. You can change permissions to allow sharing with only a single individual or a group.

Once the file is shared, anyone who is online at that particular time can edit the file and immediately you will see the new changes on your end of the document. There is no need to send it back and forth. Everyone edits in real time and can see the changes being made.

Collaborating in the Cloud Version

Open an email and click on an actual document link. Automatically, it will open in a browser window. The Cloud allows you to edit anything in the browser. If you want a different experience on your desktop or your phone, you can click open in your application, and you can edit it there and save it to the cloud. The great part of all this is that everything you make changes to and save is viewable by everyone you sent the file to.

Going back on the History of the File

Microsoft gives you a choice on how you want to work. But there are those people who are still concerned that sharing a file and co-authoring is going to make them lose control of what they worked on. You can go back to the original file if you like. When you open the file in the App, on the top right of the screen, you will see a little backtrack icon. When you click on that icon you will see all history of the file. You can then restore or edit from that point. You can do this from the cloud as well.

Microsoft Teams

Just like in Office, you have your own personal file storage system called OneDrive. You can also create a shared file cabinet and this is known as SharePoint. All the conversations that naturally happen in an office can occur in the chat room of MS Teams. The notes that you would take in a meeting can be created and shared in OneNote. That is what Microsoft Teams is all about. It’s a good collaboration tool so that your whole team can perform all the tasks they need to complete while staying in touch with each other.

OneNote

From that same single interface where you shared the file, you can look at the meeting minutes from meetings you were not able to attend. OneNote makes it easy to see what you missed and catch up. You can also chat on the same platform and get other people’s opinions and comments.

OneDrive

OneDrive is an application that is accessible on any device, PC or smartphone. It’s a good tool when you want to get opinions and feedback from the rest of the team. All files are stored on OneDrive. It’s easy to give access to these files to all or a few team members. You decide whether to give editing permissions to each individual.

Wrap Up

Group assignments are made easy with Microsoft Office 365. It includes all the tools you might need in a day’s time to create and edit documents, talk to team mates, keep notes in a meeting or work together in the cloud. If you need more information you can visit: https://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/sites/get-it-done/default.aspx

We’ll Be Celebrating – But Our Help Desk Will Still Be Here For You And Your Staff

On July 1^st, we as Canadians, honour the formation of the union we call home. Whether enjoying the holiday at a cottage; watching a fireworks celebration in the city; working hard in the office or shop; or marching in a local community parade; we all celebrate our great nation together as one.

Here’s to our beautiful lakes, our majestic mountains, and everything that makes Canada the greatest place to live!

For anyone who’s not Canadian, here’s what Canada Day is all about.

On July 1, 1867, Canada became a self-governing dominion of Great Britain and a federation of four provinces:

1. Nova Scotia
2. New Brunswick
3. Ontario
4. Quebec

These four provinces were created from the former British colonies of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and the Province of Canada. The Province of Canada was divided into Quebec and Ontario.

Canada’s boundaries have been extended since 1867. Today, Canada consists of ten provinces and three territories.

The Ten Provinces Of Canada Are:

1. Alberta
2. British Columbia
3. Manitoba
4. New Brunswick
5. Newfoundland and Labrador
6. Nova Scotia
7. Ontario
8. Prince Edward Island
9. Quebec
10. Saskatchewan

Canada’s Three Territories Are:

1. Northwest Territories
2. Nunavut
3. Yukon

On June 20, 1868, Canada’s Governor General proclaimed that Canadians should celebrate the anniversary of the confederation. In 1879, the date of July 1^st was designated a holiday known as Dominion Day. However, official celebrations didn’t take place until the 50th anniversary in 1917 and the 60th anniversary in 1927.

After World War II, Dominion Day was celebrated more often with organized events. And, after the 100^th anniversary of the confederation in 1967, Dominion Day events became more widespread. July 1st became known as Canada Day, and officially known as this from 1983 onwards. Since 2006, Canada Day celebrations have also been held in the UK at London’s Trafalgar Square.

For our Help Desk employees, Canada Day is just another workday. We plan to celebrate Canada Day just like the rest of our countrymen (and women!). But we do this by being here if you have any technical issues.

Our Help Desk is your front-line support for submitting incidents and service requests.

We say that we operate 24/7/365 and we mean it – Canada Day, Christmas, Boxing Day, Victoria Day, Easter – no matter the holiday or day of the week.

You’ll have direct access to the IT professionals who can help you onsite and provide the advice, guidance, and rapid restoration of services you need to keep your business running. 

When you call, one of our agents will log your request into our IT service management system and either resolve it for your then or escalate it to the next level of support.

You have the option of reporting an incident or service request by email or contacting us by phone. When you do, this will generate a “ticket” in our IT service management system.

Once the ticket is created, you’ll automatically receive an email receipt confirmation with your ticket or reference number. This confirmation tells you that your request has been logged at our Help Desk and that it’s been assigned to a tech specialist who knows your business and is experienced in your particular IT issue.

Here’s what we ask that you provide when submitting a request to our Help Desk:

• Your name, business name, phone number, and email address.
• A detailed description of the problem or concern.
• Whether the issue you’re experiencing affects only one user, many users, your entire office, or multiple offices.
• The impact your issue has on your business, including whether any critical applications have been affected.
• Anything you or your staff have done to try to resolve the issue before contacting us.

Prioritizing Tickets

It also helps if you prioritize your need. Here’s an example of what we mean:

• Non-Urgent: Your problem is minimal and doesn’t impact your ability to work. It’s something that could wait to be addressed within the next week. (For example, you’d like us to provide a new piece of computer equipment for you.)
• Normal: The IT issue has some impact on your day-to-day operations. However, you could wait for two days for it to be addressed. (For example, you’d like us to help you find a better way to use an application or replace it with a different one.)
• Urgent: The issue you face has significant impact on one user’s ability to work. You need help sometime during the workday.
• Emergency: This issue has significant team-wide impact on your staff’s ability to work. Multiple employees are affected. You need help as soon as possible, no matter if it’s after hours, over the weekend, or on a holiday (like Canada Day). This is for things like outages and downtime.

Please do your best not to prioritize something as “Urgent” or “Emergency” when it’s not. This helps us to get to those really urgent requests much faster.

We want you to know that you and your staff can enjoy Canada Day with the peace of mind that our Help Desk is always here for you. Happy Canada Day everyone!

When most organizations are presented with the words “Cyber Security,” they often start imagining how much it’s going to cost them to install and maintain strong security measures. At the same time, there’s that gnawing feeling of stress about what would happen if any data were lost to hackers. In light of that though, the investment in security for your network is well worth the cost.

That brings us to the question, “What is the cybersecurity return on investment?”

The answer to that question is complicated. There are a number of variables to consider. For those who have endured a security breach and lost thousands of records, the answer is easy: Cyber Security protocols are always worth it.

You lose time and money if a breach occurs. Plus, your Brand can be damaged. And then, of course, there may be future lawsuits. What if a judge decides that your company was NOT doing everything possible to protect the personal information of its customers?

The average cost of a breach today is hovering around one million dollars and that makes it expensive for any business to deal with. Cybercriminals are relentless! They never take a vacation. Instead, they find new ways to get past all your best security efforts and steal your data. It’s worth a lot of money on the Dark Web and that’s how hackers earn a living. They steal data and sell it to the highest bidder.

Microsoft has a long history of dealing with Internet security problems. They’re probably one of the most experienced companies on the earth today. They build complex security systems from the ground up because they have quite a bit of data that needs protecting.

Many of their cybersecurity solutions are becoming the industry standard. That’s why they’re a good source of security products that can safeguard data on many levels. Below are some of their top cybersecurity products.

Leaked Credential Protection and Azure Active Directory

Most stolen credentials are obtained by hackers who breach vulnerable websites where passwords and usernames are stored in plain text. Typically, these websites have weak encryption. They’re an easy target for hackers.

Phishing attacks are designed to trick users into giving up their log-in information. All types of malware have been created that use deception to acquire names and passwords. Sometimes it’s not that hard to get this information because people don’t create strong passwords and/or they use similar passwords and usernames across different sites. This means that if one site is infiltrated, another site with similar credentials is also at risk.

Microsoft has built a standard set of processes and security layers with automated services such as Leaked Credential Protection and Azure Active Directory to ensure that users are always protected. They make it as difficult as possible for hackers to get past their security guards.

Office 365 ATP, Credential Guard, and Windows Hello

Office 365 Advanced Threat Protection, Credential Guard, and Windows Hello are specifically designed to protect against hackers getting to your data through phishing emails.

Windows Defender ATP, only available with the Microsoft 365 Enterprise E5 plan, provides security services that assist users in detecting advanced threats. The program then investigates and responds appropriately on their servers. For more info about Windows Defender ATP, you can visit the Microsoft Windows Security Threat Protection site.

Windows Defender Credential Guard uses virtualization-based security to separate the more critical data from normal data so that only authorized system software can access the information. Any attempts to bypass this Credential Guard will result in failure. Though hackers are always searching for workarounds, Microsoft is constantly adding patches and new layers of security.

Windows Hello, on the other hand, includes advanced technology that allows you to sign in to your Windows 10 device without using any password. You can sign in by using your face, fingerprint, or iris. How amazing! This means that if your device is stolen, no one will be able to gain access to the data stored on your device.

Windows Defender ATP and Windows Defender Anti-Virus

These are designed specifically to counter malware attacks by detecting, blocking, and responding to attacks. Malware attacks cost companies millions of dollars each year. With each new attack, the technology evolves. Individuals, but more importantly, organizations, should be ready to fight cyber-crime with the same kind of resilience and resolve shown by hackers.

With Windows Advanced Threat Protection and the Anti-Virus program, you are equipped to give the bad guys a good fight.

Wrap up

Some of the best hackers get their notoriety not because they were good, but because they were underestimated. Remember that hackers work 24/7/365. That puts them way ahead of most of us. It’s not possible to spend that amount of time protecting your data. That’s why good solid antivirus and security programs are so important. In the end, they are the best and most affordable option.

Simply put, when you are deciding about your cyber-security return on investment, the most important issue is keeping your data safe from hackers. This will save you money, stress, and time. You’ll avoid expensive data loss events that could cripple your organization and damage your reputation. With Microsoft security products, you can enjoy peace of mind knowing that you’re doing everything possible to stay a step ahead of hackers.

This article is basically an overview of what Microsoft Office 365 is. Virtually, there is nothing new especially to those who are already using Microsoft Office products; only a few enhancements to better your user experience. To start off, we will have a historical evolution of Office to give you a clear understanding of where we are coming from, and then explore Office in the Cloud and finally various Office 365 user scenarios.

Evolution of Office

Most of the Applications on Office are basically the same ones from ten years ago, only with a few improvements to increase efficiency.

In the past, when one needed a software upgrade, you bought it in a box and then had it manually installed on your device. What Office 365 has done is make it easier for you to access the upgrades to all the Office Applications you usually use.

This is to help you collaborate and communicate so you can get more work completed faster. Office 365 contains the normal Office Applications that most people are accustomed to such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, and Outlook. Office 365 has added a few helpful Apps to make your work easier such as Yammer, OneDrive, Skype, and OneNote.

• OneDrive for Business

This is an App where you store your business documents to save, view, and edit. You can also co-author or co-create content with colleagues.

• Skype

This App enables instant messaging, video, and voice calling and it is good at indicating whether you are at your desk, in a meeting, on a call, and even when you are away from your desk.

• Yammer

This is like a social network for an enterprise. You can follow groups, teams, comment, share ideas, provide feedback, and also store content.

• OneNote

This App is not new at all, but it is very useful for taking notes. It allows you to paste images, links, and store very different kinds of contents. It works like a digital notebook.

Office 365 Delivered Services

These are basically the services that Microsoft delivers to different organizations in order to enable them to use the technology reviewed above. They include helpful programs like PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook, and OneNote. Microsoft recently purchased Skype and has integrated this program into their suite of products. It can be used for communications and holding virtual meetings on your desktop.

SharePoint is used for sharing documents and is integrated with OneDrive and Exchange which provides email functionality.

Delivered Services by Office 365 also offer the Office 365 programs for any device, whether powered by iOS, Android, or Windows. This means that you can access your stored data in Office 365 on any device or platform.

Office in the Cloud

Traditionally, an organization runs their Apps in a central data center owned and managed by them. On the other hand, Cloud is where a service provider like Microsoft can provide computer powered storage like a hard drive to other organizations to help them manage their data. A hybrid is using both the traditional and cloud methods to manage data. Advantages of using Cloud include flexibility, accessibility, reliability, manageability, and of course security.

Office Online

This is a service that enables you to access your Apps online and also your data.

Office 365 Scenarios

• Do it from anywhere

Office 365 gives you access to any device to enable you to work from anywhere. This is because files and settings are synced across devices. You can easily create, edit, and share documents and even access them on a mobile device. One Note is also your digital notebook and you can take notes anywhere anytime and all your devices will be updated with the new information.

• OneDrive for Business

OneDrive for Business works with SharePoint to store, sync, and share your work files. You can co-create and co-author documents with colleagues. You don’t have to be together or even working from the same location. You can keep refining and make changes from anywhere.

• SharePoint

SharePoint allows you to better manage your content. You can also collaborate on documents with your colleagues.

• Skype for Business

The features of Skype allow you to connect with anyone via instant messaging (IM), video calls, and online meetings. Skype has the ability to turn the instant messenger into a phone or video call. You can record sessions to use later or share with others.

• Yammer

This is the social network guru for your office. It allows discussions, ideas, and input without necessarily holding a meeting.

More information can be found on:

support.office.com

www.microsoft.com/en-ca/site/work-wonders

Wrap Up

The best way to learn is to explore. Get Microsoft Office 365 and start using the awesome features. It is user-friendly and totally worth your investment. Microsoft saves you time and makes work very easy.

2018 Top Cybercrime Facts and Why You Should Care

2017 saw some of the most devastating high-profile cyber attacks in the history of business. This happened despite tech giants constantly releasing security patches and updates. As the number of such attacks continues to rise, 2018 requires businesses of all sizes to be even more prepared given that cyber-criminals are not often selective when choosing their targets.

Below are some startling cybercrime facts that should inform your approach to cybersecurity in 2018 and beyond.

A hacker attacks an internet-connected computer every 39 seconds in the US.

The University of Maryland’s Clark School recently found that that 1 in every 3 Americans has already been on the receiving end of a cyber-attack.

While this statistic may apply to the United States, your business does not have to be located there for you to care. Cybercriminals exist on the World Wide Web and do not discriminate their targets based on geographies when perpetrating their crime. So, you can never really tell when you’re going to be targeted.

1 in 5 businesses faced at least 25-hours’ downtime from ransomware attacks in 2017.

Ransomware is the form of malware (malicious software) that a bad actor injects into your computer enabling them to take control of your system, denying you access to your data and threatening you with harm unless you pay up. The attacker usually demands a ransom in exchange for access to your files, even though, in some instances, the criminals do not fully grant access. Paying the ransom doesn’t always guarantee that everything will be restored.

A survey by Osterman Research found that ransomware attacks were the most common in 2017, leading to massive losses to businesses from the inflicted downtime. Many businesses had to shut down their systems for extended periods of time – up to 100 hours or longer.

Small to medium-sized businesses are increasingly vulnerable to cyber-attacks.

The number of SMBs that experienced a cyber-attack over the course of 2017 was 61 percent. This number was 55 percent in the previous year. Approximately 54 percent of these organizations lost employee and customer data due to cyber theft.

This information is consistent with a separate survey that found smaller organizations to be increasingly targeted because of their tendency to discover security breaches late. Small Business Trends reports that the percentage of cyber-attacks targeting small organizations rose from 15 to 43 percent of total attacks between 2011 and 2015. Smaller businesses and organizations tend to have fewer cybersecurity resources, hence are a favorite target for ransomware and crypto-jacking attacks.

Most threats emanate from the employees.

The human element within organizations remains the main point of weakness as far as cyber security is concerned. Negligent employees or contractors result in up to 54 percent of all data breaches. This is up from 48 percent the year before, according to the Ponemon Institute’s 2017 report on the State of Cybersecurity in Small and Medium-sized Businesses.

Cybercriminals frequently target the workforce with malicious emails and websites which an employee may easily click on, setting themselves up for malware attacks.

One recommended way to mitigate these kinds of threats is to train employees to practice some level of cybersecurity housekeeping. This can include simple acts such as logging out of their systems, not logging into company databases from unsecured Wi-Fi, as well as keeping their passwords secret.

Reminding employees of the importance of such good cybersecurity practices can go a long way in staving off ransomware and other cyber threats.

Global toll of ransomware attacks hit $5 billion in 2017.

Estimates indicate that the cost of ransomware damage reached $5 billion in 2017, which is more than 15 times the cost incurred in 2015; barely two years earlier. Businesses experience massive losses in downtime, related fines, and productivity losses. The actual amount of the ransom you pay only comprises a fraction of this overall cost.

The annual cost of cybercrime projected to reach $6 trillion by 2021.

The global toll of cybercrime damage is estimated to hit a whopping $6 trillion annually by 2021. This is because state-sponsored hacking and organized crime are projected to rise steeply making cybercrime more profitable compared to the worldwide drug trade. Unlike drug traffickers, cyber-criminals are difficult to catch and rarely are punished for their crimes.

Cybercrime continues to become more lucrative, making it more appealing to prospective and current perpetrators. And with the growing sophistication of the tech world, you can expect the tactics that cybercriminals use to evolve.

What can be done?

Expert assessments hold that organizations can strengthen their cybersecurity through some very basic measures. These foundational steps can readily be implemented.

Since most of the successful cyber attacks exploit the human element, plugging this loophole can work for both small and big companies alike. Start by educating your personnel about the cybersecurity Dos and Don’ts  through such simple acts as putting up memos around the office with messages such as “do not share your password with anyone” or “log out the system when you finish.” Ask a local IT expert to come out and speak to your employees about the importance of cybersecurity.

Adopt the use of more secure emerging technologies.

Organizations that use various emerging solutions that are more hardwired to withstand cyber threats, such as Microsoft Office 365 products, report better protection against cyber-attacks. In light of the increasing cyber threats, consider using solutions that can not only detect existing threats, but also pre-empt, investigate, and respond to new threats even before they are executed. Most experts agree that the proactive approach to cybersecurity is the best way to go.