Should You Let Employees Bring Their Own Devices To Work?

You might find that some of your employees would prefer to work on their Mac rather than the PC you’ve provided, or use their own computer as a supplemental device. Should you tell them yes and save yourself some money on new PCs? Yes, provided you follow a few simple guidelines.

First and foremost, you need a policy outlined in an agreement the employee signs detailing what the responsibilities and rights are for them and for you. For starters, you should make it clear that the company retains ownership of the DATA on the device, even though the employee owns the actual device. All employers should have a confidentiality agreement in place with their employees anyway, but if your confidential data is on their device, you want to make sure you can retrieve it and/or delete it from their device.

Second, you need to make sure the employee takes care NOT to disable anti-virus software or download viruses. Since the employee owns the device, they will (most likely) take it home and use it for personal web browsing. If their after-hours activities invite viruses into their device, your data can be stolen or the hacker can use their device as an access point to your entire network. Can this happen with work-issued PCs? Yes, but people tend to be more liberal with their own devices than with a work laptop or workstation.

You should also clarify that you have the right to “govern” the data on the device, which means you might also be able to access personal information of theirs. And finally, your agreement must clearly define what happens if the employee leaves or is terminated. They may have downloaded software that you (the company) have paid for. In that case, you’ll need to figure out a way to retrieve the license from their device. We highly recommend you get with a qualified HR professional or attorney regarding these matters to make sure you are complying with all state and federal laws in this manner. Otherwise, you could end up with an ugly lawsuit over the matter.

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5 Easy Ways To Spring Clean Your Computer For Maximum Performance

With Spring in the air, now is a good time to do an annual clean up of the computers, servers and electronic equipment in your office, both inside and out. Failure to thoroughly clean your computers and servers at least once or twice a year will result in decreased performance and possibly even system failures.

Here’s why:

Dust clogs the computer’s cooling system causing it to heat up, damaging sensitive electronic equipment. Dust can also cause fan noise and (believe it or not) slow performance!

Crumbs and dirt in your keyboard can cause keys to stick and crunchy sounds when typing. Plus, it’s just gross and unhealthy; do you know there are more germs on your computer keyboard than the average public toilet? Even dust, fingerprints and dirt build-up will make your computer monitor dim and fuzzy.

But the physical “dirt” is only the beginning…

Here are 5 quick steps you can take today to clean up your systems and improve performance. **CLIENTS: Check with us if you have any questions. We regularly run these clean-ups for most of you already!**

1. Use Disk Cleanup to delete temporary files, unused programs and any other file taking up space and slowing things down. (Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Cleanup)
2. Defrag your hard drive to speed up access to your data. (Start > Control Panel > System and Security > Administrative Tools > Defragment your hard drive)
3. Update your spyware and antivirus software with the newest definitions. The internet changes fast. Having outdated security can slow you down dramatically.
4. Make sure you have the latest security patches and updates installed and configured properly.
5. Check your backups and conduct an emergency “restore” of the data. Remember, the best time to check your backups is when you DON’T desperately need to recover your data!

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5 Smart Tips For Mobile Devices

If you’re planning on heading out of town – or simply to the coffee shop to work – here are a few tips to keep in mind.

1. Protect your devices from thieves. All mobile devices should be passcode-protected and loaded with apps that will help you track and find them in case they get lost or stolen. For iPads and iPhones, there’s the free “Find My iPhone.” Android users can try “Lookout Mobile Security.” These apps allow you to remotely wipe the device if it falls into the wrong hands; you definitely don’t want to expose yourself to identity theft or allow someone access to your company’s network and client data. Also, never leave your device anywhere you wouldn’t leave your wallet.

2. Backup. Mobile devices get lost and destroyed more often than desktop computers because you’re dragging them around from place to place and exposing them to non-gadget-friendly environments; therefore, make sure you are backing up all the data to the cloud. All it takes is a spilled cup of coffee to erase those precious family photos and videos; and most people don’t think about backing up their phone.

3. Take caution when connecting to free public Wi-Fi. Hackers with routers and readily available software set up rogue hot spots for spying and serving you fake websites. They often name these hot spots something generic such as “Coffee Shop” or “Linksys” to fool you into thinking they are safe. You think you’re connecting to the coffee shop’s Wi-Fi, but you’re actually accessing the web through their portal. If you are going to use public Wi-Fi, simply use it for general web surfing, not shopping, banking or accessing critical data.

4. Turn off sharing. If you use a laptop, you might have it set to share files and folders with other computers at work or home. However, you don’t want those settings “on” when connecting to a public network. When connecting to a public hotspot for the first time, Windows will ask you for a location type; choose “public” and it will automatically reset your settings to turn off sharing.

5. Carry your own connection. If you’re going to access your bank account, go shopping online or, retrieve critical data when traveling, invest in your own personal Mi-Fi connection. We recommend any of the latest Mobile Hotspot devices from Verizon or AT&T that have 4G capability. If you don’t have one and you need to make an emergency balance transfer or an immediate purchase to save a significant amount of money, it’s safer to use your cell phone. When banking, use your bank’s official app and sign up for any extra security they offer. For example, Bank of America’s SafePass program sends a text message with a 6-digit code to authorize a transaction. The code expires as soon as you use it.

To read more, please visit www.myersnetsol.com

3 Expensive Missteps You’re Probably Making With Your Data Backups

Now is as good a time as any to remind you that you shouldn’t depend on luck to protect your data. That’s why we’re going to share with you 3 common missteps companies make with data backup that you *might* be making.

1. Not Doing A Reverse Backup. If you use any line of business application in the cloud to store data – including accounting records, client files and the like – you should be backing up ALL of that data to your location on a regular basis. How frequently? That depends on how much you are willing to lose. If you could lose a week of data, then backup weekly. If the thought of losing a week puts you into fits, then backup daily. Most cloud providers are savvy enough to have redundant systems and backups of your data – but don’t risk it!

2. Depending On Employees To Save Data To Your Server. Many offices only backup their server; the problem is, employees often keep a LOT of critical documents and data on their workstations that are NOT being backed up; and if you’re depending on them to remember to do it, you’re asking for trouble. The right thing to do is automate your backups so ALL devices and data are backed up without depending on someone’s memory.

3. Having A Single Point Of Failure. If you’re still using outdated tape drives (and we hope you’re NOT) you might discover that nobody can remember the password to access the data on it. Or there may be only one person in the organization who knows where your data is being backed up and how to access it. A smart move would be to walk though a couple of “what if” scenarios to see if you actually have what you need to recover your data.

Having a good, reliable backup and disaster recovery plan is essential for every business, and it should be installed and maintained by a pro. After all, if you knew there was a chance you could fall out of an airplane, would you want the cheapest parachute strapped to your back? Of course not – and that doesn’t mean you need to spend an arm and a leg for the most expensive one either.

If you’re not on our Premier-CARE or Total-CARE plans and you’re using a cheap offsite backup like Mozy or Carbonite, OR if you’re using outdated tape to backup your data, then give us a call IMMEDIATELY to find out how we can let you sleep easier at night with a far more reliable data backup. Call us today for a free consultation and backup assessment to find out how to protect yourself from data loss, corruption or extended downtime. 408.483.1881 www.myersnetsol.com