Your Best Line of Defense Against Ransomware

In business, it’s critically important to keep your systems patched and up to date with the latest security updates but, even so, new threats are discovered each and every day. Your tech support has to be vigilant.

Even with all your precautions, it’s possible that some hacker/scammer somewhere will trick someone into clicking on something and then… Bam!  You’re infected.

It would best to avoid getting infected in the first place — but there are no guarantees — so your last line of defense are good backups and a disaster recovery plan.

In terms of backups, you need a reliable and comprehensive backup plan.

Or, you need NSG: the best tech support in Ann Arbor. 

Learn more on our website!

Are You Protected from Ransomware?

You’ve read about it in the news.  Big companies and government agencies — the kind with big tech support departments — getting hacked with ransomware and being down for days. Then, having to pay an exorbitant ransom to get their data back.  The most recent example of this is the Colonial Pipeline.  Don’t let this happen to you!

I’m going to let you in a little secret.  The best way to protect yourself from ransomware is…. With backups!  I know it sounds simple but stick with me here.  It’s more complicated than it sounds.

Yes – you should have business class antivirus software.

Yes – you should have a business class firewall.

Yes – you should have a maintenance and monitoring plan in place to keep all your systems up to date with security patches.

Yes – you should be training your users to be cautious and not just click on attachments and links in random emails.

All of that stuff is important, but none of it is foolproof.

Why? Learn more on our website!

Work With the Right Guys — Get the Right Results!

If your company doesn’t have IT support, it’s only a matter of time before you find yourself in a bit of a mess. Like this client: one of their core servers was still running Windows Server 2003 (long since unsupported), and they had inadequate backups and antivirus protection. It was critical to their security that they upgrade, but they were hesitant to proceed — not because of the cost, but because a past IT project had turned into a disaster of downtime, crashes, and endless bugs. 

They weren’t eager to go through that again!

After we started working with them, they began to realize that things were going to be different this time and we were able to upgrade their server and protect their network.

Smooth transitions don't happen by accident, and we take great care to properly plan out projects like this, and equal care in the implementation and follow up. The end result is a smooth transition, happy client, and comments like this:

"Ross has been doing great. You found a lot of talent in that fella and things have been going smoother than I'm used to. Then again, you run a tight ship sir. I shouldn't be surprised. "

What can we say? Work with the right guys, and you'll get the right results.

Learn more on our website!

All IT Companies are Not Created Equal!

One of our recent projects was for a long-time customer — large enough to have their own IT staff. They were upgrading an old server running some line of business software to a newer version of Windows Server. It contained a large amount of data and was critical in their day-to-day operations. It was a big enough project that they were planning on logging off on Friday afternoon and being down all weekend.

NSG had them up and running by mid-Saturday morning, along with a heartfelt thank you.

There’s nothing unusual about an IT team doing server migrations. Or calling in outside support for their own IT staff for larger projects. 

That doesn’t mean all IT companies are created equal. If you’re working with someone less experienced or less skilled, your mileage may vary. 

What can NSG help you with today? 

Visit our website to learn more!

Is a Failed Microsoft Update Putting Your Business At Risk?

When you own a small business, challenges can appear when you least expect them from sources you’d least expect. When business owners worldwide installed the February 9th Windows Server update, they were met with one of those unexpected challenges. An issue with the component that installs Windows updates caused the update to fail, leaving many customers scrambling for a solution or even skipping updates. 

The real problem was those business did not receive the fix to a vulnerability that left their networks open to attackers. 

Cyber-attacks are on the rise and every business connected to the internet is at risk. Keep your business safe by maintaining good backups and by ensuring that your systems are monitored, maintained, and kept up to date with security patches. You don’t need to be an IT expert or have an IT department on staff. With one phone call, you can have the experts at NSG on your team. 

Give us a call at (877) 815-6974 to schedule a consultation or contact us on our website.

For more information, including links to helpful resources, read the full article on our website.

Keep Your Network Secure in the Post-pandemic World

There’s no doubt 2020 was a tough year for business! The pandemic and related health and safety regulations put unthinkable stress on our businesses – and many are still struggling to stay afloat from the loss of income. 

If you were also affected by network or computer issues or didn’t have the technology on-hand to ride the e-business surge caused by lockdown conditions, it may have been the worst business year you can remember. 

As we move deeper into the post-pandemic business world, we can be sure of two things:

1. E-business and work-from-home are here to stay, and
2. So are the technical and security challenges that came with the boom in e-business.

Learn what NSG can do to keep your business safe!

E-Business is Here to Stay

Remember last spring when the pandemic started and most everyone thought we’d have a short quarantine period, and then resume business as usual? It’s clear now that business-as-usual has to change to meet ongoing safety concerns – not to mention the fact that people discovered they like the added convenience of e-business!

E-business is not going away; don’t be left behind because of equipment or security issues! 

Learn more on our website!