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Bensinger Consulting is a Microsoft Partner who has been providing Cloud Solutions to clients using Virtualization and other Cloud technologies since 2008. In 2009 Bensinger Consulting became the first Microsoft Partner in Arizona to achieve a competency (special Microsoft certification) in Virtualization, putting Bensinger Consulting on the cutting edge of Cloud technology.
With Bensinger Consulting's professional cloud computing services, you'll get:
• Security
• Disaster Recovery
• Flexibility
• No Capital Investment
• Work From Anywhere
• Experience
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Provided courtesy
of Ed Bensinger,
President, Bensinger Consulting.
“As a business owner, you don’t have time to waste on technical and operational issues. That’s where we shine! Call us and put an end to your IT problems finally and forever!”
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The Most Common Ways
Hackers Access Your Network
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| You are under attack. Right now, cyber crime rings in China, Russia, and the Ukraine are hacking into small businesses like yours to steal credit cards, client information, and swindle money directly out of your bank account. Some are even being funded by their own government to attack American businesses, and half of all cyber attacks are aimed at small businesses. The National Cyber Security Alliance reports that one in five small businesses have been victims of cyber crime in the last year. It’s critical that you protect yourself from the following 10 vulnerabilities.
1. Poorly trained employees are the biggest risk. It’s common for an employee to infect an entire network by opening and clicking a phishing email designed to look like legitimate correspondence from a trusted source. If they don’t know how to spot infected emails or online scams, |
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| employees can easily compromise your entire network.
2. We strongly recommend an acceptable use policy that limits the websites employees can access with work devices as well as work material they access with personal devices. We can easily set up permissions that regulate which websites your employees access and what they do with company-owned devices, even granting certain users more freedom than others. You also need to detail what an employee can or cannot do with personal devices when taking work home.
3. Weak passwords are bad news; pass codes should be at least eight characters long with both lower and uppercase letters and include symbols and at least one number. On a company cell phone, requiring a pass code makes stolen devices harder to compromise.
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See More Free Tips, Tools and Services On Our Web Site:
www.BensingerConsulting.com or call 602-362-0202
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Again, this can be enforced by your network administrator so employees don’t get lazy and put your organization at risk.
4. If your networks aren’t patched, new vulnerabilities (which are common in programs you already use, such as Microsoft Office can be exploited by hackers. It's critical that you patch and update your systems frequently. If you're under a managed IT plan, this can be automated so you never miss an important update.
5. Are you backed up in multiple places? Aggressive ransomware attacks, where a hacker holds files for ransom until you pay a fee, can be foiled by backing up your data. You won’t have to pay a crook to get them back. A good backup will also protect you against accidental deletion and natural disasters, and it
should be automated.
6. One of the fastest ways cyber criminals access networks is by duping employees to download malicious software by embedding it within downloadable files, games, or |
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other innocent-looking apps. This can largely be prevented with a secure firewall and employee training and monitoring.
7. Not all firewalls are created equal. A firewall blocks everything you haven’t specifically allowed to enter or leave your network. But all firewalls need monitoring and maintenance, just like all devices on your network, and a weak one does you little good. This, too, should be done by your IT person or company as part of their regular, routine maintenance.
8. Many hackers exploit your devices when you connect to public Wi-Fi, getting you to connect to their Wi-Fi instead of the legitimate public one. Always check with a store or restaurant employee to verify the name of the Wi-Fi they are providing. |
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And never access financial or medical data or enter your credit card information when surfing public Wi-Fi.
9. It may be one of the oldest tricks in the book, but phishing emails still work. The goal is to get you to download a virus by clicking a link or getting you to enter your login information on a clone of a legitimate website.
10. In 2009, social engineers posed as Coca-Cola’s CEO, persuading an executive to open an email with software that infiltrated the network. Social engineering is another old-school tactic, but, like phishing, it works well. Hackers pretend to be you, and people often fall for it.
If you are concerned about cybercriminals gaining access to your network, then call us to learn more about implementing a managed security plan for your business.
You’ve spent a lifetime working hard to get where you are and have earned every penny and every client. Why risk losing it all?
Get the facts and be certain your business, reputation, and data are protected. |
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 Free Cyber-Security Audit Will Reveal Where Your Computer Network Is Exposed
and How to Protect Your Company Now
At no cost or obligation, our highly skilled team of IT pros will conduct a comprehensive Cyber Security Audit to uncover loopholes in your company’s IT security. After the audit is done, we’ll prepare a customized “Report Of Findings” that will reveal specific vulnerabilities and provide a Prioritized Action Plan for getting these security problems addressed fast. This report and action plan should be a real eye-opener for you since almost all of the busi-nesses we’ve done this for discover they are completely exposed to various threats in a number of areas.
To get started and claim your free assessment now call our office at 602-362-0202. |
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Detect & Prevent Server Attacks before they happen.
Guaranteed Ransomware Protection!
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Bensinger Consulting is now offering SentinelOne, the Next Generation in Endpoint Protection software.
SentinelOne’s next-generation endpoint and server protection uses several layers of attack prevention, including behavior detection and machine learning that stops attacks that other vendors simply can’t. It also provides unparalleled threat visibility at a minimum system impact.
• $1,000,000 USD guarantee against Ransomware!
Learn more
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Are You in a State of Stuck?
Here’s How to Win the
Battle Against Inertia.
By Andy Bailey
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| Momentum is key to business growth. When you’re moving forward and good things are happening, it can feel almost effortless. One action leads to the next, and you’re achieving results at a rapid pace. But what if you had a good run, and you’re now feeling a little stuck? It could be that you’re suffering from inertia. It’s very real and can be very destructive. I work with businesses every day, and even the most seasoned leaders experience inertia from time to time. The good news is that there’s always a way out - it depends on you. The key is to get moving. Shake things up and make choices that force you out of your state of stuck. Take these five steps to break through inertia and get your wheels rolling again:
1. Get specific about what you want to accomplish. What do you want to do, and what does success mean? In creating your goal, ask yourself, "What does that look like?" And be specific about your answer! Avoid using words like "less" or “more” - those terms mean nothing.
2. Plan it out. What steps are necessary to reach your goal? How will you ensure your success? Write it all out and indicate when you plan to complete each step. Set dates for completion and stick to them. |
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| 3. Ask what might get in your way. If you set a goal, but you don't think about potential obstacles, you’re setting yourself up for failure. For example, if you want to go to the gym three times a week at 5 a.m., but haven’t considered that you may be needed at home to help with child care, you’re probably not going to the gym. Get real about any hurdles that might get in the way of achieving your goal, so you can work around those circumstances and find your best path to success.
4. Make yourself accountable. It can be easy to tell yourself that you’re going to do something, but if you make your intentions public, it’s much tougher to make excuses and abandon your
commitments.
5. Do it now! There’s no time to waste and there’s a lot of power in the present moment. No matter how small the first step is, make every effort to take it immediately. Demonstrate to yourself and others that you’re committed to the process and you’re ready to move forward. In the words of Lao Tzu, "The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step." Take that step as soon as you can.I’m a big Yoda fan, and I quote him a lot. Here's my favorite line of his:
"There is no try … only do." Trying won’t get you anywhere. Set your goal, figure out how to meet it, and really do it. Anything else will stop your momentum in its tracks and lead to inertia (or the Dark Side, as Yoda might put it). |
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 As the founder of Petra Coach, Andy Bailey can cut through organizational BS faster than a hot knife through butter, showing organizations the logjams thwarting their success and coaching them past the excuses we all use to avoid doing what needs to be done. Andy learned how to build great organizations by building a great business, which he started in college. It then grew into an Inc. 500 multimillion-dollar national company that he successfully sold and exited. |
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Is Your Coffee Maker or Thermostat a Security Threat?
Internet-connected devices, including coffee makers and thermostats, are slated to hit 20 billion in number by 2020. That makes them ripe for hacking, as we saw last November with DDOS attacks that targeted smart devices in addition to regular laptops and computers. Standard security measures apply, including strong passwords and from home use policies. Get your IT people trained on smart device security, and only use those devices if totally necessary.
SmallBusinessComputing.com
November 30, 2016
Phone Power Companies Are Here To Prevent You From Ever Letting Your Battery Die. Phone charging on the fly is a growing market
in China, and |
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one company, Anker, is trying out its platform in Seattle. Power-bank sharing is the way of the future, or so Anker believes, anyway. People use bike-sharing services because it provides for some convenience. People used to buy products, now they want a service. Today, people think that they need to bring a portable charger out with them. That might change with power bank-sharing. Whether people will pay $1.99/day so they don’t have to bring a charger with them remains to be seen.
Mashable.com - May 9, 2017
A Vicious Microsoft Bug Left A Billion PCs Exposed. Speaking of which, thank goodness security researchers in May found the exec bug in Windows that could have been used by hackers to gain entry |
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without physical access or user action. The bug would have
exploited Windows Defender, Microsoft's in-house antivirus software, and left anybody running Microsoft Windows vulnerable. As Google engineers note in a report on the bug, to pull off the attack a hacker would have only had to send a specialized email or trick a user into visiting a malicious website, or otherwise sneak an illicit file onto a device. This also isn’t just a case of clicking the wrong link; because Microsoft's antivirus protection automatically inspects every incoming file, including unopened email attachments, all it takes to fall victim is an inbox. Microsoft
has since patched the bug.
Wired.com – May 9, 2017 |
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Amazon Makes Landline Phones Trendy Again. They say that everything old is new again, and landlines are making an Amazon comeback thanks to the tech company’s new Echo Show system. Similar to the existing home assistant Echo system, the Echo Show includes robust speakers, a camera, and a video touch screen to facilitate video calls with family and friends.Retailing for just north of $200, the Echo Show might be the future of at home phone calls, in addition to its other home-assistant functions.
TechCrunch.com – May 13, 2017 |
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Call 602-362-0202 today!
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