Facebook is making headlines — again — with yet another revelation of privacy failure. A recent security audit found that, since 2012, hundreds of millions of user passwords have been stored in a plaintext format, exposing them to the view of more than 20,000 of the social media giant’s employees.

If you’re a small business, you don’t have the budget to hire full-time employees to handle security, maintenance, and employee support. And as cybersecurity threats become more sophisticated and prevalent, it’s safer and more cost-effective to outsource your IT support.

Unless you live under a rock, almost everyone knows to be extra cautious on April Fools’ Day. Still, though, many of us fall as prey to a prank every year. With over 4.3 billion users in March of 2019 alone, the internet is an unlimited library for creative prank planning, making it more challenging to see a mischievous trick coming at you until you're already an April Fool.

For small businesses that aren’t tech companies, finding the resources and talent to manage your IT systems can be a daunting challenge. As the leader of a small business or a growing startup, the majority of your time, energy, and capital is most likely invested in building and maintaining your core business functions.

"To Server and Protect"
As the middle of March approaches, there is a not-as-well-known holiday that The Purple Guys find worthy of a grand celebration that pairs well with wine and Cheers! The month of March is widely known for green because of Ireland’s St. Patrick, but have you heard about Finland’s St. Urho?

Finland’s Patron Saint Urho is famous for fighting off grasshoppers who were destroying the nation’s grape crop and therefore threatening their beloved wine production.

Any business that handles consumer data is a potential target for hackers, but small businesses are especially vulnerable. When customers willingly hand over sensitive personal information, they’re showing they trust you to keep that data safe. A breach quickly erodes that trust.

The Purple Guys are still with rosy cheeks! Our Kansas City and St. Louis IT Support teams are more than honored to be recognized for our dedicated, responsive, and reliable customer support services that are continuing to help businesses grow and achieve their goals by keeping their systems protected and their people productive.

Let's talk about your business data (financial, business, operations, employee, and customer data + intellectual property, etc.). What would happen to your business if one of your employees caught a ransomware virus and not only they but your entire company became locked out of all of your data today, halting all business operations?

How much downtime, frustration, and financial burden would that cost your company? On average, small businesses lose around $8,500 per hour when down due to a ransomware attack (Source: Datto). However, there are several ways to avoid a cybersecurity attack to your business.

Let's talk about Computer and Network Privacy. Do you know if your computers and networks are strongly defended? Do you have a Firewall, AntiVirus, and AntiSpam? Do you know what tools your business uses for these? Do you know if they routinely updated, maintained, and tested for quality?

If the answer is no or you're not sure because an internal IT person or outsourced IT Guy or IT Support company manages it for you, let us help you answer these questions.

With more than 4 billion internet users currently worldwide, the internet is an incredible way for people to stream information and for businesses to make immense profits through online services and sales. It's also the leading cause of security breaches that put 61 percent of small businesses out of business within six months of a cyber attack.