Protecting Your Business Data

In our last blog, we talked about malvertisements, a type of virus that is capable of stealing your computer data without any overt action on your part.   In this blog, I will go over the high-level elements of the small business backup strategy, which is part of your overall business continuity plan.

Data Backup is Part of Business Continuity Planning

It’s much easier to build in storage resiliency when data storage is conceptualized, planned and deployed than it is to bolt on protection afterwards. The advantages reveal themselves at many layers of the continuity planning process.First, we strive to avoid preventable disasters by doing such things as monitoring and managing infrastructure. That way, we can spot burgeoning error conditions and resolve them before we’re hit by an outage.

In addition to doing something about disaster prevention, continuity planning aims to develop strategies for coping with disasters we can’t prevent. This is where data protection comes in. Because data can’t be replaced, it must be made redundant as a safeguard against corruption or loss, whether caused by user error, application faults, malware and viruses, equipment malfunctions and so on.
How data would be protected could make all the difference between a smooth recovery or lots of delays and disappointments and, well, disasters. Hardware lock-ins, which are created when relying on proprietary on-hardware snapshot, mirroring and replication technologies purchased with the storage rigs themselves, are problematic over time. For the functionality to work at all, you usually need to buy two copies of the rig from the vendor: one for the primary site and another for your recovery facility. These specialized pairings get in the way of coherent data protection and recovery, especially as data storage infrastructure grows more heterogeneous.

The good news, is that software-based storage virtualization can help to alleviate this problem by enabling delivery of protection services such as continuous data protection (CDP), snapshot, mirroring and replication services on a cross-platform basis -- irrespective of hardware brand. Preventing hardware lock-ins from the outset is key to making disaster recovery efficient. A good storage virtualization approach can provide a more unified way to deliver the right data protection services to the right data at the lowest possible cost.

The complexity of recovery is made worse by the proliferation of data protection service lock-ins. If you think it through from the start -- when building infrastructure itself -- you can create a rich, built-in, hardware-agnostic, data protection-enabled infrastructure that will cost a lot less than bolting on various mirrors, replicators, clusters and backup processes after the fact.

What to Include in Your Disaster Recovery Plan

• Inventory all IT assets.
• What applications are running on what systems.
• Don't omit standalone data from the recovery plan. 
• Increasingly, business-critical data and documents are stored on laptops and desktop compute
• Prioritize the data and applications and assess their varying criticality. 
• The data recovery plan should explicitly state the recovery order of data and applications.
•  Maintain offsite data backups.
• A comprehensive tape or disk archive strategy is crucial.
• Formally document the plan.
• Create checklists and procedures. Know who is responsible.
•  Test the solution.
• In any complex system or process, what works in theory often fails in practice.
• Maintain multiple communication methods and channels.
• Normal communication channels, such as email and phone, may be disrupted.
• Automate as much as possible.
• Human error is almost inevitable under these stressful circumstances Don't neglect security.
• It can be tempting to bypass normal security policies in order to simplify and speed the recovery.
• Rely on DR experts and consultants with extensive knowledge and experience in the field .

Rely on TeamLogic IT

At TeamLogic IT, we can help you design and implement your data backup solution so that you can minimize the risk to your critical business data. It only takes one occurance of losing and not being able to recover your data to realize that disaster recovery is a much more significant hit to your business than implementing the right solution.

Data Security in the News...Again

Here we are again on the perennial topic of viruses, malware and data security.   The recent incident with the Flame Virus in the Middle East is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to stealing information from computers.   These viruses are increasingly sophisticated, can cover their tracks, and require teams of experts to research and develop new protections to stop further attacks.
The takeaway is that once your computer is infected, the damage has been done. The best protection is to prevent infections in the first place.  Here are some tips for helping you avoid common types of attacks.

Tips for Avoiding 'Malvertisements'

Malvertisements are pop-up ads on websites that can steal bank account passwords, slow down or disable computers,and prevent your computer from getting .  We unwittingly expose ourselves to malvertisements just by visiting an infected website.   This type of scam is getting more popular and has already affected millions of users.  The ads are insidiuous because you don't even need to click on them to activiate them.

• Make sure your computer is set for automatic updates for your browser and applications.
• Employ an pop-up add blocker. There are many choices out there;  some are built into your browser and others are available as third party software.     
• Protect your computer with robust antivirus software, such as Kaspersky or AVG. 
• Be aware of pop-up ads that sell antivirus sofware. These unsolicited ads can be infected with malware or are scams that entreat you to buy software from the cybercrooks themselves.  

Tips for Avoiding Text Scams

Now that texting is a preferred form of communication, scams are increasingly on the rise.   We receive texts that tell us that we are "the winner of the day" or that we have just won something desirable if we just respond with a code or phrase.   To claim your prize, you'll have to divulge personal information that the spammer will sell to marketers or use to access your bank account.  In the U.S. last year, something on the order of 4.5 billion spam texts were received by cell phone owners.  Here's some advice on how to deal with text spam.

• Don't reply with "STOP" or other requests to remove your number.  Any response will confirm that yours is a working number that can be sold to telemarketers.
• Make sure your mobile number is registered with the FTC "Do Not Call" list.  This makes it illegal for telemarketers to call or text you without permission unless they are exempt.
• If your carrier is AT&T, Bell Mobility, Sprint, T-Mobile or Verizon, you can report spam by copying the original message and forwarding it to 7726 (spam) free of charge.
• You can file a complaint with the FCC by filling out their form.
• Check your cell phone bill monthly to see if you have incurred any charges from unwanted third-party spam. Call your carrier immediately and they should remove the charges from your bill.
• And finally, you should investigate the many spam-blocking apps that are available.

When it comes to choosing which anti-virus solutions works best for your business, TeamLogic IT can assess your systems and find out what anti-virus software you have, whether the licenses are still active, and if the scans are happening on a regular interval.  We are experts in virus removals and can recommend what software should be put in place so that your computers and mobile devices are protected.

TeamLogic IT of Mountain View, CA, is part of a nationwide network of computer consultation and managed services businesses providing outsourced IT services. Small- to medium-sized businesses rely on TeamLogic IT to handle a broad range of services from urgent computer repair and proactive maintenance to the installation of entire networks and more. For more information, contact Jon Simms at JSimms@TeamLogicIT.com or visit www.TeamLogicIT.com.