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World Backup Day – Protecting Valuable Data with the 3-2-1 Rule

March 31, 2021by Euclid Networks in Atlanta, How-To, News / Blog, Online Backup tagged , , , , , ,

Atlanta – did you know, World Backup Day is March 31st?

Nerdy, we know – but according to a leading backup company, only 15% of organizations back up data multiple times a day. Depending on your organization’s data security requirements, this could be a problem. How much is losing 4 hours of company-wide productivity worth to your business?  4 days? 4 weeks? What is more, most businesses don’t have a documented disaster recovery process in place, which can lead to catastrophic results in the event of a system crash or failure.

Why back up?

For companies that rely on their digital work product – such as attorneys, marketing professionals, and other service providers – keeping your organization’s data safeguarded is essential. If you have a storage issue, backing up information can be the difference between staying in business and closing for many, such as those in regulated industries, or where information is essential to business operations.

Cyberthreats are another big reason to keep your data backed up – with malware and ransomware threats on the rise in 2021 and beyond. If your organization is hit with an attack, it can relieve some of the burden if an additional copy is available of your stolen information.

Backup 101 – What is “good” backup practice?

It is important to discuss the pros and cons of different backup frequencies and retention policies – including the total cost, how often you will need access to the backup of your data (restores), and how frequent your backups should be. For some data-reliant companies, backing up multiple times a day makes sense, as you are harboring highly sensitive information that would cause major problems for your business and clients if you lost access. Other organizations with less sensitive information may only need to backup once a day or week, especially if they do not have compliance regulations they need to follow like those in legal, healthcare, and financial markets.

Euclid’s recommendation? Follow the 3-2-1 rule.

For our IT and Tech Support partners, we always recommend following the 3-2-1 rule for essential data protection, a best practices or guideline for safeguarding data.

  • 3 copies of data maintained (one copy “in production” – or active use, one local backup, and one “cold” backup stored elsewhere, ie the cloud)
  • 2 store data on 2 types of media (if you have an issue with one kind of media, you have another kind available to access your data)
  • 1 offsite copy (of your data, so that if a fire or on-site issue occurs a backup is available).

The idea of the 3-2-1 rule of data protection is to eliminate single points of failure – it is not a failproof policy or complete guarantee – but helps mitigate a large swath of potential data pitfalls.

How Euclid can help!

Contact us today for a cost-effective review of your current backup practices, and for our expertise with cloud and offsite backup. The “1” of the 3-2-1 rule can be difficult to implement, especially for small and medium sized businesses, but we’re here to help. And for larger organizations, our solutions cover both workstations and servers – including more complex SQL database and state-aware backups!

How to keep your children safe online?

June 11, 2019by Euclid Networks in Atlanta, How-To, News / Blog

Summer is here and your kids are home for long stretches of time. Here are our tips on keeping your home and children safe online.

Our number 1 tip is talk to your children! Communication is essential in maintaining a safe environment.
  1. Have a conversation with your kids: warn them about malware, dangerous websites, and sex offenders. Let your kids know you’re looking out for them, speak honestly with them, and listen. After all, if it’s just you talking, it’s not a conversation. It’s a lecture. And no one likes a lecture.
  2. Keep your computer in a common area of the house: it’s more difficult for sex offenders and online bullies to harass your child when you can see what your child is up to. So make sure your kids aren’t going to bed with their laptops and phones. Keep internet time in the common areas.
  3. Know which other computers your children are using: your children most likely have access to computers at school or their friends’ houses. Ask them where they go online, and talk to their friends’ parents about how they supervise their own kids’ internet use.
  4. Remind your children, “Don’t talk to strangers — or meet them”: Remind your children that people often lie about their age, and online predators often pretend to be children. Emphasize that your children should never reveal personal information like their name, address, phone number, school name, or even their friends’ names. Knowing any of this could help an online predator find your kid in real life. And under no circumstances should your child ever meet up with someone they met online without your permission. If you do agree to a meeting, go with your child and meet in a public place.
  5. Make internet time family time: You watch movies together. Why not browse the web together? Making it a family event can be fun. You’ll learn more about your kids’ interests, and can guide them to websites that are more appropriate to their age.
  6. Know your children’s passwords: If you’ve got a younger kid, create an account for them in your own name to avoid exposing your kid’s name — and so you’ll have the password. But please respect the age limitations on accounts. If a site says you should be 18 to sign up, then maybe your child should wait. Whatever your choice, though, make sure you get their passwords and warn them that you’ll be checking their accounts from time to time to make sure everything’s kosher. (Spying on your kids’ accounts without their knowledge could weaken their trust in you.)
  7. Watch for changes in your children’s behavior: Being secretive about what they do online, withdrawing from the family, and other personality changes could be signs that an online sex offender is preying on your kid. So keep an eye out for any behavioral changes.
  8. Pay attention to any gifts anyone gives your children: Sexual predators may send physical letters, photos, or gifts to children to seduce them. Stay alert, and ask your kids about any new toys they bring home.
  9. Check your children’s browsing history: Open your child’s web browser and look for “History” to see a list of websites they’ve been to. Also check the recycle bin to see if any files have been deleted. You may be surprised.
  10. Set rules — and stick to them: As a parent, it’s your job to limit your kids’ screen time, set boundaries for inappropriate content, and make sure your children stick to them. Talk to your internet service provider about filters you can use to block pornographic or violent websites, or invest in a Wi-Fi router with parental controls.
Searching and using the internet together is a great way to teach your children about navigating the multilayered online world.

Delegate to an Expert – An IT Provider can Help Your Small Business!

March 18, 2016by Euclid Networks in Atlanta, Networking, News / Blog

If you own a legal practice, design firm, or other small business and have a decent grasp of technology, you might be tempted to “go it alone” – and handle the technical side of your business yourself. As a business owner, it’s only natural to try and do so – after all, you’re great at what you do! But, don’t think that your ability to solve problems and get things done is enough to keep your computer systems running in all cases – many technological problems can be complex and require a trained professional to solve.

At some point, a network glitch, virus or software issue will threaten to bring your entire business to a halt, costing you what you thought you’d save – or even more – by going it alone. Even a simple problem can require hours of troubleshooting and shift your focus away from other important business tasks, possibly leading to unplanned downtime and unnecessary expenses.

To keep your applications, network, servers, computers and other technology running, it’s worth considering contracting an IT provider. If you don’t have the money to hire a full time IT manager to work on staff, an outside provider can just as aptly handle the day-to-day management of your small business’ technological needs. Euclid Network’s Managed IT Support Plans do just this! A competent IT provider can offer deployment, maintenance and proactive IT management assistance, and will be there when you need solutions for simple but important questions and problems – all for a reasonable fee.

In many cases, an IT provider can help manage your technology better than you – a busy small business owner with many areas to supervise – can. The provider will minimize irksome tech issues that slow productivity and increase costs, and will look for ways to maximize your technological tools so that you can get the most for your IT spend, increase productivity, and help your business grow.

If you’re ready for a new technology partner for your Atlanta based business, give Euclid Networks a call – helping solve your tech problems is our forte!

Euclid Networks is Hiring : Part-time Desktop/Systems Support Technician

July 22, 2014by Euclid Networks in Atlanta, Networking, News / Blog

Part time Desktop/Systems Support Technician needed for small but growing Managed
Service Provider in Atlanta, GA.

The primary role will be providing technical support and research assistance for our
Senior Systems Administrator. Job expectations will include providing courteous and
professional phone and onsite support for end-users, assistance with diagnostics and
support of Windows Server networks, software/hardware troubleshooting & installation,
trouble ticket management, timely remote support, technical documentation, and
providing research assistance and expertise on technical & company projects.

The ideal candidate will be self-starting and require little supervision, be enthusiastic
about working with and learning new technologies, possess excellent verbal and written
communication skills, and have strong attention to detail.

Hours will vary, with an expected average of 20/hours per week. A flexible schedule is
required. Initial schedule will be morning shift, (M – F, 9:00 am-1:00 pm). Opportunity
for the right candidate to become full time as company continues to grow.

For complete job listing and details, please click here to download job description.

Please provide cover letter and resume by emailing
resumes@euclidnet.com – no calls please.

Advisory : Microsoft ending support for XP computers and Office 2003 on April 8th, 2014

January 21, 2014by Euclid Networks in Atlanta, Excel 2003, News / Blog, Windows XP, Word 2003

If you haven’t yet heard, Microsoft is formally ending support for computers running Windows XP, and Office 2003  on April 8th, 2014. Although this date has been announced for some time, we know a considerable number of people who still rely on systems using XP. Read more to find out about what this means to your organization.

2014-01-21 16_51_45-Support ends in 2014 for Windows XP and Office 2003!

Windows XP End-of-Life : What changes?

Although formal support will end for XP and Office 2003, systems will continue running indefinitely. The main changes to expect with XP’s end-of-life event are :

  1. No further operating system patches – Patches keep Windows up to date and at least reasonably protected from malicious attacks. With no further updates being released by Microsoft, XP and Office will become increasingly insecure and vulnerable to 3rd party malware and viruses.
  2. Microsoft Security Essentials will be discontinued for XP – Microsoft’s widely used anti-virus program, and its underlying “Windows Defender” software will no longer be updated. Paired with a lack of new operating system patches, this will only make XP even less attractive to the businesses which rely on it. Luckly (and somewhat bewilderingly), Microsoft just announced (Jan 15, 2014) they would continue releasing updates for MSE until July 14th, 2015.

Analysis and Next Steps

So, what is a responsible business owner to do? The answer, we think, is not simple. A great number of the world’s computers (an estimated 28%) still rely on XP. Integrated systems also tend to rely on XP, as it is a proven and stable development platform. Practically all U.S. ATMs, for instance, are reported to use the operating system. So, the chance Microsoft will extend support for XP is likely – a notion their Jan 15th announcement supports. And others in the community have expressed their disbelief about the true impact of XP’s ‘death’ as well.

But, all the same – while we won’t preach doom and gloom – it does make sense to begin migrating critical business systems from XP to a newer operating system – and of course, we’re here to help.