In recent years, online shopping has become more popular than ever before. With the convenience of being able to purchase items from the comfort of your own home, it is no surprise that many people are turning to shopping apps to make their purchases.
However, a new concern has emerged. There are shopping apps that spy on peoples’ phones. This is a serious risk to data security that needs to be addressed because it has the potential to compromise the privacy and security of individuals and the companies they work for.
Shopping Apps Recently Found to Be Spying
Recent events have brought this issue to the forefront. In one example, a popular shopping app called Shein was caught spying on users' copy-and-paste activity. According to a report by MSN, the app in question was monitoring users' clipboard data and sending it back to the app's servers. This type of behavior is concerning because it means that the app has access to potentially sensitive information like passwords or other personal data.
In another example, Pinduoduo, a Chinese shopping app, was recently found to be infected with malware. According to a report by CNN, cybersecurity researchers discovered that the malware was designed to steal personal information from the device. The malware was able to access a wide range of sensitive data including usernames, passwords and credit card information.
These incidents highlight the serious threat posed by shopping apps that spy on employees' phones. When an app has access to a smartphone that also has access to business apps and data, it can potentially monitor everything the employee does (including their emails, text messages and other communications). This can put both the employee and their company at risk because sensitive information could be compromised.
What Can You Do to Improve Mobile Device Security?
Many companies rely on an employee's ability to use their personal mobile devices for work. However, this doesn’t mean you still can’t put device security measures in place to protect business data. Here are some ways to protect your network & data against invasive apps.
Implement a Mobile Device Management (MDM) Solution
MDM software can help you manage and secure the smartphones used by your employees. With an MDM solution, you can enforce security policies, remotely wipe devices if they are lost or stolen and monitor for potential security threats.
Applications like Intune (part of Microsoft 365) can help you better separate the “work” and “personal” functions of employee devices used for business.
Train Employees in Security Best Practices
Educate your employees on the importance of smartphone security and provide them with training on how to use their devices safely. This can include things like not clicking on suspicious links or downloading apps from unknown sources.
It is also a good idea to put out alerts in a company newsletter or team channel when news stories like the ones mentioned above come out. Sending your staff security updates like this helps foster a culture of cybersecurity and keeps everyone informed.
Use Strong Passwords and Two-Factor Authentication
Require your employees to use strong passwords and enable two-factor authentication whenever possible. This will make it more difficult for attackers to gain access to your employees' devices and data.
Keep Software Up to Date
Ensure that all smartphones used by your employees have the latest software updates installed. Updates often include security patches that address known vulnerabilities.
This is another place where using a mobile device management solution can help. MDMs can deploy updates automatically to all managed devices.
Limit Access to Sensitive Data
Only give employees access to the data and applications they need to do their jobs. This will limit the potential damage if a smartphone is lost or stolen.
One of the ways you can do this is through automated data protection policies. Once implemented, they can prevent activities like downloading, copying and sharing certain types of documents.
Implement Encryption
Encrypt all sensitive data stored on smartphones including emails, text messages and files where possible. This will help protect the data if the smartphone is lost or stolen. Securing a business VPN account and requiring use when employees are connecting outside the office keeps traffic better protected as well.
Require Installation of a Reliable Mobile Antivirus
Mobile devices also need to have antivirus and anti-malware protection. You can provide this through a mobile device management solution or directly through a company subscription to a reliable antivirus solution.
Conduct Regular Security Audits
Regularly audit smartphone security to identify potential vulnerabilities or areas for improvement. This can include things like testing for malware or checking that security policies are being enforced.
Get Help with Smart Mobile Device Security Solutions
Sound Computers provides enterprise mobility management solutions that can significantly reduce your risk of a data breach. Contact us today to learn more.
Scheduling appointments is a common activity. Salespeople often set up virtual appointments to answer questions about a product. Software companies allow people to schedule live demos. Telehealth therapists allow clients to book video sessions.
Those are just a few examples of some groups that are going to love a new Microsoft Teams feature. Virtual Appointments was recently added to the platform. It adds a new meeting style tailored for engagements with customers.
Have you been using Teams and a different online appointment app? This new feature will streamline the experience.
What Is Virtual Appointments in Teams?
Virtual Appointments gives you an all-in-one meeting platform for customer engagements. You can schedule, manage and conduct B2C meetings in Microsoft Teams.
This new feature brings together the scheduling component with the video conference interface. Anyone with the link can join the virtual appointment. They do not need a Teams account.
The power of Microsoft’s scheduling app, Bookings, connects to Teams. This makes the Virtual Appointments function as seamless as possible.
Some of the features below will be available with any Microsoft 365 plan. Some are available with a premium plan.
Teams Virtual Appointments Features
Manage Scheduled Appointments
You can see your scheduled appointments in a single view. Manage cancellations and time changes easily.
Send Customized Confirmations & Reminders
You can send customers a customized message via SMS or email. This personalizes the experience for them. You can also use automation to give that personal touch without needing to send each one manually. Automated appointment reminders are another time-saving function.
Customized Waiting Room
Add a personal touch to your virtual engagements. You can customize the Teams waiting room. You can use themes and logos to brand your business. You can also chat with attendees while in the lobby waiting room. This is helpful if your current appointment is running a little long. You can let them know that you will be right with them.
Meeting Follow-ups
You can send meeting follow-ups after a virtual appointment. This helps you reduce the time it takes to send any promised follow-up information. You also keep all details in a single place. This makes your client communication trail easier to follow.
Organization & Department Analytics
How effective are your appointments? It is hard to know if your demos are resulting in sales if you don’t have a good tracking system. It is also important to have visibility into customer appointments across the organization.
You can do this with a premium analytics feature. It gives you helpful reporting. The reporting provides insights into B2C virtual appointments in all departments.
How to Use Virtual Appointments
To start using Virtual Appointments in Teams, admins must set up a few things. Note that they must be a Bookings admin to access these settings.
Create a Calendar
In the Virtual Appointments app choose to “Create a calendar.” You can find this option on the Home tab.
Larger organizations may wish to create different calendars for different departments.
Add Staff
Add staff members. You can add up to 100. You will also need to assign them a role. Once you have added your staff, you can view their availability in both Teams and Outlook.
What is another nice thing about using an integrated platform like M365? It is the cross-app compatibility. Your calendar syncs across apps.
Create Appointment Types
You will next set up your appointment types. You can choose from these two options:
- Scheduled: You schedule the day/time. The system adds this information to the email confirmation.
- On-demand (Teams Premium): Customers can choose when to meet from your booking calendar.
Set Up SMS Notifications (If Desired)
If you choose to use SMS notifications and have the right Teams plan, you can set this up next. This allows you to easily send appointment confirmations and reminders via text message.
Note: Attendees currently need a valid U.S., Canadian or U.K. phone number to receive the SMS notifications.
Link Forms (If Desired)
If you would like your attendees to fill out any forms, you can link them now. Virtual Appointments allows linking up to four cloud-based forms. These would be forms you have created in Microsoft Forms.
Publish Your Booking Page
If you want to give customers the ability to book on-demand appointments, take this next step. You will need to publish the booking page. You do this on the “Manage” tab of Virtual Appointments. Select “Booking page” and turn on “Publish booking page.”
Get Help Using Your Microsoft 365 Tools More Effectively
Microsoft 365 is a platform with many possibilities. Often companies aren’t using all of the features that they could be using. As a result, their team may be less effective. They could also be wasting money on apps that they don’t need.
Are you interested in help supercharging your Microsoft 365 experience? Give us a call today to set up a meeting.
Customers look for convenience. In today’s world that means technology that makes their life easier. From webforms to POS systems, you need to keep the customer experience in mind in all you do.
When people aren’t happy with their experience interacting with a company, they leave. Their experience might not have anything to do with your products or services. Maybe they found it hard to navigate your website. They may have a question but no one was around to answer it.
Customers expect you to make it easy for them to do business with you. Companies that make things easy reap the benefits. Customer-centric companies are 60% more profitable than those that are not.
Technology is key to converting website visitors into clients. It is also key for keeping customers happy and returning to buy again.
Where should you focus? Below are several ideas for all business budgets.
Cloud Forms
Are you still emailing forms in Microsoft Word to your customers? Using cloud-based forms makes the experience much better. Your customer doesn’t need to save a form to their computer and remember to email it back. Instead, they can follow a link and fill out the info online from any device.
Moving your forms to the cloud makes it easier for you as well. The form data comes in automatically. These systems also collate forms and provide analytics.
If you use Microsoft 365, you already have a cloud form tool. Look for Microsoft Forms in your available applications or visit Microsoft’s site.
Digital Signatures
Experts expect the use of eSignatures to grow by 69% by 2024. The ability to digitally sign documents means more contracts get signed. People don’t need to print out a form, sign it and scan it back in. Any of those activities could mean a bump in the road.
Printers run out of ink. People have trouble with a scanner they rarely use. The list goes on. Any problem can mean a customer rethinks signing a document that you need.
Using digital signatures streamlines the process. You can handle the transaction online. You also ensure you have a legally binding signature.
Smart Chatbot
When someone makes a buying decision, they often have a question. If they don’t have a quick and easy way to get an answer, they may go elsewhere.
Chatbots are really smart these days. If you program them right, they can answer a large percentage of repeat questions. They are there 24/7 on your website ready to help in a moment of need.
Many customers actually like them. About 68% of consumers are happy using helpful chatbots. They say they like that they get a fast answer from a bot. This isn’t always the case when customers send an email.
SMS Notifications
SMS notifications are another type of technology that can improve customer experience. Emails have become flooded with junk mail. When someone needs to know about a shipment or purchase, they often prefer it by text. This way the message isn’t missed.
Think about implementing SMS notifications for important customer alerts. Make sure you have an opt-in and opt-out method. It is also a best practice to let the customer choose which alerts they want to receive (such as payment notifications, sales or shipping details).
Business Mobile App
People have been in a transition from websites to apps for some time. The internet isn’t going away but apps are gaining ground. A big reason for this is the rise of smartphone use.
Smartphone searches are overtaking web searches and when people are on a mobile device they prefer apps over websites. Studies show that mobile users spend 90% of their time using apps and just 10% using an internet browser.
Think about implementing a mobile app for your business. This can make it easier for customers to do business with you. It also gives you more marketing and service capabilities such as push notifications.
If you are on a tight budget, you could start with a “wrapper” app. These are solutions that take your existing website and transform it into an app.
FAQ Kiosk
For retail stores, having an FAQ kiosk available can provide a positive experience. It can allow customers to get questions answered quickly. It could also help them look up sales and coupons.
Service businesses can also benefit by using this digital tool. They can use it for commonly asked questions. They can also use it to direct clients to staff offices.
VoIP Phone System
You might think of your phone system as an internal piece of IT. It is also one of your most customer-facing technologies. The experience people get when they call is a vital part of how they view your business.
VoIP phone systems give staff the flexibility to help customers anywhere. This is true even when away from their desks. They also enable things like group ring, auto-attendant and voicemail to email. All these features make for better caller interaction with your business.
Get Help Planning Your Technology Roadmap
Which technology upgrades will benefit your bottom line the most? How should new systems integrate into existing solutions? These are some of the things we look at when helping you look ahead to the future. Give us a call today to schedule a chat.
Once data began going digital, authorities realized a need to protect it. This resulted in the creation of data privacy rules and regulations to address cyber threats. Many organizations have one or more data privacy policies they need to meet.
Those in the U.S. healthcare industry and their service partners need to comply with HIPAA. Anyone collecting payment card data must worry about PCI-DSS. GDPR is a wide-reaching data protection regulation. It impacts anyone selling to EU citizens.
Industry and international data privacy regulations are just the tip of the iceberg. Many state and local jurisdictions also have their own data privacy laws. Organizations must be aware of these compliance requirements. They also need to know about updates to these rules.
By the end of 2024, about 75% of the population will have its data protected by one or more privacy regulations.
Authorities enact new regulations all the time. In 2023, four states will have new rules. Colorado, Utah, Connecticut and Virginia will begin enforcing new data privacy statutes.
Businesses must stay on top of their data privacy compliance requirements. Otherwise, they can suffer. Many standards carry stiff penalties for a data breach and if security is lacking, fines can be even higher.
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) uses a sliding scale. Violators can be fined between $100 to $50,000 per breached record. The more negligent the company is means the higher the fine.
Does all that sound scary?
Don’t worry. We have some tips below for you. These can help you keep up with updates coming your way.
Steps for Staying On Top of Data Privacy Compliance
1. Identify the Regulations You Need to Follow
Does your organization have a list of the different data privacy rules it falls under? There could be regulations for:
- Industry
- Where you sell (e.g. if you sell to the EU)
- Statewide
- City or county
- Federal (e.g. for government contractors)
Identify all of the various data privacy regulations that you may be subject to. This helps to ensure that you’re not caught off guard by one you didn’t know about.
2. Stay Aware of Regulation Updates
Don’t get blindsided by a data privacy rule change. You can stay on top of any changes by signing up for updates on the appropriate website. Look for the official website for the compliance authority.
For example, if you are in the healthcare field, you can sign up for HIPAA updates at HIPAA.gov. You should do this for each of the regulations your business falls under.
You should have updates sent to more than one person. Typically this should include your Security Officer or equal and another responsible party. This ensures that they don’t get missed if someone is on vacation.
3. Do an Annual Review of Your Data Security Standards
Companies are always evolving their technology. This doesn’t always mean a big enterprise transition. Sometimes you may add a new server or a new computer to the mix.
Any changes to your IT environment can mean falling out of compliance. A new employee mobile device that is added but not properly protected is a problem. One new cloud tool an employee decides to use can also cause a compliance issue.
It is important to at least do an annual review of your data security. Match that with your data privacy compliance requirements to make sure you’re still good.
4. Audit Your Security Policies and Procedures
Something else you should audit (at least annually) is your policies and procedures. These written documents tell employees what is expected from them. They also give direction when it comes to data privacy and how to handle a breach.
Audit your security policies annually. Additionally, audit them whenever there is a data privacy regulation update. You want to ensure that you’re encompassing any new changes to your requirements.
5. Update Your Technical, Physical & Administrative Safeguards As Needed
When you receive a notification that a data privacy update is coming, plan ahead. It is best to comply before the rule kicks in if possible.
Look at three areas of your IT security:
- Technical safeguards – Systems, devices, software, etc.
- Administrative safeguards – Policies, manuals, training, etc.
- Physical safeguards – Doors, keypads, building security, etc.
6. Keep Employees Trained on Compliance and Data Privacy Policies
Employees should be aware of any changes to data privacy policies that impact them. When you receive news about an upcoming update, add this to your ongoing training.
Good cybersecurity practice is to conduct ongoing cybersecurity training for staff. This keeps their anti-breach skills sharp and reminds them of what is expected.
Include updates that they need to know about so they can be properly prepared.
Remember to always log your training activities. It is a good idea to log the date, the employees educated and the topic. This way you will have this documentation if you do suffer a breach at some point.
Get Help Ensuring Your Systems Meet Compliance Needs
Data privacy compliance can be complex but you don’t have to figure it all out yourself. Our team is well-versed in compliance needs. Give us a call today to schedule a chat.
Cybersecurity never loses its importance. This is especially true with the increase in cyberattacks and data breaches. Both big and small companies need to be vigilant about securing their data and preventing any unauthorized access to their systems. One effective way to enhance cybersecurity is by using threat modeling.
Threat modeling is a systematic approach that helps companies identify potential cyber threats and vulnerabilities in their systems or apps. It involves analyzing the architecture, design and functionality of the system to identify potential security risks and then prioritizing them based on their impact and likelihood of occurrence.
Threat modeling helps organizations proactively identify security risks, mitigate them and build more secure systems.
In this article, we will discuss how to use threat modeling to improve cybersecurity.
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Understand Your System and Identify Critical Assets
The first step in threat modeling is to understand your system and identify critical assets. Critical assets refer to any data, system or application that is essential to your business operations or has a high value. These assets need to be protected against unauthorized access, modification or destruction.
To identify critical assets, you need to understand how your system works, what data it stores and how it interacts with other systems. You can use data flow diagrams, system diagrams and other architectural models to gain a better understanding of your system.
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Identify Threats and Vulnerabilities
Once you have identified critical assets, the next step is to identify potential threats and vulnerabilities. Threats are any potential attacks or exploits that could compromise the security of your system. Vulnerabilities are weaknesses or flaws in your system that can be exploited by attackers.
To identify threats and vulnerabilities, you can use techniques like:
- brainstorming
- checklists
- attack trees
Brainstorming involves identifying potential threats and vulnerabilities based on your knowledge and experience while checklists are predefined lists of common threats and vulnerabilities that you can use as a starting point. Attack trees are graphical representations of attack scenarios that show the different steps an attacker might take to compromise your system.
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Assess the Risks and Prioritize Them
After identifying your threats and vulnerabilities, the next step is to assess the risks and prioritize them based on their impact and likelihood of occurrence. Risk assessment involves estimating the likelihood and impact of each threat and vulnerability and then assigning a risk score based on these factors.
To assess the risks, you can use:
- risk matrices
- risk heat maps
- risk scoring models
Risk matrices are graphical representations of risk scores based on the likelihood and impact of each risk. Risk heat maps are similar to risk matrices but use colors to indicate the severity of each risk and risk scoring models are mathematical models that calculate risk scores based on various factors such as likelihood, impact and control effectiveness.
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Mitigate the Risks
Once you have assessed the risks and prioritized them, the next step is to mitigate them. Risk mitigation involves implementing controls and countermeasures to reduce the likelihood or impact of each risk.
To mitigate the risks, consider using:
- access controls
- encryption
- intrusion detection systems
- firewalls
Access controls are mechanisms that restrict access to sensitive data or systems to authorized users only. Encryption is the process of converting data into a coded form that can only be deciphered by authorized users.
Intrusion detection systems are tools that monitor network traffic for suspicious activity and alert administrators to potential security breaches and firewalls are network security devices that monitor and control incoming and outgoing network traffic.
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Review and Update Your Threat Model
The final step in threat modeling is to review and update your threat model regularly. Threats and vulnerabilities are constantly evolving so it is essential to keep your threat model up to date to ensure that you are adequately protected.
To review and update your threat model, you should conduct regular security assessments, penetration testing and vulnerability scans. You should also keep updated with the latest security trends and threat intelligence to identify emerging threats and vulnerabilities.
Get Started Today
Threat modeling is an effective way to improve your cybersecurity by identifying potential threats and vulnerabilities, assessing the risks and mitigating them. By using threat modeling, you can build more secure systems and protect your critical assets against unauthorized access, modification or destruction.
If you are interested in improving your cybersecurity and need help with threat modeling or other cybersecurity services, contact Sound Computers. We offer a wide range of cybersecurity services, including threat modeling, penetration testing, vulnerability scanning and security assessments.
One of the most exciting developments of Artificial Intelligence is the rise of language models that can engage in human-like conversations. It is like having a personal assistant who never takes a day off, can work 24/7 and is always ready to help you with any task. That is what ChatGPT has come to offer.
According to CBS News, ChatGPT gained 57 million active users within its first month of operation. These users include researchers, creatives, businesses and others who utilize the chatbot in various ways.
For businesses looking to streamline their operations and provide exceptional service to their customers and employees, ChatGPT is a valuable tool to improve productivity and efficiency in the workplace. Incorporating ChatGT into the daily operations of the office has numerous benefits. However, it is not without its faults. As a result, it is essential you know how to approach using ChatGPT at your office.
This article will explore many ways that you can approach the use of ChatGPT in your office to unlock its full potential and take your business to the next level.
What ChatGPT Offers to Your Office
The benefits of incorporating ChatGPT are numerous. It can be a helpful tool for your office in various ways such as answering questions, providing information and assisting in decision-making.
It also helps you scale your business by handling a large amount or volume of customer inquiries simultaneously and ensures that you are always available for your customers at all hours of the day. Getting the best services for your business is vital.
Effective Approaches for Incorporating ChatGPT into Your Operations
There are several practical approaches that you can take to ensure that ChatGPT is implemented successfully in your office. Here are some of the most effective approaches:
- Determine The Purpose
Users need to know that it cannot do everything. Ensure that you determine its purpose before implementing the chatbot in your office. Identify the task or processes that it can help with and the specific questions it can answer. This will ensure that it is used effectively and efficiently.
- Set Clear Expectations
While ChatGPT is a great tool that can improve your operations, it is essential to communicate to your customers or employees that it is not a replacement for human interaction. Setting clear expectations will help avoid misunderstandings and ensure that it is used effectively.
- Continuously Monitor and Improve Performance
To ensure that ChatGPT provides accurate and helpful responses, tracking metrics such as accuracy, response time and customer satisfaction is essential. This will help detect areas for improvement and you can make adjustments as needed.
- Invest in Integration
Integrating ChatGPT with other tools and systems in your office can significantly enhance its capabilities and values. Combining it with your CRM, inventory management and HR systems will provide personalized responses to customers and employees. This will increase its overall value as a tool for your business.
- Train Your Employees
Training your employees on using ChatGPT effectively will help them ask the right questions and receive accurate responses. Businesses should provide guidelines on the kind of questions that ChatGPT can answer and its limitations.
- Be Transparent
It is essential to be transparent about using ChatGPT in your operations. This means communicating to your customers or employees that they are interacting with a language model and allowing them to opt out of using ChatGPT if they prefer to interact with a human representative.
Ways to Use ChatGPT in the Office
The features and uses of ChatGPT are vast and it holds numerous benefits for your office operations. Let us examine some ways that you can use it in your office:
- Customer Service
ChatGPT enables businesses to deliver fast and effective customer service by handling more inquiries and allows customer service to concentrate on more pressing concerns. Additionally, it can personalize responses based on customer data and history and address commonly asked questions about company policies, benefits and procedures for both employees and customers.
- Conducting Research
ChatGPT can assist with research projects by providing access to relevant information. It can help employees find resources on various topics ranging from industry news to statistical data.
- Sales Support
ChatGPT can support sales teams by providing information about products and services, answering common questions and handling customer inquiries.
- Writing Assistance
With the instructions you give to the chatbox, it can help you write emails, newsletters, internal memos, etc. ChatGPT can assist with writing tasks by providing suggestions for grammar, spelling and phrasing.
- Collaboration
ChatGPT can be used to aid collaboration among team members. It can help employees share ideas, brainstorm and work together on projects.
Incorporate Technological Innovations Easily Into Your Business with Sound Computers
Sound Computers understands the value of incorporating innovative technology into business operations. As a leading provider of cutting-edge IT solutions, we can help you make the most of new cloud solutions.
Call us today at (860) 577-8060 or reach us online to schedule a chat.
Microsoft 365 is one of the most popular cloud platforms in the world with about 345 million paid seats. Microsoft cloud tools numbers were up 32% in Q3 2022 compared to the previous year.
One of the reasons for its continued growth is the suite of cloud tools offered in the service. Users get a stable of over 20 different apps including the core MS Office suite.
With so many different apps, it is not uncommon for some to go unused. Companies may not even be aware that they have access to these other helpful tools. One of the handiest apps you get with a Microsoft 365 subscription is Microsoft Forms.
From sending year-end customer surveys to assessing change readiness, Forms makes it easy. This online survey and form-building tool has a lot to offer organizations. If you have a subscription to Microsoft 365, then you already get Forms included for free.
What Is Microsoft Forms?
Microsoft Forms is a drag-and-drop form, quiz and survey creator. It is simple to use and allows you to send out surveys via a link. Recipients can fill out your form online from any device.
Once recipients fill out the survey, the results come into the software instantly. You can see the collated results charted in the software. You can also export the results to Excel.
How to Get Started in Forms:
- Visit Forms.office.com and log into your Microsoft account.
- Choose “New Form” or “New Quiz" from the top menu
- OR you can choose to explore the built-in templates.
- Click “Add New” to add a new form field. You can choose from field types:
- Choice (i.e., multiple-choice question)
- Text
- Rating
- Date
- Ranking
- Likert (a scale that records attitudes/opinions about a topic)
- Net Promoter Score® (a scale from “not likely” to “extremely likely”)
- Section (separator that can include a title and image).
- Enter your questions.
- Once finished, click “Send” at the top. You can distribute the survey using the following options:
- Link to a web form
- QR code
- Embed in a web page
- Via Facebook or Twitter.
- View responses on the “Responses” tab.
Advantages of Using Microsoft Forms
It is Included in Microsoft 365 Subscriptions
If you already subscribe to Microsoft 365, it makes sense to use Forms. It can save you money if you’re using a separate survey tool like Survey Monkey. It is easily accessible by signing in with your Microsoft account.It Saves Time
Sending a survey by email is time-consuming. You need to worry about emails bouncing due to an attachment. You also need to spend time collating all the results as they come in.Using MS Forms can save you a lot of time. People don’t need to download anything or open an email file attachment. They simply follow your link and fill out the form online. As soon as they fill the survey out, you get the result. Forms also collates all the answers for you.
Get Charted Results Automatically
You can quickly see the results of the survey in meaningful graphs. Forms makes it simple to export to Excel if you want to upload the survey results into another platform.On the “Responses” tab, you can hover over the result graphs to see the details.
It is Easy to Use
There is a very low learning curve with Microsoft Forms. The interface is intuitive and simple so just about everyone can jump in and start using it.What Are Some Ways You Can Leverage Microsoft Forms?
Annual Customer Satisfaction Survey
Using a web-based survey can increase your response rate from customers. They can fill out your satisfaction survey from any device which makes it quick and easy for them.You can see results instantly. Then chart them to gain insights into what your business is doing right and what you can improve upon.
Employee Security Awareness Quiz
Send a security awareness quiz to your employees using Forms. It can be easily integrated into your cybersecurity awareness training. The platform also tells you the average response time per person.Change Readiness Survey
Change management is a growing focus of many organizations. This is due to the speed of technology-driven transitions. You can use Forms to improve user readiness for change adoption. Create and send out a change readiness survey to affected groups.Event Registrations
Are you hosting an event? You can easily gather registration details. Send out a Forms link via QR code, social media, text or email.Volunteer Registration Form
Embed an MS Forms registration form on your web page to sign up volunteers. The platform will automatically collate different talents or other volunteer information. This helps you better match people's talents to your needs.And More
You will find more ideas from the Forms templates such as:• Competitive analysis study
• Post-event feedback survey
• Office facility request form
• Employee satisfaction survey
• Product pricing survey
• Food catering request form
• Save the date form
• Course enrollment form
Would You Like to Get More Out of Microsoft 365?
There is a good chance that your company may be leaving some value on the table with M365. Give us a call today to learn more about our Microsoft 365 support services.
A critical thing every business owner wants is for their business to function smoothly without encountering any unexpected crisis. Business owners can only hope for a smooth business journey with a significant part of their data and operations on digital databases or in the cloud.
However, that seems impossible with the number of unexpected attacks and events afflicting businesses (including natural disasters and cyberattacks). In today's business world, cyberattacks are the most common unexpected attacks businesses face. The rate at which cyber criminals attack small and big businesses is rising daily.
According to Statista, in 2019, the number of cyberattacks and other cybercrime incidents rose to a total of 31,000 cases worldwide and the amount of data loss due to data breaches rose to almost 4,000 in the same year.
These attacks and incidents were unexpected and these unexpected attacks can significantly damage your business which causes you to lose a lot and can be expensive. As a result, being prepared before these events or attacks occur is essential.
This article highlights some security measures that you can take to prepare your business for unexpected attacks and events.
Simple Steps to Make Sure Your Business Is Prepared for the Unexpected
Below are a few steps that you can take to prepare your business for the unexpected event:
Be Alert
Being alert is the first security measure that you can take to protect your business from unexpected events. Being alert helps you as a business owner take a more reactive posture against future changes or unexpected events.
Therefore, pay attention to the latest business trend, cybersecurity news and crisis that could harm your business.
Train Your Staff
Most of your staff is unfamiliar with server-level technologies or how to protect themselves from unexpected attacks. As a result, create training programs to teach your staff how to protect the integrity of their technology. They should also be trained on the newest risks and security procedures to avoid data breaches.
Backup Your Data
Due to the various technological trends, many businesses keep their customer data and personal information on computers and mobile devices. Although these devices are somewhat safe, unexpected situations can occur that could lead to data loss.
This could be due to hardware destruction or software failure, data corruption, accidental deletion of data files, theft, malicious attack (virus or malware) or natural disaster. This can impact the customer experience, employee productivity and corporate income.
To be prepared for a situation like this, it is essential to back up your data. Regularly backing up your data helps safeguard it from being lost or damaged. Backups such as an external hard drive or a cloud storage service should be kept securely.
Protect Business Documents
While many businesses use computers and other online-based devices, the importance of offline or physical documents cannot be underestimated. As a result, to protect your organization from unexpected disasters, safeguard your business papers and documents by maintaining duplicates.
Maintain these backups physically or on the cloud if your company is destroyed. Financial documents, licenses and certifications, business policies, staff agreements and your database of employees, customers and suppliers are all essential to safeguard.
Apply for Business Insurance Policy
Before you encounter an unexpected event in your business, having a business insurance policy is essential. Business insurance protects your company from losses or unexpected events caused by physical damage, cash loss or contract conflicts.
Business insurance policies cover the building, contents, inventory and equipment. To choose a business insurance policy, consider and evaluate your company's needs carefully.
Implement Security Policy
A security policy defines an organization's rules, expectations and procedures for maintaining its data's confidentiality, integrity and availability. It is typically used with other forms of documentation such as standard operating procedures. These papers collaborate to assist the firm in accomplishing its security objectives.
As a result, having a security policy improves the security of your business posture and provides a clear standard for employees to follow. Furthermore, implementing and maintaining strong security standards might help defend your company from a cyberattack.
Create an Emergency Plan
You can't forecast the future or completely avoid crises affecting your business. By having an emergency plan in place, you may prepare your company for an unanticipated and unexpected disaster in the future.
Having a well-organized emergency plan can help protect your company and employees from unforeseen disasters or crises. Furthermore, preparing for a disaster may protect equipment, save employees' lives and keep businesses going during difficult times.
Remember that your emergency plan must include utilities, fire, health and building.
Build Cyber Resiliency
Cyber resiliency is an organization's ability to carry out business operations despite cyberattacks. This enables businesses to prepare for, respond to and recover from cyberattacks. A cyber-resilient organization also can be aware of and adapt to unexpected events, crises, misfortunes and challenges. Early awareness and identification allows organizations to reduce risk and damage while maintaining continuous business operations.
Protect your Business from Sudden Misfortune
Implementing these security measures can help safeguard your company from unexpected or unforeseen events. You may also want to employ our security expert to assist you in developing a dependable, security-conscious staff that does more to minimize issues than to generate them.
Contact us for more information about our comprehensive security solutions and our trained IT specialists will assist you.
Whether you sell shoes or run an accounting firm, you need some type of technology to operate. Today’s companies are not just in the business of selling their own goods and services anymore. They also must master various types of digital tools which makes them a technology company.
These include software, payment systems, computers, Wi-Fi networks, mobile devices and more. Companies also need to protect their devices and network. If that technology isn’t working, it can impact a business significantly.
98% of surveyed organizations say that just one hour of IT downtime costs more than $100,000. The reliance on technology means that every company is now a technology company.
This is the case no matter what products you sell or services you provide. Let us discuss exactly why this is the case in today’s world.
What Makes Technology a Backbone of Any Business?
1. Technology Is a Critical Part of Business
Even farmers use tech to check commodity prices, sell livestock and keep their books. Most companies couldn’t operate without their software or without databases filled with important information.
IT downtime is so devastating for this very reason. Remember the breaches impacting global meat producer JBS and Colonial pipeline? Those companies had to halt operations because of ransomware attacks.
They both paid the ransom to their attackers so they could begin operating again. Without the technology that has become a normal part of our day, a lot of companies would close.
2. Customers Expect an Excellent Digital Experience
Customer experience came in first in a survey of top business priorities for the next 5 years. Nearly 46% of respondents said it was at the top of their list.
If a customer has just one bad experience with your company, they will likely go elsewhere. In a digital world, those experiences are often:
- Navigating your website
- Checkout experience
- Appointment scheduling ease
- Shipping notifications
- Helpfulness of online chat
- Response time from customer support
- Ability to contact your company via social media
In order to keep up with consumer expectations in 2023 and beyond, you need to use technology. From your website to your payment experience, people expect a smooth digital flow.
3. Employees Need Devices to Drive Productivity
How do employees work productivity without the use of a computer, tablet or mobile device? These devices keep staff connected to each other and your customer data. Devices enable communication and are how much of the work in offices gets done. If they don’t run well, business productivity suffers.
4. AI & Automation Help Companies Stay Competitive
AI and automation help organizations move faster. AI can personalize a consumer shopping experience. Automation can help sales teams close 30% more deals and improve conversions by over 200%.
To stay competitive, companies must integrate technology tools with AI and automation capabilities. This means they need to know the best ways to use these tools and integrate them well with existing solutions.
5. Information Is Being Generated at a Rapid Pace
Companies generate information digitally at a dizzying pace. Can you imagine what it would be like if you had to go back to all the paper files? You would need a separate building just for all of the filing cabinets.
Files, documents and customer records are largely digital now. Keeping track of all that information and making it searchable requires technology skills.
6. Vendors/Suppliers Are Leaving Legacy Systems Behind
Think of the vendors that you use to run your business. Could you interact with any of them offline only? No email? No digital documents? In most cases, the answer is, “No.”
The companies that you rely on for your business are also “technology companies” in the same way. Most will be leaving behind legacy systems like fax machines and paper documents. Thus, you need to use digital means to interact with them.
7. It is Difficult to Grow Without Tech Innovation
People are limited by what they can mentally and physically do in a day. Computers and technology have exponentially increased that. They do a lot of the processing and manual work.
The cloud is often touted as leveling the playing field for small businesses. It allows smaller companies to leverage technology to do more affordably.
It is hard to continue growing your business without the smart use of digital tools. This includes reviewing your technology infrastructure and looking at innovations on the horizon.
8. Business Continuity Needs
Business continuity is about keeping your company running despite any crisis events. One natural disaster could severely impact a building and everything in it. However, if you are storing your data in the cloud and using cloud software, your business can still operate.
Companies that are not employing backup systems are at significant risk. Tech solutions create the ability to continue operating from anywhere which increases business resiliency.
What Does Your Innovation Roadmap Look Like?
Using technology securely and to its fullest can be a full-time job. Give us a call today and we can help take that burden off of your shoulders and help you realize your full potential as a technology company.
Push-bombing attacks are a type of cyberattack involving automated tools to send a high volume of malicious traffic to a targeted system. This attack is designed to overwhelm the target's defenses and disrupt its normal functioning.
In this fast-paced digital era where technology is constantly evolving, businesses seek innovative strategies to safeguard their sensitive data and protect themselves from potential threats posed by cybercriminals. Unfortunately, as technological innovations continue to rise, cyber threats also rise. Hackers also look for loopholes to exploit personal data.
Businesses have tried implementing efficient ways to curb any risk of a data breach because each data breach now costs 4.35 million U.S. dollars according to a report by Statista. At first, implementing multi-factor authentication (MFA) was once considered a promising approach. However, the arrival of push-bombing has shifted this perspective.
Push-bombing attacks can be highly effective in causing damage to an organization's network and it is crucial for business owners to learn how to combat them effectively. This article will discuss the key steps organizations can take to protect themselves against push-bombing attacks. First, let us discuss how push-bombing attacks work.
Understanding Push-Bombing Attacks
Before discussing practical ways to combat push-bombing attacks, it is vital to understand how they work. Push-bombing is typically carried out using botnets which are grids of compromised computers that a single attacker controls. These botnets are used to generate a large volume of traffic directed at a specific target with the intention of overwhelming the target's servers or bandwidth capacity.
Push-bombing can take several forms. Some hackers may use a Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attack in which many requests are sent to a targeted server or website to cause it to crash or become unavailable. Other push-bombing strategies may involve flooding a network with data packets that can cause network congestion and slow down or disrupt normal traffic.
Furthermore, push-bombing can be carried out via email bombing, SMS bombing and web bombing.
Email Bombing: It involves sending many emails to a target email address which causes the email server to become overloaded and unable to process legitimate emails.
SMS Bombing: It works in a similar way to email bombing but involves sending a large number of text messages to a target phone number which causes the phone to become overloaded and unresponsive.
Web Bombing: This involves sending a large number of requests to a web server which causes it to become overloaded and unable to process legitimate requests.
Combatting Push-Bombing Attacks
Below you will find several steps that you can take as a business owner to protect yourself against push-bombing attacks:
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Monitor Network Traffic
One of the critical steps in combatting push-bombing is to monitor network traffic regularly. That can help security professionals identify unusual spikes in traffic that may indicate an attack. Security teams can quickly detect and respond to any suspicious activity by monitoring network traffic.
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Use Firewalls and Other Security Measures
Another essential step in protecting against push-bombing attacks is to use firewalls and other stringent security measures. Firewalls can help to prevent unauthorized access to a network and they can also help to identify and block malicious traffic. Additional security measures like intrusion detection systems and antivirus software can also help to detect and prevent push-bombing threats.
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Implement Rate Limiting
Rate limiting is a technique that can help to protect against push-bombing attacks by limiting the amount of traffic that can be sent to a targeted system. That can help prevent a system from being overwhelmed by a large traffic volume. Rate limiting can be implemented at the network or application levels.
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Use Content Delivery Networks (CDNs)
Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) can also be effective in combatting push-bombing. CDNs can help to distribute traffic across multiple servers which can help to reduce the load on any individual server. That can help protect your network system to prevent malicious traffic upsurge.
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Train Employees
Training employees on ways to identify and respond to a push-bombing attack is crucial. Employees should be prepared to recognize the signs of an attack such as unusual spikes in traffic or slow network performance. They should also be trained on the appropriate response procedures like reporting the attack to the IT department or disconnecting from the network if necessary.
Prevent Push-Bombing Attacks with Sound Computers
You can effectively protect yourself against these attacks by taking the practical steps outlined above. Don't get overwhelmed. We know this might be a lot to take in and that is why we are here as a professional IT company to help you through your IT issues.
At Sound Computers, we are committed to providing exceptional IT services and support to small and medium-sized businesses. With our expertise in the IT field, we can help you streamline your technological infrastructure and increase your overall productivity. Contact us today if you need assistance.