ThrottleNet

Managed IT services, support and cybersecurity

What to Look for in a Managed Network

security

Some Managed Networks Are Better Than Others

Your company needs technology to thrive, but you don’t have time to get into the technical weeds. Hiring a large IT team is costly, and managing one distracts you from focusing on your business. Trusting your IT services to a managed network provider can help you get the technology solutions you need while freeing up time and resources to focus on the big picture.

Some managed networks are better than others, though, so look for all of the following when selecting an IT company.

Dedicated IT Success Team

The simplest way to get the best managed network is by partnering with an IT company that realizes their success is tied to yours. When you find a true partner, you can lean on them to provide the most appropriate IT services for your specific needs. Look for things like the following from your dedicated success team:

  • Virtual Chief Information Officer (VCIO) who will meet with your internal team on a regular basis to discuss network performance, ongoing IT support, technology budgets, and more
  • Network engineer with experience supporting businesses like yours
  • Dedicated onsite support analyst to install new equipment, set up new users, and provide other IT services
  • Remote support technician to perform nightly backup checks and routine patches for your applications

IT Security Services

Your technology isn’t worth much if it isn’t secure. The cost of ransomware is high enough that it can seriously hurt a business. Make sure your managed network comes with an anti-virus and anti-malware solution. Real-time management, maintenance, and monitoring can go a long way toward protecting your business. Security is one of the most important parts of your technology plan because it can prevent data breaches, financial losses, and unplanned downtime.

Vendor Management

You shouldn’t have to juggle IT companies or spend time coordinating between different technology vendors. The right managed service provider can handle procurement and resolve issues with your other hardware, software, and service vendors without putting extra work on your plate. After all, outsourcing IT is supposed to make life easier for you, not harder.

Local Help Desk Support

Here at ThrottleNet, our award-winning customer service team is locally based right here in St. Louis. We offer unlimited remote support, and you can also opt for a plan that includes unlimited onsite support and project labor. No matter which type of plan you select, you’re only paying one fixed fee per month. That way there are no surprises that might otherwise blow up your IT budget. This ability to balance remote and onsite support is something you will only get from a local IT support team. Not every customer needs an onsite IT partner, but many feel more comfortable knowing we are nearby if needed.

A great managed network provider won’t just set up your technology, they’ll teach you how to use it. At ThrottleNet that means our team will conduct a thorough onboarding as we begin our partnership with your company. We’ll introduce ourselves to your entire staff, show them how to get support, and give them other training. Every one of your employees will learn about the best practices for avoiding common security risks and getting the most out of your managed network services. An effective managed network should tie everything together while making your other essential IT services easier to scale and customize.

How to Choose the Right Managed Network Service Provider for 2021

Here at ThrottleNet, we follow a three-phase approach to providing a managed network. This allows us to get to know you, assess your needs, then make customized recommendations to facilitate success. We’re regularly ranked among the best IT companies in St. Louis because we provide a level of hands-on attention that other IT service providers just don’t. Contact us today to find out what it’s like to have a more reliable technology partner.

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Explore New IT Strategies for the Year Ahead

2020 has taught us a lot about the type of technology it takes to run a successful business in a modern world. When times are uncertain and normal operations are interrupted, companies need to be able to rely on critical IT services that can help them survive and thrive. Many businesses have learned some hard lessons and made quick adjustments to keep moving forward, but the future will continue to present more challenges. The following IT strategies for 2021 will help ensure that your business is ready for the next calendar year.

Focus on Remote Access

The world was already becoming decentralized as more and more business transactions occur online, but the digital shift has been accelerated due to recent events. It’s important for employees to stay connected and productive even when they can’t physically be in the office. Secure remote access makes it possible to maintain business continuity even when people have to work remotely.

Consider all of the following as you secure your remote access for the future:

  • Hardware like headphones, microphones, and cameras
  • Reliable solutions for calls and video meetings
  • Virtual desktop solutions to connect you to the main office
  • Secure access to files, folders, and everything else you need

Fix Technology Issues of 2020

Address any technology issues that caused the most business disruptions and dissatisfaction in 2020. This year put a lot of strain on companies and pushed technological solutions to the limit. You may have had to modernize your IT services more quickly than you originally planned, but the trial by fire has given business leaders an opportunity to see which technological gaps are preventing them from reaching future business goals. If you don’t have the resources to address all of your vulnerabilities with your internal IT team, this may be the time to get a competitive advantage with outsourced IT.

Be Aware of the Latest IT Security Threats

Just as IT services are evolving to provide better solutions for your business, hackers are getting more sophisticated. Staying ahead of ransomware and other cybersecurity threats may feel like a full-time job at times. The good news is that you don’t have to make it your full-time job. You can outsource cybersecurity to take the pressure off of your internal team as you receive the most effective protection available.

Identify the Most Important IT Services for You

The pace at which technology evolves makes it hard for business leaders to keep up. If you have bigger things to focus on than the latest and greatest IT Services, some of the lingo might sound a little bit foreign. Between meaningless buzzwords and technical jargon, some IT strategies start to read like alphabet soup. It’s important to form a partnership with a managed service provider that will take the time to explain the true business benefits behind the technology.

Still, it can be hard to trust your technology to a third party. Look for an experienced managed service provider with a long track record of enabling success in your industry. When you partner with accomplished technology experts, it becomes easy to co-create a customized blend of the most important IT services.

Find an IT Company in St. Louis

Here at ThrottleNet, we’re proud to be awarded as one of the best IT companies in the St. Louis area. We’re even more proud of the way we help local businesses succeed. We’re so confident in our ability to serve your business goals, our whole business model depends on your continued satisfaction. Check out our win-win deal and contact us today!

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“Out of adversity comes opportunity.” - Benjamin Franklin

2020 brought an unexpected journey for just about every business. Companies and individuals all over the world saw everything get turned upside down in a hurry, and suddenly we couldn’t take anything for granted anymore. The importance of technology hasn’t been in question for quite some time, but reliable business IT became even more of a necessity in 2020. It’s hard to see so many local businesses in St. Louis struggling, but the silver lining is that we’ve become more resilient and more adaptable.

The things we learned this year will help us achieve business goals in the future, and the ability to learn from bad situations is what defines successful companies.

Here are four of the most important business technology lessons we learned this year.

Secure Remote Work Is Critical to Business Continuity

Allowing employees to work from home occasionally is not the same as having a truly remote workforce. Many companies were prepared for some contributors to work online but weren’t ready to manage full teams without any central workforce in the office. When employees are only out of the office one or two days each week, it’s also possible to wait to go back into the office to complete certain tasks. One of the biggest lessons from the past year is that secure remote access and remote desktop connections are absolutely necessary for most businesses.

Trust Is Key

Trust is important, and it needs to extend in every direction:

  • Managers need to trust that employees are working productively.
  • Employees need to trust that they’ll receive all of the support they need.
  • Customers need to trust that their data and transactions are secure and that their experience won’t be interrupted.

We have a lot of award-winning capabilities here at ThrottleNet, but we can’t build a trustworthy company culture

Security Is Essential

It’s easier to gain trust when you can provide a completely secure environment. Hackers don’t take breaks, and many opportunists actually tried to prey on businesses during their moments of confusion in 2020. As more and more companies in St. Louis prepare for prolonged periods of remote work, cybersecurity will become even more important. If you’re still concerned that there may be soft sports in your business technology, ask a local IT company to perform a vulnerability audit and identify weaknesses before hackers do.

Technology Can’t Solve All Your Problems

This may not be what you expect to hear from one of the most award-winning IT companies in St. Louis, but it’s the truth. Technology can’t solve all of your problems all by itself. Even the best MSPs can’t be all things to all businesses at all times. It’s important to focus on defining efficient processes and keeping the lines of communication open. To that end, make sure you’re working with a managed IT company that understands their role as a supporting partner for your business goals.

Better IT Services for 2021

The best IT support companies understand that their success depends on yours. Instead of offering you a cookie-cutter solution, our team at ThrottleNet will take the time to understand what your business really needs and how we can help. How did your technology fail you in 2020, and how can outsourced IT services get things back on track for 2021? Connect with us today to see how the right MSP can keep you focused on growing your business.

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Due to the current situation, employees find themselves working from home, and students are finding themselves attending class online. Zoom has become the go-to method of video and audio communication among employees, students, teachers, etc. because they are able to access Zoom on almost any device from anywhere, anytime. With Zoom comes a new trend, Zoom Bombing.

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What is Zoom Bombing?

Zoom Bombing occurs when uninvited guests, otherwise known as hijackers, guess the correct URL or meeting id for a public Zoom session, giving them access to the feed/meeting. These hijackers cause disruptions by releasing personal information or simply yelling profanities in the meeting. This new trend has people asking how to prevent zoom bombing from happening.

Here are ten ways to prevent Zoom bombing:

(As recommended by the Better Business Bureau)

1. REQUIRE A PASSWORD TO JOIN YOUR MEETING

One of the easiest ways to prevent Zoom bombing from happening to you is to require a password to join your meeting. Requiring a password provides extra security against hijackers because not only would they have to guess the correct URL/meeting id, but they would have to guess the correct password as well, which is unlikely to happen.

2. USE A UNIQUE ID FOR LARGE OR PUBLIC ZOOM CALLS

Whenever you create a Zoom meeting, you are required to either create an id for the meeting or generate a random id. Generating a random id will always give you the more unique and secure id, but creating your own id will work as well, as long you…

3. DON’T SHARE THE UNIQUE ID’s PUBLICLY

Another trend that has come with Zoom is taking a screenshot of your Zoom meeting and sharing it on a social media website. This makes your meeting EXTREMELY public and allows for hijackers to get in much easier. If the meeting is private, keep it private.

4. ONLY ALLOW HOSTS TO SHARE THEIR SCREEN

This is also a simple yet effective way to keep the hijackers out is to only allow the host(s) to share their screen. Giving anyone in a Zoom meeting the ability to take control of the screen is an easy way for guests, whether invited or uninvited, to share unwanted content.

5. CREATE A WAITING ROOM

A Zoom waiting room works just like any other waiting room. A waiting room stops guests from joining the meeting until the host(s) is ready for them to join. It’s a way to make sure that no uninvited guests are waiting to get into the meeting, kind of like a bouncer at a club.

6. CREATE AN INVITE-ONLY MEETING

An invite-only meeting is just like it sounds. Nobody can enter this meeting unless they have been invited by the host(s). Nobody likes it when an uninvited guest shows up to a party, so don’t allow it to happen here either.

7. LOCK THE MEETING ONCE IT STARTS

Once the meeting starts, the host has an option to lock it. Locking your zoom meeting will not allow any new members to join the meeting, even if they have the correct id and password. It’s better to be safe than sorry when locking your car or the doors in your house, so do the same with your Zoom meeting.

8. REMOVE ATTENDEES OR PUT THEM ON HOLD IF THEY BECOME DISRUPTIVE

Anytime someone in your meeting is being disruptive or distracting other attendees, just remove them from the meeting. If you remove someone from the meeting, they are not allowed to rejoin.

9. DISABLE THE UNRUY PARTICIPANT’S CAMERA OR ALL CAMERAS

Assuming this is an option, hosts are allowed to disable the camera of any and all members of the meeting. This will allow any unwanted, inappropriate gesture to be blocked for everyone in the group.

10. MAKE SURE THE DISABLE FILE TRANSFER SETTING IS ACTIVE

Once in a meeting, if file transfer is not turned off, it is common for hijackers to spam the chat with memes, GIF’s, and inappropriate language/photos. Turning this setting off will stop each and every one of those things from happening before it even happens.

Now that you have learned 10 EASY ways to prevent Zoom bombing from happening in your next or all future Zoom meetings, take action. Zoom bombing may seem harmless, but people are having to get used to working and going to school remotely and need each and every minute to learn and concentrate on their work without any disruptions.

Don’t let this happen to you!

Looking for a secure work-from-home solution? Try EverFuel secure remote access from ThrottleNet. Just $9.95 per computer per month!

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There’s NO Time for DOWNTIME

When it comes to business continuity, there’s no time for downtime. Without top-tier security, even the best IT can be quickly rendered useless. Cyber-criminals use sophisticated tools to scan the internet looking for opportunities. Right now, as businesses scramble to make it work from remote home offices and reduced on-site teams, the internet is teeming with insidious opportunity.

32% of all businesses with 11-49 employees have reported a cyber attack within the last 12 months. - 2017 State of Cybersecurity, Better Business Bureau

Cyber-criminals don’t discriminate. Anyone can be a target. It doesn’t matter if you’re a non-profit, small business, or larger enterprise. if your business depends on technology to run smoothly (and nowadays, whose doesn’t?), it only makes sense to secure it properly.

Will IT Security Slow My Business Down?

“Thanks to the knowledgeable support team at ThrottleNet, our network is running faster and more efficient than ever before.” – Dr. Richard Goldberg

Having strong IT security doesn’t mean making every internal transaction require 2-factor authentication or that you need to install retina scanning to access your server. It means finding the right software and protocols for your needs and implementing them in smart ways that work for you. Often it simply requires that your staff and your policies follow some simple best practices, and your software is properly protected. ThrottleNet’s Custom IT Security Solutions Are the Perfect Fit

IT Security = Business Continuity

65% of all businesses could not remain profitable for more than three months if they permanently lost access to essential data. - 2017 State of Cybersecurity, Better Business Bureau

You’re in the business of staying in business. Do you have a business continuity plan? Is security is included? You know how much productivity is affected when your email goes down (we make sure it doesn’t). Now imagine not having access to your server or your essential files and data for a day. For a week? What if your data is held hostage with ransomware by someone demanding payment in bitcoin; would your business survive?

According to the Ponemon Institute, a leading private research organization that conducts independent research on privacy, data protection and information security policy, the average cost of cleaning up after being hacked stands at $690,000 for small businesses and over $1 million for mid-market companies. Most businesses can’t afford that kind of expense, especially in the faltering economy and uncertain future of COVID-19.

How Does IT Security Help You Keep the Lights On?

60% of small companies are unable to sustain their businesses over six months after a cyber attack. - U.S. National Cyber Security Alliance

The first key to IT security is prevention. Every network in the world shares a common weakest link – its users. Keeping your staff keenly trained on best practices and on the lookout for threats is your number one defense against cyber crime. Don’t overlook this crucial element in your IT security strategy!

The next key is protection. Getting targeted by a cyberattack might be inevitable, but getting penetrated is not. A proactive cyber defense plan will not only engage your employees as a security force, but use technology solutions to shield your network, databases, and communication systems from viruses, phishing, ransomware, malware, and all other tools criminals use attack your business.

Must-have IT security technologies include:
  • Firewalls
  • Offsite backups with cloud replication
  • Threat monitoring
  • Virus/malware/adware detection and removal
  • Software patches
  • Heuristic Threat Detecting Software

Don’t forget about your policies and procedures! Tools are only effective if you use them correctly. 

The third key is planning. In the event of a cyber-attack, you need your business to be part of the 40 percent that survives. This means having a complete disaster recovery and business continuity plan in place with technology at its core. In the old days, of paper and physical theft and destruction, what was lost was lost forever and there was no going back. But we live in the future now, and technology has mitigated that risk. Play your security strategy right, and your business can be back up, running, and recovering in no time.

ThrottleNet Keeps the Lights on For You

“Ultimately, ThrottleNet’s quick response and expertise has been crucial in supporting our infrastructure at RBO PrintLogistix.” – Jim Riley, CEO and President of RBO PrintLogistix

Backing up data is one thing; testing the backups is another. What good is a backup file if it’s infected with the same ransomware that’s holding your data hostage? The time to plan is before there’s an emergency; redundancies are now essential. By working together, we’ll make sure your business has a plan to stay up and running.

Explore a Managed IT Security Solution for Your Business

How to Avoid COVID-19 Cybersecurity Scams

LAUNCH DATE: 4/2/2020

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