NetWorthy Systems Blog

As a business owner, you've probably had the misfortune of letting a valued (or not-so-valued) employee go. The reasons might vary, but one thing is consistent: they're gone, and could potentially use their newfound residual malice to strike your business right where it hurts. How can you prepare yourself against former employees you may have once called "family?"

Keep It Simple Stupid, aka KISS, is a sure way to find success in business. By keeping operations simple, the cost of doing business is reduced, there's less room for error, and more people understand what's going on. Your IT infrastructure is at the heart of your organization, keeping IT simple will help your business kiss many of its problems goodbye!

Too many people think that their systems are safe from the corruption of hackers and viruses. They're wrong. In order to keep your business safe from all of the common threats found on the Internet, you should think about installing some protective software.

It's no secret that social media has opened a lot of doors for businesses that may not have been there a short time ago. LinkedIn in particular has been an immensely useful tool for people looking for employment, and for employers to find prospective hires.

Technically speaking, it needs to be 158°F for a raw egg to become firm. The summer heat doesn't get that hot, but outdoor objects like sidewalks and car hoods that come in contact with it can. Thus the phrase, "It's so hot you can fry an egg on the sidewalk!" When it's hot outside, you need to keep your server units cool inside.

Last week, the Heartbleed bug was identified as a weakness in the OpenSSL cryptographic library, potentially leaking two-thirds of the Internet's secure information from any websites utilizing this encryption style. While most major websites such as Google, Yahoo, and Facebook released patches quickly, it does little to actually remediate the problem. Your data could have been leaked over the year-plus that the vulnerability could have been accessed. There is no way to know if it has been compromised.

Before the XXII Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia, there were concerns from several influential entities about the data security at the Olympics. These concerns were reported leading up to the games and on the eve of competition, the NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams ran a story by reporter Richard Engel that intimated that visitors to Sochi were immediately being hacked when they signed into the public WiFi accounts provided to athletes, media, and guests of the games.

One of the most common ways computer viruses spread is through email. Most of the malware-carrying messages are caught in your account's spam filter, so you don't have to worry about those. It's the malicious emails that make it to your inbox that you need to be mindful of, and phishing emails are by far the most dangerous.

Two of the latest trends in business culture are environmentally friendly green campaigns and Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) work environments. There are a few ways that a BYOD system can contribute to the success of your company's green campaign, as they both seek to use technology to increase everyday efficiency at the office.

When your network's security is doing its job and keeping your business safe, it's easy to not think about it because you don't feel the heat from any threats. Just because you're not feeling the heat, however, doesn't mean you're out of the kitchen. Even if you enjoy strong security, you will still need to perform regular security maintenances.

Today's business environment is environmentally conscious. Companies that implement green policies and use energy-saving technologies are making a positive impact on the environment. Going green is the responsible thing to do and will also positively impact your business. Here are three ways using green technology can benefit your business.

There is a common misperception that strong anti-virus software is all you need to cover the security of your network. While anti-virus software is an important component to network security, there's more to it if you want a secure network. You need to also take into account the human factor, which can disable even the strongest software solution.

As a business owner, you are always on the lookout for money saving solutions. Technology offers cost-effective options because it can be used to save money by implementing something new, instead of making cuts. A print server solution is one example of how upgrading your technology can save you money.

Upselling and add-ons are the reason why you go to buy a new smartphone, expecting to pay the too-good-to-be-true sale price, and walk out locked into a contract that costs twice as much as you planned on spending. One add-on that's pushed hard is the device protection plan (smartphone insurance). Is a protection plan worth the expense?

From the outside, your computer looks like a standard piece of office equipment; but on the inside, there are fragile components that make up the hard drive, which means that you should take extra care when moving it.

At the end of the workday you may be in a hurry to leave, and as you start tossing your belongings into your bag, you come across your USB drive plugged into your PC. You're now faced with a tough decision; do you take the time to safely remove the device, or do you save 30 seconds and just unplug it?

The expiration date for Google Reader is set for July 1, 2013. Google’s decision to axe the Reader was not because it was unpopular, but rather, it seems like Google wants to focus their energy into fewer products. This announcement leaves many Google faithful out in the cold, and Feedly has welcomed the Google huddled masses yearning to read free.

What do hackers look for when choosing a victim? While there are hackers out there that specialize in targeting high-profile companies and executives (a hacking method call whaling), most hackers do a broad sweep of the Internet and choose the easiest targets. If your company has weak network security, then you have a target on your back.

Hopefully, you have a list of personal items that you regularly clean. Obvious belongings that need a good scrubbing are things like bed sheets, dishes, and your bathroom floor. If your computer is not on your cleaning chore list, then it needs to be. A clean computer is a happy computer, and not disgusting like a dirty one.

We are not guaranteed a life without problems. Problems will happen and your plans will be ruined (okay, it's not ALWAYS that bad!). While you can't totally eliminate problems from life, you can greatly reduce them by being proactive. This proactive problem solving approach also works great with technology!