In order to best serve their clients, companies need to have a comprehensive program in place to help them defend their systems from malware attacks on their company's infrastructure. These attacks can have a devastating effect on a business's continuity, so having an appreciation for exactly what types of adversaries your company is up against is important. There are several types of potential intruders that you should be aware of.

Internet privacy is no new issue. Between malicious hackers trying to breach private information, governments trying to regulate it, and organizations trying to track as many metrics as they can, the Internet continues to chug along for the most part just fine. Are YOU concerned about Internet privacy?

This month Google announced that their search results will now contain personal results from friends and connections made in Google+. Twitter, the real-time searchable social network, publicly announced that they thought this was not a good idea. Will personalizing search results make for a better Google experience or will it hurt? Let's take a look.

Computer viruses are pretty serious threats, and can cause huge expensive issues for businesses. Many cases of malware and computer viruses actually use your computer to commit real crimes. The FBI states that hundreds of thousands of people will likely lose the ability to surf the web if they have a particular piece of malware.

Despite a quivering global economy, people have been spending a lot of money on gifts this holiday season, and much of that is online. In a comparison between this year and last, U.S. consumers have spent $32 billion dollars online, a 15% increase from last year.

Having strong passwords for your online accounts is very important, but sometimes you may want a little more protection in the event your password gets stolen or someone forces their way through it. If you use Google's Gmail service, you can set up your account, then you will need two forms of authentication to get into your email.

So you keep hearing about the need for a firewall, but maybe you’re not exactly sure what it is or even what it does. As a business owner, you don’t need to fully grasp the complexities of network security in order to effectively manage your company. Although, it is beneficial for every business owner to understand the basics of what a firewall is, along with a working knowledge of how it protects an organization’s IT infrastructure.

When it comes to a business being successful, it’s only natural to eliminate any wasted expenses and focus on those that can serve multiple purposes. Many businesses are very good at doing this, but they overlook a great opportunity to cut costs through the consolidation of their telephony system.

With the growing popularity of Cyber Monday sales and explosion of all types of eCommerce, employees are more than likely tempted to shop during work hours. There are a lot of promotions exclusively available to online shoppers that take place during a business’ hour of operations. Many companies allow occasional use of company time for personal use. However, some employees are going to take advantage of this generosity and abuse the privilege.

Last week, we shared four tips to help you search the web and find anything that you're looking for. In part 2, we will take a look at additional search tools that will help you refine your searches so you can become a search master!

Which is worst, fingernails scraping down a chalkboard or slow internet? A person who would answer the former has likely never experienced internet speeds in excess of 1 Mbps. It is a proven fact that faster is better. Before you decide to complain to your Internet Service Provider (ISP) or even switch providers, make sure that you are informed about what your internet speed is and should be.

!--

How to Anonymously Browse the Internet

Do you remember the days where you didn’t have the the Internet? Remember going to the library to research information, or using a phone book to find contact information for an important contact? These are only a few ways that the Internet has changed society.

Every business owner understands that having a good reputation is paramount toward their success. Yet, some business owners may not fully grasp just how much the Internet influences their company’s reputation in today’s business environment. In order to find out what the people of the Internet are saying about your business, you have to manage your company’s online reputation.

The Internet is a fantastic tool that has ushered in an era of productivity and connectivity that we could only previously have dreamed of. Unfortunately, like every great tool, it can be used for darker, malicious purposes. In the Internet’s case, it’s used for anonymous illegal activity, like drug trafficking or selling data on the black market.

When one thinks about The Internet of Things, new and fantastic devices come to mind, like smart homes, smart cars, mobile devices, and more. While innovations like these are fueling the excitement behind the IoT, it’s actually the smaller, behind-the-scenes IoT devices which are poised to bring about the most significant change to our connected society.

You might remember Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency known for increasing the anonymity and privacy of transactions on the web. Bitcoin was gaining ground for a while, but a couple of key events left it in the dust, sinking to seeing use only as a currency used by hackers and criminals in online black markets. Now, however, it seems that Bitcoin is being used again, and with a few key innovations in how it’s spent, Bitcoin will continue to grow more popular as a payment option.

Wireless Internet access is a luxury that seems commonplace, but there are many who experience trouble with their connections on a daily basis. Sometimes the problem stems from familiar issues that could happen at any minute, but other times the issues might not be so obvious. Either way, you should be aware of the most common disruptions to your WiFi signal, even those that you might not consider problems.

A good business practices extreme caution when using the Internet, thanks to hackers using any means possible to unleash threats against organizations of all sizes. You teach your employees how to avoid threats and to avoid suspicious websites, but what if that’s not enough to keep hackers out of your network infrastructure?

The Internet is an absolutely essential part of today’s workplace. It helps businesses get the upper hand on their competition by offering practically limitless access to tools, resources, and contacts that can be used for the betterment of their organizations. However, classrooms can reap the benefits of Internet too, and it’s surprising that it’s taken so long for all schools to hop on board with this concept.