aEntec Systems | Hack Heard Round the World | Cybersecurity locks on blue integrated circuit.

The Hack Heard ‘Round the World

The age of global interconnectivity. As powerful and positive as it can be, it can also be dangerous and destructive. That’s what we learned recently when the United States experienced one of the most invasive hacks in our history. What the SolarWinds experience has taught us, when it comes to cybersecurity, is to trust no one. If you missed it, here’s a quick overview of what went down: First, it was discovered that hackers had found a way into government, Fortune 500 companies and more using malware attached to software …

Entec Systems | Managed Services Provider, MSP | Male programmer working in office

The Five Top Traits To Expect From Your MSP

When it comes to your IT services, there are so many choices and options that choosing the right partner can be a challenge. To help you navigate the road ahead, Managed Services Providers (MSP) aim to provide your business with access with high skilled multi-disciplinary IT support. Whether you are looking to completely outsource your IT needs or complement your existing team, an MSP could be a valuable and flexible addition to your organization. But before you make your choice, there are a few important questions to ask and other …

IT Security in COVID: Are Your Computers Safe From Being Hacked?

When you think of a spam email, you might imagine something that can easily be recognized as a scam. Nowadays, it’s not nearly that simple. Spam emails used to be easy to spot due to poor grammar or poor email formatting, but scammers have gotten a lot better at simulating real emails. Even tech-savvy professionals can fall prey to well-crafted scams if they aren’t being careful. In fact, these scams have become so frequent and harmful that the United States Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency recently declared an “imminent and …

Entec Systems Hosted Tax Reform and Cybersecurity Event For Local Businesses

On Tuesday August 7th, Entec Systems partnered with Keiter, a Richmond-based CPA firm, to cover two important topics facing many of our clients: the impact of the new tax reform law and cybersecurity best practices. Tax Reform: Business Impact With the signing into law of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the Act), Congress has enacted the biggest tax reform law in thirty years, one that will make fundamental changes in the way you and your business calculate your federal income tax bill. Ryan Beethoven-Wilson, CPA, Tax Manager, covered the …

What is the Office 365 Protection Center?

If you use Office 365 in your organization, you have a powerful security and compliance tool at your fingertips called the Office 365 Protection Center accessible at https://protection.office.com. The Protection Center is your one-stop portal for creating reports, locating information and implementing security for your organization. Microsoft takes your organization’s security very seriously and the Protection Center’s goal is to make this as easy and transparent as possible. The Office 365 Protection Center is broken down into 3 major components. Advanced Threat Protection (ATP). Block email hacks and spam using …

Office telephone

Business Phone Systems: Cloud-Based Vs. On-Premise Systems

The debate around which phone system to choose, between cloud-based and on-premise, has been around for a while. With the rise of digital connectivity, combined with the increased use of software-as-a-service (Saas) options, the debate has intensified further. Unfortunately, you will come across complicated, varied, and sometimes biased opinions. Phone vendors will advise you to choose one over the other, based on what they are selling. The reality is, each method of deployment has its pros and cons. Furthermore, both systems have fundamental differences and features, which you should know …

Cybersecurity Alert: New Ransomware Attack Spreading

News broke overnight about a ransomware attack that is hitting the Ukraine, Spain, and the United Kingdom. The ransomware is targeting government and commercial entities. It is also being reported that some large U.S. law firms have also been affected. The ransomware is spreading either through phishing attacks or via the same Windows SMBv1 vulnerability that was responsible for the WannaCry ransomware spread. This ransomware is unlike others because it is able to access admin control and spread throughout all computers on the same network. It is highly likely that …

WannaCry Notice – Statement From Entec Systems President Anthony Ennas

Entec has been monitoring the situation with the WannaCry worm and has taken the appropriate steps to ensure this virus does not proliferate within our customer base.  To date Entec Systems has seen no infections of the WannaCry worm within its customer base. As a managed service customer of Entec Systems, security protocols are followed to ensure security against known threats. These protocols are: Blocking of all SMB traffic at the Firewall Maintaining current patches on all supported Operating Systems Enhanced Email filtering Current Anti-Virus Software If an infection does …

OneDrive as a backup solution?

As we look at OneDrive it’s important that we note some functional differences between OneDrive and other true backup services. OneDrive is a Synchronization Service intended to make your files available to you, the user, on a spectrum of devices, from anywhere.  This is most often helpful for people who use desktops, people who travel a lot for work, and who prefer to bring only their tablets (or smartphones) on travel, working from home, or other such flexible work environments.  OneDrive for business gives you the ability to leave your …

What is a hyperconverged system?

What is a Hyperconverged System?

A hyperconverged system is one that integrates compute, storage, and network resources into a single server.  Virtualization software is installed on the system to unlock the ability for it to work.  There are several different products available and each offers some form of “software defined storage” abilities that allow single servers to work together in clusters.  Hard drives installed in each single server are pooled together to create a shared storage resource. Hyperconvergence addresses some of the inherent challenges that traditional storage array infrastructures come with by design.  It helps …