If you skid on ice and your car hits a brick wall, putting on snow tires the next day isn’t going to repair the damage, sooth your aching neck, or reverse the hike in your insurance rates.

That’s the analogy Scott Kendall uses when describing a small business that fails to protect itself from viruses and security attacks before they happen.

Scott is founder and owner of Outhouse IT (think outsourced IT services, not a shed at the back of the farmhouse). Scott’s small to mid-sized clients don’t have the budget or necessarily need a full time in-house IT department, but they do need someone reliable and capable to be there when they need them.

Scott’s been our IT provider at Black Tulip for several years. It’s a perfect marriage of two “out-of-house” services. Black Tulip provides back office services, outsourced to us from our clients and Outhouse IT provides computer support. For example, when Black Tulip clients need QuickBooks online so our bookkeepers can work their accounting magic, Scott steps in and sets up their system quickly and painlessly.

Iron-clad security protection

“Security threats today are becoming more prevalent and complex,” says Scott. “They are no longer the work of a single, malicious hacker in his mother’s basement. Security threats, including ransomware, are being carried out by organized crime, even foreign governments.”

Scott’s recommendation to all small businesses is simple:

  1. Get yourself a good antivirus system that updates continually as malware is created. That is, if your security system came on a floppy disc with a coupon, you need an upgrade!
  2. We’ve all experienced total technology meltdown after pressing, “Update”. Don’t let this drive you to the edge any longer. Find a service provider who can advise what updates need to be done for your specific system and which ones can be ignored.
  3. Sign up with an email provider that does filtering. We’re not talking water here. Comprehensive filtering removes spam, phishing attacks, malware and viruses before they reach your computer.
  4. Back up. Back up. Back up. Aside from losing files from technology breakdowns, companies large and small can be ruined by ransomware.

Virus and malware protection is no joke (well, maybe one joke)

Security lies at the heart of what keeps you in business. At the risk of sounding like the parents of a teenager, don’t get caught without protection! Good IT support means you stay on top of exactly what you need, instead of being surprised by it. THIS is why Black Tulip is glad we’ve got Scott!

There’s an old security computer joke (well, not that old) that says it all:

Did you hear about that Internet Patch that came out last Thursday? Yeah, well neither did we….