Preferred Blog

Do you feel like you’re walking a tightrope between getting things done and maintaining the security of your network and data? You’re not alone. Ultimately, we’re all trying to be as productive as possible, and we want to use all the cool collaboration tools, work from anywhere, and get things done fast.

From online banking and shopping to social media and remote work, we're constantly sharing information. While our digital lives offer incredible convenience, they also expose us to a growing number of cyberthreats.

Cybercriminals are always looking for new ways to exploit vulnerabilities and steal personal information. Fortunately, by adopting a few key habits, you can significantly reduce your risk and protect your data. Here are four things every user needs to remember to help them avoid cyberthreats.

Any business can face a variety of disruptions, from natural disasters to cyberattacks. While many organizations understand the importance of preparing for the unexpected, not all of them have a solid plan in place. A well-crafted business continuity plan (BCP) is crucial for protecting your employees, customers, and bottom line.

Here are some key dos and don'ts to consider when creating your business continuity strategy.

Scams are everywhere, and it’s up to you and your team to identify them before you accidentally expose your business to something truly sinister. However, it’s often easier said than done, and scammers have gotten craftier in recent years. Today, we want to discuss three of the dead giveaways that you’re looking at a phishing scam, as well as how to address it.

Business owners like to talk about things like time theft and quiet quitting as reasons why they wring their hands over lost productivity, and unfortunately, it’s almost always their view that it is the erosion of a strong work ethic. What if the real problem isn't about employees checking out, but rather, something far more on the nose? Let’s talk about quiet cracking.

Quiet cracking is the slow, almost imperceptible breakdown of a knowledge worker's mental and emotional state under the relentless pressure of the demands of their workplace. It's not a sudden burnout, but a gradual fragmentation of their well-being, and it’s happening a lot. 

If you want your devices to keep running smoothly, including utility and security, you need to ensure they are updated. Updates sometimes cause problems beyond what they solve, however. What looks like a routine patch or update could impact your important applications, and if you’re not careful, you could potentially cause a downtime scenario simply by being proactive with your updates.

Nowadays, we’re all busy—especially at work. Collectively, our days are filled with improving our products and services, cultivating client relationships, and putting out fires left and right. Do you really have the mental bandwidth to commit to quibbling over whether or not your data is secure?

The fact of the matter is that cyberattacks of all kinds are a constant threat to everyone, and could very well take your business out of commission unless you do something about it. Let’s review some steps that will help reinforce your business’ security posture and better defend your data.

The average email inbox can easily become packed with so many unwanted messages… not necessarily spam, per se, but threads and feeds you’re just no longer interested in. Fortunately, there are capabilities baked into Gmail and Microsoft Outlook alike that allow you to remove these messages from your concern.

Does your business really still use that old fax machine? Chances are, it’s just taking up space and costing your business valuable time, money, and resources that would be better spent elsewhere. Let’s look at how a fax machine can actively hold your business back, both in terms of operations and budget.

What would you do if your entire infrastructure were impacted by ransomware all at once? Do you have a contingency in place to address this risk, or are you going to “wing it” in the face of such a threat? The smart answer is that you’ll be prepared, and a data backup and disaster recovery solution (or BDR) plan will help you do just that.

The more you’ve invested in anything, the more critical it feels for you to get a return on that investment. So, what happens if you keep pouring money into these efforts in the hope that it will eventually work out in your favor?

These kinds of skewed choices come about thanks to the sunk cost fallacy—the tendency human beings have to be swayed toward illogical decisions based on what we’ve already spent. 

Let’s discuss how to avoid this in your business by working through the logic, free of the emotional context that the sunk cost fallacy introduces.

In a lot of ways, your business’ IT is just like a chair; you want it to feel stable, steady, and secure, not unbalanced and unsteady. In particular, a reliable security strategy depends on three legs: your people, your processes, and your technology. Let’s look at how you can use this “stool” approach to IT security to improve your company’s resiliency to potential threats.

Surprises can be exciting, but one part of your business where you don’t want them is in your IT. A server crash, a wireless connectivity outage, or a security threat can all create multiple surprise problems that you simply aren’t ready to handle—particularly in the realm of your wallet. Instead of spinning the wheel and gambling on your IT bill, you can instead treat your IT like a predictable utility cost, and it’s all thanks to proactive managed IT services.

We often publish articles about the cloud and how it’s impacting the world of business, but one thing you can never get away from is how important security is to this mission. Regardless of the use, the cloud is only helpful if it’s secure, and it can actively hold your business back if you neglect this important aspect of its operations.

Do you have your finger on the pulse of your business’ subscriptions? Not many business owners do, and it can negatively impact operations and budget lines. This tech sprawl can get out of control, which is why your business needs a plan to combat it. Thankfully, we’re here to help you get your subscriptions under control… both the known and the unknown.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become a seriously hot topic. While integrating AI promises significant advancements and efficiencies, the narrative around AI-fueled layoffs—the displacement of human workers by AI—is increasingly met with a surprising twist: regret.

At Preferred, a leading provider of proactive business technology support services, we've observed this trend with interest. It appears that many organizations that hastily replaced human capital with AI are now confronting unforeseen challenges. Managers that famously thought that replacing their paid employees with AI aren’t always happy with the results. Let’s take a look at the particulars of this phenomenon.

A backup is mandatory for any business, but not all backups are the same. You’ll want to be prepared for more than just a simple server crash; you’ll need geographical redundancy that can protect your business even in the face of disasters that destroy your servers or physical location. Yes, local backups are helpful, but you’ll need the power of geographical redundancy to overcome the most horrific disasters that could strike your business.

The end of Windows 10 support is closer than you think. On October 14, 2025, Microsoft will officially stop providing free security updates, non-security updates, and assisted support for Windows 10. For businesses, this isn't just a minor inconvenience—it's a critical security and operational risk that demands immediate attention.

Business owners like you are constantly worried about cybersecurity, and with attacks growing more persistent and sophisticated over time, it’s no wonder companies are taking it more seriously than ever before. Today, we want to highlight the four most common types of threats you’ll see and what you can do to protect yourself from them.

Do you have that one friend who's still clinging to their cracked, ancient smartphone? You know the one: it's painfully slow, the battery dies in two hours, and it can't run half the apps you use. Now, imagine if an entire company operated like that, with every piece of its technology. It sounds like a comedy of errors, but for many businesses, it’s a silent disaster waiting to happen.