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In the world of IT, there’s a common misconception that having administrator access to your computer is a good thing. After all, it means you can install programs, change settings, and generally have full control over your system. But what if I told you that this level of access could actually be putting your business at risk?

Local Administrator Access: A Double-Edged Sword

On one hand, local administrative access gives you the freedom to make changes to your system without any restrictions. On the other hand, it also opens the door for potential security threats.

The Risks of Being an Administrator

When you’re logged in as an administrator, any program that gets installed on your PC can act maliciously as you. It can access every single file on your PC, encrypt them, delete them, rename them, or change them. By being logged on as an administrator, you’re actually putting yourself up to a lot of risk.

The Case of the Bogus Antivirus Program

Let’s consider a real-life example. I once encountered a case where someone was logged in as an administrator and accidentally installed a bogus antivirus program. If they hadn’t been an administrator, the system would have prompted them for credentials and they probably would have stopped at that point and thought, “Hang on, why am I doing this?”

Affirm IT: Your Guide to Secure IT Practices

At Affirm IT, we’re not just your IT experts, we’re your guides to secure IT practices. We can help you understand the risks associated with local administrator access and how to manage them effectively.

Tailored IT Security: Your Personal Security Plan

Whether you’re a small business looking for basic protection or a high-value enterprise in need of advanced security, we’re here to help. Understanding the risks associated with local administrator access is the first step to managing your IT security.

If you’re interested in learning more about how we can help secure your business, don’t hesitate to get in touch. Our team of four excellent IT professionals is never more than a phone call away. Whether it’s a faulty printer, a missing email, or server backup/restores, we’re here to support your business with both remote and onsite IT support.

We’re Cyber Essentials Certified and ready to help with your IT Security. Give us a call at 01157530123 or drop us an email at info@affirmit.co.uk. We’re looking forward to partnering with you to manage your IT risks effectively.

In the world of IT, understanding and managing risk is as essential as a good cup of coffee to kickstart your day. But how do you decide what risks to prevent and which ones to accept? Let’s explore this concept with a light-hearted approach.

The Unexpected Sales Pitch

Picture this: You’re at your desk, sipping your morning coffee, when the phone rings. It’s a salesperson on the other end, offering an earthquake prevention methodology. Unless your office is located on a tectonic fault line, you’re probably going to decline that offer. Why? Because the risk of an earthquake impacting your business is relatively low.

Risk Acceptance: A Daily Practice”

Risk acceptance is something we all practice daily, often without realising it. It’s about weighing up the potential risk against the cost of prevention and making a decision. It’s like deciding to drive to work knowing there’s a risk of an accident, but accepting it because the convenience outweighs the potential danger.

IT Risk: Do You Need a Digital Fortress?

When it comes to IT, deciding on a security package depends on your business and the level of risk you’re willing to accept. Not every business needs the IT equivalent of a fortified castle. For many, regular Windows updates and a reliable antivirus might be enough. These are the basic measures that keep your business secure.

Identifying Your Risks

However, if your business is high value or handles sensitive data, an advanced security package might be worth the cost. It’s about understanding your specific risks and addressing them appropriately. It’s like deciding whether to buy a bicycle lock or a high-tech security system for your car. The decision depends on the value of what you’re protecting.

Affirm IT: Your Risk Management Partners

At Affirm IT, we help you understand your risk and manage it. We work with you to understand your business, identify your risks, and find the right level of security for you. We’re not just your IT experts, we’re your partners in risk management.

Tailored IT Security

Whether you’re a small business looking for basic protection or a high-value enterprise in need of advanced security, we’re here to help. Understanding your risk is the first step to managing it. And remember, not every risk is an earthquake waiting to happen.

If you’re interested in learning more about how we can help secure your business, don’t hesitate to get in touch. Our team of four excellent IT professionals is never more than a phone call away. Whether it’s a faulty printer, a missing email, or server backup/restores, we’re here to support your business with both remote and onsite IT support.

We’re Cyber Essentials Certified and ready to help with your IT Security. Give us a call at 01157530123 or drop us an email at info@affirmit.co.uk. We’re looking forward to partnering with you to manage your IT risks effectively.

Why should your business ensure that their 365 instance is properly backed up? Read on, or watch the video above to find out! It’s more crucial than you might think.

The Misunderstanding of Office 365’s Cloud Storage

When you sync your Windows file explorer with OneDrive and/or SharePoint, your files and folders all show up in your folder structure. So, they’re on your PC now, right? Not exactly…

Office 365 by default actually creates dynamic links to files that are stored in the cloud in your file explorer, rather than actually putting the files themselves there. This is indicated by the little cloud icon next to each file. Once you click this “file” it will then download the file to your PC, the Cloud icon becoming a green tick to indicate it has been downloaded.

However, the StorageSense policy on a machine might be set to automatically change these downloaded files back to just cloud-only links if they have not been opened again after a certain amount of time. This can be altered on a file by file basis if the user right clicks the file and clicks “always keep on this device”, which will download the file to the machine permanently, represented by a tick in a solid green circle.

When Things Get Tricky

Recently, we have had scenarios in which this file behaviour can cause problems. For instance, we had a user who was at one point using their own personal device and had the business SharePoint syncing to it, but decided it was probably best to not have company resources on the laptop any more so deleted work files from it….or so they thought. In reality they had deleted things from the cloud as a whole, as OneDrive had synced these changes accordingly.

Another one of our customers was having faults with SharePoint where files started getting moved into the recycle bin, therefore also deleting files from the cloud as a whole as that is where they are really stored.

The Solution

To the surprise of absolutely no one, it is here that we would encourage you, dear reader, to give us a call and sign up for Affirm IT’s comprehensive IT support! This is because we run backups directly at the source; i.e, direct backups of our customers’ 365 instances.

We do this through our Datto backups suite, backing up everything from files and folders to even emails and previously deleted mailboxes you suddenly need to get back! It also allows us to restore backups historically – i.e, specify a certain timeframe such as between X date and Y date, to run a restore from, allowing us to potentially find things you were sure you had one day, but were missing the next!

So if you want to get your 365 files and folders backed up the smart way, you really can’t go wrong with giving Affirm IT a call on 01157530123. Alternatively, you can reach us via email at support@affirmit.co.uk, or message us on LinkedIn. We’re ready to chat faster than you can say “data backup”!