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The article highlights essential IT upgrades for businesses to stay competitive in 2025. It emphasizes the importance of cloud adoption for flexibility, cost savings, and improved collaboration, alongside strengthening cybersecurity to mitigate evolving threats and costly downtime. Upgrading outdated hardware, leveraging AI-powered tools for efficiency, and adopting Unified Communications (UCaaS) are recommended to streamline operations and enhance productivity. The piece underscores that tailored IT solutions are crucial, urging businesses to assess their infrastructure and prioritize investments for growth and security. A free network assessment is offered as a starting point for future-proofing IT systems.

The NewPush Platform is more than a security tool—it’s a strategic lens that brings clarity to complex cybersecurity ecosystems. In this article, Maya Quinn explores how the Connective Platform™ helps organizations—from higher ed to finance—unify fragmented tools, visualize real-time risk, and align teams around what matters most. Built for the real world, trusted by leaders, and powered by empathy, it’s a platform that turns chaos into confidence.

NewPush Labs is a powerful, open-access environment designed for hands-on learning, real-world testing, and confident exploration of modern tech stacks. In this featured article, Maya Quinn explores how Labs empowers developers, educators, students, and security professionals alike by offering a production-grade space to experiment, prototype, and grow—without the usual barriers. It’s not just a sandbox—it’s where innovation gets real.

Shadow IT — employees using unauthorized apps and tools without IT approval — is one of the fastest-growing cybersecurity risks for businesses today. While often done with good intentions to boost productivity, using unapproved software opens companies to serious threats like data leaks, malware infections, compliance violations, and account hijacking. Because IT teams can’t secure what they can’t see, businesses must proactively manage Shadow IT by creating approved software lists, restricting app downloads, educating employees, monitoring network traffic, and strengthening endpoint security to avoid costly breaches and regulatory trouble.

Many business owners make critical mistakes by treating IT and cybersecurity as afterthoughts, relying on free or inadequate solutions, underestimating the true cost of downtime, and failing to plan for the long-term evolution of threats. This reactive approach leaves businesses vulnerable to breaches, financial losses, compliance fines, and reputational damage. To truly protect what they’ve built, owners must invest in professional-grade security, commit to continuous improvements, and seek expert guidance to stay ahead of today’s rapidly changing cyber risks.

Cybercriminals are taking advantage of travel season by sending fake booking confirmation e-mails that look nearly identical to legitimate messages from airlines, hotels, and travel agencies. These scams trick users into clicking malicious links, stealing login credentials, financial information, or even installing malware. The combination of realistic branding, urgent subject lines, and distracted recipients makes this scam highly effective — and it’s not just personal travelers at risk. Businesses that manage corporate travel can easily fall victim, exposing company credit cards and sensitive accounts. To stay safe, users must verify bookings directly, watch for suspicious sender addresses, train employees on phishing risks, and strengthen their cybersecurity defenses.

While often overlooked, office printers can pose one of the biggest cybersecurity risks to businesses, offering hackers easy access to sensitive data, company networks, and confidential documents. From default passwords and outdated firmware to unencrypted print jobs and improperly discarded devices, printers are full of vulnerabilities that cybercriminals exploit. Without proper security measures like strong passwords, encrypted printing, firmware updates, and access restrictions, businesses leave themselves wide open to breaches. Protecting printers is just as critical as securing computers, and ignoring them could leave a major gap in your cybersecurity defenses.

AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, and DeepSeek have become powerful tools for productivity, but they come with serious privacy concerns. These platforms often collect, store, and use user data—including sensitive and personal information—to train AI models, improve services, and in some cases, target ads. Some even retain data long after deletion or store it in countries with different privacy standards. This raises risks such as data breaches, regulatory noncompliance, and even exploitation by malicious actors. To stay secure, users and businesses must be cautious about the information they share, review privacy policies, and implement strong data protection practices.

Hackers are shifting from traditional ransomware to a more ruthless tactic: data extortion. Instead of encrypting files, they steal sensitive business information and threaten to leak it unless a ransom is paid—no decryption key needed. This method is faster, harder to detect, and often more damaging, leading to reputational harm, legal trouble, compliance violations, and repeated extortion attempts. With over 5,400 extortion attacks reported in 2024 alone, businesses must rethink their cybersecurity strategies to defend against data theft using zero trust models, advanced threat detection, encryption, regular backups, and employee training.

Many business owners focus on customer service and financial metrics but overlook a critical factor that can make or break their success: technology. Outdated systems and inadequate IT support can lead to costly downtime, security breaches, missed growth opportunities, and employee and customer frustration. In contrast, the right IT partner helps businesses thrive by enhancing productivity through automation and collaboration tools, strengthening cybersecurity, enabling strategic growth with scalable infrastructure and data insights, and ultimately reducing costs. As Q2 begins, it's the perfect time to evaluate whether your current tech setup is helping or hindering your business goals.

As businesses enter 2025, it’s clear that relying on reactive IT strategies is no longer enough to stay competitive. Reactive approaches, which address issues only after they arise, lead to costly downtime, security vulnerabilities, and decreased productivity. A shift to proactive IT management—anticipating and addressing problems before they disrupt operations—can prevent these issues, saving time and money while enhancing security and efficiency. Proactive IT strategies include early detection of potential issues, 24/7 monitoring, regular updates, and strategic planning to align IT with business goals. Upgrading to a proactive approach is essential for businesses to thrive in today’s fast-paced digital environment.

With Windows 10 support ending in October 2025, businesses and individuals need to decide whether to upgrade existing devices to Windows 11 or replace them entirely. This guide walks you through key factors to consider, including hardware compatibility, device age, performance needs, and budget. While upgrading is often cheaper, older devices may struggle with Windows 11’s requirements, making replacement a smarter long-term investment. For those unsure of the best path forward, partnering with an IT professional can help ensure a smooth, cost-effective transition that keeps your systems secure and future-ready.

Business e-mail compromise (BEC) scams are rapidly escalating, with AI-powered tactics making them more sophisticated and dangerous than ever. In 2023 alone, BEC scams caused $6.7 billion in global losses, and incidents have surged 42% in 2024. These attacks manipulate human trust rather than relying on malware, making them harder to detect and more financially devastating. Common scams include fake invoices, CEO fraud, and vendor impersonation, all designed to trick businesses into transferring funds or sharing sensitive information. To stay protected, businesses must train employees to recognize threats, enforce multifactor authentication (MFA), implement strong e-mail security, and verify financial transactions through secondary communication channels.

Many businesses suffer from costly downtime and inefficient IT support that reacts to problems instead of preventing them. From internet outages to security breaches, poor IT management can cripple productivity and put sensitive data at risk. This article highlights essential standards your IT provider should meet, including proactive monitoring, clear communication, rapid response times, and cybersecurity measures. If your current IT support falls short, it’s time to demand better.

Tax season is a prime opportunity for cybercriminals to exploit businesses overwhelmed with financial filings, tight deadlines, and increased data exchanges. Hackers use phishing emails, fake invoices, ransomware, and social engineering to steal sensitive information and disrupt operations. To stay protected, businesses should train employees to recognize scams, secure data exchanges, enable multifactor authentication, conduct cybersecurity audits, and verify financial transactions. By implementing proactive security measures, companies can safeguard their sensitive information and prevent costly cyber incidents during this high-risk period.

January 28 serves as a global reminder of the importance of safeguarding sensitive data. With data breaches costing businesses an average of $4.35 million in 2023, small and midsized businesses (SMBs) are especially vulnerable, accounting for 43% of cyberattack targets. The risks include financial losses, reputational damage, and operational disruption. Key vulnerabilities include phishing, ransomware, weak passwords, and unsecured networks. Businesses can strengthen their defenses by conducting data inventories, encrypting sensitive information, implementing strict access controls, training employees, and partnering with managed IT providers. Take proactive steps this Data Privacy Day to secure your data and protect your bottom line.

National Clean Out Your Computer Day, observed on the second Monday of February, is a reminder to declutter your digital space for better productivity and security. A cluttered computer can slow performance and expose you to cyber threats, making regular cleanups essential. Simple steps like deleting unnecessary files, organizing folders, uninstalling unused programs, updating software, and scanning for malware can help keep your system running efficiently. Rather than waiting for a single day each year, scheduling routine maintenance ensures a smoother and more secure digital experience.

As cybercriminals gear up for 2025, businesses must prepare to tackle the biggest cybersecurity threats. From AI-powered phishing attacks and ransomware blitzes to deepfake decoys and supply chain vulnerabilities, hackers are using increasingly sophisticated tactics to breach defenses. To stay ahead, businesses should invest in employee training, implement strong multi-factor authentication, and back up data regularly. By partnering with trusted IT providers and staying informed about emerging threats, businesses can create a solid game plan to beat the hackers and protect their assets this year.

Deepseek is a powerful open-source data scraping tool, but it comes with significant risks that businesses must consider. These include potential data privacy issues, as the Chinese government may have access to data processed through Deepseek, raising concerns about government surveillance. Additionally, the open-source nature of the tool could expose businesses to security vulnerabilities and inconsistent data quality, leading to potential legal and ethical violations. Before adopting Deepseek, businesses should weigh these risks and explore alternative tools that offer stronger data protections and compliance with privacy laws to safeguard sensitive information.