NGT Technology

Gwinnett business owners, you know the drill. It's 90 degrees and sunny, and by 4pm the sky goes green and the power flickers twice. Summer in Georgia.

Before the next one rolls through, four quick things worth doing:

1. Put a battery backup under the important computers. A small UPS unit ($80-150) buys you a few minutes to save your work and shut down clean instead of a hard crash.

2. Get in the habit of saving as you go. Most "I lost everything" moments are just unsaved work when the lights blinked. Hit save more than you think you need to.

3. Check your surge protection. Real surge protectors, not a $4 power strip. Your router, modem, and any server should be behind one.

4. Know your plan. If the power's out for two hours, what happens? Who can still take calls? Most small businesses have never thought about it until they're living it.

None of this is expensive. It's just easier to set up on a calm Tuesday than during the storm.

What's the worst a summer storm has done to your office? Curious if anyone else has a good one.

(404) 990-4540 | ngttechnology.com

Quick one for Gwinnett County small business owners.

Most cyberattacks don't use some fancy zero-day exploit. They use a known vulnerability that had a patch available for months and just never got applied.

When people hear "Windows Update," they think of the annoying restart at the worst possible time. What it actually is: a fix for a security hole somebody already found and bad guys already know how to use.

A few things worth knowing.

"Automatic updates on" is not the same as "patched."
Windows can have automatic updates enabled and still be 6 months behind because the user keeps clicking "remind me later." Or because a pending update needs a reboot that nobody ever does.

Your third-party apps need patching too.
Adobe, browsers, Java, Zoom, your industry software. These are huge attack targets and they don't ride on Windows Update. They each have their own update mechanism, which means each one can quietly fall behind.

Servers and network gear count.
Firewalls, switches, NAS boxes, printers. All of them have firmware that needs occasional updates. Almost nobody checks the printer firmware. Attackers know that.

Documented patching beats hopeful patching.
A managed IT provider should be able to tell you what was patched, when, and on which device. If nobody can produce that report, nobody knows where you stand.

Patching isn't exciting. It's the most boring part of cybersecurity. It's also one of the most effective.

If you want a second set of eyes on what's getting patched at your office and what isn't, give us a call.

(404) 990-4540 | ngttechnology.com

Quick tip for Gwinnett County business owners. Your office runs on power, and power doesn't always cooperate.

When the power flickers (and it will), here's what usually goes first.

Desktop computers. A hard shutdown can corrupt files, the operating system, or in rare cases the drive itself. The fix is a small UPS battery backup under each desk, $80-150 range. It buys you 5-10 minutes to shut down cleanly.

Networking gear. Your modem, router, switches, and Wi-Fi access points are the most exposed to surges and tend to be the first to fry. Put them on a UPS too, ideally one with surge protection that runs the whole rack.

Servers and NAS devices. These should already be on a UPS, but check that the battery isn't 5 years old. Most UPS batteries need replacement every 3-4 years. A dead battery is a UPS that does nothing.

Phone systems. If you're on VoIP, your phones are useless when the network goes down. Make sure your router and switches are on a UPS so you can at least keep calls coming in for a few minutes.

The bigger picture: surge protectors and UPS units are cheap insurance. A single power event can wipe out hardware that costs ten times more.

Need a hand reviewing your office setup for power protection? Give us a call.

(404) 990-4540 | ngttechnology.com

Today is Memorial Day.

We're pausing to remember the men and women who gave their lives in service to our country, and the families who carry their memory every day. We're grateful for the freedoms their sacrifice protects and for the communities they helped build right here in Gwinnett County and across the nation.

NGT Technology will be closed today so our team can be with their families. We'll be back to normal hours tomorrow.

To everyone who has served, and to every family that has lost a loved one in service: thank you.

— The NGT Technology Team

Quick tip for any Gwinnett County small business that lets customers, vendors, or guests connect to your Wi-Fi.

If your guest Wi-Fi is just the same network you use for your business, you've got a problem. Here's why.

Every guest device on your network is one click away from being a foothold for an attacker. A customer's phone with an outdated app. A vendor's laptop that's been compromised. A contractor running who-knows-what. All of them now sit on the same network as your file server, your printers, and your point-of-sale system.

The fix is pretty simple. Set up a separate guest network on your business router or Wi-Fi access points. Guests get internet. They don't get a route to anything else.

A few things to check while you're at it:

The guest network is clearly named. Something like "YourBusiness-Guest" so people pick the right one.

The guest network has its own password, changed periodically.

There's no link between guest and business networks. Most modern Wi-Fi gear has a "client isolation" setting that handles this.

If your current setup is one Wi-Fi password shared with customers, employees, and the cleaning crew, that's worth fixing this week.

We help small businesses across Gwinnett County set up business-grade Wi-Fi the right way. Give us a call if you want a second set of eyes.

(404) 990-4540 | https://ngttechnology.com

Quick question for Gwinnett County business owners: when was your last backup?

Not when you set it up. When it actually ran and completed successfully.

If you don't know the answer, that's a problem. Here's a quick backup checklist:

1. Is your backup running automatically every day? Check the logs to confirm.
2. Have you tested a restore in the last 90 days? A backup you've never tested is a backup you can't trust.
3. Do you follow the 3-2-1 rule? 3 copies of your data, on 2 different types of media, with 1 stored offsite.
4. Are your backups encrypted? If someone steals your backup drive, can they read your data?
5. Does your backup include everything? Email, databases, cloud apps, not just files on the server.

Ransomware, hardware failures, and human error can all wipe out your data. Backups are your safety net. Make sure it actually works.

Need help with your backup strategy? Call (404) 990-4540.

Quick one for Gwinnett County business owners with cyber insurance.

Most cyber insurance policies written in the last 2 years now require certain security controls to be in place. If you have an incident and you don't have those controls turned on, your claim can be denied.

The most common ones we see in policies:

Multi-factor authentication on email, remote access, and any admin account. This is the big one. Almost every carrier requires it now.

Backups that are tested. Some carriers want documentation that you actually restored data within the last 90 days.

Endpoint protection on every device. Free Windows Defender works as long as it's actually running.

A patching schedule. Critical updates installed within X days of release. The X is in your policy.

Employee security training. At least once a year, documented.

Here's what to do this week.

Pull out your cyber insurance policy. Read the security requirements section, often called "Conditions" or "Required Controls" or sometimes hidden in an "Application Warranty." Make a list of what they require.

Then ask whoever handles your IT to verify each one is actually in place. Not "we have it" but "here is the evidence."

Most owners we ask have never read this part of their policy. The carriers are counting on that.

Need help running this check? Give us a call.

(404) 990-4540 | https://ngttechnology.com

Attention Gwinnett County law firms: is your client data actually secure?

Attorney-client privilege doesn't just apply to conversations. It extends to every email, document, and case file stored on your systems. If your IT isn't properly secured, you could be putting confidential client information at risk.

Here's what we help law firms with:
- Encrypted email and file sharing
- Secure remote access for attorneys working from home or court
- Compliance with data protection requirements
- Regular security assessments and monitoring
- Reliable backups so case files are never lost

We've been working with professional service firms in Gwinnett County since 2019. If you're a law firm that wants peace of mind about your technology, let's talk.

(404) 990-4540 | https://ngttechnology.com/industries/law-firm-it-services/

Quick stat for Gwinnett County business owners.

The median cost of a cyber incident for a small business is $25,000 (Hiscox Cyber Readiness Report).

That number does not include the parts that hurt most. Lost trust with clients. Days or weeks of downtime. Insurance premium hikes. Legal fees if customer data was exposed.

The good news? Most attacks that hit small businesses are low-effort, opportunistic ones that basic security blocks easily.

The four things that matter most:

1. Multi-factor authentication on every account. Microsoft says this alone blocks 99% of automated attacks.

2. Backups that get tested. An untested backup is just a hope.

3. Endpoint protection on every device. Free Windows Defender works fine if it is actually configured and monitored.

4. A password manager. So nobody is writing "CompanyName2024" on a sticky note under their keyboard.

None of this requires hiring a security team. It requires getting the basics right.

If you want a free 20-minute check on where you stand, we offer those for Gwinnett County businesses. No pitch, no upsell. Just an honest look at your setup.

(404) 990-4540 | ngttechnology.com/discovery-call