A paintbrush can create the Mona Lisa or the Last Supper. An airplane can bring passengers to exotic locations anywhere on the planet. And stone, deftly placed can produce wonders such as the Pyramids or Angkor Wat. But what do the paintbrush, airplane and stone all have in common? Without the wisdom of the painter, pilot or architect, they are nothing more than tools and materials.

It takes seconds to infiltrate and obtain private information. And while it’s unlikely that Microsoft will cause your business financial ruin with their data collection, the fact is that Windows 10 gathers a ridiculous amount of private information from users.

Disasters. They do happen -- it’s only a matter of ‘when’. While most businesses acknowledge it, surveys show that only one in four companies worldwide have adequate protection in the event of a major disruption. We’re not talking about insurance here, but a Disaster Recovery (DR) plan that could save you thousands of dollars in losses and worse, a business closure.

When big companies like Dropbox or Ashley Madison are hacked, the whole world hears about it. But how often do you hear about cyber attacks on the SMBs of the world? Probably not often, or never. Well, today, that’s all about to change. The NY Times recently ran an article telling the story of a small business, just like you, who suffered a major cyber attack.

The threat of being infected by malicious software is part and parcel of spending time on the internet, and no sooner have the antivirus and security software programs released an update or new patch than cyber criminals are scrambling for ways to circumvent them.

Something known as “state-sponsored cyber attacks” may not be something you have heard of until now. But with both Facebook and Google viewing the problem as serious enough to warn their users about, it seems this is an issue that could be here to stay.

It’s safe to say that malware attacks, phishing scams, and social media engineering practices are going nowhere fast. That means that, whether you are a home user or the owner or manager of a small or medium-sized business, if you choose to ignore safer online security practices you are putting your identity and the security of your company at serious risk.