Being unable to update Windows 7 is a serious security risk for a small business and may also lead to other operational problems.  Windows Update is a great service, but is not flawless.  At times, users need to reset it for it to work properly.  Please note, that I do not recommend that you edit your registry yourself!  Following the links in this article may lead you to suggestions for registry edits.  If you edit your registry, do not have a backup and make a mistake, you may not be able to recover.

Windows XP end is nigh.  Following is how you can keep using this ten year old operating system if you need to and some reasons why you should consider migrating off of it.

A remote access terminal server which is now called a Remote Desktop Session Host is a great way to both reduce costs and increase revenues through better employee efficiency.  Following are five ways to increase profit in your small business using Remote Desktop Services.

Hyper-V from Microsoft and vSphere from VMWare are the two main virtualization platforms available.  Both are great products, but which is the best fit for virtualizing small businesses?  Below is a chart that attempts to capture the relevant characteristics for small businesses as they consider what to adopt.

Business owners often ask how to protect against viruses, spam and malware in their operations given the constant onslaught of new threats.  Following are five steps to consider in your perimeter security strategy.

Let's take an quick overview all about virtualization - the different types, benefits and how to get there today in your small business.  We have already written quite a few blog posts about it, but this one brings them all together.

The latest anti virus release from your security software provider just came out and you are wondering whether you should update.  To make this decision, it is important to understand how anti virus software works.  Most anti virus software is continuously updating signature files to catch new viruses as they are identified and cured.  The second manner in which anti virus software keeps you safe is through behavioral analysis.  This uses what are called heuristics to assess when programs acting in a certain way appear suspicious.

You may ask will Windows 7 work on my computer thinking about hardware, but this is not the only issue.  From a hardware perspective, there are some great tools to determine if your company's computers are ready.  The Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor will let you know if there are any known hardware or software compatibility issues. 

Firewall issues are important to deal with right away because of the critical nature of this security device.  These devices determine what traffic is allowed in or out of a network and are primary in preventing unauthorized access.  One question we get is why support is no longer available for a particular model.  As with all things in technology, there is a finite life cycle for firewalls.  Typically security devices like firewalls are supported for many years and there is usually a very orderly process to ending support.

What is antivirus software for a small business in terms of the impact on end results - profits?  While we all know that the Internet is still the wild west in many ways as it relates to threats, how does antivirus software actually save money for an organization?