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Donna Aplin
What would happen if your business lost all its data tomorrow? Would you be able to recover, or would it grind your operations to a halt? Every small business runs on data, which includes customer information, financial records, communications, product files, and more. Yet data security often falls to the bottom of the to-do list.
According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), 40% of small businesses never reopen after a disaster, and another 25% shut down within one year. That’s a staggering 65% failure rate due to a lack of preparation. Here’s the good news. Protecting your data from disaster doesn’t require a dedicated IT team or an enterprise budget. With the right strategy, tools, and a little foresight, you can implement a backup and recovery plan that minimises downtime and gives you peace of mind.
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Donna Aplin
The landscape of remote work has transformed dramatically over the past several years. What began as a reactive shift to keep operations going during a major global disruption has now solidified into a permanent mode of working for many organisations, especially small businesses.
If you’re running a business in this evolving digital landscape, it’s not enough to rely on good intentions or outdated security protocols. To stay protected, compliant, and competitive, your security measures must evolve just as quickly as the threats themselves.
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Donna Aplin
For small businesses navigating an increasingly digital world, cyber threats aren’t just an abstract worry, they’re a daily reality. Whether it’s phishing scams, ransomware attacks, or accidental data leaks, the financial and reputational damage can be severe. That’s why more companies are turning to cyber insurance to mitigate the risks.
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Donna Aplin
Choosing the right cloud storage solution can feel a bit like standing in front of an all-you-can-eat buffet with endless options- so many choices, each promising to be the best. Making the wrong decision can lead to wasted money, compromised data, or even a productivity bottleneck. For small business owners, the stakes couldn’t be higher.
Whether you’re dipping your toes into cloud storage for the first time or you’re a seasoned pro looking to optimise your current setup, we will walk you through this comprehensive guide to help you confidently select a cloud storage solution tailored to your business’s unique needs.
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Donna Aplin
Have you ever wondered how vulnerable your business is to cyberattacks? According to recent reports, nearly 43% of cyberattacks target small businesses, often exploiting weak security measures.
One of the most overlooked yet highly effective ways to protect your company is through Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA). This extra layer of security makes it significantly harder for hackers to gain access, even if they have your password.
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Donna Aplin
(Without a Huge Budget)
Running a small business means wearing a lot of hats. These hats run from managing operations, handling customer inquiries to keeping everything running smoothly. There’s a solution that can lighten the load, AI-powered automation. Thanks to technological advancements, these tools have become more accessible and cost-effective than ever, allowing small business owners to automate tasks they previously had to handle manually.
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Donna Aplin
Personal data protection is more important than ever in this digital world. The dark web is a secret part of the internet that is very dangerous because it is often used for illegal things like selling personal information. Because the dark web is decentralised and private, it is very hard to get rid of data that is already there.
This article will go into detail about how hard it is to get data off of the dark web, how to keep your personal information safe, and other ways to make your online safety better. We’ll talk about what the dark web is, how hard it is to get rid of data, and what you can do to protect your identity.
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Donna Aplin
The digital age has made our lives easier than ever, but it has also made it easier for hackers to take advantage of our online weaknesses. Hackers are getting smarter and using more creative ways to get into people’s personal and business accounts. It’s easy to think of weak passwords and phishing emails as the biggest threats, but hackers also use a lot of other, less well-known methods to get into accounts. This post will talk about seven surprising ways hackers can get into your accounts and how you can keep yourself safe.
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Donna Aplin
At ESP Projects, we believe that outsourcing IT support is one of the most effective ways to reduce costs, improve security, and boost productivity—regardless of your business size or sector. Whether you’re a startup trying to stay lean or an established company looking to scale efficiently, here’s why outsourcing your IT could be the best decision you make this year.
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Donna Aplin
(Best Practices for Data Sharing)
Websites store and use user data in many ways, usually to personalise content, show ads, and make the user experience better. This can include everything from basic data like the type of browser and IP address to more private data like names and credit card numbers. It’s important for people to know how this information is gathered, used, and shared. In this piece, we’ll talk about how websites use user data, the best ways to share data, and why data privacy is important.
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Donna Aplin
From the Magic of Disney with a visit across the pond to the sun-drenched shores of the Maldives, Missy the ESP Duck has had a whirlwind year of travel, fun, and fabulous photo ops. As the cheerful mascot of ESP Projects, Missy Duck has been busy making friends, spreading smiles, and popping up in some truly unexpected places.
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Donna Aplin
Since we live in a digital world, cloud storage is an important tool for both personal and business use. So long as they have an internet connection, users can store and get to their info from anywhere at any time. But while cloud storage is convenient, there is a chance that your data could be stolen or accessed by people who aren’t supposed to.
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Donna Aplin
How do I onboard new users to my business?
How do I onboard new users to my business? What a great question that is! And to answer the question, we’ll try to consider the bit that we’re interested in (the IT side of things) and the bits that affect the rest of your business. Hopefully, that will help you to make a good job of bringing new people into your organisation.
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Donna Aplin
Cyber risks are smarter than ever in today’s digital world. People and companies can lose money, have their data stolen, or have their identities stolen if they use weak passwords or old authentication methods. A strong password is the first thing that will protect you from hackers, but it’s not the only thing that will do the job.
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Donna Aplin
Password spraying is a complex type of cyberattack that uses weak passwords to get into multiple user accounts without permission. Using the same password or a list of passwords that are often used on multiple accounts is what this method is all about. The goal is to get around common security measures like account lockouts.
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Donna Aplin
(and How to Stay Safe)
Cybercriminals target Gmail a lot because it’s very popular. It also integrates with many other Google services. As AI-powered hacking attacks become more common, it gets harder for people to distinguish between real and fake emails.
As 2025 approaches, it’s crucial for Gmail users to be aware of these new threats and take steps to keep their accounts safe. We’ll discuss the new threats that Gmail users face in 2025 and give tips on how to stay safe.
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Donna Aplin
When is Windows 10 End of Life? And why does it matter to my business?
We first wrote about this back in 2024, when we gave you a one year warning (check it out here). Microsoft Windows 10 will be the grand old age of 10 on July 15th 2025 and Software that is 10 years old in technology terms is absolutely ancient! Shortly after it’s tenth birthday, Microsoft will stop supporting the Operating System and only Windows 11 will be available with support (and updates).
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Donna Aplin
It may seem like the file is gone for good when you delete it from your computer. However, the truth is more complicated than that. A deleted file doesn’t really disappear from your hard drive; it stays there until new data fills up the space it occupied.
This process might be hard to understand for people who don’t know much about how computers handle files. We’ll discuss what happens to deleted files, how to recover them, and why they might still be on your device.
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Donna Aplin
Malware is a huge threat in the digital world. It can cause a lot of damage and cost people a lot of money. As technology advances, so do the tactics used by cybercriminals. In this article, we will explore some of the newest and trickiest types of malware.
7 Malware Threats to Watch Out For
Malware keeps getting more complex and harder to detect. Here are seven new and tricky types of malware that you should know about:
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Donna Aplin
You can make your computer experience more unique by changing the style of your desktop. It lets you organise your area well, which makes it easier to get to files and programs you use often. There are many ways to change things whether you’re using Windows, macOS, or Linux.
This can make a big difference in how your desktop looks and how it works, which can help you get more done and make your computer feel more like your own. We’ll look at ten ways to change the layout of your screen.
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