If your typical New Year’s resolution lasted about 30 seconds, you’re not alone. Pledges to eat better, drink less and start some exercise can be rebooted again next year easy enough.

This year, we challenge you to think about your businesses IT health with some resolutions you should keep.

No More Junk Mail

Start by emptying your mailbox to zero unread messages – no you don’t have to read all that spam – you have permission to delete it unread. Let’s face it, if you were going to read it, you would have done so already. Away it goes.

Now that you’re starting with a clean slate you will need to unsubscribe to emails you never read. Keep an eye out for that gorgeous ‘unsubscribe’ link (usually at the bottom of the email) and click it with confidence. You don’t even need to give a reason if it redirects to a survey page. Before too long, your inbox will be a refreshing place filled only with people and businesses you look forward to hearing from.

Go Password Pro

With all these password leaks from LinkedIn, Myspace, and goodness knows who hasn’t come forward, now is the time to get smart with your passphrases (not not passwords – see here for the reason). Because most people use the same passwords on every site, a single breach can give the hackers access to all your accounts.You know how important it is to use different passwords for each site, but let’s be real, that’s a LOT of passwords to remember!

Instead of writing them down, we recommend using a password manager like LastPass. It remembers all your various passwords for you, so all you need to know is the super-protected master password. Master passwords are kept encrypted on your system, not theirs, and 2-factor authentication checks with you via text for all big changes.

Backup. No Really, Backup.

I’ve been meaning to backup is the cry of someone who just lost all their photos. Good intentions don’t count AT ALL in data security, because once the data is gone, it is gone. With easy cloud backup options, there’s no reason to put this off, because backup programs are now easier and more accessible than ever. You can also backup to local drives, but this will take a little extra remembering on your part, as you’ll want to have at least one drive that stays disconnected in case of viruses.

There you have it –  three New Year’s resolutions you can easily keep that will make a real difference to your IT needs. Opening your email will be a pleasure, you’ll be a spectator only in any future password leaks, and your precious files will be safe against all manner of disaster. Feels better than any diet now doesn’t it?

Stuck with any of this? Let us help by calling us at 08 8326 4364 or via email at

su*****@dp*********.au











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