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Capstone Works, Inc. has been serving the Cedar Park area since 2001, providing IT Support such as technical helpdesk support, computer support, and consulting to small and medium-sized businesses.

A Comprehensive Look at the 7 Pillars of Cybersecurity

A Comprehensive Look at the 7 Pillars of Cybersecurity

We put together this guide to educate business owners and decision-makers on the core tenets of cybersecurity. While this might seem like a boring topic, it’s becoming increasingly important for business owners to understand. We tried to keep this as technologically simplistic as we could. If you have any questions at all or want to sit down and discuss your organization’s cybersecurity, we’re happy to book a call.

One quick fun tangent before we start—we originally had 6 pillars, and since all of them happened to start with the letter C, we almost called them the 6 C’s of Cybersecurity. When we added the 7th, which also happened to start with C, we figured we were starting to sound like pirates roaming the seven seas. We ultimately switched to calling them pillars, but kept some of the sailing motifs.

The 7 Pillars of Cybersecurity are the fundamental principles that form the backbone of any robust cybersecurity strategy. Putting them all together will give you a comprehensive, well-rounded defense plan for your business that is actionable and sustainable.

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Windows 10 is Reaching End of Life in 12 Months. Are You Ready?

Windows 10 is Reaching End of Life in 12 Months. Are You Ready?

The clock is ticking for Windows 10.

In just 12 months, this widely-used operating system will reach its end of life (EOL).

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The Do-It-Yourself Guide for IT Management (for the Brave Business Owner with LOTS of Time on Their Hands)

The Do-It-Yourself Guide for IT Management (for the Brave Business Owner with LOTS of Time on Their Hands)

Sometimes, you can save a lot of money by doing something yourself. I had to replace a gutter on my roof the other day. I figured hey, I have a ladder, a hammer, and a free afternoon… I can do that! Maybe I’ll learn something from it too!

Several hours and a trip to the hardware store later, I wasn’t feeling as good about it, but I got the job done!

The reason I bring this up is because every so often when talking to a business owner about managing their IT for them, they hit me with “I can do that! Updates? Antivirus scans? That’s not that big of a deal.” 

So let’s take a look at what goes into a comprehensive IT maintenance package, for business owners who are willing to roll up their sleeves.

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Remote, In-House, or Hybrid; These Cybersecurity Policies Need to be in Place

Remote, In-House, or Hybrid; These Cybersecurity Policies Need to be in Place

Depending on who you ask, you are going to get different opinions on the remote work vs work-from-the-office debate. On one hand, there has been evidence that it increases productivity, and other experts claim it does the opposite. While most workers see it as a perk, other professionals make career decisions based on whether they can work from home or not.

Either way, remote work in some form or fashion is here to stay for many businesses, and that means shifting the security dynamic to accommodate it.

We originally set out to talk about specific IT security best practices to have for organizations that provide work-from-home options, but really, 99% of these security practices should be in place regardless of where your employees are sitting. There are some configurations to consider, sure, but generally, the stuff your business implements for security is going to look pretty similar either way.

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What’s Stopping You From Improving Your Business?

What’s Stopping You From Improving Your Business?

It’s time to have a hard conversation.

As a business owner, manager, or even as an employee taking the reins on their career; there are things you can do to make significant improvements to your business.

But you don’t.

It’s holding you back. Let’s fix that, today.

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8 Lessons Austin Business Owners Should Learn from the CrowdStrike Disaster

8 Lessons Austin Business Owners Should Learn from the CrowdStrike Disaster

It was essentially what everyone expected Y2K to be, over 24 years ago.

The world’s biggest (so far) IT catastrophe forced hospitals to cancel surgeries, shuttered 911 call centers, crippled banks, and left travelers stranded at airports.

It wasn’t a cyberattack, and it didn’t come with a warning, but it had a massive impact on the world and is causing business owners and decision makers to think a little differently about their technology. Let’s talk about the CrowdStrike outage and what we all need to take away from this disaster.

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Finding Success and Growth Through Proper IT Consulting and Technology

Finding Success and Growth Through Proper IT Consulting and Technology

At Capstone, we’re different from other IT companies. For us, it’s not about selling hardware or locking companies into a yearly contract. Instead, our goal is to help small businesses grow, utilizing technology to make them more effective. We take pride in being the shield between your business and the looming IT problems that you potentially face.

For smaller businesses especially, there has been a stigma when it comes to IT over the last several years. Business owners have a lot to contend with, and IT can seem like another roadblock—a necessary evil. IT is almost in the same vein as needing business insurance, except some business owners are even more willing to take the risk to skip proper IT management because the repercussions aren’t as clear and defined.

It’s time to stop looking at IT as an expense, and see it as an opportunity for your organization to accomplish more in the workday—it’s all about how well it is implemented and used.

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14 Critical Steps for Texas Businesses to Take Before Implementing AI

14 Critical Steps for Texas Businesses to Take Before Implementing AI

In the Lone Star State, businesses are always looking for ways to stay ahead of the curve, and implementing artificial intelligence (AI) is quickly becoming a competitive necessity. However, before Texas businesses dive into the world of AI, there are critical steps that must be taken to ensure a successful integration. From cybersecurity audits to setting clear expectations, this guide outlines 14 essential steps your Texas business should consider before pulling the trigger on AI.

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Alert! Watch Out for Zero-Day Exploits Like These

Alert! Watch Out for Zero-Day Exploits Like These

In the world of cybersecurity, zero-day exploits are the hairline cracks in your armor that you can’t see. They are the unseen flaw in your perfect strategy that the other team has a planned counterattack for.

These exploits can be found in virtually any type of software, from your operating systems like Windows, to your web browser, to your business applications. 

For small businesses in Austin and Central Texas, these threats are especially real. With limited resources, staying ahead of these cyberthreats can feel like a daunting task.

In this article, we'll shed light on zero-day exploits and share tips on how to guard your business against them. Stay alert, stay informed, and stay one step ahead.

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Austin Cyberattack Proves Just How Disruptive Ransomware Can Be

Austin Cyberattack Proves Just How Disruptive Ransomware Can Be

Earlier this month, a local healthcare system comprising dozens of Austin-based hospitals, clinics, and other facilities suffered a cyberattack. We wanted to share some lessons that local business owners can learn from this situation, because a single attack like this can result in a snowball effect that can end up costing you a lot of time, money, and reputation.

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Everything Business Owners Need to Know About AI

Everything Business Owners Need to Know About AI

Technology has been moving fast over the last few years… or has it? 

It depends on who you ask, and how they interact with it every day. This post is for those of us who are frankly too busy to really dive into the waters of cutting-edge technology, but want to make sure we’re not leaving money on the table when it comes to operating our businesses.

AI is here. It’s no longer a futuristic concept, and it is transformative. At the same time, it’s also a little bit of a marketing buzzword. Let’s clear up this very complex topic—hopefully by the end of this article, you’ll be able to make some actionable decisions on AI and your business.

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6 Ways Modern Technology Can Help Austin Law Firms

6 Ways Modern Technology Can Help Austin Law Firms

In the heart of Texas, Austin law firms are facing a new era. The legal landscape is changing rapidly, driven by the rise of modern technology. Lawyers are now leveraging technology to streamline their operations. From eSignature to cloud document storage, the digital revolution is here. It's transforming the way law firms work, enhancing efficiency and ensuring compliance.

But how exactly is technology reshaping the legal sector in Austin? What are the key technology solutions that Austin law firms should adopt?

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How to Ensure Your Business Survives a Data Breach

How to Ensure Your Business Survives a Data Breach

Data breaches can lead to significant financial losses, damage to reputation, and loss of customer trust.

Data breach prevention is not just about technology. It's about understanding the risks, implementing robust security measures, and fostering a culture of cybersecurity within your organization.

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Austin Business Security Compliance Checklist

Austin Business Security Compliance Checklist

When you think about the data your business processes and stores on a day-to-day basis, it’s pretty easy to disconnect it from the people you do business with. After all, it’s your company data. That being said, a lot of the information that businesses collect comes from their customers. If something happens to that data, whether it is lost, stolen, breached, or sold, it can have a negative impact on your customers, which not only looks very bad for you, it can also result in legal action.

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How to Choose the Best Austin-Based Managed IT Consultant for Your Business

How to Choose the Best Austin-Based Managed IT Consultant for Your Business

Austin, Texas is a thriving tech hub, sometimes called Silicon Hills. With an active tech scene and a growing number of tech companies, there is a lot of opportunity for a small business to grow and thrive. To stay competitive in this tech-savvy environment, businesses in Austin need to embrace technology and ensure they have reliable IT support. A good IT consultant can help businesses in Austin navigate the complex world of technology, providing expertise and support to keep their operations running smoothly and securely.

By choosing the best Austin-based managed IT consultant for their needs, businesses can benefit from specialized services tailored to their requirements. Whether it's network security, data backup and recovery, or cloud services, a reputable IT consultant can help businesses in Austin optimize their technology infrastructure and stay ahead of the competition.

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Benefits of Local Austin IT Consulting Services

Benefits of Local Austin IT Consulting Services

Just about every business owner finds themselves searching for a trusted IT consulting service at some point. Establishing and maintaining a complex business network is essentially a full-time job, and even the smallest businesses start to run into some pretty tough hurdles when it comes to this process. Once you mix in the modern-day line of business applications, user management/active directory, and cybersecurity best practices, even the most technical users are going to fall short of the knowledge and skill required to keep the gears turning.

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Help! My Employee Quit and Deleted Their Files! Here’s What to Do

Help! My Employee Quit and Deleted Their Files! Here’s What to Do

Disasters tend to happen when you least expect them to. That’s what makes them disasters. A bad situation is often made much worse simply because you didn’t expect it, and that can be the case here. Let’s say an employee suddenly quits, and deletes all of their files on the way out. This can be a sticky situation, so here are a few ways to handle it when it happens, and a few ways to prepare for it just in case.

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Avoid These Massive Cybersecurity Missteps in Your Email Inbox

Avoid These Massive Cybersecurity Missteps in Your Email Inbox

We all use email almost every day for work. Day after day, week after week, our inboxes are flooded with notifications, password resets, correspondence, invoices, marketing stuff, and countless other types of information. Have you ever thought about what a cybercriminal could accomplish if they had access to your email inbox?

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The Complete Guide for Identifying Cybersecurity Threats

The Complete Guide for Identifying Cybersecurity Threats

A newly released report reveals that there were over 3,000 reported data breaches in 2023. This resulted in the personal information of millions of people being stolen. The average cost of one of these data breaches was $4.45 million. Almost every single organization polled (97 percent!) reported that they have seen an increase in cyber threats since 2022.

Cybersecurity is absolutely critical today, and it’s a problem that everyone needs to be aware of. As a regular person, going about your day, you might not even notice if you are the victim of a data breach.  Because of this, most people have a big forcefield of blissful ignorance that makes them feel immune to the bulk of cyberthreats.

But that’s the point—the best cyberthreats are hard to spot. You don’t realize you are being scammed.

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Hiring Internal IT Staff Vs Managed IT Contracts: Which is Best for My Business?

Hiring Internal IT Staff Vs Managed IT Contracts: Which is Best for My Business?

As your business grows, or as you invest in expensive technology solutions to assist your business growth, you may need significantly more help managing, maintaining, and supporting the technology within your organization.

This usually happens when you outgrow your current computer support provider or get too busy to research, learn, and take care of everything yourself. Either way, you must focus on your business and need someone else to handle your IT.

Sure, you can hire internal IT staff; in some cases, that’s a pretty good call. We will discuss some pros and cons and alternative options before you spend a ton of money you don’t need to.

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Capstone Works is proud to announce the launch of our new website at https://www.capstoneworks.com. The goal of the new website is to make it easier for our existing clients to submit and manage support requests, and provide more information about our ser...

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(512) 343-8891

715 Discovery Blvd
Suite 511

Cedar Park, Texas 78613