Can you benefit from Section 179

Section 179 and how it can save your company a significant amount of money if you’re looking at any technology purchases in the near future. There is a little less than 2 months left in the year to take advantage of the Section 179 Deduction for 2017. We’ve seen a large uptick in activity with clients seeking to take advantage of this government “gift” and literally locking in thousands of dollars in savings before expiring at year end. For example, a $200,000 purchase this year could actually only cost $130,000 after the tax savings!

If you’re looking to deduct the full price of the equipment from your 2017 taxes, it must be purchased and put into service before year end.

 What is Section 179:

•  Section 179 Explained: This IRS tax code allows businesses to deduct the full purchase price of qualifying equipment and/or software leased/financed during the 2017 tax year. That means that if a corporation leases/finances a piece of qualifying equipment, they can deduct the FULL PURCHASE PRICE (The deduction limit for 2017 is $500,000) from their gross income. It's an incentive created by the U.S. government to encourage businesses to lease/finance equipment and invest in themselves.

Below are a couple of examples of how much of an impact this deduction can have on your bottom-line:

2017 Section 179: Example Calculation
Equipment Purchase Amount:			$650,000
Section 179 Deduction			$500,000
50% Bonus First Yr. Depreciation			$75,000
(50% CAP in 2017)
Normal First Year Depreciation			$15,000
Total First Year Deduction			$590,000
Cash Savings on your Purchase			$206,500
(Assuming a 35% tax bracket)
Actual Cost of Equipment			$443,500
(After Tax Savings)
2017 Section 179: Example Calculation
Equipment Purchase Amount:			$200,000
Section 179 Deduction			$200,000
50% Bonus First Yr. Depreciation			$0
(50% CAP in 2017)
Normal First Year Depreciation			$0
Total First Year Deduction			$200,000
Cash Savings on your Purchase			$70,000
(Assuming a 35% tax bracket)
Actual Cost of Equipment			$130,000
(After Tax Savings)

Please let me know if we can help you in anyway, 

Robert Blake

866-391-1566 

Serious flaw in WPA2 protocol lets attackers intercept passwords and much more

Serious flaw in WPA2 protocol lets attackers intercept passwords and much more


See the article with the link above..

Millions of high-security crypto keys crippled by newly discovered flaw

Link to the article

Security Notice: Key Reinstallation Attack (KRACK)

Security Notice: Key Reinstallation Attack On October 16, a WPA2 exploit was disclosed known as Key Reinstallation Attack (KRACK) that affects all WPA2 protected Wi-Fi networks. This exploit could lead to user's WiFi traffic becoming comprised. Further background on the exploit can be found here. Learn about the impact and Open Mesh's fix by clicking below.    READ MORE Copyright © 2017 Open Mesh, All rights reserved.

What is your biggest security blindspot?

How Do You Handle Your Biggest Security Blind Spot? Avoid Third-Party Risk by Monitoring the  Cybersecurity Health of Any Organization Third-party breaches are one of the most common cybersecurity blind spots of any organization. Does your vendor risk management program provide you with the information necessary to manage this common threat and reduce the likelihood of your becoming a target via a third party? SecurityScorecard does. Learn more about how SecurityScorecard will help you gain instant visibility into third-party risk and take control of your vendor ecosystem, before it's too late. Learn More An industry leader for thirty years, Bit by Bit delivers powerful and cost-effective technology solutions designed to meet our client's specific IT needs. Our customized solutions are adept at solving critical business problems while empowering organizations to focus on productivity and profitability.

Regards,

Robert Blake
Bit by Bit Computer Consultants
721 N Fielder Rd. #B
Arlington, Texas 76012
Direct 817.505.1257
Mobile 972.365.7010

How Important is User Education to Cyber Security?

User education is more important than basic network security, because user education stops attacks before they ever access your network. You can have the best anti-malware software available, but it won't be able to stop every attack. As malware writers improve their attack tactics, anti-malware can't keep up.

Anti-malware programs can't protect you from certain attacks, mainly phishing. Phishing is one of the most common attack vectors used today, and it has been responsible for major data breaches. An attacker sends emails to several recipients within the organization. All it takes is for one of these recipients to access a malicious site, input their user credentials, and the attacker has access to your network. No amount of anti-malware procedures can protect from this type of attack except for user education.

What Happens When Users Don't Recognize Attacks?

Several recent successful attacks have been from users falling prey to phishing attacks. Even Google had a recent outbreak of a widespread phishing attack that spread across several education systems (nbcnews.com/tech/security/massive-phishing-attack-targets-millions-gmail-users-n754501).

The attacker created a page that looked similar to the Google login screen and tricked users into giving them access to their accounts. Although the attacker never took advantage of account access, he could have authorized password resets and used the account information to sell on the black market.

You could ask yourself how something like this could be prevented. There is no technology that prevents this type of attack other than educating your users. The result of a successful attack can be devastating to your customers and employees, which is why user education is more important than having anti-malware software on your network.

What Can You Do to Educate Your Users?

It's not easy to educate users, because what seems like an obvious scam to you might not be so obvious to your users. They need to understand the red flags, and then apply some common sense from what they learn. The best way to educate users is to show them example phishing emails and describe the red flags.

If you have a Gmail account you probably have several phishing emails in your spam folder. You can use these to show your users what a phishing email looks like. There are several standard types like the Google lottery scam or the Nigerian prince scam, but you should show your users the emails that attempt to phish for private details such as usernames and passwords.

For instance, one common phishing scam is using a clone of PayPal. The attacker creates an email that uses the PayPal logo and tells the user that PayPal requires them to reset their password. If the user falls for the scam, the attacker has their PayPal username and password, and he can log in and steal their money. This attack is very similar to what happens when the attacker focuses on a corporate network, so it's a good example to show your users.

After you have some phishing emails collected, you can show users the common red flags, which include:

•   Shortlinks included in the email message

•   Hovering the mouse over a link shows a domain different than the official PayPal domain

•   Poor English spelling and grammar

•   The sender's address is from a free email account such as Gmail, Hotmail, or Yahoo

In addition to training users to recognize red flags, you should also train them to report suspicious emails. The email administrator can block future attacks from the sender based on the sender address or the email content. It also lets IT know that someone is attacking the corporation, and managers can be alerted in case of a spear phishing attack, which is an attack that targets high-level executives.

Even if it seems like a waste of time, educating users can have a huge positive effect on your network's security. You can stop attacks before they become major data breaches. These breaches affect your corporate brand and customer trust. By educating users, you have a stronger security system in place.

For help with implementing this or other technology solutions contact:

Robert Blake
Bit by Bit Computer Consultants
721 N Fielder Rd. #B
Arlington, Texas 76012 
Direct 817.505.1257
Mobile 972.365.7010

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