IT Support
Network Security and Hardening
Nobody is sitting in a van outside your door. What actually happens to most people is duller and more effective than that: automated scanning finds a router with default credentials or unpatched firmware, or a password you reused in 2019 turns up in a breach dump and gets tried against your email. Both are preventable in an afternoon.
This is the same work we do for larger clients, scaled to your size and priced for it. No monitoring contract required, no fear-based upsell, and we will tell you when something you already have is good enough.
What We Find in Most Networks
- A router still using the password printed on its sticker, or the one the installer typed in, with remote administration left switched on.
- Firmware that has not been updated since the device was unboxed, sometimes on hardware the manufacturer stopped supporting years ago.
- Cameras, doorbells, thermostats, plugs, televisions and a robot vacuum on the same flat network as the laptop that does the banking.
- One password, with small variations, across every account, and no second factor on the email address that can reset all of them.
- Photos and files that exist in exactly one place, which is a phone.
- Port forwarding rules somebody set up years ago for a game or a camera and never removed.
What We Do About It
Harden the Router
Administrative password changed and recorded properly, remote management turned off, firmware brought current, unnecessary forwarding rules removed, and a check on whether the hardware is still supported at all. If it is end of life, we say so rather than polishing it.
Separate the Untrustworthy Things
Smart devices get security updates for as long as the manufacturer feels like it, which is usually less time than you own them. We put them on their own network so that a compromised plug or camera cannot see your computers, and so guests can be given Wi-Fi without being given the run of the network.
Fix the Passwords, Properly
A password manager set up for everyone, the reused passwords replaced, and a second factor on the accounts that matter most, starting with email. This is the single highest-value hour anyone can spend on security and almost nobody does it unassisted.
Make Sure Something Is Backed Up
Automatic backup for the photos and documents that cannot be replaced, set up so it keeps working without anybody remembering to plug anything in, and then actually tested by restoring a file in front of you.
Clean Up After Something Has Gone Wrong
Malware removal, account recovery, and working out what was exposed and what to change first. If you think something is happening right now, call rather than fill in a form.
Flat Rates
| Service | Price |
|---|---|
| Security assessment and written report | $295 |
| Router hardening and firmware update | $195 |
| Smart device and guest network separation | $195 |
| Full hardening package, all of the above plus device review and filtering | $595 |
| Password manager and two-factor setup for everyone | $295 |
| Automatic backup setup and restore test | $295 |
| Malware removal and compromise cleanup | $175 per hour, two hour minimum |
| Watch Plan monitoring | $39 or $89 per month |
Straight Answers
Do I still need antivirus software?
On Windows, the protection built into the operating system is genuinely good now and for most small setups it is enough. What is usually missing is not another scanner, it is unique passwords, a second factor on email, and a backup. We would rather fix those than sell you a subscription.
Do I need a VPN?
Probably not for security. Consumer VPN marketing oversells this. Almost everything you do is already encrypted in transit, and a VPN moves your traffic to a company you know less about rather than removing a risk. There are good reasons to use one, mostly privacy and geography, but protecting your network is not really one of them. Your work may require one, which is a different conversation and covered under remote work setup.
Is my smart doorbell watching me?
It is sending video to a company’s cloud, which you can read about in their terms, and it is a computer on your network that you do not patch. The second part is the one we can do something about. Segmentation limits what it can reach if it is ever compromised.
Will any of this make things harder to use?
That is the main thing we design around. Security that annoys people gets switched off within a fortnight, so we aim for changes nobody notices after the first week. If something will be inconvenient, we tell you before we do it.
I think I have already been hacked. What now?
Call (805) 310-1445. Do not wipe or factory reset anything first, because that destroys the evidence of what actually happened and often makes recovery harder. Change the password on your main email account from a different device, and leave the rest until we have looked.
Get the Assessment
Two hours, a written report in plain language, and a prioritised list you can act on yourself if you prefer. $295, anywhere in the Santa Maria Valley, the Santa Ynez Valley or San Luis Obispo County.
Segmentation works best on a network that is sound to begin with. See Wi-Fi and network installation, or go back to IT support services.