The Watchdog: IT & Cybersecurity Insights for Business Leaders
Stay informed. Stay protected. Stay ahead.
The Watchdog is Network Computer Pros' cybersecurity and business IT blog for owners, office managers, and technology decision-makers who want practical guidance without the noise.
Here, we share cybersecurity insights, IT strategy, and lessons drawn from the real-world environments our team supports every day. That includes cybersecurity tips for small businesses, technology planning, backup and recovery, Microsoft 365, remote work, compliance-focused IT, and the issues we see affecting businesses in the field.
For more than 25 years, Network Computer Pros has helped organizations protect their systems, support employees, reduce downtime, and make better technology decisions. The Watchdog is where we turn that experience into useful information you can put to work.
Whether you run a law firm, accounting practice, architecture firm, construction company, dental practice, nonprofit, manufacturer, or another growing business, our goal is simple: help you understand what matters, what deserves attention now, and what can wait.
What You'll Find Here
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Cybersecurity tips for small businesses
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Practical cybersecurity insights and risk-reduction strategies
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Weekly vulnerability alerts for software and systems businesses rely on
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Phishing awareness tips and employee security guidance
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Backup, disaster recovery, and business continuity planning
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Microsoft 365, cloud, and remote-work guidance
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Compliance-focused IT guidance for regulated and professional businesses
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Managed IT strategies for growing organizations
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Lessons from real-world technology failures, security incidents, and recoveries
Watchdog Insights: What Needs Attention Now
Our Watchdog Insights series highlights active exploits, important security updates, and emerging vulnerabilities affecting the technology small and mid-sized businesses rely on.
These weekly cybersecurity updates are designed to help business leaders understand which issues require immediate action, which systems may be exposed, and what questions to ask their IT provider.
We don't publish fluff. We focus on direct, experience-backed guidance from a team that manages business IT and cybersecurity every day.
Explore the latest Watchdog posts below.
Watchdog Insights: Citrix, F5 and Check Point Active Exploits for Small Businesses, September 28, 2026
Watchdog Insights: Citrix, F5 and Check Point Active Exploits for Small Businesses, September 28, 2026 Some weeks, the security list is mostly routine maintenance. This is not one of those weeks.Multiple products sitting directly at the edge of business networks are...
Watchdog Insights: Cisco ISE, Email Security and Backup Threats for Small Businesses
Cisco ISE, Email Security and Backup Threats for Small Businesses This week, active exploitation affects products trusted to control network access, filter malicious email, and protect server backups. September 14, 2026 • Under 10 minute read • Gabriel Guastella The...
Watchdog Insights: ScreenConnect, N-central and Microsoft Security Updates for Small Businesses
ScreenConnect, N-central and the week MSP tools became the target Active exploitation, nearly 1,000 Microsoft fixes, and a very good reason to move management platforms to the front of the patching queue. September 14, 2026 • 9 minute read • Gabriel Guastella The...
Your Employees Are Using AI at Work — Does Your Business Have Guardrails?
Artificial intelligence has moved into the workplace quickly. Employees are using AI to draft emails, summarize documents, create marketing content, analyze spreadsheets, write proposals, prepare meeting notes, research topics, troubleshoot problems, and save time on...
What Are Passkeys — and Should Your Business Start Using Them?
Passwords have been a weak point in business security for a long time. Employees forget them. They reuse them. They write them down. They enter them into fake websites. Attackers steal them through phishing, malware, credential breaches, and social engineering. ...
What Happens When an Employee Clicks a Phishing Link?
It happens fast. An employee gets an email that looks legitimate. Maybe it says: A Microsoft password is expiring Someone shared a document A voicemail is waiting An invoice needs review A package could not be delivered An account needs verification The...
How Hackers Bypass MFA — and What Businesses Can Do About It
For years, businesses have been told: Turn on Multi-Factor Authentication. That is still excellent advice. MFA can prevent many account compromises by requiring something more than a username and password. But there is an important distinction that business owners...
Is Your Microsoft 365 Really Being Managed — or Just Renewed Every Month?
Microsoft 365 has become one of the most important technology platforms in many small businesses. Employees rely on it for: Email Calendars Teams OneDrive SharePoint Word Excel PowerPoint File sharing Collaboration For many businesses, Microsoft 365 is...
10 IT Problems We See Again and Again in Small Businesses
After supporting small and mid-sized businesses for more than 25 years, we have learned something interesting: The technology changes, but many of the problems do not. We still walk into businesses where backups have never been tested, former employees still have...
QR Code Phishing Scams: What Small Businesses Need to Watch For
QR codes have become part of everyday business. We use them to open menus, register for events, access documents, connect to Wi-Fi, make payments, and share information. That familiarity is exactly what makes them useful to cybercriminals. Instead of sending an...
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