Towner & Intermedia’s security experts have put together security best practices to help protect businesses from the most common attacks they might experience. This guide aims to break down security into key categories that are easy to understand and easy to implement.

Use this security checklist to ensure the highest levels of protection from all potential threats. Frequently check to enforce practices, update passwords, and prioritize security.

• Set password requirements to prevent users from choosing easily guessable passwords
  • We recommend looooong vs complex passwords/passphrases
  • Choose a password expiration policy that is long enough that users don’t resort to writing
    down or reusing similar passwords frequently
  • Discourage users from using unsafe passwords by enforcing the “compromised password” policy
• Implement account lockouts when the wrong password is entered too many times.
• Purchase licenses for a password manager (like LastPass) for your employees
• Enable and customize Suspicious Login Alerts to users and admins
• Turn on 2 Factor Authentication (2FA) everywhere possible and implement a hardware token where possible
• Restrict access to your company resources based on IP’s (for example, limit it to ranges and countries you know your users will connect from)

ENDPOINT SECURITY

• Encourage or enforce the use of VPN for remote users (with 2FA)
  Invest in Mobile Device Management (MDM)
• Encourage users to enable automatic updates of apps and mobile OS
• Encourage the use of secure file sharing and backup that can be monitored by an administrator and that includes additional protection against ransomware attacks
• Remove Admin rights from standard user accounts
• Limit use of rooted phones or installation of applications from non-standard App stores

EMAIL SECURITY

• Review your email security settings and options on a regular basis
• Enable tagging or identification of external emails to help employees focus on potential external threats
• Enable ActiveSync or other mobile synchronization policies to better protect data stored on mobile devices and consider further full Mobile Device Management (MDM)

HUMAN SECURITY

• Encourage employees to call their personal mobile phone providers, and turn-on extra security verification steps, like a PIN
• Encourage employees to NEVER re-use the same password to their email with any other systems or applications they use
• Discourage users from storing passwords in their browser
• Mandate all employees take security training (ex:https://www.knowbe4.com/products/
  enterprise-security-awareness-training/)
• Begin once a month/quarter live phishing exercises 

TRIPLE SHIELD SECURITY™ – FROM Towner & INTERMEDIA Is your business data secure? As cyberattacks become more sophisticated and hackers more aggressive, business communications such as telephone calls, voicemails, text messages, video meetings and file sharing are increasingly under attack. Triple Shield Security eliminates the complexity of securing your communications while giving you peace of mind that your business data is protected. When it comes to security, not all cloud communications solutions are created equal. As a service provider with over 25 years of experience, Towner places the highest priority on security and has invested heavily in our certified information security staff and security technologies to stay ahead of increasingly sophisticated cybercriminals. Our Triple Shield Security takes a multipronged approach to protecting your business data with technologies that address three potential points of vulnerability – protecting user access, securing
applications, and defending the cloud infrastructure. Intermedia cloud communications tools give small and medium-sized businesses the kind of reliability and security enjoyed by the biggest Fortune 500 companies.

[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_link_target=”_self” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column_text]

Towner Communications is excited to announce it RELAUNCH of our Customer Portal. Below is our custom Customer Portal User Guide to help walk you though each step of setting up and using our seamless portal.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_link_target=”_self” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1/2″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_custom_heading text=”Logging In” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:left|color:%231e73be” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]You will receive an email with your temporary password and username. It will come from someone @townerkc.com, be sure to check your junk folder or spam filter. You will be prompted to immediately reset your password. If you forget your password simply Click the “I forgot my password” link on the log in screen.

• Browse to portal.townerkc.com

HINT: save as a bookmark for easy access next time.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_link_target=”_self” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1/2″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][nectar_image_with_hotspots image=”8204″ preview=”https://townerkc.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Portal-Login-Creation.png” color_1=”Accent-Color” hotspot_icon=”plus_sign” tooltip=”hover” tooltip_shadow=”none”][/nectar_image_with_hotspots][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_link_target=”_self” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][image_with_animation image_url=”8206″ alignment=”center” animation=”Fade In” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”][divider line_type=”Full Width Line” line_thickness=”1″ divider_color=”extra-color-gradient-1″ animate=”yes”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_link_target=”_self” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”2/3″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_custom_heading text=”Navigating the Home Screen” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:left|color:%231e73be” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]Your home screen is broken down into two sections the Dashboard and the Toolbar. See the RED hints below for customizing your Dashboard.

On the Toolbar you can do the following:

• Home: takes you to your dashboard
• Documents: not currently used
• Contact Us: allows you to fill in an email form to request contact
• My Profile: allows you to change your contact information and password
• My Company: Allows you to update your company name, email and phone
• Service: Shows all the service orders for your Account

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_link_target=”_self” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1/3″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][image_with_animation image_url=”8208″ alignment=”center” animation=”Fade In” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_link_target=”_self” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][image_with_animation image_url=”8209″ alignment=”center” animation=”Fade In” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”][divider line_type=”Full Width Line” line_thickness=”1″ divider_color=”extra-color-gradient-1″ animate=”yes”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_link_target=”_self” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_custom_heading text=”Entering a new service order” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:left|color:%231e73be” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]Click the Blue request service button on Home page OR if you are already in the service tool click the tab for Request Service.[/vc_column_text][nectar_image_comparison image_url=”8211″ image_2_url=”8212″][vc_column_text]

• You must enter a Brief and Detailed Description of your issue.
• If you have any of the Optional form info feel free to include it.
• Click SUBMIT to save.
• This will email our service department to let them know you have entered a request.

[/vc_column_text][divider line_type=”Full Width Line” line_thickness=”1″ divider_color=”extra-color-gradient-1″ animate=”yes”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_link_target=”_self” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_custom_heading text=”Viewing Your Account Service History” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:left|color:%231e73be” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]

• Click the Service link in your Toolbar
• It automatically shows you all the orders
• You can export the list out via Word or Excel or you can filter the list

HINT: you can filter by status to see tickets that are in progress. You can also sort by the column headers by clicking on them.[/vc_column_text][image_with_animation image_url=”8213″ alignment=”center” animation=”Fade In” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1612286742009{padding-top: 30px !important;}”]HINT: click the blue SO number hyperlink to see that ticket’s details.[/vc_column_text][divider line_type=”Full Width Line” line_thickness=”1″ divider_color=”extra-color-gradient-1″ animate=”yes”][vc_custom_heading text=”Service Order Details” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:left|color:%231e73be” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]

• You can click the tabs across the top when viewing a Service order to see the details
• The detail tab shows you the most information about the ticket including technician work performed.
• Click NOTES tab if you want to add more detail to this service order. It will save these notes to the SO and the tech can then see them.
• Sigture tab allows you to sign off on the Service Order and will save your signature

Document tab is not currently used[/vc_column_text][image_with_animation image_url=”8215″ alignment=”center” animation=”Fade In” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”][image_with_animation image_url=”8217″ alignment=”center” animation=”Fade In” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_link_target=”_self” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][/vc_column][/vc_row]