Small businesses often try to secure accounts and software without knowing which devices can reach them. A forgotten laptop, an old point-of-sale tablet, or a former employee’s phone may still contain business data or active sessions. In this five-minute episode, Donald Spano shows you how to create a practical device inventory without buying specialized tools. You will record each device’s owner, purpose, operating system, security status, and last review date, then label anything unknown for follow-up. The goal is not perfect documentation; it is visibility strong enough to guide the next security decision. You will also learn how to use the list when a device is lost, an employee leaves, or a regulator or insurer asks how access is controlled. By the end, you will have a repeatable monthly check that turns an invisible exposure into a manageable task.

Many small businesses focus on protecting accounts and devices but overlook a quieter vulnerability: essential knowledge trapped with one person. If only one employee knows how to process payroll, access a vendor portal, operate a key system, or respond to a customer emergency, illness, turnover, or simple unavailability can stop the business. In this episode, Donald Spano guides listeners through a five-minute single-point-of-failure audit. You will list three business-critical tasks, identify who currently performs each one, note the systems and information required, and choose a backup person or documented recovery path. The episode also explains how to share access safely without creating a new security problem, including using individual accounts, a business password manager, and least-privilege permissions. The result is a small, repeatable continuity checklist that improves security and resilience without expensive software or complicated planning. Listeners will leave with one concrete action to complete today and a framework they can repeat across the business.

Small businesses often approve a helpful app once and forget it can continue reading calendars, files, contacts, or customer information months later. In this episode, Donald Spano guides owners through a five-minute app permission sweep using the security settings already available in Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, and common business platforms. You will learn how to identify connected applications, recognize warning signs such as unused tools, unfamiliar publishers, excessive permissions, and accounts belonging to former workers, and safely revoke access without disrupting essential operations. The episode also explains why an app inventory supports sensible privacy and compliance practices, even when no specific regulation applies to your business. The goal is not to ban useful technology; it is to make every connection intentional, documented, and reviewable. Listeners finish with a simple recurring review rule and a short checklist they can use today.

A forgotten recovery email or an employee’s old phone number can turn a routine login problem into a serious business interruption. In this practical five-minute episode, Donald Spano shows small business owners how to audit the recovery options attached to their most important accounts, including email, banking, payroll, cloud storage, website hosting, and customer platforms. Listeners will learn how to identify recovery contacts that no longer belong to the business, replace personal details with controlled business-owned options, verify that backup codes are stored safely, and document who can help recover each account. The episode also explains why recovery settings deserve the same attention as passwords and multifactor authentication: they can become the easiest path around both. No complicated tools are required—just an account list, a few minutes, and a deliberate review of the settings that are usually ignored until something goes wrong. By the end, listeners will have a simple priority order and a repeatable recovery check they can schedule each quarter.

Cloud storage makes it easy to share a proposal, spreadsheet, customer file, or internal plan with one click. The danger is that a link created for convenience can remain active long after the original task is finished. In this five-minute episode, Donald Spano shows small business owners how to find publicly accessible or broadly shared files in common cloud storage services, recognize the difference between a named collaborator and an anyone-with-the-link setting, and replace risky links with limited access. The process is practical: review recent shared files, remove unknown recipients, set expiration dates when available, and confirm that sensitive documents require sign-in. The episode also explains why changing a link is not enough if an old copy was downloaded or forwarded, and when to notify affected people. Listeners finish with a repeatable monthly shared-link check that protects customer information, pricing, contracts, and internal records without requiring specialized security tools.

A familiar vendor email says, “Please send future payments to our new bank account.” It may look routine, but payment-redirection fraud turns a trusted relationship into a costly trap. In this five-minute episode, Donald Spano shows small business owners how to create a simple payment-change verification rule without buying new software or slowing every transaction. You will define which requests require verification, choose a trusted contact method that is separate from the request, record the confirmed change, and give employees a clear pause-and-escalate script. The episode also explains why replying to the original email is not verification, how urgency pressures people into skipping controls, and how to protect the process when the owner is unavailable. The result is a lightweight approval habit that works for invoices, payroll details, refunds, and customer payment instructions. It is practical for startups and established small businesses alike, and it gives your team a repeatable way to protect money before it leaves the account.

Many small businesses believe they are protected because a cloud service, external drive, or software plan says “backup.” But a backup that has never been tested may be incomplete, outdated, inaccessible, or configured to copy the wrong files. In this practical episode, Donald Spano shows owners how to perform a five-minute backup proof without disrupting their business. You will choose one ordinary but important file, confirm when it was last backed up, restore a copy to a separate location, and check that it opens correctly. The episode also explains what a successful test tells you—and what it does not—so you can avoid confusing synchronization with recovery. Finally, you will create a simple monthly reminder and record the result in a one-line log. This is a low-cost, repeatable security habit that helps turn backup claims into dependable protection against device failure, accidental deletion, ransomware, and operational mistakes.

A scammer does not always need to break into your mailbox to damage your business; sometimes they simply impersonate your domain. In this practical five-minute episode, Donald Spano explains how small businesses can reduce email spoofing with three plain-English controls: SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. You will learn what each setting does, which administrator or email provider usually manages it, and how to begin with a safe monitoring policy before enforcing stricter protection. The episode also covers why these controls matter for customer trust, vendor communications, and compliance conversations, without pretending they stop every phishing message. By the end, you will have a short checklist for identifying your email provider, locating DNS settings, documenting authorized senders, and choosing the next configuration step. This is a focused starting point for owners who want a meaningful security improvement without buying another tool or spending hours researching technical standards.

A small USB drive can look harmless, arrive as a gift, or be left in a parking lot—but plugging it into a business computer can expose files, install unwanted software, or bypass normal email protections. In this five-minute episode, Donald Spano explains how to create a practical removable-media boundary without turning your business into a high-security laboratory. You will identify where USB devices are commonly used, decide which devices are approved, label and track the ones your team needs, and establish a safe process for unfamiliar drives. The episode also covers everyday alternatives, such as approved cloud sharing or managed file-transfer tools, so employees are not forced to invent workarounds. Listeners will leave with a short policy they can explain to the whole team: never connect an unknown device, verify the source, scan approved media, and report anything suspicious. It is a focused, low-cost control for protecting customer information, financial records, and the computers that keep a small business running.

Small businesses often prepare for cyber incidents by buying tools, but overlook a basic question: who should you contact first? In this episode, Donald Spano shows you how to create a one-page security contact card for the moments when time and clarity matter most. You will identify your critical contacts, including your technology provider, bank, payment processor, insurance carrier, landlord, and trusted legal or regulatory resource. You will also record the details that make a call useful: account numbers, support paths, after-hours instructions, and what information to preserve. The episode explains why searching for help from a potentially compromised device can create additional risk, and how to store both a secure digital copy and a protected offline copy. This is not a complicated incident-response plan; it is a practical first-action guide for owners and lean teams. By the end, you can assemble a usable card in five minutes and rehearse how to use it. Subscribe for another concise step toward a more resilient business.