Updated October 2026 to our current guidance. The original reporting date is unchanged.
AI now shows up on both sides of computer security. Criminals use it, and so do the tools built to stop them. Here is what that means for a small business, without the science fiction.
Most owners I talk to have antivirus on the computers and a firewall on the network. Those were good decisions, and they still do their jobs. AI changes how fast things happen around them.
Most of this is the old playbook run faster. The flaws they look for are usually published ones, with fixes already available.
The same speed helps on the other side:
My opinion: these tools are worth having, and they are not a substitute for a person who looks at what they flag and decides what to do.
Ask whoever runs your IT what you already have. The places where AI-based tools earn their keep for a small business are email filtering, endpoint protection that watches for unusual behavior, and a firewall that can block known-bad traffic. You do not need to understand how they work. You do need to know they are installed and turned on.
Let the tools do the first pass. Have a person review what they flag and make the call on anything unusual. Decide in advance who that person is and how to reach them after hours.
Write down what happens in the first hour if a computer is compromised: who disconnects it, who gets called, and who has the authority to shut something down. Walk through it once a quarter.
This is the step most owners have not looked at.
Windows Update never touches third-party software.
It keeps Windows current. It does not update the PDF reader, the file compression tool, the remote-access program, or the specialty app your office depends on. Each has its own updater, or none. Nobody did anything wrong. That is where Windows Update’s job ends.
When an AI tool goes looking for a way in, an out-of-date program with a published flaw is the easiest door it can find. So who has been checking those programs on your computers?
Before you look, guess how many programs are installed on the computer in front of you. Write the number down. Then run the Reveal Scan. It counts what is installed on each Windows PC: how many programs are current and how many need updating. Most people are surprised by both numbers. You don’t have to be able to do this. We’ll do it with you.
Count What’s on Your Computers → See how many programs each Windows PC has, how many are current, and how many need updating. No credit card needed. The scan is on us. If you want step-by-step instructions afterward, that’s a paid report, and you’ll see the price before you decide.
If you run it and never speak to us again, that’s a fine outcome.
Join the owners who get Craig's Insider Notes every week.
Tagged with: