When it comes to your desktop infrastructure, your company has several different options available to it, one of which is Desktop-as-a-Service. How does this option compare to having a traditional workstation, and why might a small business get value out of Desktop-as-a-Service? Let’s take a closer look at what DaaS involves.
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There is one key on the keyboard that might seem a little odd: PrtScn. It’s not immediately obvious what this key does or why you would want to use it, but we assure you that it is an extremely helpful keyboard shortcut once you understand how it works and why you might want to try it out. In reality, the PrtScn key (on some keyboards it might just be PrtSc) is important for taking screenshots on your Windows device.
Most everyone uses the cloud in some capacity, even if it’s not a professional one. Simply put, the value it provides even on a consumer level is astounding, and this is even more so with business applications. The cloud makes it much easier for organizations to manage their resources compared to hosting them in-house, but a problem has surfaced with some companies suffering due to what’s called “cloud sprawl.”
Ever since employees began returning to the office after getting a taste of remote work, there has been an ongoing war between employers wishing a return to normalcy and the employees who would rather get their work done from the comforts of their own home. Now, a new survey indicates that half of employees would rather quit than deal with an employer who mandates a return to the office environment.
Keeping your data protected is a huge concern nowadays, with more and more safeguards needed to prevent it from being exfiltrated. Encryption is a great way to prevent your data from being any good to those who might steal it. Let’s review what encryption is, and delve into how it works in practice.
Cloud computing is being used by nearly everyone nowadays, and most of the time it presents a lot of value that can’t be found with purchasing, managing, and maintaining an in-house computing infrastructure. As an organization begins moving more and more of their computing to the cloud, there is a situation that arises that industry professionals call “cloud sprawl”.
The new year is underway, and many of us have undertaken the traditional resolutions as an effort to improve ourselves by kicking bad habits and adopting good ones. Why shouldn’t your business join in the fun? We’ve put together a few resolutions that could benefit your organization if your team were to adopt them.
Hackers have often used email to trick users into clicking on fraudulent links or to hand over important credentials through phishing scams, but these are usually blocked by an enterprise-level spam blocker. However, hackers have learned that there is indeed a way around these spam blockers, and it’s through popular social media websites.
Nothing changes the fortunes of a business faster than having clear lines of communication, especially after operating with less-than-effective communications for a time. Today, there are options that provide businesses with enterprise-level communications without the massive price tag and commitments that they typically bring.
Sales. HR. Customer Service. IT. Accounting. Management. These different business departments have (for the most part) been categorized and compartmentalized for decades, cooperating to some extent but largely operating independently of one another. The question is, will this remain to be the case, with so many people now working remotely and communicating with their teammates as needed? Let’s try to make a few predictions as to the future of the departments we are all so familiar with.
When it comes to your business’ IT resources, who’s in charge? Do you have a CIO, or chief information officer, managing your IT decision-making, and do you have someone responsible for managing and maintaining your systems? If you don’t know the answer to either of these questions, then we need to have a conversation about your relationship with technology management.
There are countless cybersecurity threats out there, many of which wait until very unfortunate times to strike. One such time is over extended weekends or holiday breaks, when many companies shut down operations longer than the usual two-day weekend. In fact, this is such an issue that the Federal Bureau of Investigation and CISA have issued warnings in response to them.
Businesses around central New York have a few options available to them when it comes to their IT needs. However, in order to receive the best services and support for them, they need to select the right provider. While we are admittedly biased, we wanted to share some of the questions that we would ask any IT or computer consultant we’d work with and trust with our network.
Many, many companies have adopted remote work policies and practices since the COVID-19 pandemic forced most to downsize (if not cease outright) on-site operations about two years ago. Now, as we enter 2022, it seems a good time to reexamine the security that we have protecting our businesses and the workers currently operating remotely.
If there is one shared priority most businesses and other organizations need to have it’s a strategy on how they are going to go about securing their network, infrastructure, and data from the numerous threats they face. Let’s take a look at three of the most crucial issues surrounding organizational cybersecurity as we head into the new year.
When it comes to procuring technology and working on technology projects, budgeting is a key issue that must be ironed out long before project implementation begins. This process can be troublesome and fraught with all sorts of challenges, but you don’t have to do it alone! We’ve got your back. Here’s a crash course on how you can manage your IT budget for maximum value.
Smart devices and Internet-of-Things devices in general have taken the world by storm, and a home without at least a handful of smart devices is quite rare to find these days. However, smart devices—or devices that connect to the Internet to perform various functions—must be approached with a certain level of caution.
The holiday season has a variety of famous key players, including the likes of Santa, Rudolph, and the rest of the North Pole crew. Each year, they use their magic to help spread goodwill and joy to all the nice children of the world… but did you know that they are also responsible for protecting those who make the naughty list from Santa’s villainous counterpart, Krampus?
As the official managed service provider for Santa’s operation, we have been cleared to share the story about how we’ve helped defy Krampus to save Christmas.
There is so much technology to choose from for your business that it can be overwhelming to pick the right tools for your specific circumstances. There are communication tools, productivity solutions, and even mobile options that can enhance and enrich your clients’ and employees’ experiences with your company. As a business owner, you must do all that you can to keep the future in mind when implementing innovative new technology solutions to fit the needs of your organization.
Data breaches are an unfortunate reality in this day and age, even during the holiday season. While it is important to do everything you can to prevent these kinds of disasters, you need to be prepared to deal with it—both in terms of your operations, and in terms of communicating with your clientele.
A disgruntled former employee is nothing new. However, in today’s digital work environment, an unhappy employee with unfettered access to your critical data is something to be concerned about. While it is essential to protect against cybercriminals, it also pays to be mindful of the threat in your own office.
The holidays are some of the best times for technology lovers. Not only do manufacturers deliver the coolest tech for the busiest retail time of the year, there is a good chance that you may be gifted some of it. This week, we thought we would take a look at three popular gadgets that are flying off the shelves this holiday season.
There will come a time when your business will need to acquire hardware like monitors, server units, workstations, networking components, and other technology. It is your responsibility as a business owner to make educated decisions about how you go about upgrading your gear, but it’s not always immediately obvious what the correct path forward is.
There’s no way around it; ransomware is bad stuff, plain and simple. The first half of 2021 saw a massive increase in ransomware attacks that made the lives of countless individuals and business professionals difficult. However, a new trend is surfacing, and it’s one that you might be surprised to see: fake ransomware threats.
The holiday season is a time for merriment and good cheer, but hackers have historically used it to take advantage of peoples’ online shopping tendencies. Phishing scams are always on the rise during the holiday season, so you need to take steps now to ensure that you don’t accidentally put yourself at risk—especially with voice spoofing emerging as a threat for Amazon orders.
The holidays are times for people to come together, even in these incredibly stressful times, so you’ll want to make sure that you are taking all the necessary precautions on both a personal level and a technological level. Here are some ways that you can keep yourself safe from a technology perspective this holiday season.
With so many companies having successfully made use of remote work for so long, there has been some worry that this extended means of operation will have a detrimental impact on company culture. Let’s discuss why this is something to avoid, as well as how to avoid this withering of your team’s collective working relationship.
Twitch, Amazon’s popular streaming service where gamers and content creators broadcast to wide audiences, recently suffered a data breach. Thanks to this data breach, folks on the Internet now know just how much these content creators make, and it has exposed a whole new issue that Amazon must resolve.
Businesses sure use a lot of online accounts, and if they don’t keep track of the passwords associated with these accounts, things can get messy fast. To help with this effort, password managers, or applications that store passwords in an encrypted vault, have really taken off. Here are some of the reasons why businesses invest in password management solutions.
Many threats immediately make themselves known on your device the second they install themselves, like ransomware and other types of malware. Others, like this newly discovered threat called MosaicLoader, discreetly install themselves in the background of your device and cause problems behind the scenes.
The pandemic changed how businesses interact with their customers, particularly regarding communication. As customers have grown used to and have come to expect to find solutions to their problems online, the question is, does your website help or hinder your customers? Here are some steps you can take to ensure your customers have a great user experience.
Once a novelty, voice assistants have become integrated into our phones, our homes, and possibly, even the office. Today, smart devices are found everywhere, and are some of the most sought-after products on the market. Would voice assistants bring benefits to your business? Let's find out by examining their positive aspects and drawbacks.
In popular science fiction, the portrayal of an artificial intelligence is that of an entity completely compelled by pure logic, objective fact being the only thing that factors into its considerations. The same can not be said of the artificially intelligent tools currently in use in the real world. Much like their flawed creators, many of today’s AI systems have presented some considerable biases in their operations. Let’s discuss this issue, and how it can be resolved.
As time has passed, cybersecurity attacks have become another way some organizations and nations engage in warfare. You can argue that there is a war going on at all times in cyberspace while hackers—many of which are sponsored by government agencies—try to outdo security researchers at all turns. One such scenario sees customers in the United States and Israeli defense technology sectors becoming the target of “password spraying.”
Google’s latest update for their popular Chrome browser has a little bit of a surprise. Chrome can now change many menus to Microsoft’s Windows 11 style menus. While this may be a surprise to some, Google and Microsoft have started to work together in places. Microsoft’s Surface Duo smartphone runs Android technology, and now Google’s Chrome can be customized with Microsoft software in mind.
Sometimes you might encounter situations where your network is limited in the amount of data it can process at any given time. The unfortunate truth is that it can be difficult to identify exactly what the problem is that is causing the slowdown, but one of the most common issues—the network bottleneck—is a pretty safe bet. But what exactly is a bottleneck, and what can be done to solve it?
Phishing is one of those threats that has been around for a long time, and as time passes by, these threats only become more difficult to identify. Some businesses can’t tell the difference between phishing scams and actual emails. Here’s how your company can take steps toward properly identifying and responding to phishing emails.
Virtual reality has been one of the coolest technologies available for over a decade. Today’s applications make it an exciting piece of tech for individuals; and you’ve seen that market expand (especially during the pandemic) with Facebook, Sony, HTC, and HP coming to market with a VR offering. The question we wanted to look at is how VR could be used at a business like yours.
One of the best ways to create positive change in your workplace is the act of projecting positive thoughts into it. In other words, we’re talking about ditching the typical doom-and-gloom that comes from the workplace and picturing the worst-case scenarios. We’re not trying to plan for the worst here; we’re trying to envision the best in an effort to make it a reality for your company. Let’s explore this concept by examining technology management.
Technology is one element that many small businesses struggle with, but it turns out that a lot of the same advice that you might get for regular life lessons can also apply to IT! Let’s take a closer look at how we might apply some of these lessons and why it just makes good sense to keep these tips close at hand.
With the holidays fast approaching, people are ready to go out and find the best, most perfect gifts for their loved ones. That said, people don’t want to spend their money frivolously; they want to find the best deals while they are available. We’ve compiled a list of some of the best Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals that have been announced so far.
It’s no surprise that many security breaches are due to weak passwords and poor team training. What may be a surprise is that when multi-factor authentication was implemented, cybersecurity breaches were blocked by more than 90%. However, bad actors are constantly evolving and have found a way to break through one of the most popular types of multi-factor authentication that uses text messaging. Here’s how.
Network security can be tough; there’s a lot to know, and you often need to have trained professionals on your side to ensure your systems are as secure as possible. With the right solutions on your side, however, it can be made much more manageable. Let’s discuss some of the most important security features your organization should implement and why.
We’re all aware of the outage that Facebook experienced a few weeks before it announced its Meta rebrand, which prevented users around the world from accessing the services that the social media giant provides. While it may not sound like a huge deal that people couldn’t share their thoughts with one another for a short time, the ramifications stretched far beyond the inability to scroll through a Newsfeed.
Did you know that the United States is the leader in ransomware payments? According to a survey from Mimecast titled “The State of Ransomware Readiness,” the U.S. has the highest average payment for ransomware out of the entire world at more than $6 million per victim. These shocking numbers likely stem from high-profile ransomware attacks, but they are also indicative of a larger problem, that being people who still pay the ransom.
When you browse the articles available on our blog, you might see the words “managed services” a lot. That’s because we firmly believe that managed services are the solution to a lot of problems that small and medium-sized businesses have with technology management, maintenance, and acquisition. How can managed services help your business push past its limits and establish itself as a powerhouse in the local market? Let’s take a look.
Have you ever wondered what it takes to hire a hacker to perform a specific task? Thanks to the findings of Comparitech, we can get a look into the average pricings of various hacking services that can be found on the Dark Web. While we would never condone ever taking advantage of such services, it’s a fascinating look into the business of cybercrime, and one that can give you an idea of just how easy and accessible it is for hackers to make your life difficult.
Network security is remarkably important for businesses, whether they are small organizations or large enterprises, regardless of industry or number of clients served. Your company needs to take it seriously, which means that you need to actively monitor your network for signs of intrusion. Let’s take a look at what goes into network monitoring.
Over the past couple of years, more and more people are using smart speakers to help them manage their day-to-day lives. Some people use them as their personal assistants, some just use them to help them remember things they would tend to forget otherwise, others just use them as extremely complex thermometers. Regardless what the use is, one question will always be near the surface about these devices: Are they secure? Let’s take a look at the many issues surrounding smart speaker security.
While we certainly have a lot to say about the benefits of the right IT solutions, even we can acknowledge that there is a point of diminishing returns. So, how much technology is too much technology, specifically in terms of the software your team relies on? Let’s explore some of the warning signs.
Have your opinions of remote work changed at all over the past year and a half, or do you still want your employees to return to the office in full force? Many major companies, despite initially advocating for remote work, are sending mixed signals on the topic, including Microsoft. What can we learn from the experiences of these companies?
A lot of people spend the modern workday with headphones on or earbuds in, listening to music as they work or communicating through a headset. That makes it inevitable that these devices will get dirty. Let’s go over how these devices can be safely cleaned to get rid of the grime that nobody wants to be wearing on their head.
Business has changed, so the tools your organization uses must evolve as well. One element of your business that has not only got more affordable, but also offers robust integrated features is your telephone system. Today, you can get some pretty impressive features as a part of a hosted VoIP implementation. With collaboration being more important than ever to keep costs down, having the tools you need at the ready is more crucial than ever.
Even the most cautious employee could fall victim to a well-placed and well-timed phishing email. What are some factors that contribute to the success of these attacks, and what subject lines in particular should people be cautious about? A recent study takes a look at what goes into a successful phishing attack, and you might be surprised by the results.
Smart devices have brought about unprecedented amounts of connectivity in aspects of running a business or owning a home that never could have been dreamed of in the past. People can now unlock their front doors, turn up their thermostats, and even switch the lights on and off through their smartphone. Unfortunately, the part that people don’t like to talk about with these applications and devices is security—big surprise, right?
When you invest in a new technology solution, you might be wearing your rose-tinted glasses and expecting too much from the solution right out of the box. We all have expectations for what we want the solution to accomplish, but sometimes these expectations simply are not realistic. Let’s take a look at some common misconceptions people have about technology in the workplace, especially in regards to implementation.
Workplace burnout is a serious issue that can have far-reaching impacts in your business. Therefore, it is critical that you can identify when one of your team members is starting to feel it, and know what you can do to help reduce it. Let’s go over what can lead to burnout, as well as a few ways to remediate it.
While cybersecurity is far from the most exciting thing a business can invest in, it’s certainly one of the most important parts of running any successful venture. Without cybersecurity, the endless number of threats on the Internet could infiltrate your network and create problems for your company.
Artificial intelligence, commonly known as AI, is used in several different ways in various industries, but one of the most impactful has been with cybersecurity and its automation. On the other hand, however, are the hackers who use AI in ways that fly in the face of the efforts of these cybersecurity professionals and use AI for cybercrime. What are some ways that AI is used in cybercrime, and why is it so scary for businesses to handle?
You often hear about malware that infects desktop PCs, laptops, or servers, but other types of malware that infect mobile devices also exist. One such malware, a threat called TangleBot, has been discovered, and it can become seriously problematic for both workers and consumers utilizing Android devices—especially in today’s mobile-centric workplace.
What do you do with your old email messages? Do they just sit around in your inbox and collect dust? If so, this is certainly a wasteful practice, as those emails can accrue over time and take up a sizable chunk of space. The question then becomes, what do you do with the emails to keep them from taking up so much space, especially when you might be paying for the space?
When was the last time that you took a hard look at your business’ technology? How old are some of the devices that you rely on each day? These are critical questions to answer if you want your business to succeed. Let’s discuss why upgrading is so important, and how to determine when the time to upgrade comes.
If you ask a person that has been using the same technology for years what they would like to see in new technology, you’ll often get the answer, “for it to do the work for me.” This is a popular response that is almost always delivered as a joke. With technology going the way it is, it’s not as funny as it once was. Today, automated tools are being developed that work to actually do a lot of that work for you. This can be both a detriment and a benefit for your staff. Today, we’ll take a look at both.
It can be too easy to overlook the importance of technology and its security, particularly in industries that are deeply steeped in tradition, regardless of how crucial that security may seem when actually considered. Just consider the modern law firm, where technology, data, and the security of such is paramount.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand that a lot can go wrong with business just about every day. If something were to go horribly wrong and you lost access to your data infrastructure, what would you do? Let’s take a look at some of these disaster scenarios and how much data backup and disaster recovery can make a difference for your organization.
When you think about the workweek, there’s a good chance that some iteration of the 40-hour week, broken into 9-to-5 shifts on the weekdays is what comes to mind. It’s just the way things are done. However, this may not be a good thing. Let’s consider the origins of our modern work schedule, and how changing it could provide us all with some serious benefits.
We often discuss how your business can avoid the impact of ransomware, but what we don’t often discuss is what happens to businesses that do, in fact, suffer from such a devastating attack. We want to use today’s blog as an opportunity to share what your business should (and should not) do in the event of a ransomware attack, as well as measures you can take to avoid suffering from yet another in the future.
Let me ask you something: how many people do you fundamentally trust? Well, in a zero trust network, that number is reduced to zero. The idea of such a network is that everyone, whether they’re operating inside of the network or out, needs to be verified… and as you might imagine, it has proven effective in preventing data breaches.
You might be familiar with the concept of hosting a service or application in-house on your own server units, and if you are, you know all about the struggles that come along with doing so. But what if we told you that you can get the same benefits of hosting your own applications and IT systems without the need for any of the bulky equipment taking up space in your office? Yes, that’s right—you too can host your business applications, even if you do not have the space to do so, and it’s all thanks to the cloud.
There are always going to be those who want to use your hard-earned data and assets to turn a profit. One of the emergent methods for hackers to do so is through twisting the “as a service” business model into network security’s worst nightmare. This type of security issue is so serious that Microsoft has declared that Phishing-as-a-Service is a major problem.
Artificial intelligence has always been an intriguing concept, from the works of Isaac Asimov to the initial work at Dartmouth College in the 1950s. Nowadays, many of the technologies that we rely on each day incorporate some version of artificial intelligence… and more progress is made each day. Of course, for all its benefits, artificial intelligence can also create some problems for businesses.
Authentication has been a major talking point for the past few years, particularly as the value of data has only increased and security has correspondingly increased in importance. As a result, more secure and reliable means of identity verification have also become more critical. Now, voice authentication is being considered as such a means.
Virtual private networking, while maybe not the most familiar term to everyone, at least seems to be pretty straightforward. Such a specific-sounding term must apply to one aspect of technology and that one aspect alone, right?
Well, kind of, sort of, not really. In actuality, there are two kinds of VPN. Let’s go over what makes them different, and which your business should utilize.
The cyberattack on SolarWinds was devastating for many reasons, and Microsoft has officially uncovered yet another type of malware used in the attack on the software provider. This time, it is a backdoor threat they have named FoggyWeb. What does this threat do and why is it so important to look at this incident even now?
The cloud is a great opportunity for businesses to increase accessibility of data and enhance productivity, especially while remote, but for those who do not know how to approach it, the cloud can be intimidating. Today, we are going to make the case for a private cloud solution and why you should consider it as a viable option for your business, even if it does not seem like it at the moment. You might be surprised by what you learn!
With countless threats out there waiting for IT professionals to slip up, it’s no small wonder that many of these professionals are opting into what is called a zero-trust policy for their security standards. But what is a zero-trust policy, and why is it so effective at curbing potentially dangerous situations for your business? Let’s investigate this in today’s blog article.
We don’t like it any more than you do, but if we have learned anything at all over the past several years, it’s that security absolutely needs to be a priority for all small businesses. In the face of high-profile ransomware attacks that can snuff companies out of existence, what are you doing to keep your own business secure? To put things in perspective, we’ve put together a list of some of the more common threats that all companies should be able to address.
When it comes to implementing new technology solutions for your business, there is always a desire to solve some sort of problem. Maybe you are not as productive as you would like to be, or perhaps there is an operational inefficiency that you hope to address or streamline through the use of the technology. Either way, the end result is the same; you are trying to make progress and move forward, not over-complicate your infrastructure.
It’s not unheard of for some threats to remain undiscovered for months or even years, as is the case with a particularly nasty one in the Microsoft Azure database system. This exploit, discovered by cloud security provider Wiz, is built into Cosmos DB, Microsoft Azure’s managed database service. Let’s take a look at the exploit and see what we can learn from it.
What would you say if we told you that someone could buy access to your organization’s network for a measly $1,000? Well, this is the unfortunate reality that we live in, where hackers have commoditized the hard work you have invested in your organization. A study from KELA shows that the average cost to buy access to a compromised network infrastructure is insignificant at best, which is why it’s more important than ever to protect your business as best you can.
Modern businesses rely on a lot of technology to stay operational, much of which can be considered hardware, or the physical computing systems that contribute to your infrastructure, like workstations, routers, switches, and servers. Unfortunately, no technology lasts forever, and this is true for hardware as well. One of the most devastating problems that a business can face is hardware failure, and no matter how well you maintain your technology, you must be ready to face down this threat at any given moment.
Remote work has been embraced over the past two years, in no small part due to the impact of the pandemic. However, some of the impacts of remote work have made it clear to many businesses that its advantages shouldn’t be sacrificed once it is no longer necessary. Let’s review how businesses can improve by continuing the practices of remote work, even after the need for remote work has passed.