Author: Casserly Consulting

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Casserly Consulting Blog

Tip of the Week: Closed A Tab On Accident? Here’s How To Restore It

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Have you ever accidentally closed a tab before you were done with it? It’s a classic case of clicking just a little too close to the X. We’ll walk you through how you can open up Google Chrome tabs, not just on your ordinary desktop web browser, but your Android device as well. It’s a lot easier than searching for the same web pages as before!

For the Chrome web browser, it’s as simple as right-clicking in the space that you would ordinarily click if you were to open a brand new tab. You will then click on Reopen Closed Tab. You can also use the keyboard shortcut for Ctrl+Shift+T.

But what if you want to access any recently closed tabs on your Android device? There’s a very simple way to do this, as well. You can start by opening up the Google Chrome app. Next, tap the three-dot menu in the top right corner of your screen. A couple selections down on the menu, you’ll see the option for Recent tabs. From this screen, you’ll be able to see all of the recent tabs that you have closed out of.

The cool thing about this screen is that you can even see the tabs of your other devices that are synced with your mobile device. To restore a closed tab, all you have to do is tap the title of the page you want reopened.

As for other browsers like Mozilla Firefox, you’ll see the option to restore your last browsing session the next time you open the web browser. All you have to do is click the Restore Previous Session. Right-clicking on the tab in Microsoft Edge will also present a similar function compared to Google Chrome.

For more great tips and tricks, visit COMPANYNAME’s blog today.

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Security Concerns Have Led To New Voting Machines In Virginia

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Regardless of your feelings on the matter, the 2016 United States presidential election was an extremely divisive one–in no small part, due to the suspicion that the outcome of the election may have been significantly influenced by hacked voting machines. This uncertainty has led to some states making strides to ensure that their technology will no longer be responsible for such doubts.

Virginia is one of those states, deciding to remove direct-recording electronic voting machines in favor of those that produce paper documentation. In addition to that, there is now legislation in Virginia that will remove all touch-screen voting devices from circulation by November 7, 2017. This is when the next governor is to be elected, along with various other positions.

According to Politico, Governor McAuliffe has pushed for legislation to provide the necessary budget to replace new voting machines, but this legislation was denied two years ago. Things have changed since then, and now the state has little choice to obtain new machines, as the old ones will no longer be certified for use.

Other states have been recommended to emulate this decision by the Board of Elections, but again–it’s only a recommendation. While paper ballots do seem to be more reliable and authentic as the tangible option, counting them can be a drag. Therefore, it only makes sense that the states would want to expedite the process with technological assistance. Even so, there is the risk that this key democratic data can be manipulated and altered.

You can find a similar scenario much closer to home, in your very own business. If your systems aren’t painstakingly maintained–as many states’ voting machines are not–they can be vulnerable to numerous hacks and other attacks. Do you really want to risk your sensitive data when a solution is so easy to find?

COMPANYNAME’s technicians can help give you the ability to better prepare for a successful future for your business. One way is by equipping you with a Unified Threat Management tool that helps protect your business from threats before they have a chance to strike. Call PHONENUMBER for more information.

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Do You Have a Data Backup In Place?

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Take a moment to imagine the absolute worst disaster scenario for your business. Does it involve a catastrophic event destroying your office building? Does it include key staff being absent from the office for extended periods of time? Does it include your business suffering from data loss or security breaches?

Most businesses that fail to recover their data following a data loss scenario go out of business within a year of the incident. Furthermore, there are a lot of small businesses out there that don’t necessarily see the value in a proper data backup system. Most just assume that they will be able to survive a loss incident, or they feel that a data loss incident won’t happen to them. This is not the right mindset to have for a business owner–especially not one that has the future of their business at heart.

Instead, you need to imagine the worst-case scenario and ask if your business continuity plan includes a data backup solution to minimize damage and downtime. Here are three ways that a cloud-based Backup and Disaster Recovery (BDR) solution can help your business survive even the worst data loss incidents.

Multiple Backups Daily
Traditionally, businesses have relied on tape backup for most of their backup needs. Due to the increased strain on your network, tape backups need to be performed during off-hours, and only once a day. The problem with this is that you could potentially lose up to an entire day’s worth of data and progress. Cloud-based BDR takes multiple backups as often as every fifteen minutes, which allows for higher redundancy.

Cloud-Based Storage
There’s something to be said about the cloud and its ability to make data backup storage far easier. Thanks to the cloud, a BDR device can take and store multiple backups in secure, off-site locations for later access. After all, you can’t store your backups in the same location as the rest of your data. What if you were to experience a major disaster, like a flood or ransomware infection, which leads to the destruction of your in-house data infrastructure? When this time comes, you’ll be glad you’re storing data in the cloud and away from the site of the incident.

Reduced Downtime
When your business can quickly restore data in a moment’s notice, the amount of downtime suffered drastically falls. This helps your business stay active even under the worst circumstances. BDR can instantaneously restore your data to the network-attached device, allowing your organization to quickly get back in action following a downtime incident. The BDR device can even act as a temporary server while you make more permanent arrangements.

How does your business protect itself from data loss? Let us know in the comments, and be sure to reach out to us at PHONENUMBER if your business needs help with its technology.

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Tip of the Week: 3 Useful Microsoft Word Features

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Microsoft Office’s Word is undoubtedly one of the most popular word processing software in the world, perhaps even the most popular. Still, there are many people who use Word on a regular basis without putting the majority of its features to use. Here’s three more Word capabilities that you’ll find very handy.

Change the Case of your Text
HAVE YOU EVER ACCIDENTALLY WRITTEN SOMETHING ENTIRELY IN CAPS? It happens to everyone. However, many people don’t realize that you don’t have to delete everything and rewrite it. Microsoft Word has a handy feature that allows users to change the case of your text. You can choose from: Sentence case. Lowercase. UPPERCASE. Capitalize Each Word. and tOGGLE cASE.

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Auto-Update Date & Time
Even though the majority of business correspondences are done digitally, there are still some times when you need to write a good ol’ fashioned direct mail letter. For example, many businesses like to send a welcome message/onboarding letter to new clients. These letters will probably be uniform, with some personalization for each client. Word offers some assistance in making sure the information is updated in the letter. One very handy one when working with templates is the auto-update Date & Time feature.

Under the Insert tab, click the Date & Time button and a pop-up window will appear. Click the date format you want and then be sure to click the “update automatically” box in the bottom right corner. Now the date will automatically be updated every time you open (or print) the document.

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Get Rid of Unwanted Formatting
Most people who use Microsoft Word on a regular basis have had to deal with accidentally pasting text that held the formatting of the document you copied it from. This contagious font will even take over the rest of the document, following the formatting of what was pasted rather than your desired format.

Word has a command that you can use to Clear All Formatting. It can be found in the menu and its icon looks like the letter ‘A’ with a pink eraser. You can also use the keyboard shortcut: Ctrl+Space

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For more great information about the software you use every day, visit our blog regularly.

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How Remote Monitoring and Management Can Help Your Business

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As a small business, your assets are limited more than you’d like them to be. You have a budget that yearns for more flexibility, and there are only so many hours in the day to accomplish all of your goals. Thankfully, in an era that’s more connected than any that came before, modern technology provides solutions to businesses that need to get a little more value out of their budgets. One of these solutions is called remote monitoring and management.

Imagine having a persistent computer problem that you don’t know how to solve. It’s been bugging you for a while now, but you don’t have an in-house IT department to fix the problem. Imagine having the ability to log into a service portal and put in a ticket explaining what the problem is. A technician will see this ticket, send you a quick reply, and arrange for a time to remote into your computer to solve the issue for you. Imagine how convenient this would be!

Remote monitoring and management is a great tool that allows your business to take advantage of the many wonders of the connected world, all for the sake of keeping your business running as smoothly as possible. We’ll give you a few examples of how your organization can take full advantage of remote monitoring solutions.

Update and Patch Implementation
Have you ever had to install patches and security updates on every single computer in your office? It can be a frustrating and time-consuming task, especially considering how often these updates need to be implemented. Remote monitoring and maintenance allows our technicians to remote into your computers and deploy the patches and updates all at once, without an on-site visit.

Security Monitoring
Have you ever been concerned with network security? You’re probably wondering how you can keep threats out of your infrastructure when you don’t know they exist. One of the best ways you can do so is by having technicians remotely monitor your network for security troubles. It’s not even limited to just threats, either. We can remotely monitor your network for any troublesome developments, like signs of hardware failure, that could create large issues down the line.

Quick and Easy Service
Waiting around for someone to fix your computer wastes time that could be better spent on other tasks. You can take back this time by having a technician remote into your devices in order to resolve issues, rather than waiting for a technician to arrive on-site to resolve them. Sure, there are more pressing issues that require on-site assistance, but most issues can actually be solved remotely.

Could your business use remote assistance from time to time? COMPANYNAME can help with that. To learn more, reach out to us at PHONENUMBER.

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Artificial Intelligence Can Be Useful To Hackers, Too

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Man matching wits with computer isn’t new territory. In 1830, a locomotive raced a horse to see which was superior in terms of speed and distance. 1956 saw the first time a human played chess against a computer. Today, the time has come when an artificial intelligence has begun to break into a new territory that was dominated by humans for thousands of years: crime.

At a recent technology expo, a human hacker and a sophisticated computer that is capable of machine learning each attempted to spear-phish as many victims as possible through Twitter. For two hours, both entities refined their message in an effort to be more effective against the target. At approximately 1.075 tweets per minute, the human was able to make 129 tweets, 49 of which were successful. The computer was able to make 810 tweets in two hours, which is about 6.75 tweets per minute. In that time, 275 victims were converted.

Even though humans had a higher attempt-to-victim percentage, the machine was able to get 5 times as many victims in the same amount of time.

In a Cylance poll held during ConFab, attendees were asked if criminal hackers will use AI for offensive purposes in the coming year, to which 62 percent answered in the affirmative. Even though no one could cite any specific incidents, the overwhelming consensus among experts is that hackers have already begun using AI. Like all high-tech crimes, AI is a global issue that changes fast and often, making it extremely difficult for law enforcement to find and prosecute perpetrators. Even when they’re able to identify offenders, they often run into issues where the laws and statutes are well behind the technology in question.

Another reason that identifying and combatting AI is so difficult is because there are constant debates among experts around the globe on what exactly constitutes as AI. Think about it like this: millions of people consult virtual assistants, like Siri and Alexa, every day. However, if you ask the majority of them if they were using artificial intelligence, they’d say ‘No.’ In reality, they are both examples of AI being put to use to enhance the lives of its users.

There are a lot of potential uses for AI by cyber criminals. For example, hackers could use machine learning capabilities to write programs that personalize emails with malware attachments. As that technology is developed, there will likely be a time when distinguishing actual email and phishing attacks is nearly impossible. Another probable use of machine learning and AI for hacking is drastically reducing the time and resources it takes to find and exploit vulnerabilities in software though automation.

For a small business, AI might not be not something that you need to concern yourself with – and perhaps it isn’t, at the moment. However, AI is already being incorporated into many aspects of business with great success and many experts feel it will be very important in the near future. What do you think? Would you be willing to give AI a try? Let us know in the comments!

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Tip of the Week: Android Oreo Is Double-Stuffed With Features

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Earlier this year, Android released Oreo, version 8.0 of their popular mobile device operating system. Whether you’ve already updated to the latest version of this OS or are still waiting for your update, it has several new or improved features that you’ll want to consider using. Let’s look at five of our (many) favorite additions to the OS.

Autofill Passwords for Apps – Considering the widespread popularity of using an application over accessing programs within your browser, Google has decided to bring autofill beyond its use in the Chrome browser. The ability to autofill and store passwords for applications are a feature that many people will welcome.

Picture in Picture – Have you ever been in a video conference on your mobile device at the same time you needed to access an email or other information from an application? With Android Oreo, you can continue a video call or view a clip started in Chrome using the picture-in-picture mode by just tapping the home button when the video is playing.

New Emojis – Even though the use of emojis in business correspondence is marginal, they’re still one of the features that users are looking forward to with the Android Oreo release. Luckily, many mobile devices are used for both professional and personal communications, which means that you’ll have plenty of opportunity to use these fun additions to your library of emojis.

Smart Text Select – Anyone who regularly uses a computer likely considers the Select Text, Copy, and Paste functions to be very handy tools. To improve functionality, Oreo has introduced a Smart Text Select feature that is much easier to use than trying to drag and highlight text manually on your smartphone.

Snooze Notifications – Especially when you use a mobile device that for both work and personal uses, you’re probably going to receive notifications that you might not want to deal with immediately – but would like to check out a bit later when you get a chance. With Android Oreo, you can snooze notifications. Simply swipe to the right on the notification until a clock icon pops up. From there, select the amount of time you want to delay the notification by and go back about your regularly scheduled activity.

How do you feel about Android’s latest release? Have you found any other useful features? Or perhaps you still prefer to use iOS, regardless of how many new features Android adds? Sound off in the comments! We’d love to hear your opinion!

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3 Ways Your Business Can Prioritize Data Security

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In the wake of the Equifax data breach, which placed the personal information of 143 million users at risk, the issue of data security is at the forefront of social consciousness. Your organization needs to go about its daily business as if it will experience a data breach at any given moment. This involves looking at the worst-case scenario, and planning for it so that you’re never caught unaware.

Here are three preventative measures that you can take to secure your business.

Use Strong Passwords and Two-Factor Authentication
Passwords are often the only thing standing between your online accounts and your personal data. Think about it; a string of maybe 8-to-10 characters is the only thing keeping your sensitive information secure. Doesn’t it make sense to make this password as complex and difficult to crack as possible? You would think so, but a surprising number of folks still use the word “password” as their password. You should be using both upper and lower-case letters, numbers, and symbols, formed into a seemingly random string of characters. Doing so keeps hackers from guessing your password and accessing an account.

Secure Your Network with Unified Threat Management
Network security depends on both internal and external measures, which include network-attached security devices like a Unified Threat Management (UTM) tool. A UTM consists of an enterprise-level firewall, antivirus, spam blocker, and content filter, all to keep threats from taking root on your network in the first place. Furthermore, you’ll be able to react to issues that become prevalent before too much damage is done, which is a valuable opportunity in its own right.

Educate Your Users on Best Practices
Your employees access important information on a day-to-day basis, and they are often in contact with more threats than you’d like them to be. Something as simple as a spam message in the wrong inbox or a carefully disguised link could be all it takes to expose your business to dangerous situations. Take the time to teach your employees how to identify potentially dangerous scenarios, like phishing phone calls and sketchy emails or attachments. Often times, you’ll stop attacks from taking off simply by keeping your employees informed.

By using these three methods to secure your organization, you’ll be less likely to suffer from a data breach. To learn more about network security and other ways to keep yourself secure, subscribe to our blog, and call our IT professionals at PHONENUMBER.

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Without A Data Backup, You Aren’t Ready

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Most modern companies rely on computers to at least some extent, particularly if there is some sort of delegation of services involved. Whether it’s an office filled with computers and server units, or simply a retailer with point-of-sale equipment, the companies of today need computers and data in order to function as intended. To protect this data, you need a method to preserve it–which is where data backup comes into play.

Your business’s data is susceptible to all sorts of danger stemming from malware, hackers, hardware failure, and even user error. It doesn’t take much to expose your data to something that could cause it harm, so it makes sense that you should have a plan put into place to protect it. Most small businesses that fail to recover from a disaster within 18 months following a data loss incident will be forced to cease operations, which showcases the importance of data backup. What’s the best way to combat data loss?

A Backup and Disaster Recovery, or BDR, is a great way to protect your network and data infrastructure. It’s a network-attached backup system that allows you to take a preventative stance against even the worst disasters. Since the device is attached to your network, it can perform backups at various increments automatically. All you have to do is set which parts of your infrastructure you want it to back up. Furthermore, you can set it up so that backups only occur on files that have been changed since the last one has been taken, allowing for a more lightweight solution.

The most important part of BDR is that your data is automatically uploaded to the cloud. The best part of this is that it’s safe and secure, tucked away from anything that could cause it harm. While your data is hosted in an off-site data center or the cloud, it’s protected and prepared for the worst, allowing your organization to ensure survival even under the most desperate situations. It’s just one way that preventative thinking can help your organization avoid downtime and the immense costs it can accrue.

To keep your organization from suffering due to data loss, a BDR solution is your best bet. To learn more, reach out to COMPANYNAME at PHONENUMBER.

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Tip of the Week: The Holidays Can Be A Time Of Work And Play, Even While Traveling

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The holidays are approaching, whether we are ready for them or not. With the holidays comes time off, which means that it’s awfully easy to fall behind post-vacation. Another concern is the amount of identity theft and credit card fraud that comes about during this time of year. We’ll discuss some of the many ways that your organization can take advantage of technology this holiday season without putting yourself in harm’s way.

Know Your Wi-Fi Options
You can’t be productive without an Internet connection. This includes either mobile data or Wi-Fi. Chances are you’d rather look for an open wireless network than waste your mobile data, but unsecured networks can put your data at risk. One option you have is to check the reviews on sites like Yelp! and Trip Advisor to see what other guests have to say about Wi-Fi connections. Ideally, you want a VPN to secure your data while it’s in transit.

Bring Along Extra Accessories
You never know when that extra LAN cable or micro-USB cord will come in handy. Furthermore, if you’ve ever done any traveling, you’ll know that buying new equipment from an airport can be more expensive than you’d like.

Carry On Your Devices
If you need to travel for business, be sure to put your devices into your carry-on baggage at any airport. The last thing you need is for a screen to get cracked while your luggage is rolling around the cargo area of a plane. Furthermore, you don’t want your luggage to be either lost or stolen while in-flight. It’s just safer for you to keep anything important in your carry-on luggage.

Be Wary of Free Wi-Fi
You should keep your device from automatically connecting to any open wireless connection that it latches onto. The reasoning for this is that hackers will literally lurk on them, waiting to steal any data that presents itself to them. This can put both your own data and that of customers at risk–all because you checked your email.

Turn Off Your Autofill and Password Management
A password manager keeps you from entering in the same information over and over, but it should be disabled while you’re traveling. What if someone steals your device? They would have access to anything that was auto-filled on it. It’s like leaving the keys to your car in the front seat without locking the door. It’s not impossible to go a few days without auto-populating passwords, and it sure beats the fallout of losing a device.

Use External Drives and USB to Back Up Data
What if you are working on a project while out of the office on vacation, and you misplace your device or it’s damaged beyond repair? All of that progress would be gone. Now, imagine that you have that data backed up to an external hard drive. Now you don’t have to worry about losing data or progress while working out of the office.

There are just a few practices that can keep your organization from succumbing to the dangers of traveling and working at the same time. If you have any questions, thoughts, or concerns about using technology while out of the office, reach out to us at PHONENUMBER.