Category: Best Practices

Categories
Best Practices

8 Data Backup Terms You Should Know

8_data_backup_terms_400.jpg

Data is an asset, there’s no getting around this fact. Therefore, your business needs to consider it important enough to protect with a data backup and disaster recovery solution, as even something unlikely, like a natural disaster or hacking attack, could place your organization in peril. We’re going to take a look at some of the different kinds of data backup and disaster recovery you can expect to see, as well as four terms that you should understand.

The Types of Backup
Here are four of the most common types of backup that you can expect to see in an office environment:

  • Full backup: This type of backup makes a copy of all selected files in their entirety. Most backup solutions will have to initially go through this process, and since this is such an intensive process, it will take longer than other data backup types. If this is your preferred method of backup, it will likely have to be done after-hours, as it takes a long time and could tie up processes that are needed during the workday.
  • Differential backup: This type of backup only backs up changes made to the data. This allows for faster backups, but the process of recovery is much slower.
  • Incremental backup: This type of backup is much like a differential backup, with the main difference being that an incremental backup will always back up the data regardless of if a full backup was completed or not.
  • Mirror backup: A mirror backup makes a real-time duplicate of the source and backs it up. This creates complete redundancy, but it also comes with various issues. For example, if the material is deleted by mistake, the mirror will also be deleted. This reason alone dissuades IT technicians from using mirror backups as a viable solution for their backup needs.

Now that the types of data backup have been explained, we’ll go over some of the backup-related terms you might want to know.

  • Business continuity: A business continuity plan is designed to help your business get back in proper functioning order if you’re ever hit by an unfortunate situation. All organizations need to have a business continuity plan in place.
  • Disaster recovery: Disaster recovery is specifically there in the event your business suffers from a disaster involving data loss. This includes cyberattacks, sabotage, user error, and even weather-based disasters that destroy infrastructure.
  • Recovery Point Objective (RPO): RPO is a benchmark that represents which data will be recovered by your business if it wants to get back to normal business operations following a disaster.
  • Recovery Time Objective (RTO): RTO is a benchmark that represents the time needed for your business’ data to be restored. Minimizing this number is critical to keep downtime as low as possible.

COMPANYNAME can help your business by equipping it with a comprehensive data backup and disaster recovery system. To learn more, reach out to us at PHONENUMBER.

Categories
Best Practices

Tip of the Week: 5 Windows Tricks

windows_tips_400.jpg

The Windows 10 operating system is the most common operating system for business use, which is what makes it surprising that so few know how to adjust its appearance to suit their preferences. For this week’s tip, we’ll go over a few ways to adjust what you’re seeing and/or looking at for maximum productivity.

Quicker Settings
Your settings are your greatest tool to control your Windows 10 preferences. If you need to change a setting on the fly, you can pull up the menu by pressing CTRL + I or Windows Key + I.

Zoom In/Out
Whether it’s a graphic you want a closer look at or text that’s just a smidge too small (or the opposite cases) the ability to zoom in or out on the entire screen can quickly become a handy trick to know. You have options here: you can either press CTRL + (+) or CTRL + (-) to zoom in or out, or press CTRL + Scroll Wheel to accomplish the same. Pressing CTRL + 0 will reset the screen to normal.

Changing Active Applications
If you’ve really got a good groove flowing as you work, pausing to switch windows with your mouse can really trip you up. With some practice, you can use a keyboard shortcut instead, eliminating this inconvenience. Holding Alt as you press Tab will bring up smaller versions of your active windows, and using the directional keys (while still holding Alt) will allow you to select a different one to work in.

Switching Monitors
Workplaces are seeing more and more multi-monitor setups in use. A shortcut makes it easy to move application windows around and across screens. To move a window to the other monitor, press Windows Key + Shift + Left/Right. Whether you choose left or right depends on which way you want your window to move.

You can use a simpler version of this shortcut to dock an application or browser window to the side of its current monitor, too. All you press for this one is Windows Key + Left/Right.

Shortcuts like these can turn you into a Windows power user in no time at all, with a little practice. Do you have a shortcut that you use frequently enough to make it second nature? Share it with us in the comments!

Categories
Best Practices

Tip of the Week: Cover Your Assets By Properly Disposing of Your Old Computers

b2ap3_thumbnail_dispose_of_computers_400.jpg It can be difficult to think about replacing expensive hardware like desktops and servers without breaking your budget, much less having to deal with your old data. Thankfully, there are certain steps that you can take to make the transition to a new PC or server much easier, and it all starts with properly getting rid of your old technology.

Before we get started, though, we want to emphasize the importance of taking preventative measures. These keep you from getting into a situation where you don’t have the technology you need. In other words, if your desktop is outdated, then you shouldn’t wait until it completely breaks down before you replace it. This makes it imperative that you identify warning signs for your ailing technology before it suddenly stops working.

Warning Signs
To get started thinking about what to do when your computer breaks down, look for the following warning signs.

  • General PC slowdown
  • Freezing or even operating system crashes
  • Corrupted files or data loss
  • Random shutdowns
  • Startup errors

Keep in mind that these symptoms could be signs of other PC issues as well.

Understand When You Need to Replace Technology
Nothing your business utilizes can last forever, including technology like workstations and servers. If you suspect that your PC is reaching its limit, it’s crucial that you implement a strategy to properly replace it and dispose of the old one. If there’s no such policy to adhere to, you could be putting your business at risk of a data breach, and putting yourself at odds when the investigators look into whether it was your fault for failing to follow best practices. Gartner explains, “Best-practice PC disposal processes provide an audit trail documenting the serial-numbered inventory of disposed PCs, certification that proprietary and personal data has been removed and made unrecoverable, and transfer/reuse of software licenses, where applicable.”

Does your business have old technology that’s holding you back from moving forward? If so, contact COMPANYNAME right away. Our technicians can help your business completely wipe the data off of your old technology’s hard drives, or transfer it to your new, more recent hardware. Plus, we can recycle your business’s old devices so they won’t cause harm to the environment.

Our goal is to help your business make a smooth transition to new hardware solutions without putting your sensitive data at risk. To learn more about what we can do for your organization, reach out to us at PHONENUMBER.

Categories
Best Practices

Tip of the Week: What You Should Do After You’ve Cracked Your Phone’s Screen

b2ap3_thumbnail_cracked_screen_400.jpg A cracked screen can happen to anyone at any time. All it takes is bumping into someone or your grip slipping off of your device, and boom–cracked screen. In cases, such as this, what’s the best way to move forward?

The first step is accepting that you may have made a mistake and dropped the phone, but this doesn’t help you fix it. Here are six ways that you can approach your cracked-screen scenario.

Just Leave it Be
If you really don’t want to get a new device or look into ways to fix your phone screen, well… just leave it as it is. This is certainly an option if the screen still works fine, but it might be a bit annoying to deal with. One thing you can do is patch up the screen with a screen protector so that it doesn’t fall apart, and hope for the best. However, if the crack is on the outside and you’re scratching your fingers on it, the next choice might be worth looking into.

Try to Find a Replacement
Since everyone and their brother owns a smartphone these days, and they are often replaced before the devices themselves are unusable, you’ll have an easier time finding a spare than ever before. It’s often the case that if you find a suitable device, all you have to do is move the SIM card from the old device to the new one. Just keep in mind that your replacement device needs to be on the same carrier (a Verizon phone, for example, can’t be used on a Sprint network). If you are the owner of a business that likes to provide phones to your workers, ensuring that you have insurance covering the phone can be the best way to mitigate the cost of one of your people inevitably cracking the screen on their company-issued smartphone.

Gamble on a DIY Repair
If a second-hand smartphone doesn’t sound like something you’d enjoy, perhaps you could attempt to repair the device yourself. While there are plenty of YouTube tutorials for do-it-yourselfers, you’ll be taking a risk that you might otherwise be better off without. Therefore, only attempt to fix it yourself if you’re aware of the consequences and committed to accepting the results, even if it doesn’t work out your way. You can probably find a replacement screen on the Internet from sources like eBay, but it might be more complex of a job than you’ve bargained for.

Have Someone Fix the Screen
If you’d rather not take any chances with your device’s maintenance, you can try to find someone who is willing to do the job for you. In most cases, this means finding a local company that you can hire for the repair job. Sometimes the service provider itself will handle this, but more likely they would have to send it out for repairs. You want to avoid going through the manufacturer (unless you’d rather foot a pricey repair bill), so it’s best to reach out to your internal IT department or a trusted IT provider.

Trade or Sell Your Phone
If you know that you’re just going to buy a new phone anyway, you might be able to get a little bit of value out of your old device before it’s gone forever. Try trading in your phone or selling it to someone who’s willing to pay a little bit of extra cash for it. Just make sure that you eliminate any data located on the device before handing it over. If you don’t know how to do this, just give us a call and we’ll be happy to assist you.

Look for a Better Price
If you’re just going to purchase a new device, you can find unlocked smartphones online–often at a better price than their designated commercial value. Even better is that these devices aren’t held back by contracts, so wireless carriers aren’t a problem either. However, it’s important that you find a device that actually works. Look for sellers who have a good reputation for providing quality used products. Remember, every time you purchase a used device, you’re dealing with at least some sort of risk.

With smartphones being extremely important for communications and remote productivity, every business should be cognizant of solid smartphone practices. If you are looking to manage the role smartphones have on your network security, or, if you’d like to expand the role smartphones have in your business, you should talk to one of COMPANYNAME’s IT professionals. We can present solutions like mobile device management, allowing your business to take advantage of a comprehensive bring your own device policy. We also have lines on innovative ways to affordably improve organizational smartphone deployments. Call us today at PHONENUMBER.

Categories
Best Practices

Tip of the Week: Resolve a Poor Internet Connection By Following These 3 Steps

b2ap3_thumbnail_internet_connectivity_speed_400.jpg When the Internet goes down in the modern office, chaos ensues. The only way to subdue the panicked masses is to provide answers and to resolve the issue, ASAP. If you happen to find yourself in such an Internet-less predicament, then be sure to follow these three troubleshooting tips.

Is Everything Plugged In?
This may seem like a rather trivial thing to check, but sometimes the worst problems happen because the obvious is overlooked. When your Internet connection fails, be sure to check key components of your network like your modem and cables in order to make sure that everything is plugged in. Considering all of the activity that goes on in a work space, it’s important to keep in mind that accidents happen and equipment can get bumped and the wrong devices can get unplugged. Remember, looks can be deceiving and even a loose cable can be the culprit, so giving your cable connections a firm jiggle may prove an easy fix.

Turn Your Technology Off and on Again
It’s rather comical how many technology woes are remedied by simply turning a device off and on again, yet it’s a troubleshooting method that’s wholeheartedly recommended by IT technicians because it routinely does the trick! One piece of equipment you’ll want to restart first is the modem. If that doesn’t do it, then try restarting your wireless router or PC.

Now, before you go and compulsively restart everything, you’re first going to want to pause and apply some logic to the situation by asking some basic questions. For example, if the Internet is out on your workstation but it’s working on another office computer, then you know it’s an issue with your PC and not the network. If your smartphone lost Internet signal but the signal your PC that’s wired into the network is working fine, then you’ll know that you’ve got a problem with your wireless router and not the modem itself.

Call Your Internet Service Provider
If you go through the previous two steps and you’re still experiencing issues with your Internet connection, then the problem may lie with your Internet service provider. While it’s certainly a relief to learn that the problem isn’t your fault, it’s nevertheless annoying to still have to deal with lost productivity. If you do contact your ISP regarding the issue, they should be able to confirm if it’s an issue on their end, and they may even be able to help by giving you an estimate of when the issue will be resolved. This insight will allow you to better manage your downtime by helping you know what to do next, like sending your staff out to lunch early while the Internet is being fixed instead of having everybody sit around with hands in their pockets.

Bonus Tip: Have a Backup Plan
While we’re on the topic of lost productivity, it’s good to remind business owners about having a business continuity plan that includes backup solutions that allow employees to continue working while the Internet is down, like apps that aren’t totally dependent on the Internet and perhaps a way to connect mission-critical devices to a 4G wireless signal.

While it’s common for businesses to lose Internet connection every so often, it shouldn’t happen so frequently that it eats into your bottom line and causes serious problems. If this is the case, then you’ll want IT professionals to take a look at your network. COMPANYNAME can perform this task for you by discovering the issue and taking the necessary steps to get your network connections working at optimal levels. For assistance troubleshooting any of your company’s technologies, give us a call at PHONENUMBER.

Categories
Best Practices

Tip of the Week: How to Be Active and Proactive With Your Network Security

b2ap3_thumbnail_net_security_tips_400.jpg Security troubles have many causes, but the only way to protect your business from any of them is to implement a comprehensive enterprise-level security solution. There are two other ways that you can work to protect your business, implementing software patches, and avoiding social engineering attempts.

Applying Software Patches
It should be clear that software patches are designed to fix security problems and improve the functionality of the software, but some organizations simply don’t have time to implement them manually, or they simply don’t understand the purpose for them. Part of the problem is that sometimes the developers aren’t necessarily clear that patches are available, while other times those within your organization may not even know how to administer them. Regardless of the reason, there are usually problems on a network that will go unattended for extended periods of time.

Most hackers only want to take advantage of the issues they can detect. Thus, there could be countless threats out there designed to target countless unpatched vulnerabilities on your network that not even the hackers can know about. It makes sense for a hacker to use just one exploit to target a handful of vulnerabilities. Therefore, it’s important to make sure that all software that you use is updated and patched.

Additionally, your systems shouldn’t be running unused programs. The more software you have, the more ways hackers can take advantage of your organization’s network vulnerabilities. Moreover, you might even be wasting revenue on renewing software licenses that you don’t even need, so it’s best perform a network audit from time to time to get the worthless software off your infrastructure.

Dodging Social Engineering Attempts
Social engineering is broadly categorized as any method that takes advantage of unprepared users or those who are ignorant of solid network security practices. Examples include a phone call or email message claiming that the network has been breached by a foreign entity and that “tech support” needs to remote into the computer and resolve the issue. There are other, more subtle methods as well, such as targeted spear phishing attacks that go after specific users with personal information that convince them that the hacker is someone in authority.

These types of attacks vary in sophistication, but they can range anywhere from an employee receiving a message claiming that they’ve won a prize, to the intruder physically following your employees into the office and stealing sensitive data manually. In instances like these, a little bit of employee training can go a long way. Teach them to look for anything suspicious, and inform them that vigilance is incredibly important in the workplace.

These two security improvements barely scratch the surface of what your organization should be focusing on for network security. If you want to fully protect your business to the best of your ability, give us a call at PHONENUMBER.

Categories
Best Practices

Tip of the Week: You May Want to Remove Your Wi-Fi Information From the WiGLE Database

b2ap3_thumbnail_ssid_name_400.jpg The next time you look at your device’s available Wi-Fi connections when in public, take a look at what some of the local connection names are. Chances are that you’ll see some names that match a nearby organization or family. Others might still be using the default SSID, like Linksys/Netgear-something-or-other. Others might get a little more creative. The latter example may have the right idea; using an obscure wireless network name is much more secure than naming your connection after what it’s associated with.

That’s not to say that those who have named their home Wi-Fi networks things like “FBI Surveillance Van 3” or “Pretty Fly for a Wi-Fi” are in the right, but you get the idea. Instead of misleading people with your SSID, you want to think of your wireless network’s name as a shield against possible hacking attacks. In fact, it’s recommended that you don’t broadcast it at all if you can help it, but this isn’t always an option–especially for organizations that offer Wi-Fi to the public as part of their consumer obligation.

One website in particular highlights the importance of naming your Wi-Fi network something inconspicuous. A service called WiGLE collects information from wireless networks and compiles it in an online database that’s searchable. WiGLE also offers software solutions that can map, query, and update these databases. Among the uses for WiGLE are: educating the public, research projects, site surveys, journalism, analyzing wireless usage, and finding usable networks while on the go.

Knowing that a tool like this exists, should make you stop and ask several questions. If your wireless network’s data is being collected, is it at risk? Is it something that you should be worried about? How do you remove your business’s wireless network from WiGLE? Well, WiGLE has posted answers to all of these questions:

“If your network is in WiGLE and you don’t like it, we’ll take it out immediately, but you should look into making your network harder to detect AND more secure; remember that you’re the one bombarding passers-by with your signal. We aren’t affiliated directly with any particular community or interest (other than our own), but we applaud the efforts of the people who wrote the stumbling software that feeds our project, the people looking to use wireless in innovative ways, and especially the community of people who just dig wireless network access and dig sharing it.”

To learn more, you can access the website here.

What are your thoughts on WiGLE? Let us know in the comments, and be sure to reach out to us for help securing your company’s wireless network.

Are you confident in the security of your wireless network? Don’t hesitate to call us at PHONENUMBER if you feel it’s time to audit one of your most targetable entry-points.

Categories
Best Practices

Tip of the Week: Activate These Solutions Now Before You Misplace Your Mobile Device Later

b2ap3_thumbnail_find_your_lost_phone_400.jpg Can’t find your mobile device? If you’ve taken precautions and enabled solutions designed to track the whereabouts of your device, then you’ve got no reason to panic. Of course, hindsight is 20/20, so you’ll want to make sure you activate a phone-finding solution now (while you’ve got your device in your sights).

For an iPhone or Apple Device
If you’re an Apple enthusiast, you can use the Find My iPhone feature to locate any device connected to your Apple account. Log into your iCloud account or download the Find My iPhone app (before you lose your device, of course), which will help you keep track of your devices should you lose them. You can even track where your device is and where it has been. You can even lock the device and send it a message telling whoever finds it how to contact you! 

For an Android Device
Android makes finding your lost device as easy as performing a Google search. If you’re signed into your Google account, and you have your device linked to it, all you have to do is type into the search bar, “Find my Phone.” As long as there’s a device connected to your Google account, you’ll be shown a small map in the search results which shows you where the device is located. You can then proceed to ring the device and find it, if it is turned on and nearby.

For Other Devices
If you lose a more obscure device, you might have a little more trouble locating it. Thanks to a great app called Prey, you can find just about any laptop or smartphone that may be missing. You can install Prey for free on up to three devices. If the thief hasn’t completely wiped your device, you’ll have a decent shot at discovering who has found it. Provided that your device has a Wi-Fi chip, a webcam, and the app installed, Prey can take a picture of whoever has found the device as well as where it is located.

Any devices that have Prey installed on them will automatically issue a report to you every so often, starting at 20 minutes. This can tell you exactly what’s happening with your device. This includes webcam snapshots, desktop captures, program installations, changed files, and so much more. Of course, if you think that maybe someone has just found your device and hasn’t stolen it, you have the option of letting them know how to contact you through various methods. Worst case scenario, you can lock it or remotely wipe it to secure any data located on it.

For more great tips and tricks on how to get the most out of your technology, subscribe to COMPANYNAME’s blog.

Categories
Best Practices

Tip of the Week: How to Charge Your Mobile Device Battery Faster

b2ap3_thumbnail_charge_your_smartphone_battery_400.jpg Most of the time, you don’t care about how long it takes to charge your device’s battery–that is, until you find yourself in a bind and need a full charge ASAP! It’s in a moment like this when you frantically ask the question, “Is there any way to make this battery charge any faster!?” Fortunately, there is.

Power Off Your Device
The first charging tip happens to be the most obvious: turn off the device while it charges. This way, your battery is fully devoted to the task of charging, instead of your juice being diverted to open apps.

Although, as we’re all well aware, there are many times when you need a charge, but you’re not in a position to power off your device. After all, you may need to take a phone call or use the device to get work done. In an all-too-common scenario such as this, there are actions you can take to speed up a charge. Consider the following.

Disable the Device’s Internet Connection
Your phone uses a bunch of juice just to stay connected to the World Wide Web. If the task you’re working on doesn’t require an Internet connection, then you can disconnect from the web by activating airplane mode. While in airplane mode, you can still use many of your device’s core apps, like the calendar, calculator, alarm clock, etc.

Turn Off Bluetooth
Bluetooth is another major power drain for mobile devices. If you’re not in need of a Bluetooth signal, then your device will charge faster if Bluetooth is turned off.

Use a Wall Outlet
Yes, you can charge your device while it’s plugged into another device’s USB port, but the reality of the situation is that a direct connection to a wall outlet provides way more juice than another device’s USB port. In fact, in some scenarios, you may experience that a device charging via another device’s USB only prevents your device from losing power more quickly.

The mechanics behind this actually makes a lot of sense. Essentially, different chargers have different power outputs. PC Advisor explains, “While a PC’s USB port is specified at 2.5W for USB 1.0 and 2.0 and 4.5W for USB 3.0 (so always use a USB 3.0 port in preference to USB 1.0 or 2.0 when available), a phone charger might be rated at 5W and a tablet charger 10W, for example.”

Upgrade Your Charger
We should note that just because you’ve got your device plugged into the wall, doesn’t mean that it’s receiving the maximum charge. Sometimes, a charger may be rated at 5W when your device can accept a higher charge like 10W. If this is the case, then upgrading your charger appropriately will allow you to take full advantage of your phone’s charging potential. To better understand your device’s charging capability, consult the owner’s manual.

Quick Charge 2.0 By Qualcomm
Thinking beyond the tweaks you can make to your device, you can employ an outside solution like Quick Charge 2.0 by Qualcomm and have a 3300mAh battery reach 60 percent capacity in only 30 minutes. Compare this to a normal 5W charger which would charge the same battery to 12 percent in the same amount of time. Of course, the catch is that the device needs to be running certain Snapdragon processors. So again, be sure to look into your device’s capabilities before following through with this solution. See the Quick Charge 2.0 in action by clicking here >>

By trying these best practices, you should be able to get the charge you need in order to supercharge your productivity! Do you have any additional tips that you try to get the most out of your device’s battery? If so, share them in the comments below!

Categories
Best Practices

Tip of the Week: Worried About Identity Theft at Work? Follow These Tips for Peace of Mind

b2ap3_thumbnail_protect_your_workers_identities_400.jpg The Bureau of Justice estimated that five percent of the entire U.S. population were victimized by identity thieves, a total of 11.7 million people. While the methods of collecting the data that identity thieves need to commit their crime vary from dumpster diving for carelessly discarded documents, to email phishing scams, there is a particular target that can easily supply them with the data they will need: the workplace.

While many businesses must collect a lot of personal data from their clients for billing purposes, their employees are also made vulnerable if some of that data was to be absconded with. After all, in order to properly pay an employee for their work, an employer will need a lot of their personally identifiable information on record. As a result, a workplace becomes a high-value target for someone seeking the data necessary to complete fraudulent actions in someone else’s name and becomes the responsibility of the entire business to safeguard that data, for the sake of their employees and their clients.

To that end, every employee should be educated in the best practices for protecting a company’s trove of sensitive information, and policies need to be implemented and enforced to ensure that these best practices are followed. To get you started with securing your office, make sure these four best practices are followed by everyone associated with your company.

Don’t Leave Workstations Unattended
Computers need to be locked and only accessible by its user’s password. Otherwise, anyone (be it a less-than-trustworthy employee or someone off the street stumbling across an opportunity) could access that workstation and any company documents available to that employee.

Go Paperless
Identity thieves love paper trails. Whether it be copies of sensitive files that make their way to the trash, or even documents that get left lying around the office, the fact of the matter is that having paper copies of sensitive information only increases the risk that this information will get stolen. Going paperless is a way to minimize this risk entirely.

Train Employees to Know What Email Scams Looks Like
Scams targeting email inboxes are some of the top ways that identities are compromised. Therefore, in addition to having a good spam blocking solution in place, you’re going to want to make sure that every worker knows what an email scam looks like so they won’t fall for one. You may know how to spot an obvious email scam, like an unsolicited email requesting sensitive information, but how sure are you that your staff knows what a scam looks like as well?

Implement Enterprise-Level Security Solutions
Without proactive solutions in place to protect your company’s sensitive data, it could easily fall into the wrong hands if a hacker breached your network. Every business needs to have security tools in place like antivirus, firewalls, spam-blocking, and content filtering. Thankfully, a solution like a Unified Threat Management tool offers businesses an easy way to get this kind of comprehensive protection in one easy-to-implement package!

Of course, there are many other steps to take to prevent your workplace from becoming an identity thief’s jackpot. COMPANYNAME can help advise you on the other steps your business needs to take in order to keep the identities it deals with properly protected. Call us today at PHONENUMBER for more information on the steps you need to take to prevent identity theft.