Business Solutions & Software Group Blog

For the busy business owner, getting work done while traveling is a way of life. Unfortunately, working on the go can be a disaster if you don’t properly prep your technology. Here are seven guidelines to make sure your technology is ready for your big trip.

Be sure to add these suggestions to your pre-trip checklist.

Voice assistants like Apple’s Siri and Google Now have become omnipresent on smartphones and other devices, and Microsoft’s Cortana is hoping to capitalize on their popularity. However, Windows 10’s anniversary update has not been kind to the voice assistant, and actually makes it somewhat of a security issue to use on your Windows 10 devices.

Throughout your journey through the business world, you may have heard rumors, hushed whispers of a deep, dark world beneath the surface of the Internet. Well, it’s real, and it’s known as a hotbed of corruption, where hackers can sell stolen credentials and personal records. However, contrary to popular belief, the Dark Web isn’t as mysterious as it’s made out to be.

You may have heard of the Chromebook. It’s an inexpensive alternative to a laptop that allows for web browsing over an Internet connection, using Google’s own Chrome OS. The problem isn’t its functionality--rather, its lack of functionality when it’s not connected to the Internet. Thankfully, with a couple of apps, you can take advantage of some of the Chromebook’s more dynamic features, even when you’re not connected to the Internet.

Multitasking is no easy thing for a human being to do, no matter what anyone says--our brains simply are not wired to focus on more than one task at a time. To resolve this dilemma, there are apps that will automatically carry out an action if triggered by a user completing some other action. These are called automation apps, and they are becoming extraordinarily useful in today’s dynamic workplace.

Ransomware might be a relatively new player in the battle for the Internet, but its short history shouldn’t belittle the damage that it can do to both businesses and users of personal computers. Perhaps you’ve had the misfortune to encounter it for yourself, and your files were locked down because of it. Regardless, ransomware is now a prevalent part of the online crime scene, and people are using it to extort money from innocent users, making it a considerable threat.

Tracking metrics is a major part of today’s business world. Many organizations use time-tracking software and other KPIs to ensure that their team is working at maximum efficiency, all day every day. Yet, some organizations are so bent on doing so that they’ve forgotten to ask the question of whether they should be doing all of this.

When hosting your IT infrastructure in-house, it’s nice to know that your servers and network equipment are being cared for to your specifications. However, are you providing the maintenance and management needed to maximize ROI and minimize downtime? The solution is virtualization.

You might recall getting a notice from your bank that you’ve been issued a new debit and credit card, one with a chip built into it for enhanced security. There are ATMs out there created specifically for use with these chips, but the same technology created to protect user credentials is now being used to steal them for fraudulent withdrawals.

There’s no questioning that smartphones have done wonders for the world of business. Yet, some workers aren’t willing to adopt smartphones, and prefer their unbreakable nostalgia-filled flip phones.

Every business has hardware, like workstations, servers, and other devices, that are critical to its operational efficiency. However, managing your hardware can be tricky, especially if you’re a small or medium-sized business that has limited time and resources. If your business doesn’t have a process put in to place to handle hardware inventory and deployment, perhaps it’s time that you consider implementing one.

Is your business accustomed to paying for Windows operating systems up front? Microsoft’s latest “as a service” offering, Windows as a Service, might throw a wrench in your business model, but it could welcome shifts in your IT policy that ultimately allow for more flexibility on your part. Regardless, Windows as a Service provides businesses with the opportunity to reassess their approach to software solutions.

It’s not always easy to keep your accounts secure, but with two-factor authentication, it gets much easier. You might already be using it for a number of services, even if you don’t realize it. Usernames and passwords are fairly commonplace for securing digital accounts, but some require you to further prove your identity. We’ll show you how to do this with your Gmail account.

First hackers created a formidable ransomware. Then, when word got out about how to avoid this ransomware, they began to bundle a second ransomware to create an encryption catch-22. Now, the developers of the Petya and Mischa ransomware have adopted a Ransomware-as-a-Service model and have opened their nefarious malware up to distribution.

Every business owner is keenly aware of how prominent a role technology has in today’s business environment. Yet, the vast majority of companies aren’t doing enough to keep up with the latest developments, and therefore, risk missing out on serious opportunities for growth, or even going out of business.

Microsoft’s latest round of security patches includes 27 software vulnerabilities, many of which are critical in nature. Affected are widely-used titles such as Windows, Microsoft Office, Internet Explorer, and the new Edge browser. It’s important for users to take action and install the Microsoft-provided patches, and soon.

Do you know what your office’s Wi-Fi password is? You’ll need to know, just in case new staff members or clients ask. Thankfully, if you already have a computer that’s connected to your network, you can easily find out what your forgotten Wi-Fi password is.

These days, businesses practically expect disaster. With so many high-profile hacking attacks in the news, people are paranoid and fear for their data. Yet, even more businesses don’t fear enough, which can lead to unexpected data loss from hackers, natural disasters, and even user error. As a business owner, it’s your responsibility to ensure that your organization is prepared to handle disasters of all kinds.

Healthcare organizations are a hot topic when it comes to cybersecurity, as even a small data breach could turn into a goldmine for hackers. Recently, IBM’s 2016 Cyber Security Intelligence Index has reported a data breach that exposed more than 10 million medical records, which shows us just how scary a breach of this kind can be. The secret weapon, in many cases, is a threat called ransomware.

Even though taking a break from work seems like something that everybody would want to do, many cogs in the corporate machine choose to forgo breaks in the name of productivity. Oddly enough, this is a counterproductive move, seeing as taking breaks actually makes you more productive by improving your job performance.