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  One of the most challenging parts of owning your own business is having to continually prove yourself as an expert in your field to each new client. No matter how many times it happens, having someone look at you skeptically as you introduce your products or...

Upgrading software can be a real pain — literally. Users are likely to be reluctant to learn something new, causing additional requests to help desk personnel as users get acquainted with a new operating system. The time required to install upgrades and get up...

First, there was the GDPR, with organizations around the world scrambling to create cookie and privacy policies to ensure that their data storage and use would meet the restrictive standards imposed by the EU. For smaller organizations in the U.S., the GDPR...

You don’t have to look long or hard through the news to find the latest cybersecurity incident — or the terrible press and loss of business that the organization suffers due to their inability to quickly respond to the threat. Chief Information Security...

If your company is still using the Windows 7 operating on your business computers, it’s time to look for a change. That’s because Microsoft is ending support for this popular and reliable operating system that has been popular with companies for years. On...

  Email is one of the best ways to communicate with people in the business world, but it’s also one of the biggest time drains for those same individuals. Some of the most productive people turn their email completely off and only check it a few times a...

Passwords are a problem. In one sense they are exactly the opposite of what they should be. They’re hard for users to remember but easy for intruders to guess or steal. The user frustrations with the current system make it ripe for abuse, and that’s exactly what’s...

You don’t think about a small business in middle America being targeted by hardened Russian cybercriminals, but that’s exactly what happened in the case of Smile Zone. This Missouri dental office caters to children, looking for ways to provide them with a...

Researching IT support companies can lead to confusion — and quite a headache! You may have started down the path of finding a technology partner due to internal frustrations or a lack of time to support basic technology needs, but your search can quickly expand...

The attack dubbed “PhishPoint” is a recent cyber-attack scheme being used by foreign hackers. It demonstrates the craftiness and the extent that cybercriminals will go to in order to harvest your Microsoft Office 365 credentials. It uses several familiar aspects of...

It’s difficult to scan through any news site and not see mention of yet another cybersecurity breach at an organization, and the devastation that can be caused to that business and the community are significant. Maintaining a robust cybersecurity presence is no...

No matter your profession, reusing passwords is a horrible idea. It’s dangerous and insecure. Reusing passwords is especially problematic for those working in fields like law, ones that require confidentiality in one form or another. Many people already know that...

Businesses owners need to know important dates for personal and corporate tax filings with protection plans from any tax-related identity theft. Knowing how income is produced is smart for business leaders and the generation of income also goes with a reporting...

Communication is essential for any business today. Being able to connect with colleagues and customers is critical for getting work done. That means having a reliable, features-packed phone system that lets you communicate effectively while in and out of the office....

Close to a million Michiganders are finding that their healthcare information may not be as secure as they thought it was, according to Michigan’s Attorney General Dana Nessel. Unfortunately, the personal health and financial information of these individuals...

  Technology is continually changing, and keeping up with the updates to your crucial infrastructure and software can feel like an overwhelming task. Many organizations begin to look for an IT managed services provider as they start to scale, but how can you know...

Successful businesses require smart leadership. How does a company effectively protect its profits? Planning for profits should also include company-wide management of expenses and security planning is high on the list. If the average ransomware payment has reached...

We can’t function without passwords. So much of the internet is built on the concept of a username plus a password that the concept is core to users’ internet experience. It’s a clever but imperfect system that could certainly be improved upon, but until a...

You have probably seen managed IT services offered from one or more providers in your area. The option of having your IT needs managed by an outside company has obvious appeal—you do not need to maintain a full-time IT staff, or at least as many IT employees, which...

This innovative Canadian health care organization is making waves in the industry when it comes to health IT. At Humber River Hospital in Toronto, Ontario, IT is being integrated into just about everything the organization does, and it is being done with great...

When Was Your Last Backup? Data backups are a critical part of protecting the information and files you cannot afford to lose. And yet, many people have bad backup habits – or no backup habits at all.     March 31st is World Backup Day – a perfect...

Running a business requires a great deal of focused attention. Unfortunately, when your technology team is spending a great deal of time dealing with login problems, software licensing, cybersecurity and more, it doesn’t leave a lot of time for growth activities...

If your IT department is like many in the U.S., you are struggling with day-to-day operations — leaving very little time for strategic thinking about your business. Even if the time was available, would your team have the expertise and skillsets necessary to...

Is Windows Lite Microsoft’s Answer to Google’s Chrome OS? Microsoft is working on a new operating system — Lite — with a different look that’s designed for the casual computer user while targeting Google’s Chrome OS   Windows Lite...

Small businesses are at considerable risk of cyberattack. With fewer staff resources available to maintain and monitor networks and fewer defenses in place, small businesses are an attractive target for hackers and other criminals. The risks of a cyberattack are...

Microsoft Excel Training   Excel is one of the most versatile and most useful programs in the Microsoft Office suite. It’s also one of the trickiest to master without a little help from someone who understands the ins and outs of Excel. Join us for a...

  Raise your hand if you’re one of the millions of Americans who are overworked and don’t have enough hours in the day — isn’t that everyone? When you do manage to get into the groove of getting something done, it’s easy to forget...

Living in a technology era that sees device upgrades and new products on what seems like an almost weekly basis, it’s difficult to imagine that Windows 7 has remained in play since its release in 2009. According to Net Market Share’s December 2018 data, 40.86 percent...

  Did you know? Microsoft is ending support for Windows 7 in January 2020. Beginning this April, Microsoft will start displaying pop-ups on all Windows 7 computers alerting the users that their support for Windows 7 will be ending. Don’t be alarmed. ...

  While you hear the term frequently and see the images of puffy whiteness illustrating the concept, you may still be wondering, “What is the cloud?” Despite being a standard technology solution for many years, it’s still a good time to...

Windows 7 has had a great run, but Microsoft has decided that it’s finally time to retire the platform. Windows 7 isn’t being deprecated by customers as quickly as Windows would like, with more than 38% of all PCs still running the aging OS. It seems that...

In previous years, the first clue that your corporate email has been compromised would be a poorly-spelled and grammatically incorrect email message asking you to send thousands of dollars overseas. While annoying, it was pretty easy to train staff members to see...

The information that no business owner or technology director wants to hear: there’s been a data breach. These chilling words can put your brain into overdrive, trying to triage the problem before you even know the full extent of the problem. What will be the...

Back in 2018, Apple once again upgraded the iMessage app to include new messaging effects. Apple added these effects to enhance the messaging experience for iOS users. There are 13 different effects that you can use to add an attractive feature to your messages when...

There’s a new scam targeting highly-trafficked Instagram accounts, and anyone with several thousand followers on their account — including businesses and clients — are fair game to the fraudsters. The scheme masquerades as a false claim of copyright infringement,...

After literally changing the world through technology, what does a retired billionaire Microsoft co-founder do for an encore? If his name is Bill Gates, he changes the world yet again. This time, Gates is exploring advanced cutting-edge technology to find healthcare...

With today’s businesses moving a large portion of their information technology operations to the cloud, having holistic IT services management is more important than ever before. Making this shift provides organizations with an unprecedented level of...