Archive for the ‘buying new equipment’ Category
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Mobile Devices & Your Network
For most, smart phones & tablets (smart devices) are a necessary part of our lives…both personally and professionally and become our constant companions. So it stands to reason that we should be selective in who or what we chose to spend so much time with.So, what should you look for in a new smart device to ensure that your needs are met and that your new companion will play nicely with the rest of your technology?
Here are some points to consider during the selection process:
- All smart devices are NOT created equally and it’s the applications that set them apart. When looking for a smart device, don’t be sold on all the bells and whistles packaged in a sleek sexy package. Instead plan out your needs. Do you need access into your business network? Remote apps connect differently. While some devices connect natively, others may require special applications on the server side ($$) to make it work. Even better (or worse if this is you), some smart devices might not run the applications needed AT ALL.
- Compatibility: Will they play nicely with your other devices and network or will you need to add other hardware and or software to make them work properly?
Now, being a dutiful companion means that we take our beloved devices to work with us and so do our employees. This leaves your company network exposed (and who really likes being exposed).
Here are some tips/points to remember to keep your network safe and secure when using mobile devices:
- Remote connections to the network: There are several apps that allow you to remotely connect to your business network – almost all of these allow you to save your username/password credentials. A lost phone or tablet makes it very EASY to access the network because most people allow the device to store these credentials. Never allow an application, website, browser, device to store your login information no matter how much simpler it will make your life.
- More on remote connections: It is important to also be aware that there are devices out there designed to steal and clone your network logins. What can you do about it? Set device passwords and make sure when you do connect to your network that you do it through a secure server. By doing so login credentials can be changed immediately once a device is lost or stolen. Swift action will minimize your risks.
- About those passwords: People I can’t stress this point enough. USE COMPLEX PASSWORDS. It’s your first line of defense. A complex password is a minimum of 8 characters in length and uses a combination of upper/lower case letters, numbers and symbols.
- Be wary of wifi. Accessing critical corporate data via unprotected means such as the public wifi is an issue waiting to happen. Again, only login through a secure server. To do this, utilize a VPN connection or a direct firewall pass through that requires login credentials.
- Siri on the iphone: Ask yourself…do you know more about technology and what it does more than IBM? Well IBM has banned Siri from their networks. Why? Because everything their employees say is sent to Apple and transcribed into text then stored for some unknown length of time and can be accessed by some unknown amount of people who have permission do unknown things with it. Additionally, in order for Siri to do a good job answering their question in the first place, it accesses contacts and other “unspecified” user data. This may not only compromise sensitive company intellectual property but put the company and/or the employee in violation of non-disclosure agreements. Are you okay with that? If you are…carry on then.
While mobile devices and nifty applications are increasingly important tools in our multi-tasking work/home life it is important to understand that just because the products are out there doesn’t mean that security holes that they create have been plugged yet.
Before you invest in any new smart device make certain that it will meet your needs, works well with others and take the steps necessary to protect yourself and your business when using it.
Copyright © 2012 Help Me!!® Tech Team, a division of HELP ME!!® Computers, LLC
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Can I just ignore a virus and save some money?
Do you run better in crutches?I Didn’t think so.
Continuing to operate a system that you know full well is infected is tempting. Many people do just that and continue to limp along until the system comes to a grinding halt or they get the blue screen of death. Why is this a problem? (Do you like seeing the blue screen of death? I don’t know about you but MY nerves can’t take it!)
Besides all of the annoying things that happen with an infected system – like running sllloowwwllly, obnoxious pop-ups and inexplicable bouts of freezing there are also more worrying things that accompany them such as malware, spyware and scareware. Not only do these things threaten your identity and bank balance but viruses will destroy your data bit by bit (literally). Further, some can do damage to your hardware. If caught early, you can largely avoid these problems and spend far less to repair it. If you are thinking…”so what, I can just buy another system!” Are you going to by one every time you get infected? How cost effective is that solution?
The better solution is to go ahead and get it taken care of properly (by a real professional) as soon as you suspect an infection. Then, purchase and properly configure top quality anti-virus for your system to help cut down on infections.
Copyright © 2012 Help Me!!® Tech Team, a division of HELP ME!!® Computers, LLC
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THIS works…now THAT doesn’t
Remember the Rubik’s Cube? If you were alive in the 80’s you remember it (and if you weren’t…too bad for you). Did you ever get four of the sides perfectly lined up to one solid color…FINALLY…only to notice the top and bottom all messed up? Didn’t it drive you crazy? Were you like my “friend” who just ripped the stickers off, placed them perfectly back on and called it a day?Cause and effect. It’s a sometimes mind boggling and often frustrating thing that refers to the philosophical concept of causality, in which an action or event will produce a certain response to the action in the form of another event. Here’s another example.
Imagine that you are Farmer that raises goats. You don’t raise the goats for fun, you raise them to earn a living, making and selling Goat’s Milk Cheeses. Things are going along okay, until one day when you hire a new helper, but the goats don’t like him. Unfortunately for you he’s not too smart and he leaves the gate open. The goats take this as their opportunity to go rouge and high tail it out of there. So, what’s a Goat Cheese Farmer to do?!
Hire a professional Goat Wrangler to bring back your goats and get rid of the lamebrain who left the gate open in the first place. But wait there’s more!
Now your goats are pissed off and sure they’re back but they’ve rebelled, there is infighting and now they refuse to play nicely together. Luckily for you, the professional Goat Wrangler that you hired knows how to not only make the goats get along…but more efficient than ever by producing even greater amounts and better tasting milk. Sales are up, profits are up and everyone is happy!
That’s what we do.
As Systems Integrators we are your professional Goat Wranglers – making technology work together seamlessly and more efficiently than ever. Why is this important? Now I’ll give you a technology example.
Let’s say you have a business or you run one. Things are humming along nicely, in fact you are growing. You then decide to improve efficiency, and thereby profits, by undergoing a major software upgrade. So you purchase industry specific specialized software from that nice software company that you’ve heard so much about. They take your money, blow in to install it then blow out in a hurry. Problem is…now your hardware doesn’t work and your network is slow and keeps crashing. So you call “Tech Support” but they only have one technician for your region and you have to wait. Even worse, you have employees, which you are paying, that now can’t perform their job.
The problem is that by hiring separate people to install specialized software, a phone system, CCTV cameras/security system, point-of-sale system, electronic medical records system, etc. you are looking at each problem separately. This causes problems in itself because they are tied into your network but networks are designed to work as one (cause/effect).
Looking back, I never solved the Rubik’s Cube (embarrassing yes) because I approached each side separately; trying to get one side to work instead of looking at the puzzle as a whole. System Integrators, do just that…they look at the technology puzzle as one big picture that they solve as a whole.
Would the Goat Cheese Farmer have been better served by hiring a team of counselors to talk down each goat separately? Expensive and not a very efficient use of their time…wouldn’t you say?
Our advice? Hire a technology provider, specifically, a Systems Integrator that can look at the big picture and make certain that ALL technologies for your business can and will work together in the first place. If it can’t, discuss/plan/budget for the changes that need to take place in order to support those improvements. Once the strategies are fully mapped out, they’ll need to have the experience an ability to make it happen. Surprises can still come up (and you thought technology was boring) but a professional Systems Integrator is agile and can move things along to keep your overall costs down and save you many headaches along the way.
Copyright © 2011 Help Me!!® Tech Team, a division of HELP ME!!® Computers, LLC
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Buy Cheap…Buy Twice
Gone shoe shopping with your child lately? Well if you haven’t you will soon because ”back to school” will be here before you know it! So I have a question for you. Have you ever bought your child the cheap shoes because heck they’re just going to outgrow them soon anyway (and duh…they aren’t MY shoes) only to have them fall apart the first time you go to throw them in the washer? Which of course then sets off a chain of ugly household events which includes some use of profanity, blaming said child, blaming the husband that didn’t bother to go (or was incapable of) shoe shopping for his own child. Well clearly the kid can’t go barefoot (you know you’ve tried) so they MUST have a pair of shoes (and that darn school makes him wear them anyway). So what’s left to do but summon your husband back out to the store to buy the more expensive shoes?! Now, not only are we not happy with him (sure I’m a little mad at your husband too) and everyone else but now you have added guilt about not listening to your repeatedly proven wise inner voice telling you that “cheaper isn’t always better.” In this economy money is tight for everyone (heck that’s an understatement right) so every penny you can save is critical…I understand. Sometimes cutting costs by going cheap ends up costing you more in the long run (or short run). Sure we’ve all done it and sometimes it does end up being a good deal. But when it comes to technology cheaper is most definitely not better. Like the shoes, that ”xyz” brand cheaper computer is often times made from inferior parts, doesn’t have the techno ability that a better quality one has, has a shorter life span and little to no warranty to boot (even worse when we are talking about a business network server).Our advice? When purchasing new equipment go for quality over initial cost savings…it WILL save you more in the long run (or short run). Compare apples to apples not oranges to grapes. With quality equipment you’ll end up with fewer problems (less repair bills), a longer lifespan (and it may help your husband’s life span too) and when things do go wrong…a better warranty.
Copyright © 2010 Help Me!!® Tech Team, a division of HELP ME!!® Computers, LLC
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Fact or Crap?
My son’s favorite birthday gift was a game called “Fact or Crap”…of course this comes as no shock to anyone that knows me OR my son. To some (me not being one of them) the title might be a little crude but if we kept this question on the top of our minds it might actually save us from a lot of costly mistakes throughout our life. Wouldn’t you agree? Think about it. This could pertain to those political messages we hear during election time. Think “Fact or Crap?” before you vote. Whether or not to purchase the latest ”must have” on that very convincing infomercial (I swear I’ve only done it twice…okay maybe four times but that’s it). “Fact or “Crap”? Yep…probably crap so why waste the money? Which brings me to the advertising messages and media hype that we get bombarded with when a new technology gadget comes out. Well if everyone is talking about it…it MUST great so I MUST have it. Really? Now, being in the technology business myself I am certainly not saying that you shouldn’t keep up with the latest in technology nor am I suggesting that the latest and greatest is crap. However, if you end up not using it thereby wasting your money…doesn’t that just make you feel like crap?Our advice? Before you go pitch a tent and wait in line all night for that newest greatest coolest techno thingy….ask yourself…am I just buying this because everyone is telling me that I must have it or can I really use it? Does it fulfill a specific need which would make my technology life easier (yes, technology is supposed to make life easier). Have I researched exactly what it WILL do instead of what I hear it does? Finally, my personal favorite…is it REALLY true that it will NEVER get viruses like the other guys therefore justifying the much larger initial expense because heck…I’ll be saving all that repair money in the future?! hmmmm….
Copyright © 2010 Help Me!!® Tech Team, a division of HELP ME!!® Computers, LLC
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Recent Posts
- Mobile Devices & Your Network
- Can I just ignore a virus and save some money?
- fix my PC
- The Case for Managed Services
- Is a blog a blog or not really a blog?
- THIS works…now THAT doesn’t
- Up in the Clouds
- Di-agnostics
- Gone Phishing
- The Validity of On-Line Reviews
- Sink that Pirate Ship!
- Resolutions…shoulda woulda coulda
- Pa$$w8Rds!
- Always Use Protection
- Back to School…and not a moment too soon
- Break the chains that bind you!
- Remote Repairs…Proceed with Caution
- Got junk in your trunk?
- Buy Cheap…Buy Twice
- Fact or Crap?
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