443-992-7394

Why do some people still pay for their email?

Hmm… Interesting question. Here’s a counter-question: Why wouldn’t you?

See, generally speaking, you don’t get something for nothing. And while you might think you do, there’s usually a cost.

Examples? Sure. For starters, let’s talk about your ISP’s “free” email account that they provide you (IF they provide one for you.) Is it free? Well, as someone else already pointed out, not really. You’re paying them for th

eir service. They’re throwing in the email account because it’s cheap and easy, but there’s still a cost. In fact, there’s a second, hidden cost. See, let’s say that one day, you decide you want to leave that ISP for a competitor. What now? Increasingly, your entire digital life is tied to your email account. Mailing lists, newsletters, etc., but also password recovery, and

identity management often go through your email. So, if you’ve got a comcast.net email address, and you want to switch to FiOS, what happens? Or let’s say you want to move someplace where the area cable Internet service provider is Cox or something, what do you do? Since everything for the past 10 years has been tied to your Comcast account, you’re in trouble. Now I don’t know how they handle it, but I can bet they won’t allow you to keep using that account for email if you’re not paying them something.

Now let’s switch over to something that’s ISP-independent… like Gmail or Yahoo! Those are great options because you’re no longer tied to a single ISP. You can move anywhere in the world, and still have access to your email. Perfect.

Or is it?

There are issues with that solution too. First, it’s not really free either. They invariably show you advertising, and it’s usually ads that are pertinent to your web usage, and email patterns. That means that they’re sharing at least some information with advertisers about you. Maybe not individually-identifiable information, but something.

But there’s also a second, even more important issue: You get ZERO support from them, if you’re not paying. If there’s a problem with your account, there is literally NOBODY that you can call for help. They aren’t beholden to you in any capacity, because you aren’t a paying customer. I recently had this happen to a client. She had a personal Gmail account that she used for a lot of things. Something got corrupted in her credentials – we’re still not sure what. Not only did her password stop working, but we were unable to recover the account, despite working through all the recovery steps. Nothing worked. That account is essentially dead,  and there is no one to call. The account is lost, and now we have to rebuild her digital life. BUT, if we’d had a paid account for her, everything would be different. She’d have an expectation of support because she was paying for it. And they would have provided it. No problem.

And that’s just for personal accounts. I know people who try to run their businesses using free Gmail accounts, and in my opinion, that’s CRAZY!! How can you run something as critical as your business, on a system you have no control over?!

So those are reasons TO use a paid email service:

  1. You may be paying anyway.
  2. You want things to be portable.
  3. You need the security of having Support.

Now… what was the question again?

How Does Bluetooth Technology Work?

Chances are, unless you are completely avoiding Bluetooth technology on purpose, you have at least two items in your home that are Bluetooth enabled.

Chances are, unless you are completely avoiding Bluetooth technology on purpose, you have at least two items in your home that are Bluetooth enabled. What exactly is the mysterious technology that allows you to chat hands-free in the car, wirelessly print from your cellphone, and feel one step closer to the ruler of your household?

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Surprising Ways Technology Can Impact the Presidential Election

Where does current technology in 2016 end up making a huge, groundbreaking difference in the outcome of our election?

In a world filled with technology, it’s no surprise that even our presidential elections are being affected.  Of course, we’ve been through the last few elections with an increase in technological sophistication, and social media has been quite the influence.  But where does current technology in 2016 end up making a huge, groundbreaking difference in the outcome of our election?  At Working Nets, technology is our passion; let’s go over the fascinating ways it influences everything, even our politics.

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Fixing Common Pokemon GO Issues

There’s no doubt you’ve encountered some issues when playing the new craze, Pokemon GO.

We don’t usually cover apps on Working Nets, but we are dedicated to supporting you and solving your tech problems, regardless of where they originate.  So, there’s no doubt you’ve encountered some issues when playing the new craze, Pokemon GO.  Since the game is still in beta, it’s bound to have some errors that are going to get fixed in the next few updates.  But for now, let’s focus on getting ourselves familiar with ways to solve common problems.

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How to Cure Your Sluggish Computer

If your computer freezes in the middle of a task that you need done on a timely basis, you may find yourself cursing at the screen.

A slow computer can be awfully frustrating when you’ve got important work to do.  If your computer freezes in the middle of a task that you need done on a timely basis, you may find yourself cursing at the screen.  But fear not–slow computers are a common problem among the IT industry, and they’re easy to fix.  Read on to find out if your computer is showing symptoms, and find out what you can do about it.

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Disaster Recovery and the Cloud

How will you provide disaster recovery for your business’s most critical data, applications, and systems? If you’re working with a disk-to-disk backup system, this can present many problems. Although reliable, disk-to-disk disaster recovery requires 2x the amount of data in order to meet disaster recovery objectives. Additionally, if a second copy need be acquired, a second backup appliance would need to be purchased. Let’s go over how new disaster recovery technology is making way for Cloud implementation to ease your headaches, time wasted, and money spent.

Working Nets IT works with you to implement the most technologically advanced cyber security

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Gmail Offers an Unsend Feature for Emails?!

Never deal with the embarrassment of sending an accidental email again by using Gmail’s “unsend” feature!

Gmail offers an unsend feature for emails. We repeat, Gmail offers an unsend feature for emails. Have you ever accidentally sent an email that left you longing for a way to go back in time? This is a pretty common occurrence for people who use email communication frequently. The possibilities of a fast-paced mistake like this could not only be embarrassing, but may cost you your job or client depending on the nature of the accidental email. That’s why Google is here to save the day with the “unsend button.” The feature rolled out last year, but Working Nets is here to review it – for those of you that missed the life-changing memo.

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Regular Computer Care & Maintenance You Can Do at Home

Basic computer care and maintenance is all about knowing your machine. No two computers are the same. They have different temperaments when it comes to speed and some may be more prone to viruses—like a PC over a Mac. But once you get to know your computer, care and maintenance becomes second nature and you can recognize when the type of issues you may have to use an outsourced IT company for. Before you spend your hard-earned cash on outsourcing your IT problems, discover some of the simple computer care and maintenance you can do at home.

Routine computer care is simple to learn.

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Learning Computer Basics Helps A lot

 

Learning the basics of computers is an important part of running a business.

When you know the basics of how a computer operates, you can tackle some of the simple issues that you might run into. Computers have invaded almost every aspect of life, so today we’re going to be talking about learning computer basics so that you can take control of your office and your life. Don’t let technology hold you back from achieving your dreams. Are you ready to learn more about learning computer basics? Well, let’s get started! [Read more…]

Tips for Keeping your Small Business Secure from Hackers

As business is increasingly done online, and more important information stored digitally, the risk and potential damage of cyber attack increase. Your website might be taken down, e-mail, client, employee, and credit card information all might be stolen, or erased. Any of the above can damage your business serious damage. Rather then seeking to repair such damage after the fact, it’s best to do all that you can to prevent it. That’s why Working Nets, Inc. Is here with a guide to help you improve your businesses cyber security.

Ensure you Employees are Trained in Cyber Security

Make sure you and your employees know safe practices to protect your companies equipment, digital assets, and information. Require strong passwords consisting of uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers and symbols over nine characters long. Institute strict rules for employees defining what acceptable internet use is, and what is not. Establish and adhere to penalties for practices that violate your cyber security rules. Ensure that your employees also know how to keep customer information safe.  Without the proper cyber security training, your employees represent the greatest risk to your business, with it, they are its greatest defense.

Keep your Network and Machines Protected

Employees trained in cyber security reduce the risk of your business being the victim of cyber attacks. However, even if you reduce the risk, there’s still a chance that a cyber attack can happen. That’s why it’s important to make sure all the devices in your office have security software, your network has firewall protection, and that it’s all up to date.

Install anti-malware and anti-virus programs on your company computers. Make sure mobile devices, such as smart phones, have cyber security apps and that your employees know safe practices for using their devices. Have two wireless networks, one for employees and one for customers, and make sure all of your networks are firewall protected.

No cyber security program, operating system, or firewall is perfect. Hackers are constantly looking for exploits in these systems so that they can break into cyber systems.  As hackers look for exploits, cyber security specialists are doing their best to find them and fix them first. That’s why it’s essential that all of your machines and their security programs stay up to date.

Protect Your Business With Working Nets

Contact Working Nets. We know that handling the cyber security for a business while actually keeping that business running can seem impossible. Outsourcing your IT can give you peace of mind and allow you to take care of the things that are important for your company. Working Nets is a Maryland based IT Service and Security company that services small businesses nationwide. We’re always on top of emerging cyber security trends and threats so you don’t have to be.

To talk to someone about managed IT for your business, give us a call at (443) 992-7394. We’d be happy to assist you with your professional business networking needs.

You can also visit WorkingNets.com and follow us on FacebookTwitterLinkedIn and Google+