Businesses choose to outsource their information technology (I.T.) systems for a variety of reasons. Outsourcing benefits both the company as a whole, and your employees. Take a moment to read about some of the benefits of I.T. outsourcing, and how it can work for you. [Read more…]
The Benefits of Outsourcing Your I.T.
September 29, 2015 by
Outsourcing your I.T. needs helps to even the playing field between small firms and large enterprises.
New “Shellshock” Bug Could be More Dangerous than Heartbleed
September 26, 2014 by
For the most part, Mac users are safe from viruses and other computer related issues. Hackers have a harder time causing problems for Apple products than they do for PCs. The Heartbleed Bug from a few months ago that caused problems for Internet Explorer users was only a small problem compared to this new bug that is affecting Mac users around the world. This is one of the few instances where Mac OS X as well as Linux have been targeted and a severe problem has arisen as a result. The bug, called “Shellshock” could cause problems for up to 5 million Mac and Linux users.
What’s so Dangerous about Shellshock?
The biggest problem with Shellshock right now is that there’s no easy way for an average user to solve the problem. System administrators and software companies are the ones that will need to deal with patch issues. Casual computer users are going to have a harder time ensuring their own safety on the net at the moment.
All Mac OS X Machines and most Linux machines use a software program called “Bash” to essentially decode information to make it possible for operating systems to understand information. Your operating system isn’t the only thing that uses Bash, though. It’s used for many different reasons by various applications, which makes computers that are affected incredibly vulnerable. There are already at least 500,000 devices that have been affected, but experts estimate that nearly 5 million could be affected.
What Can You Do to Protect Yourself from Shellshock?
- Deploy the patch – There is already a patch out to help keep your device safe. Though the patch isn’t completely finished yet, it will protect your device for the time being. If you have outsourced your IT, your IT experts should have already deployed this patch for all Mac and Linux users.
- Be aware – The best thing that you can do to stay protected is to stay on top of information and keep your system updated. Anytime the option to update your system is available, make sure that you do so. Each update is released for a reason and some are specifically for security reasons.
- Outsource your IT – Staying on top of everything can be a hassle, especially if you’re already running your own business. Outsourcing your IT can give you peace of mind and allow you to take care of the things that are important for your company.
To talk to someone about managed IT for your small 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 Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+
Source: BBC
What is Disaster Recovery and How Can it Benefit Small Businesses?
June 25, 2014 by
Consider all of the things that you use your computer for in your small business. If you’re reading this from your work computer right now, that’s one thing down – you use it for research. You probably type up documents. If you work in accounting you might have important financial information saved to your hard drive. You may even have personal information saved on your computer. What would happen if your hard drive were to crash or something were to happen to your computer? That’s where disaster recovery comes in.
What exactly is disaster recovery?
Disaster recovery starts with backup. The first thing you want to do to avoid losing information is to make sure that you safely back up all of your important information to a cloud type system or external hard drive. The more places that you have the information backed up, the more likely you are to be able to get a hold of it if anything happens to your actual computer. After you’ve backed everything up, you should talk to an experienced IT company that can help you figure out a disaster recovery plan in the event that something important doesn’t get backed up. A competent IT support company will be able to talk to you about what your disaster recovery options are and how to get the data back that you lost in the event that your computer is infected with malware, spyware, or succumbs to outside forces.
How can disaster recovery benefit a small Baltimore business?
Finding an IT company that specializes in disaster recovery means you have to worry about it less yourself. We can set up your computer to automatically back information up. When you do important work on the computer, you need to know that there’s a way to save that important work if something happens to your computer. Not only can we help you with disaster recovery, but we can also do everything to prevent utilizing the disaster recovery from becoming necessary. We know how to protect your computer, hardware, and software from outside sources. Hackers with malware and spyware will have a hard time getting to your hard drive and causing any damage at all; that’s not to say that disaster recovery isn’t necessary. You should still have a backup plan in case something ever does happen.
Outsourcing your IT to a company that has experience with disaster recovery and computer related issues will enable you to have your problems solved quickly and efficiently and help protect you from most computer related problems that arise. To get started with disaster recovery for your Baltimore small business, please contact Working Nets by calling (443) 992-7394 or visit WorkingNets.com today for more information!
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3 Advantages of Outsourcing IT You May Not Have Considered
June 11, 2014 by
Everyone knows the basic usefulness of outsourcing your IT. It gives you a little bit of extra time and money to focus on the important things. Plus, you’ve got a group of professionals who have made a career out of making sure that other people’s IT needs are met. They consistently go through training to learn more about how to work on computers and computer networking, which can be extremely beneficial if you’re not particularly computer savvy (and let’s face it, computers are a bit confusing for everyone). There are a few advantages that you may not have considered when it comes to outsourcing your IT, though. Check out 3 of the biggest advantages that we’ve compiled.
- Make more money – You know that outsourcing your IT can save you money, but did you realize that it can also help you make money? Better technology generally means better customer service. An IT support company can help you figure out the best IT solutions for your company and move you forward in the customer service industry. Your employees will also be able to be more productive if they can easily solve technology problems.
- Run your small business like a big business – Big businesses usually have an extensive IT staff that focuses on just that company’s needs because they can afford it. It’s tough to get a large enough IT staff to bounce great ideas around when you own a small business. If you outsource your IT to a company that knows how to make the most of the technology that you have, you get a team of professionals dedicated to your cause for a much smaller price than in-house IT.
- Know when to update – Running a business will keep you very, very busy. You probably don’t have time to check every computer or keep a log of when security updates need to happen or when software updates come out. An outsourced IT company can keep you up to date on software and hardware. They’ll let you know when it’s time to update or make a change so that you don’t have to worry about things like that. You’re company will run more efficiently and it won’t involve you ever lifting a finger.
If you haven’t considered outsourcing your IT, now is the time to think about it. Working with a company like Working Nets gives you the security and peace of mind that your company is running with the best technology possible. Talk to us about what different plans we have available for IT support. call us today at (443)-992-7394, drop by, or fill out our online form for more information! You can also find Working Nets online at Google+, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.
Source: http://www.essent.com/News/Blog/The-Top-10-Benefits-of-Outsourcing-IT-through-Managed-Services-284-24.htm
Everything You Need to Know About Passwords
May 9, 2014 by
Is your information safe? How do you know? Chances are that all of your important computerized information is password protected. But is your password safe enough? Many people choose passwords that are actually really easy to break or guess for people that know them well enough. For example, in order to remember a password, people will frequently pick their child’s name or their dog’s name. This is probably one of the most dangerous things you could do in regards to having a safe password for something you need to keep safe, like a bank account or email. There are a few precautions that you can take to make sure that people have a hard time cracking your password and stealing your information.
- Use a password generator – Password generators will create a password for you so you don’t have to do it yourself. The cool thing about generators is that they will use as many characters as you tell them to and the password is completely random. It might be difficult to remember, though, so writing it down somewhere safe is advisable. You can also get an app for your phone or mobile device that will store all of your passwords for you safely.
- Choose a long password – The longer your password is, the more difficult it will be to guess. If you use a generator, make sure to set it for more than 8 characters, at the very least. When you’re creating a password for something really important, though, try to make your password even longer than that. It’s advisable to choose a password of 10 or more characters for your bank account.
- Don’t just use letters – A lot of websites will require you to use numbers, symbols, and letters now, which is a good practice. The more obscure symbols you use, the less likely another person is to guess your password. Using random strings of numbers, letters, and symbols is great for security purposes. You can also misspell words with numbers and letters to make them harder to guess (ex. w0rk!nGnet$$$$2) – not our password for anything, by the way.
Creating a strong password will help you keep your data secure, which is something that can’t be underrated in a world where hackers are constantly breaking into to computers and stealing important information.
At Working Nets in Baltimore, we support your business by providing top-notch Information Technology (I.T.) services to companies like yours: Companies that don’t need full-time I.T. services, but do need someone to turn to, when they are having a problem. If you have any questions about password protection, please contact us at 443.992.7394 or visit our website!
At Working Nets, our focus is on your needs!
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Source: http://lastbit.com/psw.asp
