SCW Blog

We’ve all heard of phishing scams: an email appears in our inbox, apparently from a Nigerian prince who needs a cash advance  to free up their own finances, and is willing to reward you with riches galore. However, this is just one (famous) example of a phishing scam. In order to protect your business, you need to be ready for all phishing scams, whatever they look like.

There’s no question, technology has been a great benefit for some businesses, especially when it works right. However, if something goes wrong, the opposite can happen, halting or hindering productivity until the issue is resolved. In cases like these, businesses need a resource that can get them back up and running, ASAP. A managed service provider is designed to be that resource.

As useful as phone systems can be, they can be a real pain for a business to deal with. Between running the wiring for each office phone line (and dealing with the distraction that introduces into the workplace) and shouldering the significant bill from the phone company, it’s little wonder that many offices are abandoning traditional telephony in favor of a VoIP-based approach.

What’s your plan if an employee loses a mobile device with company data on it? You’ll likely start by asking a lot of questions. When did they last use it? What locations did they visit? Of course, they don’t know--it could have been misplaced at the airport, forgotten in the cab, or left in the booth at a diner. Once you’ve determined that the phone is truly gone, what do you do next?

The technology of the future is here, and for many business owners the time to adjust is right now, before they are forced to deal with situations that arise that could put a significant damper on their outfit’s profitability. The Internet of Things (IoT), as it’s now known, is the deployment of products that have Internet connectivity, and thus, can be controlled remotely. The “smart” device trend began a few years back and now consumers can expect to see an ever-growing number of products with this capability made available by companies. The problem is, these companies often have ulterior motives.

There are a lot of things a business should have, that they hopefully won’t need. A few examples might include a fire extinguisher, a plunger, or a Backup and Disaster Recovery solution. Each of them are exceptionally important in their own way. Since today is World Backup Day, we’ll stick to discussing BDR.

Without a background in technology, understanding technical jargon can be a daunting task. To help you out, The Washington Post and Alphabet have put together a free online tool called Sideways Dictionary. With Sideways, technical terms are explained using non-technical analogies.

A sizable cache of personal information has been made public, with 33.7 million records being exposed. While not technically dangerous in its own right, this data could potentially be used to enable those with less-than-noble intentions.

The cloud is a dynamic tool that benefits businesses in a variety of ways. Although, it’s important to keep in mind that, as is the nature of any tool, users must know how to leverage its use in order to reap the promised benefits. Without such specialized knowledge, an organization adopting the cloud will essentially have a powerful tool in their possession that does little for them.       

If you’ve recently signed up for IT services from a third-party, there are a couple of things you need to know before getting started. Likewise, there are a couple of things that your service provider needs to know before they can get started. Here’s a short checklist that will help you make a smooth transition to a new IT service provider.

How much thought have you put into the layout of your office space? The fact of the matter is that every piece of furniture, equipment, and even the floor plan, all communicate the values of your business, and can also hinder or improve your company’s goals and productivity levels. It’s as if your office has its own ecology.

Have you ever gone to a restaurant with a wonderful little dessert buffet, where there is a convenient soft-serve ice cream machine that lets you eat as much as you want? The convenience of this “self-serve” model is one which has permeated many industries. Just take a look at self-checkout at major retailers--people want to do things themselves. Unfortunately, this doesn’t translate very well into business technology management.

What makes a paper jam so aggravating? Perhaps it’s because they typically happen at the worst possible time, like when you're printing handouts minutes before the start of your presentation. Or maybe it’s because they happen so frequently with older printers and copy machines. Either way, it’s beneficial for every office worker to know how to troubleshoot a paper jam.

As almost everyone has found out, political tension in much of the Western world has led to some pretty remarkable situations to unfold over the past year. From the controversial Brexit vote, to the election of Donald Trump as the United States’ 45th President, many people have been sucked into political turmoil inside their workplaces; and, it’s costing employers billions.

At the recent DEF CON security conference in Las Vegas, hackers taking part in the IoT Village tested the security of a variety of Internet-of-Things devices that are widely available to consumers. They found dozens of vulnerabilities, reinforcing the idea that IoT-device manufacturers need to do a better job securing their products.

Windows 10 sure does come with plenty of helpful, pre-installed apps. However, the OS also comes with its share of useless apps that most working professionals have no need for, and will likely never open. What are these useless Windows 10 apps and how can you get rid of them?

Net neutrality shows up in the news cycle every so often as various pieces of legislation come against it by attempting to limit the unrestricted and free availability of online content. So far, we’re fortunate to still have net neutrality in place. Seeing how a move away from net neutrality would be a major blow to SMBs and the free market economy, it’s a topic that’s worth making a fixture on the public’s consciousness.

Technology support is kind of a tricky conundrum for many small and medium-sized businesses. You know that it’s a necessity, but it’s not easy for you to find the time in your schedule to properly care for your technology. Furthermore, you can’t just hire an in-house IT department to care for your technology, as your budget is limited. How can you take advantage of professional technology support without the burdens it presents for your budget?

Facebook has turned up the volume of your timeline with the most recent update to its app. Now, as you scroll through your feed, videos automatically play sound. Given the unpredictability of what video is going to pop up next, it’s likely that you’ll want to disable this setting, and soon.

Arby’s is at work mending fences with its customers after it was discovered that hundreds of its restaurants had been host to malware that stole data from customer credit and debit cards for an undisclosed amount of time. Reported numbers vary, but through a point-of-sale attack, the cyber criminal(s) responsible managed to extract anywhere from 335,000 to 355,000 debit and credit cards over four months.