Business Solutions & Software Group Blog

Every business has hardware, like workstations, servers, and other devices, that are critical to its operational efficiency. However, managing your hardware can be tricky, especially if you’re a small or medium-sized business that has limited time and resources. If your business doesn’t have a process put in to place to handle hardware inventory and deployment, perhaps it’s time that you consider implementing one.

Is your business accustomed to paying for Windows operating systems up front? Microsoft’s latest “as a service” offering, Windows as a Service, might throw a wrench in your business model, but it could welcome shifts in your IT policy that ultimately allow for more flexibility on your part. Regardless, Windows as a Service provides businesses with the opportunity to reassess their approach to software solutions.

It’s not always easy to keep your accounts secure, but with two-factor authentication, it gets much easier. You might already be using it for a number of services, even if you don’t realize it. Usernames and passwords are fairly commonplace for securing digital accounts, but some require you to further prove your identity. We’ll show you how to do this with your Gmail account.

First hackers created a formidable ransomware. Then, when word got out about how to avoid this ransomware, they began to bundle a second ransomware to create an encryption catch-22. Now, the developers of the Petya and Mischa ransomware have adopted a Ransomware-as-a-Service model and have opened their nefarious malware up to distribution.

Every business owner is keenly aware of how prominent a role technology has in today’s business environment. Yet, the vast majority of companies aren’t doing enough to keep up with the latest developments, and therefore, risk missing out on serious opportunities for growth, or even going out of business.

Microsoft’s latest round of security patches includes 27 software vulnerabilities, many of which are critical in nature. Affected are widely-used titles such as Windows, Microsoft Office, Internet Explorer, and the new Edge browser. It’s important for users to take action and install the Microsoft-provided patches, and soon.

Do you know what your office’s Wi-Fi password is? You’ll need to know, just in case new staff members or clients ask. Thankfully, if you already have a computer that’s connected to your network, you can easily find out what your forgotten Wi-Fi password is.

These days, businesses practically expect disaster. With so many high-profile hacking attacks in the news, people are paranoid and fear for their data. Yet, even more businesses don’t fear enough, which can lead to unexpected data loss from hackers, natural disasters, and even user error. As a business owner, it’s your responsibility to ensure that your organization is prepared to handle disasters of all kinds.

Healthcare organizations are a hot topic when it comes to cybersecurity, as even a small data breach could turn into a goldmine for hackers. Recently, IBM’s 2016 Cyber Security Intelligence Index has reported a data breach that exposed more than 10 million medical records, which shows us just how scary a breach of this kind can be. The secret weapon, in many cases, is a threat called ransomware.

Even though taking a break from work seems like something that everybody would want to do, many cogs in the corporate machine choose to forgo breaks in the name of productivity. Oddly enough, this is a counterproductive move, seeing as taking breaks actually makes you more productive by improving your job performance.

With the National Football League gearing up for its preseason games this August, there are plenty of teams out there looking to get a competitive edge. One way they’re doing so is through virtual reality training, which is a growing platform that may prove useful in preparation for the upcoming season.

If your employees are given an Android device to use for work, or if they bring in their own as a part of a Bring Your Own Device strategy, you may want to pay special attention to what follows.

The Internet is a great tool to use for business, but it’s also full of threats that could undermine your security if you’re careless. The main issue with cyber security is that it’s extraordinarily difficult to cover all of your bases, especially if you’re not tech-savvy. We’ll go over, in detail, some of the many security best practices that you can implement to keep your sensitive information and account credentials safe from hackers.

As a side effect of a recent federal ruling, loaning out your Netflix password to your pal so they can catch up on Orange is the New Black is now considered a federal offense.

It has been quite a year for Microsoft, at least as far as Windows 10 is concerned. Since the release of Windows 10, over 300 million devices worldwide utilize the operating system. If you have considered upgrading, it is strongly recommended you do so as soon as possible.

It’s a typical work day. You’re going about your business, when you decide to take a short break and check Facebook. Maybe you see a post that you’d like to share, but you’d rather not have that post on your timeline. While you could just delete it later, there’s a new feature that lets you share a post to your news feed, without posting it on your timeline.

As the world of technology grows increasingly mobile, emojis are appearing in the most unlikely of places, like business communications. Even though emojis may seem rather cute and innocent, their use by employees may cause more problems than they’re worth. :-O

As a business owner, there are naturally a few things you would prefer your employees not to be able to do on your workstations - least of all cost you a pretty penny in charges as well as in memory space. Taking this into consideration, it is no wonder that an employer would prefer to have access to the Windows Store removed from employee workstations.

All businesses must be prepared to deal with any unforeseen circumstances that could disrupt operations and derail their goals. One often unforeseen method for doing this is keeping an extra workstation on-hand, just in case a worker needs to use it. By doing so, you can prevent downtime and improve the way your business handles maintenance.

If you made use of Acer’s online store to purchase a device between May 12, of 2015 and April 28, 2016, we have some bad news for you: There’s a chance you received a letter from Acer to inform you that your card’s credentials were stolen.