Business Solutions & Software Group Blog

Last year’s United States’ tax season when the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) was breached and hackers used 464,000 stolen Social Security numbers to successfully E-file 101,000 fraudulent tax returns using false PINs. This incident should cause taxpayers to ask the question, “What’s the government doing to protect my tax returns?”

Microsoft’s Blue Screen of Death has haunted every version of Windows since Windows NT, way back in 1993. In recent times, despite the BSOD’s emoticon makeover in Windows 8 and Windows 10, the notification isn’t any less frustrating to encounter. When experiencing the dreaded BSOD, the question on every user’s mind is, “How do I fix it?”

You may need business technology to ensure that operations go off without a hitch, but at the same time, you’re reliant on it in order to function. If your technology fails, you’ll be left with a large deficit to fill. Here are three ways that you can improve PC performance with basic maintenance practices.

While online shopping is great for finding exactly what you need, you still need to remember that cybercrime is a major problem and that you need to be careful of where you plug in your financial information. Here are some best practices that can help to keep you safe this holiday season while bargain-hunting.

Email may be crucial to the functionality of your business, but at times it can seem like your inbox is far beyond your control. You might find yourself throwing away hours on end just to clean up the pile of unread messages in your inbox. Thankfully, with a bit of effort, you too can free yourself from an overburdened inbox.

Have you ever tried lugging around two smartphones? It’s not as fun as it sounds, especially since having two devices means double the chance of losing one. Often times, this two-phone dilemma results from having both a work-issued phone and a personal phone. Thankfully, merging two phones is easy to do.

It’s no secret that the screens of devices like smartphones, laptops, desktop monitors, and tablets, can contribute to eye pain and what’s called “digital eye strain.” In fact, in some extraordinary cases of prolonged screen use, smartphone use has even led to temporary blindness.

For the busy business owner, getting work done while traveling is a way of life. Unfortunately, working on the go can be a disaster if you don’t properly prep your technology. Here are seven guidelines to make sure your technology is ready for your big trip.

Be sure to add these suggestions to your pre-trip checklist.

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.

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.

The man who, between 2008 and 2009, stole the log-in credentials of Facebook users to spread his credential-stealing web links, has been sentenced to some hard time.

For the busy business owner, demands on schedules make it mandatory to use their smartphone while on the go. While it’s important to be productive, safety is even more important. Therefore, you should never use your phone while driving in such a way that puts you and others at risk.

Google is no stranger to voice-related technology. Android smartphones have long had voice-to-text capabilities. Google Now allows users to search the Internet, set alarms, add calendar entries, activate entertainment, and so much more, all with your voice. Now, you can add editing and writing documents in Google Docs to that list.

Some days, productivity comes naturally and you can destroy tasks like it’s no one’s business. Other times, distractions seem to pop up everywhere and you need all the help you can get, just to get anything done. Here are four productivity tips, proven to help you regain focus at the office.

Google is much more than just a collection of desktop apps, a search engine, and a web browser. Google is a large company that’s continuously innovating with new and exciting technologies. One of these is Google Wallet, which allows for sharing cash and making money transfers online. What many users of Google Wallet forget is that, just like a debit or credit card, your Google Wallet card number can be stolen and used for fraudulent activity.

Every business wants to be equipped with the latest and greatest IT equipment and software. Yet, due to realities like budget shortcomings, time constraints, and the lack of knowledge about IT trends, it can be difficult for the average SMB to attain that dream technological setup on their own. However, by being smart about how you approach IT, your company can still have a network that exceeds your expectations.

Sometimes you might hear a song on the radio that you want to look up later, but there’s one problem: you don’t know the song’s name or the artist. Thankfully, there are music apps for your smartphone that can identify these unknown songs.

A clean computer is one that you can rely on. Like all other kinds of technology, a computer needs regular maintenance and cleanup sessions that preserve its working ability and prolong its life. Since January is Clean Up Your Computer Month, there’s no time like the present to ensure that your PC is squeaky clean. Here’s how you can give your computer and its components a comprehensive cleaning.

Wireless Internet access is something that a lot of people take for granted, yet we all complain about shoddy Internet connections from time to time. Little do they know that some of the most common issues with their wireless connection could be ordinary appliances and other conflicting technologies. You might be surprised by what they are!

September was Disaster Preparedness Month; a time to seriously consider where your business stands if a disaster were to strike. What would be considered a disaster? That depends on your situation, but if something were to happen to your business, are you prepared to continue operations quickly? What solutions have you implemented to protect business continuity if something unfortunate were to happen to your organization?