Author Archives: Anton Ruighaver

What Does Proactive Cybersecurity Entail?

Business, Cloud, Security, Technology
Most IT service providers (ITSPs) promise some level of “proactive” cybersecurity consulting. All businesses embrace the idea of preventing cyberattacks and data breaches before they happen, and ITSPs themselves would much rather brainstorm safeguards than troubleshoot time-sensitive downtime events. But it’s not always clear what proactive cybersecurity entails, so let’s take a minute to go over it. Understand the threats you’re facing Before any small- or medium-sized business (SMB) can work toward preventing cyberattacks, everyone involved needs to know exactly what they’re up against. Whether you’re working with in-house IT staff or an ITSP, you should review what types of attacks are most common in your industry. Ideally, your team would spearhead this review a few times a year. Reevaluate what it is you’re protecting Once you have a list of the biggest threats to your organization, you need to … READ MORE »

Is Your Business Continuity Plan Doomed To Fail?

Business, Cloud, Security, Technology
No business continuity plan is perfect. Each plan has risks that can result in your business’s failure if not taken into account from the start. But don’t blame it all on your managed IT services provider (MSP) — often, a system’s design has loopholes to start with. Let’s take a look at some of the reasons why business continuity plans fail. Over-optimistic testing The initial testing attempt is usually the most important, because it’s when MSPs can pinpoint potential pain points in the recovery plan. However, they usually test the system in full, instead of in phases. This can cause MSPs to overlook specific points, with too many factors overwhelming them all at the same time. Insufficient remote user licenses MSPs give remote user licenses to businesses so that employees can access a remote desktop software when they need to, … READ MORE »

Make The Most Out Of Microsoft Word With These Tips

Business, Cloud, Personal, Technology
Microsoft Word remains the word processing software of choice for businesses large and small. With Word, you can create a wide variety of documents, from reports to invoices to brochures. Word also has a number of features that, when utilized properly, could greatly enhance your productivity and efficiency at work. Let’s take a look at some of these. Work on Word Online Don’t have the Word app on your computer, tablet, or smartphone? Go to office.com, sign in with your Microsoft account, and open Word Online, the web version of Word. Collaborate on files You and your colleagues can now edit the same Word document simultaneously in real time. Simply save the document to your Microsoft OneDrive account, click Share, and send the link to the file to your coworkers. People with the link can access and edit the document using … READ MORE »

The Convenience Of Dual Monitors

Business, Personal, Technology
Many things come in pairs, including glasses, shoes, and, for busy office workers, computer monitors. Using two monitors at once may seem unconventional to some, but doing so has a lot of advantages. If you’re hesitant about your employees using two monitors simultaneously, perhaps these benefits will change your mind. Enhanced productivity A survey by Jon Peddie Research shows that working with dual monitors increases overall productivity by 20–30%. Computer programmers, for example, can use one screen for source coding and the other for programming. By using dual monitors, they no longer need to toggle back and forth between tabs. This frees up time to complete more projects. Better multitasking Efficient multitasking requires adequate screen space to keep multiple applications simultaneously visible — a view that single monitors alone simply cannot accommodate. With a dual monitor setup, workers like customer service … READ MORE »

How To Extend Your iPhone’s Battery Life

Business, Personal, Technology
If you’re working out of the office or house, you never want to be in a situation where your iPhone is almost out of battery. A dead smartphone can mean missing important calls and being unable to send crucial updates to the team. But with some careful preparation combined with the tips below, you can avoid these issues in the first place. 1. Activate Low Power Mode Low Power Mode can be activated with a single tap. When switched on, it automatically adjusts several settings to extend the life of your battery. For starters, it reduces the brightness of your screen and the amount of battery power your apps are using. It also disables the automatic fetching of new email and it powers off the display more quickly. To activate Low Power Mode, press Settings > Battery and then tap Low Power Mode so … READ MORE »

A Little Desktop Tidiness Goes A Long Way

Business, Personal, Technology
You may have the habit of putting apps and files that need your immediate attention on your desktop, but not of deleting or moving these to their proper folders when you’re through with them. What you end up with is a mess that makes it hard to find what you need and easy to lose important files forever. Prevent this by following our tips on clearing your desktop. 1. Arrange, sort, and prioritize Before you go about deleting everything from your desktop, think about what you really want to keep. This will vary from person to person, but most people use their desktop for storing files, folders, and app shortcuts that they want to access quickly. Take the time to prioritize your files and folders. An easy way to do this is to right-click on an empty area of your … READ MORE »

5 Tips to Work Smarter in Outlook

Business, Cloud, Technology
Microsoft Outlook comes with many features that make managing your busy schedule and boosting your productivity easier. If you find Outlook’s myriad capabilities a little overwhelming, don’t worry — these tips and tricks will have you using Outlook like a pro in no time.   Organize your inbox Is your Outlook inbox getting a little too cluttered for your liking? Use the Clean Up feature to tidy up your inbox. From your inbox, click the Home tab and choose from one of three Clean Up options: Clean Up Conversation – reviews an email thread or a conversation and deletes redundant messages Clean Up Folder – reviews conversations in a selected folder and deletes redundant messages Clean Up Folder & Subfolders – reviews all messages in a selected folder and any subfolders, and deletes redundant messages in all of them Be careful using this, … READ MORE »

Why Your Business Is The PERFECT Target For Hackers…

Business, Security, Technology
…And What You Need To Do NOW To Protect Yourself Everybody gets hacked, but not everything makes the evening news. We hear about big companies like Target, Home Depot, Capital One, and Facebook getting hacked. What we rarely hear about are the little guys – the small businesses that make up 99.7% of employers in the United States, according to the Small Business Administration. It’s these guys who are the biggest targets of cybercriminals. Basically, if you run a business, that business is a potential target. It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in, what you sell or how popular you are. Cybercriminals go after everybody. In 2018, a cyber security survey by the Ponemon Institute found that 67% of small and midsize businesses in the US and UK were hit by a cyber-attack. For the cybercriminal, casting a wide net … READ MORE »

How AI is Revolutionizing Healthcare

Business, Technology
Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to radically change the face of the healthcare industry — in fact, it already has. Here are some of the ways that AI has benefited medical professionals and patients alike. Virtual personal health assistants At the helm of the AI revolution are virtual personal health assistants. A lot of people are already using such apps through their smartphones, wearable devices, computers, and other gadgets to keep track of their heart rate, blood pressure, and diet. Virtual health assistants can also set a doctor’s appointment for you and remind you about it. They can document your symptoms so you can relay them to your doctor easily and efficiently. The proliferation of smart watches and other wearables that utilize AI also helps doctors monitor patients with early-stage heart disease. This enables them to detect potentially life-threatening … READ MORE »

Save on Printing Costs With These 5 Tips

Business, Personal, Technology
  Managing your print infrastructure effectively is a quick and easy way to minimize your IT budget. Many small and large enterprises don’t realize that they are using inefficient printing models, but you won’t be one of them if you follow these tips.   Go paperless Designing a document management solution that reduces paper consumption is an incredibly effective way to save money. It may not be possible in every department, but those who can do their jobs without printing should be either forced or incentivized to do so. Printing lengthy email chains that can be discussed in a meeting is just one example of a wasteful practice that should be avoided. Replace outdated printers Your outdated and cheap printers may meet the absolute minimum requirements, but they’re taking a bite out of your IT budget. Any piece of equipment … READ MORE »