30
Sep, 2019
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Taking a Long Look at Microsoft 365

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Microsoft has always offered a variety of business solutions, some which conform to your needs and others that do not. The beauty of this, is you can pick what solution will benefit your business, and leave the ones that will not behind. Here, we will discuss Microsoft 365 and what is offered within the Microsoft 365 package.   

What is Microsoft 365?

Microsoft 365 is a bundle containing Office 365, the Enterprise version of Windows 10, along with Microsoft’s Enterprise Mobility + Security. Microsoft 365 is comprised of all of these solutions, meaning your business will benefit from all of the features that come with these solutions, with just one package. So, what does this package include exactly?

Here are all of these solutions you could or should be taking advantage of with Microsoft 365:

Here at NuTech Services we understand this list is extensive. However, it is worth viewing as there could be solutions your business could benefit from. NuTech Services has the technicians needed to help you procure, implement, and manage the right solutions for you. Reach out to us at 810.230.9455 to learn more.

27
Sep, 2019
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Technologies that Fuel a Remote Workforce

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Many companies today are increasing their adoption of remote working strategies, enjoying the operational benefits that come along with them. In order for you to take advantage of these benefits in your own operations, you need to be sure you have the tools needed to optimize remote work. Here, we’ll review what you need to make the most of your remote worker strategy.

#1: Communication and Collaboration Solutions

Let’s face facts… you’re going to have to be able to work with your remote workers in order to accomplish what needs to be done, so you need to make sure you have a solution that maintains open lines of communication between you and your staff. All of the solutions that a business should use to enable communications while in-house should also be leveraged by a remote workforce, including email, chat platforms, video conferencing, and Voice over Internet Protocol.

On top of that, your line of business apps and the everyday software your staff needs should be available to remote workers. A prime example of a necessary solution for your remote employees is a file sharing platform that allows your team to work side-by-side on documents and data… whether or not they’re actually side-by-side.

#2: Project Management Tools

Time management is one of the biggest challenges inherent in remote work, so giving your staff direction through project management software can help your remote workers stay on task, while keeping the team as a whole apprised of progress towards a shared goal. In this way, project management solutions can help your team more efficiently reach their objectives – while keeping all members more accountable for what they need to accomplish.

This can be a considerable benefit, especially if an employee is going from a structured office environment to the more laissez-faire arrangement that remote work provides. Looming deadlines, combined with a fluid schedule, have been known to increase work-related stress. A reliable project management solution can return some of the structure to a remote worker’s day, giving them the purpose, they need to accomplish their goals.

#3: Cybersecurity

Any of the benefits of remote work are rendered moot if this remote work leads to a breach or some other security incident. This means that your remote workforce needs to be equipped with the same cybersecurity measures that you should have protecting your business’ on-premise infrastructure.

As a result, you will want to be sure that you’re having your remote workers utilize multi-factor authentication measures, and that their solutions are equipped with fully up-to-date security software. In order to connect back to your business’ network resource, they should also be leveraging virtual private networks to fully ensure your business’ data remains secure while in transit.

In many ways, a password management system would also be classified as a cybersecurity need – especially where remote workers (and thereby, remote access) are involved. 

#4: Time-Tracking Software

Finally, you need to make sure that your remote employees are spending their time effectively, as well as that you are properly reimbursing them for their time. There are many tools to help track how time is being spent while in the office, and these tools work equally as well for remote workers.

Whether you need to track how long a task took for billing and invoicing purposes, you’re trying to optimize your workflows, or you are simply ensuring that your team is being efficient and productive, understanding how time is spent during the workday is crucial. Implementing time-tracking software for remote workers can simplify payroll, allowing you to focus on other pressing business matters.

NuTech Services can help you out, by introducing the solutions that will make your remote working strategy far simpler. To learn more about what we can accomplish for you, reach out to us at 810.230.9455.

25
Sep, 2019
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Essential Network Security Best Practices

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Too frequently, we hear stories about cyberattacks, software vulnerabilities turned tragic, and other pretty terrible situations for businesses. In an effort to help fight this, we’ve put together a list of handy tips for you so that you can be prepared to ward off threats.

Leverage Authentication Measures

One of the first steps to securing your network against threats is to create strong authentication procedures. Most of the devices with permission to access your network will already have an authentication system in place, based on a password. If the passwords used are strong enough, this can actually mitigate most threats – but you still have to worry about the ones that this doesn’t discourage. Leveraging something called multi-factor, or two-factor, authentication can help minimize the chance of something slipping past your security.

Two-factor authentication works in a relatively straightforward way. As with most login systems, a username and password are entered – but instead of being granted access, the user is asked for another credential. This is usually a randomly-generated code that a specialized authentication app will generate. Mobile devices are popular to use with 2FA, as their convenient nature makes them more likely to be available when needed. In order for a user to leverage their mobile device, the 2FA system administrator has to authorize it.

Tip: Make sure that you don’t let your password best practices slip, even if leveraging 2FA. Your passwords still need to be sufficiently complex. If you are one of those who find remembering different passwords difficult, consider using a password management system in conjunction with your 2FA. 

Protecting Your Business’ Computing Environment

Whether you use a Local Area Network or a Wide Area Network, the security practices that you need to deploy are fairly predictable. Once you’ve seen to your authentication needs, you need to combine three approaches to security into one all-encompassing strategy: your software-based security, your physical security measures, and your security awareness and best practice training.

Software-Based Security

There are many examples of how software can help keep your business’ network secure. From firewalls to content filtering to antivirus to spam detection, each of these tools protect your business data from a different kind of threat. You may even want to consider adding encryption to your email solution to make it a lot less likely that the contents of your messages will be intercepted.

Tip: If you aren’t sure which solutions are the right ones to implement, think about how your data moves about your business. The more insight you have into how your data operates, the more effectively you will be able to plan its protections.

Physical Security Measures

Somewhat ironically, we seem to have become so focused on our digital security that it can sometimes seem like we forget that there are very real reasons to protect our physical locations and infrastructure, as well. Consider the damage a bitter ex-employee could do in moments, should they manage to get into your server room. It has become fashionable to leverage biometric authorization measures to protect your server room – and there’s a lot to be said about a good, old-fashioned surveillance system, complete with alarms and cameras (as well as some updates to make this system considerably less old-fashioned).

Tip: Bring in a consulting professional to help you determine your physical security needs. Not only does this save you time by eliminating work you would otherwise have to do for yourself, it ensures that your system will be designed by an experienced professional that knows what will work best in different situations.

Security Awareness and Best Practice Training

Would you be surprised to hear that your employees are likely your biggest vulnerability? Of all of the pieces that make up your network security, the people who use your technology are the leading cause of security issues. With the number of ways that your business could be attacked, your staff needs to be educated on how to identify them and avoid them.

Tip: Both businesses and individuals have experienced difficulties with phishing and it adversely affecting them, so it makes sense to begin your training there. Not only is it a common issue, it is conceptually very simple to grasp, so it is a good starting point before moving on to increasingly complex concerns. The more your staff knows about how they can resist attacks, the more likely they’ll be able to do so if the needs arises.

Remote Solutions Via the Cloud

Modern organizations need to contend with potential threats to their network infrastructures, as businesses always have in some form. The difference is that issues can now come in on the mobile devices owned by their staff, and company resources can be routinely accessed from outside the business’ area network.

This has helped contribute greatly to the growth of cloud computing technologies – although the relative cost savings don’t hurt either. Using the cloud, your staff can access their work data and applications from a remote location, while the resources stored in the cloud are kept secure by the platform’s baked-in security and privacy.

Mobile devices have also been a disruptor to business-as-usual, which means that businesses need to plan on leveraging them if they don’t want them becoming a distraction. Designing a Bring Your Own Device policy and enforcing it through mobile device management solutions is an effective and secure way of reaching a compromise and minimizing the time wasted by mobile devices in the workplace.

Tip: Remember that cloud services are inherently scalable, so you don’t need to worry about overreaching your capabilities. However, you also don’t want to waste capital that doesn’t need to be spent. Auditing your resources is an effective way to identify and eliminate redundant costs leeching from your budget.

Network security can be complicated, but it is an absolutely crucial element to your technology strategy if you want to have any success. NuTech Services can help take care of the technical side of things for you, and help teach better habits to your staff. To learn more, keep reading our tips, and reach out to us at 810.230.9455.

23
Sep, 2019
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Your Technology’s Batteries, Then and Now

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The smartphone is quite possibly the most important invention of our era. As time has passed, these devices have only continued to improve. These improvements have led to ever-increasing demands on the batteries that power our devices… batteries that, for about a decade, have changed very little. Here, we’ll examine the batteries that power our smartphones, and what we may see happen to them in the future.

Mobile Phones and Their Batteries 

Cellular phones have been around on the open market for about 35 years. In the 1980s and 90s, these devices were bulky and had considerable heft, as did the nickel-cadmium (NiCD) batteries that powered them. These batteries couldn’t power these phones for very long at all, and had a relatively short lifespan (especially if charged when they still had some juice in them).

This didn’t stop the demand, however, and so improved batteries were manufactured using nickel-metal hydride (NiMH). This material was lighter, charged back up more efficiently, and while they still had a severely stunted lifespan by today’s standards, they degraded more slowly that NiCD batteries. This technology hit the market in the late 1990s, leading to considerable growth in the cellular phone market.

Smartphone Batteries

This growth eventually led to the introduction of the smartphone, making the NiMH batteries an ineffective option – there just needed to be more power in order to run what effectively boiled down to a computer in your pocket. As a result, lithium-ion batteries were developed. These batteries lasted longer, charged more quickly, and didn’t degrade over time. The one drawback to these batteries is the increased price, which helps to explain the sudden increase in the cost of a phone in recent years.

Even more recently, the lithium-poly ion (Li-Poly) battery was developed, offering about 40 percent more power than NiMH batteries. Unfortunately, the cost of production has prohibited them from being used in anything other than flagship devices.

Batteries of the Future

As our technology continues to advance, so must the batteries that power it. Lithium-ion batteries are already being improved by up to three times performance, the graphite they once contained being replaced with silicon. This is far from the most intriguing example of tomorrow’s tech we’re apt to see in our batteries, too:

  • Charging your device with a Wi-Fi signal – What if your Wi-Fi connection could help to charge your phone? Researchers are essentially trying to accomplish as much. By using a rectenna (an ultra-thin and flexible radio wave antenna), the idea is that AC power could be found in Wi-Fi signals and other electromagnetic waves, and harvested. This power could then be converted to DC to supplement a device’s power supply.
  • Literally charging your device by yourself – The human body relies on electricity to function – as in, any and all of its functions. In order to communicate, your cells generate a charge. The reason that lightning strikes are so dangerous to your business’ infrastructure is the same reason they are so dangerous to people – the circuitry is fried. However, research into improvements to triboelectric nanogenerators (TENG technology) implies that we may someday be capable of harvesting the energy produced by the human body and amplifying it, giving us an on-hand (or on-shoulder, or on-foot…) power supply.
  • Lithium-ion batteries will be solid state – The use of solid electrodes and electrolytes to create a battery isn’t a new idea – some devices, like pacemakers, wearables, and RFID sensors, actually already use them. However, due to cost prohibitions, they haven’t yet been incorporated into smartphones… emphasis on “yet.”
  • Batteries will be biological – Proteins are made up of chains of amino acids. Less complicated chains are known as peptides. Scientists have discovered that incorporating peptides into batteries can help improve them further, making them more stable. An Israeli startup, StoreDot, has also used peptides to develop a device capable of charging a smartphone in 60 seconds.
  • Sodium-ion, instead of lithium-ion, will be used – Lithium is abundantly rare, which is why newer devices cost so much – it’s the batteries. Sodium, on the other hand, is just plain abundant, which would make these batteries cheaper to produce, leading to more affordable end-products. 
  • Liquid flow batteries take over – Liquid flow batteries have been shown to be a cost-effective means of increasing power storage in everything from our personal devices to our municipal infrastructures. While there is considerable work yet to be done, these batteries could appear in the near future.

For now, it is probably best to understand the batteries we have around today, and how to best handle them.

Modern Battery Myths and Best Practices

  • Myth: Always let your batteries drain to zero before recharging.
    As mentioned above, this was once necessary, but the batteries we use now no longer have the vulnerabilities that NiCD and NiMH did.
  • Myth: One way to ruin your batteries is overcharging them.
    Again, this isn’t so much a myth as it is a best practice that no longer applies. Modern devices have failsafe defenses built into them to prevent overcharging. However, you still need to be concerned about heat build-up. Make sure your device has some breathing room. 
  • Best Practice: Don’t throw batteries away.
    Many of the materials that go into batteries are hazardous, and have no place in a landfill as a result. Instead, recycle them! We might be able to help with that, depending on what you have to dispose of. Call us at 810.230.9455 to talk more about that.
  • Best Practice: Check your settings to see what uses the most power.
    If you have a device that just doesn’t seem to hold a charge, you probably have some options to go about fixing it. Reducing the brightness of the screen, adjusting how long the screen stays on, and other tweaks can help extend the life. Some of your applications may be a contributing factor as well.

An increasingly mobile world will require the power to be available to support it. We can help support your business’ mobility in other ways, keeping it secure and reliable. To learn more, call 810.230.9455 today.

20
Sep, 2019
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Your Business Could Benefit from Blockchain

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Blockchain is typically associated with Bitcoin. This shouldn’t come as a shocker because primarily that IS what it’s used for. However, blockchain isn’t a program, it’s not a product — it’s a technology. Blockchain technology has endless possibilities when it comes to real world implementation. In the near future it will likely be utilized in many business transactions due to its versatility.

Blockchain technology has virtually changed the internet. The action of creating and distributing digital information, but not allowing the information to be copied or altered, has created a backbone to this new type of network.

What Is Blockchain?

When looking at the word blockchain, it’s clear to see that it is derived from two words: block and chain.

Simply put, a block records recent transactions that have not been started in any prior blocks. This avoids duplicates or falsely initiated transactions. This block has the unique characteristic that it cannot be deleted, and it cannot be altered.

A chain is a sequence of items of the same type, forming a line. Blockchain technology has created an indestructible chain of blocks. Without being “chained” together, it would just be unorganized, unreadable, scattered information. Because of the methodical, organized and unalterable record keeping – it’s ideal for numerous applications.

Where Blockchain is Headed

Blockchains are where digital relationships are being not only formed but secured. Here are just some of the implementations where this technology has been, or could be used for in the future:

Payment processing and money transfers – The first thing that it could be used for is what it’s already being used for. Payment processing and money transfers. After all, this is what the technology was developed for, but what other forms can this take?

Retail loyalty reward programs – We’ve all been asked if we have a rewards card. Blockchain could soon revolutionize rewards programs by replacing standard points with tokens. All transactions at a certain store or company would result in earning tokens, which would be stored in a blockchain. The characteristics of blockchain would stop individuals from fraudulently earning reward points, which is common amongst paper and card-based loyalty programs.

Digital Voting – Have you ever heard rumors or accusations that someone fraudulently won a vote? With the implementation of blockchain, this would be an issue of the past. Blockchain cannot be altered or destroyed. This means if there was some sort of fraudulent activity, it could easily be detected. This brings us to our next use of blockchain.

Audit Trailing – Blockchain can be implemented anywhere an audit trail is required.

There are endless possibilities where this technology can be implemented. Medical recordkeeping, tax regulation and compliance, immutable data backup, even real estate or auto title transfers. Blockchain truly is revolutionizing operations across the globe.

At NuTech Services, we are eager to see where this technology will take us in the near future. How do you think blockchain technology will be used? Leave a comment below.

18
Sep, 2019
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Tip of the Week: Project Management Software

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Project management is an essential part of nearly every business, and good management software can do a lot for you. What it can’t do, however, is actually get your team to complete the work faster, especially if they don’t completely understand why you’ve chosen that particular platform. For today’s tip, we take a look at project management and give you some tips to help your organization improve the success of its projects.

There are a lot of tools used to manage projects. Regardless of what platform your company uses, there are some simple, common sense practices your team can use to enhance its project management proficiency. Here are five:

Tip #1: Hash Out Details Before You Start

Sometimes getting a project off the ground is harder than actually completing it. Depending on the number of stakeholders involved, many projects may find it difficult to get off the ground. Ensuring that the project is viable, has the support it needs to come to fruition, and has the resources in place to be most efficiently implemented are important before a minute of work is done on the project.

You will want to identify what workers will be responsible for what work, while also doing your best to come up with a timeline for the project that will not waste resources.

Tip #2: Choose One Project Manager

Today, there are a lot of collaborative interfaces out there that make managing a project much, much easier. As a result, sometimes a project won’t have a single project lead, it will be carried out with a team approach. You may get through a project or two like this before it becomes painfully evident that there needs to be someone to run point on the project.

The role of project leader will cultivate positive team dynamics and act as a mentor to the rest of the team. Also, you just need one throat to choke when things aren’t done on time.

Tip #3: Define Specific Milestones

For any project, there will be benchmarks it will have to be met. As a project begins, defining the metrics that will have to be met will give any project team a good idea what the expectations are at the end of each phase of a project. By frequently checking in on the status of deliverables, the project manager can ensure that all elements of the product are aligned with what customers will invest in.

Tip #4: Manage Risk

Managing risk is important in any business endeavor. There will be times when, in the course of the phases of a project, where one will go horribly wrong and will put the entire project’s success at risk. One of the best ways to identify and manage risk is by keeping the lines of communication open. Most project management software provides options to communicate, whether they be integrated through an existing system, or if they are localized as a part of the software.

Tip #5: Evaluation

Through success (or failure), lessons can be learned from any project. By reviewing and scrutinizing every aspect of the project, you will get some fuel on how to improve your project management moving forward. Identifying what went right, what went wrong, and how they make up the final result. One way to ensure that a project was a complete success is to determine its return on investment (ROI). Often, project managers will provide a planned ROI to stakeholders at the beginning. By comparing the two after the end of the project, you can establish whether it had the value you were planning for.

At NuTech Services, our technicians thrive on project management. Whether it is running cable, building, testing, and deploying hardware, or simple proactive maintenance, we have an answer for all of your business’ computer problems. Call us at 810.230.9455 to learn more.

16
Sep, 2019
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Are You Looking to Buy a New Server?

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So your small business needs a new server. What are your options? Do you know what they are? Today, we’ll try to shed some light on how you should look at the server-buying process and what your organization’s options are. 

Business Servers

When you are looking for servers, there is a pretty good chance that you need to centralize application delivery, file storage, or some other core function of your business. A server is a high-powered computer that runs specialized software that is used to support the multiple users that your business has on staff. Some of the multi-user applications that servers are used for include email, some type of messaging, print servers designed to manage company-wide print jobs, and customer relationship management (CRM). If your business already uses one or multiple servers, you need to establish whether you need to upgrade and migrate; or, if you’ve outgrown your hardware and need to set up a new server, and where to host it.

Cloud vs. Onsite

If you are looking to set up your first server, you have an interesting decision to make. Do you set up your new server at your place of business, or do you host it with an established cloud provider? Traditionally, companies would be better served to host their hardware locally, but with cloud services from some of the most reputable companies in the world now available with built-in support and anywhere-anytime access, it stands to reason that looking at how each is priced out is a prudent move by any decision maker. 

With the purchase of a server, a company takes on the costs of the hardware, which are often substantial, they then deploy software and have to pay to have that hardware managed. If the hardware costs aren’t enough, the maintenance costs can be multiple times that. When you add in utility costs, you are looking at a large capital cost with a smaller operational outlay.  With cloud computing, however, you can get a reasonably secure server that can be accessed from any place users have access to a high-speed Internet connection. This provides accessibility that many other servers don’t have, while paying per month rather than up front. The costs don’t add up quite as fast (the capital outlay is virtually zero), but the operational costs spike, often exceeding what you would pay for a server over time. 

Let’s make a list of some pros and cons:

Onsite Server 

Pros:

  • Gives you complete control over organizational data.
  • Gives you the ability to alter storage types and amount at any time.
  • Performing onsite backup is much easier.
  • Restoration from onsite backup is much faster.

Cons:

  • Upfront costs of hardware.
  • Exorbitant costs of continued maintenance.
  • Utility costs.
  • Upfront and recurring costs of physical security.
  • Your hardware is only marginally utilized.

Hosted Server

Pros: 

  • Eliminate capital costs of buying and maintaining hardware. 
  • Mitigate server-based utility costs.
  • Cloud server is scalable.
  • Data and application redundancy built in.

Cons:

  • The need for stable and reliable bandwidth rises.
  • Costs of bandwidth rise.
  • Security can become an issue.
  • Lose physical control over the management of the servers.

It all comes down to system control. If you want (or need to have) control over your hardware in order to meet federal, state, or industry regulations, hosting your servers onsite is suggested. If you don’t have these regulations to meet, there’s no reason hosting your servers in a public cloud interface can’t be a viable alternative for your company. 

One option that many businesses are using today is the establishment of a private cloud server. A private cloud server is hosted either onsite or in its own dedicated cloud space, and delivers a business a lot of the pros listed above, albeit at substantial cost. The establishment of the private cloud allows companies that need to have control over the management of their organizations data and applications to have it, while providing the ability for users to access the data and applications outside of the confines of its physical network. 

Regardless of what kind of server you are looking for the experts at NuTech Services can help. Find out more about your server options by calling us today at 810.230.9455.

13
Sep, 2019
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The Next Phase of the Internet of Things

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The Internet of Things is growing rapidly, and with that growth there will be a stage where thoughts about IoT technology change forever. From RFID sensors to mobile devices to commercial goods, machine-to-machine communications have already made their way into people’s homes and businesses. What can we expect to happen with the IoT in the future? Today, we take a look to answer this very question.

With global spending on IoT research and integration reaching $745 billion in 2019, the IoT is primed to be one of the largest single industries in the world in the future. Individuals, businesses, and governments are looking at the IoT for solutions to their problems. After all, the more information people have, the better decisions can be made. From the outset, it was said that this technology will transform the way we interact with machines and the way they will interact with each other, and only a few short years into a worldwide implementation, that mantra has proven to be true. Let’s look at where the IoT is growing most.

Industry

The huge annual jumps in IoT spending is largely driven by manufacturers, transportation, and utilities. Industrial IoT solutions provide companies and municipalities, alike, the link between their cloud-based software systems and their analysts, salesmen, and decision makers. This relationship is tenuous, however, and is closely monitored as a result. If a huge IoT strategy breaks even once, confidence in the platform is destroyed, leaving it an unreliable solution, regardless of the strengths of the technology. 

Manufacturers and process managers that utilize IoT solutions absolutely need their systems to be as reliable as possible. That means security, which is the number one improvement that the next phase of IoT has to make. For years, IoT was only somewhat trustworthy because of the lack of integrated security many IoT devices were manufactured with. Today, with security an absolute must for the major undertakings it is being used for, security has improved, but only slightly. A dedication to creating IoT devices that have hardware and software systems that are secure and reliable will dictate just the ceiling of IoT effectiveness.

The Smart City

One of the most intriguing places the IoT has been utilized thus far is in the integration of automated utility systems inside what has been termed, “the smart city”. The smart city uses what are known as low power IoT connections. These devices deliver low bandwidth and power saving features that are perfectly suited to asset monitoring. They can be implemented for a variety of uses, including: 

  • Sensors built into city roadways to sense things like the subsistence of traffic congestion and wear and tear of roadways.
  • Sensors built into bridges to sense degradation and the effect of seismic forces caused by geographical and traffic-based events.
  • Sensors built into buildings to measure wind force, foundation subsistence, or seismic activity.
  • Sensors in the interior of buildings to control foot-traffic, lighting, heating and air, and other systems humans rely on. 
  • Sensors on the street or on entryways that will provide facial recognition and reporting.

Unlike IoT-connected consumer goods, every IoT device deployed in a smart city would have a purpose that is beyond convenience. Every device would be placed to achieve a goal, improve the usability, longevity, and management of infrastructure, boosting resident safety and improving their access to services, cutting costs and limiting energy use, improving communications, and more.

One thing is for sure, the next phase of IoT implementation is going to challenge conventional thinking and deliver solutions that only a short time ago, were only imaginary. At NuTech Services we find technology fascinating. For more great technology information about innovative new tech, return to our blog regularly. 

11
Sep, 2019
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Tip of the Week: Cloud Decisions for the SMB

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In a nod to the strength of modern cloud networks, businesses are now able to gain significant flexibility when making their IT decisions. There are innumerable solutions designed to speed up business, transfer cost, and provide businesses with workable computing platforms they once paid tens of thousands of dollars per year for. For today’s tip, we will look at how using hosted computing solutions provides significant business benefits.

Countless Options

The cloud provides a myriad of options for any-sized business. In the cloud, you can host applications, communications, storage, and even full-platform infrastructure. With so many options available, your business can get the computing power and tools it needs, when needed. 

User Tip: When trying to determine which cloud platforms are right for you, you may find the cost/benefit analysis won’t give you the definitive answer you are looking for. Your best bet is to prioritize which information systems would work best hosted onsite and which one brings the most value hosted in the cloud. The best decision for your business’ bottom line may not be the best decision. 

Productivity Improves

One of the most important aspects of cloud computing is the possibility that it provides a modern business. With all of the options the cloud presents, a business can pick and choose how to leverage them to produce increased productivity. Of course, the computing platform itself isn’t going to produce more, but with the data and application accessibility and the collaborative options the cloud provides a business, they are able to get more done, faster.

User Tip: Cloud computing may provide the ability for your team to collaborate better, but it isn’t going to produce anything on its own. One tip to ensure for efficient collaboration and enhanced teamwork using cloud interfaces is to assign one person to manage the files and data inside your cloud solution so that everyone knows who to go to if they need answers. Running a project is a lot like running a basketball team, one person has to run point.

Monetary Benefits

Implementing cloud computing can absolutely help save a business money off the bat. A shift to the cloud works to eliminate huge capital costs. Say you need a server. If you bought, powered, and supported the hardware yourself, you are looking at a bill that’s likely in the five-to-six-figure range. If you choose a cloud, you can fire up a new server for a monthly fee that gives you a lot of the same computing power your business commands, without the waste of computing resources and the upfront expense you would see by running your own hardware.

User Tip: The cloud may help you transfer cost, but if you jump in with both feet it can get pricey quick. That’s why it is important to migrate your processes, data, and infrastructure to the cloud in small, incremental steps. It keeps operational costs down and keeps your IT administrator sane. 

At NuTech Services, we understand the value of cloud computing, but we also recognize that the cloud isn’t right for every situation. If you would like to meet with our knowledgeable consultants about a shift to the cloud, call us at 810.230.9455 today.

9
Sep, 2019
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Biggest Data Breaches Since May

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Has your business’ network been breached? If not, you will need to continue to prioritize network security to keep hackers at bay. With 446 million records compromised in 2018 alone, businesses need to understand what threats they are currently under. Let’s take a look at some of the biggest data breaches that have happened since the beginning of May. 

May

May 2, 2019 – Citrix

Conferencing and digital workplace software company, Citrix, revealed that hackers gained access to the company’s network between October 2018 and March 2019. Data stolen included Social Security numbers, financial information, and data of current and former employees.

May 3, 2019 – AMC Networks

1.6 million users of AMC Network’s Sundance Now and Shudder streaming services had their data left exposed through a database that was left unsecured. Names, email addresses, subscription details were compromised. 

May 9, 2019 – Freedom Mobile

Freedom Mobile, a Canadian mobile provider had an estimated 1.5 million customers’ personal and financial information left exposed on a third-party server. The types of data left exposed included names, email addresses, mailing addresses, dates of birth, and credit card information.

May 13, 2019 – Indiana Pacers

The legal team behind the National Basketball Association’s Indiana Pacers was the victim of a major phishing attack. Employee and customer names, addresses, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, passport numbers, driver’s license numbers, medical insurance information, card numbers, digital signatures and login information. No number of affected individuals has been given by the team.

May 14, 2019 – WhatsApp

WhatsApp has experienced a security flaw that provided access to an Israeli government surveillance agency, NSO Group. NSO Group had limited access to the microphone, camera, and WhatsApp message text of the app’s 1.5 billion users. 

May 20, 2019 – Instagram

Facebook-owned Instagram, fell victim to a data breach that exposed more than 49 million Instagram influencers, celebrities, and brands’ Instagram information when an Indian-based social media marketing company left it exposed. 

May 24, 2019 – Canva

The 139 million users of Canva, a cloud-based graphic design tool, had their names, usernames, and email addresses exposed when hackers infiltrated their server. 

May 24, 2019 – First American Financial Corporation

First American Financial Corp., a leading title insurer for the U.S. real estate market, had 885 million customers’ Social Security numbers, bank account numbers, mortgage and tax records, wire transaction receipts, and driver’s license images compromised for all customers as far as back as 2003.

Other May breaches: Inmediata Health Group, Uniqlo, Wyzant, Flipboard, Checkers (the fast food chain).

June

June 3, 2019 – Quest Diagnostics

Almost 12 million patient records have been compromised when hackers took control of the payments page of AMCA, a major payment vendor for Quest Diagnostics. Data such as financial account data, Social Security numbers, and health information (ePHI) were left exposed.

June 4, 2019 – LabCorp

In the same hack, LabCorp announced that 7.7 million of its customers were impacted. 

June 6, 2019 – Opko Health

In the same attack, Opko Health had 422.600 customer and patient records compromised. 

June 10, 2019 – Emuparadise

The gaming website Emuparadise had their users’ IP addresses, usernames, and passwords exposed in a data breach. 

June 11, 2019 – Evite

More than 100 million users of the Evite event planning app have had their information put up for sale on the dark web. Information that was stolen included names, email addresses, IP addresses, and cleartext passwords. Some even had their dates of birth, phone number, or postal address exposed.

June 11, 2019 – Total Registration

Kentucky-based Total Registration, a facilitator of scholastic test registrations had their entire service compromised. Victims, who were mainly students who had registered for PSAT and Advanced Placement tests, had their names, dates of birth, grade level, gender, and Social Security number exposed. 

June 12, 2019 – Evernote

A security vulnerability in Evernote’s Web Clipper Chrome extension gave hackers access to the online data of over 4.5 million users. Exposed data includes authentication, financial, all private communications, and more.

June 20, 2019 – Desjardins

Over 2.7 million individuals and 173,000 businesses had their data stolen by a single Desjardins employee. Canada’s largest credit union, the hack resulted in the exposure of names, dates of birth, social insurance numbers, addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses of customers

Other June breaches: Oregon Department of Human Services, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, EatStreet, Dominion National

July

July 17, 2019 – Clinical Pathology Laboratories

Due to the AMCA breach that affected Quest Diagnostics, Opko Health, and Labcorp, Clinical Pathology Laboratories had 2.2 million patients’ personal and medical information exposed with an additional 34,500 patients’ credit card or banking information breached. 

July 18, 2019 – Sprint 

A still unknown number of Sprint customer accounts were hacked through Samsung.com’s “add a line” website. Some exposed information included names, billing addresses, phone numbers, device types, device IDs, monthly recurring charges, account numbers, and more. 

Other July breaches: Maryland Department of Labor, Los Angeles County Department of Health Service, Essentia Health, Fieldwork Software, Los Angeles Personnel Department

August

August 5, 2019 – Poshmark 

The online marketplace, Poshmark, has announced that they’ve been hacked. Usernames and email addresses of an unreported amount of clients have been exposed in the breach. Poshmark has nearly 50 million users.

August 5, 2019 – Stock X

The online fashion-trading platform had its over 6.8 million user accounts exposed. Data that was out there included customer names, email addresses, usernames and passwords, shipping addresses, and purchase histories. 

August 9, 2019 – CafePress

A data breach at CafePress, a custom t-shirt and merchandise company, exposed the names, email addresses, physical addresses, phone numbers, and passwords of over 23.2 million customers. 

August 15, 2019 – Choice Hotels

Hackers left over 700,000 guest records exposed in a coordinated extortion attempt on the Choice Hotel chain. Stolen information included names, addresses, and phone numbers. 

August 16, 2019 – Biostar 2

VPNMentor and independent security researchers uncovered a data breach containing over a million individuals’ facial recognition information as well as the unencrypted passwords and usernames of 27.8 million individuals exposed from Biostar 2, a biometric security platform. 

August 27, 2019 – Hostinger

Hostinger, a web hosting company sent out an email to their 14 million clients who had their information hacked through an API server. As a result, first names, usernames, email addresses, IP addresses and hashed passwords were exposed.

Other August breaches: Presbyterian Healthcare Services, State Farm, MoviePass

Before your business has its network breached, data stolen, and reputation irreparably harmed, call the security professionals at NuTech Services to do a full security assessment. We can help you keep your data and reputation intact. Call us today at 810.230.9455 to learn more. 

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Sep, 2019
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Warning Signs that Your Computer Needs Replacing

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Are the computers in your office beginning to show their age? Do you even know how old they are? For the sake of your productivity, it may be time to replace them for a newer model. We’ll go over some warning signs that your computers may be nearing their retirement age.

How to Tell How Old a Computer Is

When a computer starts to get too old, it can become a problem for productivity. In fact, to help avoid this, some even recommend replacing a work computer every four years… but how do you tell how old a work computer is in the first place?

This isn’t always as cut-and-dried as one would think it should be. Some computers and laptops will have a date right on the case, neat the serial number. If there is no date provided, a quick search for the serial number might give you an idea.

You can also check the components of your computer itself, using the System Information tool. In the Search Windows box, type in “sysinfo.’ From the results, access System Information and in the window that appears, you can find plenty of information to help you date the machine. For instance, if the BIOS of the device has never been upgraded, the date will likely tell you how old the machine is, more or less. Searching for other components can help you to confirm this estimate.

As a result, you can get a better idea of whether your computer’s issues are age-related, or if there’s something else creating problems.

Signs That Say It’s Time to Replace Your Computer

There are quite a few factors that can indicate when your computer is due to be retired. While these indicators can each be a sign that something else is going on with your machine, a combination of a few of them is a fairly reliable signal that you and your device will soon have to say goodbye:

  • The computer is huge. In the interest of space, many modern devices are built to be compact, taking up less space than their predecessors did. While this isn’t a hard and fast rule (powerhouse workstations often take up a lot of space out of necessity), a larger, basic-function workstation or laptop is generally an older one.
  • Startup and shutdown take forever. Again, there are a few different issues that could contribute to lengthy startup and shutdown times. Too many applications may be set to automatically run in the background, or your hard drive might be almost full. However, this is another common symptom of an aging device.
  • You’re encountering hardware and software limitations. If your attempts to upgrade your computer’s hardware and software – especially security software – are stymied by a lack of interoperability or support, it’s probably time to consider replacing it. This is even more so the case if your work-essential solutions can’t be upgraded any further or runs slowly, or loading your applications takes notably long and they can’t efficiently run simultaneously.
  • Your computer is loud. If the fans in your device (whether it’s a desktop or a laptop) run loud, it’s a sign that your computer either needs a good cleaning or needs a good replacing. If the issue persists after a thorough cleaning has taken place, that’s a sign that your hardware is working too hard, a sure sign of age-related issues.

If you feel that your hardware is due to be replaced, reach out to NuTech Services. We have the contacts to help you procure the equipment you need to remain productive and offer the support to keep this equipment going. Call us at 810.230.9455.

4
Sep, 2019
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Tip of the Week: Best Patch Management Practices

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Patches are a critically important aspect of your technology. As a result, you need to be sure that yours are managed properly. We have three tips to share so you can optimize your patch management processes.

Create Procedures for Both Routine and Emergency Patches

Many patches are released on a predictable schedule, so as to make it easier to keep up on patches – after all, if you know that a patch is going to be released on a certain date, you can set aside time to apply that patch. There are also emergency patches that are released when a vulnerability is discovered and remediated.

As you might imagine, both are important to maintain – one, to keep your business as free as possible from vulnerabilities, and second (and perhaps more obviously), to keep your business secure in the face of an impending threat. That’s why you need to make sure you have set processes in place to ensure that all patches are tested and applied. While it may not always be a pressing security issue, it is better to be prepared for anything that the vendor is concerned about.

At NuTech Services, we always build out and update our procedure, and test updates before they are applied to prevent downtime and other issues. It’s all about working smarter, not harder.

Have a Controlled, but Realistic, Environment for Testing Purposes

Let me ask you a hypothetical question: someone comes up to you on the street and offers you a pill that would make you immune to the common cold, but with no peer reviews by any medical board or the FDA. So, do you take it?

I would hope you would say no, simply because you have no idea of the effectiveness of the pill without it having been tested. Patches are the same way. Without any testing, you simply don’t know how well the patch will work, or if it will interfere with another process. Before you apply any patches to your primary infrastructure, you need to have made these evaluations in a reasonable approximation of it. An effective means of doing so is to spin up a virtualized environment and stress-test the patch there, before actually applying it – just make sure you give your tests enough time to produce trustworthy results.

Keep Track of When Patches Are Released

Depending on the hardware and software you use, patches are going to be released on a different schedule. This is because different manufacturers and vendors manage their schedules differently. Just look at Microsoft and their famous Patch Tuesday (typically the second and sometimes the fourth Tuesday of each month). In order to properly keep your patches up-to-date, you need to know when to expect them.

For assistance with your business’ patch management, you can always turn to NuTech Services. Give our professionals a call at 810.230.9455.

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Sep, 2019
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Looking Back at ARPANET

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I don’t think we’re going too far out on a limb when we say that the Internet is one of the most amazing inventions ever concocted by humans. 50 years ago, the precursor to the Internet, ARPANET was launched by the U.S. Department of Defense at four west coast universities, changing the way people shared data forever. Let’s take a look at ARPANET and how it grew into the Internet we all use constantly today.

DoD Advanced Research

During the Cold War there was a constant need for coded systems to transmit data quickly. In the mid-1960s, the U.S. Department of Defense created what they called the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), which worked on integrating new technologies that would help the United States achieve its foreign policy goals. One of the scientists that was commissioned was Joseph Lickliter, who had the idea of connecting computers at important research centers. It was a way for engineers and intellectuals to collaborate on DoD-funded projects. The network, called ARPANET, was launched in 1969.

At first, growth was slow. Small packets were sent over telephone lines, but along the way there were many innovations that set the tone for the shared computing constructs that we regularly use today. One such innovation was packet-switching. Packet-switching allows a computer to connect to several other computers at once by sending individual packets of information. In this way, computers were able to constantly send and receive information. With this method each computer on ARPANET would have (what amounts to) an address book that is constantly updated. 

As the network grew, however, this packet switching model, which was beneficial, was just too slow to facilitate an accurate account of addresses on the system. So in 1973, the engineers at ARPA decided that Stanford University (a founding member) would keep a master address book that was kept up to date by network administrators. This decongested the network significantly.

By 1977, ARPANET had over 100 computers connected to it; and, with the age of personal computing starting to rear its head, changes started to come fast. It was about this time that other computing networks began to pop up. As they first started to connect with each other there was no interoperability between them, but this problem was remedied early in the 1980s with the standardization of what is called Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). This was the first time the world Internet was used. 

ARPA engineers realized pretty quickly that the connecting networks that were now using the same protocol set (TCP/IP) were too numerous and were going to be unmanageable. This is when the modern Domain Name System (DNS) was introduced. They separated all addresses by domains. The first level, or top-level, domains would dictate the type of organization that a packet was being sent to. Examples include .com and .edu. Today, there are over 1,000 top-level domains out there. 

A second-level domain provided the host where data packets would be delivered. Examples that you see today are amazon.com or cornell.edu. This system provided specific data packet routing, setting the stage for the modern-day Internet. 

The Internet

By the late 1980s the DoD decided that ARPANET was a success and shut it down. It was handed off to a private company called NSFNET in 1990. In 1992, the modern Internet Service Provider (ISP) was created as the U.S. Congress passed a law allowing commercial traffic on the newly formed Internet. 

Nowadays, the United Nations has proclaimed that Internet service is now a fundamental human right. This marvel of human ingenuity would not have been possible without ARPA and ARPANET. If you would like to see more articles about technology’s history, subscribe to the NuTech Services blog today.