Tip of the Week Archives - NuTech Services LLC

Nov, 2022

Tip of the Week: Improve LinkedIn Privacy

Have you ever received an email notification that someone has checked out your LinkedIn profile? While you might be flattered in the moment, you might then suddenly notice that LinkedIn is doing the same thing to you, telling others when you have looked at their profile. While this isn’t always a bad thing, and can even be good for networking, you might want to adjust this setting so that your privacy can be maintained a bit better.

Adjusting Your Privacy Settings on LinkedIn

The first step is to navigate to the LinkedIn website, which you can find here. After this, you should click on your profile icon in the topmost bar (near the right corner of your screen). You then want to click on Settings & Privacy.

You should see several options in the left column, but the one you want to click on is Visibility. Afterwards, select Profile Viewing Options.

When you select Private Mode from the list, you will see a couple of different options, both of which have some merit, depending on how private you want to get with your account. The first option is Someone At [Insert Workplace Here], while the other hides your identity entirely. It’s up to you how thorough you want to be with this setting.

It’s worth mentioning that people will see that someone viewed their profile no matter what you do; you just have more power over how you look to someone when you view their profile. If you want your company’s name to appear still, then go with the former option. If you would rather have complete anonymity, then go with the latter.

There is one caveat to this setting adjustment, and it’s a big one: when you appear private to others, they will appear private to you, meaning you won’t know who is viewing your profile, although you might get a couple of hints based on where they work. Still, it’s a setting that you might consider adjusting, so now you know how to do it!

Privacy on social media is kind of an odd thing; you don’t want to overshare, but you also don’t want to be a complete stranger. It’s up to you to determine how and why you use social media. We just urge you to always use caution when interacting with anyone you don’t know, as you never know who could be on the other end of the account.

What are some tips and tricks you would like to see us cover in the future?

Nov, 2022

Tip of the Week: Translating a Gmail Message

There are times when you might receive an email written in another language. Even if it’s unlikely, it helps to be able to translate a message for the rare time when you might receive one, particularly if your organization occasionally conducts business beyond your country’s borders. Let’s go over how you can use Gmail’s built-in translation functionality.

We should start by saying that we doubt the translation function will ever be 100% guaranteed accurate, but it should do well enough to give you an idea of what the other person has to say. If that’s all you need, then this tool might be just for you. Otherwise, consider a more comprehensive solution.

Translate Your Email in Gmail

First, you’ll see that the moment you receive an email that seems to be written in another language, you’ll see the translation open at the top of the page. If you see this button, you can translate the message into your preferred language using the Translate button. Click it and it will run the translation right away.

Now, if you don’t see the translation button, you’ll have to tweak some settings. Tap the three-dot menu for the message and find the translate Message menu. You’ll see this open up the Translate bar. Select the language from the drop-down list, or have Gmail detect the language on its own. Once you do, you can click on the Translate Message option to complete it. You can also revert it to the original language in the same way.

If you want to just turn on automatic translation, you can do it pretty easily. This option should be on the right side of the screen after you have translated your message, along with the language you have selected. You can disable automatic translations in the same way.

We hope you got some value out of today’s blog. Be sure to subscribe to learn more!

Nov, 2022

Tip of the Week: Adjust Your Screen Size in Android

Sometimes you just want to look at your phone without squinting at the screen to read small text. In cases like this, you can change the display size of your Android’s screen. To get started, simply follow the directions in this blog article. Before you know it, you’ll be browsing your phone without having to strain your eyes.

Please keep in mind that you need to be running at least Android 10 to follow the steps in this blog.

Change Your Display Size in Android

We should preface this by saying that we aren’t changing the physical screen size; rather, we are adjusting the screen’s zoom. Adjusting the zoom can make fonts easier to read and objects easier to see or interact with. To get started, go to the Settings app. If you swipe down on your screen twice, you should see a gear icon at the top of the screen. Tap it to open up the Settings.

From here you should select Display. You should see several options appear before you, but the one you are looking for is Display Size. If you don’t see this option, you should see a Screen Zoom option which functionally does the same thing.

You should see within this setting a drag bar at the bottom of the screen. You can tap and drag the meter to adjust the screen zoom for your device. Find your preferred setting and you should be all set.

Can I Change the Screen Resolution?

Adjusting the resolution can also help make certain objects or texts more crisp. To change this, simply follow the same directions outlined above. However, instead of clicking on Display Size or Screen Zoom, click on Screen Resolution. You can adjust it to suit your needs.

That’s it! By following these simple tips, you can use your device without straining your eyes or viewing blurry images. You’ll find that it’s easier on your eyes and more enjoyable to use in general.

For more great tips and tricks, be sure to subscribe to our blog.

Nov, 2022

Clearing an Android Device’s Cache

While you’re using your device, it will store data in a temporary location called the cache. In order for your device to operate as well as it can, you might find yourself in need of a good ol’ cache-clearing. You can do this on the device level and on the application level. Let’s take a look at how you can do this for your Android device.

Clear the App Cache

If you have an application on your device that is giving you issues, you can clear the cache to try and resolve the issue. Start by opening your Settings app and selecting Apps. This process might look slightly different depending on your device’s operating system and model, but it should be something close to this.

Pay attention to where it says Your Apps. You should see a hamburger menu here, which will display all of your device’s applications. If you sort your apps by their size, you’ll see which ones are taking up most of the space on your device. Select the app you want to clear the cache for to move on to the next step.

From the app’s page, you’ll see an option for Storage. At the bottom of the screen, select the Clear Cache option. The cache will automatically refill over time—after all, the data stored in the cache is supposed to improve performance and make your device run a bit better—so if you ever notice that it’s getting a little too bogged down, it’s a good idea to periodically clear the cache.

Clear the Browser Cache

Similarly, you will want to clear your browser cache every so often to delete any temporarily stored images and site files. Here is the process for how you can do it with your favorite web browser:

Chrome: Three Dot Menu > Settings > Privacy and Security > Clear Browsing Data
Firefox: Three Dot Menu > Settings > Delete Browsing Data
Edge: Three Dot Menu > Settings > Privacy and Security > Clear Browsing Data

The process is mostly the same for each of the mobile web browsers. All you have to do is select the kind of data you’d like to delete from the cache.

What other tips would you like to see us cover in the future? Be sure to let us know in the comments.

Nov, 2022

Tip of the Week: How to Hide or Remove Desktop Icons

Your Windows desktop can often get cluttered with icons, so it is helpful to have the ability to show or hide them so you can keep your focus on the task at hand. Let’s discuss how you can do this with your Windows PC.

We should note here that deleting the icons from your desktop is not necessarily removing the programs from your computer. Deleting the icons is merely deleting the shortcut to the application, and in order to actually remove it from your computer, you’ll have to go through the official uninstallation process.

Delete Icons from Your Desktop

You can delete icons from your desktop to make it easier to look at, and it’s remarkably easy to do it. Just right-click on the icon and select Delete from the menu. If you want to delete multiple icons, though, you can use Ctrl to select multiple icons and delete them all at once if you’d like.

This will send the icon or file to the Recycle Bin where you can find them later on, if you need to. Alternatively, you can click and drag the icons into the Recycle Bin to delete them.

Hide the Icons on Your Desktop

If you’d like to hide all of the icons on the desktop, you can do this pretty easily, too. All you need to do is right-click on the desktop and hover over the View option. Uncheck the option for Show Desktop Icons, which will hide them from view. To bring them back, simply recheck the option.

Do you have any suggestions for decluttering your desktop? Be sure to let us know in the comments below.

Oct, 2022

Tip of the Week: Useful Google Chrome Shortcuts

We know that time is of the essence, especially in today’s fast-paced work environment. To help you fully leverage the technology at your disposal, we recommend that you read through this list of Google Chrome keyboard shortcuts and take them to heart. You never know when they might come in handy.

Handy Google Chrome Keyboard Shortcuts

We thought today we could use this blog to show off a handful of helpful Google Chrome keyboard shortcuts that you might find useful as you navigate the workday.

Ctrl + Shift + B: Show or hide the bookmark bar
Ctrl + Shift + O: Open your bookmarks manager:
Ctrl + Shift + T: Reopen a closed tab:
Ctrl + Shift + W: Reopen a closed window
Ctrl + Click: Open a link in a new tab
Ctrl + D: Bookmark your current tab
Ctrl + J: Open the downloads manager
Ctrl + T: Open a new tab
Ctrl + H: Open your History
Ctrl + Shift + Del: Delete your History
Ctrl + Shift + N: Open Incognito Mode

Of course, there are the standard keyboard shortcuts as well in addition to the above, but if you would like a comprehensive list of shortcuts, Google has compiled their own list here.

Did we forget any that you find particularly useful? Be sure to share them with us in the comments, and make sure you subscribe.

Oct, 2022

Tip of the Week: Turning Off Focused Inbox

For Microsoft Outlook users, you’ll notice that there is a feature called Focused Inbox which groups together all of the important messages you receive while placing all of the less important ones in the Other inbox. If you don’t like this feature and want to change it, we have just the tip for you.

Turning Off Microsoft Outlook’s Focused Inbox

Today, we’re going to give three tips in one blog! We’re going to cover not one, not two, but three different ways you can turn off your Focused inbox.

On Your Desktop

First, open up your Outlook app from your desktop. Select the View tab from the ribbon at the top of the screen, then look for the option for Show Focused Inbox. You can click on this same button whether you want to enable it or disable it.

On Your Web-Based App

This option is a little more confusing, but still not terribly difficult. Open up your web browser, then navigate to the Outlook inbox from the web portal. You should see a gear-like icon at the top of the screen in the right corner. Click this Settings icon.

From here, you’ll see the slider for Focused Inbox. Click it to enable or disable your focused inbox.

On Your Mobile Device

Finally, let’s look at the mobile app. First, launch Outlook on your mobile device. Next, tap on your profile icon in the top left corner. You’ll see a menu open. Tap the gear icon for your Settings, then scroll to your Focused Inbox.

In the end, the feature works just about the same, no matter how you choose to enable or disable it. Just turn it on when you want it on or turn it off when you want it off.

That’s all there is to it! What are some other tips or tricks you want to see from us? Let us know and subscribe so you don’t miss out on them.

Sep, 2022

Tip of the Week: Alter Your Download Location in Chrome

Normally when you download a file from the Internet, it can be found in the Downloads folder. There are ways you can adjust this setting, though. You might not mind them going to Downloads for a short while, but there are other locations you might consider sending your files, like where they might actually belong. You can change the default location of your downloaded files to take one small step out of the process. We’ll show you how to do it with your Google Chrome web browser.

Change Your Downloads Location for Google Chrome

The first step is to open your Chrome web browser. Next, you’ll select the three-dot menu up in the top right corner of the screen. You can then select Settings.

The Settings window will open up in a new tab. From the left side of the screen, you should see an option for Advanced settings. Expanding this setting will reveal your Downloads options.

You’ll see some different options to play around with, including the ability to create a new folder to send your downloads to. You can also ask the browser to send new downloads to a preexisting folder, or have your web browser ask you where to send the new download whenever you initiate one. If you select this option, you’ll get the Save As dialog box whenever you start a download.

Once you have figured out where you want to send your downloads, you can open the folder location to see all your downloads as they occur. You can then move them around to wherever they might need to be by dragging and dropping them.

We cover all kinds of technology tips and tricks, so what are some interesting ones you’d like to see us discuss in the future? Make sure your opinion is heard in the comments.

Sep, 2022

Tip of the Week: Explaining Excel Formulas

Just under its surface, Microsoft Excel offers a massive variety of functions and features…far more than we could ever realistically cover in this blog. However, there are a few that stand out as relatively essential, particularly to businesses. Let’s go through these functions, starting with how to use them.

How Excel Formulas Work

Once you have a cell selected, you can type one of these formulas into the cell or the formula bar. Keep in mind that all Excel formulas begin with an equals sign, before the type of formula is specified and the appropriate data points are identified. If properly formatted, your spreadsheet can thereby be automated to do a huge variety of tasks based on the data you’ve input.

Here are some common formulas that you could find useful in your business’ operations.

=SUM()

This allows you to total up the value of the cells you’ve selected, making it far simpler to add up long lists of numbers. Let’s say you had a list made up in Column B, beginning at Row 2 and ending with Row 46. To total these numbers, you’d type up =SUM(B2:B46), and that cell would display the total as a result.

=AVERAGE()

In the same vein, =AVERAGE does the same thing, except it produces the average amongst those selected cells. =AVERAGE(X1,Y2,Z3) would give you the average of X1, Y2, and Z3.

=CEILING() and =FLOOR()

These functions allow you to round numbers to the nearest multiple of significance that you’ve established. Dictating =CEILING(F2,5) with F2 being populated with 368 would round up to 370. On the other end of the spectrum, =FLOOR(F2,5) would round down to 365.

=CONCATENATE()

Excel can also track changes in text too, with =CONCATENATE allowing you to tie different text strings together. For instance, if G7 read The 3-2-1 Backup Rule and K12 read helps to ensure your data backup is safe, entering =CONCATENATE(G7,” “,K12) would tie the phrases together and give you The 3-2-1 Backup Rule helps to ensure your data backup is safe. You can also format the formula as =CONCATENATE(G7&” “&K12) for the same results.

=NOW()

This formula will populate a cell with the current date and time, which helps you keep track of when your data was put into the spreadsheet.

=TODAY(), et alia.

There are a number of functions that do a similar thing to =NOW(), such as:

=TODAY(), which populates a cell with the current date
=DAY(TODAY()), which populates a cell with the current day of the month
=MONTH(TODAY()), which populates a cell with the current month, represented as a numerical value between 1 and 12

=TIME(), et alia.

In a similar vein, various functions allow you to track the exact time that data has been added to your spreadsheet.

=TIME() inserts a set time, so long as you format it as a serial number with the hours, minutes, and seconds, which will be converted into a standard format. So, =TIME(13,41,28) would produce 1:41 PM.
=HOUR(NOW()) populates a cell with the current hour as a value between 0 and 23 (12 AM to 11 PM).
=MINUTE(NOW()) does the same with the current minute, between 0 to 59.
=SECOND(NOW()) does the same with the current second, again, between 0 to 59.

=VLOOKUP() and =HLOOKUP()

Vertical lookup and horizontal lookup enable you to seek out a specific value in one column or row and produce the data that is associated with it. Let’s say that you have a table that outlines your business’ assorted costs, perhaps giving you the total, how much is invested into different aspects, and such. These Excel functions allow you to select certain data points as a reference so you can ascertain the relationship between different values.

=IF()

Using =IF() gives you a quick and easy reference to check whether a set condition is true or false in reference to your data. Let’s say you’ve calculated out the returns on investment that some of your business initiatives have produced. Using =IF(), you can generate a clear yes or no answer to whether or not an initiative has seen the returns you wanted it to. Maybe you wanted to weed out any initiatives that saw less than 2% ROI, with the ROI of each occupying a cell in Column E. Using =IF(E1>0.02,”Yes”,”No”) and dragging that formula down to match the cells in Column E will give you an at-a-glance reference of whether or not one of your efforts was worth it.

=COUNTIF() and =SUMIF()

The more data you have, the more challenging even simple tasks—like taking a tally or adding up the values—can be. =COUNTIF and =SUMIF simplify this process for you.

=COUNTIF() allows you to set conditions by which selected cells will be counted. For instance, if you wanted to count how many months you had sold widgets out of the data present in Column J of the sheet, =COUNTIF(J1:J12, “widget”) would give you that total.
=SUMIF() operates in a similar way, although it adds any numbers that match the conditions you’ve set, rather than just counting the instances. So, we could determine the total number of widgets sold during our established timeframe by using =SUMIF(J1:J12, “widget”, K1:K12), provided that Column K was populated with total widget sales for each month.

Excel Can Do a Lot, Lot More Than This

What are some of your go-to Excel functions? Are there any you’ve heard about that you’d like to learn how to use? Let us know in the comments, or give us a call at 810.230.9455!

Aug, 2022

Avoid MFA Fatigue Attacks by Minimizing Notifications

While we strongly recommend that you put the security safeguard known as multi-factor authentication in place wherever it is available, it is important that we acknowledge that cybercriminals are frustratingly inventive. So much so, in fact, that a new form of attack has been developed to take advantage of MFA, referred to as MFA fatigue.

Let’s go over what an MFA fatigue attack is, and what you can do to fight back.

MFA Fatigue is a Very Specific Form of Social Engineering

Let me ask you a question: if one of the applications on your mobile device prompted you to log in once again, would you hesitate to do so? What if a notification appeared, asking you to confirm a two-factor authentication prompt? What if that notification kept appearing until you did, assuming that the system was just glitching?

This is precisely how MFA fatigue works.

The purpose behind MFA is to help keep your account secure even if your password has been compromised. By adding an additional proof to the required authentication process, MFA is supposed to make it harder for the person who compromised your password to actually access the account. However, when a cybercriminal puts in your credentials, you’ll still receive the prompt to confirm the login. Some of these threats even come in the form of SMS messages and voice calls to confuse the user further.

This brings us back to our initial question: would you question an authentication prompt, particularly if you were trying to do something else, especially if it kept popping back up again and again?

The cybercriminals responsible are betting that you won’t.

How to Spot MFA Fatigue

There are a few clear and unmistakable warning signs that an MFA fatigue attack is afoot:

If you receive approval requests without attempting to log into an application.
If you receive multiple requests from a single application.
If you receive authentication request notifications at odd hours.

How to Take the Teeth Out of MFA Fatigue

Fortunately, there are a few things you can do to help limit the efficacy of MFA attacks. A strong password is a great starting point, so long as you keep it secure. You and your team also need to be more cognizant of when you are receiving an MFA prompt and whether or not you requested it, denying all of those that are unidentified.

Limiting the number of attempts you can make through your MFA solution of choice within a predetermined time is also a helpful precaution.

Turn to Us for Assistance with Your Business’ Security

We’ll help you implement the protections and precautions that will help you keep your business secure. Give us a call at 810.230.9455 today!

Aug, 2022

Tip of the Week: Making Sure Your File Sharing Remains Secure

Nowadays, file sharing is so ubiquitous that most people in the office likely take it for granted. However, this is not a luxury that you have, as you need to ensure the file sharing that takes part is sufficiently secure—otherwise, you could find yourself in a tight spot. That’s why we want to devote this week’s tip to a few practical steps to making sure your files get where they’re going safely.

When Remote, Make Use of a VPN

When it comes to securing your data, a virtual private network—or VPN—is an indispensable asset. Public Wi-Fi is questionable at best in terms of security, potentially exposing users to threats and otherwise putting your data at risk. The VPN, however, provides an encrypted portal through which to transmit data to and from the office with minimal risk of it being intercepted on the way.

Prioritize Password Management

We could go on and on about the importance of secure passwords and acceptable password practices…the fact of the matter is that the only way to really be sure that your users are sticking to these policies is to make compliance the easiest option. A password manager is a key tool to doing so, as it securely stores passwords in a protected digital vault (out of a hacker’s reach) for your team’s convenience. Not only does it mean you and your team no longer need to come up with and remember the increasingly complicated passwords needed for security, it can also be used to help entire departments make use of shared accounts and thereby save you money. NuTech Services and our consultants are here to help you make the right choice for you.

Require Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

Multi-factor authentication (sometimes called two-factor authentication, or 2FA) is a security step that puts more requirements on the user trying to prove their identity as a part of the login process. Rather than accepting the username-password combination, MFA uses any of three additional methods to verify the user is who they say they are:

Authentication through knowledge (Something you know) – This form of authentication requires the user to provide an additional password or PIN, presumably that only the user would know.
Authentication through possession (Something you have) – This method of authentication requires the user to have a key of some sort, either as a physical token or as a code sent to a specific mobile device.
Authentication through existence (Something you are) – This version of authentication relies on biometric data, often using thumbprint scans or voice recognition to confirm a user’s identity.

Requiring that your team members prove themselves in such a way can greatly enhance your data security, but you also need to be careful not to put too many hurdles in between your users and the work they need to do.

Manage Your File Sharing

Your file sharing is critically important to your collaborative processes, but without the proper security or the ability to integrate with your existing protections, it can quickly become a major liability. Various options are currently available, but you need to ensure that your selection fits into your comprehensive security strategy. Just consider a few features of a standard file sharing program that have heavy security connotations:

Emailing encrypted attachments
Sharing public or private cloud file links
Creating shared and collaborative folders accessible online, or via syncing information between spaces.

Control Access Permissions

This is one of the most effective means of securing your files. After all, if only so many people are able to access certain folders or files (or even file types), that’s a considerably smaller window for mistakes or abuse to take place. By establishing permissions based on department or even custom user groups, you can have much greater control over who can see what.

Staff Training

At the end of the day, it makes no difference how secure you’ve managed to make your file storage and overall business infrastructure if your staff members aren’t aware of how to use your technology in a way that preserves its security. Your staff is almost assuredly going to need some time to get acclimated to today’s hosted platforms, which means it benefits you to provide the training that will expedite this process. The more knowledgeable they are about practical business security, the more secure your files will ultimately be.

We’re no strangers to the needs that Michigan companies have of their IT, and we can help support it so it delivers the security and efficiency their success relies on. To learn more about any of the processes we will assist you with, including file sharing, give us a call at 810.230.9455.

Aug, 2022

Tip of the Week: Get Your Dismissed Notifications Back in Android

Picture this scenario: you’re going about your day and get an important notification, only for that notification to, well, get cleared. You want to go back and check it so you don’t miss it. This is thankfully quite easy to do by viewing your Android notification history.

First, you’ll have to take a couple of steps to set it up.

Turn On Your Notification History for Android

Android has a feature for notification history which is hidden away in the settings. This feature gives you the ability to see a list of your notifications. It’s not active by default, so it’s time to turn it on. Follow this simple process:

Access your Settings either by swiping down on your homescreen to get to the integrated shortcut, or by navigating through your applications to find them.
Once there, access your Notification settings, and from there, Advanced settings.
You’ll then see Notification history. Tap it to access it.
Once you do, you’ll be presented with a deactivated switch. Turn the switch to On, and you’ll have a list of the notifications you recently dismissed!

What About Apple Devices?

Apple does not have an equivalent feature; once your Apple notifications have been acknowledged, they are cleared and gone for good.

Have Any Other Ideas for Tips?

You use technology every day to be productive, and we want to help you get the most out of it. To learn more about what we can do for your business, contact us today at 810.230.9455.

Jun, 2022

Tip of the Week: An Easy Way to Remove Duplicate Values in Excel

How much do you know about Microsoft Excel? There are loads of features that most users aren’t aware of, one of which is the ability to remove duplicate values in columns. Let’s walk you through this process so you can more easily compare data sets between two or more columns within your spreadsheets.

How to Remove Duplicate Values in Columns

The process for removing duplicate values in your columns is remarkably easy. Using a built-in option, you can remove duplicates with just a couple of clicks. First, open up your desired spreadsheet.

The next step is to select the cells within your spreadsheet. You can select the whole spreadsheet through the use of Ctrl + A.

Next, you’ll want to navigate to the Data tab to select the option for Data Tools. Be sure to select Remove Duplicates from the drop-down menu. You should see a menu with various options open up. To keep your headers, if your spreadsheet has them, you can select the box for My data has headers. This means that your top-most row will be ignored when considering duplicate values.

You should also see a list of columns in your spreadsheet. Select the columns you want to delete duplicate values from. You can use the options for Select All or Unselect All to speed this process up a bit. When you are ready to go, click OK. You’ll see a dialog box open on the screen that tells you how many duplicate values and unique values were contained within the spreadsheet.

What kinds of tips do you want to see us cover in the future? Let us know in the comments, and be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss out!

May, 2022

Tip of the Week: Handy Shortcuts in Google Chat

Google Chat, a worthy successor to Google Hangouts, is a great tool for users that can help them be more productive throughout the day, but did you know that you might be missing out on a ton of functionality by forgoing some of these keyboard shortcuts? Let’s go over some of the most helpful ones and how you can use them to get more out of this tool.

Access a Shortcut Cheat Sheet

If there is one shortcut you walk away from this blog with, we want it to be this one. To pull up a keyboard shortcut list, all you have to do is press the ? key with no conversation selected. It will bring up a list for you to reference.

Quickly Switch Your Lines of Communication

If you want to hop around the interface without taking your hands off the keyboard, you can use this keyboard shortcut. Jump from one space or conversation to the next by pressing Ctrl + K. This will open a box, providing you with options to start a group conversation, browse or create a new space, review message requests, or start a dialogue with one of your existing contacts.

Edit a Sent Message

If you send a message a little too soon, you can make a change to it after the fact by selecting the up arrow on your message. Once the message is selected, you can make any necessary edits, then update the message.

Google Chats is a wonderful tool, so make sure you get the most out of it! NuTech Services can help you take full advantage of your technology solutions. To learn more, give us a call at 810.230.9455.

May, 2022

Tip of the Week: How to Design Effective Recovery Strategies

In business, you need to be ready for anything, including potential disaster scenarios. Therefore, it stands to reason that you have a solid disaster recovery plan in place to help you address them should the need arise. We’ve outlined three disaster recovery best practices you should consider for your business continuity strategy, as well as some tips to help you implement them seamlessly into your own operations.

Figure Out What All Potential Threats Look Like

The first step toward figuring out your business’ continuity plan is to consider the types of disasters you will be facing. This means that you need to perform an analysis of all the potential threats your organization could face, no matter how unlikely they might seem. Granted, you should lend more credence to the most likely of disasters, but you can’t rule anything out. Otherwise, you could be ignoring a glaring hole in your plan.

Basically, we’re not telling you to plan for when an asteroid levels your office, but we are telling you to have a strategy in place to account for physical damage or power loss to your office. Your business continuity plan should be specific enough to address the most likely issues you’ll face, but flexible enough to account for other less likely incidents, too.

Determine Your Business’ Benchmarks

No matter the disaster, your organization will have critical data and systems that need to be recovered. It’s up to you to determine what they are and how you will prioritize them. This will help you when it comes to responding to these disasters.

What it boils down to is knowing your various systems’ maximum tolerable downtime, or MTD. This is how long a system can remain down before permanent damage is done to your business. Knowing this number gives you more flexibility and room for making important decisions in the event of a disaster. Your MTD can also help to inform your RTO and RPO, or your recovery time objective and recovery point objective, respectively. These metrics help you better prepare for a disaster by establishing how often a backup should be taken and how long it will take for you to restore said backup.

Test, Revise, and Test Your Plan Again

Your disaster recovery solution will only be successful if you have multiple people working in tandem to ensure that it happens regularly and effectively. Otherwise, if the disaster renders that one person responsible for the strategy unavailable, you’ll be left in dire straits. On the other side of things, the more people involved means more can get done, and the work is easier to achieve.

This is why it helps to have a hierarchy of people responsible for various parts of your plan; if one key person is unable to pull off the full plan, then at least certain other aspects of your continuity strategy will go off without a hitch. Furthermore, these processes should be written out to make them as accessible and easy-to-follow as possible.

After you have your business continuity plan mapped out, you should routinely test it to make sure that it works properly. This will help you in the event you actually need to use it, as you can be confident that the plan works as it should. It will also help you determine where weaknesses in your strategy lie.

Nobody Likes to Think About Business Disasters, But They Need to Be Anticipated

We have plenty of recommendations to provide for your business’ continuity plan, so be sure to reach out to us at 810.230.9455 for more information and tips!

Apr, 2022

Tip of the Week: 3 Things You Can Do to Boost Collaboration Effectiveness

Business is a collaborative effort, and no one individual putting in all the work will create the same results as a well-oiled group fueled by cooperative collaboration. To help your organization build this type of productive collaboration, we’ve put together three tips you can implement to maximize your team’s willingness and capabilities to work together.

Promote a Culture of Collaboration

Employees can get so preoccupied with their work that they might be unaware of what the rest of the office is caught up with. When teams are siloed and don’t know what is going on elsewhere in the business, it can be a problem in the long term. If you want to promote collaboration in the workplace, you should make sure that collaboration is not only expected, but also encouraged. Creating this culture of collaboration can be challenging, but it can lead to a higher degree of fulfillment, satisfaction, and engagement within your workforce.

Hold Regular Staff Meetings

If your staff see each other every so often, but not regularly, they might be more reluctant to collaborate. Regular staff meetings give your team members a chance to catch up with everyone else on what each department is doing and how they are all working together toward the same goals. If you give your team more opportunities to get engaged and involved in this way, you can facilitate better collaboration moving forward.

Implement Collaborative Technology Solutions

It is hard to encourage collaboration if your team doesn’t have the tools to make it happen in a remote or hybrid environment. Plus, depending on the size of your workforce, it might be hard to gather everyone in one place for a staff meeting. Software tools that allow for meetings and collaboration are more accessible now than they have ever been before. Video conferencing, instant messaging, file sharing, and more are all staples in the collaborative space, and any organization hoping to make it happen without them will be in for a rude awakening.

How does your business handle its collaborative efforts? You can take things up a notch by working with NuTech Services. We can equip your business with all of the best tools to make collaboration easy and less of a pain. To learn more about what we can do for your business, reach out to us at 810.230.9455.

Apr, 2022

Tip of the Week: 3 Ways to Improve Your Business Technology’s Security

Businesses largely rely on their information systems and other technology tools, so you need to make sure they stay secure and far from the many threats out there. To this end, we recommend that you implement security systems that prioritize business continuity and data security. Let’s examine three ways you can keep your business’ IT safe and secure.

Promote Strong Password Practices

Many users still practice the use of poor passwords, and unless you are deliberate in making them strong, chances are your passwords are not strong enough. Here are some tips to help you choose better, stronger, and more reliable passwords:

Password Length

Longer passwords are harder to guess simply because the greater number of characters makes for more possibilities. Passwords should be at least 12 characters long, but when they are this long, they can easily be forgotten. You can create easy-to-remember passphrases that use a combination of upper and lower-case letters, numbers, and symbols. For example a password of “elephantredfootball” will usually be secure, but one that is written: “3l3ph@ntr3df00tb@ll” is even more secure.

Unique Passwords

Some people use the same password for every one of their accounts, but this is dangerous. Remember that if one password is hacked or stolen, it can be used on all of your other accounts, too. It’s best to use unique passwords for each of your accounts.

Use Software Tools

Password managers and multi-factor authentication tools are great software tools you can utilize to both augment password security and reduce the downtime associated with forgotten passwords. Depending on the tool, it might even allow you to randomly generate a secure password, and with multi-factor authentication, you dramatically increase the security of your accounts by increasing the number of layers of defense your systems are protected by.

Train Your Staff

One of the greatest challenges for any organization’s IT security is the internal threat that certain employees can pose when it comes to a negligence or misunderstanding of security practices. Remember that all it takes is a phishing attack to make it through once to create problems for your business, and if an employee doesn’t know any better, they might be the weak link a hacker is looking for. There are over three billion phishing emails sent every day, so you need to be intentional with protecting your organization from them. This is why it’s so important to train your staff to identify them.

A phishing attack will look like a person or organization with whom the company has dealings with, usually someone who demands a certain amount of authority. Scammers will routinely use these tricks to make their way into your organization’s network, and they may impersonate insurance companies, software providers, financial institutions, and even executives within the company. These messages might ask users to click on links or download attachments. Here are some of the variables you might ask your employees to look for in a phishing message:

Demands for Immediate Action

Phishing attacks are largely successful because they instill a sensation of fear, anxiety, or excitement in the recipient that causes them to make questionable choices. The best course of action is not to instinctively respond but to verify and scrutinize potential messages.

Inclusion of Unprofessional Spelling Errors and Grammatical Faux Pas

Phishing messages are often from people in countries whose first language is not necessarily that of the recipient. They may include demands, spelling errors, and grammatical errors that no professional would ever consider acceptable.

They Come From Unrecognizable Accounts

Phishing emails might look legitimate, but it’s only on the surface level. Look at the email account it originated from and you’ll see that they come from suspicious destinations. Think twice before clicking on links or downloading attachments from unrecognizable accounts.

Keep Your Software Updated

While phishing might be one of the most common threats out there, there are plenty of others that steal the spotlight from time to time. Many hackers choose to exploit vulnerabilities in software, and even though companies try their best to keep up with patches and updates, there are always going to be those that don’t get patched on the user end. If your business doesn’t take steps to implement patches as soon as possible after their release, you’re putting yourself at risk of hacking attacks.

Businesses that use a lot of applications might see patch management as a full-time job, but there are automated solutions out there that can handle this burden for you. You will also want to test each patch to make sure that they don’t interfere with the functionality of your software solutions. Furthermore, you need to ensure you are regularly updating your security tools like antivirus, firewall, and spam filter.

NuTech Services can help you maximize your company’s security. To learn more, reach out to us at 810.230.9455.

Mar, 2022

Tip of the Week: How to Stay Focused at Work

It can be difficult to stay focused in the workplace, especially with a litany of distractions at our fingertips at just about any point in the workday. What are some strategies you can use to keep your distractions to a minimum? We’ve outlined three great tips you can utilize to stay focused on the tasks at hand and be more productive with your time in the office.

Don’t Ignore Distractions

Have you ever tried to ignore something that is bothering you for a long period of time? Let’s say you are trying to write an email, but people keep barging into your office with all manner of issues to address. Sure, you could allow them to keep distracting you, but it will only take you twice as long to finish that email. Instead of just resigning yourself to the distractions, it’s better to accept them and address them in an appropriate way, like closing your office door and locking it until you have finished the task at hand. The same can be said for just about any other distractions out there, like phone calls or emails. Acknowledge the distractions, then take steps to minimize them.

Focus on Being Proactive

When you are going about your responsibilities at the workplace, how often are you responding to things that other people are doing or putting out fires, so to speak? Sometimes it can be difficult to get to your own tasks if you are too busy helping people who ask you for help. Instead of going about your day in a reactive way, responding to issues that need your attention or tasks that get thrown at you last-minute, focus instead on being proactive with your time. Take measures to ensure that you can intentionally approach the tasks you have been assigned to complete or the ones that require your attention. Forgive us for making this analogy, but compare it to IT maintenance–-it’s easier and more budget-friendly to keep a computer in proper working order than to fix one that is already broken down.

Minimize Digital Distractions Whenever Possible

Technology is wonderful for helping you get your work done, but on the other side of the aisle, it can distract you from getting it done. Services like social media, near-constant notifications for emails, text messages, phone calls, and everything else under the sun can distract you from your daily tasks. You can mitigate some of these challenges by disabling notifications for non-essential apps or services, as well as simply removing the temptation to check these websites by setting up website blockers or keeping your phone out of sight.

We know how hard it can be to focus on your day-to-day responsibilities when you have so much on your plate. Distractions come in so many different forms, but you don’t have to let them completely derail your productivity. To find out how we can help you implement technology solutions designed to enhance productivity, reach out to us at 810.230.9455.

Feb, 2022

Tip of the Week: Transfer Your Bookmarks Into Chrome

Bookmarks can help you be productive with your web browser, but if you try to switch to a new one, you might find yourself without your bookmarks. Let’s say you want to switch to the established and well-respected browser, Google Chrome. We can help you import your bookmarks, and all it takes is a short and easy process!

Add Bookmarks from Other Web Browsers

Before proceeding, know that you need to have your previous browser installed on the device if you want to import bookmarks from it.

Chrome provides users with the ability to directly import bookmarks from other web browsers through its settings. To find them, you can click on the three-dot icon in the top-right corner of the browser. From here, select Bookmarks > Import Bookmarks and Settings. Next, select Import and select the browser you want to import from. Identify that you want the Favorites/Bookmarks imported from the checklist. If you see the blue checkmark, you can click on Done.

Add Bookmarks from an Exported HTML File

If you want to add bookmarks through an exported HTML file, you can import them this way, too. To do so, use the same process outlined above, but instead of selecting the browser to import from, select Bookmarks HTML file. Afterward, all you need to do is select the file you want to import and you’re golden.

Sync Bookmarks Across Devices

These options only work if you are using the desktop version of Google Chrome, so syncing your bookmarks across devices is the best way to get them on your mobile browser. You can do this by making sure you are logged into Google Chrome on both of your devices, then clicking on the three-dot icon in the top-right corner of the screen in Chrome. You can then select Settings. If you want to sync only the bookmarks, then disable the slider and check the box for Bookmarks.

Hopefully you found this tip helpful! Be sure to check back and see what other tips we have in store for you.

Feb, 2022

Tip of the Week: Keep a Clean Computer

If you think about it, a computer is a machine that is full of complex parts and components. Therefore, if you want it to operate at maximum efficiency, it must be taken care of, like being kept tidy and clean. Let’s discuss how you can make sure this happens for your business technology!

Here are three tips you can implement today to clean up your workstation and improve the performance of your device.

Prevent Dust from Accumulating

If something is stationary for too long, it accumulates dust, and computers are no exception. Unless you make it routine to clean regularly, dust will gather around fans and vents utilized for cooling down its components. Make sure you remove the dust regularly so that your device doesn’t experience cooling issues.

Avoid Food or Drink at the Workstation

The best way to keep your computer clean is to not put it in a position to get dirty. By this, we mean keeping your food and drink well away from your computer. If you don’t bring your meals near it, you’ll be less likely to spill it on your device. We know that the grind can be pretty stressful, but you really should be taking your lunch break away from the computer—for reasons other than it’s bad for your device.

Clean Out Your Keyboard Every So Often

Keyboards can collect a ton of skin particles, crumbs, dust, and so much more that can get stuck underneath the keys, and this is all just by going about your day-to-day routine. Take a moment to shake out your keyboard every now and then; it might mean the difference between taking your keys off to clean underneath them at a later date.

Did you find these tips helpful? If so, why not share them with a friend or colleague?