Vendor Archives - NuTech Services LLC

Nov, 2022

Remember When Apple Recommended Physical Persuasion to Fix a Computer?

Apple has long been a key part of the technology industry, producing quality hardware year after year. Although Apple tends to produce sleek and high-end hardware running its proprietary operating systems, these devices are far from perfect and were especially controversial at certain points in the past.

One Model Had to Be Slammed on the Desk to Work Properly

You can’t make this stuff up. We would normally steer clear of telling you to whack your device on your desk, but one particular Apple device needed a little tough love in order to function properly.

1982 saw Apple experience a massive surge in popularity. Steve Jobs was on the cover of Time magazine, and the company experienced its first ever $1 billion in annual sales. Even though Apple was producing devices that looked marvelous in comparison to the competition, they often came at the cost of functionality. Look to the Apple III for a perfect example of this in action.

To make the Apple III as sexy as possible for the consumer, the unsightly air vents were removed.

Computers produce a lot of heat even under the best of circumstances, so imagine how much these bulky pieces of machinery produced when cooling vents were removed from the equation. When there is no air circulation, you create what is essentially an oven that roasts the insides of the device, rendering it incapable of functioning as intended.

And let’s also remove the fans for good measure, Apple said. Why do you need fans if there are no vents?

In response to the considerable heat, parts would expand within the device and grow dislodged from their connectors, leading to further issues that turn the computer into a $4,240 liability–the equivalent of about $14,270 in modern US currency. When their devices wouldn’t function properly, frustrated business workers would call Apple to complain and ask for support.

One day, in frustration to the issue, an Apple engineer by the name of Daniel Kottke accidentally fixed his device by slamming it onto his desk, snapping the warped parts back to where they were supposed to be. With the parts back in place, the device worked as it was intended to all of a sudden.

So, you can imagine the look of shock and astonishment on people’s faces when they contact Apple for tech support, only to have the technicians tell them to slam it on the desk and give it a smack for good measure.

We Won’t Tell You to Beat Your Technology

Of course, modern technology support has evolved considerably since 1982. We won’t tell you to beat up your device to get it to work the way it’s supposed to; we’ll take care of your technology for you so that you can focus on being productive throughout the workday. To learn more about what we can do for your business, call us today at 810.230.9455.

Oct, 2022

Everything You Need to Know About Patch Tuesday

In the technology news sector, you’ve probably noticed a trend where Patch Tuesday makes headlines at least once a month. This is generally the day when Microsoft issues patches and security updates for its many different technologies, and it’s important for your IT department to know when Patch Tuesday falls each month.

Patch Tuesday Explained

Microsoft is perhaps the most high-profile software developer in the world, and with that kind of reputation comes many different technologies that must be maintained for countless people and organizations all over the world. However, no matter how big a deal Microsoft is, there will always be oversights and mistakes made, especially with complicated technology front and center.

This is why Patch Tuesday exists; it gives Microsoft one day a month dedicated to address performance issues and security risks associated with their products. Every month, the Microsoft Security Response Center issues information and updates using the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures numbers on their website. These updates typically cover all current Windows operating systems and products which have not yet met their end-of-life or those that are on an extended support contract.

Patch Tuesday is the second Tuesday of each month. Patches and updates are issued at 5:00 p.m. (UTC).

Why Is It Important?

When they are addressed in a routine fashion like this, IT workers for businesses that use Microsoft products can prepare to deploy these patches and updates accordingly. IT workers need to prepare blanket installations to the entire infrastructure, so an official date makes this much easier to pull off.

Hackers also find Patch Tuesday to be helpful, as they can look through Microsoft’s patches and updates for code that might give away hints about other potential vulnerabilities. In other words, they reverse-engineer patches to target individuals who have not yet implemented the patches and updates, thereby punishing them for not understanding the importance of them.

Why Should You Implement Patches and Updates?

Patches and updates are issued so regularly because your business has so much to lose if you don’t implement them. Patches and updates clean up potential security concerns with your software that could give hackers access to your infrastructure, and with how crafty hackers are these days, new vulnerabilities and bugs are found all the time.

Even Patch Tuesday is not an infallible solution, though, as there are often vulnerabilities that can go months or even years without being detected, simply because nobody is actively exploiting them. In cases like this, security researchers happen upon the bug or vulnerability and address it in the next updates. However, if they find one that is being actively exploited, you can safely bet that Microsoft will issue patches or updates more expediently.

Does patching your technology give you some anxiety? NuTech Services can help out with these tasks. To learn more about how we can help keep your technology safe and updated, reach out to us at 810.230.9455.

Dec, 2021

What Happens to a Recycled Computer?

Do you know what you are supposed to do with electronics that are no longer of any use? Let’s quickly go over the process of properly disposing of electronic devices and the steps that make up the procedures involved.

Why Shouldn’t I Just Throw Out My Old Technology?

There are a few reasons why the regular trash collection is a poor choice for device disposal.

First and foremost, there is no real accountability for the chain of custody. Simply tossing an old device without any of the additional precautions that recycling these devices involves leaves the data they contain potentially accessible to those who know where to look.
Secondly, modern computer components (including those more and more commonly found in appliances) contain amounts of hazardous materials that—if left in a landfill—can ultimately make it back to us through the water table. Many of these components are actually shipped to poorer countries to be dumped illegally.
Third, it is just wasteful. There are a lot of materials used in constructing electronics that are perfectly reusable, so ensuring that a device is properly processed and everything that can be recycled, is, is a more responsible choice.

Regardless of your recycling facility’s processes and policies, it is always wise to ensure that all of your data has been completely removed from any storage drives and devices being processed to ensure that no data remains to potentially leak out somewhere down the line. While we recommend that you reformat any drives you plan on recycling, know that this isn’t always enough. You should also make sure that whoever is going to be processing your technology also plans to erase this data and specifically destroy the hard drives—typically, by shredding them—so nothing can be recovered.

How Electronics Are Recycled

Once a computer or other device has been taken to a reputable recycling center, the process of breaking it down can begin. Most recycling companies will then disassemble the device and process different parts separately, based on what the components are made of. Then, the plastic, metal, glass, and circuit boards that made up each device are recycled according to best practice. This is also how the more hazardous materials are removed from the device.

The disassembled components can then be processed and renewed by using the materials to create new devices, eliminating a lot of potential waste that would otherwise, well, go to waste.

We understand how useful technology is to businesses, and how important it is that it is handled properly even after it has outlasted its usefulness. That’s why we’re committed to assisting businesses, regardless of their technology needs. Give us a call at 810.230.9455 to find out what we can do for you and your business’ essential IT.

Jan, 2021

What You Need to Know About the Massive Solarwinds Hack

2020 has been filled to the brim with adversity and just as we’ve mercifully arrived to the end, the largest and most brazen cyberespionage attack ever has been carried out. Today, we’ll tell you what we know about the attack, what problems it caused, and what we should learn from it going forward.

How Did the Attack Happen?

In short, an IT management company known as SolarWinds was breached back in March, affecting a massive number of organizations—18,000 in all. These organizations include the likes of Microsoft, Cisco, and FireEye, as well as many states and federal organizations, including:

The U.S. Department of State
The U.S. Department of the Treasury
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security
The U.S. Department of Energy
The U.S. National Telecommunications and Information Administration
The National Institutes of Health, of the U.S. Department of Health
The U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration

When the attackers gained access to SolarWinds’ network, they were able to use what is known as a supply chain attack to introduce their malware to these departments and organizations by pushing it through the company’s automatic software update system for their Orion products. These kinds of attacks can be particularly effective since the threat is introduced to an environment via a trusted application.

Making this situation worse, many SolarWinds customers had excluded Orion products from their security checks on SolarWinds’ recommendation to prevent their other security products from shutting them down due to the malware signatures that these security products contain.

While (at the time of this writing) it is unclear what the attackers responsible used this access to do, the potential ramifications are truly terrifying. While government departments were targeted, it also needs to be said that this attack could have potentially continued from the major providers like Microsoft and Cisco to their clients, and so on and so forth. That’s why there is still no estimate of this attack’s true scope.

This attack was seemingly only discovered when an employee at FireEye received an alert that their VPN credentials had been used from a new device, and a little digging revealed the much larger situation playing out.

This Wasn’t the Only Attack, Either

Another attack was also discovered on SolarWinds’ network when the company performed an internal audit of its systems. On December 18, a second malware was found to have used the same tactic to infiltrate SolarWinds, but as of this writing does not seem to come from the same source.

What This Needs to Teach Us

Frankly, the most important lessons to be learned here are painfully obvious. First off, cybersecurity needs to be prioritized above all else, and all potential threats should be considered a likelihood. After all, the U.S. government was warned about the viability of exactly this kind of threat back in 2018 by the Government Accountability Office.

Secondly, the concept of your employees being a huge part of your cybersecurity strategy needs to be reinforced. This was only discovered when an employee was alerted of unusual activity and took that alert seriously. Your team needs to know what they are looking out for, and how to proceed if they spot it.

We may not know the scope of these attacks for a while. That shouldn’t stop you from reaching out to the IT professionals at NuTech Services to get an assessment and a consultation. Call us today at 810.230.9455 to get started protecting your network, infrastructure, and data.

Oct, 2019

There’s Value in Outsourcing Your IT, Part III

When you need something done that requires a level of skill or experience or knowledge that you don’t have, what do you do? Generally, you call in someone who has the required skill, experience, or knowledge that is required. Your business’ information technology strategy should be approached in the same way. As we continue our series on how managed services can make a business more efficient, we’re considering consultants.

What is Consulting?

Like we’ve established, it isn’t uncommon for people to recruit an expert or a professional with the capability to assist them with a task that the person cannot do. There are many reasons that people do so: they may not have the skill to safely work on whatever process is required of them, they may lack the technical know-how to complete it. Sometimes, it is simply to ensure that something is done the right way.

Whatever the reason may be, bringing in an expert (often referred to as a consultant), is a great way to help reinforce your chances of a positive outcome.

What You Should Expect When Working with Consultants

First and foremost, the consultants you work with need to have a better grasp on their area of expertise than you do, and should be motivated to give you the value that you are looking for in a provider. NuTech Services qualifies as a consultant for managed services, working with businesses to ensure their information technology solutions are optimized.

As such, we are committed to using the experience and expertise that we have built up to deliver the solutions and services that our clients need to be successful. After all, the success of a managed service provider is dependent on the success of its clients, providing the motivation to deliver services that deliver the positive outcomes these businesses are looking for.

There are a variety of services we offer to help accomplish this shared goal through our consultation. If the technology you use could stand to see an upgrade, following through with us allows the decision makers we work with to take the data on their past and present IT strategies. As a result, we can make the best decisions for them that will help to cement their business’ future.

Here are some of the consulting services that we offer:

Virtual CIO

One of the biggest concerns that businesses come to us with regarding their technology is (predictably) the cost associated with their IT implementations. There are a few reasons that that they’ll do so… some are looking to upgrade, others will want to scale their technology to match their business’ growth without outpacing their budget. Whatever the reason, there is one fundamental motivation why they do so:

In essence, these companies want to make sure that their investment will provide them with the value they require (or really, demand) of it.

Working with you as your Virtual CIO, we can oversee your complete IT strategy. Our seasoned professionals will evaluate your current technology, identify which products and services will serve your needs best without breaking the bank, and work with you to strategize your approach to your IT from top to bottom. As a result, you aren’t saddled with the responsibilities to research and come to decisions – duties that you probably have neither the time nor the practical experience to take on.

Business Process Management

One of the major benefits of any business technology is the positive effect it has on efficiency. When working to streamline your processes, your in-house resources may not have the perspective to see the big picture and come up with an efficient and effective plan. An outside resource, like a managed service provider, has that needed perspective. Pair that with the experience they have in optimizing business resources, and you have a winning combination.

By working with a partner who is committed to equipping you with the processes and tools from start to finish, you can shift your productivity/waste ratio in the right direction – and the better your productivity, the higher your revenue.

Vendor Management

How much time has your business sunk, in total, into working with your vendors? How much has that cost the business? You need to keep in mind that vendors are – in most cases – effectively salesmen. Not to say this is a bad thing, but it does mean that the majority of vendors will prioritize making a sale over ensuring you get what will serve you best. However, with NuTech Services, you will no longer need to deal with vendors … we’ll do it for you. Anything you need, you’ll be able to call us and get it, simplifying and streamlining your procurement.

Find Out How Else We Can Help

By working with a managed service provider, a company has a simpler means of handling their crucial technology. Whenever they need a problem solved, they simply lean on their provider to see to what’s needed… whether that’s support, resource management, or a representative to speak to vendors. NuTech Services can be that for your business.

To learn more about our consulting services, reach out to us at 810.230.9455 – and don’t forget to check back here on Wednesday for part four of this series!

Dec, 2018

How to Get the Right Cloud Solution for Your Business

As technology has become a greater part of today’s working environment, the need for a business to have somewhere to procure the requisite devices from has increased. This is why many businesses serve as vendors, the go-between for the producers of these devices and the businesses looking to purchase them. For obvious reasons, these vendors are essential to the success of many businesses.

There are a few kinds of vendors, offering various things to businesses like assorted supplies, equipment, and services. One kind of vendor that has grown increasingly crucial in particular, is that which delivers cloud services to businesses. Due to the expansion of the cloud’s utility in all kinds of business purposes, the choice of a vendor has also expanded in importance.

How to Select the Right Vendor, for Cloud Services and Otherwise
This is going to require some preemptive research and consideration of your own goals. Once you’ve determined your priorities in both the short and long-term, you and your IT resources should examine your available options to see which vendor is most compatible – and that’s in more ways than one.

Not only should your vendor offer what you need at a reasonable rate, there should be some consistency in the goals that your organization and theirs have. You also need to be able to trust your vendor to attend to the services agreed upon, whether that’s a managed agreement or a simple equipment procurement.

How Cloud Services are Different
However, your vendors for your cloud services should be held to a somewhat higher standard – after all, your data is going to be at stake. Therefore, it is important that they be graded differently than your other vendors would be.

Before committing to a cloud service provider; or a cloud strategy in earnest, there are two considerations that must be examined. First, what data is your vendor going to be able to access, and second, what applications can your vendor access as well?

After this initial consideration, you need to also take other factors into account, like how business-critical a said process is, how compliant they are to certain policies, and how much risk is involved in a given action. From there, you can establish if a particular cloud vendor is a good fit or not.

At NuTech Services, we can technically be considered a vendor ourselves, as we provide our managed services to other businesses. As such, we’d like you to consider us a candidate for your IT needs. Give us a call at 810.230.9455 for more information.