MSPNetworks Blog

As much as we try to structure our productivity throughout the day, there are always those moments that seem to slip by—both at work and in our personal lives. It can be tough to find time to commit to projects whether your goal is personal or professional.

So, let’s go over some tips that help make this time easier to find. 

The Truth is, the Time is There… You Just Need to Be Ready for It

Most people underestimate the amount of time they actually have available to them—although, to be fair, this time is often hiding in plain sight. Do you find yourself sitting through a long bus trip to get to work, or relegated to the back seat in an uncomfortably silent carpool arrangement? When working from home, how much time do you spend in the morning waiting for your coffee maker of choice to produce your preferred cup (or pot, no judgment from me) of joe? 

The fact of the matter is that in these little moments we chalk up to time wasted, there’s the opportunity for productivity. Small as these moments may seem, nobody said that productive work has to be of a certain duration. By taking advantage of the spare moments before a meeting starts, or when your usual breakfast is cooking, or any other time that would otherwise be lost to the ether, you can accomplish that much more.

How often do you find yourself having some of your best ideas during these moments?

You Just Need to Be Ready for When These Moments Arise

By having the right tools and strategies prepared, you’ll be in a good position to take advantage of every spare moment. Chances are good that you regularly have access to a mobile device with some form of a note-taking app. Get in the habit of quickly typing up your ideas.

If you’d rather rely on a low-tech option, make sure you’re always carrying a pen with you. Everything from a receipt to a napkin can be used to quickly store a thought until you have the opportunity to more permanently record it.

Furthermore, it is important that you manage your expectations. It’s very unlikely that your quick notes will be an earth-shaking idea. Much more likely, it’ll just be the first draft of many ideas that eventually become a real strategy or initiative.

While We Can’t Give You the Inspiration You Need, We Can Give You the Tools You’ll Need to Act Upon It

Reach out to us to learn more about our IT services and support options, and how we can help you and your team accomplish more. Give us a call at (516) 403-9001 to get started.

When it comes to exclusive user features, one of the better-known ones on the Apple side of the house is FaceTime, a video chat platform. Apple has however made certain features of FaceTime available to Android users, but they come with a catch. Let’s go over how an iPhone user can FaceTime with an Android user, even if some of the features are not quite there.

It’s important to preface this blog by stating that Android users cannot initiate a FaceTime call. The user of the iPhone in question will have to start the call. Basically, what happens is that the Android user will use a specific link to join the FaceTime call in much the same way you would join any typical video conferencing call. Here’s how to get your link.

We’ll start from the iPhone user’s perspective to generate the link. They will have to go into the FaceTime application to select the option for Create Link. This will be available in the top-left menu. The user then sends the link to the Android smartphone. This can be done through text, email, or whatever other method you might use.

After the recipient has the link, they can use it to open the FaceTime web application on their device. Since it is a video call, know that it will need access to your microphone and camera in order to work properly. Once the user has added their name to the call, they can join by tapping on Continue.

Now that the Android user has gotten to this point, the iPhone user can see the option to accept or reject the call.

And now, the call can proceed as usual. The call works mostly the same way as your typical FaceTime call would, but with some feature limitations placed on the Android user. You should be able to enjoy your FaceTime calls no matter the device used by whoever is on the other end of the call!

Of course, FaceTime is far from a business-grade video chat platform, so if you’re using it to conduct business as usual, perhaps it’s time to invest in a video collaboration platform for your business instead. These platforms also won’t be nearly as restrictive or as limited by the type of device used by your workers, meaning that anyone can collaborate in the same way.

Hopefully you find this tip of some help. If you want additional assistance with collaboration platforms or further tips and tricks, be sure to call us at (516) 403-9001.

With the full power of Microsoft Excel at your disposal, you can accomplish a lot of great things and streamline your data management and analysis. However, it doesn’t take an Excel wizard to use today’s tip, which focuses on the Auto Filter feature built right into the program. Let’s look at how even this small feature can provide a lot of value for your business.

Why Use Auto Filter?

If you use Auto Filter, you can easily show or hide data in columns based on specific parameters. You can organize the content in each column alphabetically, for example, or you can show or hide values according to what you’re looking for. It’s helpful and easy to use, making it a high-value tool that can help you get more out of Excel without investing a lot of time or energy into learning how to use it.

How Can You Enable Auto Filter?

Enabling Auto Filter is easy; just go to the Data tab near the top of your screen and select the funnel-shaped icon labeled Filter. You’ll then see little drop-down arrows appear in each cell within the first row of your spreadsheet. This is a clear indicator that Auto Filter is now turned on and ready to be used.

The fun starts when you click on the arrow. A window will appear that shows what you can do with the filter. You can sort your columns alphabetically from A to Z or Z to A, by color of the text or cell, or by specific text parameters (for example, if you want to see specific values or omit others). It’s a wonderful little tool that can help you be much more efficient with your time during data analysis.

In this window, you’ll also see a scrolling window filled with individual values found in the identified column. If you click on the checkbox for each of these, you can either enable or disable it, thereby removing it temporarily from the spreadsheet so you can find what it is you’re truly looking for.

Before we leave you to your Excel fun, we want to share a quick differentiator between “sorting” your data and “filtering” your data, as they are two different things. Sorting your data will organize it in a specific way so you can read it more easily. Filtering data, however, will omit data that you don’t want to see so you can focus on what you’re really trying to find, see, or analyze. Using filters effectively can be incredibly helpful and empowering for any budding Excel user, and it can open the doors to more advanced use of the program.

We share technology tips like this all the time, so be sure to check back periodically for the latest and greatest tech tips!

It shouldn’t be a surprise to hear that the better your relationship is with your employees, the more your business will benefit. Despite this, many businesses today lack trust between their organizational levels. Let’s go over a few simple tips that you can use to help maintain positive feelings amongst your team.

Communicate

Just as in any relationship, cultivating a positive rapport with your team members is critical to making things copacetic in the workplace—even if that workplace is dispersed, as remote work is apt to do. Therefore, it is in your best interest to keep the lines of communication between you and your team members wide open, both in terms of the group and as individuals.

Not only should you ensure that there are plenty of opportunities for your team members to speak with you, you should encourage them to do so about a variety of topics, including non-work-related ones. Getting to know them on a more personal level and speaking to them from that perspective will not only give you the information to communicate more effectively, but will help encourage them to be more communicative.

Show Your Appreciation and Respect

Working for anyone, regardless of how nice they are, can be a lot to deal with at times, so make sure that you prioritize showing your employees your honest (and that honest part is key) appreciation for their efforts toward your business. Acknowledging their hard work is one of the simplest things you can do, but it can be the difference between an exhausted employee mentally checking out at 3:45 and an exhausted employee rallying and putting in their best effort to finish out the day strong.

On a related note, it is just as important to show your team members enough respect to hear their opinions and input, even if you disagree or there are reasons that their input wouldn’t work effectively. In fact, hear them out and acknowledge the valid points they make before sharing how circumstances might make them impractical.

Embrace Any Opportunity to Learn

Continuing this line of thought, you also need to acknowledge that the role of “boss” makes you the authority in the business’ concerns, but not necessarily the authority on all the goings-on in terms of its operations. There are going to be certain aspects where your employees do in fact know more and/or better than you do, and there’s always more information than any one person can keep up with. Acknowledging this is a good first step, and is best followed through actively trying to learn as much as you can.

Allow Autonomy

Finally, it is important that your team members have the freedom to conduct themselves as they see fit as they work to meet the goals you have set for them. Not only will this help them feel more trusted and validated in their input, it can often result in more effective outcomes in their tasks and ultimately for your business.

It’s on you to get the most out of your staff, but we can help you get the technology in place to make that easier. Give us a call at (516) 403-9001 today to learn more about how we can play several roles to help get your business where you want it to go.

Email groups are remarkably useful. Instead of sending a copy of an email to each individual recipient, you can effectively create a simple forum post that everyone can participate in—a feature that certainly helps when collaboration is a priority. Let’s go over how you can quickly and easily create a group in Gmail.

Step 1: Access Google Apps and Select Contacts

That’s right—this process isn’t even completed in Gmail. However, since you’re likely in the Gmail app, click into the App Launcher icon (colloquially, and arguably more correctly, known as the “waffle” icon) and access Google Contacts. A new window will open to the Google Contacts page.

In this new window, you’ll see the Google Contacts page, and if you click the three-bar menu, you’ll see a selection of tools and options.

Step 2: Create a Label

In these tools, you’ll see a Label option, and underneath that, the option to Create Label. Give it a name you will remember it by, and click Save. You now have a label, and it’s time to add some contacts to it.

Step 3: Add Some Contacts

You’ll see lists of your email contacts by selecting Frequently Contacted or Directory. Select whomever you want to include in a group, finally clicking the label icon at the top of the window. Confirm that the right label is selected, and select Apply. 

That’s it! Now, from Gmail, you can put the name you gave your label into the To field of any email you’re writing to send it to that group.

Hopefully, this will come in handy for you moving forward. Keep checking back for more handy IT tips, and if you want assistance in managing it all, give MSPNetworks a call at (516) 403-9001 to learn a bit more about what we do.

Anyone who wants to prioritize their privacy should be aware of the role the cache plays in such a thing. Your Google web browser—even on your smartphone—will store information about what you search so it can personalize your ads and recommendations, but if you would rather not have it do this all the time, you can clear your Android device’s Google search cache and set it up to auto-delete after a set amount of time has passed.

Manually Delete Your Google Search Cache

First, make sure your Android device is connected to your Google account. From your Android’s app drawer, open up the Google app. When the window opens, tap your profile image in the top-right corner. From here, you should see an option for Search history. Select which deletion option you would prefer from the list, keeping in mind that you might have to verify your identity before proceeding.

Once you have verified your identity, you should see the Delete drop-down menu unlock. In addition to the default 15 minutes, there are options for today, custom range, or all time, so pick the one that best suits your needs.

Set Up Auto-Delete

If you’d rather not mess with manual deletion, you can set your cache to automatically delete after a set amount of time has passed. You’ll see on the above drop-down menu that, under Auto-delete, it says Off by default. You can change this by tapping on the option and adjusting a couple of settings.

After you tap Auto-delete, you’ll be brought to another page where you can set the cache to Auto-delete activity older than a set amount of time. There are options under the drop-down menu for three months, 18 months, or 36 months. Tap Next and confirm your choice to complete the process.

Privacy is a serious challenge for both individuals and businesses, which is why we like to bring you tips that help you get the most out of your technology, be they consumer or otherwise. To learn more about how you can make the most out of technology for your business, be sure to contact MSPNetworks at (516) 403-9001.

We are always writing about how useful technology is, but it’s surprising how little even the most committed techie knows about the options that are available to them. In this week’s blog we decided to go through three features in the Windows OS that can be a big help. 

Built-in Dictation

One tip that not many people know about is the built-in dictation feature in the newer versions of the Windows operating system. All you need to do is type Windows key + H. This will open the dictation toolbar. This allows you to use speech to fill out any text field inside of windows.

Focus Assist

With so many distractions it's not a surprise that we keep getting interrupted from our work. Notifications are built-in to almost every app, and they can be a little much sometimes. Windows offers the Focus Assist feature that will work to keep you focused and on track. 

Simply go to Settings > System > Focus Assist.

Once open, you can configure the software to automatically turn on during certain times. In the Focus Assist settings you can fully customize the priority of the notifications so that important messages come through but that notification from Amazon about the tent you want to buy can be tabled for later. 

Use Multiple Desktops

One really neat feature that Microsoft has rolled out over the past few iterations of Windows is the multiple desktop feature. It allows users to separate whole projects from one another and allow them to move between them seamlessly. 

To access this feature you can right-click on the taskbar and go to Taskbar Settings. Once there you need to toggle on the Task view option. This will create a Task view icon just to the right of the start icon on the taskbar. Push it and you can create a whole new desktop environment (with its own background) to help keep your work organized.

Windows has long been one of the most important business tools and with Windows 10 and Windows 11, Microsoft has created operating systems filled with cool features and resources. If you want to learn more great tips and tricks, visit our blog again soon.

Setting up a router used to be a much more complex process than it is today. Thankfully, innovations in the technology have made it simpler and easier for consumers and businesses alike to do, to the point where some Internet service providers just let users do it themselves with guided instructions. Let’s go over how you can get the most out of your wireless router.

Place Your Router in a High-Up, Unobstructed, and Centralized Location

The placement of your router is crucial to your organization getting the most out of it, and it’s mostly because of how Wi-Fi signals work. These signals ripple out from the device, radiating outward from the central location and growing weaker in the process. You should keep it centralized to make the signal reach all parts of your office.

To help the signal along, you also need to make sure that it’s not blocked by anything by keeping a clear line of sight between the router and your devices. Thus, keeping it elevated and out in the open rather than a cabinet or a closet is the best way to go here.

Update Your Router and Its Firmware with Patches

Your router is an easy-to-overlook technology that, while not as complex or dynamic as a computer, still runs on software and, thus, requires patches to stay secure and operational. Outdated security protocols could make your wireless network vulnerable, and outdated firmware might mean that your router is simply not performing as well as it could be. If you want to get the most out of your wireless technology, then keeping your router updated is crucial.

Keep Separate Connections for Personal Devices

You’ll want to keep your personal devices off of your business network, mostly because you don’t want guests and visitors using bandwidth that your employees should be using. Furthermore, letting anyone access your network can be considered a security risk, and limiting who can access your business’ network can be a good step toward keeping it secure.

MSPNetworks can help you set up a wireless network that aids your company’s efforts at success. To learn more, call us today at (516) 403-9001.

It probably isn’t hard to think of a time when you’ve stumbled across something that would be useful for work while you were doing some personal browsing. What if I told you there was an easy way to send a website to your browser to view later? Thanks to Google Chrome, this is the case.

Let’s discuss how you can use Chrome’s multi-platform nature to your advantage to access the same web page on different devices.

Chrome Users Have a Few Options to Push Web Pages Between Devices

First off, simply being signed into the same Chrome account gives you the option to access a page from your history, as activity from all devices will be tracked. All you have to do is access Chrome and open History by pressing Ctrl+H when using a computer, or accessing Recent tabs from the three-dot menu in the Chrome mobile application.

If you’re in the process of reading something, however, and want to proactively have it ready on another device to continue viewing it, Chrome also supports this. When using the desktop, there’s a small icon in the address bar that looks like a corner with an arrow emerging from it. Clicking this icon, or alternatively right-clicking on the browser tab’s title will give you the ability to Send to your devices, with a list of all devices you’re signed into appearing for you to select from. If you’re on an Android device, access the three-dot menu and select the Share option. You’ll be provided a variety of options, including one to Send to your devices.

We’re committed to doing anything we can to help make your time in the office easier, whether it's through tips like this or through our comprehensive IT services. Learn more about the latter by giving us a call at (516) 403-9001 today!

Passwords are just one part of a comprehensive security strategy, but they are a crucial one. You must make sure that you are investing adequate time and effort into making sure your passwords are secure. This is easier said than done, but by the end of today’s short blog article, you’ll have all the information you need to craft excellent passwords for your accounts.

What Are Some Password Best Practices?

In a list format, we have put together some password best practices for your review:

• Use complex strings of characters: Your passwords should consist of both upper and lower-case letters, numbers, and special characters.
• The longer, the better: If you have more characters in your password, there are more opportunities for a hacker to get it wrong. Your passwords should be easy to remember, but hard to guess.
• Opt for passphrases rather than passwords: To make your passwords easier to remember, you can use a passphrase. The passphrase is basically an upgraded password variant that is harder to guess, but easier to remember. For example, if you were to use a favorite ’80s movie, you might pull a famous line from the movie along with the title and tie it together. For example, if your favorite movie of all time is Short Circuit, you might make your passphrase Sh0rtCIRCUIT#5isALIVE!86
• Use different passwords for each account: You should be using different passwords for each of your accounts, just in case one of them gets stolen. After all, if you use the same password for every account, you’ll have to change every single one of them anyway.

With these practices, you can make more complex and secure passwords. In addition to these practices, you can consider some of the following to make using them easier and more efficient.

What Else Can You Do to Protect Your Online Accounts?

To capitalize on the benefits of password security for your business, we recommend that you take things just a hair further with additional policies and technology solutions. We recommend multi-factor authentication and password management solutions to get the most out of your password and authentication policies.

With multi-factor authentication, you can use additional authentication protocols alongside passwords to maximize security. Your average multi-factor authentication tool will utilize two of the three methods: something you are (biometrics), something you have (smartphone, USB key), or something you know (a password, PIN, or passphrase).

In comparison, password management tools take what you have applied to your password security and make them that much easier to manage. Password managers store your passwords in an encrypted database where they are protected by a master password. You can then call the passwords as they are needed when you access your accounts. Password managers often have the capabilities to generate passwords for you, just in case you need some help with your complex passwords. It makes using complex passwords and passphrases that much easier.

MSPNetworks is here to help outfit your business with the security and productivity tools it needs. Give us a call at (516) 403-9001 to learn more.

Modern mobile devices are a bit of a double-edged sword for today’s businesses: on the one hand, they are critical for the productivity that is required of today’s organizations, but on the other, they also come with the very real chance of security issues. The permissions you give (or don’t) to these applications can have an impact on this risk.

Let’s take a few moments to discuss how you can manage these permissions to minimize the potential danger your Android applications might introduce to your business.

How to Manage Android App Permissions

In order to properly manage your Android permissions, it helps to know how the applications work. As a rule, any application needs to have permissions granted to it. This is what happens when you first start up a newly-installed application. Let’s say you’ve downloaded the latest hot social media application that enables photo-sharing. When first opened, the app will present you with a permissions request to access different areas of the device—in this case, your media library, camera, and the photos you’ve stored on the device.

You can then decide if and when an application is able to access the requested data or hardware on your device. For instance, in the above example, you could dictate that the new social media app can only access the camera when you are actively using the app. You can even limit these permissions to a single-use basis.

These kinds of permissions can be managed through the Settings app, which can be found in both your list of applications and in the menu that appears when you swipe down on your display (look for the gear-shaped icon). Once you’re in your settings, navigate to the Apps section.

Once there, you’ll see a list of your applications, which you may need to expand to see the full contents. Select the app you want to adjust the permissions of and select Permissions. You’ll then be presented with the permissions that can be granted to the application, including what you have already selected. Changing this selection is as simple as tapping on the option you want to use instead.

Alternatively, you can adjust your permissions en masse by instead navigating to Privacy in your Settings and from there selecting Permission Manager. This will give you a list of permissions and the applications that have them granted. From there, you can select an application and disable these permissions.

For Improved Control, Mobile Device Management Can Help

In terms of your business’ mobile device infrastructure, more control is better, which is what makes a mobile device management solution such a valuable inclusion in your IT. An MDM solution gives you greater visibility into how your organization is putting mobile devices to use while in the workplace. It also gives you the ability to manage the permissions that each user has for the various applications they’ll need, as well as other features, such as marking different apps as safe or excluded and the capability to remotely wipe said device.

Don’t hesitate to reach out to us for assistance in implementing mobile device management into your business. Give us a call at (516) 403-9001 to learn more.

Updating your technology is one business task that needs to happen if you want to optimize your operations. Some companies, however, still rely on legacy systems that could be holding them back from peak performance. It’s difficult to update legacy systems without comprehensive IT knowledge and proficiency, which is why you have us!

Defining Legacy Systems

When discussing legacy systems, it’s important to remember that the definition extends beyond “old.” Legacy refers to the fact that the technology is holding your company back, preventing it from growing or adapting to new circumstances. In many cases, the software is incompatible with the rest of your infrastructure and often does more harm than good by remaining on your infrastructure.

Sometimes the legacy system might even lack appropriate support and maintenance, something which impacts your ability to add it to new systems or improve your user experience.

All of this said, legacy systems are critical for many companies, so the updates are no less necessary for these organizations. This is why legacy systems need to be modernized, which is the act of replacing them with a solution that offers a better value proposition.

How Should You Approach Your Legacy System Modernization?

Legacy systems modernization requires that you follow these simple practices:

• Consider more than just your system: How will your employees and processes be impacted by this change to your infrastructure? Be sure to keep them in the loop to optimize your modernization’s chances of being successful. Be sure to spend some time with your employees to discuss the challenges they might need help addressing throughout the process, as well as what might need to be done moving forward.
• Take your time: There’s no need to jump on the modernization train for ALL of your technology all at once. If you don’t focus on specific parts of your infrastructure one at a time, you risk spreading yourself too thin. Plus, it’s easier to tackle one thing at a time so as not to disrupt all of your processes.
• Identify and address issues with technology: Be sure to consider the many issues your business faces, then implement technology to address them. Business technology solutions are so advanced these days that there is a solution for just about any issue your organization could face.
• Think about simplicity and agility: Finally, it’s critical that you plan your process out so that there is a level of flexibility packed into it. It could save you a considerable amount of time and resources moving forward.

It’s inevitable that your technology will “age out,” so to speak, but you don’t have to helplessly stand by while it happens. Get in touch with MSPNetworks today to determine what you need to do to resolve your company’s legacy technology challenges.

Everyone has a smartphone, but only a fraction of people use it productively. Instead of using your smartphone for wasting time, you could be using it to stay productive and get more done, reducing your stress levels and creating a better work life. Today, we’ll give you three useful tips  on how to change the way you use your smartphone.

Make Productivity Front and Center

The first tip is pretty simple: choose productivity over distraction.  If you are like most people, your home screen is filled with the apps you use the most: These are usually Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, Tik Tok, and Facebook. These five apps alone make up about seven-out-of-every-10 minutes of the 3.8 trillion hours spent in apps in 2021. That’s not to say you aren’t doing anything productive on those sites, but by-in-large, if you are contributing to that massive number, you are probably wasting more time than not.

One way to immediately boost productivity with your smartphone is by taking these apps off your homescreen and replacing them with apps that help build a more productive experience. Choosing current events apps, wellness apps, and other positive influences will change the way you use your phone, even if it’s just a touch. You will probably still use those other apps more than any other, but having these other apps at your literal fingertips everytime you unlock your phone, will get you to use them more.

Limit or Turn Off Notifications

Nothing can hinder productivity on a device more than getting constant notifications. It can take an average of 23 minutes to get back to your original task after being distracted by a notification. Unfortunately, even knowing that, people refuse to silence the notifications on their devices. Not to say that is that surprising, as people depend on their push notifications. However, knowing what we know about the importance of focus for productivity, this productivity-sapping culprit can reduce organizational productivity by over 30 percent. 

If you are struggling to focus on your work because you get a notification a minute, consider setting your phone to Do Not Disturb. This is an easy-to-navigate option in iOS and Android and can go a long way toward keeping your mind on your work, rather than on your five group chats and fantasy football updates. 

Don’t Extend Your Scrolling into Work

You know those times when you are on your lunch break or the few minutes before a meeting starts where almost everyone is scrolling through their phones looking at social media, replying to messages or playing games? They are necessary. What isn’t necessary is continuing to do so when you are on the clock or in a meeting. Sure, that recipe for spanakopita looks appealing, but if you are trying to boost your productivity, it can wait.

Unfortunately, a lot of people will not only read the recipe, they’ll watch the video and share it with their friends before getting down to business (which in turn creates notification distractions). You have to be mindful of the empty time you spend on your phone, especially if it is keeping you from improving your business.

Smartphones can be useful, but they can also present an outlet for distraction and waste a lot of time. Do you have any tips you can share that can help people be more productive with their smartphones? Leave your thoughts in the comments and check back soon for more productivity tips. 

Despite hearing about a constant stream of cyberattacks over the past few years—most of which cause millions of dollars of damage to businesses—it might still be difficult for you to justify spending a lot of money on your business’ cybersecurity plans. There is a finite amount of capital to go around and many times CIOs and network administrators will be rebuffed by management when asking for money to spend on cybersecurity. Today, we thought we’d discuss three ways that you can spend on cybersecurity initiatives and not feel like you are throwing your money down the drain. 

Today, many organizations have gone as far as to hire a CISO, or chief information security officer to handle budgetary issues when it comes to the protection of a business’ digital resources and information systems. Even though they operate under the CIO, they typically have budgetary discretion to spend cybersecurity money as they see fit. If your business doesn’t have a defined CISO, these four tips should help you out. 

Identifying Your Organization's Digital Strengths and Weaknesses

As with most IT-related initiatives, in order to intelligently spend your organizational cybersecurity capital, you need to assess your current standing and how they relate to putting together reliability in your IT. You’ll want to start by identifying the assets that need to be protected. You may be surprised at what you find after an assessment.  Most businesses, especially in the small business sector will find that they come in woefully short in:

• Business continuity plans - Businesses tend to put in minimal effort into their contingency plans and will find that if something were to happen to their business’ information systems that they would be facing major downtime events and other disastrous situations.
• Phishing and cybersecurity training - The threat landscape is littered with businesses that haven’t prioritized training for their staff. Today, phishing attacks are the number one source of malware attacks and other cyberattacks. 
• Cybersecurity insurance - There are many cyber insurance plans out there that can help protect a business against data loss and cyberattacks. 

Regardless of your business’ situation, a full security assessment can give you the answers you are looking for to help drive a robust cybersecurity strategy. 

Aligning Your Security to Support Your Business

To understand how they get a return on your security investment, decision makers need to see potential issues in practical means. This often means breaking it down into dollars and cents. Security spending will always be justified if decision makers see how inherent risks can ultimately affect ongoing continuity and business processes in general. 

You need to make them understand that security efforts have to go further than just maintaining regulatory compliance. You will want to make them understand that your security budget is used for risk mitigation, sure, but also can benefit productivity and boost revenue. One way you can accomplish this is to automate certain security processes. Not only will this remove the repetitive and mundane tasks thrust on your IT team, it will also provide the data needed to justify the increased security spending as it will lay out how spending on security can save an incredible amount of capital when compared to dealing with cyberattacks and other security issues. 

Onboard Solid Contributors

Finally, everyone knows that new hires are some of the costliest line items in a new budget, and to justify the need for them on the cybersecurity side, you also need to cultivate a strategy that requires investment to be made. That may just be having extra eyes on your IT infrastructure, or bringing on people that can help train your employees on the best practices that will keep your business’ data and infrastructure secure. Investing in solid contributors that quickly understand the role they play in your organizational security and don’t need to have their hand held while navigating your business’ computing environment can bring significant dividends. 

Network security is always going to be a touch and go issue, especially for people who need to release funds to your IT team. Getting them the tools and resources they need to mitigate the negative impact to your business takes work but is possible. If you would like to have a conversation with one of our security professionals about how to best spend your security dollars, give MSPNetworks a call today at (516) 403-9001. 

With many businesses’ increased reliance on their information systems and other IT, they need to do everything they can to keep those systems up and running and secure. This not only includes rolling out security systems that support that goal, it also demands they take the action necessary to keep these systems secure. Let’s look at four things you need to do to keep your business’ IT as secure as possible. 

Promote Strong Password Practices

Many users are just not as savvy as most organizations need them to be about their passwords. In fact, many of the most popular passwords used today are still “password” and “123456”. Even if your people are more deliberate about their password practices, many of them choose passwords that could be easily guessed if someone had knowledge about that person’s personal life. This can be a major detriment to any organization’s attempts to keep their IT secure. Here are some tips that you can use to create strong and reliable passwords:

Password Length 

It stands to reason that longer passwords are harder to guess than shorter ones. It’s been proven that passwords that are at least 12 characters long are more apt to be secure than not. The problem with longer passwords is that they are more easily forgotten and result in significant downtime. A good strategy is to create easy-to-remember passphrases with random words and 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

 Lots of people will use the same password for every account. This couldn’t be more dangerous. Think about it, if you use the same password everywhere and one account is cracked, you are looking at a situation where every account where you use that password is now compromised. 

Use Software Tools 

There are plenty of tools designed to help people keep their accounts safe. Password managers can be a good resource for people who use long or randomly-generated passwords. These platforms use encryption to ensure that all login and passwords are secure and can cut down on password-related problems that can cause downtime and unwanted IT support costs. Another tool that can help organizations keep their accounts secure is multi-factor authentication. Most platforms will provide options that will add an additional layer of security in the ways of an authentication code sent through an authentication app or separate email or text message. In using randomly-generated codes from a multi-factor authentication system, you can do more to ensure that the people who access your organization’s network-attached files and cloud services are authorized to do so. 

Train Your Staff

One of the biggest issues for organizational IT security has to be threats coming in from outside your organization. These typically come in the form of phishing attacks. A phishing attack can come in on any platform including phone, email, text message, or even social media. There are over three billion phishing emails sent every day, and that isn't even taking into account all the other attack vectors. These messages come in with the intention of getting an unwitting or distracted employee to engage with it. Once this happens, nothing good comes of it. Scammers will use this social engineering technique to gain access to protected accounts, deploy malware of all types, and disrupt an organization’s workflow. This is why it is imperative to train your staff on how to identify phishing attacks and what to do when they inevitably encounter one. 

The phishing message will typically look like it comes from a person or organization that has some semblance of authority. Scammers like to develop subterfuges acting as financial institutions, insurance companies, even executives and managers inside a company. Many will ask recipients to click on a hyperlink or download an attachment. Either action could be dire for an organization’s technology. Let’s look at some variables of phishing messages that ever organization needs to train their employees on:

Demand Immediate Action

Most phishing attacks are structured to create fear and anxiety in the recipient. This typically will get people to make impulsive decisions. The best action is to verify any suspicious action before interacting with any messages like this. 

Include Unprofessional Spelling Errors and Grammatical Faux Pas 

Many phishing messages are developed by people whose first language isn’t the recipient's language and include demands, spelling errors, and grammatical errors that no professional correspondence would include.

Come From Unrecognizable Accounts 

Many phishing messages may initially look legitimate when you look at the account it comes from. The more legitimate these messages seem the more effective they are. Consider the email address or account these messages come from before clicking on any links or downloading anything from the email. 

Keep Your Software Updated

Phishing may get most of the attention, but one of the most used attack vectors by hackers is infiltrating networks through software vulnerabilities. Most enterprise software is continuously being developed to ensure that it is a secure product. If an organization doesn’t have a patch management program where their applications are updated regularly, hackers can use any software vulnerabilities to gain unauthorized access and wreak havoc on their network. 

If your organization uses a lot of applications, it may seem like keeping everything patched is a full-time job. That’s why using automation to ensure new patches are added regularly is important. You will also want to test every patch to ensure that your software solutions function as designed. This includes frequently updating antivirus tools, firewalls, and spam filters. 

There are plenty of solutions and strategies that you can use to keep your business’ network and data secure. If you would like to have a conversation about cybersecurity and how to deploy some tools and strategies that can work to that end, give MSPNetworks a call today at (516) 403-9001. 

Microsoft Teams is a video communication and collaboration platform that your organization can use to great success, but it helps to have a couple of pointers so you can make the most out of the software. Here are five ways you can maximize the value you get out of your Microsoft Teams software.

If you don’t already use Teams, you can think of it like this: it’s similar to other services out there, like Slack and Discord, in that it gives you access to various channels for communication through a variety of mediums, like video, instant messaging, voice chat, and so on. Knowing how to get the most out of Teams means maximizing your use of these features and using them to their fullest potential.

Pin Important Messages

While you are chatting with your team or coworkers in Teams, you might notice recurring themes in your conversations. If you think something is important enough to keep at the top of the conversation at all times, you can pin that message to the top by clicking on the pin icon. This will keep it in place so that everyone who opens the chat will see that message first. All you have to do is click the three-dot symbol on a message and select Pin.

Tag Someone in Conversations

Sometimes you really need someone to chime in and contribute to the conversation. In cases like this, you can use the @ symbol to tag someone in the conversation. This will send the user a notification that you have tagged them in the chat and are hoping they will respond. It’s not the best or most perfect way to convince someone to contribute, but it at least lets them know you want them to see the message.

Organize Your Teams Into… Well, Teams (And Channels)

Teams operates on the premise that your communications are segmented into various “teams,” or specific places dedicated to collaboration for various groups of employees or departments. You should have your Teams set up so that each department has their own dedicated space to collaborate as needed. These Teams can be further split into Channels for specific purposes, all of which can be customized according to what your needs are. For example, you might have a Team set up for human resources where only your HR staff are allowed to chat or view the messages within, or the same could be said for the executives within your company. Be sure to control permissions for these Teams and Channels as needed.

Connect Teams to Other Office Applications

As a Microsoft software solution, Teams integrates quite well with other Microsoft tools. For example, it can connect and sync to OneDrive and OneNote, which is helpful for when you need to share files with others within your organization. Furthermore, you can add files and other documents directly to your various Teams and Channels so that users in those Teams or Channels have access to them quickly and efficiently. It’s a great way to make sure everyone has access to the information they need to be successful and productive throughout the workday.

To learn more about how you can utilize Teams as best you can, reach out to us at (516) 403-9001.

Computers allow businesses to do so much, but eventually a time comes to purchase new hardware. Thankfully, you can stave off this need pretty well by simply taking care of your existing technology. Here are some tips you can implement to make sure that your computer lasts as long as possible before it kicks the bucket.

#1 - Keep Your Hardware and Software Updated (All of It)

Some folks are using the same old tired technology that they were using a decade ago, and the reason they have been able to do so is because they take care of keeping all their hardware and software updated. Some users may have updated their computer from their old hard disk drive to a solid-state drive or added additional RAM, but for the most part, the big reason why their device is operationally sound is because they have kept updating software to keep up with the times. With the software as updated as possible, less strain is placed on the computing resources.

#2 - Keep Your Hardware Clean

It’s easy to think that buying a new computer will solve your problems when you don’t take care of your current technology, but know that you’ll just encounter the same problem when you don’t take care of the new technology, too. Computers are machines, after all, and they have a lot of intricate parts that require a clean environment. Naturally a computer will not work well if crumbs get in the keyboard or dust builds up inside, so make sure you take measures to periodically clean your PC so that it’s not a complete mess.

#3 - Buy Protection

Taking care of your computer’s physical wellbeing is incredibly important, especially for a laptop that is on the move all the time. Consider purchasing a nice padded carrying case that can keep your computer safe while in motion. For a desktop user, a surge protector is also a must, as it protects you from unexpected surges and provides even more utility thanks to the extra plugs. As for mobile devices, you have cases that can keep them dust and water-resistant.

#4 - Keep Your Antivirus Running

You should frequently run a virus scan on your device, even when you are away from it. There are countless issues that could occur with your device, and the best way to identify them is to run an antivirus scan on your device. With a centralized antivirus program on your network, you should be able to identify and remove malware on your endpoints.

#5 - Don’t Treat it Like a Light Switch

If you constantly turn your device on and off, you will run into problems with your components in the long term. While it might seem beneficial to save the electricity and conserve the battery life, ask yourself if it really saves so much that it is worth replacing your entire device in the near future. Naturally, the answer is no, so don’t treat your technology like it’s a light switch.

Hopefully you can put these tips into practice and preserve your technology a little bit longer. MSPNetworks can also aid in this effort with our managed IT solutions. To learn more, reach out to us at (516) 403-9001.

It’s quite possible for employees to overwork themselves, even in a remote environment. Let’s take a look at some ways that you can minimize remote overwork for your employees, especially as the boundaries typically set in place by the morning commute are eroded and work/life balance blurs.

First Off: Yes, Overwork is an Issue

Countless issues and workplace challenges have bubbled to the surface in recent years, including others that are much more divisive, like wage inequality and racial imbalances. However, these issues are much greater and more difficult to address in this format, and overwork presents a different challenge to overcome.

Overwork is a very real issue that can impact your organization in several different ways. Employees can grow fatigued, anxious, and physically ill with symptoms like headaches, pain, and vision problems. Too much remote work can also impact interpersonal communications. Add in the emotional stress and pressure caused by the pandemic and you have many employees walking around like ticking time bombs. All of this can create the perfect storm for destroying even the best worker’s productivity and performance.

The question must be asked, what can we do to help reduce overwork?

How to Help Diminish Remote Overwork

You might not be able to visit each of your workers individually, but you can implement policies that can keep them from overworking themselves in general, and it all starts by thinking about things not in terms of remote work policies, but in-house and remote policies.

1. Support the Use of a Schedule

We are not talking about just setting up a schedule outlining work hours; we also mean that you should help them to establish a workday routine that is manageable. Be sure to emphasize the importance of starting and ending the workday at consistent and appropriate times, and try to reinforce this consistency whenever you can. This helps to prevent employee burnout and overwork.

2. Use Time Tracking Tools

Time-tracking tools can help your team and keep them from overworking themselves, as you can take a look at where all of their time is being spent at a glance. A visual reminder of where they are in their seemingly-endless pile of tasks can be immensely helpful. MSPNetworks can help you implement a time-tracking tool that will help your team stay on task and keep them from working themselves into the ground.

3. Encourage Your Team to Speak Up

Finally, you should empower your team to speak up if they feel their work requirements are becoming unreasonable. If they feel like they are overburdened or afraid to say no to more work, you need to know. Make sure they are comfortable coming to you about any concerns they might have so that you can address the issue at its roots without making it worse.

MSPNetworks can help your team implement the tools it needs to succeed. To learn more, reach out to us at (516) 403-9001.

Bookmarks are an essential part of being productive with your Internet browser, but what happens when you switch to a different one, like Google Chrome? Do you have to manually add all of your bookmarks back to the browser? Nope! Let’s go over how you can import your bookmarks directly to Google Chrome and save some time.

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 gives you the capability to directly import bookmarks from other web browsers. You can do so by clicking on the three-dot icon in the top-right corner of the web browser. From here, select Bookmarks > Import Bookmarks and Settings. From here, click on Import and select the browser you want to import from, as well as the Favorites/Bookmarks option from the checklist. After you see the blue checkmark on the screen, click on Done.

Add Bookmarks from an Exported HTML File

If you have exported your bookmarks as a HTML file, you can import them through the same process as outlined above. Instead of selecting the browser you want to import from, simply select Bookmarks HTML file. From here, just select the file that you want to import and you should be all set.

Sync Bookmarks Across Devices

The previously mentioned methods only work for your desktop version of Google Chrome, so you’ll have to sync your bookmarks if you want them on your mobile device. To do this, make sure you are logged into the same Google account on both devices, then click on the three-dot icon in the top-right corner of Chrome. From here, select Settings. If you want to sync only bookmarks, disable the slider and check the box for Bookmarks.

We hope you found this tip helpful; be sure to subscribe to our blog for even more great tips.

There is one key on the keyboard that might seem a little odd: PrtScn. It’s not immediately obvious what this key does or why you would want to use it, but we assure you that it is an extremely helpful keyboard shortcut once you understand how it works and why you might want to try it out. In reality, the PrtScn key (on some keyboards it might just be PrtSc) is important for taking screenshots on your Windows device.

Windows has a lot of keyboard shortcuts, but PrtScn is perhaps one of the easiest to carry out. When you hit the PrtScn key, Windows will take a screenshot of your computer’s monitor, allowing you to save it as an image.

There are many practical reasons for taking screenshots, many of which you might not have considered. Let’s go over your options for taking screenshots on your Windows device.

Why Take Screenshots?

Screenshots are incredibly helpful for a variety of reasons, one of which is to help IT support determine what the root cause of your technology troubles is. Basically, it lets them see what you see on the screen so they can check off boxes for more common fixes before diving into more technical issues. Screenshots are also helpful for documentation purposes, allowing you to put together guides for workflows and processes for more visual learners.

The PrtScn Key

When you hit the PrtScn key, you might notice that there are no pop-ups or anything that appears on-screen to show that you have taken a screenshot. Basically, the PrtScn key captures an image of your desktop screen and copies it to the clipboard as an image. You can then paste it like you would if it were copied or cut text. The problem with this is that it takes a screenshot of the whole screen, not just one part of it, so for more focused screenshots, you have to get a little more creative. You’ll also want to make sure sensitive information isn’t displayed on your screen if you plan on sharing the screenshot.

Snip & Sketch

This solution is built right into Windows 10 and allows you to snip specific parts of your screen for a screenshot. To use Snip & Sketch, use the keyboard shortcut Shift + Windows Key + S. There are some options here: Rectangular Snip, Freeform Snip, Window Snip, and Full-Screen n Snip. Pick whichever you think best suits your needs. Your selection will then be saved to the clipboard in the same way as PrtScn, allowing you to paste (Ctrl+V) it into an application or edit it in the Snip & Sketch tool.

Third-Party Services, Applications, and Extensions

There are some third-party tools and applications that you can use to take screenshots that let you capture specific parts of your screen in much the same way the Snip & Sketch tool allows. These other solutions may be perfectly effective for taking screenshots, but you should clear any of them with IT first just to make sure that the solution is one that is allowed on your network. Plus, you might already have better tools available to you, so it never hurts to confirm with IT before going all-in on a screenshot tool; and, of course, you have us to fall back on as well!

So, how are you going to use screenshots to take your business to the next level? Let us know in the comments, and be sure to subscribe for more great tips and tricks.