3
privacy-policy,paged,page-template-default,page,page-id-3,paged-25,page-paged-25,qode-social-login-1.1.3,qode-restaurant-1.1.1,stockholm-core-1.1,select-child-theme-ver-1.1,select-theme-ver-5.1.8,ajax_fade,page_not_loaded,wpb-js-composer js-comp-ver-6.0.5,vc_responsive
Title Image

Privacy Policy

  • Sort Blog:
  • All
  • Cloud Computing
  • Disaster Recovery Management
  • IT Security Services
  • Managed IT Services
  • Office 365
  • Our Blogs
  • Press Releases
  • Uncategorized
  • VOIP Services

Buying Antivirus Software? Consider the Following Points

You probably didn’t need to worry about antivirus protection before. At the office, the IT department handled it. At home, your personal setup may not contain enough valuable information to warrant industry-strength. But because of the global pandemic forcing most of us to stay indoors, your home is now your office, too. If you’re looking to boost your antivirus software, keep the following in mind.

Not all antivirus software solutions are the same. If you’re considering getting one, you need to identify what you and your company needs. Then do your research among the available options in the market. Here are a few things to consider when you shop for antivirus software.

#1 Cost

There are free-to-use antivirus software products in the market, but they only offer basic protections that seasoned hackers can easily infiltrate. You’ll need to pay in order to upgrade and enjoy full protection. And there’s a danger that the free software contains adware, or that it collects data and sells them to third parties.

Nowadays, nothing’s for free. The good news is that protection need not be expensive. If you partner with a managed IT services provider like us, we’ll figure out the right protection based on your needs and budget.

#2 Speed and performance

Not long ago, antivirus software consumed a lot of computer memory and slowed down devices. But thanks to new technology, the problem of speed has been addressed. Still, antivirus performance should take precedence over speed. What’s the point of a fast computer if it’s vulnerable to hackers and malware?

#3 Compatibility with multiple devices

These days, most people use or own more than one device, such as smartphones and tablets. Look for antivirus software that can protect all your devices, regardless of software version or date of purchase. It’ll be inconvenient and expensive to have different security software per device.

#4 Comprehensive protection

Your antivirus should protect your devices from a wide variety of threats. These should include popular malware and phishing attacks, as well as malicious downloads, denial-of-service (DoS) attacks, cryptojacking, and other damaging threats.

#5 Customer support and service

Take some time to learn more about the antivirus software manufacturer. Does the company have a solid reputation? Are they at the forefront of developing solutions against looming threats? Are they responsive to the changing cyberthreat landscape? And are they customer-driven? If they tick all the boxes, you’re sure that their products and services are worth your investment.

Cybersecurity is not a luxury but a necessity for all businesses. If you’re looking for the right antivirus protection, then let our experts help you. We’ll provide you with the robust security your devices and network need.

 

Beware Of Phishing Emails That Appear to Come from the Federal Government

The Digital Security firm Inky reports that they’ve discovered a new, disturbing phishing campaign you should be aware of.

The company has spotted a disturbing number of scam emails purporting to be from Mike Pence, the Vice President of the United States.

The emails bear titles like “Coronavirus Guidelines for America.”

It’s bad enough that hackers and scammers are taking advantage of the fear and confusion of the global pandemic to ply their trade. This campaign is noteworthy for the simple reason that the people behind it went straight to the top of the food chain. Not content to pretend to be from the CDC or the WHO, they opted instead to impersonate the people who hold the highest elected offices in the land.

It’s a bold move that’s paying off for them. After all, if you received an email from the Vice President, promising updates and information about the virus, odds are you’d want to take a closer look.

That’s exactly what the scammers are counting on. The emails they’re sending out have attachments that promise updates and information. However, all clicking on them does is install malware on the victim’s system, leaving them open to identify theft and the loss of a wide range of personal data.

As ever, vigilance is the key. If you don’t know the person sending you an email message, the safest course of action is to simply not open it at all. If you can’t resist opening it to take a peek, certainly don’t risk opening any attachments or clicking on any links the email might contain.

The hackers and scammers are relentless and are using the current fear, frustration, and uncertainty to lure unsuspecting victims. Don’t fall for it. Stay safe out there, both online and out in the world.

 

Here’s the Right Way to Set up Your Remote Office Technology

Setting up your remote office tech? 

There is no “one size fits all” solution; the best solution is greatly dependent on your specific business needs, the applications you use, how many people will be accessing your systems remotely, the available equipment, and dozens of other factors.  That’s why you want to look for a consultant who meets the following criteria:

  1. Look for an IT consultant who has experience setting up remote access and STRONG (and recent) client references.

Do you really want to be the person who “pays” for your consultant’s training?  We’ve found that the price to correct problems created by novices is much greater than the cost to do it right the first time with an experienced technician.  Ask for recent references and call them!  Past performance is generally a good gauge of future performance.

  1. Make sure they do a THOROUGH evaluation upfront

If your consultant doesn’t insist on doing a thorough evaluation BEFORE handing you a proposal, do NOT hire them!  If they don’t do their homework they could easily sell you the wrong solution, causing you to have to spend MORE money, MORE time, and have MORE frustration getting to what you really need.  Most consultants will do a quick, cursory review and provide a free recommendation (proposal) because they want to close the deal fast. Here is a shortlist of the things they should investigate or ask you:

  • What are your overall goals and specific objectives for allowing your employees to work from home or on the road?
  • How many employees will be working remotely? Will they be accessing the network at the same time or at different times?
  • What applications (including specialty or proprietary apps) and data will your employees need to access?
  • What type of devices will your staff use to access the network? (Home computers, PDAs, Blackberries, laptops, etc.)
  • What type of Internet connection will be available on the sending AND receiving end?
  • What levels of security do you want in place?
  • What level of monitoring do you want in place? For example, are there certain web sites and content you want “off limits?”
  • Will the remote worker need to print documents?
  • What are your 1 year and 3-year plans for growth?
  1. Make sure they are able to TRAIN you and your staff.

So many computer consultants are great at installing the “stuff” but fall short on training you and your staff on how to use the great “whiz-bang” technology they’ve just sold you. Make sure you hire someone who is able and willing to do the “hand-holding” required when installing any new process or technology…we’re only human after all.

  1. Make sure they can provide help desk support AFTER hours.

One of the main appeals to teleworking is the ability to work at night or on weekends; that means you need someone to be “on-call” during those off-peak hours if you or your employees have technical problems logging in or accessing the network. The bottom line, if you’re your consultant doesn’t offer after-hours support, don’t hire them to do the job. There is no benefit to having remote access if you have to wait until Monday or 9 AM the next day for support.

  1. Make sure they INSIST on maintaining the network

Virtual office networks require more ‘care and feeding’ to make sure they work properly and stay secure.  You cannot “set it and forget it” or you’re asking for problems. Only hire someone who is prepared to perform regular check-ups and updates of your network, usually under maintenance or managed services plan.

  1. Look for someone who can also solve the phone piece of the puzzle, not just the network access piece.

If you want your work-from-home employee to be able to make and receive calls and APPEAR as though they are in the office to the caller, then look for someone who can set up your phone system to work with your remote employee’s home phone or cell phone. Usually this can be accomplished with VoIP technology (Voice Over Internet Protocol). Confirm that whoever you hire can either provide these services or has a partnership with a reputable vendor who has this expertise.

  1. Make sure your consultant is willing and able to be a vendor liaison for your specific business applications or other specialty applications.

It’s amazing how many critical applications work fine within the office network, but then slow down or shut down when accessed through a remote location.  It’s important to ensure your consultant is able and willing to confirm your applications will operate efficiently remotely, which means they may need to get on the phone with the help desk of one or more of your software vendors.  Some consultants do NOT offer this service, or will charge you extra for it.

  1. Look for an IT consultant who has expertise in setting up employee monitoring and content filtering.

It’s more difficult (but not impossible) to protect company secrets and proprietary information when it’s stored on a location outside of your office. Therefore, make sure the company you hire has expertise in setting up and managing content filtering and security for remote machines.

Not Sure If You Are Ready To Set Up Remote Access?
Our Free Remote Access Consultation Will Help You Decide

As a prospective client, we’d like to offer you a free Remote Access Consultation. At no charge, we will come to your office to review your current situation, business practices and needs and provide recommendations on how you can quickly and easily set up remote access for you and your staff.

We will also discuss your options, clarify any grey areas, and answer any questions you have. We will also map out the costs and steps involved so you know exactly what to expect.

You are under no obligation to do or buy anything; this is simply our way of introducing our services to you and demonstrating how we can make your remote access project a complete success.

Is your internet bandwidth enough for remote work?

The coronavirus outbreak has necessitated people to work away from each other, so employees are now setting up offices at home. If you’re a remote worker, or if your business is planning to move to a work from home setup soon, make sure that your employees’ internet bandwidth can handle work-related processes. This way, your transition goes as smoothly as possible.

What is bandwidth?

Bandwidth refers to the maximum data transfer rate possible in a network or internet connection. It indicates the amount of data that can be sent over a connection in a given amount of time, and is usually expressed in bits per second (bps) or bytes per second (Bps).

Imagine two computers with the same internet speed at 100 megabit per second (Mbps): the first computer only has a 50 Mbps bandwidth, while the second one has 100 Mbps. If they were to download the same 500 Megabit (Mb) file, the first computer would be able to do it in 10 seconds, while the second one could do it in just five.

This is because the first computer’s bandwidth is capped at 50 Mbps — even if the internet was fast, the limit of transfer would still be low. Therefore, the higher the bandwidth, the more data can be sent over a connection, contributing to faster uploads and downloads, and overall better internet experience.

How much bandwidth do you need for remote working?

The answer to this question isn’t clear cut. The biggest considerations are the type of work that you do and the apps that you use. If your job mostly consists of sending emails, editing and writing on Google Docs, and communicating on Slack, then you can do your job with ease even with a low bandwidth. On the other hand, if you frequently attend meetings through video calls, then you’d definitely need a plan with higher bandwidth.

Once you have a clear picture of how much data you send and receive on an average work day, you can start looking for plans that can support your needs. And while you definitely don’t need to conduct virtual meetings in 4K quality, you also won’t want your clients and colleagues to appear pixelated during a meeting. Neither would you want a session that gets choppy or cut off mid-conversation.

Here are the minimum requirements for the most common video chat apps used by remote workers today:

For 1:1 video calling:

    • 600 Kbps (up/down) for high-quality video
    • 1.2 Mbps (up/down) for 720p HD video
    • Receiving 1080p HD video requires 1.8 Mbps (up/down)
    • Sending 1080p HD video requires 1.8 Mbps (up/down)

For group video calling:

    • 800 Kbps/1.0 Mbps (up/down) for high-quality video
    • For 720p HD video: 1.5 Mbps (up/down)
    • Receiving 1080p HD video requires 2.5 Mbps (up/down)
    • Sending 1080p HD video requires 3.0 Mbps (up/down)

HD video quality  

    • Outbound signals must always meet a 3.2 Mbps bandwidth requirement.
    • Inbound signals: 2.6 Mbps with two participants; 3.2 Mbps with five participants; and 4.0 Mbps with 10 participants

Standard definition (SD) video quality

    • Outbound signals must always meet a 1 Mbps bandwidth requirement.
    • Inbound signals: 1 Mbps with two participants; 1.5 Mbps with five participants; and 2 Mbps with 10 participants

Video calling

    • HD: 1.2 Mbps (up/down)
    • SD: 400 Kbps (up/down)
    • The more participants, the higher the bandwidth requirement for downloads: 512 Kbps for three participants; 2 Mbps for five participants; and 4 Mbps for seven people. Upload requirements remain constant at 128 Kbps.

Teams requires the same upload and download internet bandwidth for the following scenarios:

    • 30 Kbps for peer-to-peer audio calling
    • 1.2 Mbps for peer-to-peer HD-quality video calling at 720p
    • 1.5 Mbps for peer-to-peer HD-quality video calling at 1080p
    • 500 Kbps/1 Mbps for group video calling

If you’re worried about your internet bandwidth, you can opt for audio calls instead of video calls. This considerably helps lower the information you need to upload and download. For more tips and solutions on how you can work from home without a hitch, call us. We’d be happy to help.

 

 

5 Easy Exercise Moves to keep you fit when Working from Home

More and more people are now forced to stay at home and work remotely to contain the spread of the coronavirus. Unfortunately, those who are used to working out in the gym may find it impossible to continue their regular exercise routine. The good news is, we have compiled a list of five easy exercise moves that don’t require gym equipment.

#1 Bridge

Also known as the hip raise or glute bridge, the bridge is a great way to strengthen your core, glutes, and hamstrings. Many people use this move as part of their warm-up.

Here’s how to do it:

  1. Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Keep your hands by your sides, with your palms facing the floor.
  2. Tighten your abdominal muscles and buttocks as you raise your hips off the floor. Make sure your hips form a straight line between your knees and shoulders.
  3. Hold this position for three deep breaths, then return to the starting position.

 

#2 Knee push-up

The knee push-up works your arms, chest, and shoulders. It’s a modified version of the standard push-up that’s perfect for beginners.

Here’s how to do it:

Kneel on the floor then slowly bend forward, and put your palms on the floor shoulder-width apart with your arms straight. Bring your feet together behind you.

Keep your knees planted on the floor as you lower your body. Try to get as close to the floor as possible, with your chest between your hands.

While keeping your body tense, use your hands to push your body back up to the starting position.

#3 Squat

This lower body exercise uses your body weight for resistance to tone and strengthen your glutes and legs.

Here’s how to do it:

  1. Stand straight with your feet shoulder-width apart.
  2. With your arms fully stretched out in front of you, sit back like you are on a chair while keeping your back straight. Lower your hips until they are parallel to the floor. Make sure your knees are also behind your toes.
  3. Push back up to the starting position.

 

#4 Reverse lunge

Reverse lunges or backward lunges tone your legs and strengthen your thighs and hips.

Here’s how to do it:

  1. Stand with your feet hip-width apart, and put your hands on your hips for balance.
  2. While keeping your torso straight, take a big step back using your left foot.
  3. Lower your hips until your right knee is positioned directly above your right ankle, and your left knee is bent at a 90° angle with your left heel up.
  4. Push back up to the starting position.

You can repeat this exercise on one leg before switching to your other leg, or opt to alternate legs.

#5 Jumping jack

Mostly used for warm-up, this childhood favorite exercise activates your entire body and elevates your heart rate.

Here’s how to do it:

  1. Stand straight with your legs together and your arms at your sides.
  2. With your knees slightly bent, jump with your feet shoulder-width apart as you overextend both arms over your head.
  3. Jump back to the starting position.

Encourage your employees to do these basic exercise moves every day to keep them healthy while they work from home.

Having tech problems as your employees work remotely? Give our experts a call today and we’ll make sure you won’t have to worry about your IT again. 

 

Working from Home Isn’t Without Significant Cybersecurity Risks

The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly disrupted daily life, restricting people to their homes and preventing them from going into the office to work. In response, many companies are hurriedly changing over to a remote-capable workforce and having their employees work from home. This strategy can be highly effective, but if a company and its team isn’t careful, it can also be risky.

Why This Matters Now

Many businesses have had no choice but to shut down as “non-essential” businesses are closed. While the definition of an “essential” business varies from place to place, the Department of Homeland Security and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency have provided some general guidelines describing what kind of services should be seen as essential.

This list includes many businesses who could conceivably operate on a remote basis, if they had the internal capabilities. Unfortunately, this often isn’t the most secure option. Let’s review why working from home can be less secure than working in the office, and what you can do to help minimize these effects.

Security Threats for Remote Workers

As you would expect, there are a lot of factors that can serve as a detriment to remote work’s inherent security. This is exacerbated by the fact that there is currently a global health disaster that cybercriminals can use to their advantage:

  • The security implemented into the business’ network is no longer protecting the employees and their devices.
  • Employees may have more lax security habits when not in the workplace.
  • Cybercriminals can shape their attacks and scams to be more convincing in the current climate.
  • Many businesses haven’t prepared for this eventuality, and so are lacking the remote strategies that would keep their employees secure.

Therefore, cybercriminals have the opportunity to use many of their favorite tactics to their advantage. Researchers and cybersecurity professionals have seen an uptick in ransomware attacks, remote access tools, and trojans, thanks to cybercriminals using COVID-19 as bait during their phishing attacks by playing off the stress that the coronavirus is causing in many people. It doesn’t help that many remote workers will check their personal emails alongside their professional ones, adding to the chances of a successful attack via their email. Others will pose as the hiring organization itself to swindle remote employees.

To be fair, attackers are also seeing more success in targeting businesses directly, while security is put on the back burner as they focus on their COVID-19 preparedness.

As we mentioned earlier, businesses are also generally ill-prepared for this kind of event, especially those who operate in industries that aren’t commonly associated with remote operations, and whose systems are often outdated and poorly maintained, and/or proprietary in nature and not conducive to remote capabilities. Industries that face particular regulations and certification requirements have another hurdle to clear.

What Can Be Done?

While it is unfortunately going to be a reactive response at this point instead of a proactive measure, businesses can adopt certain solutions that will assist them in securing their remote workers from attack.

  • Cloud Solutions – Utilizing the cloud, rather than requiring users to remote into an at-work solution, can prevent an external access point from being created that leads into your network. Simpler to use than remote access and inherently secure, a cloud solution is ideal for remote working. With the opportunity to host software, store data, or some combination of the two, the cloud can enable many of your employees to work completely independently of your network.
  • Company Issued Equipment – With a company-issued device, it becomes a lot easier to ensure that your team has the security solutions and updates you need them to have. While this will require some investment into mobile devices that support your needs, this is a measure with lasting influence on your overall security and productivity.
  • Employee Training and Education – Finally, and perhaps most importantly, your employees need to understand that their responsibility for the cybersecurity of the company at large carries over as they are working remotely. Teaching them how crucial security updates are, how to spot phishing attacks, and other preventative measures will make a huge difference.

Download our Cyber Threat Self Assessment

While the COVID-19 pandemic may be providing businesses with the motivation to put these measures into place now, these measures and other recommended best practices should always be followed. Download our Cyber Threat Self Assessment to discover your network’s readiness to fight off a cyber attack.

5 Steps To Rise Above The Fear Of COVID-19 And Focus On Growing Your Business

In a matter of just a few short weeks, we have gone from living how we’ve always lived to changing just about everything we do. Schools are out for weeks if not months. Cruises have stopped sailing, and air transportation may be next. Bars and restaurants are closing, sporting events are nonexistent and so many people are now unemployed. If you watch the news or follow social media and see the number of infected keep rising, you can’t help but wonder when (or if) life will return to normal.

As a result of these unprecedented life changes in such a short amount of time, so many people today are frozen in fear. They don’t know what they can do and what they can’t do. They’re numb, fearful and questioning everything.

It’s clear that accomplished and determined business owners in our world are facing a unique brand of fears: Will I lose sales and revenue due to the coronavirus? What if I have to lay people off? How can I keep my team and keep them working hard? How will I continue to provide for my family? How long will this last?

Here are five steps you can start taking now to stop being frozen in fear and move forward with your business, your family and living your life.

Step #1: Communicate Often.
You should make an effort to constantly communicate with all of your stakeholders. From your employees to your customers to your partners and vendors, stay in communication with them to share how your business is doing and how you can continue to serve them.

While in-person visits may not be ideal at this time, you can always resort to the good ol’ phone, e-mail, videos or webinars. You can bet that if your customers aren’t hearing from you, they are hearing from your competitors.

Step #2: Be a Valuable Resource.
While money is always important, now is the time to be a trusted resource and friend to your clients and prospects. People today need bold solutions. If you’re actively bringing solutions to your clients, you become a valuable resource. If they’re simply writing a check and never hearing from you – especially in today’s environment – you’ll be first on the chopping block when they have to cut expenses.

Step #3: Lean on People.
It’s ironic that the one time we need people more than ever before, we are supposed to socially distance ourselves and stay in our homes. Through video conferencing and web conferencing, work together with your team, your partners and your Accountability Groups to lean on one another. Because nobody has gone through anything like this before, nobody has all the answers. But as a collective group, you will find most every answer you need.

Step #4: Be MORE Than a Businessperson.
They may be your employees, your colleagues and your clients. But they are PEOPLE first. And just about everyone you interact with in your business world has endless stresses when the workday is done. Their kids are home from school all day getting into who knows what. They’re worried about going to the supermarket and if there will be meat and toilet paper. They’re concerned about keeping themselves and their family healthy.

When your clients and prospects start to see you not just as an IT services provider, but as a friend and someone who truly cares, that’s when they want to do business with you for life.

Step #5: Be Informed But Not Obsessed.
People were glued to their TVs for weeks after 9/11. As a result, although they were informed, they were also more stressed, depressed and fearful. Don’t do that to yourself. Yes, it’s prudent to know how to “flatten the curve” and protect your family, but watching too much news or social media right now can dominate your thinking and actions. That can negatively impact your business.

During this otherworldly pandemic, it’s good to have a little fear. To keep us safe. To keep us making good decisions. However, if you want to ensure your business is stable and growing, to help your family cope and get through this, you should take these steps to rise above the fear.

If you need immediate IT support or if you need help in setting your business up so your employees can work remotely from home, contact us today.

5 Reasons your Office 365 Migration Might Fail

Microsoft’s Office 365 is continually gaining popularity with the growing number of businesses implementing this cloud-based version of Office. However, before you follow suit, you should be aware of five potential problems that can cause the entire process to fail.

Slow internet connection speeds

Because Office 365 is primarily cloud-based, you’re going to need a solid bandwidth connection to use it. Migrating your files and system over to Office 365 consumes a large quantity of bandwidth, which can result in slower internet speeds during the migration process. If this is being carried out during business hours, employees might struggle to do tasks that require online connection.

Office 365 is most often delivered over an internet connection rather than in-house servers. This means that the day-to-day demand for bandwidth will increase. If you are already noticing slow speeds and service interruptions before implementing Office 365, these issues will likely worsen after implementation.

To avoid this, you should ask an Office 365 provider to test your existing network connection to ensure that it can handle the migration and day-to-day operation of Office 365. If not, your provider should be able to offer you a solution.

Mailboxes and files are too big

While the business versions of Office 365 come with 50 GB of email storage and over 1 TB of file storage per user, accessing your emails and files online could take a while, especially if you have users whose inboxes are approaching the storage limit.

Larger files will cause the migration process to slow down significantly, which is why you need to prepare for this to avoid disruptions at work. Encouraging your staff to archive their inboxes and delete large, unnecessary files is a good way to ensure the migration process goes smoothly.

Uninformed users

On average, migrating to Office 365 takes around one to three days to complete, depending on the size of your business and the amount of data being transferred.

Starting the migration without informing your users that their files and email will not be accessible can lead to productivity loss and resentment towards the new platform.

To avoid this, you should inform your employees about the migration and how long it’s going to take. You should train them how to use the new system to ensure that everyone is familiar with it before they start to use it. This will increase the overall chance that the platform migration and subsequent use will be successful.

Outdated software

While some versions of Office 365 come with subscriptions to the latest version of Microsoft Office, they also include built-in support for systems running older versions of Office. If your business is using a version of Office that is older than Office 2010 (e.g., Office 2003), you might have trouble using Office 365.

When it comes to web browsers, Chrome and Firefox won’t give you too many problems. However, if you’re utilizing their outdated versions, using Office 365 will be extremely difficult. Your provider should tell you if your existing software needs to be updated before migrating to Office 365.

Doing the process yourself

On paper, migrating to Office 365 may seem like a simple and straightforward process. This leads many businesses to believe that they can do the entire migration process without the assistance of experts. However, without proper guidance, you may run into problems that can harm vital business operations.

To ensure a smooth migration process from start to finish, contact us today. We’ll show you the proper way of migrating your system to Office 365 without affecting your day-to-day operations.

Cloud Use surges during COVID-19 Pandemic

As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads to more nations worldwide, millions of businesses turn to the internet as their employees are forced to work from home. Is the World Wide Web ready for the sudden increase in demand for cloud-based services?

Even before the pandemic, many companies were already turning to online productivity and collaboration tools for their business. While projections on how long this pandemic will force people to stay in their homes vary, it is certain that for the next month or so, cloud usage will continue to rise. This has many people worried that the internet is not ready for this sudden increase in activity.

What you should and shouldn’t be concerned about

The internet’s performance depends on many things, including network infrastructure, how things are wired up, and points of presence.

  • Will the internet collapse? Experts say this is unlikely. In fact, the internet is built to survive such surges in activity.
  • Will it affect the quality of service? Yes, but it depends on the network infrastructure, the level of demand, and the ability of providers to scale up rapidly. In areas with inadequate or weak infrastructure but with a lot of users, expect to experience a slower internet because response time takes longer. But for those whose infrastructure allows them to make use of multiple paths, they can continue business as usual.
  • Can teleworking solutions cope with the demand? It depends on how capable they are of scaling horizontally; meaning, if they can distribute the load to different parts of their network. For cloud-based providers, that should not be difficult.
  • Will the increased demand mean that businesses with their data in the cloud will have a harder time retrieving their data? Businesses that use a private cloud to store their data (often for cybersecurity reasons) will not be affected because they have their own dedicated connections. But those who use the public cloud to store their data may be affected.

How companies are preparing for this surge in cloud service usage

Since the pandemic is global, all areas are affected, even those with a strong infrastructure backbone. But how they are affected varies.

  • Companies that are already using the cloud extensively are the most ready for this new normal of working from home. Having a multi-cloud infrastructure makes them even more nimble to adjust to the increase in demand.
  • Global corporations with a presence in different parts of the world, including areas with inadequate infrastructure, will experience connectivity issues. The solution is for them to redirect traffic to their areas with better-developed backbones.
  • Companies offering Unified-Communications-as-a-Service (UCaaS) and Containers-as-a-Service (CaaS) like Google, Microsoft, Zoom, 8×8, Amazon Web Services, and IBM, to name a few, need to boost their distributed capacities to accommodate the increase in telecommuting.
  • Cloud-based services are elastic, meaning they are quick to scale up or down. But the speed in which companies are able to scale up will depend on their network architecture and the kinds of services they offer.
  • Some Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) providers, like Salesforce and Dropbox, are using a data-driven approach to manage their infrastructure and internet traffic. They incorporate real-time data to determine where to route their traffic so as to decongest their system and ensure consistent and reliable performance overall.
  • The challenge is for providers to look for new and innovative ways to manage their traffic and resources. They should also look for ways to deploy new infrastructure to areas with slower, unpredictable internet service.

This work-from-home situation looks like it will last longer than just a couple of weeks. If you need help to set up your business for remote working, talk to our experts today.

 

Hackers Targeting People Seeking Coronavirus Information On Health Sites

Some people just want to watch the world burn. That seems to be the reason behind the recent attacks on the US Health and Human Services Department website, which serves as a clearinghouse for information relating to the Coronavirus outbreak.

As the virus has spread, more and more people have been heading to the HHS.gov website for news, advice and information.

The hackers, seeing this, decided it would be great fun to bring the site down. As such, an as yet unknown group decided to launch a DDoS (denial of service) attack against it.

Fortunately, the attack didn’t have the desired effect, as reported by Bloomberg.

When their original plan didn’t bear fruit, the hackers shifted gears and began spreading rumors of a national US quarantine and causing the hashtag #quarantine to spike. Things got so bad that the National Security Council (NSC) sent out a tweet in an attempt to quash the rumor. The NSC stated emphatically that there is no national lockdown and that any text or tweet bearing the hashtag #quarantine was spreading disinformation.

Sadly, this has become an increasingly common occurrence. Hackers around the world are taking advantage of the Coronavirus in a variety of ways. They’re sometimes offering what appears to be health advisories that appear to come from legitimate sources in order to get malware installed on target systems.

In other cases, nefarious groups are offering to sell masks or miracle cures and collecting payment information from people desperate for those things. Naturally, once the payment information has been collected, no mask or cure is actually sent. Of course, the hopeful person who placed the order has to spend the next year or so of his or her life dealing with the fallout of identity theft.

Worst of all, we can expect to see a lot more of this as the pandemic grinds on. Make sure the people who report to you are aware and stay vigilant.,

Special Year End Pricing !!

Microsoft Teams Rooms Systems For Small/Medium Meeting Room