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Three Ways That Technology Has Transformed Businesses

Thomas Fox is president of Tech Experts, southeast Michigan’s leading small business computer support company.

Breakthroughs in technology have torn apart old ways of working, as new alternatives have become impossible to ignore.

Here are three examples of ways that technology has transformed businesses everywhere.

Instant customer service
As new methods of communication have emerged, businesses have been able to significantly increase the quality and availability of the customer service they offer.

Instead of relying on face-to-face meetings or telephone calls to answer customer questions, businesses can now help through immediate online channels like live chat.

This is convenient for many customers, as they can talk at the exact moment they need help. It allows them to get immediate answers to their questions without needing to navigate telephone menus or book an appointment.

[Read more…] about Three Ways That Technology Has Transformed Businesses

Heads Up: Hackers Are Exploiting Email Forwarding Rules

Mark Funchion is a network technician at Tech Experts.
The ways in which hackers attack accounts are endless, and a lot goes into keeping your accounts both safe and usable.

A newer attack style that is being used (and one we have personal experience with resolving) is the manipulation of email forwarding rules.

Email forwarding rules are rules that are set up in your inbox to forward a message to another mailbox as soon as it arrives.

The danger for the email owner is that these rules can also clean up after themselves by deleting the message, preventing a copy of the forward from showing in the “Sent Items” folder, and deleting the message from the “Deleted Items” folder.

If a hacker takes advantage of this, then all your email will be sent to and read by someone you do not even know.

Think about the items in your inbox, especially the ones that are sensitive and/or confidential. Can you risk there being a period of time where your messages are being forwarded without your knowledge?

Also, as the hackers are good at cleaning up and hiding their tracks, you need someone with the experience and expertise to resolve this for you if it does occur.

One of the big dangers with this attack style is that changing your password or adding two-factor authentication will not stop the current breach once the rule is in place.

Forwards will continue to be sent because the rule is not password dependent. It’s the same with two-factor authentication; if you enable this after the rule is in place, it will not do you any good.

There are steps that can be taken to prevent these types of attacks, however most of them are not settings that an end user would be familiar with.

It’s important to not allow forwarding to occur to email addresses outside of your domain, and relatedly, it’s a good idea to allow the full sync of settings between the web client and the local desktop client.

For example, Office 365 by default will not sync these settings, so if someone gains access to your email and creates a forward on the web page, you and your IT department will not see it if they look in your Outlook client on your local computer.

These rules can be hidden if the hacker knows what they are doing. This means a quick open-and-check-if-a-rule-exists is not sufficient. Steps need to be taken to make sure there are no rules, not just a lack of visible rules.

Checking for these rules if there is a suspected breach is critical because of another potential problem: if you do a password reset on another account that you are concerned about (for example, your bank because you use the same password), that email with details gets forwarded to the hacker and they may be able to gain access to that account.

Hackers will continue to evolve as they need to. As this exploit is discovered and procedures are put in place to mitigate their effect, the next exploit will be used and the cycle will start again. Having a partner to help you navigate through all these potential issues is essential.

Being aware of these exploits, watching for new ones, and making necessary changes to keep your business safe is a big part of what Tech Experts does.

Handling these concerns is part of our core business, giving you the peace of mind to handle your core business.

How Do You Know When Your Systems Are Due For An Upgrade?

Some problems are difficult to spot. They bubble under the surface without getting noticed until it’s too late.

Other problems hit you straight in the face, normally at the worst possible time.

When it comes to your business’s IT, you need to keep an eye out for each of these, as things can get nasty if you don’t stay on top of things.

Keeping your IT updated is a good start, but it isn’t enough on its own. How do you know what to look out for? Let’s look at some of the main culprits.

The slow creepers
Slow computers are a big one, and they’re quite tricky to spot because they gradually slow down over time.

This means that people using them gradually adjust to degrading levels of performance without necessarily being aware that’s happening.

The same is true for software. As staff get used to using slow and buggy tools, it gets normalized and the IT gremlins become accepted as part of their daily life.

It’s always worth fixing slow devices and processes. Speeding them up will let your staff be more productive. And give morale a boost too.

Out of date systems
Another thing that can be difficult to spot is when warranties run out.

On top of official warranties, IT systems also have a separate lifespan for how long vendors will continue to offer updates. Pushing this to the edge can significantly impact features, compatibility, as well as security.

Your customers don’t have much patience for slow or clunky processes.

It can be difficult to measure how much business you lose on the back of this, so frequently auditing your systems is key to avoiding missed opportunities.

Too old to scale
If your IT systems aren’t scalable, there’s a real risk that your business will need to start turning down work because you’re not able to handle swings in demand.

It’s worth bearing in mind that there’s a far greater chance of experiencing big changes in consumer behavior in 2021, both during and in the aftermath of this pandemic.

Also, if you’re running out-of-date IT systems, you’re living with the risk that you won’t be able to quickly adopt new ways of working, as technology changes your industry.

What can you do?
An important first step is to have an IT strategy in place that acts as a foundation for your business.

Instead of reacting to problems as they come up, an IT strategy will help you plan for future scenarios. As well as acting as a solid foundation to help your business make the best possible decisions about the future.

A good IT strategy creates a technology roadmap for getting your business up to speed and keeping it there.

Everyone On Your Team Needs Cyber Security Training. Including You!

Every good business leader knows that training is essential for a highly productive team.

But have you ever considered giving your staff cyber security training? You really should.

What is it?

It’s about increasing their awareness of the ways that criminals try to break into your IT system, and the devastating consequences if they do.

So, they’d learn:
• How to spot the different types of fake emails and messages, and what to do with them
• The risk of social engineering by email, phone, or text message
• Why we use basic security tools such as password managers and multi factor authentication (where you generate a code on another device)

By holding regular cyber security training sessions, you can keep everyone up to date. And develop a great culture of security awareness. It’s another layer of protection to help ensure that your business doesn’t become part of a scary statistic (one small business is hacked every 19 seconds).

As the company owner, it’s critical you do the training, too.

You’ll be one of the most targeted people in the business, as you probably have access to all the systems, including the bank account.

If you don’t already have cyber security training in place, we’d love to help. Give us a call at (734) 457-5000, or an email to info@mytechexperts.com.

Is It Time To Go Undercover?

When you hear the phrase ‘incognito mode,’ do you think of the undercover detective image in the Chrome window?

Well, incognito mode, or private browsing isn’t just there to hide your browsing history.

It can be utilized for an added layer of protection against cyber-crime. You see, when you use a private browsing window, it doesn’t record the websites that you’ve visited (not on that machine, anyway). Cookies and other trackers are only used in that session – not saved.

Nor does it automatically remember your login details, save temporary files, or store cookies.

Private browsing also allows you to log into several accounts on the same app at the same time, which can be convenient for things like social media, email, or file sharing.

Did you know that administrators CAN still see employees’ activity in incognito? So, you don’t need to worry whether an employee is secretly spending too much time on Facebook.

If you’d like any further information on how to keep your business more secure, we’d love to talk. Give the helpdesk a call at (734) 240-0200 or email us at support@mytechexperts.com.

Goodbye 2020! Here’s How To Boost Productivity In 2021

Thomas Fox is president of Tech Experts, southeast Michigan’s leading small business computer support company.

What a year we’ve left behind. Thankfully.

Although we didn’t have control over many of the negatives, there were some positive changes we could implement, especially with our businesses.

Many businesses now have people working from home on a permanent or semi-permanent basis. We’ve seen offices downsize and change. More flexible locations and schedules are being implemented.

As much as no one asked for this, it’s been great to see how many businesses that we work closely with have adapted and become more flexible.

This flexibility often results in a more motivated, engaged workforce who really appreciate the ability to work different hours and often work from home (WFH). [Read more…] about Goodbye 2020! Here’s How To Boost Productivity In 2021

Network Changes Can Affect More Than Your Internet Connection

Mark Funchion is a network technician at Tech Experts.
There are some areas of your technology that you may think of as “your area” to handle, but often, what might seem like a minor change or swap can be more complicated. This is especially true when it comes to any changes you make to your location that involve your network or Internet in any way. When it comes to these, we may be able to assist or at least make the transition easier.

One example of this is your Internet service and your Internet provider. Maybe you have Service A, but Service B calls and offers you more speed for less money. Sounds great! You sign up and schedule the install. Service B shows up, installs new equipment, and leaves after testing the connection from their device. The next thing you know, your PCs are not working, your phones are having issues, and no one is happy with the change.

The cause of the issues? That equipment relies on the Network Address of your Internet device (your modem), and when you change providers, this information changes too. The same thing can happen even if you are just upgrading or getting new equipment from the same provider. When they come out and do the basic set-up at your home, everything typically reconnects fine, but at your business, there are usually too many moving parts for that to work.

This also applies if you change your phone system. If you have an old style phone system and are switching to an IP-based phone system or you move from one IP provider to another, there are rules in place on your equipment that would prevent this change from working properly.

The easiest way to lessen the chance of issues is to call or email us first as far ahead as possible. We can assist in the transition and make it easier on you and your staff. In addition, planning ahead avoids a disaster where your location suddenly goes down and everyone is scrambling to find the cause.

Sometimes, it may not seem like we need to be involved – especially when, on the surface, it seems like a simple swap or adjustment – but it’s much better for us to be available for you in case of an issue. Your network is full of tiny moving parts that are reliant on other tiny parts, so often, things that may not seem like they would be affected can be.

Allowing us to use our expertise and experience not only simplifies your day, but also makes sure you get the right solution for your business rather than relying on the cable, Internet, or phone company to make a recommendation when they do not know your business like we do.

Remember: we are your partner, and the happier your network is the happier we all are. Please reach out when you’re considering a change in your network, Internet, or phones, so we can make sure the change goes as smoothly as possible and doesn’t leave you scrambling after the fact.

Does Your Team Need An At Home VoIP Upgrade?

As work from home (WFH) rolls into another year, don’t forget to look at the phones your team use.

You don’t just have to default to them using their mobile. There’s a huge amount of choice available.

For example, you could easily let them access your business’s usual VoIP phone network from their home. So, people can still direct dial them on the same number.

There are huge benefits to this. Apart from helping them to compartmentalize work calls and personal calls, the sound quality of calls on VoIP can be significantly better than on a cell phone.

In terms of the equipment needed for this, that can be tailored to each person’s personal preferences. Some will want a traditional handset. That’s easily done. Others will prefer a headset. And some may just want the VoIP software on their laptop and not have a “proper” phone at all.

All these options (and more) are easy, and allow you to give each member of your team the setup that suits them.

Hardware Shortages Continue Amid Pandemic

When the pandemic hit and lockdowns were enforced, many people moved to working from home, including students.

Businesses and schools had to adapt to their new circumstances and embrace remote functionality to continue on.

So what does this have to do with a hardware shortage?

Many students were supplied Chromebooks by the school, and if they didn’t already have enough, schools suddenly needed devices for their student body.

And that’s on top of folks needing laptops to work from home. Everybody who didn’t already have a laptop suddenly needed one.

This demand continues to be a problem for manufacturers. Companies like HP and Dell, two of the three largest PC manufacturers (Lenovo being the third), have been reporting issues with PC parts.

When the pandemic first hit, there was a shortage of many components, but RAM stood out as one of the shortest supplies. Recently, CPUs and boards have had issues.

It’s difficult to adequately meet demand when your product is missing essential parts – but that demand is persistent and isn’t just going to go away while we’re still working and learning remotely. Much like the craze we’ve been seeing for recent video game consoles, devices are selling fast when they are available.

HP reports that its PC sales are up 7% annually overall with a 25% increase in notebook sales and a 31% decline in desktops. This is a good indicator that people are prioritizing being able to work anywhere, whether that’s the office or between different rooms at home.

HP also reported that their Chromebook sales more than doubled this year. The PCs and Chromebooks are flying off the shelf.

Dell reports 14% consumer revenue growth and 5% commercial. The commercial increase is directly related to government orders, as well as schools; those large orders for notebooks or Chromebooks pushed Dell’s commercial sales.

Dell also reported double-digit growth in major categories because of the need to work from home. They had four different models that exceeded the double-digit growth reported.
With all of the increase in sales, it is understandable that there is a shortage. It wasn’t only Dell and HP experiencing the shortage either.

High-end gaming PCs are becoming hard and harder to equip as the high-end equipment is also harder and harder to come by.

Companies like NVidia are struggling to keep GDDR6, the RAM used in video cards, readily available.

Nvidia also has a new desktop PC, which has been unavailable too. Along with AMD’s new RX6000, these items are not only out-of-stock, but are commanding a premium on the resale market.

Those who CAN get them are profiting off the demand (again, much like the people buying up and reselling PS5s and Xbox consoles).

Even Apple is having supply issues. It was reported that supplies are still low for Macbooks.

We’re seeing the pandemic’s impact in areas most people wouldn’t consider and watching it happen to companies we would expect to be invulnerable.

Things will eventually even out and stabilize, but until then, we’ll have to wait and see how it plays out, just like everything else during this pandemic.

AI Will Affect Every Business In The Years Ahead

Artificial intelligence (AI) makes it possible for machines to learn and adapt their behavior as they gain experience.

The code that powers AI gets smarter and smarter as it’s exposed to more data and scenarios.

As computers have developed more processing power, AI has become useful in lots of different ways. We believe every business will be using some form of AI in the years ahead.

AI is already being applied in many different industries to carry out a range of specific tasks with more and more use cases expected to emerge over the coming years as the technology gets more sophisticated.

AI is embraced by businesses because it can make their products and processes much smarter.

It can also save lots of time and remove the need for employees to do repetitive, manual tasks.

Using AI can optimize existing business processes and result in a significant boost in how your business performs.

A key feature of many AI applications is the ability to process huge amounts of data very quickly. This can give you real-time insights into opportunities and challenges as they occur.
Plus, the information can help you plan more quickly and with more clarity. So, this is all well and good for big businesses… but how will you use AI in YOUR business?

The chances are that you’re already using some form of AI in your business. It’s increasingly built into the software that we all rely on every day.

But are you taking full advantage of what’s available? As a business, we track the latest applications that use AI to help protect us from cybercrime and help staff collaborate and communicate better, to get their jobs done faster.

Let’s talk about the latest smart applications that can help you.

While many types of businesses are using AI to improve a wide range of processes in a variety of different settings, banking, retail, and healthcare offer good examples of how AI can be used.

Many online retailers use AI to offer personalized shopping recommendations. These recommendation algorithms analyze data on previous clicks and purchases.

The more recommendations are tailored to your personal tastes… the more you end up buying.

With a huge number of transactions flowing through the global financial system each day, banks are increasingly relying on machine learning and AI to automatically detect fraud.

Working in real-time, AI helps banks to block dodgy transactions before they happen.

This is key as stolen money can be difficult to track down and get back once it’s left the victim’s account.

Artificial intelligence is also transforming healthcare.

By giving medical professionals accurate data and insights, they can work faster while providing high-quality care to more patients. It also helps doctors make better treatment decisions and diagnose patients with increased speed and accuracy.

AI can help to encourage healthy living by coaching people on actions they can take to improve their health. For example, a smartwatch may learn an individual’s behaviour patterns, and send well-timed notifications to start exercising if it notices they’ve been sitting still for too long.