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An Introduction To Cloud Computing

Anthony Glover is Tech Expert’s network engineer.

So what is cloud computing? In definition, it’s the practice of using a network of remote servers on the Internet to store, manage, and process data, instead of a local server or a PC.

Ideally, cloud computing is the future of computing, from creating a backup to managing cloud software. Think of this as the easy-access entity for your computing devices, network, etc.

Using the cloud improves mobility and, should you find yourself in a situation with data loss or equipment damage, it shortens disaster recovery time. Additionally, it can significantly lower prices on hardware.

So why utilize the cloud?
Today, the cloud is broadly used and anyone that doesn’t use it today is left in the dark in several ways. The main issue is the redundancy and the ability that can be utilized with the cloud.

A cloud interface for items – such as local software, local backups, your everyday access of traditional programs used throughout your organization – can all be gathered and placed in a cloud environment, making them obtain a failsafe attribute that no other service today can provide. The ability to access, change, and provide these features end-users live for through a managed cloud-based environment is essential in any technical environment today.

How secure is the cloud?
The cloud is the safest environment for your data – as well as the most cost effective and easiest way to manage each and every aspect of computing at your business.

Your data can not only be backed up via the cloud, but can also be expanded just by paying for additional space rather than additional equipment. Some services even provide real-time backups that update as you add new material to your PC. This brings in the peace of mind that your data is not only backed up, but safe.

How fast is the cloud?
The cloud is as seamless as your Internet connection. The faster the Internet connection, the faster the cloud connection. Of course, network equipment can also be a contributing factor when having a seamless cloud environment. With that said, the faster the networking equipment, the better.

Of course, there are recommended system requirements for any cloud device or service, however they do vary based on the solution depth and complexity.

Can I have multiple devices backup to the cloud?
Yes, you can. You can have multiple seamless cloud backups going at once that can not only be real time, but managed by a professional to make sure that all of your critical data is accessible and up-to-date.

At Tech Experts, we can provide a solution that can fulfill your cloud back-up needs with a managed environment you would expect from a technical provider.

I’m interested – where do I sign up for the cloud?
The cloud is closer than you think. In fact, it’s just a phone call and a service visit away.

Call one of our trained and detail-oriented professionals today at (734) 457-5000 to inquire about a cloud-based managed solution that’s suitable for your small business.

How To Avoid Infections On Your Company’s Network

Luke Gruden is a help desk technician for Tech Experts.

Computers are just like people – they too can catch a virus and become infected. Your computer can potentially be infected from anything it connects or interacts with, so it’s important to watch what disk or USB device you insert into your computer or websites you go to.

What is a computer infection?
A computer infection is referring to malicious software that can harm your computer or even steal your information. There’s more than one variation of it. There is spyware that watches what you type and do on your computer to gather and steal information.

There is adware which will change your settings and hijack certain parts of your computer to promote its own products.

There is cryptoware which will lock your whole computer and make it unusable.
There are also many other types of infections or malware that your computer can come across.

Is my computer infected?
If your computer has been running slower recently and you are seeing strange pop-ups or odd programs, you are very possibly infected. At Tech Experts, we monitor many different computers, keeping track of any odd processes and programs that are installed. We also have managed anti-virus that further helps us identify when our client’s computers could be infected.

How can I clean an infected computer?
There are many tools and resources that can be used to clean an infected computer and no single tool is absolutely perfect. Usually when cleaning an infection, we run at least three to four different (reputable) programs, depending on what type of infection it is.

If it is a very deep infection, we could end up running seven or more different programs to clean out the infection. It is important to know which tools to use and how to use them, however.

Certain programs can cause damage to the computers’ registry if you don’t know exactly what you’re looking for.

How do you prevent an infection?
Understanding your computer habits are one of the biggest ways to prevent infections. If you find yourself web surfing to questionable sites or to sites you’ve never been to before, this is one of the biggest ways to catch an infection.

Downloaded programs you don’t remember installing are one of the biggest red flags of an infection. Opening up emails and attachments that you don’t know where they came from is a good way to become infected. Know the sites you visit are safe and be attentive to what emails and downloads you view.

Having a good anti-virus is very important for a clean computer protected from those threats that you cannot see normally. At Tech Experts, we provide AV for ourselves and clients that prevent most infections. No AV is 100% able to stop all infections. With hackers making new threats every day, there is no method to make sure all possible vulnerabilities are blocked.

However, having good software and good habits will prevent the great majority of infections of hopping onto your computer.

Faster Updates On The Horizon For Windows Users

Last month, Microsoft announced that the latest release of Windows will deliver more rapid and smaller OS updates straight to user’s mobile devices or PCs.

The group’s Unified Update Platform (UUP) encompasses a novel set of technologies that will offer “differential downloads;” that is, OS updates that deliver specifically what the user needs and nothing more. Microsoft is using the analogy of a gaming app to explain how the concept works. If a user downloads an update to an existing gaming app as opposed to downloading the entire game again, the user simply receives the data required to update the game. In the same way, the differential download package will only contain the data related to the changes that have been made since the last update, thereby significantly reducing the download speed and size.

In addition to making updates faster and more efficient, Microsoft will also enhance the logic that underpins the OS update checks. Instead of sending data back and forth, it will place the processing burden on the server, making checks much faster.

Mobile users can also expect to see some positive changes. While new mobile devices have traditionally been delivered at the base build and have required “two hops” to reach the latest release, mobile devices will now behave more like PCs, offering single-hop updates.

How To Identify And Handle Scareware Pop-ups

jared-stemeye
Jared Stemeye is a Help Desk Technician at Tech Experts.

Let’s say you’re reading the latest news articles on a webpage you visit regularly. In an instant, a new browser window flashes onto your screen, blinking with some sort of notice, a warning of virus infections, a legitimate looking logo, and a phone number to call.

Some of these even employ audio statements such as, “Your PC is infected. If you close this window you will lose all information stored on your hard drive.”

These tactics combined do a very good job of eliciting emotions of fear and anxiousness from their victims.

However, with the proper knowledge to identify the fraudulent practices of these groups, along with the proper steps to handle such occurrences, you will be able to avoid the hardship many others have encountered.

The first thing you should know is that it is quite simple for anyone to attach the Microsoft, or any name brand anti-virus’ insignia onto the page to make it appear convincingly genuine. The ‘official’ logos you see on these pop-ups are not legitimate, though it is very easy to think that they are.

The second, and probably the most important, thing to know is to never – under any circumstances – call the phone number provided by the pop-up.

The disreputable individuals on the other end of the phone are not meant to help you. Like the pop-ups, they too are proficient at inducing anxiety among their victims, urging those who call to allow permission for remote access to the targeted computer.

Once someone has access to your desktop, they have access to all your locally stored files and can make changes to them as well as plant malware or spyware.

Never allow remote access to your computer unless you, without any doubt, know who it is you’re allowing access.

Now, what you should do next? First, attempt to close the window as you would with any other window by clicking the X in the top right corner.

In many cases, a dialogue box will appear at the top of the screen, providing more anxiety-inducing phrases to make you think your actions are incorrect. Rest assured you are on your way to ridding yourself of the pop-up.

Browsers such as Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, and Mozilla Firefox have an opportunity to prevent these boxes from reappearing after you exit out of them. In the pop-up box, click the check field next to the “prevent additional dialogues” option and click OK.

If the pop-up window has yet to close, retry exiting out of the window. No additional dialogue boxes should appear at this point, allowing you to regain control of your computer.

If the pop-up window does not close after these steps or if the issue persists after a short period, contact your trusted IT team to remove the issue.

Under any circumstance, remember, these pop-ups are not viruses themselves and, if you follow the advice given in this article, they will cause no harm to your computer.

However, it is still best practice to run a full virus scan if this does occur to ensure you are unaffected.

Five Simple Year-End Technology Tasks To Start 2017 Right

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

If you want to get 2017 off to the right start as far as your technology is concerned, do a little end-of-year cleaning with these five simple tasks.

Update all of your passwords
If 2016 taught us anything, it’s that security and data infringement threats are at an all-time high. Most people don’t bother to change their passwords until after they have been hacked, which beats the purpose.

Now is the right time to change your passwords. The longer your password is, the better. For added security, use a combination of upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols.

Clean up your hard drive
Get rid of any files you no longer need. Not only will this step reduce the number of files you store on your computer, but it will also make finding needed files much easier.

It will also free up your storage space. If you’re not sure whether you need a file or not, archive it so that you can access it at a later time, if the need arises.

Reorganize your file structure
Once you have ditched the stuff you don’t need, invest some time creating a robust and intuitive file structure so that you’ll spend less time in 2017 searching for documents you know are there somewhere but just can’t seem to find.

Ditch the applications you no longer use
No doubt you have downloaded a whole host of applications that you never use or that have since been replaced by better versions.

Uninstall any programs you are not using to free up space and declutter your computer or mobile device.

Check that your software is up to date
The start of the year is a great time to make sure all the applications and software programs that you use are fully up to date.

In addition to protecting your security by ensuring you have the latest secure versions of an app, keeping your software up to date will also help you to make sure you are not missing out on any great new features.

Why Technology Is Important For Your Small Business

Anthony Glover is Tech Expert’s network engineer.

In modern computing, it is very important that you have a technological solution in place to allow smooth function at your small business. Here are 5 reasons why it’s important to do so.

Business Growth
As your business grows, you’re going to need a plan for expansion if you expect to grow. Technology changes every day and it’s important to stay up to speed with the latest and greatest tech in order to move forward in the growth direction. In today’s tech, there are even data growth solutions that will grow with your business automatically.

This not only saves time with expansion, but allows your business to save money in the long run. Technology is very important and should not be taken for granted in order for your business to thrive effectively.

On-The-Move Tech
As your business grows and you begin to move forward, you will need to be able to run your business from several locations. Technology allows you to do this from one central location. Utilizing tech makes certain that you’re not only monitoring your business at all locations, but that it’s more secure than ever.

From mobile devices to laptops to networking equipment, an IT professional will provide you with the best care needed to keep your business with you at all times.

Fewer Headaches With A Managed Plan
With a managed plan (such as the ones Tech Experts offer), your computer problems are monitored and are taken care of by a tech professional.

This cleans your hands of computer problems and allows you to run your business more effectively — minus the technology headache — and keeps your business running much more efficiently.

All workstations will be managed and up-to-date, along with programs that normally would fall behind due to user awareness.

Our tech team can and will make sure that your workstations servers and network equipment will have the latest firmware and software updates available.

Automate Computation
In today’s tech there are many ways to automate normally manual tasks. Such as automated password or online form completion.

Technology is designed to complete tasks for you while you sit back and save time and save money. Take advantage of a solution that is going to improve your everyday small business life on a colossal scale. Automation is domination in the computer world and should not be taken lightly.

Reduce Redundancy
Your data is a vital component to your business and it is very important that your data does not get overlooked.

When functioning in a business environment, the best practice is to not only have a backup of your data but prevent your data from being lost to begin with. This is when redundancy comes in.

Your server for your business should be monitored, verified, and managed by an IT professional. This will allow you to function throughout the day without worrying about your data being safe and secure, keep an increased outlook on productivity, and allow for a guaranteed solution for data retrieval.

Which Is Better – Ethernet Or Wi-Fi?

Luke Gruden is a help desk technician for Tech Experts.

To physically plug in your computer to the Internet or to use the air waves to connect to the net — more popularly recognized as Wi-Fi — is a good question to ask with many good answers, but it comes down to what you need out of your Internet connection.

An Ethernet connection is a wired connection from one network device (like your computer) to another network device. This wired connection is usually made of copper with some form of shielding.

Some Ethernet wires are even designed to take harsh weather conditions. Ethernet connections come in many different sizes and can be cut and made into any length you want, with 329 feet usually being the limit of a single long Ethernet cord.

A Wi-Fi connection is where one network device connects with another network device by sending wireless signals.

The distance that a Wi-Fi signal can travel is based on the strength of the signal, type of signal, and the objects and walls between both Wi-Fi devices. There are different type of wireless signals like N signal, G signals, and AC signals which can have a large impact on distance and quality of signal.

The benefits of using Wi-Fi are that you don’t have wires restricting where you can place your computer. This is especially useful if you need to move to different locations in a home or office without losing your Internet connection.

Wi-Fi is easy to share with others as you don’t need an Ethernet cord for each device that wants access. Your router can still have a limit of how many connections can connect, however.

The disadvantages of using Wi-Fi are that it can be very unsecure and have performance issues with maintaining speed or connections.

Public Wi-Fi connections can be compromised or falsified, causing everyone using the signal to have their data stolen. I avoid using public Wi-Fi signals as it can cost me all my credentials for websites I use. The benefits of using an Ethernet connection is that it is the most consistent and fastest connection you can have with another network device, providing consistent speed.

Ethernet connections are physical and can easily keep track of who is connected to the network and where. Ethernet speeds do not slow down with distance or obstacles. If you can plug an Ethernet cord in, the speed difference between a long cord and a small cord is negligible.

The disadvantages of using Ethernet cords is that if the cord is cut or damage, you most likely need to replace the whole Ethernet wire.

It can be tricky to conceal Ethernet wiring and require holes to be drilled throughout the building. You usually cannot move Ethernet wires along with you if you are using a laptop.

What it really comes down to between using Wi-Fi and Ethernet is if you favor security and speed or if you favor convenience and sharing.

If you need a secure environment with fast Internet speeds, you want to use a wired gigabit Ethernet connection.

If you need many strangers, family, or friends to connect easily and you need access in many rooms without hassle, you want to use a Wi-Fi connection.

Choose what is best for your business or home; if you have any questions, reach us at (734) 457-5000 and we can help you narrow down your choices.

Using Technology to Improve Your Business

In this day and age, small businesses are facing a serious question: keep doing business as usual or try to adopt and incorporate a more relevant way of doing things.

Keeping the status quo may be one of the reasons the business has remained so successful, but it may also be one of the reasons it starts to falter in the future. There is a certain loyalty to small, local businesses, but speed, convenience, and consistence overrules loyalty after a while.

With a few simple changes, it’s possible to keep the business running as usual (on the outside), while streamlining the way it operates from the inside. Ultimately, this provides the customers with the speed, convenience, and consistency they require to remain loyal.

The first change a business can make is to ensure a fast, easy way to accept credit cards as tender. A lot of small business still don’t accept credit cards or debit cards because they simply don’t have the means. Or, they accept these forms of payment, but rely on outdated, and time consuming methods, such as phone lines.

The solution to this is to utilize mobile devices to scan and authorize payments. More and more businesses are using this method and the trend doesn’t seem to be slowing.

The second improvement that can be made is with accounting and bookkeeping. Using an accounting program that is not based in the cloud or using a program that the company has used for a decade may have worked in the past. However, as the business grows and taxes, payroll, and the bottom line increases, the business is going to be better off using a program that is constantly updated, constantly backed up, and that can be accessed from anywhere.

You move around a lot — and being able to access these important aspects of your business whenever you want and wherever you go becomes an important tool for managing your business on the go. The third and most important aspect of managing your business is providing your employees and customers with ways to contribute and feel valued.

A great way to do this is to keep an open line of communication with them. Implementing ways to communicate their ideas, thoughts, and feelings about their job and experience is becoming an important variable in employee and customer satisfaction.

In office settings, it can be very helpful to implement an instant messaging program between employees. This provides a way for everyone to communicate easily. In retail settings, employee text messaging groups can be utilized or social media groups can be used to let them feel a part of the team. Feeling a part of the team is crucial and feeling valued is even more important.

Social media can be huge when it’s used to interact with customers. Asking a customer to share their experience on Google or Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. will always result in more and more people becoming aware of the services and experiences your business can provide.

These three changes can improve the way your business operates on a day to day basis, without having too much overhead costs, and without having to overhaul major aspects of the business. They can improve employee and customer satisfaction, as well as make them all feel included. In the end, the general sense from the customers will be one of “Whatever they changed, I like it, and it works.”

DDoS Becomes A 1 Terabit Phenomenon

Back in the middle of September, some amazingly terrifying things were happening in the world of technology. A DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attack reached a mind-boggling 1.1 Terabits per second. Not all users are familiar with DDoS attacks, but we’ll explain how it scales to give perspective, why it affects smaller businesses, and how you can protect yourself.

First, what is a DDoS and why does it matter? A DDoS attack consists of many compromised devices targeting a single system. The compromised devices target the system by attempting to overwhelm an online service.

Once it is successfully overwhelmed, it can be temporarily unavailable or crash completely. There is generally not any irreparable damage to the system itself, but data that is mid-transfer can become corrupted and the system can become unresponsive preventing you from accessing it for work.

Secondly, we generally do not think in Terabits. People on a day-to-day basis are generally dealing with Kilobits and Megabits (which is 1000 Kilobits). When you download a file, you are likely doing it between 10-20 Megabits. This means that this new DDoS attack is 50,000 to 100,000 times faster than your average computer. These numbers are achieved by creating a series of compromised devices acting under singular actions, also known as a botnet.

Chances are, you have never been the victim of a DDoS attack. Unfortunately, that may change. In recent years, attacks on small businesses have increased substantially and the damaging potential has increased over time.

Part of the rise of DDoS attacks is the availability of easy-to-use tools off of disreputable markets and websites. With less skill needed to participate, more people can begin creating DDoS attacks.

So what can you do if someone decides to bombard you with a 1 Terabit attack? At that point, wait for it to end. Realistically, no one with that kind of botnet is going to attack a smaller business unless they have a personal vendetta against you.

More likely is a much smaller DDoS attack, something in the realm of sub-100 Gigabit attacks. But what can you do to defend yourself? Well, you might already be on the right track to preventing attacks not only to your business, but others as well. The main way smaller attackers are making a big impact is based on an open DNS resolver.

Now, what’s an open DNS resolver? More or less, it is an error. A DNS can be open or closed; an open DNS resolver allows traffic and requests from any Internet source while a closed DNS limits who can use it. Using open DNS’s, people can bounce off of open resolvers for both a larger attack as well as anonymity. How can you fix this? Most DNS clients are open by default, so make sure that when you set one up, you close it. When an attack does hit, it will generally give you an IP. Make sure to check out which DNS resolver it is coming from and to update the settings.

In the end, all you can do is make sure that your infrastructure is set up in a way that protects your data from a DDoS attack. Double-check your DNS resolvers to make sure they are not open, keep up to date backups available in case of the worst, and inform law enforcement when it does happen so that they may be able to track down the culprits and put an end to their childish games.

Mistakes To Avoid When Setting Up Your Small Business Network

Anthony Glover is Tech Expert’s network engineer.

Setting up your ideal network environment can be tricky. Here are a few things to avoid when setting up your network at your small business.

Lack of security on your network
Avoid this at all costs. A secure network is a happy network and, not to mention, a reliable one. This is especially needed if your business depends on confidentiality.

Lack of security leaves you vulnerable to hackers or curious individuals that could obtain information that could be vital to your business.

Ideally, a firewall is an essential choice when security is a factor in your networking environment.

Insecure wireless networking
A wireless connection is a convenient way for wireless devices such as printers, phones, laptops, or any other device that has wireless capability to connect to your network.

However, the convenience factor can turn problematic if left insecure.

When it comes to wireless networking as a security factor, always set a password on your SSID (such as WPSK or WPSK2). Your password should – at the very least – include a capital letter, numbers, and special characters such as “!”.

Poor network management
Poor network management is a much overlooked problem and can quickly become the worst thing that could happen to any small business network.

Good management of your networking equipment will keep your network secure. Poor management can lead to vulnerabilities in the network due to a lack of updates and a lack of securing ports, leading to possible intrusion from hackers.

Remember, all aspects of management are very important. This can include detailed and organized cabling, updating firewall firmware, updating servers and workstations, and securing ports on your server or end-user computers.

Network management – when done right – is ideal for your small business network and should be done by an IT professional such as Tech Experts.

Bad placement of Wi-Fi access points
Bad placement of a WAP can be a huge problem for wireless network signal performance. Poor signal strength can cause slow connections to both the Internet and your local area network and causes sluggish performance of your overall network.

It isn’t enough to simply choose the strongest WAP; it also needs to be placed where it can work properly.

To make sure you get the best performance out of it, it should be located in the center of the area you need to cover.

You should also keep in mind that the weakest signal points are directly below and above your WAP.

Cutting corners on speed
Buying a 10 mbps switch just because it’s on sale is a bad idea. Speed is your friend, especially when setting up your small business network.

A faster network will increase activity and save you time and money in the long run. 1 gbps equipment should be the ideal solution to not only transfer traffic faster, but access everything on your network faster.

We know networks aren’t easy as pie, which is why we always recommend having a professional IT team set up your office.

Cheaper isn’t better, especially when a poorly done set-up can cause large problems once you’re operating.

If you’re looking to set up a new building or relocate (or even redo your current office), give us a call at (734) 457-5000, or email at info@mytechexperts.com, to see what we can do for you.