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News

The importance of backing up your device

Many people use their computers or phones to store important documents, data and photos. However, not everyone correctly backs up their device to ensure the safe storage of this important data.

Knowing how to keep your data safe means you don’t have to worry about losing them during an update, if you misplace your device or even from internal and external threats. Take a look at what SMY IT Services recommend.

Decide on a reputable storage medium

When it comes to storing important files such as photographs or work documents, you shouldn’t just buy a hard drive or choose an online storage service simply because it is cheaper. When you decide to backup your device, you should research a brand and service that has a good reputation and also make sure it has the capacity to grow with you – that is enough capacity to store your files today and in a few years from now.
Buying storage is relatively inexpensive but seeking the advice of an IT expert means you can gather all the right information so that in the event that you need to restore – you can be safe in the knowledge you’ll get all your data back.

Regularly back up your device

Backing up your device frequently means that you will have all your files stored somewhere other than your original device. This means that if your original device gets lost or damaged, all your up to date documents and settings are safe. Online storage and backup is the most convenient way to ensuring your backup remains regular, useful and up to date.

Peace of mind

Having a copy of all your data means that if your device crashes, you won’t lose everything. Having your device backed up is also convenient if you need a copy of a file and you work regularly on a different desktop.
Taking your files with you means that you can work flexibly as well as keeping all your important documents safe.

Backing up your files not only provides easy access to your files, but will also reduce your stress if you lose them. Hopefully your computer will never crash, but in the case that it does, investing in a good quality backup solution will give you the added security to protect your business.

If you need advice on backing up your computer, feel free to contact SMY IT Services today.

News

Apple or Microsoft? Here’s our comparison

As an IT specialist, we understand that getting the best hardware and operating system for your business is crucial. There are two major ones we can take a look at today – Microsoft and Apple. Both have advantages and disadvantages which set them apart from each other. To make things as easy as possible, we’ve set about our comparison below between the two.

Compatibility

Microsoft Windows has the biggest market share in computing. This means that it is more likely to be compatible with other programmes and software.

Microsoft have released a version of this for Mac and it looks very similar to the Windows version. This means that well-known software such as Microsoft Office can be on Apple devices. For more unique or specialised programmes, Apple users might have a hard time finding one compatible with an Apple Mac.

What many Apple Mac users can do is install Parallels. This allows the Microsoft Windows operating system to run on their system. Very few business software packages are compatible on an Apple Mac natively.

It’s important to decide which operating system is right for you. It is best to consider what you will be mainly using your computer for and what programmes you would require.

Durability

Apple hardware used to arguably be more reliable than Microsoft Windows. This is because the Apple Mac operating system was written specifically hardware components which were optimised to work together and allows everything to run more smoothly. That all changed several years ago when Apple stopped manufacturing their own computer chips. They instead chose to resell Intel which means both Apple Mac and Windows now use common hardware.

Microsoft is more open in this regard allowing Microsoft Windows to be installed on virtually any hardware. As a result of this, you have more flexibility in the type of device you want to use.

Many users choose to have an Apple Mac because it looks nice and sleek. Microsoft manufactures hardware and have a range of products to suit every type of user. For more details see the Microsoft Surface site here or contact SMY IT Services for guidance.

Security

Microsoft has the biggest market share which makes it a target for attackers, rendering their users more vulnerable.

A wide range of malware is available for Microsoft Windows, but Mac users still need Antivirus and Malware protection. Due to increasing popularity, more malware is released for Apple than Windows. As a result of this, both devices are equally as likely to be affected by a security issue.

Cost

Compared to Microsoft computers, Apple computers are very expensive.  This is because users tend to compare the spec of £2,000 Apple Macbook Pro with a basic Windows device and expect it to perform on a comparable level.

Nearly all Microsoft Windows based computers will wind up less expensive than buying an Apple computer. That is until you compare it with Microsoft’s Surface range here.

Repairs

With Apple components being so integrated, it can be a difficult repair job to pinpoint what isn’t working properly. This can therefore mean that Apple repairs can be more costly than Microsoft repairs as Microsoft components are easily accessible.

Depending on what your business does can have a hand in choosing which hardware is best for you.

Creative professionals might lean towards using Apple computers because the Adobe products they work with were originally made for Apple.

Microsoft computers are the larger market share, it can benefit nearly all businesses because there is no limitation on software compatibility or customisation.

SMY IT works with both Microsoft and Apple and is knowledgeable in both systems. Contact us today if you need advice for your business.

News

The importance of anti-spyware for your computer

Spyware is arguably one of the most dangerous types of malicious software in computing. This means it is really important to stay vigilant and protect your computer system from it. This especially goes for businesses, as you have a responsibility to protect the data of your clients.

What exactly does spyware do to my computer system?

The way the programme works is to gather your personal information without your knowledge or consent. They mostly exist to steal usernames and passwords as well as email accounts. Like a virus, a lot of spyware cannot be easily removed from a computer system. Some people may never be aware that spyware is on their computer. This is because it tends to work in the background of most systems.

What are the benefits of having anti-spyware software?

Anti-spyware software is intended to prevent and detect unwanted spyware and, consequently, removes them. Anti-spyware software will perform routine checks on your computer to ensure your system is safe. As well as this, it will also make sure your privacy is protected 24/7 from any possible intrusions.

There are a lot of programmes on the internet that can pose as well-established anti-spyware but are viruses themselves. You can usually tell the difference between genuine and fake anti-spyware. You can do this by running a simple review search on the internet of products.

What else can I do to prevent this?

One way to prevent this happening to you to is to make sure you run your IT systems through a reputable IT company, such as SMY IT. We can do all this work for you as well as providing valuable advice and answers to your questions.

If you’re worried about spyware on your computer, you can give SMY IT a call today to find out how we can help you.

News

Beware! Office 365 login phishing scam

Cyber crooks are taking advantage of changes to the layout and experience of the Office 365 login page to steal user credentials. Here, Jonathan Smy, managing director of IT support, cloud and consultancy provider SMY IT, explains how to protect yourself from the hackers.

A managing director of a large firm contacted us recently with a fairly major problem.

He received an email asking him to update his password and within seconds of obliging an email had been sent to his payments manager asking for a transfer to be made.

Never one to question the managing directors request, the payment was authorised. Moments later £10,000 had left the business account.

Meanwhile the managing director, who had sent no such email, could no longer access his Microsoft Office 365 email account and had rung us for advice.

Most people are familiar with phishing scams. These are email messages that pretend to be legitimate but instead infect your computer or harvest your passwords.

Some phishing scams are easy to avoid thanks to obvious grammatical errors or other red flags. Others, however, are so accurate they can even fool the experts.

In this particular case, the spammer obtained the login credentials through Microsoft Office 365.

The hacker replicated the layout for the original Office 365 login page. This meant the managing director had entered his user name and password without question.

He would have only noticed there was a problem if he had closely examined the www address bar at the top on the page.

Instead he made a very costly mistake – one any one of us could have made.

How can you protect yourself?

There are systems to try and protect against this type of threat but technology evolves every day. As a result of this, we need to stay vigilant.

Perimeter security such as firewalls are essential, but next generation firewalls add additional security services and are even better.

On top of this, we would urge people to question everything.

We advise people to slow down, ready emails carefully, be wary of differing fonts or text size. As well as this, we advise hovering over hyperlinks in both emails and websites before you click them to check the destination address.

Never use the same email address and password combinations online, change your passwords periodically and keep them long and complex where possible using upper and lower case, numbers and symbols.

Use a password manager to store and generate secure passwords. Do not write passwords down and use two-factor authentication where possible.

When being asked to pay money to someone, we advise making a phone call to verify the details.

For more advice or information contact us.

News

Introducing Ekran System

As the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) looms, understanding who has access to a businesses data is increasingly important. If you believe that this could be an issue for you, we can help!  We can introduce you to Ekran System. It’s a screen recording, user monitoring/reporting and auditing software for both internal and external threats in your workplace.

What does Ekran System do?

Provides customers with an efficient, easy-to-use tool which addresses all monitoring needs as well as meeting security audit requirements.

When thinking about security, you might not necessarily think about your own employees being a threat. In 2016, 69% of surveyed businesses said they had experienced theft and corruption of sensitive data caused by internal users. These employees could be doing it for malicious intent, but it is also common for the individual to be naïve and impressionable.

Ekran System can record all privileged user systems and is capable of both application and internet monitoring. It can also provide several in-built access management tools. While still obeying industry rules and regulations it enables complete visibility into your IT infrastructure. The Ekran System can also be used to alert your security about potentially dangerous actions as they occur. A security specialist can block a user/ dangerous action if needed.

It also has the option to create complete video records of every user screen as well as activity details.

What are the benefits of Ekran System?

– Control and visibility of user activity
– Employee monitoring
– Third-party providers and contractors monitoring
– Suitable for businesses from all industry types
– Easy record archiving
– Quick incident response
– Enhanced record process protection
– Compliant with regulations
– Affordability

How can I get more information on introducing Ekran System to my workplace?

If you’re interested in adopting Ekran System, contact Smy IT Services and we’d be happy to help. We know the importance of security in your IT systems, and we are committed to giving you the best protection.