k_Street Consulting, LLC Blog
Security is a critical part of running your business, especially in a world where organizations require technology for most any task. In fact, some of the most dangerous threats are known to hide within a company’s network, waiting for any opportunity to strike. With the right preventative measures, you can keep your network safe from catching threats before they hit your network in the first place.
Technology continues to grow more advanced, and with it comes major pain points that need to be resolved. Today’s modern businesses will need to adapt by implementing new solutions for both themselves and their customers or clients. In this fashion, eBay has begun to implement an assortment of new features to assist with the customer experience.
With the use of portable personal music players and streaming services like Spotify, Google Play Music, and Pandora, unobtrusively listening to music in the workplace has become much easier--but has it also made it easier for employees to be more distracted from their tasks? Additionally, assuming that music does create a boost in productivity, why does it do so?
Is your organization still relying on antiquated tape backup to keep your data safe? A more reliable, less time-consuming alternative known as image-based, or “snapshot” backup, could change the way that you look at disaster recovery. In fact, image-based backup has the potential to optimize your business’s data continuity.
You’re already a business owner, but let’s say that you want to pick up some new skills. You want to be known as an expert in a new field, and you’re pretty dedicated to doing so. Perhaps you’re familiar with the 10,000 hours rule, which attempts to explain how someone becomes a master of a particular craft. Well, we hate to burst your bubble, but this rule might not be as simple as it sounds.
A mouse can be very handy when it comes to navigating around the documents you have to work on, but it can also slow you down. Fortunately, key command shortcuts exist for situations just like these, and as Windows 10 has continued to improve, more shortcuts have been included to accomplish more tasks with improved efficiency.
Compared to traditional telephone solutions, software-based phone systems have become a major opportunity for businesses to cut costs and improve efficiency. Even if traditional phone systems have their uses, VoIP still wins out by eliminating unnecessary costs and simplifying your business’s physical infrastructure. You might find that VoIP has a place in your office, too.
As the U.S. election rapidly approaches, many citizens are strongly concerned with who they’ll vote for. Unfortunately, not enough of these same citizens are nearly as concerned with what they’ll vote on, as the electronic voting machines utilized in many polling places are notoriously insecure to breaches.
Flexibility is an important part of the modern work environment, especially as technology has made it much easier to work anytime, anywhere. Employees understand that this flexibility exists in many industries, and they want to reap the benefits of a flexible work environment. However, it’s not that easy; there are quite a few pitfalls that can easily take a stab at your business’s productivity.
Halloween is a time when creatures like ghosts and goblins are celebrated rather than feared. Even adults use the holiday to lighten up and enjoy themselves, as they’re well aware that the monsters so often seen and heard about in stories are fictional. Unfortunately, the fact remains that there are monsters hiding in plain sight all around us, playing on the fears and misfortune of others--namely, hackers.
It’s not an understatement to suggest that hackers are a hindrance to business. They take what doesn’t belong to them, and worse than that, they use that stolen information to make off with money, misrepresent individual actions, and ultimately, just cause a degree of added entropy that any business simply doesn’t need. Recently, with the hacker group Anonymous consistently in the news and dozens of corporate hacks resulting in millions of people’s personal information being compromised, hackers have been an increased part of the public consciousness.
When an organization implements new software solutions, they are usually trying to either replace deprecated applications or find a solution to a particular problem. These solutions are often implemented without regards to the older software, and they’ll just collect dust on the network until someone decides to remove them. These unnecessary apps could be wasting precious time and resources for your business. In fact, up to 38 percent of enterprise applications aren’t being used on business networks.
The last time you reached out to IT support, how long did it take them to respond to your request? Did they have to drive all the way to your office, only to resolve the issue far too late? Being able to take prompt action is key to alleviating IT issues, especially when mission-critical data is on the line. A remote monitoring and maintenance solution may be just the tool you need to keep your systems maintained and operating properly, and all without expensive on-site visits.
While the explosion of technological advancement has been great for business, it’s become more challenging than ever before to keep sensitive information safe--even if all you use is an Internet connection. Even small healthcare offices are feeling the effects of this proliferation of threats and malware as they struggle to keep their organizations secure and compliant with government agencies.
For the busy business owner, audiobooks are a godsend. They’re the perfect way to intake information while performing a must-do task that doesn’t require you to think, like commuting or folding laundry. But what’s an audiobook aficionado to do if they’ve got a book or document that they want to listen to that hasn’t been made into an audiobook?
When a business undergoes a hardware refresh, it often comes saddled with unexpected costs and downtime. This is sometimes caused by hardware failure, or from unplanned-for data migration. With the advent of virtualized servers, businesses now have a better way to recover from the woes of server refreshes. Rather than purchase new hardware, it’s more economically viable to go with a virtual server that’s hosted in the cloud.
You wouldn’t think that sitting at a desk all day could have many detrimental effects to the body, but the opposite is actually true: remaining stationary throughout the day, especially in a slouching position, can cause considerable stress and discomfort. This discomfort, in addition to decreasing morale, can be a distraction that cuts into the productivity of workers throughout the day.
Disasters are commonplace in the business environment, especially when you work in a technology-heavy office. It’s not a question of if you’ll ever experience a hardware failure; it’s a question of when you will. Regardless of how your business functions or what sector you fall into, there will always be disasters that you should be prepared for.
Has your business moved to the cloud yet? If not, you’ve got some work to do--it’s only a matter of time before the need for the cloud completely overshadows your organization. Thankfully, it’s only challenging to move to the cloud if you don’t have a group of professional IT technicians helping you.
The Copy and Paste feature has long been a staple of computing, but it’s easy to lose something that may have once been stored on the clipboard. Most people who have used a PC understand this pain and will be happy to hear that recovering the lost “copy” might be easier than they thought. A third-party tool called ClipDiary allows users to retrieve information lost in this way, but without it, it’s notoriously difficult.
Today’s cars are equipped with more complicated computer systems that allow users access to cutting-edge technology and services. Due to the increasing number of cyber attacks on computerized cars, Volkswagen has chosen to team up with three Israeli cybersecurity experts to equip advanced vehicles with the proper security solutions.
Whether we like it or not, memes have had a profound effect on how the world’s population views current events and popular culture. In part, this is thanks to the prevalence of the Internet, which has fostered these absurd images and provided them an outlet to flourish. Due to how viral they are, it would be foolish to dismiss them as inconsequential; in fact, when leveraged properly, memes can make a statement about your business and its specific brand.
Commuting to and from the office is a regular occurrence all over the world. In the United States alone, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, the average commute for the everyday worker is around 25 minutes. Even if this commute is necessary, it could be holding your business back from achieving its full potential.
Virtual reality is a major contender for the next big technology to hit the business industry, and it’s been able to accomplish what modern neuroscience could not. In the medical sector, virtual reality has been tested on paraplegic patients in attempts to help them walk again using brain-controlled robotic limbs. However, these innovations have yielded unexpected, astounding results.
What would you do if a significant sum of money magically disappeared from your account due to a “miscommunication” between accounting and someone pretending to be you? Wire transfers have made it extraordinarily easy for scam artists to make large transactions, which are augmented by the ability to impersonate authority figures within the office; the c-suite staff, also known as management.
The traditional break-fix IT model may have worked for businesses years ago, but today it holds them back from fully leveraging their IT to its fullest potential. Managed IT, the superior alternative, aims to take the difficulty out of managing IT so that you can focus on running your business. Here are just a few managed IT services that free up your business in this way.
Regardless of your security protocol, there will always be threats. One of the most often forgotten outlets for attacks comes from insider threats. Sometimes these threats may be from angry employees wanting to sink your business, but more often than not, those behind insider threats don’t have malicious intentions. Still, it’s best to cover your bases and ensure that your organization isn’t at risk from careless or negligent employees.
Since the late 19th century, office environments have used the filing cabinet to keep records stored in an efficient order. However, today’s workplace environment contains more technology than ever before, allowing for more efficient document management solutions. This begs the question, what’s better; the traditional file cabinet, or the digital document management solution?
There’s an ongoing debate concerning whether the United States Constitution gives the American government the right to access data held on electronic devices by its citizens. In case they didn’t make themselves heard clearly enough, the director of the FBI, James Comey, has released a statement at Symantec’s Annual Government Symposium. You might not like his answer.
As well-prepared as you might believe your business may be against disasters, the reality is that this is not always the case. In truth, you have no idea when you could fall victim to a data loss incident. As a business owner, you need to understand that it’s not a question of if you’ll experience a data breach, but when, and you need to be prepared for anything.
When it comes to network security, we often see organizations having one of two approaches: 1) They make security a priority by implementing airtight solutions, or 2) They have no clue what network security means. Of course, if a company doesn’t have security put into place, employees might take matters into their own hands and implement unauthorized solutions. This is called shadow IT, and it has unfortunate results, even if the user has good intentions.
Have you have recently plugged in your Kindle and received a blue screen of death? Many Kindle users have found that Windows 10’s anniversary update is creating an issue in the way that Kindle transfers books and charges via a USB connection. Some users are reporting that connecting a Kindle to a Windows 10 device will cause the device to lock up and display Windows’ infamous blue error screen before rebooting.
If you’ve recently decided to implement cloud computing for your business, then we commend you. You’ve chosen to use a powerful and dynamic solution for your computing needs. However, choosing to use the cloud and actually implementing the cloud are two entirely different monsters. Now that you have your sights set on the cloud, what do you have to do to get your infrastructure ready for migration?
Wireless Internet connections, often referred to by the moniker Wi-Fi, have become a popular offering from public businesses. Even organizations that have no real need for an Internet connection to conduct business, like restaurants and coffee shops, now offer Wi-Fi for their customers. However, public Wi-Fi can be dangerous, especially for the business professional.
If you panic in the event of a hacking attack, imagine how the National Security Agency (NSA) feels knowing that some of its exploits are for sale on the black market. While there isn’t any proof that the NSA has been breached, there’s evidence to suspect that their exploits are available for purchase on the black market. This means that a willing hacker could get their hands on government-grade hacking tools--a dangerous concept.
Stress is a natural part of the workplace. It’s almost impossible to make it through the workday without getting stressed out about at least one thing or another, especially when you’re a business owner. In these stress-filled circumstances, it’s important to remember that stress isn’t always a bad thing; it has some redeeming factors that are often lost amongst the cacophony of shuffling papers and constant phone calls.
These days, being able to find the exact information you need online is a valuable skill. However, sometimes a website’s search capabilities aren’t robust enough to be of much use. For this week’s tip, we’ll show you how to combine a website search feature with your browser’s search tool so you can easily find exactly what you’re looking for.
Windows is perhaps the most common workplace computing tool, and hackers have been trying for decades to uncover holes in its security. In some cases, like with unsupported operating systems, they’ve succeeded. However, Microsoft’s latest addition to their OS family, Windows 10, seems to have exceptionally potent built-in security measures, many of which have the hackers at the Black Hat conference scratching their heads and scrambling to find threats to talk about.
Payment via mobile devices is still a relatively new concept. With newer smartphones, it’s now easier than ever to pay your bills or send money on a whim. However, this also brings up an important topic; what’s the best way to handle mobile payments, and how can those who accept and process these payments ensure maximum security?
Tracking your net worth might not be the same as tracking how many much money you have in your account, but it’s a good start. By tracking your net worth, you’ll have a good idea of how your finances fare in the big picture of things. Doing this may even help you worry less so that you can focus more on improving your situation.
Ransomware is a particularly nasty strain of malware that continues to pop up in unexpected forms. In the case of a new variant of called Cerber, it targets users of Microsoft Outlook using a zero-day vulnerability via phishing messages. To make matters worse, Cerber can also utilize DDoS attacks, which is a major cause for concern.
Technology can be fickle at times. When it’s not working properly, it can hold your business back from reaching its maximum potential. Therefore, in order to maximize your bottom line, it becomes common sense to ensure that your technology is in proper working order at all times. The problem lies in the fact that you may not necessarily specialize in technology management, and don’t have the time or budget to perform maintenance yourself. What’s the SMB to do?
Instant messaging has changed the way that individuals communicate with one another, both in their personal lives and in the workplace. Just as email threw a wrench in traditional mail's plans, instant messaging threatens to jump start a new method of instantaneous communication, one which can be seen as a great benefit, but also an immense annoyance.
It’s clear that security professionals have waged war with hackers since the Internet’s inception, but NATO has reaffirmed that cybersecurity is not just a localized problem; it’s a nation-state-wide issue, and one that needs to be addressed. Just like land, air, and sea, cyberspace is now an operational domain, a place that can be considered a battlefield.
Shopping for a cloud solution can be difficult. You’ll be sold on plenty of impressive-sounding features that you may not know anything about. One feature that you may have seen floating around is autoscaling, which sounds great on paper, but may not live up to its expectations. The only problem, though, is how you can identify those that deliver, and those that don’t, before investing in a project.
It all goes to show: don’t mess with the IRS. The prison system has two new residents, after Anthony Alika, 42, and his wife Sonia, 27, were sentenced for filing fraudulent tax returns through the often-exploited “Get Transcript” site maintained by the Internal Revenue Service. In addition to their incarceration, the Alikas will each be responsible to pay restitution to the IRS.
Businesses need to take security into account and make it a priority. In fact, security is so important that Verizon has compiled a report of the various types of attacks and data breaches that occurred in the past year. This is Verizon’s Data Breach Investigations Report, or DBIR, and it offers insights into how you can protect your business and secure your assets.
Microsoft recently issued security patches to fix 27 vulnerabilities, many of which are critical in nature. The vulnerabilities are significant and popular titles are affected like Windows, Microsoft Office, Internet Explorer, and the new Edge browser. Microsoft users that ignore these security patches are putting their system at unnecessary risk.
Working remotely is made much easier thanks to today’s modern technology solutions. Many organizations have at least part of their workforce working remotely, but without the proper support, remote work wouldn’t be possible. With the latest technology and a couple of best practices, the remote worker can be just as productive, if not more so, than the in-house worker.
While we tend to focus on the latest technology solutions in the workplace, sometimes it helps to view them from a different perspective, like recreation. Specifically, Windows 10 has become a popular operating system amongst PC gamers, and has reached nearly half of the considerable total user base of the cloud-based gaming platform, Steam.
k_Street Consulting, LLC is proud to announce the launch of our new website at https://www.kstreetllc.com. The goal of the new website is to make it easier for our existing clients to submit and manage support requests, and provide more information about our services for prospective clients.
It’s well-known that publishers are a major component of an author sharing their work with the world, but recent innovations threaten to disrupt the status quo of the industry. Like many industries, the publishing industry has been changed significantly by the introduction of new technologies that afford writers more liberty when producing their work. What can the business owner learn from these changes?
Mobile platforms have given way to entirely new ways to develop and make use of apps. More business professionals than ever before are relying on their smartphones to get work done while out of the office, but the functionality of the on-screen keyboard interface has some of them stumped on how to stay productive. It’s for this reason that developers have created applications designed to listen to users’ voices, and record them in text format.
Sitting at a desk all day is probably the worst thing you can do for your health. The average office worker sits for 9.7 hours each day and after one hour of sitting the production of enzymes that burn fat declines by as much as 90 percent, significantly slowing metabolism. Then there’s ongoing back pain and eye strain. What’s the modern office worker to do?
A data loss incident is considered a major disaster scenario, especially for small and medium-sized businesses. All it takes is one moment to lose your business’s entire data infrastructure. We’ll walk you through a story that should serve as a cautionary tale, one that hopefully teaches you to adhere to data backup and disaster recovery best practices.
If you’re like every other business in the world, you rely on a set of software solutions that you use to ensure that all work gets done properly in your office. In order to effectively use this software, though, users have to purchase a software license, an agreement with the developers pertaining to the use of the software. Without having the proper licensing, your business can no longer access mission-critical applications, which could result in downtime and other risks to your infrastructure.
The traditional telephone system has been a staple in the office for decades. However, your typical landline telephone system hasn’t aged well, and has been left relatively useless in the wake of better, more flexible solutions, that are designed to save your business money. Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, is a great tool that can be used to improve your business’s ability to grow.
Your business stores a ton of data that you access on a daily basis, and therefore, you require adequate data storage space. Should you go with solid state drives (SSD) or hard disk drives (HDD) for your primary data storage needs? We’ll discuss the various strengths and weaknesses of both types of drives.
Not too long ago, businesses would seek out technology professionals for help in resolving difficulties. Nowadays, the way companies go about IT maintenance has been turned on its head. Instead of reacting to major hardware failure, businesses are finding it more economical to proactively maintain their technology, preventing major issues from happening in the first place.
Your business’s productivity suite, be it Google Apps for Work or Microsoft Office 365, is a critical component for your success. These services, when implemented in the cloud, can be major game-changers, and it’s thanks to the convenience of mobile data and application access that have led to such vigor in the development of the cloud.
When it comes to cybersecurity, maintenance is key. Whether you choose human-based security or an automated security solution, running into shortcomings is still possible. Human security tends to rely on the word of experts, and anything that doesn’t fit into the guidelines is missed and may therefore get through and wreak havoc. Network security can be a touch overzealous, in a way “crying wolf,” with an excess of false positives that ultimately require human analysis, leading to human frustration.
It’s safe to say that nobody enjoys their email inbox getting clogged with messages. Unfortunately, communicating by email is a standard part of doing business. Of course, in order for these emails to communicate their message, they must first pique the interest of the recipient enough to be opened. Here is a guide to crafting email subject lines that get readers to open them.
What kind of Microsoft products does your business use on a regular basis? If you can’t answer this question, you could be in trouble when it comes time to update your crucial applications and operating systems. This is a necessary part of working with technology; if your software can’t be considered secure, you need to upgrade to a more recent, better-functioning tool, or find yourself in a dangerous situation.
Your wireless router is both an integral part of your business’s online infrastructure, and a critical part of your home computing environment. Therefore, you need to make sure that your router is broadcasting a clear signal. Here are some tips on how to keep your wireless signal as strong as possible, regardless of where you are in the office.
It makes no difference how your business’s administrative chain of command is set up. Everyone should have a basic understanding of how your IT works, as well as its related responsibilities and functions. Here are four easy ways that you can educate yourself (and your staff) on how your IT department works, be it internal or outsourced.
It’s been over two years since Microsoft stopped providing Windows XP with security updates and patches. The Windows operating system was known as one of the most popular Windows operating systems ever. Both businesses and consumers were affected by this major update, being forced to migrate to more recent operating systems in order to stay secure. Thankfully, an upgrade to Windows 10 isn’t nearly as difficult as one from XP to Windows 7, largely because of the hardware costs involved.
Tip of the Week: How to Take a Picture of a Document With Your Android Device and Turn it Into a PDF
Like many of Google’s productivity applications, Google Drive is available on both iOS and Android mobile devices. One of the neat features that users of Android can take advantage of is the ability to scan a PDF and store it in Drive, all by taking a picture of the document. Plus, if it has text on it which was created by a computer, you can use Drive’s search function to find it at a later date.
Everyone loves a good vacation, especially if you have the good fortune of having a reliable staff on-hand that can handle the administration of your office while you’re away. Although, it might be tempting to just cut yourself off from technology and enjoy your time off, doing so might cause problems down the line that could easily be prevented by simply checking your email or calling home-base once in a while.
You implement technology solutions to keep your network safe from hackers, but what would you do if your systems were bypassed and infiltrated? Every business owner needs to consider this scenario, because even the best of us can fall victim to hacking attacks when we least expect them. Approaching such an event in a reasonable way is your best chance of making it through in one piece.
Business owners know all too well how painful it can be to manage technology. In addition to making sure that your business functions properly, you also need to keep your technology in working order. Many organizations that rely on technology in order to stay productive free up valuable time and resources by outsourcing their needs to third-party providers.
In an infamous 2012 survey by Wakefield Research, the ignorance of the general public regarding cloud computing was revealed: 51 percent believed that stormy weather interferes with cloud computing, and 29 percent thought that the cloud was an actual cloud. Furthermore, what may elude many computer users is the fact that a process known as virtualization is actually what’s behind cloud computing (not atmospheric conditions).
The cloud is deeply-seated in the way that the modern business handles its day-to-day operations. It’s great for managing access to critical data and applications, making it vastly easier for businesses to optimize operations. With so many great technology innovations revolving around the cloud, how does your business plan on implementing the cloud in 2016?
We often talk about how important it is that your business use the most recent and up-to-date versions of your software solutions, but it’s not often that we get to say that people using Internet Explorer 11 have the right idea. As it turns out, nearly a quarter of all Windows PCs are still using unsupported versions of Internet Explorer, with half of them being found on computers still running Windows XP. What has this world come to?
If you’re like every other small business out there, you know that the more employees you hire, the more technology that you have to procure. However, when you have more end-users, you provide more avenues for threats to slip into your network infrastructure unnoticed. When all it takes is one simple mistake from a single end-user, how can you minimize the chances of falling victim to an untimely hacking attack?
The 1990s were dominated by all sorts of great technology: VHS, floppy disks, and grossly oversized computer hardware. Learning new technology shortcuts was once all the rage, but when looked at now, these tech tips are rendered obsolete. However, that doesn’t stop them from hitting us right in the nostalgia. Here are some of our favorite tech tips from the 1990s.
Not that long ago, the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange was filled with business-tie clad gladiators, climbing over each other in what looked like a capitalism-induced mosh pit. The Open Outcry pit had its language, its own weather, its own smell. Nowadays, these pits are more subdued. They still are populated with people, and some are gesturing to buy and sell, but most of the transactions are done digitally. It is this role where the computer has changed the way financial markets work; from the ground up.
You understand that the Recycle Bin is the place where deleted files go, and you know that emptying the Recycle Bin is how you dispose of files that you no longer need. What you might not know is that emptying your Recycle Bin does not guarantee that your files are gone at all, and that they’re probably still available on your PC.
Social media, as wonderful a tool for connecting and communicating as it is, does have its dangers. Fortunately, these risks may be mitigated through careful deliberation and pragmatic posting habits, but only if you know what they are. What follows are some easy habits to encourage a heightened state of security both digitally and in the physical world.
Wireless technology is a staple in the office, but it’s making leaps and bounds in the medical industry, too. With innovations like wireless sensors, pumps, and other Internet of Things devices that can communicate with each other, medical care can be provided in unprecedented ways. But what would you say if we told you that wireless technology can give the blind back their sight?
Eliminating unnecessary costs is a natural part of doing business. By “trimming the fat,” so to speak, organizations can optimize operations and profits. Automation technology is instrumental to this plight, but as these systems grow more advanced and capable, even professional employees are finding themselves at risk of losing their jobs to cheaper, more efficient automated systems.