All posts by SystemsNet Administrator

What can we expect from Microsoft’s new Windows 10 updates?

News, , , ,
20170302

New anticipated developments are being worked on at Microsoft Windows

Windows 10 has been around for roughly two years now, and by the end of September 2016, Microsoft reported its use on hundreds of millions of active devices. Usage is expected to keep growing, and we can expect to see additional updates to the operating system’s capabilities and features.

For 2017, Microsoft announced the major “Windows 10 Creators” update (codenamed Redstone 2); at this point, it’s scheduled for April. More recently, additional reports have emerged about a second Windows 10 update for later in the year; its codename is Redstone 3.

What can we look forward to from each of these updates?

 

Windows 10 Creators

Anyone involved in creative work such as art, graphics, gaming, and animation will be especially excited about the features becoming available through the Windows 10 Creators update.

Even if your work doesn’t largely involve artistic endeavors, some of the new features can help you enrich the visuals you display in PowerPoint presentations, insert in your reports, or share through other software. You’re in a better position to capture people’s attention, present your evidence convincingly, or illuminate the points you’re making as you drum up interest for a project.

What are some of the expected developments from Windows 10 Creators?

  • Working in 3D. In October 2016, the Windows YouTube channel posted a video demonstrating some of the beautiful visuals you’ll be able to create using 3D imagery. With Microsoft Paint 3D, for example, you can convert 2D images into 3D. Presenting, sharing, and printing in 3D are all possible through Windows 10 Creators.
  • Immersing yourself in mixed reality. With relatively affordable VR headsets, and no need for any elaborate setups, you’ll be able to work in a mixed reality environment that blends virtual images with real-world settings. Imagine meetings where you use VR headsets to explore and interact with objects your team is designing, structures they’re planning to build, or landscapes they intend to remake. It opens up new possibilities for innovation, testing, and feedback.
  • Enjoying a better Internet experience with Edge. With the features getting introduced through the Edge browser, users are expected to have an easier time staying organized while on the internet. More powerful tab management gives people thumbnail previews of all the tabs currently open on the browser, helping them find what they’re looking for more quickly and avoid a mess where they’re not sure what tabs they’ve opened; this will improve efficiency and help people switch more easily from one task to another on the web. Edge also offers other powerful features, including support for websites that provide a virtual reality experience.

Redstone 3

There’s still quite a bit of mystery surrounding Redstone 3 and the exact features that will be available through it.

One possible feature is something that Microsoft initially intended for the Windows 10 Creators update but ultimately postponed. This is the MyPeople taskbar, which allows you to organize your most important contacts right in the toolbar on your desktop, making it easier for you to quickly communicate with them. Let’s say you want to share an important project update with one of your contacts. You can drag a file right onto their icon and transmit it to them in various ways.

Redstone 3 may also give us the developments promised through Project Neon, the anticipated redesign of the Windows 10 user interface. MS Power User has described and highlighted some of the possible qualities of this new design, which will include improved ways of interacting with 3D visuals and mixed reality experiences.

With all of these anticipated developments, you may have questions about how you can best use Windows 10 for your business. How can you harness it to improve productivity, inspire creativity, and keep your work secure? Don’t hesitate to contact us for advice and assistance.

What Can A Live Answer Help Desk Do For You?

Manage Service, ,
20170223

We are here to help

Throughout the day, your employees will come across a variety of problems on a daily basis, especially when it comes to IT. Some problems are easy to fix, and others are too difficult for your employees to figure out on their own.

If you want to improve the speed of how fast your IT problems are solved, you should certainly consider making an investment in a live answer help desk. A help desk is a resource that you definitely need when you have to resolve IT problems. When you have a live-answer help desk, your employees will always have someone to talk to when they need assistance.

Here are some of the things your business can expect to receive when you invest in a live answer help-desk.

A Guarantee That Your Problem Will Be Resolved

When your employees are pulling their hair out because they are frustrated and upset about the problems they are facing, they will usually request help. However, sometimes when they reach out for help, they do not always receive a response when they need it the most.

If your employees do not receive a response, they will usually feel like no one cares about the problem they are facing. Your employees should not feel ignored when they are reaching out to an IT team for support. Even if the problem cannot be resolved right away, your employees should be informed that someone will actually begin working on the issue.

Your employees should not submit a question and not receive a response. Your employees will feel better knowing that they can actually ask a question and have someone respond in a timely manner.

Fewer Headaches And Frustrations

You may think you do not need a live answer help-desk because you have an IT staff. Your IT staff already has plenty of work they are responsible for on a daily basis. If you want to take the pressure off your IT staff, they will also benefit from this help desk. The help desk will allow your IT staff to focus on other projects, and it will also allow them to use other resources so they can find the best solution.

Improve Your Business

When your business has a live answer help desk, you will immediately see an increase in the productivity and efficiency in your business. When solutions are resolved quickly and correctly, everyone will benefit. Not only will your employees be able to do their jobs better, but your customers will appreciate the work everyone is doing to make things easier and better for them.

If your employees cannot be productive, your customers will not be happy. If your website is not working, your customers cannot use your website. When they cannot use your website, they cannot purchase any of your products or services. When no one is buying anything, your business is not making money.

Having a live answer help desk has an impact on everyone involved with your business, including the customers. Everyone will enjoy having a better experience when issues are resolved by professionals who are willing and able to help.

If you are interested in a live answer help desk, but you are not sure if making this investment is the right decision for you, do not hesitate to contact us today for more information. It does not matter what size your business is, you should certainly take a look into what a live answer help desk can do for you.

If you want to continue running your business and you do not want IT problems to get in your way, you will appreciate everything that a live answer help desk has to offer.

No end to ransomware in sight – so how can Webroot Antivirus help?

Malware, Security, , ,
20170216

Protection against a ransomware attack

Malware seems to be everywhere, spreading to your devices from a range of sources including infected websites and email attachments.

One type that’s been frequently making the news is ransomware. Once ransomware gets in your system, it will lock you out of critical files or prevent you from using devices on your network. Cyber criminals deploying ransomware give you an ultimatum: pay a certain amount of money by a deadline, or lose access to your data permanently.

ZDNet recently reported on how ransomware has come to dominate malware infections, and has become more malicious and sophisticated, with some strains locking users out of their entire operating system or stealing data off the infected devices.

What are some of the effects of ransomware?

Ransomware can hit businesses and other organizations with staggering costs:

  • If you haven’t made regular, reliable data backups that have been kept safely apart from any system infected with ransomware, you may permanently lose your data. Ransomware can deny you access to financial spreadsheets, invoices, contracts, employee records, customer data, and ongoing projects.
  • Applications you need to use for your business operations are no longer accessible, hindering your ability to meet customers’ needs.
  • You suffer from downtime, with various business operations grinding to a halt.
  • Customers lose trust in your ability to safeguard your systems and their own data.

If you decide to pay the ransom (an inadvisable course of action), you wind up losing more money to the cyber criminals targeting you. Furthermore, they won’t necessarily hold up their end of the bargain; maybe you’ll end up permanently blocked from your data. It’s also possible that the criminals will accept your payment, restore access, and strike again the next day.

The news is full of painful reports about ransomware. Just recently, a police department lost several years of data (including some evidence) to ransomware, and a hotel paid cyber criminals who used ransomware to control the rooms’ electronic door locks. Hospitals, schools, and of course businesses of every size have come under attack from his virulent form of malware.

What can you do to prevent a successful ransomware attack?

Maintaining well-protected data backups and training employees in safer computing habits are both essential strategies for decreasing the chances that you’ll suffer a ransomware infection.

There’s also another line of defense that can help you protect your devices: a powerful, comprehensive anti-malware program.

For example, let’s look at the highly recommended Webroot anti-virus.

The core quality of any anti-malware program is its ability to identify malware and block it from becoming active on your devices. To detect malware, Webroot works off a massive database in the cloud. The database undergoes real-time updates, keeping you protected against the latest known threats.

What if you’re facing a new strain of malware that hasn’t yet been identified? This is a legitimate concern for ransomware in particular, with cyber criminals generating and deploying new strains. In that situation, what Webroot would do is analyze the new code introduced to your computing device and maintain it in a kind of quarantine until it’s deemed acceptable.

Will this work to fend off ransomware 100% of the time? Unfortunately not. There isn’t any anti-malware program that can successfully block every single strain of ransomware, especially new ones that crop up. Webroot, at least, offers you powerful, intelligent monitoring that will still detect many of the threats menacing your business.

The prevalence and maliciousness of ransomware makes it one of the greatest threats to your business. Although anti-malware/anti-virus software can’t serve as your sole defense against ransomware, when it’s an effective program like the one offered by Webroot, you still enjoy significantly heightened protection. Don’t hesitate to contact us for more information, including advice about the Webroot package that’s best suited for your business.

The Value Of A True Managed Service Provider (MSP)

Manage Service, , ,
20170113

Managed technology services are a great tool for businesses looking for a worry-free approach

Managed technology services are a great tool that businesses can use to solidify their technology infrastructure and conduct business with a worry-free approach. Well, we should clarify, managed technology services are a great tool when paired with a TRUSTED Managed Service Provider (MSP).

 

 

Managed Service Partner

Creating and understanding your business’s tech environment takes dedication and patience. You need people who will work with you to understand business critical tasks and the hardware and software applications that you use to accomplish goals. Installing software on your server and workstations and providing automated reports to business owners and managers is simply not enough to sustain a quality partnership.

Trust

Trust goes a long way in all relationships and a true Managed Service Provider (MSP) will work hard to establish trust where it is needed. You need to know what is happening with your network and why, and you need to be able to understand how your MSP is working to protect and strengthen your technology. You need to learn all about it in a language you can understand.

What Does An MSP Actually Do?

As we’ve said, installing monitoring software on your computers is one thing that managed service providers do to help them know what is going on with key components of your network. Software is a useful tool for blocking viruses and reporting technology failures and anomalies; the true power behind a trusted tech partner is their proactive approach to owning the tasks at hand. Actionable items like communicating tech news relevant to your business and helping you understand the importance of back-up and disaster recovery plans are key to a great MSP’s plan of attack.

Reading and understanding automated reports is the job of your managed service provider, not you. The reports you receive should show you how your investment is paying off. You should also feel confidant that you have the support you and your team needs 24×7.

Are MSP Services Quantifiable?

The downtime and frustration that business owners and managers can experience when scrambling to handle their own tech issues can sometimes feel like a ten ton anvil tied around the neck. Your time is valuable and your services are best suited when managing and growing the business. The value of any good technology related service should be evaluated over a period of time and looked at as a return on investment strategy that you and your tech partners establish.

How Do I Know If I Need Services?

If you have a network of any size that you use as the backbone of your business, you can benefit from managed services. Simply put, you won’t have to worry about software upgrades, virus protection, and back-up processes; handling these things along with providing many other options that can streamline your technology infrastructure are par for the course when it comes to investing in managed services.

What If I Have In-House Tech Guys?

Your tech guys will surely appreciate the assistance that an MSP can offer. Whether it is vendor management or user support, taking more responsibility off of your in-house team’s shoulders is a good thing. The value of professional resources is dynamic and talents can be put to better use when yo have a solid team with defined roles in place, contact us to learn more about it.

In Summary

Your technology infrastructure pumps the life-force of business from limb to limb within the body of your business. Make sure you have a solid understanding of how you can proactively ensure the health and long-term success of your technology assets and team. You’ll better empower yourself and others when you take advantage of building trust with the right Managed Services Provider.