April 2020
microTECH Times Covered I.T. 24/7—Never Worry Again!
Going green has never been easier! Today’s world of cloud computing puts everything you need to run your business at your fingertips without wasting paper and losing your mind filing or finding things. Take a look at these 5 steps to “go green”.
What’s a paperless office? While this is not a new concept, it’s been around for a few decades, many companies are still struggling to let go of paper. A paperless office is just what it sounds like, an office without filing cabinets and paper pushed all around. No more tracking that darn contract or scrounging up that invoice to pay. Employees can lose as much as 40% of their time chasing paper files. With a paperless office, everything is filed digitally so you can pull it up anywhere whenever you need it. Here are five steps to go paperless.
Open up a cloud based document storage system so you have all the items you need to conduct business right at your computer. Give your employees a platform to share these documents with one another so you don’t have to rely on scheduling time to get the items you need for your next meeting. Open up a messaging application for your employees to communicate online and see how much more freely they can check in with one another without losing time at the water cooler or wandering from office to office asking questions.
2. Get your stuff in the cloud! Once you’ve adopted a cloud storage system and put in place the tools you need to share and communicate, it’s time to move all your existing documents to the cloud. This may be the biggest (Continued on page 2)
1. Cloud storage, cloud-sharing, and an instant messaging app. These are the first steps to break the reliance on paper documents.
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Healthy Habits Help You Grow………..Pg. 2 Are Your Passwords Strong Enough?.....Pg. 3 4 Types of Hackers To Look Out For…….Pg. 3 Hackers Evolve Ahead Of Technology…...Pg. 4 Future Technology: Regenerating Tires….Pg. 4 Audit……...Pg. 5
“How do you cut the ocean in half? With a Sea Saw!” “Why did the sun insist on staying in school? To get brighter!” “What kind of plant can grow in your hand? A Palm Tree!” “How do you know the ocean is friendly? It waves!”
Earth day is an international celebration on April 22nd to educate people about the various issues impacting our planet. See how you can help protect our environment and get involved.
The old perspective. In the 60’s, a book called Silent Spring was published explaining the effects of pollution on our planet. In this time, protecting the planet wasn’t important. Actually, things that brought the most pollutants to our planet were a badge of wealth like cars and factories.
A new way of thinking. It wasn’t until Senator Gaylord Nelson was elected in 1962 that the true issues of environmental concern began to breach the forefront of the government. It took him eight long years of pushing environmental issues into the political agenda to birth the first Earth Day on April 22nd, 1970.
The celebration grew. As it turned out, there were many supporters who joined the (Continued on page 3)
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drawback to going paperless. It is time consuming to scan and save your existing work. Many companies select a base time range that they want included in the cloud, then keep the other paper files for as long as they need them, but move them to storage. We’ve seen people go back as far as 5 years or just elect to start with their active client base and move forward.
3. Use a note-taking application with “to do” lists for everyone. These applications are fantastic for capturing information from meetings or calls. Digital note-taking offers a more organized and shareable format for all the information you may need to complete your duties. The best part? These digital notes are searchable and generally update live from all participants. Applications like Microsoft OneNote, GoodNotes or Evernote give you all of these great benefits and offer access on a variety of devices. Microsoft To Do is one of many great tools to keep your
April 2020
teams organized and accountable for their tasks too.
3. Remote access can boost productivity. Every worry that your office could be more productive if your employees could work remotely? If you are ready to offer this benefit, you may find that your new paperless office is a great framework for remote workers. They are able to access the resources they need in real-time and collaborate with colleagues no mater where they are located. This way, when Sharon’s son is ill for the third time this year, she can stay on top of her high-priority projects.
4. Dump your old mail service. Do you still pay someone to sort the mail? If you are truly looking for a paperless environment, online tools like Traveling Mailbox can help you digitize your physical mail. They offer a fantastic program in which they open, scan and e-mail your physical mail directly to you. You can even set up a special service with them to have them deposit check payments from your clients.
5. Paperless office training. Don’t forget the human element. As you implement new tools, be sure to update your employees and set good expectations for your operations. Create new employee training or documentation to explain how the company operates and how to access the resources they need for their job. Cloud services, collaboration tools, and even mail services can greatly improve productivity saving you a bundle of time and money.
Ready to go paperless? Give us a call to explore cloud services, new applications for collaboration or even remote access to your network and “go green” to save some green. We will review your network and offer a full report of your current structure as well as a few options to help you go paperless.
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Network Assessment Micro Enterprises LLC 877-540 -6789
There's plenty that should be done, but you don’t know where to start?
Build a routine. Building a daily routine can help reduce the stress of finding a starting point. Develop a base routine to start your work day to stay organized and prepared.
Healthy habits. It could be something like: Clean up, organize your inbox, and get rid of all the clutter. External clutter can lead to mental clutter. Advisors at Inc.com say a minimalist approach to your work space will give you fresh perspectives.
Successful people tend to set up morning routines that include exercise and planning. Exercise gets your body and mind moving. Doing it in the morning not only releases feel-good chemicals, but it is easier to start and finish as well. According to a study by the University of Nottingham and Singapore's National Institute of Education, everyone has more selfcontrol and motivation in the morning. As the day wears on, psychological and physical fatigue sets in.
Do one thing daily that motivates you. Meditate, read, recite your life goals. Review your plan and check your to-do list.
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efforts. Rallies and demonstrations took place in Los Angeles, Chicago and even Philadelphia just to name a few. By 1970, over 20 million individuals joined in the celebration. A poll revealed that roughly 25% of Americans now considered protecting our great planet as a priority. 1970 also included a huge wave of action with new environmental laws like the Clean Air, Clean Water and Endangered species Acts.
The next few decades inspired more involvement and growth. By 1990 over 140 countries are said to have joined the efforts to raise awareness about protecting the planet. Earth Day 2020 marks the 50th anniversary of this great celebration. The theme this year is climate action.
What can I do? Join in the festivities! There is so much you can do to help protect and restore our planet. Visit www.earthday.org to find events near you. One great option is to sponsor an event to show your business cares. Join a local event like a cleanup project to show your company cares about the community and the world. Thank you for your involvement.
Happy Earth Day!
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Ugh, passwords! You have them for almost everything and you don’t want to forget them. Are you making them too easy for hackers?
April 2020
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Passwords should have random letters (uppercase and lowercase), numbers and a character. You can use a password generator like LastPass to help you create strong passwords.
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You should also set up a two-step verification system for all accounts that have that available.
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Update your passwords no less than every 6 months.
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Do not write down login information in a note pad or on paper.
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Anyone making changes to an account should have their own login.
Common password mistakes. Our passwords give us access to our bank accounts, e-mails, and almost everything that stores our business and personal confidential information. Common password content like birthdays, favorite sports teams, or names of children are easily found on social media accounts. Implement a standard password policy for your company to keep your data safe.
Policy tips. Put a password policy in place for your business to keep everyone on track with the necessary precautions. Get a program to store your passwords securely such as LastPass. Here are the basics for your company policy:
Still worried about passwords? Give us a call to explore password management programs that can help.
Hackers come in all shapes and sizes. From kids wanting to gain notoriety on the Internet to political groups trying to send a message, the motives for a cyberattack vary widely. So, how can you protect yourself?
ryone including individuals and both small and large businesses. Their goal is to engage in criminal activity online to obtain company information or data to sell or use to make a profit.
Know your hackers. It all starts with
politically motivated. They only hack into systems to promote their political propaganda or to effect social change. Their goal is to make a disturbance in the electronic world that supports their political agenda.
getting to know your enemy a little better. Here’s a profile of four different types of hackers you should be on the look out for to keep your business safe.
1. Insiders. Insiders are just as they sound. Someone within your business or someone that has been inside your business in the past who wants to do damage to your brand for personal gain or to make you fail because they are upset about something. These types of hackers are the worst and scariest type of hacker because they have already been inside your business therefore it’s easier for them to climb into your network.
2. Cybercriminals. These types of hackers are another type you should really worry about because they only act with malicious intent. They target eve-
3. Hacktivists. This type of hacker is
4. Script Kiddies. They are the least professional and you shouldn’t worry about them as much. They mostly hack just to get noticed on the Internet. Sometimes they hack just for the simple fact that they are bored.
Knowing the different types of hackers and what motivates them can help you defend yourself. Make sure that you prevent attacks by staying on top of the current virus protection and updates as well as implementing standard password resets and employee off-boarding procedures.
microTECH Times
April 2020
“We make all of your computer problems go away without adding additional full-time I.T. staff!” Ask about our fixed price service agreements — Computer support at a flat monthly fee you can budget for, just like payroll!
Hackers Evolve Ahead Of Technology. Hackers use
shouldn’t go any longer than that if you have confidential information on your systems that are at risk.
hardware and software to hack your systems. This hardware and software help them find the vulnerabilities within your system. The problem is hackers create systems and technology that often times are ahead of your technology. So, the important thing for you to do is to stay on top of the current technology and virus software. Virus software has the necessary tools to safeguard you from hackers and their attacks.
Future Technology: A Tire That Regenerates? Who thinks of this stuff? Goodyear does, as it turns out. The new Goodyear concept tire was due to be introduced at the Geneva Auto Show, which was cancelled on virus fears, but the company introduced its idea anyway.
Outdated software leaves you out of the loop. If you have This new tire uses environmentally friendly materials an outdated system with outdated virus software, you are the most vulnerable to a hacker’s attack. This can include a virus on your system or the hacker stealing confidential information from your systems and using them without your knowledge.
Hackers are super sneaky. Sometimes you can have a virus without you even knowing it if you don’t have a virus protection software that you run on your system often. It can be hiding in the background and triggered just by logging into a banking system or another action depending on what your hacker is looking to steal.
The best way to prevent attacks is to always have a virus protection software installed and do routine virus scans on your system. You should plan to do a scan on your system at least one time a week and if you can’t you should do once a month. You
such as "synthetic spider silk and dandelion rubber," according to engadget.com. When the tire needs retread, a mixture of the spider silk and dandelion rubber is extruded through little pipes to the surface where it forms new tread and cures into a brand new tire. Don't look for this in stores. Currently, the needed materials are rare and expensive. However, Goodyear is confident that this will change in the future. It could be up to 10 years before it does, but things are moving in the right direction. This new invention could dramatically reduce tire waste around the world.
Get your Network Security Audit Today! 234 N Broadway Ste 2, Pennsville, NJ 08070 877-540-6789 www.microent.net
Running your business is complex enough without technical support and cybersecurity concerns. Everything rides on one thing, the reliability of your network. Do you know if your computers are up-to-date? Does your firewall have the latest licensing? Are your e-mail accounts secure? Give us a call today for your Network Security Audit to unearth a full report of recommendations for your network and learn how to keep your company safe.
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