MSPNetworks Blog

Laptops are pretty great, I think we can all agree, simply due to their portability. Having said that, the one-screen situation that laptops bring with them can certainly get in the way of productivity—particularly for those who are used to using more than one. Let’s discuss why an additional display is so helpful, and what your options may be for hooking one up to your laptop.

Why an Additional Screen is Worth It

First off, if you haven’t used a second monitor to work yet, it’s time to get on board. The average business workstation really should have two displays, simply because it has shown to provide a significant boost to productivity. Instead of rearranging tabs and windows each time you need something else in focus, double the working area gives you considerably more options. Need to check your email pretty consistently throughout the day? Have it up on one of your monitors, while your current task is up on the other. Need to check data? Have a historical record on one side, with the new version on the other.

Honestly, once you start using multiple monitors, just having access to one feels restrictive.

Plus, adding an additional monitor doesn’t have to be a bank-breaking investment—provided the monitor you’re choosing isn’t too expensive (which, for business purposes, it usually doesn’t need to be). The other hardware you have has probably already been configured to add an additional monitor by adding at least one additional port.

How to Check That Your Laptop Supports Multiple Monitors

In terms of hardware, there are a few questions you need to ask yourself:

• Does my device’s graphics card support multiple monitors? Nowadays, this is simple enough to determine. All you need to do is visit the manufacturer of the graphics card’s website, find your particular model of graphics card, and check the specifications to see if multiple monitors are supported. Of course, IT can help you with this.
• Does your laptop have the right port available? Naturally, you’ll need a way to plug your additional display(s) into your device. We’ll cover this in deeper detail in a moment.

Once you’ve confirmed that your laptop can support more than one monitor input, all you really need to do is plug in your additional display and—once Windows either prompts you to set it as an additional screen or just does it itself—you’re off to the races.

Otherwise, you can access your Settings, and from there, navigate through System, Display, and scrolling down to Multiple displays, adjust the provided drop-down menu so that Extend these displays is selected.

Which of These Ports Can Be Used?

When it comes to attaching an additional monitor, there are a few different ports to choose from.

VGA Ports

While this is an older option, some devices still have a VGA port (the blue trapezoid with all the little pinholes in it, with two attachments on either side for connecting the cable). Not all monitors will have this option anymore, but VGA to HDMI adapters are also an option. Speaking of which…

HDMI/microHDMI Ports

HDMI (short for High-Definition Multimedia Interface) is more or less the standard, and so can be found on most devices. Similar in size to a USB port, these connections have a unique shape that most modern monitors and even televisions support. What’s more, these cables are quite easy to come by—there’s a good chance your display came with one—and are commonly used by various professional and consumer devices.

Some devices, like the smaller laptops that have become common for business use, might have a microHDMI port available for your use. While cables with a micro HDMI end may be a little harder to come by, this still should not be too challenging. If you can’t find a micro HDMI cable, adapters to standard HDMI are plentiful.

DVI

DVI—or Digital Visual Interface—connectors are very versatile, enabling many different screens to still work with modern devices. This allows a level of backwards compatibility that could potentially save your company a bit of money if you happen to have some older displays in working order. DVI cables come with one of a variety of connector types, so make sure you check with IT to ensure you have a cable that will work with your laptop and chosen display.

DisplayPort Ports

Similar in appearance to the familiar HDMI, DisplayPort ports are the ones with only one beveled corner. These ports will require you to use a DisplayPort cable.

Adding a Dock Could Contribute More Options

Some of the more modern ports that are found on different laptops—namely USB-C and Thunderbolt—also allow you to connect a type of additional hardware to your computer to further expand how many monitors you can use. Plus, a dock makes it far easier to extricate your laptop from all the connections it has when you need to take advantage of the laptop’s inherent mobility.

Of course, this will require you to procure the right dock that has compatible ports with your particular model of laptop. That, along with all the other considerations we referenced in this blog, is how MSPNetworks can help.

Part of our many responsibilities is to ensure that your team has the tools they need to be as productive as possible—and yes, using multiple monitors has been shown to have legitimate benefits to productivity due to the uses we covered at the very beginning of this blog. Of course, there are a lot of ways that we can help you make the most of your technology beyond helping you set up multiple monitors.

For more information about the scope of our managed services, check out the rest of our website, or give us a call at (516) 403-9001.

For the past two weeks we have looked at some of the best phones and some that bring the most value. This week, we turned our gaze to a form factor that is only a couple of years old, but seems to be the future of mobile technology, foldable screens. The different form factors made possible by foldable OLED technology make the future of mobile devices more exciting. Let’s take a look at three of the top foldable devices right now.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G

A couple of years ago Samsung came out with their first foldable device, the Galaxy Z Fold, and while the device itself wasn’t anything to really write home about, it did usher in a whole new era of mobile computing. The Galaxy Z Fold3, the third iteration of the line, is by far the most notable of the foldable devices.

The Z Fold3 is built on an aluminum frame with Gorilla Glass Victus front and back. When the phone is folded, it has a 6.2-inch, Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 832 x 2268px display that has a booming 120 hertz refresh rate. Basically they put a high-end, mid-size smartphone screen on the outside cover of the phone. This means that it can ostensibly be used folded up most of the time, but unfolded it gives you a nice tablet-like experience. The larger screen is made from plastic, but it’s remarkable how it doesn’t lose any effectiveness.

The rest of the phone has flagship specs. It runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G chip, and comes with a whopping 12 GB of RAM and 256 or 512 GB of onboard storage. The device runs Android 11, but is able to be upgraded to Android 12 and Samsung’s One UI OS. More and more applications are being designed to take advantage of the foldable screen and the flexibility it gives users.

The Z Fold3 features a 12 MP wide-angle lens with Optical Image Stabilization (OIS), a 12 MP telephoto lens with 2x zoom and OIS, and a 12 MP ultra wide-angle lens. The front-facing camera on the large display is a 4 MP in-display wide-angle lens, while the cover camera is 10 MP wide-angle lens. Overall, the Z Fold3 presents a pretty impressive cache of cameras to do most anything you would need a smartphone to do.

The battery is pretty small at 4,400 mAh, but comes with 25 Watt fast charging to offset the lowly 75 hour endurance rating. For security, there is a side-mounted fingerprint sensor. Other features include a iPX8 water resistance rating, Samsung’s DeX capability and 5G capability.

This ingenious device is available in Phantom Black, Phantom Silver, Phantom Green, Thom Browne Edition, and an exclusive Wooyoungmi Edition, the Galaxy Z Fold3 costs nearly $2,000 from Samsung and most major cell carriers.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G

Body: Aluminum Frame, Gorilla Glass Victus front and back, plastic large display

Display: Closed - 6.2-inch Super AMOLED 2X, 120 Hz, 832 x 2,268 (~374 ppi); Open - 7.6-inch Super AMOLED 2X, 120 Hz, 1768 x 2208

OS: Android 11; upgradable to Android 12, One UI 4.0

Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 888

Memory: 12 GB RAM; 256-to-512 GB onboard storage

Expandable Memory: No

Cameras: Rear - 12 MP, 26mm, OIS; 12 MP 52mm 2x optical zoom OIS; 12 MP 123º ultrawide. Front of device - 10 MP 26mm; Front of folded display - 4 MP under-display

Sounds: Stereo Sound

Battery (battery endurance rating): 4,400 mAh (75 hours)

Security: Side-mounted fingerprint sensor

Miscellaneous: Samsung DeX, IPX8 water resistant, 24W fast charging

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3

Samsung is definitely the leader in foldable devices. As the Z Fold3 is an engineering marvel, the Z Flip3 brings back one of the most popular form factors in smartphone history. The Z Flip3 is Samsung’s best folding phone for people who want both a compact device and a large smartphone experience. The Z Flip3 is effectively a flagship smartphone that folds in half for safekeeping.

The device is made on an aluminum frame, it has a plastic front and a back made from Gorilla Glass Victus. The screen is made from plastic and houses a 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display that comes in at 1,080 x 2,640 pixels and sports a 120 Hz refresh rate. Not bad for a phone that folds in half. When folded there is a 1.9-inch Super AMOLED screen for quick view of time and notifications.

The device runs Android 11 (upgradable to Android 12 with Samsung’s One UI 4.0) on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 FG chip. It comes with 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB or 258 GB of onboard storage. For security it has a side-mounted fingerprint sensor.

The camera on the Z Flip3 has a 12 MP wide-angle lens and a 12 MP ultrawide angle lens, while the selfie camera is a 10 MP wide-angle lens. The battery is a paltry 3,300 mAh offering that allows for 15W fast charging. At a 69-hour endurance rating, the device is at the low end of the premium smartphone market…but it folds in half.

Available in a litany of colors including Phantom Black, Green, Cream, Pink, Dream White and more, the Z Flip3 runs about $1,000 from your friendly neighborhood cell carrier or from Samsung directly.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3

Body: Aluminum frame, plastic front, Gorilla Glass Victus back

Display: 6.7-inch Foldable Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 120 Hz, 1,080 x 2,640px

OS: Android 11; Upgradable to Android 12, Samsung One UI 4.0

Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G

Memory: 8 GB RAM; 128 GB-to- 256 GB of onboard storage

Expandable Memory: No

Cameras: Rear - 12 MP 27mm OIS; 12 MP 123º; Front - 10 MP 26mm

Sounds: Stereo sound

Battery (battery endurance rating): 3,300 (69 hours)

Security: Side-mounted fingerprint sensor

Miscellaneous: IPX8 water resistant, 15 W fast charging

Microsoft Surface Duo 2

Samsung might have superiority over the foldable device space, but other manufacturers are creating some pretty useful devices, too. Microsoft is one of them and their newest folding smartphone is a big upgrade over the first Surface Duo. Well, it has cameras this time at least.

The Surface Duo 2 has great build quality, what you would expect from a Surface line product. There is no outside display like you would find on the Samsung devices, but when closed there is enough of the wrap-around screen to show the time, notifications, and other information. When the device is open there are effectively two 5.8-inch AMOLED panels that add up to a total of an 8.3-inch screen when it’s completely folded out as it functions with large bezels.

The Surface Duo 2 runs Android 11 on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G chip and has 8 GB of RAM and can go up to 512 GB of onboard storage. It comes with a side-mounted fingerprint sensor for security. The battery of the Duo 2 is a 4,449 mAh power cell with available 23W fast charging.

Microsoft decided to put a full suite of cameras on this year's model, a feature that was suspiciously left off of last year’s. The rear mounted cameras have a 12 MP wide-angle lens with OIS, a 12 MP telephoto lens with 2x optical zoom and OIS and a 16 MP ultra wide-angle lens. The front-facing camera is a 12 MP wide-angle lens.

Available in Glacier and Obsidian, the Microsoft Duo 2 is currently being sold for $1,500 online and at microsoft.com.

Microsoft Surface Duo 2

Body: Plastic frame, Gorilla Glass Victus front and back

Display: 8.3-inch AMOLED, 90 hz, 1,832 x2,688 (~401 ppi)

OS: Android 11

Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 888

Memory: 8 GB RAM; 128-to-512 GB onboard storage

Expandable Memory: No

Cameras: Rear - 12 MP 27mm OIS; 12 MP 51mm telephoto 2x optical zoom OIS; 16 MP 13 mm; Front - 12 MP 24mm

Sounds: Stereo sound

Battery (battery endurance rating): 4,449 mAh

Security: Side-mounted fingerprint reader

Miscellaneous: Stylus support

The foldable phone, or some other form factor using the incredible OLED foldable panels, is definitely not a fad. Once manufacturers can roll out these devices for less, you will see more people snatching them up.

Of the three devices we went through, what was your favorite? Are there any other devices that you would recommend to other users? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below and check back to our blog for more great technology content.

How often over the past year or two have you gone to replace a device on your infrastructure, only to find that the price has increased or the device simply isn’t available? This is an issue with the current hardware shortage, particularly for business electronics. Since businesses depend on technology, it becomes critical that you understand how this shortage impacts your day-to-day operations.

As you are surely well aware, there is a hardware shortage out there for computing devices due to a component shortage. This shortage stems from semiconductors, and it’s bleeding into every facet of device creation, from manufacturing to acquisition. Naturally, this creates issues for businesses that need to invest in new hardware for their employees. Here are just a few of the ways this shortage has impacted businesses like yours.

Price Point

As the costs of components increase, so too do the costs of the devices they are a part of. This is an unfortunate side-effect of the costs of manufacturing increasing, and the consumers ultimately pay more for devices. This can also impact the costs associated with services offered by providers, as they need to purchase and maintain equipment to manage these services.

Timeline for Acquisition

With hardware being in short supply, you can expect the acquisition of any new devices to take a bit longer than usual—particularly if you are looking for something very specific. We recommend that you build out a hardware acquisition timeline so that you know when and how often you need to perform hardware refreshes on your infrastructure.

It Makes Upkeep Even More Important

Finally, since devices are more expensive and harder to come by, you should understand that upkeep of your current hardware infrastructure is even more important than before. If something critical fails within your infrastructure and you are unable to immediately replace it due to shortages, what happens? Be sure to take care of what you currently have so that you can get as much value out of it as possible before it kicks the bucket.

What We Recommend

MSPNetworks recommends that you work with us to ensure that your hardware needs are met within a reasonable time and at a reasonable cost. Due to our connections and our working relationships with vendors, we know the most reliable ways to get the technology you need to succeed. Plus, it’s always better to have someone else do the legwork for you so you can avoid the frustrations that come from devices simply not being available when you need them most.

To get started, reach out to us at (516) 403-9001.

Businesses go through a lot of technology, but how does your organization dispose of electronics that are no longer in use? Let’s discuss this incredibly important topic, as the improper disposal of devices could not only put your organization at risk, but also the environment.

Why Shouldn’t I Just Throw Out My Old Technology?

There are several reasons why you don’t want to just throw your technology in the trash.

• First, there is no real accountability if you just throw your technology out. If you don’t take care to remove data from the device, it could be accessible to anyone who finds it.
• Second, modern computer components have a ton of hazardous materials in them, meaning that it’s just bad for the environment for them to sit in a landfill.
• Third, it’s wasteful and unnecessary. Many of the components found in these devices can be repurposed or reused, so making sure the device is processed and recycled is a great choice.

It doesn’t matter what the processes or policies of your recycling facility are; you should always go out of your way to make sure that your devices have been appropriately wiped so that any data found on them is inaccessible moving forward—especially if you are recycling the device. It’s also worth asking whoever is disposing of your device if they plan to erase this data and destroy the hard drives so that nothing can be recovered. Chances are this isn’t the case, and if so, we’re happy to assist.

How Electronics are Recycled

Once a computer has been delivered to a reputable recycling center,it will be broken down. Recycling companies will disassemble the device and process the various components and parts. Each of these parts will then be recycled according to best practice. This is also the process for removing hazardous materials from these devices.

These disassembled components are then processed and renewed. These materials are used to create new devices, cutting out waste that would otherwise sit unused in a landfill elsewhere.

Technology is an incredibly important part of running any business, and we want to make sure that you are getting the most out of yours. For help with this, reach out to MSPNetworks at (516) 403-9001.

Historically there have been several methods to transfer data from one system to the next, and while the cloud has rendered many of them irrelevant and unnecessary, that doesn’t mean they aren’t used by people looking to move data quickly. Many professionals still opt to use USB flash drives to keep certain data close at hand, but how at risk does this put the data on these drives?

Quite a bit, actually. Let’s discuss some of the many challenges that businesses face when dealing with USB flash storage and how it pertains to network and information security.

Device Size

Consider how small many of these flash drives are. This makes them compact and easy to carry around, and they can store a surprisingly large amount of data for their size. Unfortunately, when a business owner heavily uses a USB flash drive for any reason, they are constantly putting that data at risk of being lost or stolen. What would happen if the user accidentally dropped it while out and about? While some USB flash drives allow for encryption and passcodes to lock access as needed, this is not always the case. For this reason, many users prefer alternative methods of data transfer.

Information Security

When USB devices are used to transfer data and take it away from the workplace or off of the company network, tracking where, why, and how it is used can become quite problematic, especially when it comes to sensitive data that is governed by the various data privacy guidelines in specific industries. In particular, you should be wary of employees taking information such as customer data, financial information, intellectual property, source code, and other important assets out of the office; just imagine the fallout that could happen if employees were to lose their drive, or worse, sell the information themselves to make a quick buck. It’s just one other reason to not use USB flash drives, or at least partitioning off data based on user roles within your organization.

Threat Vulnerability

Just because USB drives are pretty low-tech compared to more modern solutions does not mean that they are any less immune to security threats. In fact, infected USB flash drives can become vehicles for security threats to access networks. Consider the fact that these devices are used to transfer or copy files from one location to another. The more endpoints a flash drive connects to, the more likely it is to become infected. The possibility of these types of threats becoming problematic has been detailed in the past through tactics such as the BadUSB firmware hack, so they must be taken seriously.

 Ultimately, it is much easier to secure a cloud-based data storage system and the devices used to access it, but you know what they say: old habits die hard. Do you still use a USB storage device, and if so, did you learn a thing or two about how to keep them secure? If you don’t want to worry about USB technology being used in such a controversial way, we recommend that you implement a cloud-based data storage system that eliminates the need to use physical hardware that could be corrupted or damaged in transit.

Do you routinely use USBs to transfer data from one place to another? If so, the knowledgeable professionals at MSPNetworks can help you move past antiquated hardware and provide the means to keep your data safe. Give our consultants a call today at (516) 403-9001. 

Most of us take streaming media for granted. Whether you are streaming a movie on Netflix, binge-watching a show on Hulu, or using one of the growing number of streaming television networks to stream sports, shows, and news, there is quite a bit of interesting technology fueling your entertainment. Today, we thought we’d briefly go through some of the tech that makes these streaming services, and their millions of simultaneous streaming feeds, possible. 

Often, Streaming Media is Not Pushed Through the Internet

If you asked the average streaming service subscriber how they are able to get their entertainment on demand, they would answer that the companies that do it simply push it over the Internet. You have to be connected to the Internet to get the content so it stands to reason that they just beam it over the network connection, right? 

As it turns out, about 85 percent of internet bandwidth is streaming video. That’s a lot of data to send across the internet, to the point where it would be wildly expensive to host these services in the traditional sense and expect it to work effectively for millions of users every day.

So how do they do it? The streaming services have spent a lot of time and money building out streaming infrastructure. Think about how you use your streaming services. You file through a catalog and then select something to play. Nearly instantaneously, the title you’ve chosen plays; on any device you want to view/hear it on. The process used to make this possible is called over-the-top (OTT) streaming.

OTT streaming is the act of delivering content to the user on a particular device. It has five steps. They are:

• Video ingestion - This is the process of adding content to the streaming platform. Streaming services are always updating their content to provide users with new entertainment. 
• Transcoding - With so many different types of devices being supported by streaming services, they need to alter the content’s code to play on the device you are looking to stream content on. Video files are wrapped differently for every platform. 
• Management - This process is simply managing the content for users. Some users pay more for 4K video streaming and other options. This process ensures that the users get the content they are eligible for.
• Delivery - Content Delivery Networks (CDN) is the hardware and software behind the service. Typically, the content is delivered through regional data centers to give users the speed and reliability that they demand. Netflix has their own CDN, as does Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, and Amazon. Most streaming platforms utilize third-party CDNs due to the cost to build and maintain. In fact, in some cases, Netflix actually sends an entire server with their content library on it to local ISPs so the video content can be delivered to users as effectively as possible.
• Playback - The end result, the playback of the content. Amazingly, all this happens extremely fast and users typically only wait seconds to get the entertainment they want.

Security is Not Cut and Dry

For streaming services—just like your business—keeping their customers’ personal and financial information secure is undeniably important. In fact, nearly 70 percent of businesses are now investing in some sort of video and audio streaming. As a result, finding vulnerabilities in the video dissemination process can be fruitful for the modern hacker. Moreover, for large-scale streaming services they also run into the issue of people frequently sharing their passwords, which is always a red-flag for cybersecurity professionals looking to keep networks secure.

These companies, like many others, also deal with your standard hacks, but when you consider how many people are lackadaisical about their Netflix or Hulu security, it can be much harder for these organizations. Let’s take a look at some of the hacks these organizations frequently deal with:

• Phishing attacks - Phishing attacks are a major problem for everyone, and with so much demand for streaming media, hundreds of lookalike websites have been established on the Internet looking to take advantage of people who are tempted with free subscriptions.
• Credential Stuffing - As mentioned above, it may not be too difficult to get ahold of people’s streaming media access credentials, this can cause major problems for the service itself.
• Brute Force attack - For those hackers who don’t have access, sophisticated software is used to attempt to login through simple trial and error. 
• Man-in-the-Middle - This is just the interception of account credentials and other information by getting between two communicating parties. This is why it is a sound strategy to utilize VPNs and always utilize the multi-factor authentication feature offered by a company.

Streaming media is one of the most utilized services and the number of people using it is growing rapidly. What are your thoughts on the technology used by streaming media? Do you utilize it regularly? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below and return to our blog for more great technology information. 

With such a heavy focus on remote work over the past year or so, if you have tried to procure equipment or technology solutions during this period, you may have noticed that it is much harder than usual to do so. The global chip shortage has led to many challenges for organizations, chief among them getting the parts needed to put together critical technology solutions. This opens up a whole other set of issues, though, particularly in regards to disruption of the supply chain.

First, a little bit of background regarding this issue. With the COVID-19 pandemic disrupting the world so profoundly, the increase in demand for remote technology triggered a massive shortage in the global semiconductor market. So many companies and organizations rushed to purchase new technology to keep their own operations from sinking that the companies responsible for manufacturing semiconductors simply could not keep up with the demand. This demand for semiconductors has had significant impacts on manufacturers of just about all electronics, including the appliance and automobile industries.

Gartner predicts that this shortage will likely last well into 2022, a notion that has turned many organizations and businesses toward finding alternative solutions to their semiconductor shortage woes, lest they suffer from an inability to continue operations. Industry professionals, however, worry that this shortage of parts might open up opportunities for scammers to manufacture and sell fraudulent components.

According to ZDNet, the possibility for fraudsters to take advantage of this opportunity by producing counterfeit products is a very real issue that cannot be avoided. ZDNet reports that there is a precedent for this happening, like with the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan; this triggered a shortage of capacitors for medical devices, a shortage that fraudsters took advantage of by producing counterfeit products.

As for whether or not these counterfeit products are problematic, the answer is a resounding “yes,” but probably not for the reasons that you might suspect. In most cases, the counterfeit semiconductors themselves are either manufactured to appear legitimate or to imitate the real deal, or they are components that have been stripped of all branding and repackaged for resale. In both cases, according to ZDNet, these fraudulent components are not subject to the rigorous quality control procedures that large manufacturers have in place, meaning that they might pass basic quality control checks, but are simply not sustainable long-term.

Now, consider what might happen to businesses or manufacturers who procure these counterfeit products and integrate them into their supply chain and processes. Suddenly these components are actively being used in the same way that real components that have been tested are. What happens when these components fail and lead to disaster? It’s a position that no business wants to find itself in.

When it comes to procuring equipment for your business, you can trust that MSPNetworks will help you get the best deals and the best components for your business. We work with trusted vendors to ensure that you are not shortchanged by unfortunate trends in the market, and since we only work with vendors we trust, you can know with confidence that you are getting devices and components that are legitimate.

To learn more about what we can do for your business, reach out to us at (516) 403-9001.

If you’ve ever used technology, the power button has had a pretty consistent appearance, and an even more consistent use. However, there’s a reason that the power symbol we’re so familiar with looks the way it does. Furthermore, there’s more that the power button can ultimately do.

What the “Power” Symbol Means

The symbol that appears on the power button looks somewhat unique. However, this makes more sense when you consider that it’s just what you get when you smoosh the “|” for on and the “O” for off into a single symbol.

How the Power Button Can Be Used

Hopefully, you’ve already learned that your power button should really only be used to power up your system, or—if no other options are available—to power off the device after all your work is saved and your programs are all closed out (again, only as a last resort). Whenever you can, it is better to use the shut down option nestled into the operating system.

We take this so seriously because abusing the power button is just a convenient means to abuse the device itself. Improperly powering down your system in this way can lead to file corruption and potentially give the device a hard time when you start it back up.

Of course, with help from a technician, it is possible to remap your power button to do something different when it is pressed if you so choose.

Remapping Your Power Button

You have the capability to change your power button’s functionality, allowing you to set it to do something other than turn off your system when it is pressed—or, if you’re working with your laptop, your lid is closed when it's plugged in or running on stored battery power. In your Control Panel, under Hardware and Sound, find your Power Options and Choose what the power button does.

Your options as to its function include:

• Do nothing
• Sleep
• Hibernate
• Shut Down (when pressing the power button on a laptop)
• Turn off the display (when pressing the power button on a laptop)

Make sure you Save changes so that your settings are properly applied.

Interested in finding out more about your technology and how it can most benefit your business? Give MSPNetworks a call at (516) 403-9001 to find out more.

The laptop is one of the great productivity tools in modern business. Their portability gives them immense value. There are some cons to using a laptop, however. One is the trackpad. While they have improved over the years, they are still not ideal, which is why you see many people who use a laptop for productivity bring along a wireless mouse. One of the biggest problems people run into is that they have a hard time with the click-and-drag feature on the trackpad and this makes working in certain programs maddening. Today, we have a tip to make this process much simpler. 

Disclaimer: You will have to change your settings for this tip, so if you don’t feel comfortable changing things inside your Windows OS, let your IT provider know and they will assist you.

ClickLock is a Great Tool for the Laptop User

ClickLock is a feature offered inside Windows that eliminates the frustration of the click-and-drag problems you have on your laptop, as it allows you to start and stop your drag option by simply pressing your left button a little longer.

It works like this:

• Hover your cursor over the window or item you are trying to move and press and hold the (left) touchpad button for a few seconds. This activates ClickLock.
• Once ClickLock is active, simply release the mouse button and move the cursor freely to where you want your window or item to go.
• Once it is positioned, press the (left) touchpad once again to confirm your drag selection.

You will immediately see the improvement. Like many options that don’t come by default, you have to activate it in your settings.

Activating ClickLock

To use ClickLock, you need to first navigate to your Control Panel, from your Start Menu:

• In the Control Panel, navigate to Hardware and Sound.
• There, find the Devices and Printers section and click the link to the Mouse section.
• In the Buttons tab, check the box labeled Turn on ClickLock, click Apply, and then Ok.

We hope this will help you be more productive and reduce your frustration when working on your laptop. For more great tips and tricks return to our blog soon.

Quick, off the top of your head, how many network switches are in use at your office? How many wireless access points? How many routers are past their warranty or no longer getting support?

That’s not a question most business owners are asked on a regular basis, and we don’t really expect you to be able to rattle off the answers. You should have all of that information documented though.

Documenting your entire IT infrastructure saves you a ton of time and hassle later. It can help with insurance, it can help simply keep track of everything you are supposed to be keeping secure, and it can help prevent you from buying something you don’t need.

What Information Needs to be Documented?

While it’s going to depend a little bit from device to device, you’ll at least want to track some of the basics.

Device Name: Pretty straightforward—the name of the device on the network, if it has one, or give it a descriptor name if it doesn’t, such as “Conference Room Network Switch.”

Device Model and Serial Number: You’ll want this for support and warranty issues. It’s easier to have it written down than having to find the tiny label on the device after it is in place and hooked up.

Installation Date: When was the device purchased and installed?

Who Installed It: It never hurts to know—if a particular company or employee set it up, and it wasn’t set up properly, you’ll want to know who to reach out to.

Warranty Information: How long does the manufacturer’s warranty last? Did you purchase extended warranty? Does the device have an estimated end of life date?

Vendor Information: Is there a support number? Did you purchase the device directly from the vendor or a third party?

Location: Where is the device located in the office? Is it in the server room, or behind the reception desk? 

Service History: This one is huge, and the hardest information to keep up with. If work is done on the device, it should be documented. That includes the initial setup and ongoing administrative changes. If the device has a tendency to fail often, your documentation will show this as you audit your network.

Documenting your IT is a huge part of keeping your IT running smoothly. You don’t need to do this by yourself. At MSPNetworks, we document every piece of hardware and software we touch and keep a very clear historical record of the work we do so we can always adjust our processes and help business owners make informed IT-related decisions.

Want to learn more? Give us a call at (516) 403-9001.

A lot of people never stop and consider how their data is saved. It’s something we all have, from old photos of our family vacations to the files kept on the server back at the office, but not many people know the actual mechanics behind it. Today, we wanted to go over these specifics, and hopefully make it clear why we always advocate for backup practices.

How Does a Hard Drive Work?

The traditional hard disk drive, often shortened to HDD, works a little bit like a phonograph or gramophone did. Platters inside the drive store your data, layered on top of one another and magnetized. A small mechanical arm sits over them to read and write data to the drive, just as a record player had its needle to coax out the sound.

Much as a record would on a record player, these platters spin. However, rather than having a rate of 33 or 78 rotations per minute, the platters on a hard drive generally reach 7200 RPM. This speed creates a cushion of air that holds up the arm and keeps it from making contact, which would destroy the data the drive contains.

There are actually a lot of reasons that data could be lost if it is stored on a hard drive. As a mechanical system, plenty of issues could arise and cause the drive to fail entirely. The motor that spins the platters could burn out, the arm could catch, or the platters themselves could even break if not handled with care. Whatever the reason, once the drive is rendered inaccessible, the data stored on it is as good as gone.

Once you consider how much you rely on your hard drive to do (like opening, editing, and saving files, surfing the web, and countless other general utilities) the importance of the data on your hard drive is only too clear.

(To be clear, we are not referring to SSD drives right now. As they don’t rely on any moving parts, they are a little sturdier, but certainly not impervious.)

Despite this clear vulnerability, we put our trust in these devices each and every day. Your laptop or computer will have at least one or two, while a business server will use many more. Some of us carry our data around in external hard drives.

Do you really feel comfortable putting all that trust in some fragile moving parts and a tiny cushion of air? And, assuming the answer is no…

Why Would You Ever Only Have Your Data in One Place?

Seriously. If you only have one copy of your data stored on a single one of these hard drives, it is at a higher-than-you’d-expect risk of data loss.

Thankfully, this is very simple to mitigate, especially with our help. We’ve helped many businesses generate backup solutions that are tested to be trustworthy, ensuring that their data isn’t going to be lost if some circumstance were to strike. By storing a second copy of their data on another device in the office, as well as a third (and fourth, and fifth, if possible) offsite in the cloud, we allow these businesses the confidence that comes with knowing that their data isn’t going to be completely lost to them.

To learn more about how we accomplish this, reach out to us directly at (516) 403-9001!

Once a mobile device outlives its presumed usefulness, the default assumption is that there is nothing left to do but dispose of it. However, before you do so, reconsider. There may be other ways that your device could show its utility. For today’s tip, we’ll review a few ways that an aged-out smartphone or tablet can still be handy for you (even in the office)!

Keep in mind that these are all only suggestions, and should all be run by your IT resource for approval before you try to tweak anything.

Remote into Your Home Desktop

While we can help you where solutions that allow your team to access their workstations from home are involved, you and your users may find yourself needing the opposite connectivity at times. There are many apps that, when installed on both devices, allow you to turn your Android device into a terminal tied to your home system.

Turn it into a Video Conferencing Hub

With a few older devices, you can easily create a video communications network to collaborate with others in the office, or even others across the world. A stand, a power source, and a Wi-Fi connection are all you need, and you’ll have a reliable means of reaching out via video.

Make it a Decorative Feature for Your Desk

Real productivity isn’t possible in a completely sterile environment, so why not jazz up your workspace with a photograph. Find out if the cloud service of your choice has a slideshow function (as Google Photos does) and let your phone rotate out your photos. Alternatively, there are webcam apps that can deliver a livestream of some remote location directly to your desk, if you prefer.

If you’d like something with some more functionality, you could always set up your old smartphone to be a desk clock or calendar to give yourself a quick-access reference point for these needs.

Turn it into a Security Camera

If there’s something special you want to keep an eye on while you’re at the office (or again, vice versa), you can also set up your mobile device to act as an impromptu security camera. Various applications are available that will allow you to stream a live feed from your mobile device to a web browser, keeping you in-the-know of everything that is happening while you’re away. This isn’t really a replacement for physical security for your business, but it’s a great way to keep tabs on your dog at home.

Of course, if your mobile device is ready for retirement, you should at least dispose of it responsibly and properly. Reach out to our team to learn more about recycling your electronics securely, and for any other IT-related questions, at (516) 403-9001.

The curious thing about information technology is that, while it improves as any other technology would, the environment can accelerate the various changes made to it at various rates. As a result, knowing when your business needs to upgrade its technology isn’t always so cut-and-dry. To help, we’re sharing a few clear indicators that hint that the time has come.

Your IT Team is Always Busy

Or, more specifically, they are always scrambling to fix problems as they pop up. Older technology is prone to issues like this (and others, as we will get into). So, if your internal team is always chasing down problems, or you’ve been calling in the local IT guy almost every day, it will be more helpful to upgrade your technology. More up-to-date solutions will be less susceptible to these kinds of difficulties, so the costs saved in maintenance and remediation will likely offset the financial burden of an upgrade.

Your Employees are Frustrated and Default to Using Workarounds

One of the most reassuring things about most job processes is the fact that there is a process at all, so if your technology no longer allows your set processes to be followed, how do you think your employees will react to it? They aren’t going to be happy, that’s for sure, and in order to accomplish what they are responsible for, they might resort to finding their own, less efficient (and less secure) methods to complete their objectives… methods that might be laden with problems. Improved tools can eliminate this need by providing a set, company-approved and secure process for employees to follow.

Your Technology Runs Reeeeaaaally Sloooooooowly

Speaking of things that frustrate your users, slow technology is perhaps public enemy number one in the office. Whether workstations are taking too long to boot up, the Internet connection is flaky, you deal with slow application load times, or too many other examples to list here, lagginess is generally best resolved by a replacement. This is very closely related to our next warning sign…

...You’re Feeling Financial Strains

It’s simple math, really. If each task takes longer to complete, fewer tasks can be completed throughout the day, which usually translates to reduced revenue overall. At the same time, your employees will still be paid their usual wage, meaning that you’re spending the same amount of money to generate less income. It doesn’t take an economics degree to see that this isn’t good.

Investing in an upgrade can help you improve your productivity, which gives you the potential to generate increased amounts of revenue. So, instead of working for less money, you have the chance to see some significant returns from your investment.

You’re More Vulnerable to Cyberattacks

Here’s the worst of it: as technology improves, so do the cyberattacks that bad actors will use to undermine it. By using older technology, you are effectively welcoming cybercriminals to attack you--especially if your tools have passed their end of support date. Updating your software, whether it’s your security solution or the productivity tools you rely on, helps to reinforce your overall security by reducing a particularly potent weakness.

So, when all is said and done, keeping up on your IT upgrades is a bit of a no-brainer. For more information on whether or not you need to upgrade your IT, or assistance in doing so, reach out to MSPNetworks! Our professionals are just a call to (516) 403-9001 away.

We hear a lot about the benefits of moving your business to the cloud. It can reduce that big expense on new infrastructure and the ongoing management costs. The cloud can increase the effectiveness of your IT budget. It can add functionality and increase user satisfaction. 

Businesses are rapidly moving all or portions of their IT to the cloud, and for a lot of good reasons, but before you do, it is important to remember the following:

The Cloud Is Someone Else’s Computer

Depending on how you look at it, this is either a pro or a con. If you are hosting your data in the cloud, you are essentially entrusting someone else to manage your data. That might mean that the data is in better hands - a professional data center with top-notch security, climate control, near-perfect uptime, and certified staff to manage the hardware, software, and network equipment is usually a big step up from most small business management.

That said, anyone can sell cloud storage. Anyone can lease out a portion of a data center, or keep a shared server on their premise and sell you cloud computing resources from it. 

Before you pull the trigger, you’ll want to understand what kinds of SLAs (service level agreement) you have, how emergencies are handled, and make sure you are getting the computing resources you need.

Cloud Migrations Can Be Disruptive

Migrating your infrastructure to the cloud could be a fairly straightforward process, or it could require a lot of time and labor. Don’t get fooled by the low monthly price - there will often be some legwork to move the data, configure the environment, train your users, and make tweaks.

That migration time doesn’t mean you don’t have access to your data, but the transition could take time, and anytime users need to change their regular everyday processes, it can slow things down.

When Done Right, It’s Worth It

Today, most businesses can benefit from at least some degree of cloud computing, whether it be some basics like hosted email and document management (like G Suite or Office 365), data backups, or a line-of-business app, to moving most of your infrastructure to a hosted environment.

The problem most businesses run into is when a cloud implementation isn’t planned out properly, or is handled poorly. 

We’d love to talk to you about the cloud. Give us a call at (516) 403-9001 and set up an appointment!

With technology being deployed to help businesses solve all manners of operational inefficiency, it’s often difficult to pinpoint what IT will work best for your business. Organizations of all types look to technology; and, at some point you need to ask yourself if your technology is set up to help reach your business’ potential. 

If you are like many other businesses, IT is a crucial part of your business’ day-to-day operations and it stands to reason that it should be a priority to understand just how it functions to do so. This process, while pretty transparent, is not always cut and dry. With a simple IT assessment, you can get a clear look at how your organization’s IT functions, how it works to tie your business together, and get an idea how it can be improved. Today, we’ll take a look at an IT assessment and how it can be the first step on a path to improving your operations. 

The Assessment 

In order to get the most comprehensive look at how your IT is functioning for your business, you need to take a look at core functions those technologies are used for. They typically include human resources, financial information, hardware, software, specific needs of your business, governance (compliance), managing risk, and the ever-prominent security of said network.

Before we get started going through what to expect from an IT assessment, there are a couple terms that you need to understand:

• Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) - This metric will measure the total cost of a piece of technology. This takes into account the initial cost, the cost of operation, the cost of maintenance, and the cost of any downtime related to the solution in question.
• Return on Investment (ROI) - This metric will measure how much you’ve profited off of an investment. 

These two metrics will come into play frequently during the IT assessment. 

But First...

You have to know why you would need an IT assessment in the first place. An IT assessment, or IT audit, is going to be the basis for the decisions that will come after. For that reason it is extremely important that you have trained technicians who know exactly what they are looking at, conducting the audit. It’s crucial that the people who conduct the assessment understand how IT should be used as a part of your business’ workflow, not aside from it. 

Starting the Assessment

The first thing that will happen during an IT assessment is to put together something called the Asset Detail Report. The Asset Detail Report lists all computers, servers, virtualized computing platforms, printers, switches, routers, and any other hardware and software that you have or pay for. This will present the age of all the hardware systems your organization has; provide the names of software, when it was installed, and what versions you’re working with; the status of endpoint security; where, and how much, data is stored; IP addresses and much, much more. 

At this time, it may be advantageous to create a site diagram. A site diagram shows you how your data flows through your network and devices. This visual representation of your IT infrastructure will give you a map of sorts of your organization’s network. The IT technicians at MSPNetworks can assist you with any part of the IT assessment process. 

Next the IT SWOT analysis, which is a metric that separates the strengths, weakness, opportunities, and threats affecting your business’ IT network. First, technicians will identify internal and external factors that are considered favorable or unfavorable to the network and infrastructure health--including security--of the organization’s IT.  Next, the techs will use the SWOT results to make recommendations on how to improve network security and suggest what types of investments will be needed to reduce organizational risk, promote rapid and sustainable ROI, and maintain a positive TCO. These suggestions will then be put into an actionable plan with the design to help a business make the right technology decisions. 

Finally, the assessment will produce a risk report from an evaluation of:

• Network hardware
• Security configuration
• Servers
• VPN/Remote Access
• Websites, domain names, and hosting provider
• ISP
• Phone System
• Email, messaging, and conferencing
• Computers, mobile devices, tablets
• Cabling
• Printers
• Software and mobile apps
• Procedures, policies
• Technology vendors

...and more

This report will identify domain controllers and online statuses, list users in Active Directory, a user’s last login, identify potential security issues such as weak passwords and machines that haven’t had their software updates, and provide the known vulnerabilities found on the network. With this report you will understand everything you need to know about your organization’s IT infrastructure and networking; and, their relationship to your team’s ability to be productive. 

Your organization’s IT is often what holds it all together. For more information about an IT assessment, or to schedule our knowledgeable technicians to complete one for you, call MSPNetworks today at (516) 403-9001.

Make no mistake about it, Huawei is one of the largest technology companies in the entire world. It employs over 200,000 people and in 2018 saw revenues of over $100 billion. Over the past few years, their devices have been pushing the boundaries of what is possible in tech all while being relatively unavailable to one of the major technology markets in the world, the United States. The fact is that outside the U.S., Huawei is a major player.

The reason the tech giant has been shut out of the hungry U.S. tech market has been because there are very legitimate fears of collusion with the Chinese government. This is something that U.S. leaders clearly understand. The U.S., who has been at the forefront of digital surveillance, understands that the more data that is tracked, catalogued and analyzed, the more information is learned. For lawmakers in the U.S., providing the communist Chinese government in Beijing an in to collect information about American industry, U.S. citizens, and the like is looked on as oversharing.

On May 16, the United States doubled down. They added Huawei to their U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security’s “entity list”, effectively barring U.S. companies from doing business with Huawei unless they get explicit permission from Washington. The official reasoning? Huawei “is engaged in activities that are contrary to U.S. national security or foreign policy interest.” Most people in the know have made mention to the ongoing trade war with China being the actual impetus behind the move.

Whatever the reasoning, this act set off a firestorm for the Chinese manufacturer. Huawei’s smartphones run on Android, their computers run Windows 10, these are obviously products of U.S.-owned properties Google and Microsoft, respectively. This means that after August 19, the tech giant will no longer have access to the operating systems their devices run on; and, if you consider all the other U.S. companies they have agreements with (such as NVIDIA and Qualcomm), the decision to put Huawei on the entity list puts a lot of pressure on the company.

Huawei has announced that they have been developing their own OS for a while now, but by having to pivot that abruptly, it will be extraordinarily costly for the company. Since Android is an open-sourced software, they could still use a custom version of that, but they wouldn’t be supported by Google’s terms of service, meaning those customers wouldn’t have access to Google products, including the Google Play store which fuels Android mobile devices. More than any other issue, not having access to apps can sink a mobile platform, just ask Blackberry. In fact, some of the largest companies in the world have tried to create App stores, and only Apple and Google have done it proficiently.

Moreover, even if they were somehow going to figure out the App store situation, not having access to American-developed applications will leave an undeniable hole in the offering, at least in the short term. Apps like Google Chrome, Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and others of the like wouldn’t be available on the environment. While individual users could still use these services through their web browser, apps help mobile function.

It will be interesting to see what Huawei’s strategy will be over the upcoming months to try and mitigate a massive revenue loss; or, if it can convince the U.S. lawmakers that have taken this measure that the company isn’t in Beijing’s pocket. Only time will tell. Have you ever used any Huawei devices? What do you think of the U.S.’s plan? Leave your thoughts on these questions and more in the comments below.