Disaster Recovery
How to Recover from a Ransomware Attack
I have a friend whose business suffered a ransomware attack. Instead of rewarding the crooks with a big pay day, he told them to shove it. No ransom paid. No long-term damage done. How did he recover from a ransomware attack, bruised but not bloodied? I’ll tell you how. (Pay attention if you prefer not…
Read MoreKeeping Your IT Staff Trained Will Keep Cracks Out of Your System — And Possibly Your Walls
A friend was telling me a story recently, about a business owner he knew… She was at her wits end after her one-and-only network administrator hit a wall… …literally. The guy was frustrated because he couldn’t fix a problem that had slowed the network to a crawl. After failing to get anywhere for hours, he…
Read MoreWhy Technical Documentation is Critical for Your Business
A business owner came to me recently in a panic. Her top tech guy quit on short notice, and her network was down. She needed help, and she needed it fast. When we stepped in to help, we discovered: None of the networks were mapped. None of the processes were documented. ALL of the knowledge…
Read MoreHow to Prevent Costly Tech Disasters So You Can Sleep Soundly at Night
We recently started with a new client who breathed a big sigh of relief when we successfully backed up his systems. “Thank, God,” he said. “If our system servers went down we would be screwed.” He got that right… …except for the big sigh of relief. I explained: Backups are critical, but they’re just the…
Read MoreDon’t Lose Control of Your Domain — It Could Cost You Time and Money
I know a business owner who had to change his website address because the jerk who built and hosted his website disappeared. The site went down, and when the owner tried to move it to a new server, he couldn’t do it… …Because the web developer registered the domain, controlled where it pointed, and never…
Read MoreCritical Questions to Ask When Hiring an IT Firm
All tech firms are NOT created equal. So when you’re shopping for a firm to manage desktop support, keep your network running 24/7, protect your data from hackers and thieves, and help you plan and budget for technology upgrades… …you have to be prepared. Here are a few questions to ask when vetting prospective Managed…
Read MoreThe True Cost of a Break-Fix Agreement
I know a business owner whose email server broke down and ground operations to a halt. His IT vendor sent a young associate to fix the server, and the kid didn’t have a clue. The so-called technician was on the phone half the day, speaking to some other expert who directed the process. The “fix”…
Read MoreWhen a Tech Disaster Hits, Will You be Ready?
True story… A business was backing up all of its critical data to drives every night. Then the server that housed all that data croaked. The company’s hapless IT guy said, “No problem. We’ll install a new server and restore all our data from the backup.” Good idea, except the restoration didn’t work. The IT…
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