Category Archives: Manage Service

Updates are Critical for Your Devices. Here’s Why:

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Hands of a tech updating her laptop's software programs and operating system.

Keep your devices updated to decrease your chances of getting hacked.

If there is one piece of advice that IT pros can give to professionals and business managers, it’s to update. Update your computers, phones and tablets. Update your web server, your software tech stack, and your cybersecurity defenses. Update your operating system, your drivers, and even your printers and routers. Why? Because updates are released for very good reasons.

Outdated technology isn’t just clunky, it’s also dangerous. Hackers thrive on unchanged default settings and known security gaps. So, even if your software and devices are working perfectly, it’s vital to keep up with regular performance and security updates.

 

What Is an Update?

An update is when new software is released that improves your current technology. Sometimes, an update fixes a previous problem. Sometimes, an update may add new functionality, or expand the software to integrate better with other programs. Updates come in all sizes and purposes. Let’s look at a few examples of updates that are easy to understand.

Adobe, for example, often releases a new edition and most users will update to get better features or the fix to a previous flaw. Windows 11 is an update from Windows 10. If you get a cool new web camera or microphone, you might need to install the latest drivers to use them -and this, too, is an update.

 

Why Should You Update?

Many people don’t see the point of updating if your programs and devices work well already. However, updating offers both a myriad of benefits and plays an important role in risk prevention.

If your devices or software go out-of-date, they will stop performing at their best, may lose support from the developer, and lose integration other technology. Worse, the older any technology is, the more time hackers have had to identify vulnerabilities. The latest updates often include security patches that close known vulnerabilities and decrease your chances of getting hacked. Likewise, not updating your software is like leaving the backdoor unlocked when you know there’s a thief in the neighborhood.

One of the biggest recent threats that updates can help protect you from is malvertising – or infected ads on legitimate sites. If your device, firewall, and virus scanner are up to date, malvertising is far less likely to affect your computer.

 

What Should Be Updated?

Updating happens at almost every level of device technology. You should occasionally update the operating system of each device and computer you use, and check for updates of hardware, firmware, and drivers.

Every program you use should be updated regularly, and so should the devices themselves. Update your programs, the browsers you use, and your defense software. Update the operating systems on your phones, tablets, computers, laptops, servers, and even often-forgotten hardware like your router and printer.

 

How Do You Update?

Updating will have a standard procedure for every device and program, and that process is usually quite simple.  Every computer, phone, and tablet operating system has a simple OS updating system that will check for, download, and install updates on a schedule or on command.

Navigate to the Apps section of your settings. From there, you can check for, download, and install updates for individual apps and programs.

Your web browsers will often ask to update themselves, and this is also true for many cloud platform programs.

To update your drivers, you will often need to download the latest driver and install it through your Device Manager menu. This may also be true of some software.

To update more complex software, there may be a plugin or update manager found through the internal dashboards. In almost all cases, updates and patching have been made easy, and the paths easily researched.

 

Taking Control of Your Update Cycle

Staying updated keeps your system running with optimized performance and security. When you’re ready to take control of your update cycle, contact us to up  your game and learn more about managed IT services.

Why manage your IT alone when you can have a team of experts at your disposal?

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Team of IT experts working on a computer - managing a company's IT systems.

Having an expert team handling your cybersecurity burden is the best option for your business.

The more technology evolves, the more systems’ security becomes complicated. You have more cybersecurity threats now, than the average 90s person. You have to be on the lookout for hackers who may sell or buy your credentials and private information on the dark web.

Furthermore, on top of an in-built spam filter, you need an additional third party spam filter to improve email security. And if you are using cloud services, then you need to initialize multifactor authentication, otherwise hackers will easily own your accounts.

All these measures may sound overwhelming, and a solution like SentinelOne’s Singularity XDR may sound appealing. Who doesn’t want an automated, AI-integrated cybersecurity software that gives you full control over threats?

Even if you could individually monitor and deal with threats, why would you want to burden yourself when you can have experts handle your cybersecurity burden?

In this post, we look at our last 4 blog posts to show how recent security concerns require innovative tools to deal with. We elaborate why you need to outsource cybersecurity to your managed service provider instead of handling these modern security concerns by yourself.

You Need a Third Party Spam Filter

Even if you have Office 365, you need a third party spam filter for optimum protection. Office 365 uses Microsoft’s Exchange Online Protection (EOP) as the built-in spam filter. However, EOP does not provide the level of protection against malicious emails required by most organizations. Some spam and phishing emails make it past EOP’s protection and endanger the organization.

Therefore, third-party spam filters are required for optimally spam protection. Third-party spam filters are preferred because they are AI-integrated and are constantly learning to identify and block new spam and phishing threats as they occur.

These spam filters also provide DKIM and SPF email authentication protection, which ensures your emails are not spoofed. Phishing attacks are commonly launched through spoofed emails, which are difficult to detect without DKIM and SPF email authentication protection.

You Need To Protect Your System From Dark Web Hackers

The Dark Web exists, and it can really hurt your business. Hackers sell and buy stolen credentials on the Dark Web. For as little as $8, they can get hold of your organization’s usernames, and account passwords, wrecking havoc to your system.

You should make an effort to monitor the Dark Web for your details. If your credentials are already on the Dark Web, the best you can do is immediately change your passwords and initiate multifactor authentication.

You Need Multifactor Authentication for Your Cloud Services

Hackers with your credentials can access and own your accounts. Most of our data is stored in the cloud, where access is authorized to any remote user with matching credentials. Multifactor authentication activates additional security measures that confirm that the remote user is indeed an authorized user.

Multifactor authentication is a quick, easy solution to the problem of hacked credentials.

You Need an AI Assisted Cross-stack Solution to Monitor and Respond to Threats

With evolving technology, the areas of vulnerability and attack vectors have increased. Solutions like SentinelOne’s Singularity XDR give customers a unified and proactive approach to almost all potential points of attack. You can monitor and respond to threats as they occur.

Get All These Services From Your Managed Service Provider

From the above points, it is evident you need to protect yourself against a number of cybersecurity threats. Luckily, there are tools you can use to constantly keep ahead of these threats. However, it is overwhelming to operate all these cybersecurity tools effectively. That is why 41% of businesses outsource their cybersecurity needs.

Outsourcing cuts the costs that would have been used in training and hiring employees, and buying and leasing tools for cybersecurity purposes. Most significantly, outsourcing gives you access to a team of experts dedicated to your cybersecurity.

about your security for your business? Contact us here, so we can review your current policies and look at ways to protect and secure your company’s data without breaking the bank and get you back to concentrating on what you do best.

 

What Are My Mailbox Size Concerns with Office 365?

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Businessman and his administrator doing a routine check on their organization's computers - checking their Office 365 mailbox size.

Be sure your admin is checking your organization’s mailbox sizes regularly.

Microsoft Office 365 offers a variety of features to its users, but one feature that is often overlooked until it becomes a problem is mailbox size. Whether you are running a small business or a personal email account, having the right-sized mailbox is critical to ensure that email messages are delivered on time and without any issues.

Many people start using Office 365 with a small mailbox and then realize their mailbox has become too full. At that point, it cannot be easy to find out how to increase your mailbox size in Office 365.

So, what are your mailbox size concerns? Here we explore and explain some of the common questions around Microsoft Office 365 mailbox size.

How Do You Check Mailbox Size in Office 365?

Office 365 only offers a limited amount of storage space. However, the default size varies according to the subscription pack you choose and the type of mailbox. While some default sizes are 50GB, others are 100GB.

As you can see, it is a limited space that sooner, might not be able to serve your needs anymore. And that’s why it is good for your admin to regularly check the mailbox size to avoid issues like the inability to send and receive messages.

However, the Office 365 Admin Center does not provide any tools to manage mailbox sizes, including your own. Office 365 natively uses Microsoft Exchange Online, which allows you to manage user mailbox sizes.

To get the usage report from the Microsoft 365 Admin center, here’s how to go about it:

  • Go to Microsoft 365 Admin Center
  • Click on the Reports tab, then Usage and select Report
  • Go to Exchange, and there you get the Mailbox Usage

So, the Mailbox Usage report you get from the Admin Center will indicate the consumed storage space. Luckily, you can still access the real user mailbox size, shared mailbox size, and resource mailbox usage report via the Exchange Admin Center (EAC) or Exchange Online via the Other Exchange Reports in the left pane.

And this is how to view the actual Mailbox size report:

  • Login to Microsoft 365 Manager Plus.
  • Click the Reports tab.
  • Traverse to Exchange Online, then the mailbox Reports in the left window.
  • Within the Size Reports group, tap on Mailbox Size report.
Can I Increase My Office 365 Mailbox Size?

Yes, you can. Any user can increase their mailbox size in these two ways:

  • You can allot it an Exchange Online Plan 2 license to augment the storage limit from 50GB to 100GB.
  • Allow Exchange Online Archiving. You will get an extra 50GB of space, and with the auto-expanding archiving, you can get even unlimited space, but it’s contingent on your Microsoft 365 license.

Growing your mailbox to your maximum share isn’t the only way to make your mailbox space. Also, Exchange Online lets you use retention policies to keep or do away with data automatically, depending on the criteria you select.

There are also backup and archiving tools available online to decrease the data stored in your cloud. These tools allow you to preserve data discoverability and hinder the mailbox from congestion.

How does Archiving Operate?

There are two ways to archive:

  • By creating an archiving policy. The policy operates by retention, where the old data is automatically archived or depending on the retention tags your company allocates data.
  • Sending the items yourself (manually).

The plan you choose will determine how much storage space you have per mailbox and the other features you will receive. Each plan also allows archiving mailboxes, which hold emails that are no longer in daily use but still needed for reference.

Archiving is charged based on storage size, so it is good to look at cheaper plans if you’re not expecting your employees to need more space.

Conclusion

Office 365 is a very capable email server. Users with larger mailbox sizes may want to take a moment to consider their storage options with Office 365. Smaller mailbox sizes may be more than sufficient for their needs.

You can do most things on it on Exchange, such as auto-responders, archiving, and other capabilities. And Microsoft has found workarounds to make it possible for even those with mailboxes over the threshold. As long as you’re willing to be cautious about some of the issues surrounding this solution, your organization can use Office 365 and have mailboxes upwards of 25 GB.

Well, are you stuck with any network issues? Feel free to get in touch! We at SystemsNet are a reliable source for your network issues.

Understanding Business Downtime

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Professional in an office showing stress while dealing with a business downtime.

Dealing with service downtime

Downtime is a factor that will determine the success of your business. It is the total time elapsed when a piece of equipment or a machine is not functional. There are two kinds of downtime:

Planned Downtime

This kind occurs outside the scheduled business trading hours. Weekends are appropriate for this kind of this downtime. Effective planning for this kind of downtime requires companies to know when their demand cycles occur.

Unplanned Downtime

Unplanned downtime occurs when there is an unanticipated failure of a process or equipment. This kind of downtime occurs when companies are less prepared to address it quickly. It usually occurs at the busiest time of the day.

How Does Downtime Affect Your Business?

The cost of downtime can be very high when not managed. The cost varies from industry to industry. Nevertheless, it does not affect only your income. Here’s how downtime affects different industries:

Manufacturing Industry

In manufacturing, downtime could lead to a lack of raw materials. It will also increase the cost of holding inventory. Manufacturers will experience loss in production during downtime. Reducing downtime in manufacturing will increase your production levels.

Distribution Industry

The supply chain requires an efficient workforce. Employees need to focus on their tasks to increase efficiency. However, downtime leads to issues that divert the focus of employees. It will lead to an increase in labor cost per unit.

Service Industry

Downtime could lead to damage to a brand’s reputation for your service industry. Clients who have had experience in your system could write a negative review of your brand. These clients could damage your brand image further by sharing their experiences with friends and family. It might push away your current and potential clients.

Online Industry

Loss of opportunity can be very devastating. This is usually the case for industries such as online shopping that experience downtime. Downtime could also lead to data loss. Cyberattacks are also common during downtime.

Advertising and Marketing Industry

Downtime causes a loss of traffic for marketing sites. Visitors of these sites also lose trust in the company. It takes a lot of effort and money to rebuild that trust.

What Causes of Downtime?

Knowing the typical causes of downtime helps to avoid future inconveniences. Technology is the leading cause of downtime. In particular, IT downtime is the most popular in businesses. IT issues from any of the following may cause downtime:

Hardware Failure

Out-of-date hardware results in hardware failure. It cannot execute complex applications. This can result in data traffic flow congestion. To avoid hardware failure, replace your old hardware with the latest collection.

Software Updates

Systems and processes need to be updated regularly to maintain their efficiency. However, relying on outdated software will lead to scheduled downtime. Out-of-date software is also vulnerable to bugs. Bugs in a server’s operating system will cause server downtime.

Employee Error

Human error is the most frequent cause of IT downtime. These errors occur when employees fail to follow laid-down protocols. Although human error can not be completely avoided, it can be controlled. You can consider documenting each task step-by-step to ensure that a standard procedure is always followed.

Internet Outages

Most businesses today rely on the internet to deliver their services and products. Internet outages are therefore a significant cause of downtime for businesses. Network congestion and faulty routers are some of the causes of internet outages. Failed link-to-internet provider also leads to internet outages.

Understaffed IT Departments

Businesses require enough IT experts to monitor their network, applications, and servers. Understaffed IT departments are unable to perform tasks effectively. Companies ought to hire dedicated experts to manage their IT needs.

Let Us Support You

Preventing downtime should be a top priority for your company. You need to have a team of experienced individuals monitoring and being proactive to prevent downtime and that is where SystemsNet comes into play. Ensure you contact us today to get started.