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Computer lingo has very much become part of our office vernacular, but it’s important to use the terms correctly. Although it may seem obvious, there are many people who frequently interchange the words hardware and software. If a problem arises – or you’re speaking with an IT consultant – it’s important to be able to identify these correctly.
Simply put, hardware refers to the physical, tangible components of your computer system, which includes your monitor, keyboard, mouse, and peripheral equipment like scanners and printers. Hardware is also used to describe devices like laptops.
Software refers to the programs and applications that run on your hardware, such as web browsers, graphic design programs and office suites. The software is installed into the hardware and is what actually makes the hardware functional. One can’t perform without the other. We need both software and hardware to get tasks done on our computer systems.
A key difference between hardware and software is that hardware can wear over time from extended use. Software doesn’t wear out, though technology changes and it can be affected by a virus! Software can be upgraded with new features, but hardware most of the time needs to be replaced with newer models because new features aren’t available on older models.
The working relationship between hardware and software is crucial to helping you get your job done, and is important to your company’s operations. ICC can help keep your hardware and software running smoothly and our experts can help you install, implement, manage, and maintain your IT system. When it comes to hardware, ICC will recommend reliable products for a consistently high-quality lineup. ICC has partnerships with leading industry distributors, and has many years of experience supporting our recommended products. When it comes to hardware and software, ICC consultants are your trusted, technical experts to recommend the right hardware and software to suit your business needs.
If you need new hardware or software, or are looking to upgrade, please give us a call at 970-419-0602.
March 13, 2023
Phishing attacks continue to be a security hazard to businesses. Phishing is when a cybercriminal disguises as a trusted source to trick an employee into opening an email, clicking a link, or downloading a document. If that happens, it can result in your computer being infected by malware, and your financial information and customers’ personal information being stolen or lost. The damage control can be irreparable – not to mention the damage to your company’s reputation.
There are different categories of phishing:
Email Phishing: As described above, this is an attempt to obtain access to sensitive information using deceptive emails or ads. Many times, there is a sense of urgency tied to really motivate the recipient to open or click on the links.
Spear Phishing: This is more of a tailored attack, using information that is of interest to the targeted group or person, such as news stories, to lure them into opening a link.
Whaling Attack: This type of phishing is directed at senior executives in a company, often to manipulate them to reveal highly sensitive information or even authorize a wire transfer.
Domain Spoofing: When a fake website name or email domain is used to trick a recipient into engaging with a malicious email or website.
Take phishing scams seriously and dedicate resources to spot these. Train employees and protect your business, understanding the consequences of not making this a priority could be serious. Prioritize making sure everyone is aware of phishing scams, how to recognize and develop a plan to respond if you are targeted.
ICC can help you understand and learn how to NOT fall prey to phishing scammers. We can put a comprehensive plan in place to protect your data. We conduct a number of audits and tests, as well as put tactics in place, to significantly reduce the possibility of an attack, protect your data and most importantly – have the ability to restore it. Our defense strategy includes network security, email security, security patches and updates, employee education, backups and quarterly cybersecurity reviews to boost your defenses against cybercriminals and lost data.
If you are missing one piece of the pie, you may be putting your business at risk and could be faced with significant business disruption and financial loss. To get started call us at 970-419-0602.
February 13, 2023
If your business relies on Microsoft’s Windows Server 2012 operating system, we recommend you start thinking about replacing it. Now 10 years old, Microsoft will officially stop offering support for Windows Server 2012 on October 23, 2023. It’s not because anything has gone wrong with that system; it’s just because the newer operating systems are more efficient and secure.
You might be tempted to continue using Windows Server 2012 until it no longer works for you, but there are some potential pitfalls in doing that:
If learning you’ll need a new operating system just put you into panic mode, don’t worry! Starting early can help minimize stress and cybersecurity risks for your business. Plus, we are here to help! ICC will review available options with you, whether it’s replacing your current server or moving to a cloud server. We’ll handle the process of assessing the scope of work, upgrading your system, and testing and training your team on the new operating system.
ICC can help you keep operations running smoothly, and we would love to put a comprehensive plan in place to protect your data. We conduct a number of audits and tests, as well as put tactics in place, to significantly reduce the possibility of an attack, protect your data and most importantly – have the ability to restore it. Our defense strategy includes network security, email security, security patches & updates, employee education, backups and quarterly cybersecurity reviews to boost your defenses against cybercriminals and lost data. If you are missing one piece of the pie, you may be putting your business at risk and could be faced with significant business disruption and financial loss.
Ask us about upgrading your system and start planning now. Give us a call at 970-419-0602.
January 10, 2023
The holidays are upon us! While Santa is making his list of who’s naughty or nice, you are probably making your own lists of what needs to get done. With consumer activity at a high and many staff members taking time off, the holidays can be stressful for small businesses. Let technology help you get ready and be safe over the season, whether that’s at the office or at home. Here are tips from the experts at ICC:
Kirk Bane, President & CEO: Hardware can be repurchased if stolen, but your data can’t be replaced. If you plan to close your office at all during the season, make sure to backup your data either with an external hard drive – located offsite – or cloud storage.
Jesse Courchaine, Managed Services Director: Make sure you have a crisis communication plan in place. The holidays are a prime time for hackers. Create an “on call” list and make sure everyone knows who to call or what to do if a security breach were to happen.
Shaun Bullock, VP of Sales: Your website doesn’t go on vacation when you do, so make sure you still have some support available to monitor live chat help, social media engagement, etc. Consider posting a notice on your home page or sending customers an email letting them know about reduced hours over the holidays.
Mason James, Senior Technical Consultant: Make it easy for customers to find relevant information on your website. Use banners or highlight most requested information like holiday return policies or shipping deadlines on your home page.
Austin Gardner, Technical Consultant: Make sure the software on all your devices is up to date. A lot of the connection issues people face is due to outdated software.
Jim Otepka, Technical Consultant: Especially if you’re an online retailer, you may want to consider boosting your WiFi connection for the holiday season. The easiest way to do this is by upgrading your router and installing a range extender.
Bryan Richmond, Technical Consultant: When you leave the office, make sure to log out of all accounts and applications. That way no one will have access to your accounts via your physical desktop or laptop.
Patrick O’Brien, Technical Consultant: If you’re traveling, take photos or scan important documents like your passport or driver’s license and store them in a secure account like Google Drive or iCloud.
Dan Gepner, Technical Consultant: Be very cautious of phishing scams at the office and at home. Unfortunately, the holidays bring out more cyberhackers than usual. Even if an email sounds familiar do not click on any links or download attachments. They are written to deceive you.
Ryan Tool, Technical Consultant: Turn off Bluetooth and NFC (Near Field Communications) when not in use to reduce the risk of cyberhackers getting into your data.
Tyler Harnden, Business Development: These days it’s important to provide different payment methods. If you don’t have them already, consider adding options like mobile wallets (i.e. Apple Pay). You don’t want a customer abandoning a purchase because you’re not offering their preferred method of payment.
Josh Layton, Business Development Consultant: The holidays are often the busiest shopping time. Use this time to collect information on what your customers like, get an idea about their shopping habits, and more. This data can be very helpful later.
Teri English, Project Manager: Take advantage of automation. Get all social media posts and eblasts created in advance and schedule them to publish while you’re out of the office.
Susie De-Foort, Finance Manager: Whether it’s your personal or business account, regularly check your online activity for anything unusual. Set up alerts with your bank to notify you of any suspicious activity or new purchases.
Rebecca Flores, Administrative Assistant: This may be a good time to change passwords. Use passwords that are long and use multi-step verification whenever possible for personal and business use.
ICC can help you with more ideas to keep operations running smoothly over the holidays. We can put a comprehensive security plan in place to protect your financial information. We conduct a number of audits and tests, as well as put tactics in place, to significantly reduce the possibility of an attack, protect your data and most importantly – have the ability to restore it. Our defense strategy includes network security, email security, security patches & updates, employee education, backups and quarterly cybersecurity reviews to boost your defenses against cybercriminals and lost data. If you are missing one piece of the pie, you may be putting your business at risk and could be faced with significant business disruption and financial loss.
December 12, 2022
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The holidays are right around the corner. For many that means a time to be joyful and giving. For others, it marks the perfect time to take advantage of increased spending to steal consumers’ personal financial information.
It’s a sad reality that during a time of year that is meant to be merry, we need to be very careful of thieves and hackers. A click of the mouse to add items to your online shopping cart may seem like the easiest way to get holiday shopping done, but online shopping offers a window of opportunity for cyberhackers if not done securely. (Even while shopping in-person, we need to be vigilant of credit card skimmers.)
In 2020, consumers reported 4.7 million cases of fraud, identity theft and other consumer deceptions!
Below are a few tips to protect you, your credit and identity as you shop:
Look for secure websites: If you’re shopping from a new website make sure there is an “s” included in the web address. It should be “https” in the URL not just “http.” The ‘s’ is for secure. A small padlock icon should also be present in the address bar.
Be on the Alert: If it’s an option, activate alerts from the card company to let you know when your credit card has been used or when a suspicious transaction has been made. Or when there is a charge made above a certain dollar value. Setting alerts will allow you to act fast and freeze your card if necessary.
Stay Private: Do your online shopping on a private network. NEVER be tempted to shop online using free public WiFi at a coffee shop or library. If you’re shopping online outside of your home or office, make sure you use a VPN, virtual private network.
Be Vigilant with Emails: Do not click on any links or download attachments from a sender you don’t know. Such a mistake can put your personal information into the wrong hands. There are companies that may even pose as FedEx, UPS or another delivery service to say “your package is on its way” with a fake tracking link. That phish bait will give cyberattackers access to your financial information. Always be vigilant!
Get Chipped: Chip cards are safer to use than magnetic stripe cards. When using a chip card, an encrypted code is generated each time a transaction is made. The code helps to conceal your credit card numbers.
Use Unique Passwords: There are many of us who are guilty about using the same password or two for everything. This is dangerous! Although it can be challenging to remember or keep a record of all your passwords, it is best to use different passwords for each shopping site you use. If a cybercriminal gets a hold of one of your passwords, they will attempt to use it on other websites. Use a mix of lower case, upper case, symbols and numbers to make passwords difficult to crack.
ICC can help put a comprehensive security plan in place to protect your financial information. We conduct a number of audits and tests, as well as put tactics in place, to significantly reduce the possibility of an attack, protect your data and most importantly – have the ability to restore it. Our defense strategy includes network security, email security, security patches & updates, employee education, backups and quarterly cybersecurity reviews to boost your defenses against cybercriminals and lost data. If you are missing one piece of the pie, you may be exposed to cyber-attacks and could be faced with significant business disruption and financial loss.
Source: https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/reports/consumer-sentinel-network-data-book-2020/csn_annual_data_book_2020.pdf
November 16, 2022
As we’re tapping on our keyboard at the office or at home, we usually take it for granted that our computer will always turn on and access to our files will always be there. But what do you do when your network goes down and you’re left without access to your files, programs and the Internet?
The thing you shouldn’t do is panic or get angry. Don’t start banging on the computer, thinking it will magically come back to life. Start by trying to identify the cause of the problem. Gather as many details as possible to share with your IT department or company. Is it an isolated case or are all computers down? Is it just the company email that is down, or is there no Internet access at all? Is there any indication of a virus? Once you’ve gathered the details, relay them to your IT managers, and then apprise company employees what is happening.
At this point, most of the responsibility is now in the hands of your IT managers to restore functionality. Hopefully, they have a good recovery plan that will help to troubleshoot the problem and allow staff to get back to work as soon as possible. During that time employees should hopefully have other ways to work and keep them busy while they are being given updates.
Once your network is up and running again and everyone has resumed productivity it would be worth it to take the time to review your recovery plan to discuss if it effectively served its purpose. Make any improvements if necessary. If your network failed and you didn’t have a recovery plan to help you take immediate action, consider partnering with an IT company like ICC to put one together. A recovery plan will put you in an advantageous position if your network goes down again.
ICC can help you prepare a recovery plan, and play a critical role in the implementation of the plan, technology and any future troubleshooting. ICC conducts a number of audits and tests, as well as put tactics in place, to protect your data and most importantly – have the ability to restore it. At a minimum, a comprehensive recovery plan should include network security, email security, security patches & updates, employee education, backups and quarterly cybersecurity reviews to boost your defenses against cybercriminals and lost data.
When you have a plan in place it’ll be easier to remain calm when/if your network goes down again and restore it as efficiently and as quickly as possible.
October 19, 2022
Companies face an increased risk of cyberattacks when their team members travel. Business travelers are a prime target for cyber criminals because they carry valuable company and client data on their devices. Cyber criminals also know that business travelers aren’t always vigilant when it comes to securing their devices, making them more susceptible to data breaches.
Another factor that also contributes to additional risk is that security on the road and in the air is unsecure. For instance, public Wi-Fi networks in hotels and airports make it easy for cyberhackers to find and access connected devices. It’s not difficult for cybercriminals to read and track your information when connected to a public network.
With more businesses resuming travel, cyber criminals are on the prowl. Here are some tips to protect your company data and make sure it doesn’t get into the wrong hands while traveling. We encourage you to share these tips with your employees.
* Close devices when not doing business. Keep devices locked and locked away in a hotel safe when they’re not being used. In addition to a strong password or PIN, multifactor verifications can make it more challenging for a hacker to get into your device.
* Use VPN with public Wi-Fi. Companies can reduce the risk of their employees getting hacked on a public Wi-Fi network by using a VPN, which encrypts your device’s information so passwords and data cannot be read.
* Update software. Make sure software is always updated, especially before going on the road. Software updates are critical to maintaining security on your device.
* Have a response plan. Whether they’re traveling or not, employees should have a response plan so they know exactly what to do if their device has been lost, stolen or if they’ve detected that their device may have been hacked.
ICC can help you put together a comprehensive security plan for when your team travels. We conduct a number of audits and tests, as well as put tactics in place, to significantly reduce the possibility of an attack, protect your data and most importantly – have the ability to restore it. Our defense strategy includes network security, email security, security patches & updates, employee education, backups and quarterly cybersecurity reviews to boost your defenses against cybercriminals and lost data. If you are missing one piece of the pie, you may be exposed to cyber-attacks and could be faced with significant business disruption and financial loss.
Give us a call to start putting a plan in place for your company at 970.821.8588 in Colorado or 307.632.2022 in Wyoming.
September 21, 2022
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You may not be one to keep up with fashion trends, but when it comes to your business and technology you should definitely make it a point to stay on top of what’s “in” and what’s not!
Technology is evolving at its fastest pace ever. It can be easy to lose track of it all if you try to maintain business technology all on your own. In this fast-paced digital age, a computer’s average lifespan is 4-6 years old. It might be tempting to try to save money by holding on to computer equipment until it breaks down, but when it comes to your business and data, holding on to old hardware and software programs could do your company more harm than good.
If you’re having trouble updating software, or you’re hearing strange noises coming from your computer, then it’s time for an IT makeover! Plus, there are several reasons to make sure your network is updated.
ICC has been helping businesses make over and maximize their IT for over 24 years. ICC includes setting up cyber security precautions, managing backups, addressing workflow inefficiencies, and more.
So, don’t hold on to that antiquated equipment. Let ICC help you upgrade to the latest styles in IT hardware and software. Call us at (970) 419-0602.
July 20, 2022
You may consider yourself a DIY expert. That ability can certainly save you money when you’re fixing something around the house. However, when it comes to your office and business – don’t be tempted to DIY your network or cybersecurity. It doesn’t matter how manyYouTube videos you watch to show you how to secure your company’s data, business technology is not the best way to test your DIY skills.
Handling your IT is not a one-person job. It is safer to invest and put your trust into a professional IT team. Maintaining your company’s network is not just installing software updates; it really needs to be a well-planned and managed effort. There is a great amount of time and background knowledge involved in planning and executing a network system, plus a high level of expertise required to keep all the pieces of your network current and working together smoothly. Handling yourIT is also not just a 9-5 job; your system needs to be monitored and protected 24/7! A third-party team of IT experts will put the right tools in place to monitor your system around the clock. And finally, employees need to be trained on best practices and how to help protect data as well.
An IT service company will also ensure that your business is consistently in compliance with evolving laws and regulations. The cost to hire experts will far outweigh the cost to try to remedy lost data or reputation management should a breach of security happen.
Your network and security strategy are not “set it and forget it.” ICC provides an effective combination of the right hardware, software, updates, and management for well-built IT solutions. It is our job to be on top of new and different network configurations, solutions, and product innovations. We service so many clients that our hands-on experience gives us a leg up on how to deal with potential problems and how to best avoid them.
DIY and business technology isn’t a good combination. Leave IT to the experts and focus your time, energy and expertise on what you know best. This will result in a cohesive and less stressful situation for you and your company.
June 20, 2022
A wise man once said, “If you think it is expensive to hire a professional, wait until you hire an amateur.” If your business is dependent on the integrity of your computer network and the data you are storing, don’t take a chance with your cybersecurity policy.
Cybersecurity should only be handled by experts. We understand that especially for smaller companies, it may be difficult to allocate budgets toward cybersecurity, but the investment into protecting your company and your customers’ private information is well worth it. If a cyberattack were to happen on your company, the financial and reputation damage could be irreparable.
Hackers are experts, using sophisticated tactics and software to break through and access your data. Why would you hire an amateur to compete with an expert? Your best line of defense against hackers is putting a team of skilled and experienced professionals in place to manage your cyber risk.
ICC conducts a number of audits and tests, as well as put tactics in place, to significantly reduce the possibility of an attack, protect your data and most importantly – have the ability to restore it. At a minimum, a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy should include network security, e-mail security, security patches & updates, employee education, backups and quarterly cybersecurity reviews to boost your defenses against cybercriminals and lost or compromised data. If you are missing one piece of the pie, are exposing yourself to cyber-attacks and could be faced with significant business disruption and financial loss.
Technology can be challenging. We strive to simplify the complexity of IT. With decades of experience, ICC is here to help you protect what matters most to your company: your data, your employees, your livelihood.
Let us show you the ICC difference.
April 27, 2022
Security
