How-To Archives

October 11, 2023

6 Essential Factors to Consider When Hiring a Website Designer for Your Business

In today’s digital age, choosing the right website designer is a critical decision for businesses looking to establish a robust online presence. A meticulously crafted website is often the first point of contact with customers and plays a pivotal role in attracting and retaining them. However, navigating the world of website design might seem daunting if you lack IT experience. This guide is here to help you make the right choice when hiring a website designer for your business, focusing on factors that are easy to understand and crucial for your website’s success.

1. Portfolio and Experience

Start by reviewing the website designer’s portfolio and experience. Look at the websites they’ve created in the past. You don’t need to be a tech expert to assess the quality of their work. Check if their designs align with your business goals and look appealing. Experienced designers will have a range of projects to showcase their skills, so you can gauge their ability to understand your needs.

2. Technical Skills

While technical jargon can be overwhelming, it’s important to ensure that the designer has the technical skills needed to create a functional website. This includes making sure your site works well on both desktop and mobile. A website designer should have the expertise to create a site that not only looks good but also functions seamlessly for your users.

3. SEO Knowledge

Search engine optimization (SEO) is essential for getting your website noticed on search engines like Google. You don’t need to be an SEO expert, but it’s important to check if your designer has some understanding of SEO principles. They should be able to build your site in a way that’s friendly to search engines, which helps with your website’s visibility.

4. Communication and Collaboration

Effective communication is a must when working with a website designer. You need a designer who listens to your ideas and requirements and can turn your vision into a working website. It’s about teamwork, and a good designer will collaborate with you and your team to bring your website to life without any tech headaches.

5. Budget and Timeline

Before you dive into the project, establish a clear budget and timeline. Make sure you discuss your budget with potential designers. It’s essential to ensure their pricing aligns with what you’re comfortable investing. Set realistic deadlines and expectations to avoid misunderstandings and delays during the design process.

6. Maintenance and Support

Even after your website is up and running, it will need ongoing maintenance and support. Check with your designer about post-launch services. You want a designer who can offer support, updates, and help with any issues that might pop up after the website’s launch, even if you’re not a tech expert.

Hiring the right website designer is crucial for your business’s online success, even if you’re not a tech expert. By focusing on their portfolio, technical skills, SEO understanding, communication abilities, budget, and post-launch support, you can make an informed choice. Remember that a well-chosen website designer can be a valuable partner in achieving your online goals, and you don’t need to be an IT pro to make the right decision.

Mark Flores

October 11, 2023

September 25, 2023

Knowing When to Upgrade: Is It Time for a New Computer?

In today’s fast-paced digital world, computers have become an integral part of our daily lives. Whether it’s for work, entertainment, or staying connected with loved ones, we rely on our trusty machines to keep up with our demands. However, like all technology, computers have a finite lifespan. Knowing when to get a new computer is crucial to ensure you stay productive and secure. In this article, we’ll explore the signs that indicate it might be time for an upgrade.

Knowing When to Upgrade: Is It Time for a New Computer?

Sluggish Performance: If your computer has started to feel slow and unresponsive, it could be a sign that it’s time for a new one. Over time, as software and operating systems become more demanding, older hardware may struggle to keep up. Frequent freezes, delays, and crashes are clear indicators that your computer might be obsolete.
Outdated Operating System: One of the most critical factors to consider is your computer’s operating system (OS). Manufacturers provide updates and support for a limited time. When your computer can no longer receive security updates or run the latest software, it becomes vulnerable to cyber threats. If your OS is outdated, it might be time to invest in a new computer to ensure your data’s safety.
Hardware Components: As technology advances, hardware components like CPUs, GPUs, and RAM are continuously improving. If your computer doesn’t meet the minimum requirements for modern software or struggles to handle your daily tasks, it’s a clear sign that an upgrade is necessary.
Repair Costs: Sometimes, it’s more cost-effective to get a new computer rather than continually repairing an old one. If you find yourself spending a significant amount on repairs, consider diverting that budget toward a new, more reliable system.
Lack of Software Compatibility: If you’re unable to install or run essential software due to compatibility issues, it’s time to think about a new computer. Newer computers come equipped with the latest hardware and software capabilities, ensuring seamless compatibility.
Battery Life: For laptop users, battery life is crucial. If your laptop can’t hold a charge like it used to, even after replacing the battery, it might be more practical to invest in a new one to enjoy the mobility and productivity benefits of extended battery life.

Knowing when to get a new computer involves considering several factors, including performance, operating system compatibility, hardware capabilities, repair costs, software compatibility, and battery life. Regularly updating and maintaining your existing computer can prolong its life, but there comes a point when upgrading to a new system is the most practical choice. Keep an eye on these signs, and when the time is right, make the leap to a more efficient and secure computing experience.

Infinity Networking can review and advise you about any of your IT upgrade needs, including computers, laptops, network infrastructure, applications and IT operating procedures. Contact us today for a no-obligation assessment or advice.

Mark Flores

September 25, 2023

September 3, 2023

Understanding ChatGPT: Your Introductory Guide to AI Chatbots

In a world increasingly driven by technology and automation, you might have heard about AI-powered chatbots. One of the most talked-about ones is ChatGPT. But what exactly is ChatGPT, and how does it work? Let’s break it down in simple terms.

Meet ChatGPT: Your AI Chat Buddy

ChatGPT is like having a conversation with your computer or smartphone, but instead of chatting with a human, you’re chatting with an Artificial Intelligence (AI) model. It’s designed to understand and generate human-like text responses, making it a powerful tool for various applications.

How ChatGPT Learns to Chat

ChatGPT learns from a vast amount of text data. Think of it as reading tons of books, articles, and websites to understand how people communicate. This training process helps it grasp grammar, context, and even some common sense. It’s like learning a new language, but for a computer.

Generating Responses

When you ask ChatGPT a question or give it a prompt, it uses its training to generate a response. It’s a bit like having a highly advanced auto-complete feature in your chat app. It predicts what comes next in the conversation based on what it has learned.

Limitations of ChatGPT

While ChatGPT is impressive, it’s not without limitations. It might sometimes produce incorrect or nonsensical answers. This happens because it doesn’t truly understand the way humans do; it just predicts what should come next based on patterns it has seen in its training data. So, it can be a little like playing a game of “telephone” with a robot.

Practical Uses in Business

ChatGPT’s versatility extends to various business applications. Here are a few examples:

Customer Support: Many businesses use ChatGPT for customer support. It can answer common questions, guide users through troubleshooting steps, and provide 24/7 assistance.
Content Generation: Content marketing is crucial for businesses. ChatGPT can help generate blog posts, product descriptions, and social media content, saving time for content creators.
Market Research: ChatGPT can analyze customer inquiries and feedback, providing valuable insights that businesses can use to refine their products or services.
Personalized Recommendations: E-commerce companies employ ChatGPT to offer personalized product recommendations based on user preferences and browsing history.
Language Translation: For businesses operating globally, ChatGPT can assist in real-time language translation, facilitating communication with international customers and partners.

Responsible Usage

It’s important to use ChatGPT responsibly. Just like any tool, it can be used for good or misused. Being aware of its limitations and verifying information it provides is crucial. Also, OpenAI, the organization behind ChatGPT, has implemented safety features to reduce harmful or biased responses.

The Future of ChatGPT

AI technology is continuously evolving, and ChatGPT is no exception. Researchers are working to make it smarter, more reliable, and better at understanding context. In the future, we can expect even more advanced and helpful AI chatbots.

In conclusion, ChatGPT is a fascinating example of how AI technology is making its way into our everyday lives. It’s like having a virtual conversation partner who can assist with various tasks, including a wide range of applications in the business world. Just remember to use it wisely, keeping in mind its strengths and limitations. And as technology progresses, who knows what exciting developments lie ahead for ChatGPT and AI chatbots in general!

To create your own free account and start using ChatGPT, visit OpenAI’s website.

Mark Flores

September 3, 2023

June 30, 2022

Not a “Teams” Player?

Is Outlook scheduling a Teams meeting for every new appointment in your calendar? Here’s a quick fix –

With the popularity of video conferencing during the recent quarantine and many companies now allowing some of their employees to work remotely, popular applications like Zoom, Teams and Webex are a commonly used tool. However, I recently noticed that whenever I entered a new calendar event on Outlook, say a dentist appointment or a reminder for my car’s oil change, Outlook would also create a Microsoft Teams meeting as the default location. Obviously, it would be quite a challenge for the mechanic to change my car’s oil via Teams!

However, there is a quick fix.

In Outlook, go to File > Options > Calendar and uncheck the box titled “Add online meetings to all meetings”

Now you are the master of your own meeting locations again!

Mark Flores

June 30, 2022

December 8, 2020

How to Avoid Phishing Scams

The most common way that business and personal accounts become compromised is through phishing and spear phishing attacks. These attacks are more common recently with the pandemic forcing people to work from home and often separated from their company’s established cybersecurity protocols. The majority of computers these days have some form of antivirus and firewall protection, but human nature is often the weakest link in the security wall. In this blog post, you will learn how to recognize a fake email and how to avoid becoming the victim of a phishing scam.

What is Phishing?

A phishing attack is an email sent by a bad actor that appears like a legitimate notice or request for information. Most of the time they appear as if they originate from Microsoft, Apple, a well-known bank, Paypal, Amazon, etc. The phishing email often announces a new feature or a request for the user’s information that requires the user to log into their account using their credentials. The links from these phishing emails lead to a very convincing (yet fake) website that appears legitimate. But when the user enters their information, the victim has essentially given the scammer their private credentials. There have been numerous high profile celebrities and politicians that have fallen for these scams.

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The Impulsive Clicker

Most people, especially in a business environment, gets 10’s if not 100’s of new emails each day. We have become rather proficient at sorting through the spam and keeping the important ones. However, since we are dealing with a large volume of emails at one time it is easy to just open one from a familiar source and click on the link. Especially if the email is from a popular vendor or B2B company.

Phishing attacks take advantage of our human nature to be in a hurry and not carefully read what we are opening.

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Advanced Tactics – Spear Phishing

Phishing attacks have now evolved into a more sophisticated form called ‘spear phishing’. Someone who receives an account password reset email from eBay, but who never uses eBay will know right away that the email is not legitimate. But if the scammers can get a little more information, for example the name of a co-worker at the company, they can send their phishing email that looks like it comes from someone familiar, bypassing that first line of mental defenses. The more the scammers know about a recipient; their co-workers, vendors, clients, account numbers, etc. the more convincing they can make the phishing emails appear. This is called spear phishing.

Phishing in Other Ponds

Phishing attacks are now common in other communication media as well including text messages, phone calls and search engines.

Arming Yourself

How do you avoid being the victim of a spear phishing attack? There are few tactics that everyone needs to know.

1) Slow down and stop being the ‘impulsive clicker’. Look at not only the sender’s name, but also the email address. At the top of the email, you will see the name of the person and then their email address between < and >. For example John Smith <[email protected]>. If the address looks like this John Smith <[email protected]> then that should raise a big red flag!

2) If you get an email that looks like it is from a well-known organization, look for misspellings and poor grammar. Also, use your mouse to hover over any hyperlinks (do not click on them). Most of the time, fraudulent links will be obvious when you look at their address in the bar at the bottom. See example below:

This is supposedly from the “Microsoft Account Team”. Notice the inconsistent capitalizations, the incorrect usage of ‘expired’ and the email address it is sent from – doesn’t look like Microsoft.

When the mouse is hovered over the “Keep Current Password” box, this is the link that appears:

Doesn’t look like it directs to Microsoft…

3) Employing a robust enterprise-grade email filter is also a good way to avoid phishing attacks. Services like Barracuda Cloud Control have built-in mechanisms to block these types of scams.

4) One of the most effective IT security measures a company can make is to invest in regular Security Awareness Training. Almost all compliance regulations require companies to keep their employees updated and tested against the latest cyber threats on a regular basis.

For more information about what you can do to prevent a successful phishing attack, including a good email filtering service like Barracuda Cloud Control or regular Webroot Security Awareness Training, contact Infinity Networking for a FREE TRIAL of these services.

Click here for more information about Infinity Networking’s Cybersecurity solutions

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Mark Flores

December 8, 2020

October 27, 2020

Tips for Companies with Work-from-Home Employees

As the current global pandemic rolls along, most businesses are evaluating how they can continue to operate efficiently and successfully while keeping their employees safe. By now, many companies have allowed their employees to work from home, trying their best to stay in business.

Here are 6 helpful suggestions that businesses with work-from-home employees should consider:

Home Workspace

Just as a workplace provides a dedicated space for their employees; a cubicle, an office or some other area to set up a computer and spread out papers, the work-from-home employee needs a place to work as well. In the familiarity and comfort of their own homes, many employees may be working from their dining room table or the couch. Employees should be encouraged to try to set up their home workspace somewhere separated from the unavoidable sounds and distractions – preferably somewhere away from noisy televisions, family traffic and if possible, a room that has a closeable door. Of course, not everyone has this flexibility, but the more a work-at-home employee can emulate an office environment mindset, the more productive they will be.

Equipment

Few businesses have the ability to offer computers and peripherals for their employees to take home with them. Some workers have computers at home that they can use, but what if they don’t? Here are some options that employers may want to consider:

Allow the employee to take home their work machine
Purchase a refurbished workstation through a reputable vendor such as Dell for their work-at-home employees (https://www.dell.com/en-us/dfh/shop/dell-refurbished/cp/outlet)
Lease a computer for the employee while the office is off-limits
Headphones with a mic also help filter out extraneous noises

It is important that if a company wants their employees to be productive while working from home, they must ensure that they have adequate equipment to do their job.

Security

When an employee is working from home, there will be inherent security risks to mitigate. The easiest way to think about these security concerns is by using the three-fold ‘PPT’ model:

People – Who needs access to the company data, network and resources? And are those people trained to identify email phishing scams, securing their workstations with a password and not sharing their company access with other people?
Process – It may be helpful to have documented procedures for work-from-home employees; ensure they log out of their remote connections when they are not working, report any unusual emails or phone calls requesting access and have a go-to resource for any IT-related concerns or requests.
Technology – Besides a fully functioning workstation, remote workers should have a good antivirus and anti-malware solution. Do not assume that the employees’ home machines are protected or secure. If they are using their own equipment, it is especially important that the company require and possibly provide basic antivirus software for their employees. Having a trained IT professional evaluate and remediate the security of employees’ at-home workstations should be a part of any work-from-home strategy.

Accountability

Working from home is not like working in an office. There will inevitably be many interruptions, distractions and diversions that the employee will face on a daily basis. Realistically, it is very difficult to keep employees on task all day while they are not supervised, but accountability can be quantified if planned well. A manager or supervisor should evaluate the level of autonomy that they expect from their employees and work together to establish a reasonable set of goals per day, week or other timeframe. If the employee is meeting these predefined goals to the manager’s satisfaction, then accountability is easier to maintain.

There are a number of technology solutions to assist with accountability goals. Having a system to track daily and weekly tasks will not only keep the employee on target but will also allow the supervisor to review their progress throughout the timeframe. Here are some excellent tools to assist with task management:

1) Trello – a Kanban-style planning board which is effective in its simplicity and ease of use – and it’s free.
2) Google Workspace – good tool if your team uses Google’s online tools
3) Microsoft Teams – using the calendar and communication tools built into Teams will keep employers and employees on task throughout the day
4) Asana – project management for small teams with a free plan available

Video and Phone Tools

By now, most businesses have discovered that there are many options for video and phone conferencing. The most popular choices include Zoom, Teams and WebEx. If your company uses a conferencing tool such as these, here are a few helpful suggestions:

Companies should be ready to assist their employees with the installation and use of video conferencing applications. This is new territory to many users and people may not have the technical ability to set these up on their own or know how to use them.
Establish some basic ‘etiquette rules’ while using video conferencing. Most video conferencing applications monitor the microphones during a call and give preference to the ‘loudest’ voice. So remind users to take turns, be patient and only speak when they have something relevant to insert into the conversation.
Encourage video conference users to be mindful of their surroundings. The camera picks up anything in its field of vision and the microphone amplifies sounds from the remote users’ environment. Users are better served by setting up their meetings in a room where the door can be closed and pets and children can be kept away.

Back to work plan, need office?

As companies are gearing up for an eventual return to the office, some may be considering whether they need to spend so much on office space if they can have capable remote users. Although the option is not ideal for all companies, there may be some advantage to have certain employees work from home either part-time or permanently. If a company is considering this arrangement, partnering with an experienced IT support company who has experience designing and implementing a remote workforce solution is highly recommended.

Infinity Networking can assist your company in creating an effective and secure work-from-home plan. Please Contact us today for more information.

Mark Flores

October 27, 2020

August 14, 2020

Quick Fix to Speed Up Windows 10

You probably don’t know that your Windows 10 operating system boots up each time with a number of unneeded applications configured to run in the background all the time. More likely than not, you either don’t use them or even know that they were automatically installed with Windows 10. These extra start-up programs can contribute to a loss of available system memory and other resources, which in turn slows down your machine’s performance. Here’s how to check which programs are starting in the background, how you can disable them yourself and speed up Windows 10.

Open Settings (Start > Gear Icon) and then go to the Privacy section.

Scroll down the left side and find Background apps

Scroll through the Background apps and toggle off any applications that you are not using regularly.

When you are done, simply close the window and enjoy all the extra resources you have just freed up!

Mark Flores

August 14, 2020

April 25, 2020

5 Tools for Working from Home

5 Tools for Working from Home

During the current stay-at-home restrictions, the success of a business is relying more on the ability to provide employees with a means of working remotely. Here are five tools that can be utilized by companies to keep their employees productive and useful.

Remote Workstation Applications

One of the most popular solutions for remote workers is the use of a Remote Workstation Application such as Connectwise Control, LogMeIn, Teamviewer or RemotePC. These applications allow a remote employee to use a web browser to remotely control their workstation at the office and work on their own familiar machine. Remote file copying and printing are convenient features that many of these applications provide. Pricing varies by product so be sure to research their respective per-user costs and capabilities.

Security Concerns: Commercial (paid) remote workstation applications all provide secure, encrypted connections between the remote user and the office workstation. However, any time a connection is allowed to be made from a remote location through the company firewall, there are risks to allowing unauthorized access to a company’s internal network resources to anyone who has credentials to the remote access application. It is highly recommended that all employees using remote access applications use some form of multi-factor authentication (one time session code sent via email or text or smartphone app).

Remote Desktop Services (Terminal Services)

Before the popularity of remote workstation applications, many companies leveraged Remote Desktop Services (formerly called Terminal Services). A dedicated server on a corporate network hosts multiple remote users at the same time and provides a virtual workstation for them to access network resources. Although the remote desktop is not a physical workstation, the remote desktop services allows each user to customize their own desktop experience and run most of their network applications in their remote sessions. Remote Desktop Services are still utilized by many companies but due to the necessity of expensive hardware and network resources, this option is not as viable to many small businesses.

Security Concerns: Unless remote desktop services are used over a VPN (see below), this solution is usually visible from the internet (public-facing) side of a company firewall and therefore a common target for exploitation or hacking. Remote desktop services do not provide any security or encryption so it is imperative to utilize a VPN when using this solution to avoid offering easy access to a company’s private network.

File Sync and Share (FSS)

Other popular applications that remote workers can use are File Sync and Share (FSS) services such as Datto Workplace, Dropbox, Box, OneDrive or iCloud. These services offer a hybrid combination of storage in the cloud while also creating a copy on the user’s machines and keeping the documents in all locations in sync. A remote worker could have access to documents on their business workstation, home computer, laptop or even their smartphone or tablet. Some of these services were designed for non-commercial use so companies who want to utilize FSS should be sure that the provider offers proper security and safeguards.

Security Concerns: Most FSS services encrypt communication and file transfers to and from the cloud to the local workstations. However, most of these solutions are configured to establish the link once, save the credentials and then there is no further prompt for a login. So the primary security of FSS relies on the endpoint workstations using screen lock timeouts and password protected logins which are the most important considerations for securely protecting data.

FTP Service

Another older service that many companies used was FTP (file transfer protocol). Before the advent of the cloud, companies would dedicate local storage on their own network servers and allow access to the storage using a service called FTP. But since alternative storage solutions such as FSS and cloud services are becoming more cost-effective, many companies are moving away from FTP for allowing remote access to company files.

Security Concerns: FTP uses common and well-known network ports that must be opened on a company firewall so they are the constant target of exploitation and hacking. Since the files that an FTP service provides access to are located on a company’s private network, it is imperative that all security measures are taken to reduce outside threats. In most cases, FTPs should be avoided due to these security vulnerabilities.

VPN (Virtual Private Networking)

Still widely used by businesses of all sizes, a VPN relies on a client application on a remote machine to make a secure, encrypted connection directly with the internal network of a company. This allows a remote user’s workstation or laptop to be connected to their company’s internal network from the outside (e.g. at home or a hotel). It is a more complex procedure to set up a VPN connection and proper security measures must be followed since the connection bypassed a company’s firewalls and allows direct access to the network. The main drawbacks of a VPN are the setup and hardware costs as well as the reduced speed of the encrypted connection. A VPN is still a viable option for companies who have the resources to employ the technology.

Security Concerns: A VPN is a highly secured application as long as the remote user does not allow unauthorized access their offsite machine.

Infinity Networking is now offering extended trials of Connectwise Control for remote workstation access as well as extended trials of Datto Workplace, an enterprise-grade File Sync and Share solution that provides a more robust file sharing service than its commercial-grade competitors. For more information or to enable a trial of these products, please read further or sign up HERE.

Mark Flores

April 25, 2020

Category: How-To

6 Essential Factors to Consider When Hiring a Website Designer for Your Business

Knowing When to Upgrade: Is It Time for a New Computer?

Knowing When to Upgrade: Is It Time for a New Computer?

Understanding ChatGPT: Your Introductory Guide to AI Chatbots