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XFER Blog

XFER has been serving the Livonia area since 1994, providing IT Support such as technical helpdesk support, computer support, and consulting to small and medium-sized businesses.
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XFER Blog

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Technology, Security, Best Practices, IT Blog, Cloud, How To, Business, Alerts, Off Topic/Fun, Miscellaneous, Uncategorized, Tip of the Week
Mike

Make Us Your IT Hero

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Remember the good old days? You'd come home from school and break out your new copy of Superman: The Secret Years. You knew that you always had a Super Hero you could depend on. Unfortunately now, bound with the ties of life, you no longer have time to spend reminiscing on the heroes of your youth.

Tags:
Remote Monitoring Managed Service Provider Backup
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Mike

Are Smartphones Dumbing Down Your Office?

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According to a recent survey by Experian Marketing Services, the average American spends approximately 58 minutes per day on their smartphone. Those of us who are gadget lovers may respond by saying, "One hour, is that all?" A device taking up one hour per day has huge implications with how we both live and do business.

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Mobile Office Workplace Tips Smartphones
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Mike

Is Your Business Protected Against the Forces of Nature?

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One uncontrollable aspect in life is Mother Nature. There's no way you can stop a hurricane from ripping your roof off, but you can have an emergency plan in place for when/if it happens. People need to know what their responsibilities are and the action they need to take in those cases. How will your business continue operations in the event of a natural disaster?

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Backup Business Continuity Disaster Recovery
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Mike

Preparing Your Social Media Will

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You can't log onto your online account if you're dead, and unless you have your password clearly marked on a sticky note, then nobody else will be able to either. While the Internet is a great distraction to keep us from pondering our mortality, the issue of post-mortem social media forces us to face death by preparing a digital will.

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Google Social Media Privacy
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Mike

Managed Services Offers Predictable Results

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You decide to take your workstation to a local computer repair shop because its running slower than a turtle at a dead run. Then after you've waited for the Computer Technician to fix your computer you find out it wasn't broken, it just needed a defragmentation and a little bit of malware removal. This is caused from carelessness that tends to happen because of the busy work day.

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Remote Monitoring Managed Service Provider IT Services
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Mike

Take the Time to Safely Remove Your Device

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At the end of the workday you may be in a hurry to leave, and as you start tossing your belongings into your bag, you come across your USB drive plugged into your PC. You're now faced with a tough decision; do you take the time to safely remove the device, or do you save 30 seconds and just unplug it?

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Data Hardware Best Practice
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Mike

You Can't Print Money with a Fax Machine

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With everything going digital, it's hard to believe that fax machines are still used today. What's funny, is that this same statement is true today just like it was ten years ago. Yet, sales of fax machines continue to increase every year. An alternative that's better in every way is a fax server solution; here are five ways it can save you money.

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Technology Printer Fax Server
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Mike

Make Your IT Costs Predictable and Save Your Budget

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There are many challenging aspects that come with running a business, but which aspect is the most difficult? According to a 2012 survey of small business owners by The National Federation of Independent Businesses, managing costs is the most difficult responsibility. We can help; our managed IT services turn technology into a predictable expense.

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Business Managament Managed Service Provider Saving Money
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Mike

The Advantages of Business Technology

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As a business, you do things differently than the mild-mannered consumer. Like paying bills, it’s not like a business can sit down for half an hour every month, write a few checks, and then be done with it. Businesses have employees whose major duty is paying bills. Technology is the same way, and businesses have different technology needs than consumers.

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Saving Money Technology
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Mike

3 Vendor Aspects We will Manage for You!

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Managing your business is demanding. Staying on top of your employees, your inventory, shipments, payroll, and a hundred other things can be draining to say the least. The last thing you need is to add to your leadership burden. Let us manage your technology vendors for you! Our vendor management service will relieve you from these three management stresses.

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Vendor Management Managed Service Provider
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Mike

Organize Your Network with Active Directory

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The whole purpose of having a network infrastructure is to allow different users to access and share needed files and applications. With your data centralized to a server, you will need to have a system in place that allows certain people up-to-date permissions to access needed files from every computer. This is where Active Directory comes in.

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Security Users Network
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Mike

Leave a Big Business Impression with VoIP

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Many small businesses are switching their phone systems to Voice over Internet Protocol and seeing dramatic savings over traditional phone plans, especially when it comes to long distance charges. Once the switch to VoIP is made, small businesses are discovering there are more benefits to VoIP that make their business appear bigger and more professional!

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Small Business Business Managament VoIP
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Mike

Death Star Technology Services

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May 4th is Star Wars Day (May the fourth be with you). In celebration of our favorite space saga, we thought that we would write about our dream job; providing IT support for the mother of all technologies, the Death Star from Star Wars.

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Security Current Events Managed Service Provider
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Mike

Network Firewalls Explained

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You know that having a strong firewall is a key component to having strong network security, but do you how firewalls work? Firewalls take their name from the protective barriers that keep buildings and engines safe from fire. While it’s unlikely that your computer is in danger of incineration, a firewall does protect it from cyber-threats; here’s how!

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Security Privacy Firewall
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Mike

Google Reader Refugees Take To Feedly

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The expiration date for Google Reader is set for July 1, 2013. Google’s decision to axe the Reader was not because it was unpopular, but rather, it seems like Google wants to focus their energy into fewer products. This announcement leaves many Google faithful out in the cold, and Feedly has welcomed the Google huddled masses yearning to read free.

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Software Current Events
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Mike

Tip: Use Macros to Save Your Place

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If you are working on a document that is several pages long, then you know the frustration of getting lost in a sea of text. Often overlooked by the casual user, Macros are great productivity tools that can be utilized for several handy tasks, including giving you the ability to bookmark your work areas in a Word document.

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Macro Software Workplace Tips
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Mike

3 Technologies to Help Your Office Go Green

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April 22, is Earth Day. What is your office doing to help save the planet? We talk a lot about business continuity, but none of that matters without Earth continuity. Here are three office technologies that will help your business go green.

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Saving Money Current Events Virtualization
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Mike

Don't Be a Hacking Target

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What do hackers look for when choosing a victim? While there are hackers out there that specialize in targeting high-profile companies and executives (a hacking method call whaling), most hackers do a broad sweep of the Internet and choose the easiest targets. If your company has weak network security, then you have a target on your back.

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Security Network
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Mike

Be Sure to Count the Costs of the Cloud

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Cloud computing is a hot business technology. Research firm Gartner surveyed businesses worldwide and found that 60% have increased their budgets for cloud services through 2014. Gartner also predicts that the cloud services market will increase 18.5% this year. Are you looking to migrate over to the cloud? Here are a few considerations before your business goes cloud crazy.

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Internet Cloud
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Mike

Could Bitcoins become the Next World Currency?

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The Internet has given us many new and exciting ways to transact business. The newest frontier is in regards to a virtual currency called Bitcoins that is unregulated and accepted by Internet users worldwide. Bitcoins may be too much of a novelty for your business to take seriously, but that does not discredit it as an interesting investment opportunity.

Tags:
Internet Security
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