31478 Industrial Road Suite 200, Livonia, Michigan 48150 sales@xfer.com

XFER Blog

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.

Take Back Your Facebook News Feed

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Facebook has recently achieved one billion active users. Being on top of the social media world comes with a price. Facebook has become one of the top 10 most hated companies in America, this according to a January 2013 study from news site 24/7 Wall St. This survey takes into account customer and employee satisfaction and, most of all, stock prices.

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Taking a Look at Google’s Data Centers

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Have you ever stopped and wondered where the internet is housed? Maybe all the websites are on a skyscraper-sized router? Maybe the internet all fits inside your computer? Most of the information is actually stored in data center facilities all over the world, and the sheer size and complexity of these centers will boggle your mind.

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Stolen Device Damage Control

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The smartphone ownership rate for American adults increased to 46% in 2012, this according to a study by Pew Research. This study does not include other mobile devices like tablets, laptops, and notebooks, but the use of these devices is also growing, with worldwide sales for just smartphones and tablets projected to hit 1.2 billion in 2013.

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4 Tips to Shop Securely Online

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The 2012 holiday online shopping season is shaping up to be the biggest yet. Harris Interactive conducted a survey regarding this holiday season, and found that 51% of Americans plan on shopping online this year. Everybody has different reasons to shop online, 71% of respondents thought they could find better deals, and 31% want to simply avoid the crowds.

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Increase Security with Multi-Factor Identification

Using a strong password with complex combinations of letters and numbers will go a long way in protecting your account, but passwords provide only one level of protection against hackers. Additional levels of security can be added with multi-factor authentication. This is the best protection available for your internet accounts, and major technology companies have recently made this a reality for the public.

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3 Handy Tools to Remember Your Passwords, Part 2

Last time, we spoke about password security, we went over the importance of using strong passwords to avoid identity theft. In part two, we will discuss three easy password solutions that can help you manage all of your different passwords.

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Password Vulnerability and Security, Part 1

A weak password makes identity theft easy for hackers. You would never paint your social security number on the side of a truck and drive around town, but if your password is shared, left out in the open, and used on multiple sites, then you might as well ride shotgun with the Lifelock CEO (his SSN has been stolen 13 times).

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Protect your Dropbox with Two-Step Authentication

Dropbox, a popular file-hosting service for both home-users and businesses, recently added a new security feature to prevent unauthorized access to your Dropbox files and folders. You can enable Dropbox to send a security code to your mobile phone whenever you log in.

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Removing the Hidden Data in Microsoft Word

Most people might not realize this, but a Microsoft Word Doc can retain a lot of information pertaining to the history of the document, your personal information, annotations, and other invisible elements. This can be a huge security risk! Read on to learn how to remove that extra information.

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Securing your Wi-Fi is More Important Than Ever

Does your Wi-Fi require a secure password to allow users to access your network with their mobile devices? And no, the word "password" is not a suitable password. If your wireless network is easy to gain access to, you are opening up your sensitive data to anyone within range.

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2 Step Authentication for Gmail

Having strong passwords for your online accounts is very important, but sometimes you may want a little more protection in the event your password gets stolen or someone forces their way through it. If you use Google's Gmail service, you can set up your account, then you will need two forms of authentication to get into your email.

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4 Spring Cleaning Practices to Improve your IT

As the days get longer and the weather gets warmer, it's a good time to step back and look at ways to rejuvenate your day-to-day operations and do some spring cleaning. These practices won't cover dusting up cobwebs but will offer a few practices to improve your overall IT.

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Your Company's Social Media Policy

The time to implement a social media policy is now.

Your social media policy outlines for employees your companies guidelines or principles for communicating in the online world.  Your company should have a communications policy in place that spell out your expectations for phone and email, it’s important that you add social media and online site usage to this policy.

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