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Smart Services has been providing independent agents with proactive, fast, and expert technology services since 1991.

What Can (and Can’t) a VPN Do for Your Business?

What Can (and Can’t) a VPN Do for Your Business?

A virtual private network, or VPN, is a critical part of keeping your business safe while operations are taking place out of the office, but a discussion needs to be had about what a VPN can do and what a VPN cannot do. This is especially important to know for keeping your company safe, so without further ado, let’s dive in.

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ALERT: Update Your iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac NOW.

ALERT: Update Your iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac NOW.

If you use almost any Apple products, you’ll want to check for and apply an update that will prevent your devices from being spied on. Apple has just issued an emergency software update for a critical vulnerability that was recently discovered.

The new updates were pushed out on Monday, September 13th, 2021, and include a major security fix for the Apple iPhone, Apple iPad, Apple Watch, and Apple Mac computers and laptops.

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What are IT Best Practices, Anyways?

What are IT Best Practices, Anyways?

We throw the term “best practice” around a lot… enough that, without an appreciation for what the term actually means, it can start to sound like just another buzzword that the IT guy is using to sound more impressive. We assure you that this is not the case, and that the term “best practice” actually does mean something.

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Tip of the Week: Scaling Your Wi-Fi Network

Tip of the Week: Scaling Your Wi-Fi Network

Most modern businesses rely on wireless internet connectivity in their day-to-day processes. Of course, this means that their potential productivity is tied to the quality of their internet and its capability to serve the entire workforce. As a business grows it becomes more important that its Wi-Fi setup can support it. Let’s go over the process of properly scaling your network to your needs.

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What the Windows 8.1 End-of-Life Event Means for Your Business

What the Windows 8.1 End-of-Life Event Means for Your Business

Windows 11 seems to be rapidly approaching, so now is the perfect time to discuss Windows upgrades and upcoming end-of-life scenarios, including Windows 8.1, which is slated to expire in 2023. You might be wondering if you have the hardware to handle this upgrade, and that’s a valid question, but what does the end-of-life scenario for Windows 8.1 really look like for your business? Let’s take a look.

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Remote Work Can Offer More Benefits than You Might Expect

Remote Work Can Offer More Benefits than You Might Expect

Remote work has been embraced over the past two years, in no small part due to the impact of the pandemic. However, some of the impacts of remote work have made it clear to many businesses that its advantages shouldn’t be sacrificed once it is no longer necessary. Let’s review how businesses can improve by continuing the practices of remote work, even after the need for remote work has passed.

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Tip of the Week: What’s the Point of CC and BCC in My Email?

Tip of the Week: What’s the Point of CC and BCC in My Email?

We’ve all seen the fields in our email, CC and BCC, and most of us have probably used them before. Let’s consider where we get those terms, and how each of them is properly used.

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Is Your Business Following These Essential Best Practices Right Now?

Is Your Business Following These Essential Best Practices Right Now?

Whenever your technology is involved in your business processes, it is important that you abide by best practices to see the most effective results. Let’s run through the most effective practices that you should reinforce in your operations.

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Vulnerabilities Found Inside Azure-Linked Managed Database Service

Vulnerabilities Found Inside Azure-Linked Managed Database Service

It’s not unheard of for some threats to remain undiscovered for months or even years, as is the case with a particularly nasty one in the Microsoft Azure database system. This exploit, discovered by cloud security provider Wiz, is built into Cosmos DB, Microsoft Azure’s managed database service. Let’s take a look at the exploit and see what we can learn from it.

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Tip of the Week: 3 Ways to Emulate Enterprise Networks

Tip of the Week: 3 Ways to Emulate Enterprise Networks

The major difference between an enterprise and a small or medium-sized business is just its size. As a result, many of the tools that the enterprise takes advantage of can easily be used by their smaller counterparts. Let’s review just a few of these processes and technologies.

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3 Reasons to Consider a Private Cloud Solution

3 Reasons to Consider a Private Cloud Solution

The cloud is a great opportunity for businesses to increase accessibility of data and enhance productivity, especially while remote, but for those who do not know how to approach it, the cloud can be intimidating. Today, we are going to make the case for a private cloud solution and why you should consider it as a viable option for your business, even if it does not seem like it at the moment. You might be surprised by what you learn!

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Looking at FoggyWeb to Better Understand Malware Attacks

Looking at FoggyWeb to Better Understand Malware Attacks

The cyberattack on SolarWinds was devastating for many reasons, and Microsoft has officially uncovered yet another type of malware used in the attack on the software provider. This time, it is a backdoor threat they have named FoggyWeb. What does this threat do and why is it so important to look at this incident even now?

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Is the VPN My Office Uses a Public VPN?

Is the VPN My Office Uses a Public VPN?

Virtual private networking, while maybe not the most familiar term to everyone, at least seems to be pretty straightforward. Such a specific-sounding term must apply to one aspect of technology and that one aspect alone, right?

Well, kind of, sort of, not really. In actuality, there are two kinds of VPN. Let’s go over what makes them different, and which your business should utilize.

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Could Voice Authentication Join the Ranks of MFA?

Could Voice Authentication Join the Ranks of MFA?

Authentication has been a major talking point for the past few years, particularly as the value of data has only increased and security has correspondingly increased in importance. As a result, more secure and reliable means of identity verification have also become more critical. Now, voice authentication is being considered as such a means.

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Managed IT Services Cut Down on Computer Repair Costs

Managed IT Services Cut Down on Computer Repair Costs

When you browse the articles available on our blog, you might see the words “managed services” a lot. That’s because we firmly believe that managed services are the solution to a lot of problems that small and medium-sized businesses have with technology management, maintenance, and acquisition. How can managed services help your business push past its limits and establish itself as a powerhouse in the local market? Let’s take a look.

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What We Can Learn from the Facebook Outage

What We Can Learn from the Facebook Outage

We’re all aware of the outage that Facebook experienced a few weeks before it announced its Meta rebrand, which prevented users around the world from accessing the services that the social media giant provides. While it may not sound like a huge deal that people couldn’t share their thoughts with one another for a short time, the ramifications stretched far beyond the inability to scroll through a Newsfeed.

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Tech is a Big Seller on Black Friday and Cyber Monday

Tech is a Big Seller on Black Friday and Cyber Monday

With the holidays fast approaching, people are ready to go out and find the best, most perfect gifts for their loved ones. That said, people don’t want to spend their money frivolously; they want to find the best deals while they are available. We’ve compiled a list of some of the best Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals that have been announced so far.

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Google My Business App Changing to Google Business Profile

Google My Business App Changing to Google Business Profile

The Google My Business application has assisted business owners in managing their online presence for some time now, having gone through numerous name changes in its time. However, Google has one final change planned for its application. 

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I Need My Computer Repaired, and I Need It Right Now

I Need My Computer Repaired, and I Need It Right Now

So, you’re busy working, when suddenly your computer crashes…what do you do? Naturally, your first response should be to reach out for support. Let’s go into how your acquisition of support may go, even if your issue cannot be resolved remotely.

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Learning Telltale Signs of a Phishing Email Can Save Your Business

Learning Telltale Signs of a Phishing Email Can Save Your Business

Phishing is one of those threats that has been around for a long time, and as time passes by, these threats only become more difficult to identify. Some businesses can’t tell the difference between phishing scams and actual emails. Here’s how your company can take steps toward properly identifying and responding to phishing emails.

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