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Industry Insights IT Solutions Managed IT Services

Cryptowall Ransomware Took $18 Million from Victims

With all the warnings from IT consulting professionals on how companies need to protect themselves, FBI issued a statement that Cryptowall Ransomware took $18 million from victims since 2014.

Cryptowall is part of the ransomware and it encrypts files on computers and then demands a ransom in order to obtain the decryption key.  Cryptowall collects its victims by either using a phishing email or getting them on website that is hosting an exploit.  There have been reports from tech support services professionals that they have relied on exploiting vulnerabilities in software and applications but the most popular has been malware delivered when a user clicks on a malicious link and downloads the malware to the system.

The Cryptowall Ransomware family demands that users pay ransom in Bitcoin or other electronic payment method in order to get the decryption key and it has been big business for cybercriminals.

It has been reported by IC3 that between April 2014 and June 2015, the IC3 received 992 Cryptowall complaints and that victims have been taken for losses totaling over $18 million.  Yes, $18 million!

So how do you protect yourself from Cryptowall and the entire family of Ransomware?

Your CIO, IT manager and/or IT consultant have warned you before a number times about how to fight ransomware and other cyber-schemes but we will recap some key points:

  • Antivirus: It is extremely important to use and active antivirus software security suite from a reputable company. Please ensure it is configured properly to and that automatic updates are on as well.
  • Firewall: This is a big sticky point businesses. Yes, you have a firewall but firewalls do expire and leave you with a large security hole. It is extremely important to have a new and up-to-date firewall in your business. Many good firewalls come with built-in security suites including Anti-Virus, Application Intelligence, Anti-Spyware and Intrusion Prevention.
  • Popups: Believe it or not but popups are still used by cyber criminals to spread malicious threats. In order to avoid, it is best to prevent them from appearing in the first place. Always ensure your browser is up-to-date and that pop up blocker is being used.
  • Backup: Simple rule since the being of the computer age, always back up your computer. Managed IT services providers always follow this simple practice. 1. Back up, 2. Verify Backup and 3. Maintain a backup offsite. It your get hit by ransomware, it will have a limited impact on you.
  • Computer Safety 101: This is a simple one but IT professionals have to constantly remind users to not click on any emails or attachments you do not recognize and avoid suspicious websites. Create and always have a strong password and do not use the same passwords for everything.

Is your business safe from Ransomware and Cryptowall? 365 iT SOLUTIONS helps protect themselves from such cyber threats and achieve the next level by using technology to increase productivity and profitability.

 

Our Canadian IT team will make your IT infrastructure reach your business goals.

 

As Toronto’s leading IT consulting firm, we offer industry leading Managed IT ServicesIT Support ServicesIT Outsourcing ServicesTech Support Services and Cloud Services to clients with a proven ROI proposal.

 

Want to see the difference experience can make to your business?

 

Our Complimentary Network and Security Assessment will make it happen!

 

Check us out on 365itSolutions.com or contact us directly at 416-398-9889

 

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Industry Insights IT Solutions Managed IT Services

Looking for Managed Network Services in Toronto?

Are you looking for managed network services in Toronto for your business?  There are IT consulting experts who are specialists in the managing activities, manage conflicts systematically and protect your network.

So you work with an IT expert? Well saying you do IT is a broad industry and includes many different areas. In this dynamic economy, IT services are a significant role in the modern era and can be considered as backbone of each business organization and essential to manage all the IT services with proper planning and control.

Your company IT infrastructure includes many different areas including telecom equipment, computer hardware, electronics, e-commerce services, software and cloud services. Successful IT service providers focus on proactively identifying the needs of companies and delivering the high quality managed services in an affordable manner.

Managed services providers consists of experts that solve and manage the network errors.  Managed IT services plays a vital role in the growth of a business. Every business wants to grow and managed network services are considered as the back bone of an IT department.

In Toronto, there is a great significance of these managed IT services. Management is a process of planning, directing, organizing and controlling your entire IT infrastructure. When companies look at finding the right IT partner, all IT services must be managed properly using industry best practices. Proper plans and procedures are used to manage all IT services and if any conflicts should arise, they will take proactive actions to remove those issues or errors.  Managed IT service ensures productivity as well as maximum efficiency for the user company.

Looking to get to the next level? 365 iT SOLUTIONS helps companies achieve the next level by using technology to increase productivity and profitability. We make IT infrastructure obtain your business goals.

 

As Toronto’s leading IT consulting firm, we offer industry leading Managed IT ServicesIT Support ServicesIT Outsourcing ServicesTech Support Services and Cloud Services to clients with a proven ROI proposal.

 

Want to see the difference experience can make to your business?

 

Our Complimentary Network and Security Assessment will make it happen!

 

Check us out on 365itSolutions.com or contact us directly at 416-398-9889

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Industry Insights IT Solutions Managed IT Services

Why Do You Need a Network Audit?

Does your business need a Network Audit? Every company needs a complete picture of their current IT infrastructure in order to protect and plan their future business goals. Does your business need a Network Audit? Is your company protected or capable to achieve your business goals?  Find out how a network audit will help.

A Network Audit is a complete audit of your IT infrastructure that will provide a complete IT health analysis on security, vulnerabilities, protection from hackers and disaster recovery.

  1. Do you have a mapped out plan?

What are your current pain points? What is your business plan and goals over the next 3, 6 and 12 months? Your IT is tied into your business can limit your growth and profitability.  As a business, you must know how much your IT is going to cost you over the next 12 months up to 5 years. Technology represents a large cost for all business and if you are spending money on IT only when something breaks, then there is a huge missing piece in your IT plan and disaster recovery.

 

  1. Do you have an action plan?

Now that we have a mapped out plan for your business, it is time to take it to the next level. It is time to put an action plan together. Unfortunately, most people start IT projects without a mapped out plan or action plan. A solid action plan will ensure you hit all goals with the least amount of downtime possible. Remember, action plans will protect your business.

 

  1. Was your plan created by an expert?

Most organizations do not consult with expert IT consultants on their backups, hardware, software or vulnerability to security threats. Many companies have an IT support services partner but are they protecting your business? Just because you have an expert paid to handle your IT infrastructure does not mean that it’s actually working properly. During most Network Audits the main issue revealed has been that backups are not working or large security holes in the network.

 

How does a Network Audit help your business? 

Simple, to eliminate unplanned IT spending, you need to understand the threats out there and how to protect your organization.

 

365 iT SOLUTIONS will bring your company to the next level by using technology to increase productivity and profitability. With a complimentary Network Audit, we will align your IT infrastructure with your business goals and strategy. We are Toronto’s leading IT consulting firm and offer industry leading Managed IT ServicesIT Support ServicesIT Outsourcing ServicesTech Support Services and Cloud Services.

Want to see the difference real world experience can make to your business?

Enroll in our Complimentary Network and Security Audit by 365itSolutions.com or contact our 100% Canadian team at 416-398-9889

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Industry Insights IT Solutions Managed IT Services

Looking for Managed Services in Toronto?

Why are so many business looking for managed services in Toronto? The answer is pretty simple since it will help your business become more productive and profitable.

Let face it, if you are in the service industry, you have to offers your clients the best price, services and experience possible. There are so many industries in the marketplace including government sector, non-profit sector, charity, manufacturing and construction however it all comes down to providing them the best service and the latest technology.

What are managed services?

Companies turn to managed services providers to offer them the best possible service as well as using them to position their company and strategy.  Successful companies understand that managed services is the proactive outsourcing of day-to-day management responsibilities and functions. It is used as a strategic method for improving operations and cutting expenses.

How does managed services help?

Large companies need technology to operate efficiently and effectively. Every business is reliant on technology and as IT grows, businesses need the proper IT resources to support an increasingly complex environment. For many small businesses, IT resources are scarce and can be quickly overwhelmed with the day-to-day responsibilities of keeping the IT infrastructure up and running.

Companies require proactive maintenance of their network as it is easy to fall behind with daily tasks such as backups, patches and security updates. Not keeping you network up-to-date can result in IT outage, company downtime or other issues that can impact your business in a negative way.

Managed services provides can be an extension of your current IT department and take daily routine IT infrastructure monitoring and management over therefore freeing up your IT staff to focus on other projects. If you have no internal IT department, you can used managed services providers as your complete IT department for a fraction of the price.

Successful companies understand that proactive network monitoring and maintenance will help their business avoid future technology problems.

365 iT SOLUTIONS brings companies to the next level by using technology to increase productivity and profitability. We will align your IT infrastructure with your business goals and strategy. As Toronto’s leading IT consulting firm, we offer industry leading Managed IT ServicesIT Support ServicesIT Outsourcing ServicesTech Support Services and Cloud Services to clients with an excellent proven ROI and 100% Canadian staff.

 

Want to see the difference experience can make to your business?

 

Check out our Complimentary Network and Security Assessment by 365itSolutions.com or contact us directly at 416-398-9889

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Industry Insights IT Solutions Managed IT Services

LastPass Hacked, how do you protect yourself?

Do you use LastPass to manage your passwords? Well there is some bad news as LastPass has been hacked and now your passwords may have been exposed.

LastPass immediately announced on their blog that they detected an intrusion to their servers and encrypted user data (a.k.a: stored passwords for other sites) was not stolen however the intruders did take LastPass account email addresses, password reminders, server per user salts, and authentication hashes.

LastPass has stated that the authentication hashes are encrypted and should prevent anyone from using them to access your account.

How do I fix the LastPass hacked issue?

LastPass is a very popular password manager but it has been hit with a major security breach, LastPass has been hacked. You must change your master password immediately. LastPass has stated that passwords for other websites should be safe however we would recommend you start changing all of them.

LastPass is prompting all users to update their master password for their LastPass account. If you share your master password with any other services, you should change it there also immediately. Final note is if you have not enabled two-factor authentication, you should do that immediately to add another level of protection.

Currently LastPass servers are running overtime so you can expect to have issues when trying to change your password.

To view the entire security alert from LastPass, you can click here to read the LastPass Security Notice.

365 iT SOLUTIONS brings cutting edge technology to help your business obtain your goals.  Are you looking for a IT consulting firm in Toronto that brings industry leading Managed IT ServicesIT Support ServicesIT Outsourcing ServicesTech Support Services and Cloud Services?

 

We have a proven ROI on technology and we want to show you the difference experience can make!

 

Is your network and data safe from hackers?

 

Check out our Complimentary Network and Security Assessment by 365itSolutions.com or contact us directly at 416-398-9889

 

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Industry Insights IT Solutions Managed IT Services

IT Support Services for Small Businesses

Today’s business leaders are busy running their businesses and they will definitely require a well-structured network to meet their business goals. For this reason, so many companies look for IT Support Services for Small Businesses.

If your business is looking to reach the next level, you need the right IT consulting partner to help you get there.  You will require IT Support Services that are fast and offer outstanding performance as every business leader knows that technology and IT services have now become an essential part of today’s business environment.

The quality of the IT support services depends on your choice of IT service provider.   For a small organization, these support services plays a significant role in achieving business goals efficiently and at reasonable price.

When selecting an IT service provider, you are looking at a long term business partner that will help you increase the level of your productivity and to achieve higher growth.

Some advantages of selecting the right IT service provider include the following:

  • High quality of all services including Managed Services, IT Consulting and vCIO
  • Efficient working environment and knowledge your industry
  • Ensure greater productivity and network uptime
  • High growth of the client business and their business
  • Reasonable and affordable IT services

365 iT SOLUTIONS, can align your IT infrastructure with your business goals and strategy ensuring all these benefits are achieved.  We are Toronto’s leading IT consulting firm as we bring industry leading Managed IT ServicesIT Support ServicesIT Outsourcing ServicesTech Support Services and Cloud Services to clients with an excellent proven ROI.

Want to see the difference experience can make to your business? Check out our Complimentary Network and Security Assessment by 365itSolutions.com or contact us directly at 416-398-9889

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Industry Insights IT Solutions Managed IT Services

Stop Managing IT and You Can Make Your Business Profitable

In today’s challenging economy, companies face multiple obstacles and if you stop managing your IT infrastructure, you can make your business profitable.

Long gone are the days that IT management is about infrastructure anymore.  At multiple levels, IT is responsible to help the business flourish and be successful. Business owners and management must make the first critical step and stop managing their IT infrastructure.

There has been an evolution in the industry and managed IT services providers are part of many companies success story.  Some companies may require entire management of their infrastructure including a vCIO or it can be IT Support Services or it can be Tech Support Services. No matter what level, companies need to partner with IT consultants that share the same business goals and win-win scenario.

These days, IT management goes beyond ensuring the server is up and running. With Cloud Services and many other IT services, companies need to optimize the management of their technology as well technology itself in order to increase profitability.

Today’s IT consultants think and operate at a higher level of strategic thinking.  It is no longer about what technology “can do” but rather the real question of “what should the technology be doing for the organization?” and “how do we hit our business goals”?

Will your current IT infrastructure allow you to obtain your business goals?

 

365 iT SOLUTIONS, can align your IT infrastructure with your business goals and strategy.  As Toronto’s leading IT consulting firm, we bring industry leading Managed IT ServicesIT Support ServicesIT Outsourcing ServicesTech Support Services and Cloud Services to clients with an excellent proven ROI.

Want to see the difference experience can make for your business?

Check out our Complimentary Network and Security Assessment by 365itSolutions.com or contact us directly at 416-398-9889

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Industry Insights IT Solutions Managed IT Services

Looking to change your IT Provider?

Bye bye IT provider! Not every business is the same and with time and growth, sometimes your current trusted IT consulting partner cannot deliver what your company needs to succeed.

Over the years there have been many advancements in technology such as cloud services, remote monitoring management (RMM) and professional services automation (PSA) tools. Is your current IT provider using these tools to manage and protect your business?

Gone are the days where IT service providers use technical jargon to explain their proposals, technology and tech support issues.  Unfortunately there are some IT providers in the marketplace that will charge you for services that do not meet your business needs and goals.

When evaluating your current relationship with your IT service provider, you should ask yourself these key questions to see how your IT consultant stacks up against your business needs.

Does your IT provider respond in a timely manner when your business is in a crisis?

Your IT consultant should have a service-level agreement (SLA) in place with your company. This sets a realistic expectation of what will happen when tech support help is required.

Do you have surprise costs or find unexplained charges on your monthly invoice?

Your monthly invoice should be simple with no surprises. Managed IT services offers a monthly predictable charge based on your agreement. There never should be surprise charges on your invoice as your network plans should be properly budgeted and planned.

Are you getting a simple explanation when technical issues hit your network?

As many do not believe this but IT is not rocket science. You should always be given a simple explanation in English as to what has happen and how it will be avoided in the future.

Is your network being managed in a reactive or proactive method in regards to network support and monitoring?

Remember, in this day and age, there are tools to proactively manage your network. Proactive management is the same as maintaining your car. The more you maintain it, the better the ROI and longevity.

Did any of these questions hit close to home or raise more questions?

These are common issues and unfortunately slow down companies from succeeding or costing organizations money.

If any of the above scenarios sound familiar, there’s a good chance your IT service provider is not the right match for your company.

We are 365 iT SOLUTIONS, Toronto’s leading IT consulting firm in Toronto offering industry leading Managed IT ServicesIT Support ServicesIT Outsourcing ServicesTech Support Services and Cloud Services.

Want to see how experience and leading edge technology make a difference?

Try our Complimentary Network and Security Assessment by 365itSolutions.com

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Industry Insights IT Solutions Managed IT Services

Why remote users make sense to employers

Does your company allow for remote users? You should as this is part of many companies winning formula to productivity and profitability.

Remote users and working is on the rise due to many reasons like weather related issues like snow storms, rain and other natural items.  The is also other issues that affect your business productivity and profitability, such as public transit delays and outages or special events in your city like the upcoming Pan Am games in Toronto.

Toronto Ice Storm
Toronto Ice Storm

So why are companies turning to remote users to increase productivity,  continuity and profitability?

Remote workers are less stressed

When you take out traffic and commuting out of a workers life, it tends to reduce the stress a worker faces daily. It allows remote users to feel empowered to work in a way that suits them and suits the business. Think about how you felt the last time it took you double the time to make it into the office?  You were late and frustrated therefore making your day not so productive.

Remote workers can be well connected

I will use us as an example, all 365 iT SOLUTIONS employees are capable of working 100% remotely.  All our systems, including phone system is accessible remotely. With smartphones and social media, companies are capable of eliminating communication issues due to distance. Modern companies use the latest technology such as remote administration, cloud-based project management, video conferencing, and BYOD to extend the effectiveness of remote work.

Remote workers make you competitive

Less onsite workers results in less real estate required. Companies tapping into remote users allows them to reduce their rent and property costs.  This is a huge win as you will have less overhead costs than some of your competitors.

Remote workers are more engaged

When workers make more money by eliminating commuting and work in their own environment with less stress, your company has produced and amazing worker. Companies with successful remote workers, experience less turn over and more engaged workers resulting in better productivity and profitability.

It is important to remember that remote workers play an important role in business contingency and business continuity but that will be addressed in a future blog.

How will your business hold up during the next storm?  Will the next transit outage cost you money?  There are simple solutions that technology can address.  Talk to the industry leaders on how to increase productivity and profitability.

 

We are 365 iT SOLUTIONS, Toronto’s leading IT consulting firm in Toronto offering industry leading Managed IT ServicesIT Support ServicesIT Outsourcing ServicesTech Support Services and Cloud Services.

 

Want to see experience the difference?

 

Try our Complimentary Network and Security Assessment by 365itSolutions.com

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Industry Insights IT Solutions Managed IT Services

Will IT Outsourcing help your Daily Operations?

As many may know, IT outsourcing covers a large area of IT consulting talent including our favorite, managed services.  As more businesses look into managed IT services to assist in their daily operations, there still is a large amount of companies trying to figure out how they should implement managed services within their organizations and how it can help.

Remember, it is better to do it right the first time.

We have put a quick list of how many ways managed services can help your business run with increased uptime and productivity against your competitors.

 

Question:

What Is Managed Services?

Answer:

Managed IT services is the practice of outsourcing daily IT management to a third party.

Many companies use this as a strategic business tool to improve operations and accelerating their ROI on technology investments.

Most managed services providers (MSP) use different models to deliver managed services including anything from basic monitoring services, hybrid managed services to full managed services. Companies that use a hybrid model usually rely on their internal IT department to handle large projects and planning while the managed services provider takes over the daily IT management tasks.

 

Question:       

How can Managed Services Help Your Business?

Answer:          

Managed services providers can help in many areas that can be divided into three areas. Monitoring, Operation and Optimization.

We put together a quick overview of the three different areas with a brief explanation.

Monitoring     Let’s face it, it you proactively monitor something, you can avoid many different possible issues down the line. A true managed service provider can integrated their own Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) tools to monitor your network and keep you in the loop on the health of your network.

Operation       Now that your trusted IT consulting partner has installed his Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) tools, many clients might wish to transfer the actual operation of a solution over to a third party managed services provider (MSP). The managed services provider will install their Professional Services Automation (PSA) in order streamline their operations and technology.

Optimization  Here is where you can see the difference. You have engaged a managed services team to handle all your daily IT management. They have implemented their tools including Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) and Professional Services Automation (PSA) tools. Now they can apply the latest industry best practices to ensure everything is running smoothly and improve overall performance through optimization.

 

Question         Why is Managed Services Growing?

Answer            Businesses these days prefer to bundle everything into one IT consulting contract including vCIO, Managed IT Services and Cloud Services to mention a few. Many managed services providers offer these service but it is important for the client to do their due diligence.

 

Who are we? Simple, we are 365 iT SOLUTIONS, Toronto’s leading IT consulting firm in Toronto offering industry leading Managed IT ServicesIT Support ServicesIT Outsourcing ServicesTech Support Services and Cloud Services.

Want to see experience the difference?

Try our Complimentary Network and Security Assessment by 365itSolutions.com