Data Net Blog

Data Net Blog

Data Net has been serving the California area since 1983, providing IT Support such as technical helpdesk support, computer support, and consulting to small and medium-sized businesses.

To Safely Store Passwords, Use a Centralized Password Manager

To Safely Store Passwords, Use a Centralized Password Manager

In this blog and our conversations with clients, we frequently discuss the importance of protecting accounts with complex and unique passwords and multi-factor authentication. These actions are crucial, but there is a tool out there that can really improve any business’ account security: the password manager. 

Today, we’ll discuss the password manager and why it is such a great tool for keeping passwords complex and secure. 

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Is Telegram’s Embedded Privacy Aiding Criminals?

Is Telegram’s Embedded Privacy Aiding Criminals?

The state of Internet security is always a trip. There are scams literally everywhere and there are better minds than ours that want to solve the myriad of problems that users run into online. One such platform is the secure communications software Telegram founded by Pavel Durov. In this attempt to revolutionize the instant messaging space, he’s found himself in some pretty hot water. Let’s dive right in.

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Leveraging your business data to drive better business outcomes

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Smaller firms may hear about AI and how data is driving the big corporations of the world, but they often don’t realize that they can do the same. The size and age of your business doesn’t have to be a limiting factor in whether you use data. Today’s blog is a quick look at data management for the small firm.

The first lesson is: don’t take your data for granted. The basic business model for some large IT companies is monetizing the data that they collect. While this may not be your goal, you probably collect a great deal of data about your customers, prospects, and operations. An MSP can help you make better use of that data. Here are just three examples.

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Moving? Here’s How to Prepare for Relocating Your Infrastructure

Moving? Here’s How to Prepare for Relocating Your Infrastructure

Moving your business’ IT infrastructure is quite an endeavor, but a few preparatory steps can make it easier. Let’s review them and see if there are any opportunities hiding in this task.

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Roadmaps for Data Security and for Strategic Planning

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It is time you were encouraged to stop looking at the technology you use to run your business as just some reliable piece of invisible infrastructure that hums along in the background.

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These Signs Tell You a Hard Drive is On Its Way Out

These Signs Tell You a Hard Drive is On Its Way Out

The demand for digital storage has skyrocketed over time. While hard disk drives (HDDs) once dominated the market, solid-state drives (SSDs) are now becoming more popular thanks to their speed, durability, and increasing affordability.

That said, HDDs are still in wide use, though they are far more susceptible to failure compared to SSDs. So, how can you spot the signs that your hard drive might be on the verge of failing?

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The NSA’s Guidelines on Mobile Security

The NSA’s Guidelines on Mobile Security

The United States National Security Agency, or NSA, is well known for its expertise in cybersecurity. So, when the NSA releases practices to help keep mobile devices more secure, it's smart to pay attention to what it says.

Let’s examine a few of their shared practices and see what we can learn.

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An MSP can help you prepare your business for tomorrow’s market

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Many small businesses tend to view an MSP as the local fire truck. Available when an emergency happens, they rush in, put out whatever tech fires broke out, and then leave. This is also known as the "break-fix” approach to technical support. However, an MSP can bring many types of value to a small business. In particular, an MSP can function as a strategic partner for a small business. Technology needs to be part of your long-term strategic planning. MSPs have the ability to devote energy to understanding emerging trends that can help your organization develop a “technology roadmap.” This is a long-term strategy document that outlines how and what technology should be used going forward. The roadmap takes a proactive view of technology as a strategic tool for the long-term growth of the business. Individual parts of a technology road map will address specific aspects of the company’s “technology” such as software development, infrastructure upgrades, digital transformation, and product innovation. A technology roadmap that includes product innovation is especially important. Questions to ask in this context would be “can technology improve the delivery of products and services, or improve qualitatively the nature of the product or service itself?” The roadmap may also include research and development initiatives. As part of C-suite plans to stay competitive and thrive in the market, leadership needs to understand what new technologies are available for future innovation.

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Two Productivity Bottlenecks You Need to Confront

Two Productivity Bottlenecks You Need to Confront

Technology has enabled us to achieve more than ever before, but with that progress comes higher expectations. Increased productivity demands can sometimes feel overwhelming, making it essential to find effective ways to manage tasks. There's a natural limit to how much we can do, however, and certain obstacles can push us to that limit more quickly. Today, we’ll explore two common productivity pitfalls that many face.

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MSPs can focus on issues you don’t have time for

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Every business relies on technology to function. From simple things like email, VoIP, and the internet, all the way to predictive analytics for inventory and sales, digital technology is at the root of every business. Unfortunately, no matter how much small- to medium-sized businesses may rely on their IT infrastructure to operate, they often try to “get by” with their in-house IT staff to keep things running. In this blog, we will discuss the value a Managed Service Provider brings to an SMB: a value that cannot be replicated in-house.

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Is Your Phone Feeling Slow? Try Clearing the Cache

Is Your Phone Feeling Slow? Try Clearing the Cache

Whether you have an older iPhone or last year’s iPhone 15 Pro Max, your device is likely to slow down a little as you use it, especially when using the web browser.

This doesn’t just apply to iPhones; virtually any device with a web browser, including desktops, laptops, and tablets, can suffer from this. Let’s discuss the why and how and then discuss how to quickly fix it. Sometimes, it can make a big difference in your device's performance.

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Destroy Network Bottlenecks with These Actions

Destroy Network Bottlenecks with These Actions

Network bottlenecks can be a real problem for businesses that depend on significant data transmission as a part of their day-to-day operations. More companies than ever use a lot of different technologies that chew through bandwidth and it can cause their network to move slowly. Let’s go through some of the steps you should take to eliminate these network bottlenecks.

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Cyber hygiene: The key to your business’s good cyber health

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We all know that basic hygiene is a must to lead a healthy life. Did you know that the same rule applies to IT as well? There’s something known as cyber hygiene that plays a key role in keeping your business healthy from the IT perspective. So, how do you ensure your business doesn’t fail when it comes to cyber hygiene? Here are a few tips

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Tip of the Week: Use Google Lens with Anything in Google Chrome

Tip of the Week: Use Google Lens with Anything in Google Chrome

If you’ve ever used Google Lens on a mobile device, you know it’s a pretty impressive little tool for contextual searches. However, you can also use these capabilities in the Chrome browser., searching for anything visible in the browser—from text to images, even one captured from a video.

Let’s go over how.

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Free Internet Access? Don’t fall for this one

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One of the popular internet scams that has been doing the rounds since 2017 is the one about “Free Internet”. This scam seems to resurface and somehow manages to claim quite a few unsuspecting victims. Here’s how they catch you.

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How to Ensure Secure and Organized File Sharing Capabilities

How to Ensure Secure and Organized File Sharing Capabilities

Modern businesses lean heavily on collaboration, and without efficient and reliable file sharing, that strategy goes out the window. It’s important that you know how to build and maintain solid file sharing practices and get the technology you need to make that possible. In today’s blog, we will give you four tips on how to build an efficient and secure file-sharing platform that can take your business a long way.

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Let’s Talk About the “Compressed” 4-Day Workweek

Let’s Talk About the “Compressed” 4-Day Workweek

The concept of a four-day-long workweek is one of the latest trends that businesses of all shapes and sizes are pondering. It has been touted to have significant benefits for both their operations and the employees who carry them out. However, is the “compressed” workweek the route your business should go?

Well, as is so often the answer, that depends. Let’s examine the concept of a compressed workweek and its application more closely.

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Online shopping? Watch out for these red flags

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Who doesn’t like online shopping? Online shopping has opened up a whole new world to us. Get whatever you want, whenever you want, without wandering from store to store. It doesn’t matter if it is too hot to venture outside or if there’s a blizzard out there, you do your shopping from the comfort of your couch and the stuff at your doorstep. You get great deals, some are better than in-store specials. But, did you know cybercriminals love the concept of online shopping as much as you do. Cybercriminals are exploiting the growing popularity of online shopping to cheat unsuspecting buyers through techniques such as phishing, malware injection, etc. Here are a few tips that may work to keep you safe from being a target of cybercriminals as you shop online.

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Three Ways to Effectively Reduce Operational Troubles

Three Ways to Effectively Reduce Operational Troubles

Small businesses often face a range of technology-related challenges that can disrupt the efficiency of their business. Being able to understand the common issues—such as network connectivity problems, outdated technology, or cybersecurity—is the first step toward keeping business running smoothly. By identifying these recurring problems, businesses can anticipate potential disruptions and prepare strategies to reduce their risk.

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DNS Cache poisoning: What every SMB must know

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In one of the most common poisoning attacks, the attacker poisons the DNS Cache with the aim of leading visitors to a fake website. In a DNS cache poisoning case, the attacker gains control of the DNS server and then manipulates cache data such that anyone typing the URL of the actual website is redirected to the fake one. This could be a phishing site where the attacker would have carefully laid out a trap to capture the unsuspecting victim’s personal data or secure information. For example, the visitor thinks they are logging into their bank’s website online, but are actually on the attacker’s phishing site, where they enter the login credentials.

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