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2017

headway-information-services-facebook-domain-verification

FACEBOOK DOMAIN VERIFICATION

Facebook have created a new system to allow owners of content to overwrite the metadata when posting content on Facebook. Why have Facebook done this? A large part of this move is for security and copyright purposes. After all we don’t want others to take something that you may have spent hours typing, then use it on their own website without recognition! So how do get geared up if I have a business page?

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From the Business Manager Admin page you can link a domain and prove you manage or own the property with a few simple steps; Firstly access you business manager page and under settings select “Domains”

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From there you can let Facebook know what domain you wish to link into the Business Manager.

Now if you are a little savy with I.T stuff, the next step won’t be to difficult! Otherwise ask someone with some website knowledge to assist. You will need to verify the domain via a DNS record or similar. Once verification is complete, Facebook will let you edit the metadata of your Facebook post prior to publishing! Now you are on your way to being a Business Manager star.

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If this Blog helped you out, please leave us a review!

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RFID SECURITY — WHAT IS THIS?

More and more products these days are coming built in with RFID chips, Why? To make our life easier when paying at the checkout of course! Don’t forget to scan your passport at the Airport. But if Retailers and Security providers can scan these chips for your information, can others? – YES

Most people may say, this will never happen to me until it does. Unfortunately; the risk is real these days and becoming a victim of cyber theft can be around the corner as credit cards and passports have these chips; which means the threat can extend from identity theft to credit theft.

We are here to tell you that you can prevent this from happening very simply in most cases. Headway Information Services has come across and tested a product called Travel Guard that has proven itself in the field! Headway Information Services has joined in the fight against RFID cyber-threats with the team at Travel Guard; if you are interested in finding out more please follow the link.

headway-information-services-social-media-for-business-how-to-and-why

SOCIAL MEDIA FOR BUSINESS — HOW TO & WHY?

Top 5 Simple Points for your Small Businesses on Social Media

A lot of Small Business are entering into the Social Media world looking for alternative advertising mediums, however wasn’t social media only something maybe the children used or high school students to compare popularity? These thoughts are now a passing revolution, with the internet containing some 3 billion + users with well over half of them using social media platforms; amazing isn’t?

How can I enter a market with billions of users and see results? Social Media has started to revolutionise the worlds thinking on promotions and brand awareness. How so, Lets see some key triggers that may just make your brand valuable to you and your customers via social media platforms:

  • Firstly Social media platforms assist greatly with website traffic and targeted audiences can assist in finding people find you! Sound all to easy, right! With a good social media specialist your website traffic can have contributions to your website and products far beyond what you may have ever thought.
  • Secondly, Brand development and awareness. Along side traditional advertising mediums, social media when deployed correctly; reaches can be massive with engaged audiences views well within 10’s of thousand. Sometimes even if you are not on social media, your clients or potential clients may except you to be.
  • Thirdly, Personal Interaction and networking. Starting a Social media campaign can be hard, it requires interacting with the correct audiences and people to allow your brand to grow. For a new business entering the social media scene it may seem daunting, sometimes seeking help from social media professionals can have amazing results and take the stresses away from managing this advertising and interaction.
  • Fourth, Recruiting, After new staff maybe? Some social media platforms allow you to find people interested in the same industry thus allowing potentially a same interest bond with other people on the social media trend.
  • Final, What about Google Ads, What is this Facebook Ads I keep hearing of. Facebook being a large audience platform in the social media light, allows user to create ads and generate sales to your website which assists greatly with website traffic also!

So have an idea, but not sure how to get it out there?

Headway Information Services are Social Media Specialists. We can create a tailored campaign and targeted audience that drives your brand into the world wide web and the world of social media. Ask us today!

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GOOGLE MY BUSINESS (FORMERLY GOOGLE PLACES)

Ever wondered why you may need a Google My Business listing. Think of this almost like “Yellow Pages” or “White Pages” or ” That local magazine that gets delivered to your doorway with lots of businesses listed in them. BUT more! with a vastly greater audience online!

Google My Business is a free online listing that comes built in with Googles powerful and easy to use tool, that allows businesses to manage their online visibility on the search engine and its vast features. Potential customers will then be able to find your business via this Google My Business listing where you can interact and share the story of your business.

Among a lot of other features such as adding business hours and also creating a Google + page that then extends your business further allowing the business to interact with other businesses! This feature is a very powerful tool for all businesses to learn more please visit Google support here.

If you like this Blog as was helpful, please rate us on our Google My Business page.

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CAN I HAVE MY OWN PRIVATE CLOUD? PRIVATE CLOUD VS PUBLIC CLOUD

Alot of business and personal information these days is stored in the cloud. Many people always ask? What is the cloud, where is my data stored – out there in the cloud? The common term cloud can refer to many big names that provide such a service like Dropbox, One Drive, iCloud, Box Sync – Just to name a few! Alot of these providers often have an included 30 day backup for data that may become compromised; Of course this is always a great fail-safe.

In simple terms the Cloud is just a storage facility or “bank of computers” that store your data and a lot of other peoples data too! Of course all these “computers” have redundancy measures in place to keep your data safe. Now brings the question, I have a computer, and a small business. Can I setup my own private cloud? The answer is YES!

The ever growing private cloud industry is expanding greatly and the technology along with it. Many small businesses are entering the stages and setting up private clouds to run straight out of their office! The Basic requirements for a Private Cloud of your own – A large storage unit for data, often referred to as a NAS or Server system, large storage hard drives, power redundancy and data redundancy. However how much does all this cost! Private Cloud implementations can cost alot less then you may think, some starting as little as 1.5K. However though always contact a professional when setting up your own cloud as hackers can target you and without the correct security you may find yourself with data leaks on the Internet.

So why would I invest in my own cloud? If you own your own hardware and host your own cloud, then you will own that data stored on it, always read the fine print when signing up for a cloud based service to ensure your data is your own!

Alot of Private cloud systems these days also do alot of other cool techy stuff! System are able to host your website – setup a virtual computer that can be shared with people to use when working from home. If you decide to setup a private cloud at home, some of these devices that allow for Private Cloud use can be used as a media centre so all your movies, music and pictures can be shared with smart devices in the home and also outside the home! Sounds too good to be true…

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We invite you to Contact Us if you have any questions, Headway Information Services offers consultancy on private cloud implementation! ASK US HOW TODAY!

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WANNACRY OR HAVE INTERNET SECURITY — NEED A IT NERD?

In our modern age, we are exposed to so many avenues and sources to communicate with others around the world. So where does all this information go? Can someone trace me or enter my computer when I don’t know?

These are some of the questions you may have thought or be thinking about right now. So let’s dive in and explore some of the common threats that are around.

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  • Malware & Viruses: Best described as malicious software that enters your computer, usually through websites, emails or browsing online. You may find that you only do online shopping and general browsing on your computer and without even knowing you may have Malware on your PC. Malware & Viruses has different varieties and strains, some of which have been around for many years.
  • Worm Strain: Worm viruses or malware is typically a form of malicious software that is designed to replicate itself and spread from computer to computer without the end-user even knowing. Modern day Worm infections will broadcast via email and send out messages to all your contacts. This can cause an ongoing effect to the point where even your email provider may disable your email account to stop the infection. This can create a lot of work to repair. Firstly by removing the infection from your PC. Secondly, Possibly restoring your email service and telling all your contacts not to open the email sent out from the Worms activity. Thus preventing the Virus/Worm from being shared with any of your contacts.
  • Trojan Horses: History or Just legend? These days Trojan or Trojan Horses are real, and have been for many years. These types of viruses will cloak themselves as a genuine file, never being detected by the Operating System running. Trojan category viruses are attained many ways, the most popular is from pirated software or has been known to be received from some websites that are not so genuine. Once you are infected by a Trojan or Trojan Horse, it will or can allow third-party access to certain data on your computer. At this point, Online banking could become compromised, let alone all our login details to the common website used on a day-to-day basis.
  • Spyware & Adware: Generally, these two types of malware are similar. Often infect your computer with your knowledge. Sometimes Spyware & Malware can be packaged into a “free program” you have downloaded from the Internet. Once installed on your system, you may experience ads, pop ups while browsing the Internet, report browsing habits and target you for prompt payment of unwanted / fake system security or clean up tools.
  • Ransomware – WannaCry: The latest major virus or cyber attack as “broadcasted” to hit the world. If you haven’t heard about Ransomware you are lucky. Ransomware takes the form like a “Worm” virus. However, Ransomware is attained usually via an email attachment that is infected or cloaked as a genuine email from a major company. Upon the Ransomwares initial infection, it encrypts all your files on your PC and any connected storage devices holding them to a ransom fee. This leaves the unsuspected person either having to pay the ransom fee or restoring from the most recent backup of their data, alternatively having to pay an I.T professional to resolve the problem due to its mass destruction and complexity.
  • Internet Security: We recommend to always have a subscription to an Internet Security program, but there are many platforms available on today’s market. So, which is the best of the best. We have seen Webroot SecureAnywhere protect from this threat and is a product that many corporate and home users have. We would like to present a link into a Webroot blog that discusses the fight against WannaCry and Ransomware.
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OFFICE 365 FOR BUSINESS

Looking for an I.T Consultant who knows your business requirements and how to drive it into the future. We are proud Microsoft Certified Professionals and MCSA Certified – MICROSOFT CERTIFIED SOLUTIONS ASSOSIATE – We can give you the right answer the first time.

Microsoft Office 365 for Business: Provides you the flexible tools for collaboration across your team, device and multiple platforms. Whether you’re working remotely or in the office on your computer, phone or tablet device.  Office 365 has all the resources required for your business.

Microsoft Office 365 Exchange: Looking at updating to your own domain name to look more professional, or maybe need to update a legacy email system, Microsoft Office 365 subscribers can enjoy emails online & synced to your Microsoft Outlook Program or other programs and accessible on your PC/MAC/Mobile devices. Emails are fully synchronized between devices and accessible anywhere in the world in any time zone. Without the need to worry about email backups, you can focus on your business rather than about when your computer will crash and losing all your online communications. Microsoft Offer over 99% uptime on their services, you’ll never miss out on that important correspondence again!

One Drive for Business/ SharePoint: Need to collaborate data between your devices or your team. Microsoft Office 365 subscribers have access to technology that can synchronize your data between you or your team on multiple platforms. Ask us how!

Microsoft Bookings: Need a booking system for all your customers and keep track of bookings week to week? Microsoft Office 365 Premium Subscribers now have access to an Online booking system that allows Internal Staff and Customers or potential customers to book your time via an online website, sounds too good to be true. Ask us how!

How safe is my data in the cloud?

MYTH#1: My Data is safer on my own system internally and not “out there in the cloud for everyone to see” WRONG. Many companies these days are being hacked and held to ransom then are forced to a pay massive amount of outlays to have their data recovered, as the hackers don’t forget about that USB backup drive you have plugged in performing nightly backups! Don’t wake up one morning and realize all your data is gone! Microsoft Office 365 has many solutions that can cover your business and provides complete data redundancy and security online.

MYTH#2: Once I move to the cloud I lose control of my data. Moving to the Cloud can reduce your onsite hardware costs for running equipment that can be hosted for you. Your data will be accessible 24/7 and you can focus on the more important things in your business.

Contact Us for an onsite consult now!

headway-information-services-back-up-your-pc-and-mac-why-and-how

BACK UP YOUR PC/MAC; WHY AND HOW?

Here at Headway Information Services, one of the most common questions we get asked is how do I backup  my computer?  Today we are going to look into why should we back up and some of the options available to you.

Backing up your computer is crucial for many reasons, most importantly to protect your data (personal documents, pictures, settings etc).

A back up can be used to:

  • Restore your computer to the way it was if there has been an issue with the software
  • Hardware fault with your computer for example if your HDD fails a back up can be restored onto a new HDD
  • You are upgrading to a new computer and want all your data transferred across
  • Protection against Cyber threats (virus’s and malware that can destroy your computer)
  • As a business to protect important documentation that is crucial to the business
  • To share certain documents, pictures ect with others

These are just a few reasons why it is so important to have that backup to prevent any loss of precious information stored on your computer.

These days we can become a little complacent and think, “my computer is alright it won’t happen to me” but unfortunately it can happen to anyone including me at one time before my tech days!

Apple Mac Options

Apple has a built-in application called Time Machine. This is an amazing tool for mac’s as it is just a simple setup and runs incremental backups over time so that if you delete something accidentally you are able to use the application to go back in time per say and restore the document to your mac.

All you need is an external HDD or if you are an Apple fan a Time Capsule. For business users there is a way to utilise a NAS system or File Server, just some of the options available to back up using Time Machine. (See below)

Time Capsule : This is another great invention of Apple’s and makes it easy to back up wirelessly. Once setup it will be connected to your local wi-fi and will backup over the wireless network in incremental backups. Don’t worry if you take your laptop out or shut it down as it will just pause and resume once connected over the wireless network again. (Tip: The first backup will be the longest so a suggestion for wireless users is to connect via ethernet to complete.)

See link for setup – Time Machine Backup

NAS Setup: This is a more complex setup for backup

NAS (Network Area Storage)  : This is a device that connects to your local network or modem, which then in turn can be access via your Apple Computers or Windows Computers. NAS systems are used for multiple implementations. A NAS device can store data onto into (up to the capacity of your purchased device) You can set up your computer or Mac to back up to a NAS however this is more complicated than plug and play like an External USB drive would be. Ask US for support!

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USB Backup

The quickest and easiest is to buy an external HDD (Tip: Always buy twice the size of your internal HDD or SSD in your mac). Plug it in and your operating system will prompt you if you would like to use the external HDD as a backup. Click yes and follow the prompts to set up your Time Machine Backup.

Another great tip is that Time Machine recognises when the External HDD is getting full and will delete the oldest backup keeping it nice and simple as long as the external HDD is always connected you will not have to worry at all about remembering to click on  something to back up your computer.

PC Windows Options

Windows 10 and 8 now have their own incremental backup option called File History which will backup your local libraries such as (desktop, documents, pictures, videos) from your PC on a “full time sync” basic, so when a file is changed and your PC is idle the system will start to back up file history.

Along side File History Within Windows is an option called System Image Backup or System Image Wizard which you can find in the control Panel, this allows you to create a snapshot of your PC its current state in time that you can restore from at a later date this would restore all programs and features that were selected at the time of backup. However this is a manual process that is required to be done.

If you’re not one for manual processes and just want a simple backup, included in Windows 7, 8 & 10 is a free backup tool called “Backup and Restore Wizard” This wizard also found in your control panel will allow you to set up an automated backup to a Local USB Drive or other media and also place it on a scheduled. The Backup and restore wizard also takes “snap shots” of the local C:Drive only, so incase your operating system fails you can restore from a backup with a Windows systems disk.

Both options are in Control Panel under System Maintenance see link for setup instructions.

Microsoft Backup Options

Older versions of Windows 7 and earlier used only Backup and Restore. XP and 2000 had Backup Wizard which are also located in the Control Panel under System Maintenance 

USB Backup

You can utilise the quick and easiest way, an external HDD to set up for incremental backups as a Mac does. Keeping it plugged in means not having to worry about remembering to manually transfer your personal files across to a HDD. 

With a PC you can choose where to store your backup and some Desktop users have a secondary internal HDD installed for that purpose. (Tip: If the hardware fails it could destroy the backup as well.)

Backing up to a NAS system or a File server can also be an option which business users may choose and is a more complex setup Contact us for Support. See above  details in the Mac section about NAS systems.

There are many third-party options available for PC users that offer similar incremental backups like Microsoft now does but why choose to buy something that has now been built-in.

Cloud Backup

As in previous articles I have discussed the cloud based backup options and how they work. I advise using the cloud option as a secondary backup and always have your External HDD backup as the primary. You can never have to many backup’s when it’s protecting your personal data. (Tip: Most cloud options don’t take incremental backups of your personal data and can be manual).

There are also a multitude of Cloud backup storage options out there. Be mindful when choosing the right one for you and if you need any help at all Contact Us for support. (Tip cloud storage like wireless HDD’s can be a long upload process so be aware that your internet speed will slow and it will take at least overnight to run its first backup).

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(Tip: Windows and Mac –  Having a good Anti Virus setup on the computer is a must for protecting your personal data)

This is just some of the options available with todays ever-growing technology to take some of the confusion out of protecting your personal files.

Happy backing up everyone!