Coleman Technologies Blog

Text"]Microsoft 365 is arguably the most common cloud application popular among businesses of all sizes. The service spans the spectrum of entity sizes, offering packages for young startups to corporate enterprises.

Interestingly, the service is the same for the various business sizes and runs on the same infrastructure. Consequently, small businesses can leverage a secure and available service trusted by established organizations.

The application's scalability and flexibility mean that most of the initial setup, including some key security configurations, are left to the customer, and some additional protections have additional expenses. These considerations are essential to organizations that have just migrated from an on-premise installation.

Microsoft 365 is an excellent and safe service, but it comes with several new risks. Since you can access the platform from anywhere via a web browser, there's a greater risk of phishing attacks and potential jeopardy of your company data using weak passwords.

It's Time to Beef Up Security for Microsoft 365

The following stats give insights into the current state of Microsoft 365 security and why you must secure your Microsoft 365 tenant:

• Microsoft 365 is currently the most targeted platform, with up to 70 percent of cyber incidents aiming at Microsoft Office products.
• Threat actors hit when you're fast asleep. According to a FireEye survey, 76% of ransomware attacks hit after regular working hours and 27 percent on weekends.
• Small and medium-sized entities face the most significant risk. About 43% of cyberattacks target organizations at this level.

From the above stats, it's clear that every business should now focus on enhancing their Microsoft 365 tenant security, and this is one of Coleman Technologies' mandates.

A Broad Scope of Security for Microsoft 365 services

Every critical cloud application must be monitored, including SaaS solutions maintained by third parties. Microsoft 365, in particular, has several aspects that you need to dedicate your attention to. Let's explore.

Security Monitoring
Nearly every worker communicates via email; hence Microsoft 365 is perhaps your organization's most commonly used software. The widespread usage and the frequent dependency on email as a malware vector means that security monitoring requires more attention than ever. Login tracking helps, but comprehensive monitoring goes beyond keeping your eyes on administrator and user access.

Other areas to be monitored are changes to policies and user identities, and the use of OneDrive and SharePoint, with particular attention to uploads and sharing documents with malicious extensions. Notably, Microsoft offers several security monitoring tools like the Security and Compliance Center.

Connectivity Monitoring
Microsoft 365 is a cloud service, so it's dependent on internet connectivity. Furthermore, an internal network is necessary to link various sites. As a result, the overall network status is crucial.

The connections require constant monitoring to keep them up and running with normal latency and bandwidth levels. If you use Active Directory Federation Services, the connection's health also requires continuous monitoring.

Usage monitoring
Managing your performance and security concerns requires you to monitor end-user activities. Usage monitoring also helps you ensure you get the most from your Microsoft 365 installation.

Fortunately, you can track several usage-related metrics within Microsoft 365 applications like SharePoint and Exchange. Relevant metrics in Exchange include inactive mailboxes and mailbox growth. On the other hand, SharePoint monitoring may consist of page views, allocated storage, and site status.

The application also offers core functionality that enables smooth business operations. While the provider is responsible for service availability, businesses must monitor connectivity, usage, and security. This way, you'll ensure the service is securely used and delivers the expected performance.

In-Depth Reporting Capabilities
Coleman Technologies' advanced reporting is a great inclusion to help you centralize and report everything within your Microsoft 365 landscape. The capability lets you develop custom reports in the best formats for enhanced visibility into your infrastructure. Furthermore, it simplifies your security reporting, which aids your compliance goals. As a result, you'll quickly get a vivid picture through clear graphics and reports.

Benefits of trusting Coleman Technologies' Security for Microsoft 365

Infrastructure security and compliance are now a priority. Therefore, you must ensure your company takes advantage of the available security and monitoring features provided by all licenses.

Working with Coleman Technologies as your reliable security implementation partner lets you leverage the expertise of professionals who are familiar with the application's security capabilities, tech trends, and any compliance requirements.

Organizations in Langley and throughout the BC Lower Mainland enjoy the following advantages of trusting Coleman Technologies' Microsoft 365 security and monitoring services:

Complete Utilization of Office 365 Competencies
Even the standard Microsoft 365 licenses comprise features that can reduce or minimize cyber threats. For instance, have you set up your password requirements? Have you disabled email forwarding and enabled email logging?

You should already be taking advantage of these security measures, but not all are as obvious. A reliable security and monitoring consultant will review the security features and suggest the correct implementation.

Correct License Use
When planning to acquire Microsoft 365, you'll have different licensing options to consider, which can be confusing. A trusted Microsoft 365 security partner will guide you in determining your company's unique licensing needs. What's more, as your needs evolve, the experts will recommend the correct licenses to help you scale and manage them on your behalf.

Here are some security features in the various licenses:

• Azure Information Protection
• Advanced Threat Protection
• Information Protection and Compliance
• Identity and Threat Protection
• Enterprise Mobility and Security (EMS)

Your choice of add-ons depends on your specific industry compliance needs.

Top-Shelf Security Capabilities
When you rely on an internal IT team to migrate your company and operations to the cloud, you'll likely need additional knowledge to implement most Microsoft 365 security capabilities and features. A seasoned IT security provider with vast experience working across industries will guide you appropriately on the best IT services implementation. They'll also offer apt IT security protections for compliance.

Threat Monitoring and Support Around the Clock
There's still a lot more that you must do after implementing the security features. First, you must have someone to monitor for security alerts and threats and review reports. The required oversight level directly correlates to the installed security features and what they do.

Second, someone must ensure that the security services are up to date. All these tasks will be better handled by a reliable cloud security partner like Coleman Technologies.

Do you want to ensure the ultimate Security for Microsoft 365? Talk to us today.

1. report to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (“OPC”) breaches of security safeguards involving personal information under the organization’s control if it is reasonable in the circumstances to believe that the breach of the security safeguard creates a real risk of significant harm to an individual or individuals;
2. notify the affected individuals about those breaches; and
3. keep records of all breaches.

What you might not be aware of is that these data breach obligations apply to your business even if it is your third-party data processor who suffered the actual data breach. Additionally, if your business transfers personal data to a third-party for processing, your business is legally obligated to ensure appropriate contractual terms are place with that third-party to protect the personal data while in the possession of the third-party. 

Do You Use Third-Party Data Processors?

If you have a business, it almost certainly engages third-party service providers to process its data. For example, if your business uses any cloud services, you have engaged a third-party to process your data. Cloud services include things like online data storage, webmail, social networking websites, online business productivity applications, and software-as-a-service offerings. Any time you collect personal information about an individual (e.g. your customers or employees) and store that information in the cloud, you have engaged a third-party to process personal data thereby triggering legal obligations under PIPEDA.

It is important to keep in mind that third-party data processors are not limited just to cloud services providers. Processing does not necessarily require the application of a computer. For the purposes of PIPEDA, processing is better understood as a use of personal information by a third-party service provider where the third-party did not directly collect the personal information from the individual who is the subject of the personal information, but instead received the personal information from the organization (e.g. a business) that directly collected the personal information and obtained consent to use the personal information for the purposes that the third-party is now carrying out on behalf of the organization (i.e. the entity that originally collected the personal information).  Consequently, a third-party data processor could be, for example, a third-party call centre you engage to contact your customers about important product information, a payroll company that provides your business with payroll services,  or an insurance provider that provides group benefits to your employees.

Who Is Responsible In The Event of a Data Breach

It would be reasonable to assume that if your business transfers personal information to a third-party for processing, and that third-party suffers a data breach related to such personal information, the third-party would be legally obligated to comply with the mandatory data breach reporting obligations under PIPEDA; however, this is not the case. It is the outsourcing organization (i.e. the transferor of the data) – and not the third-party service provider – who is responsible for compliance with PIPEDA’s mandatory data breach reporting obligations. This is because the reporting obligation falls upon the organization in control of the personal information, and the OPC has taken the position that it is typically the outsourcing organization, and not the third-party service provider, who has control of the personal information. Consequently, if you engage a third-party service provider to processes personal information that you have collected and that third-party service provider suffers a data breach, you (the outsourcing organization) have the reporting, notification, and record keeping obligations and the corresponding liability under PIPEDA for failure comply with those obligations.

PIPEDA Compliant Contractual Terms

Since PIPEDA holds the customer (i.e. the outsourcing organization) of the third-party data processor liable for data breach reporting, it is crucial that contracts involving third-party data processing expressly address the customer’s rights, and the third-party service provider’s obligations, upon the occurrence of a data breach. Without data breach terms in your contracts, you might not even be notified by your third-party service provider that a data breach has occurred. This lack of notice would obviously undermine your ability to comply with PIPEDA’s data breach reporting, notification, and record keeping requirements. But to make matters worse, failing to have appropriate contractual arrangements with your third-party processors regarding data security and breaches is in and of itself a violation of PIPEDA’s accountability principle, which states:

An organization is responsible for personal information in its possession or custody, including information that has been transferred to a third party for processing. The organization shall use contractual or other means to provide a comparable level of protection while the information is being processed by a third party.

Unfortunately, third-party service provider contracts often completely omit data security and breach terms. This should be of immediate concern to customers of those third-party service providers, since the omission of contractual terms regarding data security and breaches places the customer in contravention of PIPEDA (regardless of whether or not a breach has actually occurred) and exposes the customer to significant risk and uncertainty should their third-party service provider suffer a data breach.

So what contractual arrangements should be implemented? For one, outsourcing organizations should ensure that their third-party service providers are obligated to notify the outsourcing organization of data breaches within the time periods required by PIPEDA. The third-party processors should also be obligated to ensure the notice contains enough information to enable the outsourcing organization to comply with PIPEDA’s mandatory data breach reporting obligations. This means that, at the very least, the notice should contain information concerning:

1. Date and time of breach;
2. Duration of the breach;
3. How the breach was discovered;
4. When the breach was discovered;
5. Type of security safeguard breached or whether breach occurred due to lack of security safeguard;
6. The type of breach;
7. Whether there is evidence of criminal intent or a state sponsored attack;
8. Who may have had access to the personal information;
9. Steps taken to mitigate harms flowing the breach and prevent future breaches;
10. The types of information involved (e.g. financial information, health information, etc.);
11. The number of affected individuals;
12. The names and contact information of the affected individuals; and
13. Other information that would enable the outsourcing organization to determine if the breach creates a real risk of significant harm to an individual.

Outsourcing organization should also contractually obligate third-party processors to:

1. comply with all applicable privacy and data security laws to which they are subject;
2. limit their use of the personal data to specific purposes;
3. not disclose personal data to third parties, subject to certain exceptions;
4. protect personal data from unauthorized access or breach by implementing security safeguards and controls;
5. investigate data breaches and take actions directed by the outsourcing organization to contain the breach; and
6. cooperate with the outsourcing organization in connection with the outsourcing organization’s reporting and notification obligations.

Although a good starting point, the above is not a complete statement of all contractual terms that should be included in agreements with third-party data processors and is of course a simplification of a complex topic. Deciding upon and drafting appropriate data security and breach contract terms requires an analysis of the totality of your circumstances by experienced legal counsel knowledgeable in privacy law. If your business needs assistance with developing PIPEDA-compliant contracts or with planning ahead for data breaches by third-party data processors, contact the author of this blog post, David McHugh, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 604-629-5401.

The above blog post is provided for informational purposes only and has not been tailored to your specific circumstances.  This blog post does not constitute legal advice or other professional advice and may not be relied upon as such.

Original Source: https://segev.ca/legal-obligations-when-outsourcing-data-processing

Discover Microsoft’s New Outlook Calendar Feature - The Kanban Style Board View

Have you noticed or interacted with Microsoft Outlook's new feature yet? The one that improves your workflow by letting you organize multiple calendars, schedule meetings, set reminders, and complete your tasks more efficiently? If not, don't worry, as we've got you covered! This comprehensive article introduces the Kanban-style board view for Outlook Calendar.

What is it, how does it work, and how can you benefit from using this Kanban solution? Please keep scrolling, and you'll discover all the answers plus everything else you need to know about this new Microsoft Outlook calendar feature!

What Is The Kanban Style Board View?

In a word, the Kanban-style board view is a new way of organizing your Outlook Calendar. It provides an easy-to-use interface that lets you quickly see what needs to be done next, when, and who should do them. You can also create a list of tasks to help you manage them better.

The Kanban-style board view is based on the Kanban methodology. In short, the Kanban method is a process improvement technique used to increase efficiency. It was developed back in the 1960s by Toyota and has been widely adopted by many other companies, including Microsoft, Apple, Netflix, Amazon, Google, and IBM.

In essence, the Kanban method helps teams improve productivity by breaking down large projects into smaller steps. Each step represents something that you must do before moving on to the next step. By doing so, you can focus on completing each task instead of getting overwhelmed by the sheer size of the project.

In the Kanban-style view, every item represents a step in the project. When you add an item to the board, it becomes the project's first step. When you finish the current step, you move on to the next step. As soon as you start working on the next step, you mark it as completed. And once you're finished with the last step, you can close the entire project.

It's critical to note that the Kanban-style board doesn't replace existing views in Outlook. Instead, it complements them and adds another layer of functionality. So while you may still want to use the traditional view for certain situations, the Kanban-style one is excellent for planning long-term projects or managing multiple projects simultaneously.

How Does The Kanban-style Board View Work?

As you open up the Kanban-style calendar view, you will notice that there are three distinct sections on top: "Today," "Upcoming," and "Scheduled." These correspond to the different types of events in your Outlook Calendar. For example, the "Scheduled" section would appear on top if you schedule a meeting.

You can effortlessly switch between these sections by clicking on their respective tabs. To add items to today's agenda, click on the Today tab. Similarly, just click on the Upcoming tab to add items to your upcoming plan. Finally, click on the Scheduled tab to add items to the Scheduled section.

You can also use the search bar to find specific items. Simply type the name of the event into the search box and press Enter. The results will display only those items matching the text you entered.

Kanban-style Board View Unique Features

Let's take a quick tour through some of the features available in the Kanban-style Calendar view.

Multiple Projects
If you have more than one project going simultaneously, you can create separate boards for each one. How so? Simple! Right-click on the board header and select Add Project from the context menu. You can now add new tasks to the selected project.

Task Details
When you hover over a task, you can see additional information about it, such as its status and whether it's due today or not.

Due Dates
You can set a date for each task. If the task isn't due yet, it will appear in red. Once the deadline arrives, it turns green.

Workflow
You can also configure your workflow settings using the Kanban view. For example, if you need to send out reminders for upcoming deadlines, you can do so trouble-free.

Hide Completed Tasks
If you don't want to see all the tasks that are already completed, simply hide them. To do so, click the triangle icon next to the task name and choose Hide from the context menu.

Customize The Board Layout
The layout of the board itself is customizable. You simply need to drag and drop items around to rearrange them as you please.

Add Notes
You can add notes to each task. Clicking the pencil icon next to a task allows you to write down comments or instructions related to that particular task.

Sort By Status
You can sort the tasks based on their current status. Choose either Complete or In Progress from the Sort By menu.

What Are The Benefits Of Using The Kanban Solution?

In addition to providing a simple way to manage your tasks, the Kanban solution has some additional benefits:

• Collaboration. With a Kanban board, multiple people can collaborate on one project. They can add tasks, update the board, and even discuss ideas in real-time.
• Visual Feedback. As you complete tasks, the board automatically updates to show how much you have left to go. If you finish early, the remaining tasks will disappear. Conversely, if you don't finish, the remaining tasks will remain visible.
• Self-Organization. The Kanban board helps you stay organized because it gives you visual feedback about what needs to be completed. You can easily see which tasks need more attention than others.
• Flexibility. Because the Kanban board is flexible, you can use it to track any kind of project. It works well when you want to keep track of customer requests, sales leads, or marketing campaigns.
• Customizable. With the Kanban board, you can customize the look and feel of the application to fit your specific workflow. You can choose from different themes and colours, and even change the font size and colour.

Coleman Technologies Is Your No.1 Rated Microsoft Solutions Provider!

Coleman Technologies specializes in delivering innovative solutions for Microsoft products. Our primary objective is to help as many small and mid-size businesses as possible realize their technology goals through responsive services and support. Our highly qualified Microsoft Solutions experts can help with Microsoft Azure cloud migration, Microsoft Office 365 deployment, software licensing, desktop support, technical training, and other Microsoft-related issues. So what are you waiting for? Contact us today for a FREE, no-obligation consultation!

Thanks to Aaron Kane with CTI Technology in Chicago for his help with this article.

It is no secret that British Columbia (BC) is one of the biggest technology hubs in Canada. The region gets revenue of more than $23 million and $15 billion in GDP from its more than 10,000 tech companies. One of the driving factors of the province's technological innovation is its quickly expanding, highly educated, and a flexible workforce consisting of young, diverse, and enthusiastic talent. So energetic is this workforce that it has been very swift at embracing the "new normal" and even set the course for the rest of the world.

Adapting to the contactless world

BC's businesses have relied on the region's tech prowess to pivot, collaborate, and innovate to come up with practical ways to handle the COVID pandemic. This has seen a number of technological trends, both old and new.

The following three themes have inspired most of such current trends:

• People centricity. People are still important to all businesses, even if the pandemic has changed how they work and access companies. Digitalized processes have become more useful.
• Resilient delivery. Volatility has to occur, even when the world is experiencing a recession or a pandemic. Businesses have pivoted and adapted to weather the disruptions that arose in 2020.
• Location independence. Most physical organizational ecosystems and where customers, suppliers, and employees exist seem to have changed. A subsequent technological shift has offered support to the new way of doing business.

Top technology trends to close out 2021

As BC businesses continue to adjust their operations, the following are the technology trends you can expect to see more of this year:

Artificial intelligence (AI) 
Even though AI has received a lot of buzz before the start of this decade, its notable effects on life, work, and recreation are profound. Therefore, it continues to be a huge technological trend as businesses in the region continue to use it in diverse ways. It is already famous for its application in navigation apps, voice and image recognition, ride-sharing apps, smartphone personal assistants, and much more.

The emerging uses of AI include in the analysis of interactions to know the underlying connections and insights. This can make things like hospital services' demand prediction easier, which then allows authorities to make better resource utilization decisions. Additionally, they can detect changes in customer behaviour patterns by analyzing real-time data, which can make them enhance user experiences and drive revenue.

Robotic process automation (RPA)
Like AI, robotic process automation is one other technology that is causing massive job automation. It involves automating various business processes like processing transactions, interpreting applications, replying to emails, and even dealing with data, with the use of the software. If there is a repetitive task done by people at your company, RPA can do it.

Forrester Research estimates that it could cause roughly nine percent of the global workforce (230 million individuals) to be laid off. However, it is also creating new employment opportunities and disrupting the current ones as a Mckinsey report says that about 60 percent of jobs can be partially automated, while only less than five percent can be completely automated. Figuring out the tasks that you can automate will help you know the high-level tasks that your employees should focus on and generate more profits.

Edge computing 
While it was still an emerging technology before the pandemic, cloud computing has become immensely popular this year. The big sharks in the industry like Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Google Cloud Platform have gained a huge share of the market. As numerous businesses continue to embrace cloud computing to support their remote work-from-home staff, it has ceased being an emerging technology. Edge computing has taken its place.

The rise of edge computing has been occasioned by the shortcomings associated with cloud computing. This includes latency and the transportation of huge volumes of data to a data center for processing.

With edge computing, organizations get "mini data centers" closer to where computing should happen to process time-sensitive data. It can occur in remote locations with minimal or zero connection to a centralized location. This technology can help to smoothen your company's remote working capabilities and strengthen your long-term operating strategy.

Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR)
VR, which immerses a user in an environment, has widely been used in gaming with Vancouver hosting about four of the top 10 most exciting Canadian startups in the sector. However, the technology is also being integrated into various forms of training and virtual tourism. For virtual tourism, museum-goers can get a deeper, all-around experience.

AR and VR's global market is expected to reach $209.2 billion by 2022. Its potential in your business includes areas such as entertainment, marketing, education, and injury rehabilitation, depending on your industry.

Blockchain 
When you think of blockchain, the first thing that comes to mind may be cryptocurrency. However, online currency is just one of the many uses that blockchain has. The technology's potential to offer enhanced security makes it highly trustworthy. With blockchain, you can only add to the available data, but not remove from or change it. Additionally, no one entity can have supreme control over the data, since blockchains are consensus-driven.

Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity has been around for a while, but it keeps evolving by the day and its importance grows with the growth of the internet. New threats continue to frighten individuals, businesses, and even government entities. This makes it essential for individuals and companies offering cybersecurity services to develop better strategies to stop hackers who continue to find mechanisms to bypass even the toughest security measures. The migration of most business operations to cloud-based environments has also increased the need for tighter cybersecurity.

When cyber-criminals infiltrate your company's network, they not only access your employees' personal data but also your proprietary business information. The following are some of the steps you can take to improve your company's online security:

• Conduct regular software updates
• Make sure your point of sale and online transactions have end-to-end encryption
• Regularly train your employees on how they can recognize online scams, malware, and phishing attacks
• Institute security processes and protocols for physical security on-site and passwords
• Hire a business consultant or IT expert to help with cybersecurity

Coleman Technologies is your top-rated IT partner

As a business, employing efficient technology to secure your operations, make them leaner and more efficient should be your top priority. This will help you remain profitable and more relevant, which means you can scale easily when the pandemic finally fades out. However, it can be hard to determine which technologies to apply and in what ways. A reliable IT partner like Coleman Technologies can help.

We offer a wide range of enterprise-level IT support and solutions to small and medium-sized businesses in the British Columbia area. Our services free you to focus on the core functions of your business, which leads to enhanced productivity and more profits. Contact us today to tell us more about your business and know the technologies that can help take it to the next step.

CUPE 23 Doesn’t Worry About Technology Anymore

CUPE 23 is the third-largest union in British Columbia, representing all city workers and library workers in the city of Burnaby. The union operates as a nonprofit, putting member dues to their best possible use in the interest of everyone it represents.

Most nonprofits can’t afford to waste money on ineffective or overly expensive IT support. The cost of unpredictable expenses and variable support charges are simply too inconsistent to effectively fit in a nonprofit’s budget.

That’s why nonprofits like CUPE 23 work with Coleman Technologies.

Download our story of success with CUPE 23

CUPE 23 Needed Predictable IT Costs

“Before Coleman Technologies, we had a service provider that was charging us per visit,” says Bruce Campbell, President, CUPE 23.

Managing a nonprofit organization like this is a difficult task. Resources are limited, and therefore even more valuable than in many for-profit companies. When the margins are thin and the operation is efficient, expenditures to keep IT systems running properly can be difficult to justify.

For CUPE 23, this was a key concern with their previous IT company. Any time they had an issue that required direct support, they paid a surcharge to have a technician come on-site.

This meant the CUPE 23 staff often had to weigh the cost/benefit of each and every support interaction. As President, this commanded a lot of Bruce's time, which he would have rather spent working on more important matters.

This is what eventually led CUPE 23 to put out bids to other IT companies in search of a more cost-effective and consistent IT support experience.

CUPE 23 Hired Coleman Technologies For Their Fixed Rate IT Expertise

In its search for a better IT service arrangement, CUPE 23 put out bids to their current IT company, Coleman Technologies, and one other local provider. Coleman Technologies was the only company that offered a fixed monthly rate for comprehensive IT support—it was an easy call for Bruce to make.

“The fixed price was a big deal for us,” says Bruce. “The services offered by Coleman fit our needs.”

Thanks to Coleman Technologies’s fixed-rate services, CUPE 23 could finally set and follow a strict IT budget each and every year. They wouldn’t have to worry about variable IT costs depending on how many onsite visits they required in a given month. They could get all the IT support they needed while paying the same monthly fee.

“It’s the best use of the members' money because of the fixed rate,” says Bruce. “You just call Coleman and you get everything you need taken care of.”

Coleman Technologies Helped CUPE 23 Achieve Superior Data Continuity & Security

Prior to working with Coleman Technologies, CUPE 23 didn’t have its own server or data storage capabilities. Their previous IT company was hosting all their data on their own servers.

Bruce knew this wasn’t an ideal arrangement. He wanted CUPE 23 to have agency over their own data, and so, he invested in servers of their own. When CUPE 23 switched to Coleman Technologies, they also gained more robust data backup capabilities.

“It’s backed up every minute now in the server room and in the cloud,” says Bruce.

Coleman Technologies Delivers The Best ROI For CUPE 23’s IT Budget

To this day, CUPE 23 enjoys the ideal IT partnership with Coleman Technologies. They get exactly what they need in terms of IT support and consultation, without having to exceed their strict IT budget.

“I really appreciate them, it’s allowed me to not worry about those things,” says Bruce. “I know our members are grateful too.”

Working with Coleman Technologies gives CUPE 23 access to the expertise and skill of a team of IT specialists when needed, and without paying expensive salaries or benefits.

“I don’t have any worries about tech anymore,” says Bruce.

The Google Play Store is the Android operating system’s primary source of applications and widgets and can do a lot more than many might first think. Let’s consider a few useful tools and tricks that are incorporated into the Play Store that you should keep in mind.

Using a Password to Restrict Purchases

App store purchases can become notoriously expensive, and fast, so it makes sense to do whatever you can to help prevent any unauthorized purchases from going through. One means of doing so is to restrict the capability to make purchases behind password protection. That way you can avoid unwanted spending on your Android device… particularly if others regularly utilize your device.

Filter Apps Based on their Content

The Play Store has content available meant for a wide variety of age groups, due to the inclusion of gambling, violence, or other adult-themed elements present. While this is certainly a reason to restrict such apps for younger users, it also serves as an excellent reason to restrict what your business users can download—although you should also discourage them from using any apps not intended for business use during work hours anyways.

To filter out inappropriate apps, navigate to the Play Store and access Settings. Once there, tap Content Filtering, and select and deselect the maturity levels that apply to your needs.

View All Application Orders and Purchases

Keeping track of your investments into your applications is much simpler that you might expect, as the Play Store keeps a running record of your purchases. Finding this list is simple: all you must do is visit the web version of the Play Store and, via the Gear icon, access the My orders section.

See All Android Devices

Finally, you can track each device connected to a Google Account and used to access the Play Store, as there is a list in your account that outlines them. Finding this list is also fairly simple: from the online Play Store, click into the Gear icon and from there, Settings.

Have you heard about any other tricks behind the Google Play Store? Share them with us in the comments!

Benefits of Using Microsoft Office 365 In Your British Columbia Business

For a firm to succeed, efficiency is critical. Any organization may become more productive by developing, interacting, and engaging seamlessly. Providing access to productivity tools that help employees to accomplish their tasks more simply - and from any location - allows businesses to be more adaptable and competitive in their industry.

Microsoft 365 provides a lot more than just word processing for businesses. While its notable core apps still provide organizations with the tools needed to accomplish daily tasks like data management, document creation, and communication, Microsoft 365 has morphed into an extensive suite of insightful tools that enables organizations to be more efficient and productive. And thanks to a variety of customized plan choices, businesses of different sizes and conditions may gain immediate access to these capabilities.

Through capabilities like team chat, virtual meetings, and file sharing, Microsoft 365 connects all programs and services to the broader web, boosting cooperation, saving staff time, and helping them perform better collaboratively. Microsoft 365 enables businesses to operate from any place, at any time, with secure access to data, projects, and appointments from any device.

Many businesses pick Microsoft 365 for its multilayered security features, adaptive data management, and privacy protection, a major concern for firms across all business sectors in British Columbia. There are several other benefits of using Microsoft 365 for business throughout British Columbia.

Improved Security Features

Every digitally-driven business should make data security a top concern. One of the biggest advantages of using a subscription-based program like Microsoft 365 for Business is that you'll continuously have access to the newest security update without having to perform manual upgrades or pay add-ons because it's constantly updated.

You'll also get data encryption, enforced 2-step verification for users, and geographical area-based data residency through Outlook if you purchase Microsoft 365 package. These features can help you rest easy knowing that your data is safe, even if employees view it from numerous places and devices.

Microsoft 365 recognizes and eliminates threats to your system instantly using threat detection and anti-malware, which is especially crucial for organizations that deal with private data. Using Office 365, you can run your business without worrying about security.

Enhanced Mobile Access

Microsoft has introduced Mobile Device Management for Office 365, which may assist you and your teammates manage mobile devices used by licensed Office 365 customers in your organization. You may build custom mobile management rules with Microsoft 365, including settings that can assist your organization in regulating access to your company's Office 365 emails and files for compatible mobile devices. Imagine this: if your mobile phone is lost, you may remotely wipe it clean of crucial data.

Predictable IT Budget

Office 365 is billed per user, per month, similar to a subscription. The price of your licenses is determined by the degree of capability you select for your company. The rate of each license is determined by the multiple enterprise tiers, which comprise different products and solutions. Paying per user per month ensures a consistent outlay and allows you to plan for your IT budget for the upcoming fiscal year.

Upgrades are already included in the price of your licenses, so there are no hidden expenses. If you purchase your licenses through Core, you may adjust the number of licenses you have at any moment, for example, if you employ or fire workers. You will never be over-licensed, and there will be no waste.

Effective Communication

Providing your remote workers the resources they need to connect successfully with their colleagues might distinguish between enthusiastic, successful teams and lonely, dissatisfied workers.

Many of Microsoft 365's tools and advantages facilitate efficient remote collaboration. Teams will interact more efficiently than before with Microsoft Teams, Outlook Groups, Skype for Businesses, Sway, SharePoint, Yammer, and other Microsoft 365 products, regardless of where they operate.

Continuity of Business

Your business may continue to run normally even if there is a disaster at the workplace since files are kept in the cloud and backed up regularly. Your emails and other vital company data are all safely kept on the cloud, regardless of any attacks on your hardware. You can recover individual emails or whole inboxes using Exchange's recovery tools if necessary. If you're utilizing Office 365, your business will continue its operations under any circumstance.

Business Scaling

From client-generated information to data on how your staff performs, Microsoft Office 365 can give you useful data insights to help you conduct business smarter. Your workers' everyday use of Microsoft 365 business applications will help you gather, filter, and review data so you can rapidly identify shortcomings and areas that can be improved.

Microsoft 365 will help you comprehend the data statistics you obtain and help you use the data gathered to work intelligently, using simple to use information dashboards. This platform can also recommend layouts, graphics, and pictures for customer presentations or briefings thanks to AI-powered PowerPoint features. All of your PowerPoint presentations will seem clean and professional due to this, and you won't have to spend numerous hours manually preparing them.

Email Benefits

Your mails, diaries, and contact details are constantly synchronized with Microsoft 365 for organizations so that you can get up-to-date versions from any electronic gadget. Plus, with 100 GB of onboard storage, you may personalize every email by establishing a unique format, including graphics with your domain name, as well as save all the emails you need on hand.

Microsoft 365 streamlines the admin portal allowing you to set up new user emails, recover deleted accounts, build custom workflows, and more from any place. Anti-malware and anti-spam filtering from industry leaders may help safeguard your company and staff from email risks like phishing scams, keeping your sensitive data safe and secure.

Recap: Business Benefits Of Microsoft Office 365 In British Columbia

Microsoft's Office 365 provides a slew of intriguing features that may help your company succeed. Rather than switching between several brands and applications, you can opt for a straightforward, all-in-one solution that has the most cutting-edge capabilities for your entire team to use. Microsoft's cutting-edge Enterprise IT environment transforms how organizations operate; therefore, it may be time for your company to switch to Microsoft 365.

Reach out to us today at Coleman Technologies and let us help you upgrade your British Columbia business to Microsoft Office 365.

Darren Coleman Shares Vital Cybersecurity Tips In Forbes Monaco

Our very own CEO Darren Coleman, Canada’s foremost cybersecurity expert, was recently featured in Forbes Monaco. Darren shared key tips for protecting your organization against modern cybercrime threats, which are more prevalent than ever before…

Why Cybersecurity Matters

Cyber attacks are on the rise across all industry sectors. Recent statistics show that cyber-attacks grew 400% compared to the previous year, according to Cyber Threat Intelligence League, a collective of over 1400 cybersecurity professionals and government experts from 40 countries.

Having the right cybersecurity technology is a necessary part of doing business in today's world. Do you have the multi-layered defense you need to truly stay safe?

Today’s threats are evolving…

• The global cybercrime industry will cause up to $6 trillion in damages in just a few years.
• The average phishing attack costs businesses $1.6 million – can you afford to pay that price because one of your staff members can't recognize a phishing email?
• It takes most businesses up to 6 months to find out that they’ve experienced a data breach.

Despite the rampant rise of cybercrime across the country and around the world, many small business owners remain skeptical of the importance of cybersecurity.

One of the most common assumptions is that cybercriminals are only focusing on bigger organizations, so, small businesses don’t have to invest as much in their defensive capabilities.

When you look at the stats, that’s not really the case:

• Whereas 43% of cybercrime attacks target small businesses, only 14% are able to defend themselves
• 66% of businesses have experienced a cyber attack in the past year
• It can take up to 197 days for a small business to discover they’ve been hacked

This is why Darren continues to advocate for greater cybersecurity awareness and investment in the business world. One example of that was this recent feature in Forbes Monaco, in which he shared key cybersecurity best practices…

5 Simple Ways To Boost Your Cybersecurity

Keep Your Devices Updated

Did you know that the most common way cybercriminals get into a network is through loopholes in common third-party programs?

That means the computer programs you rely on to get work done every day could be leaving you vulnerable to security breaches. With new threats arising all the time, it’s imperative that your application and system software is up to date.

Unfortunately, software patches can be time-consuming and complicated; most of us just end up clicking the "Remind Me Later" button instead of sitting through an often-inconvenient update process.

An updated computer allows you to run the newest programs hassle-free. It is also important to keep your device updated to avoid viruses and malware. You should install updates often.

Secure Your Internet With A VPN

A VPN creates a secure tunnel for your data to transit the Internet, using a network of private servers. When you use a VPN, your data is encrypted, or hidden, as it moves from your device to the VPN and then continues onto the Internet through what’s called an exit node.

A VPN creates the appearance that your data is coming from the VPN server, not from your device. Therefore, it’s harder for an attacker to identify you as the source of the data. Even if attackers can intercept your data, the encryption means the attackers can’t understand your data or use it to their advantage.

When you put your data out to the VPN server, it exits back out to the public internet. If the site you’re visiting has HTTPS to keep the connection safe, you are still secure. But even if it was intercepted by a third party, it’s challenging for the outside party to trace the data back to you, since it appears to be coming from a VPN server.

Don’t Overlook Your Passwords

Despite the fact that passwords are the most direct way to access a user's private information, most passwords in use today are simply not strong or complex enough.

Passwords protect email accounts, banking information, private documents, administrator rights and more—and yet, user after user and business after business continue to make critical errors when it comes to choosing and protecting their passwords.

It's common that passwords are required to include uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters. Make sure to maintain as complex a password as possible.

Consider using a passphrase—which is when you combine multiple words into one long string of characters—instead of a password. The extra length of a passphrase makes it harder to crack.

Furthermore, you shouldn’t be taking the risk of reusing passwords, or relying on simple, easy-to-guess ones. Instead, use a password manager. One of the best ways to maintain complex passwords is with a password manager. Password managers are the key to keeping your passwords secure.

A password manager generates, keeps track of and retrieves complex and long passwords for you to protect your vital online information. It also remembers your PINS, credit card numbers and three-digit CVV codes if you choose this option.

Plus, it provides answers to security questions for you. All of this is done with strong encryption that makes it difficult for hackers to decipher.

Deploy Two-Factor Authentication

For every account that connects to business data, make sure you are utilizing two-factor authentication (2FA). 2FA is a great way to add an extra layer of protection to existing systems and account logins.

By requiring a second piece of information like a randomly-generated numerical code sent by text message, you're better able to ensure that the person using your employee's login credentials is actually who they say they are. Biometrics like fingerprints, voice, or even iris scans are also options, as are physical objects like keycards.

Watch Out For Social Engineering

Cybercriminals keep relying on the same tactics because users keep falling for them without learning the skills needed to protect against them. The fact is that the greatest cyber threat businesses face today isn't hackers exploiting software vulnerabilities—it's their staff.

By using manipulative tactics to trick employees into sharing sensitive information like usernames and passwords, hackers are gaining access to valuable data, and it's costing businesses a lot of money.

Don’t Cut Corners On Your Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity is more important now than ever! Coleman Technologies can help you utilize technology to its fullest potential while working with you to keep your sensitive data safe.

If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to reach out to us and set a meeting.

Why Does Your Lower Mainland Business Need Security For Microsoft 365?

Did you know that Microsoft 365 is one of the most popular targets for cybercriminals, attracting both amateur attackers and advanced persistent threat (APT) groups? According to a Vectra study, 96% of Microsoft 365 customers sampled exhibited lateral behaviors. That's a huge proportion, considering that Microsoft Office 365 is a worldwide productivity suite of applications and services trusted by over 250 million users.

Among other techniques, the attackers leverage email spoofing campaigns to trick unsuspecting users and access or compromise their sensitive data illegally. The threat actors usually draft emails that appear to be coming from Outlook (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.). The emails typically use urgent language to dupe people into using a new Microsoft 365 capability, not knowing that clicking the link attached exposes their confidential info to the ill-intended cybercriminals.

So, does your business need security for Microsoft 365? You bet! Partnering with a reliable Microsoft solution firm like Coleman Technologies ensures that you optimally protect your business from potential threats by bolstering the confidentiality of customer, personal, employee, and intellectual data.

Why Should You Partner with a Reliable IT Firm to Enhance Microsoft 365 Security?

As it stands, keeping your IT systems protected from Microsoft-365-related attacks isn't a choice but a necessity. Provided your workforce uses a simple application like email, you may be vulnerable to such risks as phishing, ransomware, insider threats, business email compromise (BEP), and many more.

Thankfully, there are several managed IT service providers out there dedicated to helping businesses eliminate these risks and maximize technology solutions, as they should. Let's talk about how a dependable firm like Coleman Technologies can help your business enhance Microsoft security in the section below.

Security Monitoring
Like we mentioned, as long as your employees use email in their daily execution of responsibilities, your organization is already vulnerable to cyber threats by default. On top of that, the fact that threat actors usually leverage emails to deploy malware on company systems and networks means that security for Microsoft 365 is a necessity.

The best Microsoft 365 security monitoring services comprise:

• Tracking administrator and user access(log-ins) to ensure that they're from authorized personnel.
• Following up on changes to user identities and security policies to verify their legitimacy and write off any possibility of external compromise.
• Monitoring SharePoint and Onedrive usage to ensure there are no suspicious extensions and files get uploaded, stored, or shared on these apps.

Microsoft provides some powerful tools and resources to help with security monitoring. These include Cloud App Security (CAS), compliance center, and Microsoft 365 Security. However, these tools require a qualified security analyst to monitor threats effectively, analyze the alerts, disregard false positives, and lead a swift and organized response to a possible threat.

Threat Detection
Detecting Microsoft-365-related threats requires the most advanced analytical tools and keen attention to detail. Some incidents, e.g., when an employee forgets their password and relentlessly attempts to log in, may turn out to be false positives and shouldn't be classified as threats. However, sometimes the threat actors may manage to maneuver their way past the endpoints, and therefore, require advanced tools and expertise to be detected before a risk occurs.

When on the market for the best Microsoft solutions and support provider, be sure to settle for the one with the following personnel and capabilities:

• Forensic investigators, tier 3 & 4 intrusion analysts, and engineers to support your security operations center (SOC).
• Advanced threat detection policies and strategies.
• Incident/event investigation.
• Integrated threat intelligence to help detect incoming threats in real-time
• Threat hunting capabilities and resources.
• Expert analysis of your security posture to work out and implement protection enhancement recommendations.

Threat Response
Nothing is more critical to cyber threat prevention than first response times. So when looking for a Microsoft security solutions firm, be sure to partner with a firm that offers round-the-clock support and can react swiftly to an incident to minimize impact. In addition, the firm must have an easy-to-implement plan that outlines ways to respond to an incident proactively.

The actionable plan (with clear-cut procedures during a potential Microsoft-365-related incident) should clearly define:

• Who has lead responsibility whenever a threat occurs?
• Who should the critical personnel be contacted regarding the security incident?
• What services, data, and networks should be prioritized during recovery?
• How can compromised data be securely preserved/isolated to allow for the performance of detailed forensics to gain insights into the attack and identify security gaps?
• Who should you notify if their data gets stolen or used to compromise their networks? It could be key partners, customers, or data owners.
• When and what law enforcement and regulatory compliance should you bring into the mix?

Advanced Reporting
As a bonus, your managed security services firm should be able to centralize and report to you everything you need to know about your Microsoft 365 environment. Advanced reporting helps everyone in the organization understand how different Microsoft 365 applications face various cyber risks. That way, everyone in the organization participates in threat monitoring, detection, response, and prevention.

The best advanced reporting system should help your business:

• Get a quick and clear picture of your cybersecurity posture through graphics.
• Fulfill cybersecurity regulatory compliance needs with ease.
• Understand critical factors contributing to cyber risk in the organization and seal all the loopholes.
• Respond to similar threats in the future (if any) and strengthen your contingency plans.

Coleman Technologies is Your No.1 Microsoft 365 Security and Monitoring Partner!

There's no denying it; Microsoft 365 is a world-class suite of incredible apps and services that enhance workplace efficiency and productivity beyond measure. Unfortunately, however, cyber threat actors are relentlessly targeting this suite to launch far-reaching cyberattacks on large and small businesses alike. For that reason, it is overly critical to partner with a reliable security services firm to help monitor, detect, and respond to threats that target your Microsoft 365 infrastructure.

Coleman Technologies is equal to this task! We have the necessary resources, expertise, and willpower to help your business overcome Microsoft 365 challenges and cyber risks. We use advanced security systems to protect your data, and we also proactively monitor your systems 24/7 to ward off external intruders.

So don't get left behind! Schedule a FREE consultation with Coleman Technologies today, and let us customize a Microsoft 365 security solution that suits your business-specific needs.

What Is Your Ransomware Response?
It feels like no more than a few days go by without another ransomware story in the news. What used to be just one threat present in the cybercrime landscape has now become the most clear and present danger to modern businesses.

Don’t assume we’re exaggerating this for effect — experts estimate that a ransomware attack will occur every 11 seconds in 2021. That’s why you need to take action and defend yourself.

What Would Happen If You Were Infected With Ransomware Right Now?

Do you have a plan? Are your system endpoints protected? Are your backups recent, tested, and viable?

It’s a mistake to assume that just because you haven’t been hit by ransomware yet, that you won’t be anytime soon. You may think you can put off investing in effective cybersecurity support, but without warning, you may get hit.

The Threat Of Ransomware Is Evolving

Just a few years ago, ransomware wasn’t as big of a concern. While high-profile incidents like the WannaCry attack on the NHS were concerning, they were far and few between. If you had a recent backup of your data in place, you could rely on that to replace your data in the event it was encrypted by ransomware.

Since then, however, the way cybercriminals use ransomware has evolved. They have improved their tactics and capabilities, allowing them to do much more damage, and demand much more money. Characteristics of modern ransomware attacks include:

• Expanded Timelines: Sophisticated attackers sneak ransomware into a breached network and then lay dormant for weeks or months, ensuring their method of entry isn’t discovered right away. This gives them time to embed themselves, steal data, and more, all before they actually activate the ransomware and infect the systems. Without undertaking extensive forensic processes, an infected business won’t know how far back they need to go to back up their systems. Or, even worse, it will be so far back that they’ve already expunged those backups to make room for more recent versions.
• Improved Capabilities: Modern forms of ransomware can even target and infect backup hard drives and cloud-based data if the connections are left unsecured. That’s why cybersecurity professionals are now recommending digitally-air-gapped backups as well. Given the effectiveness of modern ransomware attacks, defensive methods and best practices from just a few years ago are already losing feasibility. All of this is to say that you can’t assume you won’t be infected at some point. No matter how strong your defensive capabilities are, ransomware may still get through. That’s why you need to plan out how to respond to an attack.

How Should You Respond To A Ransomware Attack?

1. Disconnect: If a business suspects their networks are at immediate risk, the first step is to disconnect the computer from the company’s network to inhibit further exploitation attempts on other systems. Simply remove the network cable from its connection point, usually a tower or laptop. This step should be then followed by disabling the WiFi settings. It is critical that this is performed manually to make sure it’s been properly disconnected.
2. Power Down: Once the computer has been removed from the network, it is then necessary to power down the machine to prevent any potential damage.
3. Contact Your Cybersecurity Professionals: Whether you have one on speed dial or not, your next step is to get professional assistance. Restoring backed-up data and limiting the continued spread of ransomware is a complicated process — don’t try to handle it alone if you don’t know what you’re doing.

A key aspect in your continuity following a ransomware attack is your data backup. If you have you have a data backup solution, then it doesn’t matter if your data has been encrypted. You can just replace it with your backup, simple as that.

That’s why you should make a considerable investment in a comprehensive backup data recovery solution so that you can restore your data at a moment's notice when necessary. Be sure to:

• Back up data on a regular basis, both on and offsite.
• Inspect your backups manually to verify that they maintain their integrity.
• Secure your backups and keep them independent from the networks and computers they are backing up.
• Separate your network from the backup storage, so the encryption process is unable to “hop” networks to the backup storage device. This keeps your backup data from being encrypted.

 You Can’t Ignore Ransomware And Hope It Goes Away

In summary, there will never be a way to be 100% protected from an attack, or worse, an actual breach. However, by implementing the proper security measures, training, and constant re-evaluation of these security measures, the risk of being infected with ransomware can be dramatically reduced.

Get in touch with the Coleman Technologies team to discover more about developing a modern ransomware defence.

VoIP Communication is Built for Businesses

Voice over Internet Protocol is easy to use, cost-effective, and flexible.

Having a capable phone system is essential for a growing business. Fully-featured VoIP solutions from NOCOLOGY are able to offer your business major cost benefits by utilizing your Internet connection for all of your organization's communication needs. One of the most noticeable advantages that our VoIP system can offer a business like yours, is the incomparable savings you’ll see. In fact, you can see a cost reduction of up to 70% off your current phone bill. In this way, our VoIP solution pays for itself.

Voice over Internet Protocol is easy to use, cost-effective, and flexible.

Having a capable phone system is essential for a growing business. Fully-featured VoIP solutions from NOCOLOGY are able to offer your business major cost benefits by utilizing your Internet connection for all of your organization's communication needs. One of the most noticeable advantages that our VoIP system can offer a business like yours, is the incomparable savings you’ll see. In fact, you can see a cost reduction of up to 70% off your current phone bill. In this way, our VoIP solution pays for itself.

VoIP Eliminates Communication Barriers

VoIP eliminates the communication limitations of money and geography.

Traditional land-line phone systems can limit communication, and even limit your company’s growth. For example, if you need to expand your workforce and add more workstations to your fleet, then you will have to have technicians spend extra time running new land-lines to each workstation. VoIP uses your LAN to transmit data. These are the same lines that run the Internet, which means that, with VoIP, you won’t have to run any extra lines.

VoIP is not limited to your local Internet connection, and you can even go wireless and take advantage of your network’s Wi-Fi capabilities! The beauty of VoIP is that you can plug in your IP-enabled phone to an Internet connection from anywhere in the world and use your VoIP phone number. You can also receive calls to your VoIP number from anywhere. This is a great way to stay connected with your office and your customers while you’re away at a sales conference or working remotely, which saves everyone the frustration of playing phone tag.

Get More VoIP Features for Less

A VoIP plan comes standard with dozens of useful features.

Another way VoIP can save your business money is by giving you powerful communication features that will make it easier to stay connected. WIth our VoiP solutions you'll get features such as:

• Call forwarding
• Call waiting
• Call monitoring
• Voicemail to E-mail Transcription
• Conferencing

Our VoIP offering is designed to be flexible and allows you to do more for less. If you add up your twelve favorite call features using a traditional phone plan, you might pay twice as much with all these features enacted. With our VoIP solution you'll get a fully-featured communications system and still save money

For more information about how Coleman Technologies's VoIP solution can save your organization money and improve communications across the board, give us a call at (604) 513-9428.

Your business needs to use computers to run efficiently. Sometimes you will run into new developments as new computer software and network solutions come into the market. Unfortunately, keeping up with these changes can be an uphill task, and your competitors can beat you at leveraging the power of the advancements.

Besides, your employees occasionally need help using and maintaining computers to perform their duties effectively. They also may not be conversant with resolving the technological issues their machine run into, which can derail them if they don't get the help they need as quickly as possible.

Furthermore, your internal IT team could be overwhelmed with day-to-day help desk services, causing them to be less efficient in delivering prompt computer help. Downtimes caused by computer crashes and system failures can adversely affect your business and cause you to lose customers. In a world where time is money, you need to have your computer networks running as efficiently as possible.

All this explains the importance of partnering with a reliable computer consulting service provider in Langley. A reputable IT firm can help you gain and maintain a competitive edge simply by ensuring your computers remain in a healthy IT environment for maximum efficiency.

Coleman Technologies is one such firm that specializes in providing computer consulting services to small and medium-sized businesses in Langley. Besides, we offer various other IT support services to meet your IT needs and make your business better.

Services We Provide in Computer Consulting for Businesses in Langley

Coleman Technologies provides businesses in Langley with a range of services to help them move to the next level. We aim at assisting them to get the most out of their computers and networks. Our highly trained, skilled, experienced, and licensed computer technicians offer:

• IT support and consulting: We want to support your internal IT teams, process, and practices to help you remain on track as you focus on business growth.
• Cybersecurity: We ensure your computers, systems, and networks are protected from cyberattacks and the next ransomware outbreak. This is why we monitor them round the clock to identify vulnerabilities and seal them before they wreak havoc.
• Assistance with installation of new services: The world of IT is constantly changing, with new software and hardware coming into the market often. We will help you install and maintain new solutions and ensure they are compatible with your existing systems.
• Cloud services and management: With network compromises and ransomware on the rise, we want you to have peace of mind knowing that your network is protected and kept up to date with 24/7 monitoring and alerting.
• Cloud-managed backups: Storms, equipment failure, and data loss can cause severe downtime. With our backup solutions, we ensure your business is back up in minutes, letting you continue with operations as we restore your services and equipment.
• Hardware services: Malfunctioning or failing computer hardware can cause terrible frustrations to your business. Coleman Technologies comes in to help your business repair or replace essential software when the need arises.
• Software services: If you have a remote team, you want to ensure they can collaborate in real-time among themselves and with the in-office group. This is why we provide various software solutions to help them communicate and work in teams from any location. Our solutions include Microsoft 365 and G Suite for all the benefits of cloud computing.

Why Partner with Coleman Technologies for Computer Consulting Services?

One of the reasons you should have computer consulting services is that you will have access to unending computer support. We provide you with the knowledge and skills to manage your computer environments to ensure technical issues are fixed in the shortest time possible.

Besides, computer consulting services helps your business to:

Have Better Control of the IT Budget
Before making any IT decisions, it's always a wise idea to get the input of an expert on the matter. Consequently, you can avoid using a trial and error approach to solving your computer-related issues. Consulting with Coleman Technologies helps lower down your IT costs and operating expenses because you gain the knowledge to invest in the strategies and plans designed exclusively for your business needs and budget.

Gain a New Perspective into Your IT Environment
Some of the things you do as far as your computers and IT environment are concerned is because you are used to doing them that way. Other things you do because you don't know a better or efficient way to do them. For example, you might be using outdated software without knowing it.

That's where Coleman Technologies comes in to change the narrative. We act as your unbiased third party, looking into your IT environment from the outside to provide strategies and suggestions to improve your IT environment. As a result, you can trust us to provide the tools and technology you need to thrive in the modern business environment.

Have a Broader Knowledge Base
The team at Coleman Technologies comprises experts in various computer and IT subjects. We provide you with solutions and insights you might not have considered before, explaining how they work and why they are suitable for your business. Computer consulting services mean that you have an expert to count on for computer help when you need it.

Boost Productivity 
When your employees are sure that they are using the right computer and IT solutions to carry out their work, their productivity improves. We will help you identify the outdated tech within your business through our computer consulting services, but it doesn't end here. We take it a step further to help you replace obsolete tools and solutions with more efficient and advanced ones for better outcomes.

Besides, we can help you find productivity boosters like cloud technologies, automation, centralized databases, and more. We help you understand the best ones for your business and how you can implement and manage them.

Partner with Coleman Technologies for Computer Consulting Services in Langley

Our team loves doing what they are best at so that you can focus on what you are good at, which is growing your business. We are dedicated to providing customized computer and technology solutions fit for your business needs. Contact us today to find out how we can help your business.

2022 SDWAN Buyers Guide For British Columbia Businesses

For years, enterprises have leveraged Software-defined Wide Area Network (SDWAN) to streamline software and mobile connectivity from branch offices to the internet. But with many companies adopting remote working policies, SDWAN has evolved to become a means of cutting down costs related to MPLS connections and improving connectivity between various remote locations and the cloud.

In this post-pandemic era, SDWAN offers a more robust, enterprise-level connection that allows businesses to create a suite of software applications in various clouds, facilitating easy team collaborations from remote locations and easy access to critical applications, such as Office 365 and Zoom, in a secure, fast, dependable, and optimized network. The result: increased business efficiency, productivity, and user experience.

Understanding SDWAN and How It Improves Business Processes

As its name suggests, a software-defined wide area network uses software to manage and streamline connectivity, communication, services, and management between various data centers and remote branches to the cloud. In simple terms, SDWAN decouples the control infrastructure and data architecture, enabling businesses to make changes to any single plane without interfering with other zoned traffic.

An SDWAN connection comprises a system of routers and virtualized customer premises equipment (vCPE) that operate various software versions capable of handling enterprise management tools, such as security, policy, and network, based on a business needs and system configuration.

However, the biggest advantage of SDWAN deployment is that it enables small and mid-sized businesses to manage connections between different networks, including MPLS, LTE, and broadband. Another upside to SDWAN is that it isolates and partitions connection traffic within the WAN while ensuring data security.

How SDWAN Helps Improve WAN Traffic Security

As aforementioned, the chief benefit of SDWAN is improving data security in a WAN infrastructure. Today, many businesses leverage cloud-based solutions like Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Office 365 to enable their teams to work remotely, creating loopholes for internal and external data breaches and loss.

What SDWAN does is that it enables companies to create traffic zones and securely channel the data to a centralized data center according to in-house security protocols. With SDWAN, you can incorporate a full suite of security applications like firewalls, URL filtering, IPS, malware protection, and cloud-based solutions into the WAN architecture to boost security. That's a huge benefit that makes SDWAN lucrative and helpful to businesses in data-rich verticals, such as retail, finance, and healthcare.

Useful Tips to Help You When Shopping for SDWAN

If you plan to deploy SDWAN functionality, paying attention to a few critical factors is critical. It would also be best if you partnered with an outside consultant or a professional IT service company to get the best SDWAN infrastructure for your business.

Understand your needs; match them with the suitable vendor
Businesses deploy SDWAN functionality for various reasons. You need to know the need driving you to want to set up the system. For instance, if your primary need is security, find a vendor whose solutions are steeped in security features. Perhaps you are more concerned about software performance. In that case, a provider seasoned in WAN optimization is the best option. If your enterprise has grown with multiple branches that need SDWAN deployment, choosing managed services is the best move.

Pricing options
SDWAN installation costs vary based on your approach. If you opt for a DIY deployment, remember you'll have to cater to capital costs, licensing, and day-to-day maintenance. The price often increases if you have several locations because you'll have to procure WAN traffic and hardware for each location. To reduce the costs of installing SDWAN, find a trusted provider. Most of them have the required hardware and can provide managed or co-managed interconnections between branch offices and enterprise-level clouds. That means the managed service provider (MSP) will handle the installation, configuration, and ongoing maintenance. That's a more affordable option, which also frees up your IT team to deal with other business-driven tasks.

Do you have an existing vendor? Leverage the relationship for a smooth switch to SDWAN
If you think your current vendor is the best provider for your business, you can leverage the relationship you already have to make your transition to SDWAN. Having understood your motive to transition to SDWAN functionality, they can easily work with you to perform software upgrades on your branches' gear to incorporate the connection. Alternatively, you can inform your incumbent MPLS vendor that you're thinking of moving on to another SDWAN provider. The chances are that they might counter your thought by implementing a fully managed SDWAN service.

Find an SDWAN service that integrates with your existing infrastructure
When asking yourself how an SDWAN network will integrate with your existing system, you need to look at it from two perspectives. First, ask yourself: Does my chosen vendor provide SDWAN functionality due to the acquisition of another company? That provokes another concern – how compatible are the two? If so, does it affect pricing? Both an all-in-one service and separated offerings have cost implications, and you need to choose based on your budget and company needs.

The second question is: how does the SDWAN function integrate with my existing architecture? An excellent SDWAN service is one that fits perfectly to your enterprise infrastructure, control systems, software management, security systems, and monitoring features. If you plan to upgrade the existing network or make changes, such as incorporating Zero Trust accessibility or software-defined networking, understand the ease of performing these upgrades. The same applies if the SDWAN service provides cloud-based solutions. It should easily mesh into your existing network.

2022 SDWAN Solutions For BC Lower Mainland Organizations

SDWAN deployment helps businesses optimize network connection with a high emphasis on security and easy integration of networks. The migration from the conventional office setting to remote work has made SDWAN implementation a need than an option. Still, the vendor you choose when shopping for SDWAN functionality plays a critical role in the overall performance. With the above SDWAN buying tips, you can easily know what points to consider when consulting with a potential provider.

If you're in the market searching for SDWAN solutions for your enterprise, search no further than Coleman Technologies. Contact us today; we offer enterprise-class managed solutions to help your business grow.

Thanks to Guy Baroan, a trusted IT service professional in New Jersey for this help in researching this content.

Dual Channel Memory: What Is It, and How Does It Work?

Computers rely on the memory space to process and store the information that you input into their systems. As such, your computer requires to have the appropriate memory modules attuned to the capacity and specifications of the processor.

The motherboard comes with either a single-channel memory or a dual-channel memory that facilitates data movement. Whichever memory chip you have installed; the channels are crucial in initiating the necessary Random Access Memory (RAM) to read the active or running programs or applications on your computer.

What is Dual Channel Memory?

Dual-channel memory is one of the versions of multi-channel memory. Like the other versions, it plays a crucial role in increasing the speed of data transfer. It helps boost the communication channels between the memory and the memory controller.

In other words, it's not the memory you buy that's dual-channel, rather it's when you have two matching memory sticks. The motherboard uses both of them to run in dual channel mode. Each memory location splits across the pair to double the memory speed instead of being in one or the other. As such, only one is in use at any one time.

Most motherboards only support the dual channel, and older ones only support single-channel memory. However, LGA 1366 Core i7 has a triple channel mode, while the LGA 2011 processors can support quad-channel mode.

How Does Dual Channel Memory Work?

The RAM on the memory module and the rest of the computer communicate through the memory controller on the central processing unit (CPU). Some memory controllers feature multiple communication channels with the memory module, which enables faster data exchange. With such settings, data can move faster along channels as it moves through more than one channel.

Some memory channels are designed with one channel, while others have two (dual), four (quad), six, and eight. The six and eight-channel modules are best for servers.

A few motherboards run on triple-channel modules, which use interleaving. This is a method used in assigning memory addresses to the memory in a set order.

The original design of the dual-channel architecture combines two 64-bit buses into a single 128-bit bus. This combination was also known as the ganged model. However, the performance was not good enough, and manufacturers later discovered that independent buses had better performance. Currently, the un-ganged model is the most common on most modern processors.

The dual-channel memory operates by initiating one of two modes. These are the mirroring and the sparing modes.

Mirroring Mode

The mirroring mode enables your device to complete memory usage by reducing the RAM capacity in half. The Dual in-line Memory Modules (DIMM) are distinct, and they receive the same data through the channel memory you provide for them. As such, when one of the channels fails, the memory controller utilizes the other channel.

Take note that:

• The mirroring mode decreases your system's total memory capacity. For example, when you enable the module, a server with 64 GB capacity reduces into 32 GB usable memory.
• The DIMMs in each channel must have the same density and be equal in size and architecture for the mode to work.
• Mirroring happens across DIMMs. As such, if your two channels both have DIMMs, they will have both a primary and secondary cache.

Sparing Mode

You can also opt to use the sparing mode in dual-channel memory configuration. When in saving mode, one of the ranks serves as a spare for the other channels within the channel. The specific rank is inactive when an active rank fails to work. If failure happens in another rank, the idle rank takes over the operation. Its memory capacity is then subtracted from the overall memory capacity of the entire channel.

When an error happens, and the threshold is achieved, the failing circuit's data is replicated in the spare and previously idle rank. The failed rank goes offline, leaving the activated one to take over.

The entire process requires data replication. As such, only a lower level of redundant memory is involved than in the mirroring mode. For critical data processes, the mirroring mode is the preferable option. Also, note that:

• The spare rank in the sparing mode must have an equal or higher memory capacity than those within the channel.
• In the sparing mode, one rank per channel acts as a spare. Hence, when you configure a dual-channel memory, two ranks serve as spares for each of the channels.

Dual Channel Memory Installation Tips

If you want to take advantage of a dual-channel platform, ensure you buy memory in identical parts when purchasing memory. For example, if you wish to upgrade your processor to 2 GB of memory, go for two 1 GB memory sticks with similar specifications. The speed chips on each memory don't need to be the same as the others. However, it helps to use memory sticks with similar speeds. If the speeds don't match, your motherboard will run both chips at the slowest speed between the two chips.

Furthermore, if you want to install two memory modules, ensure each is installed into the proper memory slot. In most cases, the memory slots will have different colors to guide you to the correct memory channel. For the first memory stick, the correct slots are often the first and the second. For the second one, they are usually the third and fourth. As you install memory in pairs, ensure you install them into the same colored slot. This will help you take advantage of the dual-channel module.

How to Know If Dual-Channel Is Active

When your dual-channel becomes active, your initial screen that appears after you reboot your machine should display "Dual Channel Interleaved" or "Dual Channel." Alternatively, if you have software programs like CPU-Z, it should detect and automatically display this information.

Final Thoughts

Most modern computer innovations have complicated configurations. This gives rise to the need for larger memory spaces for faster data processing. Luckily, you can easily configure your computer for dual-channel communication, increasing its speed and performance.

However, sometimes this may sound easier said than done, especially if you are not tech-savvy. If you'd like to upgrade the memory of your company computers for better data processing, let an expert help you. Coleman Technologies provides IT support and services to businesses in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia. Contact us today, and let us discuss how we can improve your entire IT department.

Do You Know All The Benefits Microsoft 365 Has To Offer?

Over the past few years, productivity suites have become more and more popular with businesses of all sizes, in a wide and varied range of industries. It's the type of solution that has something to offer everyone.

Cloud-based technologies, in general, are changing the way users like you view the capabilities of their technology—especially Microsoft 365.

What Does Microsoft 365 Offer?

• Access Your Apps Conveniently: You need to be able to use your tools from anywhere, any device, and Microsoft 365 gives you that flexibility. Access your email, meetings, and other services online. Create, edit, and share Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and OneNote files online and stay up to date with everyone’s changes in a file, even if they’re made at the same time.
• Microsoft Teams: This chat-based workspace brings users together to collaborate, communicate, and share content, helping them work as efficiently as possible whether in the office or operating from a remote workplace. Team members and business contacts can stay connected and share work through the suite of Microsoft solutions they’re most accustomed to. Microsoft Teams gives you the ability to host real-time meetings, staff training, connect with clients, all in a direct video meeting format. Whether your staff is working remotely, or maintaining contact with a key client from out of town, Teams’ video meetings provide a convenient and personal way to communicate, without having to make the commute.
• Robust Security Features: Microsoft 365 uses a defense-in-depth approach to provide physical, logical, and data layers of security features and operational best practices:
  
  
  • The Microsoft 365 Cloud App Security provides insight into any suspicious activity in the program. You can investigate situations that could pose a risk and if needed, take action to address them. You'll receive notifications of triggered alerts for any unusual activities. Then you can view what data is being accessed and used and suspend any user accounts that exhibit suspicious activity. Afterwards, if you authorize, the user can log back into Microsoft 365.
  • Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) is another way that Microsoft 365 keeps your data more secure. MFA requires the consumer to utilize two methods to confirm that they are the rightful account owner. By setting up these types of verification, you add an extra layer of security to your nonprofit’s Microsoft 365 accounts.
  • Microsoft 365 uses several strong encryption protocols, and technologies including Transport Layer Security/Secure Sockets Layer (TLS/SSL), Internet Protocol Security (IPSec), and Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). Encryption technology is a great way to protect important data. By making data unreadable to anyone who isn't supposed to have access to it, you can secure files stored on your systems, servers, and mobile devices, as well as files sent via email or through file-sharing services.
  • Built-in Mobile Device Management in Microsoft 365 Business allows you to manage access to your data securely. The built-in Mobile Device Management (MDM) lets you secure and manage your users' mobile devices like iPhones, iPads, Androids, and Windows phones. You can create mobile device security policies, remotely wipe a device, and view detailed device reports.

• Automatic Updates: Enjoy the latest versions of your preferred apps like Microsoft Word and Excel, thanks to automatic patches and updates. No need to pay for version upgrades — updates are included in your subscription. New features are rolled out to Microsoft 365 customers regularly.
• Pay As You Go Pricing: Using Microsoft 365 is often more cost-efficient than alternatives, as you pay a low-cost per month for access to the desktop, mobile, and cloud-based applications you need. This tends to be less expensive with no upfront costs. Plus, upgrades are automatically released so there’s no need to pay for new software.
• Flexible And Customizable Plans: Custom fitting your Microsoft 365 plan to your individual needs is easy with the flexible plans offered. There is no need for an IT overhaul, as you can easily fit the new services into your existing strategy.

Could You Be Getting More Out Of Microsoft 365?

As the leading name in cloud business productivity software, Microsoft 365 offers a range of services and features designed to help you and your employees do more each day—but only if you know how to optimize your experience.

Coleman Technologies offers Microsoft 365 support geared to address the needs of today’s businesses. Our Microsoft 365 solutions are based on a tailored approach to workflow—ensuring that you have the correct version, setup, and integration of Microsoft 365.

When additional support is needed, our team of IT specialists are able to provide troubleshooting assistance or strategic advice—enabling clients to leverage the power of Microsoft 365 to their benefit.

What Our Team Of Microsoft Experts Will Do

• Migration Management: If you’re not sure which plan is right for you or how to migrate all of your workstations over, we’ll walk you through the entire migration process—handling each step of the way to make sure it goes smoothly.
• Comprehensive Support: We offer onsite and remote support to help you resolve any sort of configuration and/or troubleshooting issues right away. If we’re not able to remotely resolve the issue, we’ll come onsite to help you out.
• Employee Training: A vital component of the success strategy of any software offering is the ability for a business’ employees to understand it well enough to utilize it to its fullest potential. We’re here to walk your staff through any new features or applications.

Harness Microsoft 365’s Benefits

Don’t settle for a sub-par cloud experience, and don’t think you have to be the one managing it. The Coleman Technologies team can take that off your plate for good, allowing you to take advantage of its optimized user experience and focus on your work.

Get in touch with the Coleman Technologies team to enjoy every benefit Microsoft 365 has to offer.

Thanks to our colleagues at Orbis Solutions for their support with this article.

Supply Chain Issues Continue To Plague British Columbia Enterprises

Unfortunately, global supply chain issues and general hardware shortages are expected to continue through 2022.

Are you aware of the ongoing supply chain issues that continue to affect the availability of vital business hardware?

This is the result of a confluence of both demand and supply chain shocks including a global chip shortage, labor shortages, manufacturing disruptions from COVID, and higher demand.  Independent of the cause, the impacts are continuing to reverberate throughout the global economy.

Manufacturers that rely on these components (Lenovo, Dell, HP, Cisco, etc..) are anticipating delays in the fulfillment of new hardware and products. They expect the effects of the shortage to last at least through the remainder of 2022. Please prepare for potential delays and longer-than-normal lead times for the hardware.

Supply Chain Delays And Chip Shortages—What’s Causing All The Trouble?

While chip manufacturers fail to produce a sufficient supply of these key components, prices will inevitably go up. TSMC plans to hike its prices in line with the limited amount of components they are able to produce.

This has resulted in a bidding war among major manufacturers. As globally active brands like Toyota and Apple compete for vital components, they’ll have to pay much higher prices. Add to that increases in shipping costs and higher wages for labor, along with inflations, and you have costs continuing to climb.  Those expenses will be passed along to consumers like you.

Even Cisco has noted that prices are going to continue to rise for key components in IT infrastructure. These types of resources are critical in a vast majority of technologies, making the effects of their scarcity far-reaching.

While prices may be high now, they’re only bound to increase over the next year. As the shortage continues and demand continues to climb, prices will increase in kind. That’s why you need to start placing orders now for the hardware you’ll need next year and the year after that. The longer you wait, the more it will cost you.

Need Expert Assistance With Hardware Procurement?

While you may not need new hardware right now, you will eventually, and the sooner you begin planning, the better. The Coleman Technologies team will help—we can assess and determine the state of your current hardware, and help you plan ahead.

While there are no guarantees in terms of availability of supply, the more foresight you have in this process, the smoother it will be. Thanks again for your patience.

If you have any questions whatsoever, don’t hesitate to get in touch with our team.

The internet has become a part of our everyday lives. But many people don't realize that the internet can be a harmful place for both individuals and companies. The dark web is one facet of the internet that can compromise our sensitive data — and it's important to be mindful of what it is and how it can impact us.

Today, we're going to discuss what the dark web is, how it can make individuals and companies vulnerable, and tips on how to protect your information.

What is the Dark Web?

The dark web is World Wide Web content that exists on darknets, which are overlay networks that use the internet but require specific software, configurations, or authorizations to access. Essentially, the dark web is a portion of the internet that isn't indexed by search engines, making it home to many cybercriminals.

Everything isn't illegal on the dark web though. For instance, journalists might use it to access specific information to develop a story. However, since many cybercriminals exist on the dark web, it's important to be aware of the ways in which it can be harmful to us.

The dark web allows cybercriminals to purchase things like credit card numbers, counterfeit money, hacked accounts, and software that helps them hack into computers. Additionally, cybercriminals will use the dark web to sell an individual's personal information.

Difference Between the Deep Web and Dark Web

Many people confuse the difference between the deep and dark web. While they are similar, they aren't the same. The deep web refers to anything on the internet that is not indexed by Google, meaning it won't be accessible via a search engine. Things like medical records, membership websites, and confidential corporate web pages are some of the things that make up the deep web.

The dark web, on the other hand, is a subset of the deep web that is hidden intentionally and is involved in illegal niches. Accessing the dark web requires the use of a browser called Tor. This allows users to search anonymously by routing your web page request through a series of proxy servers rendering your IP address unidentifiable and untraceable.

How Does The Dark Web Affect Individuals and Companies?

The criminal activities that occur on the dark web can directly affect individuals and companies. Unfortunately, the dark web goes beyond law enforcement's reach, leading to issues like scams, malware, and ransomware.

More often than not, a cybercriminal will use the dark web to expose or sell the personal information of an individual or company. This makes it easier for credentials to be compromised such as usernames, passwords, and financial information.

For instance, a common way that cybercriminals will get someone's information to post or sell it on the dark web is through phishing. Phishing is a type of online scam where criminals impersonate legitimate organizations via email, text message, advertisement, or other means in order to steal sensitive information.

Email phishing is a common method for cybercriminals. Ultimately, what happens is that the cybercriminal will send an email that appears legitimate with the hopes that you will click on its contents, allowing your system to be infected with a virus.

While these emails may seem legit on the surface, there are discrete warning signs that it isn't valid such as a slightly different email address or an email with a sense of urgency. If the cybercriminal achieves their goal, the stolen data is often posted to the dark web and sold to buyers.

This process is how identity theft is started, doing a lot of damage to individuals as well as businesses. For this reason, it's important that you can effectively secure your sensitive information to mitigate the risk of being vulnerable to a cyberattack. Here are a few ways to help ensure your sensitive information isn't subject to the dark web.

Protecting Personal Information from the Dark Web

Arming yourself with knowledge is the first step in improving your cybersecurity measures. Let's take a look at some proactive measures you can take to ensure your sensitive information doesn't end up on the dark web by cybercriminals.

For starters, companies — and even individuals, can benefit from signing up for a dark web monitoring service. Simply put, dark web monitoring is the process of searching for and keeping track of personal information found on the dark web.

Essentially, dark web monitoring services enable you to find out whether your personal information is somewhere on the dark web. These services will scan hundreds of thousands of websites each day to find any personal information on the internet that a criminal could use to steal your identity. Some things a dark web monitoring service will scan for include:

• Social security number
• Passport number
• Bank account numbers
• Email addresses
• Driver's license
• Credit/Debit cards

In addition to dark web monitoring services, it's always important to use complex passwords whether you are an individual or a company. So much of what we do is online and because of this, it's easy to create the same or similar password across all accounts for convenience.

But this makes it easier for cybercriminals to hack your sensitive information, leading to a host of problems. With that said, creating strong, complex passwords for each website helps secure your information as it will be more difficult for hackers to guess your password.

Along with this, it's important to change your passwords regularly. Ideally, it's a good idea to change your password every 90 days to make it difficult for intruders to steal information.

Multi-factor authentication is also encouraged as it adds an extra layer of protection, which can help prevent financial fraud and identity theft. Multi-factor authentication is a method that requires you to provide two or more verification factors in order to gain access to information such as an online account.

This extra layer of protection is not only ideal but is essential when it comes to limiting the risk of your information being stolen by a cybercriminal. Multi-factor authentication is effective because it enhances security by going beyond a username and password.

Some additional verification methods that might be required is a one-time password that usually contains a 4-8 digit code sent to your phone or email. Other verification methods might include fingerprints or voice recognition.

The idea of your personal information existing on the dark web is certainly scary but the best way to protect it is to take the proper security measures to prevent cybercriminals from accessing your personal information. If you're a small business in British Columbia that needs to increase cybersecurity to protect your business, consider Coleman Technologies for managed IT services. Contact us today to learn more.

8 Little-Known Google Pixel Phone Superpowers

Google Pixel smartphones come equipped with a variety of features that make them unique from other devices. More so, with the introduction of Android 9 Pie and its impressive new updates, Pixel has never been more powerful.

Curious to discover these and more unique Pixel phone superpowers? Perfect! We've put together this comprehensive list of the top eight little-known Pixel tips and tricks to help you understand how the phone work so that you can fully leverage all its features. Keep in mind, however, that some of these features are useful for other Android devices as well. Let's get started!

Use Your Phone Like A Computer For Best Performance
If you want to optimize your battery life, the power-saving mode is pretty neat. However, turning off wireless networking and Bluetooth doesn't help if there are services running in the background, such as Facebook or Twitter, which drain your device. As an alternative, you want to use the "Battery Saver Mode" provided by your phone. This feature limits the amount of data connectivity, storage I/O, etc.

Squeeze Your Device to Open Google Assistant
From the outlook, it seems like some type of science fiction. But guess what? You can actually trigger Google Assistant by squeezing your Pixel device! To enable this breathtaking feature, all you have to do is go to Settings > System > Gestures > Active Edge. From there, you can adjust your squeeze sensibility and even make it work when the screen is off. Scheduling meetings, setting reminders, checking the weather, sending messages, browsing the internet, etc., just got better with this wholesome superpower.

Translate Languages in a Flash
You can now translate languages faster than ever on your Pixel device, thanks to the live translate feature. Whether you're traveling abroad and you need help translating something, or you're just curious to learn what a text means in a foreign language, this feature has got you covered. Even better, it can also translate videos recorded in a foreign language at lightning speed.

To use it, simply tap the microphone icon located at the bottom right corner of your screen. Then, type in the words you want to be translated into the box that appears. When done, tap "Translate" to see the translation appear in the other language. Or you can simply say, "Hey Google, turn on the translator mode," and Google Assistant will interpret from a foreign language as it's spoken into the mic.

Take Control of the Power Button
Traditionally, the power button is known for turning off your device. But what if we told you you could achieve more with the power button on the right-hand side of your Pixel device? That's right! For starters, you can now make it a shortcut for triggering Google Assistant by going to System > Gestures > Long-pressing the power button. You may also customize it to do something like turn off Wi-Fi without having to go through the settings menu.

Capture Screenshots Faster Than Ever
Again, most of us are familiar with the traditional method of capturing screenshots by pressing the power and volume buttons simultaneously. But that's long outdated, let alone inconvenient. Google Pixel comes with a built-in screenshot tool, allowing you to take a screenshot by simply sliding your way over to your device's Overview area. That way, you can capture a neat image of whatever is on your screen by by-passing the usual screen interface elements.

Search Images Using The Intelligent Image Searcher
Google has made the process of searching for images incredibly effortless with its image intelligence technology that's built right into your Pixel device's Overview area. And using it is a no-brainer; you just need to pull up your device's Overview interface and long-press any image visible within an app's preview. Upon doing that, "Lens" will pop up as an option, and if you tap it, Google will complete any of the following actions based on the context:

• Identify a painting, landmark, plant, or animal if one is pictured, then provide additional information about that object.
• Show images related to the one on your screen, then back it up with more info and links on what's pictured.
• Read the text within the image loud to you.
• Send text within the image over to a computer you're also assigned to for effortless cross-platform sharing.
• Scan a QR code or barcode for you.

Switch Between Two Cameras Without Hassle
Switching between two cameras has never been easier with Pixel's flip camera feature. This new feature lets you flip from the rear to the selfie camera without stretching to any on-screen buttons. All you need to do is double-turn your wrist quickly when the camera app is open. But first, you have to enable the feature by going to Settings > System > Gestures > Flip Camera.

Pause Apps to Ward Off Distractions
Some apps' notifications just can't stop popping up on the screen, and it can get annoying when you want to focus on something. Thankfully, Pixel has a solution for you. You can freeze such apps by long-pressing their icons, tapping the hourglass icon on the popup, then hitting "Pause" on the prompt. That way, the app ceases to show notifications until the next day, as the icon remains grayed out. But you don't have to wait until tomorrow; you can unpause anytime.

Final Remarks: Coleman Technologies is Your No. Rated IT Services Company in Langley, BC!

Hopefully, this resource was insightful, and you learned a thing or two on how to handle and maximize your Pixel phone usage. With such new tricks as squeezing the phone to open Google Assistant, translating languages, switching between two cameras, and more, there's no denying that the Pixel phone is here to enhance your experience and unlock greater possibilities.

But one thing is for sure; when it comes to Google products and features, there's always a new thing waiting to be discovered. So you can rest assured more Pixel phone superpowers will follow as technology keeps advancing.

Please contact Coleman Technologies if you have any business technology-related questions or looking for a results-driven IT solutions company to help support your business!

Thanks to Holden Watne with GenerationIX, a LA IT services company for his help in researching information for this article.

Coleman Technologies Inc Announces Partnership with Leading MSP Business Development Group, The 20

After an extensive application process, Coleman Technologies Inc has joined The 20

Coleman Technologies Inc announces a new partnership with the leading MSP Business Development Group, The 20.

Coleman Technologies Inc has become an official member of The 20, empowering the company to deliver a broader set of solutions for its customers looking to streamline their user experience. This alliance will empower Coleman Technologies Inc to provide unparalleled IT support.

"It gives me great pleasure to announce our new partnership with The 20," said Darren Coleman, CEO of Coleman Technologies Inc. "The 20 is the industry's most renowned MSP business development group. The ability for our clients to get the best solutions available, and the world-class service and support that The 20 delivers, is incredible. Coleman Technologies Inc is proud of this new relationship, and we look forward to continuing to help our clients thrive and improve our operations with The 20’s proven model."

The 20's singular platform and infrastructure allows all MSPs to maintain their individuality while effectively supporting clients throughout North America. MSPs with a small on-site team can now provide services that were once offered only by larger MSPs without the same risks and investments.

“We are pleased to welcome Coleman Technologies Inc to The 20,” said Tim Conkle, CEO of The 20. “At The 20, we have perfected a single service delivery model with proven processes to help IT providers grow. We are excited to take Coleman Technologies Inc to the next level.”

To learn more about The 20 and membership requirements, visit https://www.the20.com.

For more information about Coleman Technologies Inc, visit https://www.colemantechnologies.com.

About Coleman Technologies Inc
Coleman Technologies (www.colemantechnologies.com) value proposition is simple. We proactively monitor and maintain your devices, servers, and network to secure revenue through business continuity.

About The 20
The 20 (www.the20.com) is an exclusive business development group for Managed Service Providers (MSP) aimed at dominating and revolutionizing the IT industry with its standardized all-in-one approach. The 20's robust RMM, PSA, and documentation platform ensures superior service for its MSPs' clients utilizing their completely North America-based Help Desk and Network Operations Center. Extending beyond tools and processes, The 20 touts a proven sales model, a community of industry leaders, and ultimate scalability.