MTG’s IT Blog

Azure virtual machines get a free upgrade

January 30th, 2018

Virtualization is difficult to understand. The technology itself is complex, and the industry is dominated by vendors that the average business owner has never heard of. Almost everyone knows Microsoft though, and its virtualization platform just got a big speed boost that won’t cost users a thing -- if they know how to take advantage of it.

Why is Skype’s new feature so important

January 29th, 2018

With more targeted attacks on social networking services than ever, private conversations with your business partners can become public information. To prevent this, Skype has released a new feature that ensures complete privacy by encrypting all types of communication.

Understanding Office collaboration tools

January 26th, 2018

Office 365 is chock full of so many apps that it’s sometimes difficult to keep track of them all. Sure, you have the most popular tools like Word and Skype for Business, but there are three tools in the lineup that seem like they could be used the same way: Outlook Groups, Yammer, and Microsoft Teams.

Meltdown and Spectre fixes cause problems

January 24th, 2018

It’s been three weeks since one of the worst IT security vulnerabilities in history was announced, and consumers are still receiving mixed messages about how to protect themselves. We usually encourage users to install software updates as often as possible, but when it comes to Meltdown and Spectre, that advice comes with an asterisk.

Spectre & Meltdown: how to protect yourself

January 23rd, 2018

Spectre and Meltdown are critical security flaws that affect a majority of computers today, including the one you’re using to read this. They can leak your passwords and other sensitive data, which is why software companies are working on security patches.

Data safety: The non-technical way

January 22nd, 2018

Keeping up with advancements in technology as a business owner is tough, especially when those advancements relate to information security. However, it doesn’t have to be. Here are a few physical security tips you can implement to protect your data before calling us!
Cover up your webcam
There must be some credibility to doing this if Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg, former FBI director, James Comey, and NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden all believe their webcams could be compromised.

Is your browser safe from Spectre?

January 19th, 2018

The Chrome, Safari, Microsoft Edge, and Firefox browsers may not be as safe as you think. Security researchers recently discovered that computer chips manufactured in the past two decades contain major security vulnerabilities. One can be used by hackers to gain access to sensitive data.

Why UPS is necessary for network equipment

January 18th, 2018

Fire, flood, storm, and other disasters can lead to power failure and productivity loss. Using uninterruptible power supply (UPS) for computers ensures you never lose unsaved work, but without internet, you’re practically crippled. To avoid that dilemma, we highly recommend using UPSs for your networking equipment, including cable modems, wireless access points, and routers.

Virtualization vendors fix processor flaws

January 16th, 2018

Everyone has been trying to make sense of recently discovered vulnerabilities that affect almost every computer in use today. All you really need to know about the Spectre and Meltdown bugs is that they make it very easy to spy on private information stored on a computer.

How will AI impact internet telephony?

January 12th, 2018

Artificial Intelligence (AI) brings to mind robots that can perform tasks and think like human beings. While that's certainly possible in the future, AI today is simply an intuitive set of technology that automates business processes. It’s been around for decades, and now it’s poised to make significant improvements to VoIP technology.