Frequently asked Questions
Good question! Take a look at our FAQs blog piece(s) on the subject!
This is a common misconception and why we have added it to our FAQs. Storing your files in the Cloud with a cloud storage provider such as Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive etc is NOT a cloud backup. It’s simply storage and is not backed up (unless you have made additional arrangements). Moreover, it isn’t an ‘image’ – namely a full replication of your server and network.
Long story short, it isn’t a backup solution, please contact us to ensure you have an appropriate backup solution in place for your systems.
Another good one for our FAQs. Off-the-shelf communications devices (eg home wifi routers) often come with a default password setting. Some are as simple as “0000” or “Password,” and easy to guess. Since most hardware manufacturers post their user guides online, these passwords are easily accessible to hackers.
Yes and no! It depends on what you use it for. The main point to keep in mind is that when you access a Public wifi network you are on just that – a public network. That means that anyone else on the same network could potentially monitor or access your device. For that reason, we recommend against using them.
Instead, you can use your 4G on your phone – It’s secure and encrypted.
Read on for more FAQs!
Small businesses are a cybercrime sweet spot—in fact, they’re the target of 58% of cyber attacks by cybercriminals. And a serious security breach can be fatal: Cybercrime costs small businesses 4.2 times more per employee than it does larger businesses, and 60% of small companies that experience a cyber-attack close their doors for good. Read the complete article from Hewlett Packard here, and please talk to us about the inexpensive measures we can deploy to help protect your business.
Read on for more FAQs!
Yes they do – in fact they matter whether or not you are working from home.
Most home modem/routers are provided free of charge by your internet provider. This means they are usually very basic.
Furthermore, the administrative credentials for accessing them are typically not very secure – Admin/Admin is quite typical of a username and password. (NB these are not to be confused with the password that your provider provides for WIFI access). There is a huge amount of information available online about router/modem models and how to ‘hack’ them.
For this reason you should ensure your router/modem administrative credentials are made secure. If you are working from home regularly it is worth considering upgrading to a professional grade router for additional security.
Read on for more FAQs!
Do you have Standard Operating Procedures in place for your IT support?
- Ensure best practice could be shared across our Group companies
- First-class IT management requires the same expertise, training and knowledge no matter where you operate
- They allow technicians on either side of the Atlantic to be able to provide support to customers no matter where they (the customers) are located
- They allow us to have a proactive-support model that minimises client IT issues
Read on for more FAQs!
If you would like to check whether your email address (or addresses) have been released in a data breach, you can do so online with the free website ‘Have I been pwned’. It’s free to use and will quickly let you know. Here’s the link: https://haveibeenpwned.com/.
Read on for more FAQs!
Do you work from home occasionally? Are you frustrated with access to your systems? Perhaps you need some guidance on latest practice on how to do this? We recommend a VPN (Virtual Private Network). A VPN is secure and provides the best approach for home working. Please contact us for more information on VPNs.
Read on for more FAQs!
How can I prevent all this spam email?
Apart from being annoying, unwanted email (‘spam’) presents a real and present security risk to both you as an individual, and your company.
Hackers send millions of emails every day with links that can cause all kinds of problems. Invariably they’re trying to get information out of you to allow them to gain access to your systems, accounts, banks etc. It’s still the most successful means that hackers have for gaining unauthorised access to your email and other systems.
Reducing the amount of these emails that get through to your inbox is the first line of defence. Less spam emails, less chance of clicking a bad-link. Plus you only have to deal with ‘real’ emails.
Anti-spam software is inexpensive and achieves these dual benefits of improving your cybersecurity and reducing the amount of spam in your inbox. It’s important to choose a good, professional anti-spam solution. We can help you with that, just let us know what you’re looking for.
Read on for more FAQs!
You can raise a support TickIt 24/7 online at https://support.freshmango.co.uk/ticket. To contact Fresh Mango Technologies UK, you’re always free to call us or send an email if you’re interested. If we happen to miss you, we’ll do our best to get back in contact as soon as possible!
- Always check the website address – is it the real/correct address? Cybercriminals will direct you to a look-a-like website, and often only a couple of characters are different in the address
- Is the website secure? Look for the padlock icon in the top left of the browser window
- Use Incognito mode in your browser
- Servers are more powerful than NAS, as they offer more functionality
- Application servers allow you to install third-party software.
- With a NAS, you are limited to applications you can download on the NAS operating system. For example, to make a Synology NAS into a mail server, you’ll need to download the Synology Mail Server app.
- Speed and reliability of your internet connection. Bandwidth too – if a lot of people are accessing the Cloud server simultaneously, productivity will be dramatically impacted
- Organisations – How will your files and folders be organised, who will have access etc
- Cyber Security – In the event of a cyber attack, a physical server on your premises can be unplugged from the internet. A Cloud server cannot
- Cost – A physical server has a one-off cost and needs to be replaced every few years; what are your comparable cloud server costs over the same period?
- For servers it depends on your requirements, we find that Dell and HP have excellent solutions that meet the majority of business needs.
- For computers, we recommend as a minimum 8GB memory, 2TB hard drive and i5 processor
- Routers: Appropriate model from Fortinet
- Displays: Dual monitor minimum
- NAS: Synology box appropriately sized and configured
- Uninterruptible Power Supplies: Eaton, no question
What is patching? Patching is another word for updating your operating systems on your server, PCs, Laptops and Macs. It even applies to your smartphone and tablets.
Microsoft and Apple regularly issue updates to their operating systems. These updates typically resolve bugs (errors in the system) and increasingly plug cybersecurity holes. Implementing these updates is called ‘Patching’.
Sometimes the updates include new or improved functionality in the operating system. These are generally referred to as upgrades, but they typically include bug and security fixes too.
Read on for more IT and computer frequently asked questions!
What is SEO and why should I do it? SEO stands for ‘Search Engine Optimisation’. Very simply it applies to numerous techniques which can be applied to your website, web-pages and blog pieces to maximise the chances of high rankings in search engines such as Google, Bing and Yahoo. It is sometimes referred to as ‘Organic search’ to distinguish it from Paid online advertising.
Contact Fresh Mango Technologies UK to find out more and how we can help!
Read on for more IT and computer frequently asked questions!- We recommend a belt and brace approach. A local backup and a cloud backup. This applies to single-PC/laptop users and companies with servers and networks alike. Local backups protect you from internet accessibility failures (they do happen!) and cloud backup protects you from local failures, and is also an invaluable defence against Ransomware.
- Cloud storage is NOT Cloud backup. A professional cloud backup system has end-to-end encryption and provides for a complete system restore. Files in Cloud storage are fully susceptible to ransomware. Find out more here: https://neovault.net/
- Anyone who has access to company systems – whether an employee or not, whether local or remote – should be subject to the same IT and security policies as locally-based employees. If you don’t have any IT policies in place, strongly recommend that you do so, they are a key to keeping the data secure and GDPR compliant.
- Anti-virus and anti-spam software should be professional, ie paid, versions
- Mobile devices carrying personal data – client, employee, supplier etc – are a GDPR risk and need to fall under the company IT policy umbrella. Such data need to be stored and processed securely, with respect to individual this data relates to.
- Encrypt the hard drives on your laptops
What kind of PC do I need for home? Well, there’s a huge variety of computers and specifications, and really the question comes down to your budget and what you plan to use it for.
If you need a simple PC for surfing the net, email, maybe use of Microsoft office documents, then a PC with 4GB RAM, 256GB hard drive will probably suffice.
At the opposite extreme, if you are big into gaming, you need a high-spec machine to ensure game speed and graphics aren’t compromised.
Other considerations include:
- Will your home PC be located in one place in the house, or would you like to move it around easily?
- How many monitors will you need? A lot of people have at least two these days, for easier multi-tasking
- Who will be using it – eg just you or the whole family?
- Will you be streaming media (eg Netflix) on it?
- Aesthetics – do you prefer something with modern/sleek design to fit with your home?
- Email: Microsoft Office 365 – a huge improvement on server-based email
- Anti-Virus: Vipre – world-leading protection for your systems
- Anti-Spam: MailAssure – prevents unwanted email and improved cybersecurity
- Monitoring: Borderpoint – continuous protective monitoring for your systems
- Local backup – a backup of your data to another disc. This can be a simple external hard-drive or even a separate server which replicates your data.
- Cloud Backup – recommended for security and also disaster recovery, a backup to the cloud ensures your data can always be recovered.
Users
USB
Hackers
EmailsMost people connect to the internet at home using wifi. This is fine of course, but if you have a VPN link to your server, you may find it regularly drops out. This is because your wifi connection often drops, albeit just for an instant. In the normal use of email and internet browsing this would usually not be noticeable. In the case of VPN access, the slightest drop in internet connectivity will cause the VPN to drop.
Therefore, if possible, it is worth connecting your home laptop/pc directly to your home modem/router with a network cable. This is exactly the same kind of cable you have for connection of your PC to your office network. A ‘hard-wired’ connection like this will improve your VPN connection significantly. Not only will you connection be more stable but it will also be significantly faster, improving overall experience.
Read on for more IT and computer frequently asked questions!You may consider that the likelihood is low, so therefore it’s a risk worth taking. Is it though? Is the likelihood of a data corruption or computer failure low? Frankly, no it is not.
The likelihood of a computer or server failing is 100%. It is man-made equipment. One day it will fail.
Unfortunately, telephone scams continue to increase, and the scammers have become very convincing. The key elements of a scam are to try and instill some panic or fear into the victim, to get them to take an immediate action. Typically this will be something relating to your bank account or an urgent update for your computer systems.
Remember, it’s very rare for something to require immediate action, so don’t fall for the ’emergency’. If you do give someone information or computer access over the phone, contact us immediately so we can run a security scan.
The best defence is this – no-one apart from you and Fresh Mango (as your IT provider) should have access to your computer. Simple!
From 1 April 2021 until 31 March 2023, companies investing in qualifying new plant and machinery assets will be able to claim:
- a 130% super-deduction capital allowance on qualifying plant and machinery investments
- a 50% first-year allowance for qualifying special rate assets
The super-deduction will allow companies to cut their tax bill by up to 25p for every £1 they invest, ensuring the UK capital allowances regime is amongst the world’s most competitive.
“Why can’t I have Admin credentials on my PC?” We’re often asked this question and the answer is the Principle of least access. Find out more in our blog piece on the subject.
Did you forget your Microsoft 365 password?
In these days of multiple logins, it’s all too easy to forget your password!
Here’s how to reset your Microsoft 365 password if you forget it.
