Many companies have experienced phishing scams in which a hacker (claiming to be a contractor) requests a change in bank accounts. They end up stealing funds and even make phony calls demonstrating knowledge about the project. Coupled with fake emails and bank account records, they are able to convince those managing the project to redirect all future payments to this false bank account. In the first half of 2019 alone, a Datto survey found that 56% of MSPs reported ransomware attacks against their clients. 15% of MSPs reported multiple ransomware attacks in a single day. Now that's a lot of attacks... And as a tech company, we have been seeing a huge growth in ransomware efforts in Northwest Ohio. In fact, the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission (The OFCC is responsible for guiding capital projects for the state.) has reported that numerous school districts, contractors, business owners and more are often contacted by these hackers who try to learn information about the project, effectively creating a more believable scam. "Some of these suspicious attempts to obtain the list of project contacts was portrayed as a small research project that would favorably highlight the benefits from the completed project." - OFCC

You are probably already aware of the fact that a well-made website is a great way for a company to show its self-off and increase its customer base. However, that well-made website is not going to do any good if no one ever sees it. A business cannot just have a good-looking site anymore, they also need to make sure that it is easy to find. One of the best ways to do that is through search engine optimization or SEO. This is the process of making a website more likely to be the appear towards the top of a search engines results page or SERP.

Have you ever been on a website and noticed a formatting issue that was just too weird to pawn-off on bad design? Or maybe something on a page that was there previously is gone/moved since the last time you visited? Well these could very well be because of your browser's cache. Having problems like this at work may lead to calling the IT staff and the first thing they will tell you to do is to try clearing your browser cache. So, what is the deal with the cache and why does refreshing it often solve browser problems?

Modern day technology is necessary in starting a business. It is important to search and investigate for ways to keep your company parallel to, or ideally in front of, the competition. This also means that you should do whatever it takes to maximize your business with top-notch employees and vendors. After realizing that having a close relationship with computers is key, the next important step is to figure out how the networks will be run and be maintained. Most CEOs and owners of may feel that they do not need to staff a full-time IT (information technology) person until the company attains 50 or more employees, but this is not usually the case. Even in smaller businesses, having the right IT personnel can be vital. Why? Because technology is changing so frequently that it is essential there are measures in place to keep the business going. Think of the threats that happen when breaches occur to essential and confidential information. Even thinking about the time and money being saved through automation of daily tasks using technology can be a reason.

Along with it being much cheaper to hire an IT firm instead of a single employee, here are a few other aspects of business to consider where IT can help: