FlexITechs Newsletter

Tech News from FlexITechs

March 18, 2015

In This Issue

OUR 11TH YEAR!

FCC protects Open 'Net

2015 Tech Trends

BizTech -- Macs in Biz

NOW IN OUR
11TH YEAR!

FlexITechs is now in its 11th year of serving Sussex County residents and businesses!

After two years as the computer services arm of our sister company, Sussex County Online, FlexITechs was formed to better define the computer services offered by owner Eric Magill.

We thank all of our customers who have made it possible for us reach our 10th anniversary!

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Sincerely,

Eric Magill, FlexITechs

FCC Rules Protect Internet

The recent rules from the Federal Communications Commission regulating broadband Internet service guaranteed for now that consumers and small businesses will be able to access the information they desire and sell their products without incurring hefty fees that would give large corporations and the ISPs' political friends a major advantage online.

Like any document covering 400 pages, detractors will nitpick at specifics and in some cases may even have a point that merits consideration.

But the main thrust of the regulations, based on input from more than 4 million Americans, provides three important protections for smaller companies and consumers:

No Blocking -- broadband providers can not block access to legal content, applications, services or non-harmful devices, meaning an ISP can't block content just because it doesn't like the message
No Throttling -- broadband providers can not impair or degrade lawful Internet traffic due to its content, applications, services or non-harmful devices, meaning it can't slow down or delay delivery of content from services that compete with their affiliate partners
No Paid Prioritization -- broadband providers may not favor some lawful Internet traffic over other traffic, meaning ISPs can not charge fees that only larger corporations could afford for "fast lanes" or favor content provided by affiliates

Those rules ensure for now that large corporations can't crush small businesses and startups online by paying for faster delivery of their web sites to end-users and ensure that the ISPs can't throttle or even block web sites they don't like for competitive or political reasons.

Considering we have only a dozen or so major Internet Service Providers in this country of 350 million people, the consequences of just one ISP playing these games could be devastating to smaller businesses that can't afford priority fees and to our democracy by walling off or slowing access to sites that the executive suite or investors don't like.

The FCC's ruling also classified Internet service as a utility much like water, electric and phone service, yet ISPs still don't face the same regulations as other utilities, such as rate regulation. It also raised the standard for defining "broadband" Internet from a 4mbps connection to a 25mbps connection.

That last point, the standard for a broadband connection speed, raises the serious problem we face with Internet access in general in this country. Even before the new standard, 20% of Americans didn't have access to even 5mbps Internet speeds. Now, 53% of rural Americans lack access to the new 25mbps standard.

In Sussex County, the lack of choice for broadband Internet access has become a deterrent to business, and a headache for consumers.

If you're lucky, you have a choice of one cable company (Comcast or Mediacom) and Verizon. Many only have a choice of one or the other. And too many are stuck with satellite or cell phones as their only choice for high-speed Internet.

Verizon won't spend the money to bring its FIOS Internet into most of Sussex County as it moves toward wireless Internet services over cell phone towers. In fact, Verizon just sold off about 25% of its FIOS services in Texas, Florida and California.In the meantime, its degrading DSL service that we're stuck with here ambles toward obsolescence.

Comcast is ok but Mediacom is a disaster -- most recently, Mediacom's email server was held together with band-aids for a month while a "part" for its email server arrived. That Mediacom didn't have a backup email server ready to run is unconscionable. When Mediacom is down, any business using Cloud-based infrastructure or applications is down. Businesses simply can't afford the amateur operation that is Mediacom.

It's 2015 folks. It's time this country brought Internet service up to speed.

Tech Support Scams Continue

Proof of the cleverness of hackers continues to abound in new variations of some of the oldest scams on the books.

The latest one I've seen involves a popup purporting to be from Microsoft or Norton that lures unsuspecting end-users into believing their computer is infected and that the toll-free number to call is legitimately from Microsoft or Norton.

Of course, it isn't. This is just an online version of the prevalent telephone scam calls from "Microsoft tech support" or "Dell tech support".

But it's convincing enough that I've had about a dozen new customers fall for it, call the 800 number, and then allow the perpetrators to control their computers. Fortunately, only one has paid the $150 to $300 fee for the fake tech support scammers to "fix" their computers.

Just to reiterate, Microsoft, Dell, Norton and other brands don't operate this way. They do not monitor your systems (unless you've purchased that kind of service from them, which none of my customers have done). So don't call the 800 number and certainly don't allow these fake tech support people on your computer.

BizTech Talk -- Macs in Small Businesses

Piggy-backing on the popularity of iOS devices like the iPhone and iPad, Macintosh computers have begun to make in-roads into corporate networks. A survey by Parallels in 2014 found that 45 percent of businesses offer their employees the ability to use a Mac at work.

Once considered only suitable for graphics departments because so little software other than graphic design applications was designed for Macs, cloud-based computing and a sense of better security has begun to change that.

Still, they do present some headaches for network administrators or small business owners that need to be taken into consideration before bringing them into your network.

Price

Macs will increase your technology budget as the typical Mac is two to three times more expensive than comparable Windows computers.

Whereas Windows computers have long been below the $1,000 threshold, Macs continue to surpass it except for the lowest powered models.

A Dearth of Software

All of those third-party applications you run your business with might not work on a Mac.

Be sure to check the System Requirements for your software to determine if it will run on the iOS operating system before plunking all that money down.

Not as Secure as You Might Think

This would be one of the main reasons someone might want to switch to Macs, but with Macs and MacBooks eclipsing 10% in computer market share, hackers have begun to notice.

Personally, I've cleaned three Mac computers in the past 6 weeks after having cleaned none in the previous 10 years.

Like Diamonds to Thieves

The price point of Macs is typically two to three times the cost of a comparable Windows computer. This makes Macs particularly attractive to thieves.

It's imperative that any Mac be protected by a password, and if sensitive data is stored on a Mac, full-disk encryption should be considered to prevent a thief from reading the data.

iCloud

Apple pushes iCloud storage and backups hard. In fact, when you set up a new Mac, you will be asked to enter your iCloud Apple ID and password or create an iCloud account.

This could easily result in corporate data being stored in iCloud, which is no more secure than the Mac itself. It's not where you want your corporate data.

Manageability

It's not always as easy as picking up the phone book or conducting an Internet search to find a qualified technician for Mac tech support. In fact, there is only one Apple store in all of Delaware (Christiana Mall) and only two Apple Certified Professionals within reach in Berlin and Dover.

In addition, management of Macs on a corporate network can become a headache because it's more difficult to centrally update them than Windows computers. It's no fun for a network technician to have to go to every single computer to perform maintenance tasks. It's just drudgery.

As always, due diligence will determine if Macs will benefit your business or not.

We thank you for your business the past 10 years and hope we can continue to fulfill your technology needs in the future. If you have any questions about current technology issues, feel free to contact us at 537-4198.

Sincerely,

Eric Magill
FlexITechs

http://www.flexitechs.com

Microsoft Small Business Specialist

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