Practical guides to Windows Server, Active Directory, endpoint management, and enterprise software for IT professionals.
Synology makes some of the most popular NAS devices for small businesses, and their operating system, DSM (DiskStation Manager), is a large part of why. It’s a full-featured, browser-based platform that makes complex storage tasks approachable without sacrificing capability. This is the first in a series of posts covering DSM in practical depth. At the […]
Synology DSM Walkthrough (Part 1): Getting Started Read More »
If someone can send an email that appears to come from your domain, they can impersonate your business to your customers, suppliers, and staff. SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are three DNS-based standards that prevent this. They also improve the deliverability of your legitimate email, reducing the chance that your messages end up in spam folders.
Email Security Explained: SPF, DKIM and DMARC in Plain English Read More »
Every business has one. A piece of software that’s critical to operations, hasn’t been updated in years, and absolutely will not run on anything newer than Windows 7. Maybe it controls a piece of manufacturing equipment. Maybe it’s a custom database built for a client that no longer exists. Maybe it’s an accounting package that
Windows XP Mode: Running Legacy Software on Modern Hardware Read More »
If you manage Windows computers, servers, or Microsoft 365, PowerShell is the most powerful tool you’re probably not using. It’s built into every modern Windows installation, it’s free, and it can automate tasks that would otherwise take hours of manual work. Here’s what it is and why it matters. What PowerShell Is PowerShell is a
What is PowerShell and Why Should You Care? Read More »
Passwords alone no longer provide adequate protection for business accounts. Data breaches expose hundreds of millions of credentials every year. Phishing attacks harvest them directly. Password reuse means one compromised account becomes many. Multi-factor authentication (MFA) addresses all of these problems at once, and enabling it is one of the highest-impact security actions available to
What is MFA and Why Your Business Needs It Today Read More »
VPN gets used as a catch-all term for very different things. A consumer VPN service that hides your browsing from your ISP is a very different product from the business VPN that lets your staff securely connect to your office network from home. Understanding the distinction (and knowing which type your business actually needs) helps
VPNs for Small Businesses: Site-to-Site vs Remote Access Read More »
Virtualisation platforms all do the same fundamental thing: run virtual machines. But they’re designed for quite different environments and use cases. Choosing the wrong one means either paying for capability you don’t need or working around limitations that shouldn’t apply to your situation. The Four Platforms VirtualBox Type: Type 2 hypervisor (runs as an application on
VirtualBox vs Hyper-V vs Parallels vs vSphere: Which Should You Use? Read More »
Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace were both rebranded in October 2020, but at the time of writing they’re still widely known as Office 365 and G Suite respectively. We’ll use the new names throughout this post as the transition is already underway, but if you see the old names in vendor documentation, they refer to the same products. If
Microsoft 365 vs Google Workspace: A Practical Guide Read More »
Every time you type a website address into your browser, something happens behind the scenes that most people never think about. That something is DNS, and while it’s invisible when working correctly, it has a significant impact on your network’s speed, reliability, and security. What is DNS? DNS stands for Domain Name System. It’s a
DNS: What It Is and Why It Matters for Your Business Read More »
Phishing is responsible for the majority of ransomware infections, business email compromise, and credential theft affecting small businesses. It works not because people are careless, but because modern phishing attacks are well-crafted and difficult to distinguish from legitimate communications. The good news is that recognition can be taught. Staff who know what to look for
Phishing Attacks: How to Spot Them and Train Your Staff Read More »