Modern information technology is a wonderful thing – that is, as long as it’s working. When it fails to do so, the results can range from a bad case of nerves to lost revenue for frustrated business owners.
Fortunately, many computer-related maladies are fairly easy to fix. With that in mind, here are some simple Internet and router troubleshooting tips:
Modern information technology (IT) is both amazingly useful and annoyingly imperfect. Computers freeze, connections go down and viruses infect. When these problems occur, having the right IT professionals can make the difference between a minor bump in the road and a crisis that threatens your company’s ability to survive a disaster.
As you research your options and consider how to best meet your IT needs, here are six of the most common reasons Bay Area businesses choose to entrust these key responsibilities to a dedicated professional IT support firm:
Healthcare organizations
Since the enactment of HIPAA in 2003, patient privacy has continued to be a priority for the federal government. To ensure compliance, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is performing a series of on-site and desk audits. Desk audits can be particularly tough, as auditors leave little time to comply with audit information and develop appropriate policies or conduct a comprehensive risk assessment. With entry-level HIPAA violations starting at $200,000, practices need to have policies in place is before an audit occurs.
Like their IRS counterparts, HIPAA auditors are looking for a good faith effort to follow the law. They’ll ask to see a comprehensive risk management procedure that outlines how each potential risk is handled. In addition, they’ll assess your breach policy, including how patients and the media will be advised of a potential data breach.
Finally, auditors will ask for complete documentation of all training for HIPAA compliance. HIPAA training, in their eyes, is not a single event, but continuing education.
Professional IT support is a valuable investment for any business, but it is an especially important consideration for healthcare providers. Given the healthcare industry’s reliance on computer systems and the sheer amount of highly sensitive personal data healthcare practices retain, technical support is necessary for a secure and efficient office.
On average, two million Americans face medical identity theft each year, costing U.S. healthcare organizations an estimated $41 billion [1]. Healthcare practices are finding it increasingly difficult to comply with patient privacy regulations. After the enactment of the HIPAA Privacy statute in 1996, there have been several regulations regarding patient privacy: HITECH, ARRA Meaningful Use, and the Omnibus Rule.
If your business has all its mission-critical hardware located on-site—with applications installed directly on local workstations or through on-premise servers—it may be time for a change. This setup is becoming increasingly rare these days for many reasons including; heavy upfront costs, redundancy concerns, physical security issues and the overall cost of maintenance.
Released in July 2015, Windows 10 has many new features as compared to Windows 8. From the reintroduction of the Start menu to windowed Metro apps, here are the 10 top new features to watch out for in Windows 10.
The Health Information Portability and Accountability Act, otherwise known as HIPAA, may be the new the headache of every cybersecurity professional who deals with HIPAA customers.
To understand the headaches often associated with HIPAA compliance, you must first understand what HIPAA is. (more…)
When Microsoft released Windows 8, it went too far in focusing on the tablet experience, leaving desktop computer users out to dry. Now it’s time for Windows 10 to show that Microsoft has an operating system truly capable of bridging the gap between PCs and tablets.
Approximately 74 percent of companies promote some form of bring your own device (BYOD) policy, according to ZD Net, resulting in a mix of tablets and other mobile devices in the office. Now Windows 10 is going to allow users to easily switch between tablet and PC without major transitions each time.
Digital security is a vital concern for all businesses. In an era of constant security breaches, in a climate where businesses are targeted regardless of size, and unprecedented sophistication of data thieves, the most vital information can – and, according to statistics, likely will be – compromised at some point. Once a severe data breach occurs, the damage can derail organizations with crippling costs and possibly even destroy once-bright future growth.
When you start a new business, you’re often running with a lean operation during the startup phase. You and your employees wear multiple hats to handle job duties, you’re working with a limited budget and you have a lot of upfront infrastructure to put in place. One area small businesses may skimp out on is IT support and staff. If you aren’t running a technology-centric startup, you might not place a high priority on your IT department. However, today’s modern businesses rely on a variety of technology to operate efficiently. Your startup business doesn’t need full-time IT staff it can’t afford at the beginning of its journey, though. IT services can offer major benefits to a business that’s just getting started.
The technology world makes frequent mention of “the cloud”, which often makes it difficult to determine if this too is just another tech buzzword or if “the cloud” is actually a key tool to help enable your business operations to succeed.
At the most basic level, cloud-based technology consist of hardware and software resources that you access through off-site based resources, instead of through an on-premise installation.The cloud also pools its resources together for higher performance and greater redundancy, instead of assigning a single piece of hardware to your business.
KeyRaider Malware Targets Apple Devices
This week Palo Alto Networks announced their identification of the KeyRaider malware attack, “the largest known Apple account theft caused by malware,” which to date has compromised the IT security of over 225,000 Apple accounts.
How Does KeyRaider Work?
KeyRaider targets “jailbroken” iDevices, which strips Apple devices of their built-in security measures.
On July 14, 2015, Microsoft stopped providing extended support for Windows Server 2003 (WS2003). Ending this support meant no more security updates or incident support for customers who retained the older operating system.
The pervasive use of Electronic Health Records (EHR) has made sharing patient information significantly easier. While this has dramatically improved the quality of patient care, how secure is your confidential patient information?
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