An IT Support Blog from London

Read the latest IT news, tips and insights from IT Support pros at HTL Support

What Goes on In the Dark Web?

Dark Web

The World Wide Web has always been a valuable source of information and a reliable means of communication to masses of users across the globe. With more than 5 billion Google searches made every day and a projected $3.5 trillion online retail sales for 2019, you’d think that the internet as we know it is already as vast as it can be.

Unknown to most people, however, is that the surface or visible web—the part of the internet which the average user can access through search engines—comprises only about 4% of the entire web. The rest is composed of the deep web, a small part of which is the oh-so-mysterious (for the curious) but essentially shady, dark web.

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Linux vs Windows - Which OS is Better?

Which operating system is better

We all love comparisons. One of the oldest comparisons or debates in the history of IT is that which pits Windows against Linux. It’s a subplot of another debate with a much wider scope: proprietary vs open source, but just as relevant for businesses.

For as long as we can recall, Windows has been the OS of choice for most businesses, especially for their PCs and laptops. Linux usage, on the other hand, has been limited to servers and a few departments in certain organisations like research agencies, startups and universities. Does this still hold true in? Let’s talk about it.

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Reactive vs Proactive IT Support - Know the Difference

Reactive vs Proactive IT Support

When it comes to IT services, many businesses still go for the fix-it-when-it-breaks approach. And why not? They think that getting the services of an IT support company only when a problem actually arises will save them money. But does it really?

If you also think that saving your financial resources for a time when something breaks down is the right way to manage your organisation's IT ecosystem, then it's time for you to know all about reactive and proactive IT support. This should help you to determine which would work best for your business. But first, on to the definitions.

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Benefits of SaaS vs. Traditional Licences

Benefits of SaaS vs. Traditional Licences

For many businesses, the adoption of cloud-hosted services is no longer a question, cloud provisioning is an accepted fact. As a result, Software as a Service (SaaS) has grown enormously and is now adopted widely, even at enterprise level. That said, some businesses are still operating via the traditional licencing model.

The reason for the shift to the cloud and Software as a Service is simple: the benefits of the SaaS model greatly outweigh the disadvantages. We’ve written this article to remind readers that adopting SaaS was the right choice and to encourage businesses operating a traditional model to finally make the switch.

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How Will 5G Impact Your Business?

How Will 5G Impact Your Business

The long-awaited and much-hyped 5G network has finally launched in some markets and will be rolled out in more major cities by the second half of 2019. 5G is the fifth and latest evolution of wireless connectivity and is expected to have a transformative impact on consumers’ lives and businesses across most industries. The reason for such excitement is, of course, the high speed, low latency, better network reliability and massive device connectivity that 5G performance promises.

While faster speeds are always a welcome development for end-users, the business landscape is where 5G is anticipated to have the most impact. In fact, an Oracle-commissioned survey of 265 business leaders and IT executives across 11 countries reveals that many enterprises are well aware of the possible opportunities that 5G connectivity can create. More than 80% of the respondents say that it can significantly improve many aspects of business operations, and more than 82% believe that it can pave the way for launching new products and services.

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Top Tips to Combat VoIP Eavesdropping

Top Tips to Combat VoIP Eavesdropping

VoIP eavesdropping is not a new cybersecurity risk. The protocol that drives most of today’s VoIP applications, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), has been in common use since the 2000s. However, according to IBM SecurityIntelligence, attacks that exploit the SIP protocols are on the rise. Thankfully, businesses have plenty of ways to reduce the opportunities for VoIP eavesdropping. Let’s take a look.

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5 Big IT Trends to Watch Out For

5 Big IT Trends to Watch Out For in 2019

We saw advancements in technology that had never been witnessed. We’re talking about the explosion of voice technology such as Amazon Echo and the Google Assistant; low-code and no-code app development that has paved the way for fast, easy development of custom corporate apps; learning dexterity in robotics; successes in AI and natural language processing (NLP) that allow a machine to complete sentences, as well as other advances. And these breakthroughs are just the tip of the iceberg.

Technology for business and tech, in general, continues to advance, perhaps not as dramatically as before, but it will build on the groundwork already set. Here are the 5 big IT trends that could be hogging the headlines in the next few months.

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Three Steps to Avoiding Data Loss in Office

Three steps to avoiding data loss in Office 365

The concerns businesses have about handing data over to cloud providers have, to a large extent, been assuaged. The ongoing growth of Microsoft’s Office 365 and the general trend towards cloud computing are evidence of this. Yet, as much as cloud providers are now seen as secure, businesses still need to take steps to prevent the loss of data stored in the cloud.

In an interesting finding, Gartner suggests that through 2022, 95% of cloud security failures will be the fault of customers, not cloud service providers. As much as Office 365 is easy to adopt administrators carry a strong responsibility to maintain security. Here are three steps that can help your business secure its Office 365 data.

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8 Steps to Help Remote Workers Collaborate Better

8 Steps to Help Remote Workers Collaborate  Better

Working remotely is an increasing trend, with many enterprises tapping into the cost-saving benefits of remote working while employees enjoy the freedom that remote working brings. That said, remote working is still evolving, and in most companies, there is room for improvement.

According to an HR News survey, 53% of UK employees do not think that their employers are doing enough to accommodate the needs of remote workers. The solution lies partly in the managerial approach, and in part in the deployment of technology. In this article, we will cover eight tech-led approaches that can boost the collaborative experience for remote workers.

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2746 Hits

10 Questions to Ask When Choosing an IT Support Company

10 Questions To Ask When Choosing An IT Support Company

Choosing an IT support company is not a decision that should be taken lightly. Bear in mind that, due to the deep dependence of modern businesses on their IT infrastructures, the choice of IT support company can make a substantial impact on business processes. In this post, we outline 10 important questions you need to ask when choosing from a list of candidates.

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