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7 Common Myths About Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) You Shouldn’t Believe

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1. IT DOESN’T AFFECT SEO When analyzing the keywords and positions for which websites should rank, search engines place the greatest emphasis on content when calculating how websites should rank. However, HTTPS can still affect search engine optimization (SEO). If your website is powered by HTTPS, Google will favour it over your competitors’ HTTP websites. Google announced in 2014 that HTTPS websites would receive a slight boost in authority since they offer a safer and more secure experience for visitors. While Bing doesn’t use it as a ranking factor, HTTPS may...

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10 Tips for Developing a Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP)

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1. IDENTIFY THE RISKS Begin developing your disaster recovery plan by identifying the potential risks to your IT infrastructure. Possible dangers may include events like hardware failure, power loss, cybercrime, fire, or flood. In some cases, the type of risk will dictate the appropriate DRP action. If you identify hurricanes as a risk, for example, your DRP would need to include a provision for moving your operation to an alternative, unaffected site. 2. DOCUMENT ALL YOUR IT RESOURCES You will need to make a full inventory of all your IT resources. This inventory should include...

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5 Ways an IT Provider can Save Your Business Money

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1. CLOUD TECHNOLOGY Technology is always changing, and purchasing the latest computer equipment can quickly devour your budget. However, a managed service provider will enable your business to use cloud technology, which gives your business access to the best tech available without any additional costs. Cloud technology also makes it more natural for employees to work together, whether they’re inside an office or in two completely different locations. An effective IT provider will also upload all of your information onto the cloud for the maximum protection against data loss. ...

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The Psychology of Data Theft: Tricks Social Engineers Use and How to Fight Back

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SCARCITY Whether it is gold coins, gourmet foods that are hard to come by or the latest internet fad, scarcity drives demand and prices up. You may recall the fistfights over Cabbage Patch dolls back in the 1980s or the more recent physical tussles over chicken sandwiches when the principle of scarcity was on full display. Social engineers understand the value of scarcity, and they use that psychological weakness to entice their victims. They may pretend to have something everyone wants, and they count on human greed and fear-of-missing-out to do the rest. You can fight back against...

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Two-Factor Authentication: What You Need to Know

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WHAT IS AUTHENTICATION? In cybersecurity, authentication is the process of proving that someone is who they say they are. This is to give that person permission to carry out specific actions. If you’re an average consumer, authentication is you proving to your online bank app that it’s actually you, so you can manage your finances online. In the past, this was accomplished with a simple username and password combination. As hackers have gotten more sophisticated and computing power has improved, it has gotten easier for criminals to guess a simple password. For instance, the...

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10 Easy Ways to Improve Your Zoom Experience

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ENTER QUIETLY If you’d like to get on a Zoom call in progress without being disruptive, Zoom allows you to make your entrance silently. It’s a feature that can be useful when you need to enter a meeting that you’re late to. You can quietly make your way in without anyone noticing. To enter a Zoom call silently, click on the Settings gear icon in the Zoom app, click on the Audio tab, and check the box for ‘Mute my microphone when joining a meeting’. You can unmute the microphone using the button at the bottom of the screen when you need to speak during...

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The Customer Communication Connection

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CARING ENOUGH TO KNOW If you didn’t know your child’s favourite sport or remember your mother’s birthday, what would that say about your commitment to the relationship? Really, not as much as you might think. You might be preoccupied or mistaken. But you know that, to your child or your mother, it might seem like you aren’t paying attention. As business people, we have very good intentions to bolster the evidence that shows our customers that we are paying attention. If we care enough to remember details about their business, their purchase history, past...

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10 Ways the Internet of Things Will Transform Your Life

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1. THE INTERNET WILL BECOME EVEN MORE INTERCONNECTED Currently, most devices, apps, and websites work independently of each other. However, as the IoT grows, the digital world will become more of an extensive ecosystem. This Internet ecosystem will be built on smart devices that are connected to central hubs to make sharing data across platforms faster and more straightforward. 2. SMART APPLIANCES WILL DO MUNDANE CHORES FOR YOU In the future, your smart appliances will be capable of doing many of the mundane chores that are currently your responsibility. For example, smart...

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Native App or Hybrid App: What Should You Build?

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NATIVE VS. HYBRID APPS Native apps are those apps that are developed specifically for a chosen platform. An app developed for Android phones will not work on an iOS system, and vice versa. Native apps provide users with a platform-tailored UX experience and high performance. They can also include advanced functionalities by making use of the proprietary features of the platform. To build native apps, software developers need to be knowledgeable in the programming language specific to that operating system. For Android systems, it’s Kotlin or Java. For iOS, it’s...

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5 Social Media Tips to Prevent Pandemic Info Overload

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1. STICK TO VERIFIED AND RELIABLE SOURCES It’s easy to get overwhelmed with information, from facts to opinions to everything in between, when your eyes are glued to social media all day. This information overload can get worse if your friends on Facebook and Twitter are posting and then sharing each other’s posts. Streamline the information you consume by sticking to verified and reliable sources. Start with sites like CDC.gov, the WHO website, official national websites (think Canada.ca) and their Facebook or Twitter pages, and the social media output of...

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