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Rick Megni
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Published work by Rick Megni
Article
Five Tips and Tricks to Supercharge your Everyday Use of Microsoft Windows
The Microsoft Windows landscape is scheduled to change again in mid to late 2015, when Windows 10 will be released. That may excite some early adopters who love to have the latest and greatest operating system on their computer. And many industry experts are thrilled that Windows 10, which is currently in its public b...
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Article
Five Strategies to Protect Your Business from Email Compromise
In late January, the FBI and the Internet Crime Complaint Center released a public service announcement about the recent proliferation of Business Email Compromise (BEC). Defined by the FBI as a “sophisticated global scam targeting small to large businesses,” BECs affected more than 2,000 victims worldwide in 2014, wh...
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How Proactive IT Services Can Help Improve Your Business’ Security
If 2014 was “The Year of the Breach,” with a whopping 43 percent of North American firms telling the Ponemon Institute that they experienced a hack in 2014, then what lies ahead in 2015 for technology and security? Tech Crunch described our current state of awareness as “a tipping point for cybersecurity.” The FCC rec...
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Four Ways to Fend Off Cryptowall, the Latest Ransomware Virus Threat
A new virus is flexing its corrupting muscle on computers and users worldwide. CryptoWall first appeared in February, but attention surrounding the ransomware spiked this summer, when researches at Dell SecureWorks reported on it. In October, the UK Register revealed that 830,000 victims had been infected — a 25 perce...
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WHAT CAN THE CHANGING FACE OF MICROSOFT OFFICE DO FOR YOU?
We’ve written extensively in the past about detail-specific tips , tricks, apps, and add-ons for Microsoft Office programs like Word , Excel , PowerPoint, and Outlook . But the powerful Office productivity suite, which still claims 80 to 96% of worldwide user share almost 25 years after its release, has undergone some...
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Why Strong Network Security is a Must in the Wake of the Shellshock Bug
In late September, cybersecurity experts discovered the latest in a long string of software bugs that threatened millions of operating systems, including Mac computers and Android smartphones. The bug, dubbed Shellshock by researchers from Kaspersky Labs and other firms, was initially compared to the Heartbleed vulner...
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Eight Reasons Why You Should Take Disaster Preparedness Seriously
When you think of disaster preparedness, what comes to mind first? Boarding up in advance of a hurricane? Hunkering down in the face of a tornado? Cleaning up after a flash flood? Thawing out after a killer blizzard? Depending on what part of the country you live in, natural disasters can mean vastly different things....
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Article
Russian Hackers Amass One Billion Stolen Passwords — Make Sure Yours Aren’t Next
Many Americans are worried about information security and the safety of their online data. For good reason, too. Recent reports indicate a Russian crime ring has stockpiled the largest known collection of stolen credentials — 1.2 billion username and password combinations and 542 million unique email addresses. That t...
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Need Help Dealing with the Brave New World of Mobile Device Use?
With the over half the summer behind us, and the remainder of summer’s vacation season ahead, consider how much your company now relies on mobile devices. Are you and your employees checking and answering emails while out of the office ? Tracking orders or accessing critical data via the cloud ? Managing workloads wit...
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Seven Data Loss Tips to Get You on the Road to Recovery
As of June 1st, hurricane season is officially upon us. For those that live far from the East Coast, remember that you’re not out of harm’s way, either — multiple tornados have affected the Midwest so far this spring, while wildfires in California and mudslides in Colorado have also claimed homes, lives, and the blood...
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Article
Critical Lessons Learned from Last Year’s Target Data Breach
In March, the United State Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation issued an analysis of last year’s massive data breach by Target , which affected upwards of 100 million customers, cut the company’s Q4 2013 profits by 50 percent, and resulted in the ouster of both its CIO and CEO . The main finding...
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Article
What is 3D Printing — And How Can It Benefit your Business?
What comes to mind when you think of a 3D printer? A far-fetched, futuristic fantasy from “The Jetsons”? The scariest new technology around? Perhaps the most useful? 3D printers have been utilized to create everything from prosthetic limbs to computer parts to dolls to bicycles to… well, pretty much anything that can...
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Article
Significant Industry Impacts from the Death of Windows XP
With the end of support for Windows XP looming in less than 40 days, the wider world is waking up to threats posed by the outdated operating system’s demise. Advocates in the financial and health care industries in particular have started sounding the alarm about XP’s April 8th expiration date — and for good measure....
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Five Technology Lessons Learned from This Season’s Winter Weather
This winter’s brutal winter weather should serve as a reminder for business owners: even the best-laid plans can be wrecked by natural and manmade disasters. Across the South and Mid-Atlantic, thousands of car accidents, at least a dozen fatalities, and untold numbers of stranded drivers and students were blindsided b...
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Article
High-Profile Data Breaches Reaffirm Need for Small Business Security
December and January were dark days for data security. Just before Christmas, Target announced that credit and debit card info from over 40 million customers had been hacked over a three-week period of holiday shopping. On December 28th, German researchers revealed how cyber criminals had taken advantage of Windows XP...
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How to Archive Emails and Keep Outlook Running Strong
Noticed that your Outlook account has slowed to a crawl? Basic email functions like “send” and “receive” acting a little funny lately? Consider checking the size of your mailbox. You might be shocked to discover just how bloated it is. For most versions of Outlook, clicking on File > Folder > Properties > Sto...
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Article
Top Ten Reasons Why Windows 8.1 is Worth an Upgrade
On October 17, 2013, one year after overhauling its flagship operating system (OS) with Windows 8, Microsoft released Windows 8.1 . For Windows 8 users, the upgrade is free; new converts can buy it as a stand-alone product or baked into new devices. What does Microsoft hope to achieve with Windows 8.1? Greater saturat...
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Article
New Health Care Rule Goes Into Effect (Minus the Penalty)
With new HIPAA regulations officially on the books as of September 23rd , and the Affordable Care Act, or “Obamacare,” beginning its official rollout on October 1st, the health-care landscape has never looked more confusing. Two recent polls from the Pew Research Center/USA Today and the Wall Street Journal/NBC News b...
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Article
Five Crucial Microsoft Upgrades That You Should Complete Now
“Upgrade” — the mere mention of the word can strike fear in the hearts of humble computer users. But upgrading doesn’t have to be a dreaded deed, especially when the health and safety of your computers are on the line. Don’t believe us? Take a look at the recent changes announced by Microsoft. Along with the retiremen...
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Article
Increasing Office Efficiency and Productivity
As Paul Simon once sang, there are “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover.” But counting the number of ways to make your small business operate more efficiently takes much longer than an average three-minute folk hit. Therein lies the problem, though — with an infinite number of tips, tricks, and apps purporting to make office...
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Article
Is Your Business Prepared for a Disaster?
The recent string of tornados that ripped through Oklahoma should remind business owners of the repercussions that can occur with catastrophic data loss. According to The Underwriting Guide for Insurers , only six percent of medium-size companies that suffer catastrophic data loss ever fully recover. More than 43 perc...
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Article
“Bring Your Own Device” — Is it a Threat or a Bonus to Your Business?
Have you ever thought about what business data is on your employee’s personal equipment that they use for work? Have you considered the consequences of that data falling into unauthorized hands? Did you know that mobile devices have come to the attention of cyber criminals as the perfect piece of property to exploit f...
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Column
Quick Technology Tips
Rick Megni, President of CMIT Solutions of Northern Chester County, shares technology tips for business professionals.
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