Can your employees bring their own laptops, tablets, and cell phones to work and join the corporate network? If you answered yes, implementing a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policy just became an essential security move. If employees are bringing their own devices, it means they have the potential to fill portables that can easily be lost or stolen with terabytes of corporate data. Creating and implementing BYOD policies is new territory for most. If you’re wondering how to get started, follow these basic rules from Syndeo Communications, a leader in IT support in San Diego.

Get MDM

The first step to implementing a BYOD policy is finding the right software to manage devices. All policies will grow from how finely you can to control data on portables. Using something simple like Activesync may not satisfy anyone, as data can’t be managed at a per-item level and the only option when an employee leaves is to remote wipe their device. Instead, companies should go with purpose-build Mobile Device Management solutions like Good Technology or Airwatch, which allow “sandboxing” of corporate apps. Here, company applications run in a separate space where they can be secured and even deleted without affecting personal data.

Get Employees On Board

Enacting a policy that dictates how an employee uses his or her own device is a tough sell. You can go the “my way or the highway” route and lay down the law, telling employees if they don’t like it, they can’t have access—although that never goes over well. Instead, try a slow implementation with plenty of user education. Be transparent. Explain what is changing with the BYOD policy and how the MDM solution works. Most importantly, explain what data the company has access to on their device (corporate data) and what you don’t (personal data).

Get Upper Management to Buy-In

As with any new policy, having the support of the higher-ups is crucial. This is especially important with this sort of rule change, which affects employee property. Get your legal department involved as well. Aside from the aforementioned issue of controlling personal devices, there’s the liability aspect of allowing remote access to sensitive data. Company executives and legal can help build a policy that is airtight and covers the company’s interests.

When all is said and done, the BYOD policy you implement will have to reflect what you feel comfortable with as an employer, manager, and business owner. If you still have questions or want to make sure all your bases are covered, speak with an experienced IT consultant in San Diego who can ensure you’ve got the right measures in place in case of a data breach. To discuss your company’s specific business security needs, don’t hesitate to call Syndeo Communications at (760) 650-3300 and speak with an IT specialist.

The saying goes, “if you’re not paying for a product, then you are the product.” Is your personal data the currency you’re using to pay for services like Google Apps and Facebook? Google recently took a step toward allaying those fears with its new MyAccount page, which allows you to see what data Google collects, what it does with it, and how to opt out of sharing. To keep you, your personal information, your business, and your employees’ information safe, San Diego IT consulting companies suggest sharing the following information with the whole team.

Answers to Your Questions

The main page of the new MyAccount is an FAQ explaining exactly what information Google collects. This includes sites visited, videos watched, location, personal information like name and gender, and more. It also explains what Google does with this information (mostly tailor services to you and sell ads) and what it does not (sell it to others). Users are encouraged to run two “checkups” to get a better handle on their privacy configuration.

Security and Privacy Checkups

The Security Checkup and Privacy Checkup pages are where you go to review your privacy settings and manage what is shared. The Security Checkup page lets users review their contact information, devices, account permissions and Gmail settings. It’s a quick walk-through leading to the more granular Privacy Checkup section.

Privacy Checkup is where you to select what services like Hangouts, YouTube and Google Plus collect and share. It also includes handy settings for Google Ads. A good deal of information is left open by default so it’s crucial to go through this process. If seeing how much data Google gathers puts you off, MyAccount is also the place to go to delete everything and close accounts.

Checking Out

MyAccount has a link on the Account Preferences page to delete all account data and close the account. It’s essential to remember to download and save data by using Google Takeout first. It’s also important to consider that Android devices and Chromebooks will lose some features when your Google account is shut down.

MyAccount is a big move for Google, aimed at keeping users happy by affording more transparency and control over its data collection. It will be worth watching to see if other popular online services like Facebook and Instagram follow suit to keep us happy and not feeling so much like products for data mining.

Although it might take a little time to comb through the various settings, it will be well worth it to know essential information isn’t being shared. If security is still a concern for you, however, contact Syndeo Communications at (760) 650-3300. We provide email and network security services, as well as emergency IT support in San Diego, ensuring business are operating efficiently and safely at all times.

We all know that there is no way to avoid having your laptop battery performance reduce over time. However with proper care, you can extend the life of a laptop battery. There are many tips out there on how to maximize the life of a laptop battery, some are true and some are just myths. In this article, our San Diego IT support experts will list out a few tips which have been proven to be the most effective ways of keeping a laptop battery in good health.

First, charging and discharging causes a laptop battery’s performance to degrade over time and obviously we can’t avoid doing this. However, what we can do is avoid charging and discharging the battery as much as possible. For example, removing the battery from the laptop whenever you expect to have your laptop plugged in for a few weeks or more. This will help the battery to avoid from being charged for too long since the battery will get to full charge for one cycle then being charged again after being used a bit. This will make the battery run more cycles then it needs to.

How we charge a laptop battery has a great deal to do with its performance and length of life too.  For a Lithium-ion battery which most current laptops have, charging a little at a time will maximize the battery lifetime. It should be charged when there is about 40% capacity left on the battery. Avoid draining a lithium-ion battery completely then recharging it since this causes the battery to lose its ability to hold a charge. However the practice of draining then fully charging a laptop battery works very well for a nickel cadmium (NiCd) battery or a nickel metal hydride (NiMH) battery which are commonly found in older laptops.

Another factor that reduces the performance of a laptop battery is extreme temperatures. An environment that is too hot or too cold can cause a battery to lose its ability to hold a charge; thereby degrading the battery life over time. It is a good idea to try to keep your laptop on a surface where air can circulate and in an environment that is room temperature.

In summary, as a laptop battery gets older, it becomes harder for it to hold a charge. However by following some of the steps we’ve gone over in this article you can always maximize the life of your laptop battery as much as possible.

For more tips and tricks to maximize your technology, reach out to Syndeo Communications, a premier IT consulting company in San Diego. Along with advice for how to streamline and safeguard your technologies, we provide on-site and off-site support so that your needs are always taken care of. Call us today at 760-650-3300 and schedule your complimentary consultation today.

If you are managing your own businesses in San Diego, you know how important it is to save money whenever possible. While you know your monthly fees include payroll, rent and bills for internet and electricity, have you ever thought about ways to save on these costs?

Today, Syndeo Communications is going to share a few tips for how you can save money on your electricity bill. As an IT support company in San Diego, we know that a business’ computers can lead to high electricity bills each month. That’s why we’re offering the following tips that can help reduce electricity bill costs, allowing you to put the savings back into your core business.

Remove Bloatware from Your New Systems

Any time you purchase a new computer it is important to rid bloatware, a slang term that is used to describe traditional software that is installed into the PC or laptop itself even before you have had a chance to do so yourself. Generally, bloatware requires considerable disc space and RAM to install and run, and can increase the amount of energy needed to keep the computer up and running, thus increasing electrical costs.

Close Programs and Software Not in Use

Always be sure to close programs and software that is open, but not in use when on your computer. Because programs require additional memory, this leads to utilizing more energy than necessary when you are working on your computer. Of course, you’ll also want to make sure that all devices are switched off when not in use, especially overnight.

Take Care of Your Server Unit

Workstations and monitors might use a significant amount of electricity if you have a number of employees, but in comparison to the server unit, this amount is very minimal. Your server unit consumes more electricity than a normal PC, and also needs to be cooled regularly in order to work at optimal levels. As a result, it’s important that the server is cooled using best maintenance practices, or else the costs of repair could lead to huge costs for your business.

Understanding how to prevent your computers from inflating your overall electricity bill is a way to naturally reduce your carbon footprint while also saving on annual business expenses. Taking the time to ensure you are operating computers at optimal performance at all times without bogging down memory and electricity is a way to get the most out of any time spent putting your electronics to use.

For more information about making the most of your technology, reach out to the professional IT consultants in San Diego at Syndeo Communications. We offer free consultations and are happy to answer any of your questions – call 760-650-3300.

Is it really important to eject my USB drive before removing it from your computer? This is a common question our San Diego IT consultants receive from our clients who are concerned about data corruption and hardware damage. Many people will just remove their USB drives without ejecting them. Most of the time the drive will be ok, but to prevent loss of important information, it is always better to be safe and manually eject the drive before removing it.

When you connect a USB drive to your computer, you will notice that the computer will display a notification that the device has been connected. This means that the computer’s operating system has recognized the drive and is able to access files and write data to the drive. While the computer is accessing files, it is sending information to and from the drive at great speed. If the drive is suddenly removed it could cause data to get scrambled, not be saved or damage the USB drive.

This can even happen if the file was not being accessed at the time the drive was removed. Sometimes there can be background processes that you don’t know about that could cause data loss if the drive is removed without ejecting. If you try to eject a drive while one of these background processes is going on, the computer will at least warn you that the drive is still in use.

Unlike Mac and Linux computers, Windows operating systems have a safety feature built in that can prevent data corruption and loss. Write caching on Windows based systems is disabled by default on removable devices. This means that data is written as soon as the “save” command is sent and is not stored in system memory to be written later. This reduces the chance that data will be corrupted if the drive is removed without manually ejecting. This is only a safety feature however and it is still possible to corrupt a file even with write caching disabled.

To safely remove a USB drive from a Windows computer you can click on the system tray, right click “Safely remove hardware” and select the drive that you want to eject. You can also go to Start>Computer>Right click on the device you want to remove and select eject. At this point Windows will either let you know that the drive can be safely removed or that the drive is still being used by a background process.

The simple solution to prevent data loss is to get in the habit of safely ejecting USB drives before unplugging them from your computer. This may be an extra step and may take longer, but it is the best and safest way to make sure that the data that was saved on the drive is safe and will actually be usable when you go to your next business appointment.

Looking for more technology tips? Contact Syndeo Communications, a premier San Diego IT support company, and find out how you can better manage your current technology to increase efficiency and profit. We offer complimentary consultations, so don’t hesitate to call us at 760-650-3300.

Routers are crucial to business networking. They allow the typical business to utilize a network of computers and devices with one connection rather than just one computer. The problem with routers is that they can become finicky. Your business may be forced to constantly reset your router to make it work properly, and even then it may malfunction after just a few hours.

What Causes a Router to Need Resetting?

There are several situations where your business may need to reset your router. Some problems can be solved by updating the firmware, while others may require that you replace the router entirely.

The most common reason that routers might need to be reset concerns the fact that it might be overheating. This can happen because the router is in a place where air circulation is poor or the internal fan of the router has malfunctioned. It may also happen simply because the router was poorly designed, though this tends to only be the case with businesses utilizing routers designed for home use.

Another reason you may need to reset your router concerns glitches in your router’s firmware. These may present themselves as dropped packets, lost data or connections that drop after the router has been online for but a short time.  Updating your router’s firmware may solve the problems forcing it to be reset.

The last reason your router might need to be repeatedly reset concerns changes in the settings that you or someone else might be making. The wrong settings can force connections to drop, poor wireless signal strength and dropped packets.

What If Your Router Problems Persist?

Resetting your router even once a week is a sign that you should consider repairing or replacing your router. An experienced San Diego IT support company can do just that while ensuring that your router is installed properly when the repair router or replacement arrives.

By taking the time to have your router installed correctly, you’ll help to ensure that your business comes across fewer networking problems in the future. You may even prevent the same problems that forced your router to act erratically from developing again.

For more technology tips and tricks or for help managing any of your current technologies, call 760-650-3300 and speak to the expert San Diego IT consultants at Syndeo Communications. We offer free consultations, so don’t hesitate to call us anytime.

Like any other business expense, IT spend can greatly impact your return on investment and net income. While large corporations have massive budgets to use for their IT needs, as a small business owner, combing through every expense and trying to find new ways to save money is essential. Use the following tips to help you manage your IT spend more effectively, while staying ahead of the rapid technological changes that occur year after year.

How Big or Small Should My IT Budget Be?

Most small to medium sized businesses allocate approximately 4 to 10 percent of their annual operating budget to information technology needs. This includes the purchase of hardware, software, upgrades and technical support. If you own a newer business that deals with a very small yearly revenue number, the percentage you spend on information technology can be twice as much.

Corporations that have millions of dollars in yearly revenue often base their IT spend on numbers and facts from their competition because an IT structure often dictates how fast a business can grow. If a company is using computers and networking equipment and protocols that are nearly a decade old, productivity levels will be extremely low and the company won’t be able to compete with others in the same market.

Measuring productivity is a good way to determine whether or not your IT budget is big enough. If employees are unhappy with the current systems in place and you’re constantly spending money on solving technical problems, consider increasing your budget to buy new computers.

Making the Most of Your IT Spend

A number of different factors go into managing a strict budget for IT needs. By consolidating your purchases, along with outsourcing some aspects of your tech needs to a third party IT support company can potentially save you a significant amount of money every year.

• Strategic Business Alignment – Like other aspects of your business, align your IT needs with the company’s short term and long-term goals. Doing a quick study to find out where your IT resources are being allocated and how important those aspects are for your company may lead you to discover a great need for the same resources elsewhere.
• Centralizing Purchases – Use a small, selected number of suppliers to fulfill your IT needs.
• Track IT Usage – Make your IT spending more transparent by tracking the biggest factors that affect your budget. From here, you can cut down on where some IT services or products aren’t needed.

To ensure that you’re making the most of your IT spend and your current technologies, schedule a complimentary consultation with the top San Diego IT consulting company, Syndeo Communications. Our IT experts would be more than happy to take a look at your business plan, answer questions, and offer recommendations for the best ways to streamline your technology for maximum return on investment. Call us today at 760-650-3300 – we look forward to hearing form you.