Stay Informed

CPI Networks IT Connect

Regular posts from CPI Networks with all the latest insights and information in the IT world.

When IT Stops Being an Internal Problem

The pause that says everything You know the one: Someone across the table – a client, an insurer, an investor – asks you something like "who has access to your systems?" or "what happens to your data if something goes wrong?" and for just a moment, you go quiet. It is...

Your Competitor Just Got Hacked. What Makes You Different?

Last Tuesday, the dental practice two blocks over had to turn patients away, but not because of staffing issues or a broken chair. Their entire computer system was locked by ransomware. Patient records, schedules, and billing – everything – was gone. They're on week...

Your Computer Updated Itself, and Now Nothing Works

You arrive at the office with your coffee, ready to tackle the day. You sit down at your desk, wiggle your mouse, and . . . nothing. Your computer won't connect to the printer, your accounting software throws an error you've never seen before, and half your team is...

Are Your Passwords Compromised?

Are Your Passwords Compromised? News of a big brand suffering a data breach is all too common today. But if you don't get an email from such a company, you could mistakenly be thinking it doesn't affect you. The thing is, large breaches are happening all the time....

read more

Ring in the New Year with New IT

Ring in the New Year with New IT For many of us, 2021 can't come soon enough, and we're hoping next year will be a better one. One way to get the best start in the new year? Take the time now to review business technology. There are several areas that you might...

read more

Why MSP Support Beats a Break-Fix Approach

Why MSP Support Beats a Break-Fix Approach Computers break at challenging times. Always. And there's no worse time than the holiday season. Your employees want to spend time with family and friends, relaxing and reminiscing. They do not want to wait around for a fix...

read more

That’s So 2010: Why Upgrade Your Office Software

That's So 2010: Why Upgrade Your Office Software Are you still using Office 2010? It may have served you well over the past decade, but this software reached its end of life in 2020. It's time to upgrade. Here's why and what to consider. Software has a typical life...

read more

Facing the Five Top Cloud Computing Fears

Facing the Five Top Cloud Computing Fears The public cloud service market is growing. Software, infrastructure, desktop, and other service numbers are all on the rise. Yet some businesses are still holding back from migrating to the cloud. This article addresses...

read more

Disk Encryption Protects Your Personal Computers

Disk Encryption Protects Your Personal Computers Always wanted to feel like a secret agent? Well, here's your chance! Did you know you can encrypt your hard drive to protect the data on your computer? This is a good way to secure your information, whether at home or...

read more

Keep Your Firmware Safe and Secure

Keep Your Firmware Safe and Secure Most of us can differentiate between hardware and software. But how many know what firmware refers to? More importantly, is your business securing its firmware against security vulnerabilities? Your business knows it needs to keep...

read more

Get Your IT Ready for Holiday Shopping

Get Your IT Ready for Holiday Shopping Holiday shopping will have a new look this year. Many retailers are closing their brick-and-mortar doors for Black Friday, and the big "doorbuster" sales are moving online. With the busiest shopping period of the year going...

read more

Cloud Storage or Local Server – The Best of Both

Cloud Storage or Local Server - The Best of Both Cloud computing is the biggest buzzword in business today, and for good reason too. The cloud provides many a new-found freedom to do and achieve more than ever before. Greater collaboration, unlocking work...

read more

When And Why You Should Use Remote Support

When and Why You Should Use Remote Support If you’ve ever had a sudden computer problem, you know it can be very stressful. So much of our day-to-day life requires having access to a working computer. Homework, budgeting, bills, even browsing dinner recipes all have a...

read more

Got A Bad Case Of Password Exhaustion?

Got a Bad Case of Password Exhaustion? You’re not alone! Most people use the same password everywhere – home, work, Gmail, Facebook… even for banking. Considering how many passwords we’re expected to remember and use on a daily basis, password exhaustion is a very...

read more

What Is SharePoint, and Why Use it?

What Is SharePoint, and Why Use it? Mobile, remote workforces still need tools to share and collaborate with one another. Business teams want to work together and get the job done efficiently. Microsoft SharePoint helps make that happen. SharePoint is used in science...

read more

Why You Need Both Software and Hardware Firewalls

Why You Need Both Software and Hardware Firewalls A firewall sounds like a pretty intense thing - unless you're an action-movie stuntman. Yet when it comes to internet security, you may not have as much firewall protection as you need. Many internet security products...

read more

Getting the Most out of Microsoft 365 – Book it!

Getting the Most out of Microsoft 365 - Book it! Accountants, dog groomers, and physiotherapists didn't get into business to manage bookings. You want to be working on the thing you enjoy doing, not fussing with phone calls and emails, trying to schedule times for...

read more

What Are Cookies?

What Are Cookies? Fresh-baked cookies are yummy, but you may not have the same positive associations with cookies on your computer. Here's what you need to know about cookies and what they mean for your internet browsing. Cookies have been around for a long time, but...

read more

6 Reasons to Replace Your ISP Email

6 Reasons to Replace Your ISP (Bell, Rogers, Cogeco) Email When you sign up for an internet service, the provider will hook you up with an email address, too. Your internet service provider (ISP) wants to keep you connected to them. But this convenient email address...

read more

What to Do about Slow Internet in the Home Office

What to Do about Slow Internet in the Home Office A few months ago we thought working from home would be temporary: a couple of weeks of remote work was going to help corral this coronavirus thing, and we'd get back to usual. Now we know better, and the things we...

read more

4 Advantages of Consolidating Your Tech

4 Advantages of Consolidating Your Tech Technology is the lifeblood of business today, and you likely have a lot of it. But you may have accumulated software and hardware as you grew. Now, you have a hodgepodge of technologies never designed to work together....

read more

Invest Now in Your Top Tech Priorities

Invest Now in Your Top Tech Priorities The global economy is in a slump. But believe it or not, now could be a good time to invest in technology priorities. You may already have streamlined processes. You had certain technology tools and systems in place to get things...

read more

Recovery Test Your Data Backups

Recovery Test Your Data Backups Most businesses are aware of the need for data backup. Without it they risk losing important files in the event of a hard drive failure or cyberattack. Yet having a backup in place isn't enough: it's important also to test that backup....

read more

Keep Your Business Continuity Plans Current

Keep Your Business Continuity Plans Current Is there one thing we can count on now with COVID-19? The situation can change in an instant. You may have been confident in your business continuity plans in the past, but the pandemic has shaken us all up. It's a solid...

read more

Pros and Cons of All-In-One Computers

Pros and Cons of All-In-One Computers Today, business is all about streamlining and finding efficiencies. And that even extends to embracing all-in-one computers. Users get a desktop computer that integrates monitor, processing, and ports in one. Still, there are pros...

read more

Backup Your Apple Computer

Backup Your Apple Computer There are many moments in life when we would like to travel through time. One common instance is when an important document disappears from our computer screen. Making things worse, we forgot to save it! That's hours of work lost....

read more

Sign Up for Our Newsletter

We keep your data private and share your data only with third parties that make this service possible. Read our Privacy Policy.

Supporting & protecting your business in the IT world.

CPI Networks provides managed and on demand IT support services, maintaining your business' servers, desktops, laptops, networks, camera systems, offsite cloud backups & VOIP systems.