Distance makes no difference

Fun fact for you today, did you know over 90% of IT issues can be resolved remotely? Yep, true story! 

 

Why are we mentioning this? Because, after speaking to some of our wonderful clients recently, we’ve had a few questions about whether location matters for your IT service provider – in the short answer, no! 

 

Now for the longer explanation… 

 

Here at AGT, we have not one but THREE North West offices (Lytham St. Annes, Preston and Manchester) so if we need to be onsite, we absolutely can be there, as and when you need us (and we always enjoy getting out to see our clients in person. The art of face to face conversation still lives on, especially post Covid-19 when we’ve all been starved of real life interactions). However, we also have a number of systems in place which enable us to be on hand for you remotely too. 

 

How soon can we get to you? 

 

Physically? Providing you’re in the North West, we always aim to be on site with you from one of our 3 locations on the same day! Distance is never an issue or a hassle and with the added perk of seeing an AGT team member in person – it’s a win win situation. 

 

Virtually? We’re always available. As we’ve mentioned before, our IT services run 365 days a year. 24/7 so if you’re having an IT meltdown, we can remotely access from wherever we are and get things solved, sorted and back on track for you as quick as a flash! 

 

What systems enable us to do this?

 

We LOVE our cloud based systems, seriously, we’d remotely marry a cloud based system if we could! This means that all of your data is safely and securely accessible without the need to physically be there in person to get it. Security is always our top priority, and we’ll never let you work on anything which isn’t encrypted and triple padlocked, with an added deadbolt just in case. Checkout some of our systems right here. 

 

If you’d like a free IT audit to assess whether your current systems are shipshape, secure and accessible then we can help with that. Simply, send us a message on here and we’ll be right back in touch to discuss this with you and set up a meeting. 

 

If you’re unsure whether cloud based IT services are the right fit for you, then let’s talk. We’ll find out what you want to achieve and how you work currently to find the best IT service for you and your company. 

 

As straightforward as that! We look forward to seeing you online or in person soon! 

 

Gone phishing…

Phishing scams, even if you’re not entirely familiar with what they are, you’ll probably know they need to be avoided at all costs. 

Unlike the jolly people who sit beside a lake casting their rods for *googles fish names*… salmon, yes salmon? Phishers are scam artists who send emails under the pretence of being a trusted brand like your bank or Amazon, or someone else you regularly use online. 

These ‘links’ encourage you to click and update your personal info such as your password or bank details, and usually because of some vital emergency, it needs to be done NOW. 

What these links ACTUALLY do is take you through to a fake page (which looks a lot like the real deal unless you’re looking closely), but instead it’s the evil villains ready to pounce and steal your details for their own personal gains – boo, hiss!!

So now’s the time to step up as your own personal superhero and ensure this doesn’t happen to you or your staff. 

 

How so? 

Ok, we’re going to mention that buzzword again – PASSWORDS! Some people use the same password across multiple sites (even though we drone on a lot about why you shouldn’t), these evil phishing guys access multiple accounts using this same password. Keep them different and ensure they’re changed regularly. 

Keep an eye out for the differences between fake emails and the real thing. Check the email address from which the email has been sent. You’ll usually be able to see the difference between a genuine email address and a phoney one if you look closely. 

For example, a genuine email from Amazon will end in @amazon.co.uk and a fake might end in @emails.amazon.passwordchange.co.uk or something like that.

Double check!

Check who the email has been sent to. Phishing scams tend to send to lots of email addresses at the same time. Or the email addresses are all hidden, including your own. Sometimes, phishing emails are full of spelling mistakes and bad grammar too. That’s a dead giveaway.

If you’re ever even slightly unsure if an email is genuine then DO NOT click the link. We always recommend going directly to the company website and logging in there directly. Any communications from them will be on there too as a backup. 

And as always, we’re on hand to double check and confirm any emails you’re worried about. Your IT providers with a superhero side hustle. Give us a bell here