Apple products often come with an air of invincibility, and through the years, they’ve shown resistance to threats in ways Microsoft computers aren’t privy to. This, however, does not mean that Macs aren’t invulnerable.

Viruses that affect Macs

There are four general virus types that hit Apple products, and their effects can range from merely annoying to downright destructive:

Adware

Adware are unwanted programs that bombard users with pop-up advertisements. Some malicious adware piggyback spyware onto their deployment protocols, which can record your typing habits with keyloggers and keyboard sniffers, as well as monitor your browsing behavior.

Sniffers are usually designed to detect certain words in the webpage and a person’s typing pattern; for instance, typing the string password: may induce a sniffer to trigger the keylogger, and the keylogger will proceed to copy the typed string succeeding the trigger string. A keylogger basically copies whatever you type, usually once a keyboard sniffer takes stock of the page you are browsing.

Trojan horses

Trojan horses can infect both Macs and PCs, and they are often deployed through fake software installers or unsecured updates. They’re called “Trojan horses” because they parade as legitimate software that actually contain a nasty surprise once installed. A notorious Trojan horse for Macs is the MacDownloader, which attempts to steal personal data stored in Apple Keychain.

Macro viruses

Macro viruses attack computers by running an executory code that could perform functions such as taking screengrabs, formatting hard drives, corrupting files, delivering more malware, and even accessing webcams and mics. They are triggered when a user opens an infected macros-enabled file, hence the name.

Ransomware

Ransomware has been held off for a while for Macs, but nowadays, even they can be vulnerable to it. KeRanger was one of the first big ransomware outbreaks for Macs. After remotely encrypting the computer and hibernating for three days, KeRanger would issue a .txt file containing instructions for decryption in return for one bitcoin.

Does your Mac have a virus?

Now that we know what kinds of viruses and malware your macOS could be affected with, here are some ways to tell if your Mac is infected with one:

Pop-up ads

Take note if your computer is experiencing more pop-ups than usual. An unusual amount of banner ads and pop-ups may mean that your computer is due for an update and/or a virus scan.

Slowness

Mac users fear one thing more than most: the spinning wheel of death. This little rainbow-colored spinning cursor wheel indicates that the computer is having trouble processing at usual speeds, and a common reason behind that would be simultaneous processes, likely of dubious origin, running in the background.

Browser issues

Viruses sometimes do weird things to Safari or Firefox such as change its homepage or redirect a preset landing page to a site you’ve never seen before. If your browser starts behaving oddly, crashes regularly, or is often unresponsive, you might have a virus.

Computer security is a matter of importance no matter what operating system you use. Reach out to our experts for an assessment of your network today!

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Everyone wishes we had more time to spend in a day. Between repetitive emails and seemingly endless meetings, it’s hard to find time for important tasks. Thanks to the increasing affordability of enterprise-level IT, however, SMBs can start getting at least half of those problems under control with email automation.

What is email automation?

Usually included in customer relationship management (CRM) software, email automation centers around the idea of integrating your business data into emails to customers and prospects. This allows you to draft templates with placeholders for names, addresses, and other variables that the platform will match with individuals from your email list.

What’s more, you can personalize how and when your emails go out to clients. Automatically inserting customer data into an email is great, but it still requires that you draft the content that surrounds it and hit Send. Email automation grants you the ability to create templated emails that are automatically merged with client data and sent when certain conditions are met.

Examples of email automation

To really get an idea of how valuable this solution is, it’s important to see what it looks like in action. Say you own an e-commerce site that sells complementary goods, such as golf clubs and golf balls. You could create a campaign wherein anytime someone buys a set of clubs, pre-written emails automatically go out one month later on how high-quality golf balls improve your handicap.

You’re not limited to two-step workflows either. Take a look at this example:

• Step 1: Send a personalized email with a special offer on golf balls for existing customers.
• Step 2: Send a follow-up based on how customers interacted with the offer email:
  • If a customer cashed in on the offer, send a thank you email.
    • Step 3: Follow it up with a similar offer three months later.
  • If a customer visited the promo page but didn’t convert, send a promotional email for another type of product, like golf bags.
    • Step 3: Follow it up with either a thank you email or another promo for golf clothes.
  • If a customer didn’t even open the email, send a survey email asking about their interests.
    • Step 3: Follow it up with email campaigns based on what they selected.

Email automation means there’s no need to micromanage your customer relationships. As long as you define the path to purchase for high-volume products, you can program workflows to nurture customers and prospects automatically.

For as little as a couple of hundred dollars per month, your customer outreach campaigns can compete on the same level as your corporate counterparts with little effort from your team. Throw an expert IT provider into the mix and you have the ability to blow the competition out of the water. To learn more, contact us today!

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Corporate giants like Microsoft, Google, and Apple are cultural icons because their software and hardware innovations have been, dare we say, revolutionary. In the not-too-distant future, we’ll be looking back and marveling at how healthcare once existed without some of the radical-sounding technologies that are tantalizingly close to becoming reality.

The “internet of things”

The “internet of things” (IoT) literally means that more "things" other than computers are being connected to the internet. People, cars, buildings, household objects, etc. will all be fitted with sensors and network connectivity that will allow them to send and receive data over the internet.

The implication for healthcare providers is all about data capture and analysis, as this kind of technology will allow physicians to have access to patients’ vital signs on demand: blood pressure, body temperature, glucose levels, and respiratory rate will be read, analyzed, and recorded, all while patients remain in the comfort of their home.

Machine learning and artificial intelligence

Computers are programmed to do everything from making coffee to flying planes. But with machine learning and artificial intelligence, they can also track terabytes of health information culled from electronic health records (EHRs), laboratory tests, and recommend an appropriate diagnosis.

The need for highly trained doctors in hospitals won’t go away anytime soon, but AI could enable organizations to provide speedy treatments and improve patient turnover.

A virtual healthcare reality

By simply donning a special virtual reality (VR) headset, a user can be “tricked” into thinking they’re in an environment that they’re not. And the technology is already being used to treat autism and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as well as conduct training in emergency response and patient diagnosis.

But it’s the future possibilities that defy belief: imagine a doctor in a big city being “transported” via VR to a rural clinic in the countryside to interact with patients, participate in evaluating them, and even perform their surgeries.

This sort of scenario isn’t as far-fetched as it may sound, and it may not even be that far off, either. So now might not be a bad time to evaluate how these futuristic-sounding advances — these disruptive technologies — might impact your future.

To find out more about the latest groundbreaking developments in healthcare IT, call us today.

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Android devices are often most effective when they have a stable network connection. The problem is that many mobile networks limit how much data you can use during a subscription cycle. Instead of upgrading to a more expensive plan, consider paying closer attention to how and when you use data and scaling back. It’s easier than you think.

Here are three things you can do to track and subsequently optimize the amount of data you are using on your Android device.

Tip #1: Turn off or limit your mobile data consumption

Wi-Fi is one of the easiest ways to reduce data consumption and networks are everywhere nowadays. Even malls and shopping centers often offer free Wi-Fi. Android devices can automatically switch between cellular and Wi-Fi connections, there is always the chance that you may lose connection and switch to a data network without knowing.

Consider preempting this issue by disabling mobile data entirely. You can often accomplish this by pressing your finger along the top of the screen and dragging downward to reveal important phone settings, including enabling or disabling mobile data.

Another option is to open your Android’s Settings app and search for the menu that contains your mobile data configurations. From there you can turn off data entirely or set data limitations based on your service plan’s allowance.

Tip #2: Limit background data

Even if you don’t realize it, many of your apps use data while your Android device is locked. They keep running in the background and their data usage can take significant chunks out of your monthly allowance. To limit the use of background data:

1. Open your Android’s Settings app.
2. Select the Apps menu (the name varies based on the device manufacturer; look for the menu that lists all your apps).
3. Tap on an app that you don’t want to use background data.
4. Select Restrict app background data.

The apps menu provides lots of information about how much data various apps are using, both in the foreground and background. Even if you don’t use this menu to configure background data allowances, it’s a great place to learn about data hogs.

Tip #3: Use Chrome’s data compression

All Android devices have the Google Chrome web browser installed right out of the box. Before you consider trying another browser, keep in mind that Chrome has some of the best data-saving features. For example, when data compression is enabled, the websites you visit are sent to Google’s servers to ensure they are optimized for mobile devices and unnecessary information is removed.

To turn this feature on, open the Chrome app, tap the button with three horizontal dots in the upper right corner, then select Settings, followed by Data Saver, and toggle the On switch. Google claims this can save up to 60% of data usage in the browser and that it detects malicious websites and harmful content.

There are dozens of other ways you can protect yourself and save data when using your Android device. If you’d like additional help, contact us today.

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