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    Frequently Asked Questions

    1. Integration Issues
      1. When new technologies are released, however. It’s not uncommon for the new technologies to not play nice with older systems or applications. This can result in any number of issues to include double-entry of data. Information across multiple locations or systems for your information. With proper planning, this can be minimized or at least mitigated.
      2. Working with an experienced IT partner like Advanced Elaf can ensure you get the best solutions in your business’s IT with minimizing integration issues.
    2. Too Much Paper
      1. Take a minute to look around your office. What do you see? If you like many offices you see a lot of paper. And all that paper can be slowing you down.
      2. Systems can be put in place to ensure printing and the use of paper is minimized. By using paperless systems, you are allowing users to find data quicker. Act and interact with this data in a more centrally located environment while reducing printing costs.
      3. “We recommend evaluating business processes and determining how to make your process more efficient.” – Advanced ELAF
    3. Cloud Confusion
      1. Simply put the term “The Cloud” is simply another way to meet the IT needs of your business without having to invest in much of the underlying infrastructure yourself. You’re paying a subscription to the use servers somewhere else in another companies server farm.
      2. Since cloud services vary in cost, availability, and complexity. We recommend using these services judiciously along with internally owned technology. This approach most often makes the most sense and saves some dollars and cents too.
      3. “We recommend working with an IT partner to help ensure that your needs are assessed before any cloud solution is purchased to ensure that its the best solution for your business needs.” – Advanced ELAF
    4. Backup and Disaster Recovery
      1. Most of us have deleted a file accidentally or on purpose. Maybe you’ve had a power failure, or a computer crash and lose important data. Then you understand the importance of having reliable data back. And a Disaster Recovery Plan to restore data in the unfortunate event of such a tragedy takes place.
      2. Remember eliminating or minimizing downtime can save you lots of money in the long term.
      3. Your IT dept should have a schedule and a plan to back up data and a process to restore data should an issue arise. If you are not sure how to do this work with an experienced IT solution provider such as Advanced Elaf to get the best solutions for your business.
    5. What was the Root Cause of the Issue?
      1. Understanding the cause of an issue is important. Keep an open line of communication when reporting issues, and supply as many details as possible.
      2. It’s important to build up evidence and understanding of what caused an issue in IT. So as issues arise, be sure to thoroughly document the issue you are having so that you can report it to your IT Dept. Then they can effectively discover the root cause of the issue. So, you can better understand how to repair, remove or work around the root cause of the issue itself.
      3. Work with your IT staff or a trusted partner like Advanced ELAF to get to the root of the problem.
    6. Security Risks in Business
      1. Cyber-criminals and hackers are becoming much more sophisticated and all too often small business is the target of their attacks.
      2. Your computers store all sorts of information about your business. Can you imagine if all of your trade secrets such as recipes? Or software, private emails, HR data, or customer information were to be stolen, locked, or deleted? Would your company survive? Let me answer that for you. No, in fact, INC.com did an article on just this topic and the reality is the 60% of small businesses actually go out of business within 6 months of a cyber-attack.
      3. 60 Percent of Small Businesses Fold Within 6 Months of a Cyber Attack
      4. Remember there are cost-effective solutions that can be used to ensure that your companies data remains secure and these types of issues don’t become a business-ending problem.
      5. Don’t let your business become a victim of cyber attack….
      6. Remember there are cost-effective solutions that can be used to ensure that your companies data remains secure and these types of issues don’t become a business-ending problem.
    7. Legal Compliance
      1. Some businesses may not recognize that if your business uses computers you are obligated to operate under certain guidelines, rules, or laws that govern how that data is used, stored, shared.
      2. All too often these businesses overlook the legal implications associated with not complying with these laws designed to safeguard information for you, your business, and your customers.
      3. Do audits of your network to ensure that you know if any issue exists, and what you need to do to correctly and legally protect your business from unseen issues.
      4. Run audits of your network, use partners like Advanced Elaf to give you an annual assessment of your IT network’s overall health, and identify issues.
    8. Lack of IT Planning
      1. Business leaders and IT depts can become disconnected. But by planning for the goals and direction of the company. The leadership of any business can ensure that an IT dept can put the proper technologies in place to make the vision happen. This strategy with help eliminates your technology from being the source of problems.
      2. The infrastructure of technology within your business is something that should be planned. And implemented in a way to ensure profitability, ease of use inoperability with existing technology. Not to mention the user community.
      3. Working with IT Manages Service Providers like Advanced Elaf, they can help develop a road-map for better IT Planning.
    9. Don’t Wait for it to Break
      1. IT systems are much like your car they need regular maintenance to ensure they are operating properly, securely, and efficiently. With the right IT processes in place problems can be planned for, even predicted before they become a disaster.
      2. Remember knowing you have an issue is going to cost you less in time, money, and frustration by acknowledging an issue exists and dealing with the problem before a catastrophe occurs.
      3. As part of the IT Planning, Managed Service providers like Advanced Elaf can evaluate and provide recommendations for maintenance windows.
    10. Employee Frustration
      1. Using technology for many employees may be a large part of their day. Using systems that are outdated, slow, or have a wide array of problems. Can make the workday long, difficult and frustrating to the best employees that you have. Not to mention the loss of productivity of these employees can take its toll on your employees. Causing turnover and loss of revenue due to the lost productivity.
      2. The above Ten IT Supports problems are often thought of as “The Norm” of working with computers and technology because many businesses don’t know that better IT is possible, affordable, and easy.
    • If your business is struggling with any of these or other IT issues? Make sure you’re getting the most out of your technology investment. Give Advanced Elaf a call at +966 11 4007960 or write to [email protected]
    1. First let’s start by saying if you’re a business owner who is interested in building your business or developing your companies image, then you need a website. Why would you not want to control how your business is presented to your customer base? So we would say to every business owner, Yes you should have a website.
    2. Many consumers won’t even consider doing business with a company that doesn’t have a website. On average in 2018 5.9 hours are being spent online each day.
    3. The ease of setting up a business website or web store is less difficult than ever before. You don’t need to know how to code a website.
    4. The costs are much lower than at any time in the past for having a website.
    5. Your website can be available when your not, like late nights, or holidays. Talking about the goods and services you offer to customers looking for you.
    6. Publicity, you can talk about issues important to you and your industry. Showing the public that you are an expert in your field, and have the solutions to their problems.
    7. Clients expect to be able to find you online. As technology becomes more intertwined into our daily lives through mobile phones and other technologies customers expect to be able to search for goods and services immediately. If you’re not on the first page or two of the search results. You can guarantee that your competitors are and they are getting most of your business.
    8. Provide evidence of your expertise. Your website is the perfect place to showcase what customers think of your products and services. So put testimonials on your website, they lend credibility for your business.
    9. You control your story. You can actively decide to control the story or perception of how the public thinks about your business. Through information like posts, videos, articles you are free to put your business’s best foot forward and tell them about all your business successes.
    10. Most all purchases start with research, and you want to have your company in front of customers. When they are looking for your goods or services when they start looking.
    11. No one uses phone books anymore. The internet is the new phone book and if you would have placed an ad in the phone book, then why wouldn’t you put a website up to tell customers how to get a hold of you and all the things you have to offer.
    12. Larger potential customer base. With the power of the internet, you can now sell products to customers that would otherwise not be able to deal with you due to their distance from you.  Now, every store is at your fingertips.
    1. In short, they are all computer exploits that can be used by criminals to steal information, money, or cause malicious problems. But let’s start by explaining what each one actually is and then describe how they work.
    2. Basically, malware is software that was designed with the intent of operating a computer system without the consent of the user. There many different kinds of malicious software or “Malware” like spyware, or ransomware. Each performs different function spyware does what it sounds like by spying on the user’s actions on a compromised computer. Where ransomware takes your computers hostage and locks your data demanding a ransom to regain access to the data and the computers. In addition to criminals, foreign governments have been known to use some kind of malware attacks to gain control over systems. There have been quite a few attacks that have made the headlines of the mainstream media in the past few years. Many of which we caused by malware compromising a computer system giving criminals the access they need to cause all sorts of problems.
    1. Anti-virus software use IT in conjunction with anti-malware software. Anti-Malware software use IT.
    2. Use Common sense, be vigilant of suspicious emails. Since email is one of the most common ways malware is spread.
    3. Be certain of what your downloading. Even legitimate websites can be infected with malware.
    1. The virus is just like it sounds if a person gets a virus it’s an infection. Computer viruses are the same they infect files such as emails, music, websites with files that carry the virus. You can get a virus even if you are very careful you can get a virus when doing a simple web search from an infected website.
    2. But what does the virus do? Like the flu virus, it spreads. By making copies of itself infecting other files, emails, devices on your network. And continues the cycle of infection and replication.
    3. Some viruses are problematic by slowing down your computer, while others are designed to damage your computer.
    1. The computer becomes very slow or exhibits bad performance
    2. Odd computer behavior
    3. Data loss
    4. Computer crashes
    1. Delete spam messages immediately
    2. Use antivirus protection software
    3. Avoid free software
    4. Use a firewall
    5. Use anti-malware software
    6. Keep all antivirus protection and anti-spyware software up-to-date
    7. Regularly update your operating system
    8. When possible increase your browser security
    9. Try to avoid sketchy or questionable websites
    10. Only download software that is trustworthy
    11. Don’t open messages or odd attachments from strangers
    1. Remember unprotected computers are like an open door to online scammers, and criminals. They look for these easy targets and will exploit them.
    2. Firewalls, Anti-malware, Anti-Virus software, and caution are important components. For protecting your computers and network from unwanted viruses and other issues caused by these cyber exploits.
    3. Advanced ELAF is a computer repair, networking, computer, and software sales. Technology infrastructure, cloud services, company that provides computer-related goods and services for business. We can be found online at www.advancedelaf.com or call +966 11 4007960.
    1. Keeping a business profitable can be tough work. You know how much you pay in rent, payroll, energy, travel, and a ton of other expenses. But did you know that something as simple as your printing expenses can end up costing you a considerable amount of your annual budget?
    2. Don’t worry, Experts at Advanced Elaf have taken the time to help you save some money on printing and copying expenses. With a common sense list of recommendations on the “Ways to reduce printing and copying costs”.
    3. Ditch the old printers. Yes, you heard me right replace the old printers. Equipment that is 5 to 7 years old needs to go. But why you ask if they are still working? First, they are likely no longer under warranty. This means fixing them can be difficult if not impossible, not to mention the costs associated with those repairs.
    4. Newer printers are covered under warranty programs, and extended warranty programs to ensure you get the most of your new printer investments.
    5. New printers in addition to warranty coverage and power efficiency they often have multi-function capability which can increase your staff’s efficiency and productivity which helps pay off your new investment faster.
    6. Only buy printing supplies when you need them. Are you saying I shouldn’t take advantage of a great buy or sale on the supplies I need? No, that’s not what we are saying at all. You might be tempted to buy a mountain of toner, cartridges, ink, or even paper. Just don’t start stockpiling supplies it is unnecessary. Having too many supplies on hand ties up working capital.
    7. Instead, order supplies as they are needed. (Did you know that some printers can even automatically order supplies as they are needed?) If the thought of allowing a printer/copier ordering its own supplies makes you nervous. Then let a trusted member of your staff order them.
    8. Assign a Printer Manager because it never hurts assigning ordering and inventory duties to someone in the company to proactively replace supplies while ensuring no extras are being ordered.
    9. Think of a military quartermaster that keeps a watchful eye on the supplies. (Without the overpriced hammers or toilet seats we all have heard about).
    10. Create document workflows. Create guidelines and processes for reports and administrative duties with the intended purpose of minimizing the need for document printing. Use digital documents or automated forms to minimize the need for printing.
    11. Remember, without proper guidance employees often tend to print out an unnecessary number of documents. Ensure your process reduces the redundant amount of printed, abandoned stacks of paper documents around the office.
    12. Printing too many files, reports, documents, and even email chains causes a waste of supplies and money. Not to mention the potential for security or privacy issues that go with a stack of sensitive documents everywhere.
    1. Whenever possible opt for paperless document solutions that reduce the amount of paper consumption. Think green solutions for business which can be effective methods to save money.
    2. Under certain situations, the option of a true Paperless office may not be possible in every department. But where ever possible embrace the paperless office as a method to save money.
    3. Review and Reduce IT support calls for printing issues. This piece goes hand in hand with the paperless office. Reducing the amount of time your employees and the IT staff spend on printer issues saves you money, and increases efficiency.
    4. Instead, use your IT Dept staff to help identify workflows and empower users with ways to avoid productivity-killing tasks that involve printing issues such as too much paper slowing efficient workflows.
    5. An extra tip would be when possible seek recommendations from document management and printing expertise consultants like Slick Cyber Systems to help you design workflows and document management solutions to save money on your company printing budget.
    6. To contact Advanced Elaf Office call +966 11 4007960 or visit us online at www.advancedelaf.com

    Information security is the practice of protecting information and information systems from unauthorized disclosure, modification, and destruction. It encompasses the security of all IT resources, including both University information and the IT devices that access, process, store, or transmit it.

    Secure UD is the University’s comprehensive, community-oriented information security initiative. It empowers and equips the University community to make sound security and risk decisions in their personal and professional lives.

    University information is the set of information that the University owns or for which the University is accountable. Included in this definition are all data relevant to or that supports the administration and missions (teaching, research, and service) of the University.

    An IT device is any device that is used to access, process, store, or transmit University information and that uses the University’s IT infrastructure, including the University network. Examples of IT devices include desktop computers, laptop computers, smartphones, tablets, network devices, and printers.

    IT resources are the full set of University-owned or -controlled IT devices and data involved in the accessing, processing, storage, and transmisison of information. IT resources include both University information and IT devices.

    a. Confidentiality is the preservation of authorized restrictions on University information access and disclosure, including means for protecting personal privacy and proprietary information.

    b. Confidentiality has to do with the privacy of information, including authorizations to view, share, and use it. Information with low confidentiality concerns may be considered “public” or otherwise not threatening if exposed beyond its intended audience. Information with high confidentiality concerns is considered secret and must be kept confidential to prevent identity theft, compromise of accounts and systems, legal or reputational damage, and other severe consequences.

    a. Integrity is the protection against improper modification or destruction of University information. It includes non-repudiation and authenticity.

    b. Integrity has to do with the accuracy of information, including its authenticity and trustworthiness. Information with low integrity concerns may be considered unimportant to precise University activities or not necessary to vigorously check for errors. Information with high integrity concerns is

    considered critical and must be accurate in order to prevent negative impact on University activities.

    c. Integrity concerns—along with availability concerns—contribute to data’s criticality.

    a. Availability is the timeliness and reliability of access to and use of University information.

    b. Availability has to do with the accessibility and continuity of information. Information with low availability concerns may be considered supplementary rather than necessary. Information with high availability concerns is considered critical and must be accessible in order to prevent negative impact on University activities.

    c. Availability concerns—along with integrity concerns—contribute to data’s criticality.

    a. Criticality is the importance of data availability and integrity to the business continuity and operational effectiveness of the University.

    b. Criticality is a reflection of data’s integrity and availability concerns. Data’s criticality is the higher of its integrity and availability concerns. For example, data with high integrity concerns but moderate availability concerns would have a high criticality.

    c. There are three levels of criticality:

    i. Non-critical

    ii. Critical

    iii. Mission critical

    a. Information security is an organizational issue, not exclusively an IT issue. IT provides security to central systems and the University network. However, much of the

    risk to IT resources can only be managed within units’ day-to-day operations. We all share responsibility for properly managing the University’s IT resources, including University information and IT devices.

    b. Units have significant autonomy to fulfill their operational missions. Each unit has a responsibility to manage its own security posture just like each individual has a responsibility for his or her own actions. Security is a balance between the need for information security and the need for information use.

    a. Even if you aren’t a security expert, there are a few basic steps you can take to secure your computer. Read the Secure UD Essentials for computers for more information.

    b. Install and run anti-virus software on your computer to detect and remove malware.

    c. Back up your computer’s data to protect yourself and the University from data loss or corruption.

    d. Enable your computer’s firewall to block potentially harmful traffic.

    e. Encrypt sensitive information to protect it from being read or misused if it’s lost or stolen.

    f. Password-protect your computer to prevent others from logging in and using your system and files.

    g. Regularly patch your computer’s software and firmware to protect against the newest vulnerabilities.

    h. Physically secure your computer in a locked office when possible. Never leave laptop computers unattended in public locations.

    i. Configure your computer to automatically lock after fifteen minutes of inactivity.

    j. If you’re a faculty or staff member, talk to your local support provider or contact IT for more information about the University’s computer management tool, which automates security tasks like patching, anti-virus scanning, and more. It can be administered by either your unit or IT, and it’s never used to spy on you or your files.

    a. Mobile devices like smartphones and tablets present unique security challenges because of their portability and simplicity. Read the Secure UD Essentials for mobile devices for more information.

    b. Back up your mobile device’s data to protect yourself and the University from data loss or corruption.

    c. Encrypt your mobile device with whole-disk encryption to protect its data from being read or misused if the device is lost or stolen.

    d. Password-protect your mobile device to prevent others from accessing its data and apps.

    e. Regularly patch your mobile device’s software and firmware to protect it against the newest vulnerabilities.

    f. Physically secure your mobile device in locked offices or cabinets when possible. Never leave mobile devices unattended in public locations.

    g. Configure your mobile device for remote management. Enable it to automatically erase data after ten failed password entries in a row and to be remotely locked, located, or erased at your request.

    h. Configure your mobile device to automatically lock after five minutes of inactivity.

    a. Yes; both IT and your unit’s IT staff can help you manage your computer. If you’re a faculty or staff member, talk to your local support provider or contact IT for more information about the University’s computer management tool, which automates security tasks like patching, anti-virus scanning, and more. It can be administered by either your unit or IT, but your unit may also offer its own computer management solution that is more suited to your particular data needs.

    b. The computer management tool is used only to help secure your computer. It is not used to read or record your personal files or spy on your computing activity.

    a. Malware is short for malicious software—software used by hackers to impair your device’s function, steal your device’s data, or even gain control of your device itself.

    b. Typically, malware is downloaded unknowingly when an unsuspecting user opens an infected file or visits an infected website. Once it’s on your computer, it launches a specific kind of attack based on its design. For example, keyloggers record each keystroke and report it to hackers, who look for usernames, passwords, and other sensitive credentials.

    Trojans masquerade as useful or benign software—often as fake anti-virus software or games—to trick users into opening them and granting them access to system files or the ability to download more malware.

    c. You can protect your computer against malware by installing anti-virus software and running routine scans. IT provides a University-licensed copy of McAfee VirusScan free of charge to all students, faculty, and staff. Any faculty or staff member whose computer processes sensitive University information should contact the IT Support Center to get a copy of Cylance advanced anti-virus software.

    d. If your computer is running slowly or taking unusual actions (such as “reminding” you to download strange software), it may be infected with malware. Run an anti-virus scan to check for, identify, and remove malware from your device.

    a. If the device in question is a University-owned IT device, then check with your unit’s IT staff first. Your unit may have its own procedures for securely disposing of IT devices. If your unit doesn’t have its own procedures, then you should use central IT’s secure device disposal service.

    b. If the device in question is your personally-owned device and was used to conduct University-related work, then you should follow this basic process:

    c. Back up any files that you need to retain. Securely erase the device’s memory. If you don’t plan to sell or donate the device, you can physically destroy i

    d. Dispose of the device by using an electronics recycling center or by selling or donating it.

    a. Data management is the responsible stewardship of data throughout its lifecycle.

    b. There are five components to data management:

    i. Acquisition—What data is acquired, how, and why?

    ii. Utilization—How is the data used? Does the use support an institutional need or University activity?

    iii. Maintenance—For how long is data retained? What are the data management rules?

    iv. Access—Who is authorized to access, under what requirements, and under whose approval?

    v. Protection—How are the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of data maintained?

    vi. Effective data management requires appropriate acquisition, utilization, maintenance, access, and protection of data. Data management depends on information confidentiality and criticality.

    a. Proper data management is a responsibility of every University employee; you are responsible for any University information to which you have access. Properly managing the data in your care will help protect you, the University, and the community from data-related harm.

    b. Improper data management can lead to IT security incidents, which are a cause of identity theft, reputational harm, lawsuits, and extremely expensive damages. The goal of data management is to appropriately manage these risks without impairing University operations.

    a. The best way to manage data safely is to recognize that it’s an integral part of your job responsibilities and to incorporate it into your workplace routine. Turn safe computing and information behavior into new habits, and be mindful of how your actions affect the security of your data and devices.

    b. Knowing what kinds of data you use, as well as how and where you use them, is the first step. This knowledge will help you maintain a cleaner system and respond more quickly to possible IT security incidents.

    c. Review the Secure UD Essentials and best practices for information security and take note of opportunities for you to improve the way you manage the data in your care. Be aware of and understand your responsibility to support unit security efforts. Your unit will have an information security plan that describes the requirements and processes for protecting IT resources.

    d. IT provides tools and services to help you manage the data in your care and meet information security standards. Some of these tools and services may also be offered locally through your unit.

    a. In many cases, sensitive data is hidden in larger data sets or files. To find sensitive data on your computer, download a program to detect sensitive data and use it to scan your computer. Upon completing a scan, it will generate a report that will assist you in finding and protecting any unencrypted sensitive information, including Social Security numbers, on your computer or drives.

    a. Once you determine what data you have and where it’s stored, you can protect it by archiving, encrypting, or erasing it as appropriate.

    b. For sensitive University information:

    c. If you still need the information, but don’t need to store it on your device, archive it on a network drive or by contacting University Archives and Records Management.

    d. If you need the information and it must be stored locally on your device, encrypt it.

    e. If you no longer need the information to fulfill an operational requirement, securely erase it from your device.

    f. You can apply the same principles to your personal information. If you don’t need to store records like old tax returns, bank statements, or other records on your computer or other device, you can store them on an encrypted flash drive or external hard drive and then securely delete them from your device. You should also encrypt any files that you choose to keep on your device (and encrypt the device itself with whole disk encryption).

    a. A backup is a copy of the data stored on a device. It’s useful for restoring data if your device crashes or continuing work if your device is lost or stolen.

    b. When you back up your data, you create a copy of some or all of the files on your device and store them in a separate location (which is usually either on a flash drive, removable hard drive, or in the cloud). Some kinds of backups even store your device configurations. Backup and recovery software can automate the backup process by performing backups based on a set schedule.

    c. To restore data from a backup, you use either recovery software (to restore full backups of a device’s data and configurations) or manually replace files with copies from the backup (usually to restore lost or corrupted files).

    a. It depends on how critical that data is. If it’s important that your data be accurate and available (to you or others), you should consider backing it up often. For example, you may want to back up critical project data at the end of each day or week.

    b. You can use backup and recovery software to automate the backup process and remove much of the effort involved in performing backups.

    a. Encryption is a means of protecting files and devices. When you encrypt a file, you “lock” it with an encryption key or password. The file itself is scrambled and becomes unreadable without the appropriate key or password.

    b. Faculty and staff are required to encrypt portable devices (laptops, tablets, smartphones, and removable storage media) and sensitive University information.

    c. IT recommends that all members of the University community also encrypt their personal devices and sensitive files to protect them from misuse. Don’t leave your data defenseless against thieves and hackers!

    a. No. Sensitive data needs to be securely erased to ensure that it can’t be recovered.

    b. When you delete a file using your computer’s Recycling Bin (Windows) or Trash (Mac) feature, what you’re actually doing is telling your computer to forget where that file is located. The file itself—and all the data it contains—is still on your computer, and hackers can still find it if they search your device’s memory. In order to prevent a file from being recovered, you must securely erase it. When you securely erase a file, your computer overwrites it with randomly generated data to destroy its original contents, ensuring they can’t be recovered.

    c. Always securely erase sensitive files to prevent them from being recovered and compromised.

    a. You shouldn’t use email to send or receive sensitive data. If an email account is hacked or if the email is forwarded, that sensitive information could easily be exposed to someone other than the original, intended recipient. Instead, use a secure file transfer service like UD Dropbox or a secure Web form.

    b. If, for some reason, alternatives are not available and you must use email to transmit sensitive information, that information must be encrypted. Encrypt the file first, then

    send the encrypted file as an attachment. Contact the recipient separately to provide the encryption password. Never send sensitive information in clear text.