IQ in IT was pleased to be part of the Enterprise Start-up Fair last week at the Kingston University Business campus. We presented to the Start-ups our products and services such as VOIP Telephones, cloud computing, cloud email, anti-virus, hosting,  internet connectivity, IT support and much more.

For the fair we especially offered three IT Start-up packages to help young entrepreneurs to keep their costs down and support them with a workspace, telephone system and broadband package payable on a monthly basis. Check out our latest offer

It was a pleasure meeting all these young and enthusiastic start-ups with their amazing bright ideas sharing with us their biggest obstacles when setting-up their new business ventures which were Finance, Sales & Marketing and IT.

We can definitely help you with all your IT needs and hope that we can help your business grow and thrive.

Yours,

 – Clever about IT

IQ in IT is extremely proud to be awarded as the BEST Technology Company 2015 at last month’s sold-out Kingston Business Excellence Awards. It does not stop here, our Technical Director Luke Whitelock, is delighted to be highly commended in the category of the BEST Young Entrepreneur 2015.

The Kingston Business Excellence Awards are developed and managed by Make Business Happen CIC, in association with NatWest, on behalf of the Kingston Chamber of Commerce, Kingstonfirst and the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames.

The winners of the 2015 Kingston Business Excellence Awards were announced at the gala dinner at Holiday Inn Kingston South, hosted by celebrity broadcaster and columnist Julia Hartley-Brewer. This is the second year in a row for such a prestigious event which has shown its great success for its vibrant and innovative business community in such a short time. Many local companies participated as sponsors within categories and the event itself.

IQ in IT is a cutting edge IT Company based in Kingston, South West London. We offer cloud based services on demand with a personal touch. Our key products are Virtual Desktops and Servers which let you work from anywhere from any device securely, Cloud (VoIP) phones packed with a lot of features, IT solutions, support and more.  We are passionate about technology and always looking to provide new and better products and services to our current clients. We understand that no two businesses are the same and so we tailor solutions to your business’s individual needs’ around London and the UK.

At the esteemed gala dinner, Ros Morgan, Chief Executive of Kingstonfirst presented the Best Technology Company for 2015. She said: ‘IQ in IT is small but innovative and solution-driven business. It creates great value and delivers real impact for existing and due businesses’.

Katerina Damcova, Managing Director was thrilled to receive the award in person. Winning not only this year but also at last year’s award as Best Green Company, she proudly said: ‘A big thank you to our amazing team and to all our clients for your trust, loyalty and support during all these years – we could not have done it without you and we do hope to have you on board for a long time’.

Photo source: Chris Gray and Laurence Grant

Six months ago, exactly on 21^st April, Google, the world’s biggest search engine introduced its new search algorithm favouring mobile friendly websites, the ones with with large text, easy to click linksand re-size to fit screen etc. This update purely effects the mobile world and not on searches from tablets or desktops. Google said that this would have a ‘significant impact’ on the mobile search results and it will focus on boosting the ranking of mobile friendly pages. 

According to research, over the past year web searches done by mobile users have grown tremendously and approximately 50% of online traffic comes now from mobile devices. Google wants to make a statement for these users to have a good experience when searching and clicking on links.

We have also designed and published our mobile friendly webpage recently. If you want to see our mobile friendly website just open our website www.iqin.it on your mobile device. You can also check your website for free to see if it is mobile friendly.

Last but not least, Google has further amended its policy recently and from November will no longer consider websites mobile friendly, which show an app install interstitial that hides a significant amount of content from the search result page to the website. These types of ads often come up when searching on the web and encouraging users to download an app rather than visiting the website. So watch that space, a lot more to come and in the meantime we would like to hear from you…

Have you made your website mobile friendly yet?  What has been your experience so far?   Have you seen increased traffic or changes to it yet? 

Your IQ in IT Team – We can help you with ALL your IT needs.

Say cheese! Have you smiled today? Probably this morning in order to access your computer or mobile device at home or at work.

Perhaps you have heard of Windows Hello which is a new feature within the new Windows 10. Windows Hello lets you login without a password. Just a smile gives you instant and a more secure access to your device. Windows Hello recognises YOU by using your facial or iris detection, not a photo of you. So it gets much more personal however until then you need a RealSense camera in order to set it up.

Read also our article about the latest on Windows 10 – worth the upgrade?

Any questions chat or tweet with us we would love to her about all your experience or help you out – we are here to help you with all your IT needs at home or at work!

Your  IQ in IT team –  Kingston – London – UK

A lot of you will be wondering what is actually hiding underneath the label “Cloud Phone“. In our terms we describe Cloud Phones as a hosted VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) solution with a self service management portal. Our portal lets you manage your extensions, direct dials, change call routing depending on the time and day, forward and route calls, hold conference calls, video calls, call recording, interactive voice response, music on hold and a lot more accessible to manage with a click of a button. Our Cloud Phones are a flexible modern solution matching the ever-changing needs of todays business. 

How do cloud phones work?

When you place an order with us for a new phone system, we can get you up and running within 24 hours. We will get your phones delivered to you and configure your system according to your requirements. Once your new phones arrive, all you have to do is to open the box and get your phone plugged into your network. Our cloud phones run over the internet, therefore it does not matter where in the world you are located. All you need is an internet connection and then you can call your colleagues’ extensions and, of course, no matter what your geographical location is, it’s all free. This is especially helpful to customers with branch offices abroad enabling them to reduce international call cost and, more importantly, improve communication. Our phones are very clever and as soon as you plug them in, they will auto-configure themselves by contacting our servers. Then all you are left to do is to dial that number.

But how does the cloud phone really work?

Well, once you are set up on our system, your phone device will talk to our PBX system. PBX is a system which handles all the calls, manages call routing, recording, music on hold and loads more. When you call within the digital network, the voice quality is a lot higher (we offer HD voice by default) and for internal calls this will be handled only by our servers. With calls to other VoIP networks this will be routed over the internet to the correct server to establish the connection. If you are calling someone with the old type of phone line (PSTN) this will be routed through our PSTN gateway into the old type of telecom networks.

What about mobiles?

We are very close to lauching our “Cloud Mobiles” to offer even more complete service. Our cloud mobile phones are part of your phone system, able to be configured and changed on the go. These provide internal transfers via extension, secure mobile data, call recording and all the other features available on our Cloud Phones.

The first question when a new operating system is coming into the market is: Shall I upgrade or shall I wait? And probably the next question you will ask yourself is: Is it safe?

Well, let’s not get worried now as the best Windows yet is here. There are at least 10 reasons for upgrading however I will give you the top five reasons and even more on the latest and greatest:

• It’s free
• It’s still the desktop you love and your stuff comes with you
• Get Cortana and get to know the Edge
• Quick start up and performance
• Access to Windows store: get apps, music and more

And the really new feature in Windows 10 is Cortana – your new personal assistant. As Cortana sounds like a lovely female name she will help you with anything you have given her access to and she can even talk. In order to get in touch with Cortana you simply type a question in the search box on the taskbar or you select the microphone and ask Cortana, like ‘Change my 3pm event to 4pm’.

Also, multi-tasking for the user should now be so much easier. She will help you to find things not only on your computer, she will manage your calendar, find files, chat and more.

The best one to come, Windows 10 is mostly a mobile operating system, just like Apple iOS and Google Android, it’s designed to run also on smartphones and tablets. So now we have got it all under one umbrella. With the all new OP system they are never perfect and finished however which system is perfect? None however upgrade to a newer system are recommendable, easy and in this case it is for free.

On the other hand, not everyone will get Windows 10. If you have got Windows 7 or 8 you could wait a bit to see how all goes as Microsoft will roll out its new system in waves.

So overall the main plus for an upgrade is your own personal assistant ‘Cortana ‘ and for those who like apps, music, fun and more to have access to Windows store.

All new operation systems are easy and fast to upgrade and just a touch or a click away. So if you go ahead don’t forget to ensure that your privacy settings are set as you had it in your previous version (set your privacy settings under Customize settings, and more is available in settings for location, camera, microphone, contacts, calendar, apps and more).

And finally in order to upgrade you need to reserve first on the Microsoft web page and wait.

Any questions chat or tweet with us we would love to hear about all of your experiences or help you out!

Your  IQ in IT team

Today more than ever, security should be a priority for every business. Small and medium sized businesses are the ones who suffer most when under attack.

One of the most common ways to attack is to use security vulnerability in software in applications like Java, Adobe and operating systems, including the perceived invulnerable MAC OS. I am sure everyone remembers the 2 major vulnerabilities of 2014 making the headlines. The heart bleed in OpenSSL and the shell shock affecting all Unix based systems. The way to protect your business against these attacks is to always apply all security patches for all OS systems and applications.

Another type of attack which has been growing rapidly since 2014 is Ransomware. This is probably the most dangerous threat as it encrypts all files on the user’s computer and any storage available on the network. Ransomware usually spreads through emails with various attachments pretending to be a fax or an invoice. To protect yourself, never open emails which look suspicious, even if they come from someone you know. If you do make the mistake of opening one of these, you will start to see various types of files with decrypt in the name and when you open your file it won’t be readable. Time is precious as encryption is time consuming and not all files will be encrypted initially. Shut your computers and server down, including any network attached storage and call a specialist to help you stop further encryption. This is important as the encryption is sophisticated (RSA-2048) and is pretty much impossible to decrypt with the current technology available. Once your system is infected, the attacker will request a payment in bitcoins, which is an untraceable currency, to provide you with the decryption key. The only options to get your data back are to recover it from an uninfected backup or pay the ransom. The ransom increases with time and is only available for limited period until it gets destroyed. So please take action now and make sure you have a working backup before it’s too late. 

IQ in IT are pleased to launch their brand new website. We now support live chat and many more features!

Hello everyone, today i will be discussing Bit coins. Some of you may already know of Bit Coins but the large majority will never have heard of it. So I will be explaining to you what they are, how you obtain them and what you can use them for. What are Bitcoins? Bit Coins are an online currency (also know as e-cash) that was created in January 2009 by Satoshi Nakamoto. Satoshi is a cryptographer who came up with the Bit Coin Protocol. Bit coins are similar to that of local currency (such as that of town’s that have their own currency that you use in local shops) in the sense that the worth of the Bit Coin is decided by the online community. The worth of the Bit Coin will fluctuate depending on the amount and size of transactions though, unlike national currencies, the value of the bit coin can quickly recover. At the time of typing this, 1 Bitcoin (BTC) is equal to £8.239GBP or $13.32USD. Bit Coins come in 3 varieties: You have the Bitcoin (1), the Bitcent (0.01) and the Satoshi (0.00000001). All of these can be earned and traded over the internet like normal currency. These will be kept in your Bitcoin wallet on your computer. These wallets have their own, unique address (like a bank account number) that will be used to make transactions. The worth of the Bit Coin will fluctuate depending on the amount and size of transactions though, unlike national currencies, the value of the bit coin can quickly recover. How does it Work? Like all currencies, Bitcoin relies on the communities trust in the exchange for it to have value. By the community having trust in Bitcoin people will use, buy and sell Bitcoin. if no-one has trust in Bitcoin then no-one will use it. Unlike normal currencies, Bitcoin doesn’t have a centralized body that issues Bitcoins. Instead, Bitcoins are rewarded to “Miners” whom then sell their Bitcoins onto the community. The miners themselves are individual’s that are all connected to the Bitcoin network who either work by themselves or in groups (this will be discussed later). The number of bitcoins that can be “mined” is set at 21 million (at time of writing there are currently 11 million Bitcoins in circulation). Once 21 million Bitcoins have been mined no more will be created. This is outlined by the protocol that Satoshi came up with. By people abiding by the protocol and trusting in the currency is what gives Bitcoins their worth and makes the system work. In order to make counterfeiting impossible, all the transactions are stored on an online database called the block chain. The block chain is formed of blocks. Blocks are list of all the transactions that took place in the space of 10 minutes. Once that 10 minutes is up the block is added to the block chain and a new block is started. Once 6 blocks are put on top of each other the block chain the consensus solidifies so it becomes impractical to alter the transactions for your own gain. These blocks must meet constraints, dictated by the network, before they are added to the block chain. This mean that it is very hard for a person to cheat the system. How do you Obtain BitCoin’s? You can obtain BitCoins in 3 ways: exchanging for actual currency, trading and mining. Exchanging for actual money is used to get you started in the Bitcoin exchange. Once you have some bitcoins you can start trading with others in the community such in the same way city traders do. You can buy and sell Bitcoins and then exchange them for real currencies. If you own a business you can join the 1000 merchants signed up to Bitcoins and start trading your good’s for Bitcoins. The main method for obtaining Bitcoins is Mining. This is the process of finding a solution to a difficult Proof-Of-Work problem which confirms transactions and prevents double spending. This would be done by a node (a graphics card) on a dedicated server (it has to be dedicated as it requires a lot of electricity). These transactions are put into files called blocks every 10 minutes and then added to the block chain (an online public database that has contains a list of all the transactions). The block chain is only allowed to accept 1 block per 10 minutes. This block must meet stringent constraints dictated by the network. If the block hasn’t formed into the form it should then the block chain will reject it. The one block that gets accepted onto the Block chain will get it’s owner 50 Bitcoins as a reward for the work they’ve done. The downside to mining is the time, effort and resources it takes to get the reward. Mining uses a lot of electricity, data and takes place on Graphics Cards so it can be impractical cost money for the individual miner. For this reason, some miners pool their resources together and then split the reward they get depending on the work they’ve done. The only downside to this is you have to give up some of the reward you get but it can be beneficial in the long run. I hope this has given you a better understanding into the world of Bitcoins. Thank you for reading!

Sometimes with PC’s you will get a problem that only wiping the computer clean will fix. Traditionally you’d need your Windows (or whatever operating system you’re using) CD and do a CD boot along with a clean install. However, what if you don’t have the disk? Well with laptops they have the ability to reset to factory settings. So basically, what will happen is the laptop will wipe everything off of the hard drive that you are using and then will reinstall the operating system and applications it came with out of the box. To do a factory reset of your laptop, follow these steps: 1) Do a back up Before you do a factory reset remember to do a backup of all the document’s that you want to keep. Nothing will be spared from your clean wipe of the hard drive so back it up to and external hard drive. If you are doing a factory reset of your laptop due to a virus then be careful of the fact that the virus may be attached to your backed up documents and settings so make sure that you scan and destroy the virus before you restore your settings. 2) Find out which F key it is that you press during the computer boot to start the factory reset To do your factory reset you have to press a certain F key, when the laptop boot’s up, to start the factory reset. This varies from the different brand and model of laptop, an example being that for the Sony VAIO line of laptops you have to hold down alt+F10 during boot to start up the factory reset process. So before you start your factory reset, do some research on the make and model of the laptop to find out what you need to press. 3) Obtain the key for the Operating system that originally came with the Laptop All paid for operating systems require an activation code to activate your operating system. A number of times the operating system action code is on the laptop itself. This can be found off the bottom of the laptop. If it isn’t there then check the box or manual that came with it to see if it is there. 4) Start the Factory Reset Now that you know your activation code and the F key combination to start up the factory reset and that you’ve done a back up of your documents and setting then you are ready to do a factory reset. First things first, restart your laptop. When its booting up press the F key combination. This should bring up the system recovery console. Choose to do a full system wipe: this will wipe all the data from the hard drive you are using. Click next and it will start the process. Once it’s finished wiping the hard drive the laptop will then start to reinstall the operating system. Install the operating system and once you are finished with that then it will restart and ask to install the applications. Reinstall those as well. Once the OS and the applications are installed then you have successfully done a factory reset on your laptop! Now all that is left to do is update the operating system, install anti-virus software and then restore your backup. I hope this has helped you.