You may have seen the recent news that the Electoral Commission has been formally reprimanded by the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) over a cyberattack which occurred in 2021. The ICO found ...
Hello, Welcome to our July 2024 newsletter update. I.T. in the Cloud vs. I.T. in the Office –Which is the better choice? In the ever-evolving landscape of IT, trends often come full ...
I.T. in the Cloud vs I.T. in the Office Which is the better choice? In the ever-evolving landscape of IT, trends often come full circle. One such phenomenon is the resurgence of on-premise workloads. ...
Here is a recording of our Copilot for Microsoft 365 Online Workshop with NCS IT and Westcoast Cloud from 11th July 2024. If you would like to discuss Microsoft Copilot for your ...
Hello, Welcome to our June 2024 newsletter update. Windows 10 End of Life Microsoft have announced that Windows 10 will reach end of support on 14th October 2025. The current version, 22H2, will be ...
Our MD Carl Nelson and Technical Director Andrew Charlesworth are in Lisbon this week to join other SonicWall EMEA partners at SonicWall Elevate 2024. This event showcases everything new and exciting ...
This week, we’re going to look at Microsoft Copilot. First of all, what is Microsoft Copilot? Copilot is Microsoft’s new AI-powered productivity feature. It uses artificial intelligence, deep ...
This week, we’re going to explain what Business Email Compromise (BEC) is and what you can do to help prevent it. First of all, what is Business Email Compromise (BEC)? Business email compromise ...
Microsoft have announced that Windows 10 will reach end of support on 14th October 2025. The current version, 22H2, will be the final version of Windows 10. After this date, Windows 10 will stop ...
May 2024 Hello, Welcome to our May 2024 newsletter update. We are Now a Member of the NWAA We are pleased to reveal that we are now a member of the NWAA – the North West Aerospace Alliance. ...
We are pleased to reveal that we are now a member of the NWAA – the North West Aerospace Alliance. The NWAA (North West Aerospace Alliance) is the professional trade association for all ...
This week, we’re going to explain what Cyber Essentials (CE) certification is and why it could be worth considering for your business. First of all, what is Cyber Essentials certification? Cyber ...
This week, we’re going to delve into the world ofpasswords. These essential security components play a crucial role in safeguarding our digital lives. What is a password? Apasswordis a sequence of ...
April 2024 Hello, Welcome to our April newsletter update. NCS IT is 30 30 years ago, technology as we know it today, wasn’t even a thought! But 1994 was a momentous year for the tech ...
We have been notified of some changes coming in the way Microsoft supplies their Teams software program, which is currently part of the Microsoft Office suite of programs. From later this year, you ...
While Microsoft 365 continues to gain market share, it is important to note that this platform does not provide out-of-the box backup and data recovery solutions. With the increase in frequency and ...
NCS IT is 30! 30 years ago, technology as we know it today, wasn’t even a thought! There were no smartphones, no Netflix and not even Google! But 1994 was a momentous year for the tech ...
March 2024 Hello, Welcome to our March newsletter update. Supporting Salford Red Devils We are happy to announce that in addition to our two NCS IT advertising boards pitch-side at ...
We are pleased to announce we have just received platinum partner status with Acronis who provide brilliant backup and recovery options for businesses of all sizes. We are the only platinum reseller ...
We have just received GOLD partnership status with SonicWALL who many of you will be aware of as they supply state-of-the-art firewalls which we highly recommend. We were able to achieve this thanks ...
What are Yubikeys? YubiKeys are literally a key-sized device, similar in size to a USB memory stick, which you can plug in to your laptop or PC as a multifactor authentication (MFA) method. It can ...
Here’s 6 tips from Microsoft to help safeguard your privacy and protect your PC > 1 Learn how to protect yourself from phishing and other scams – one of the most common attacks ...
February 2024 Hello, Welcome to our February newsletter update. Supporting Salford Red Devils This year we have partnered with Salford Red Devils with two NCS IT banners pitch-side. These will be ...
This year we have partnered with Salford Red Devils with two NCS IT banners pitch-side. These will be shown at all of the men’s First Team home matches at the AJ Bell Stadium in Salford. So if you’re ...
This shouldn’t need to be said, but unfortunately it does. If you are using Office 365 in any capacity you should have a strong password. More importantly, you should have multi-factor authentication ...
Microsoft have released their Digital Defence Report for 2023. The report makes for interesting reading. We have highlighted below the report’s key section regarding how to protect against 99% of ...
What are cloud-based phone systems? A cloud-based telephone system is one that allows you to make calls over the internet rather than a traditional analogue phone line. They are also known as ...
January 2024 Hello, Welcome to our January newsletter update. We hope you’ve had a great start to 2024! Welcome Rob! At the start of this year, Rob Gibbs joined our Sales Team as our Senior ...
Nearly 3 weeks in to 2024 and you may have already forgotten about those New Year’s Resolutions you made at the start of the year, but here’s 5 IT-related New Year’s Resolutions that it would ...
What is vulnerability testing? Vulnerability testing is designed to identify any weaknesses in your IT network. The results of which will tell you where and how to strengthen your organisation’s IT ...
What is email security? Email security is the practice of protecting email accounts and communications from unauthorised access, loss, or compromise. Organisations can enhance their email security ...
All about DMARC Domain-based Message Authentication Reporting and Conformance (DMARC) is a great tool which stops attackers from spoofing your domain and making their emails look like they come from ...
Here is a great video about email security from our partners Cisco:...
Here’s a short video that is an overview of DMARC: ...
November 2023 Hello, Welcome to our November newsletter update. Answer this Quick Question – Does your business have cyber insurance? Cyber Essentials We have just renewed our ...
Nobody is exempt from cyber security as anybody can be the target of a cyber attack. Gloucester City Council has been reprimanded over a cyber attack which happened when they were compromised by ...
As a managed services provider, we often talk about keeping your business secure from cyberthreats but it is just as important to protect your own personal data. In the coming weeks, there will be a ...
All businesses regardless of size and sector, should do regular backups of their data. What are backups? Backups are copies of your business’ essential data – that is the information your business ...
We have just renewed our Cyber Essentials standard for another year. We are now working towards achieving our Cyber Essentials Plus standard....
Watch this short video to discover how this transformative tool puts the power of next-generation AI to work to reshape tasks like meeting preparation, drafting communications and data analysis. NCS ...
Learn about Azure Virtual Desktop (formerly Windows Virtual Desktop), why it’s unique, and what’s new in this video: ...
October 2023 Hello, Welcome to our October newsletter update. Another New Starter on the Helpdesk We’re happy to announce that we have a new First Line Technician to the Helpdesk ...
How to Defend your Organisation Against Phishing Attacks Phishing attacks are happening more and more. We’ve put together below all the information you need to know about phishing attacks and how to ...
All About Multifactor Authentication (MFA) After recommending our customers use MFA for a while, we have made a decision to add MFA for FREE to all of our customers with Microsoft 365 email accounts. ...
Making accounts more secure with multifactor authentication – video from Microsoft ...
September 2023 Hello, Welcome to our September newsletter update. Windows Server 2012 end of life Microsoft have confirmed that all support will end for two of their popular operating ...
Learn more about what you get with a subscription to Microsoft 365 for Business with this great video from Microsoft ...
Our partner Sophos has put together a brilliant documentary series – Think You Know Ransomware? A gripping documentary that delves into the alarming realities of ransomware, revealing the ...
Whilst it may seem to be unnecessary, standard security procedures requesting only a username and password are becoming increasingly easy for criminals to attack and gain access to data. As a result, ...
July 2023 Hello, Welcome to our July newsletter update. The End of the Line for Broadband is Coming Having a leased line installed for your business is fast becoming a viable option for ...
June 2023 Hello, Welcome to our June newsletter update. We are now a Microsoft Solutions Partner Very to pleased to share that we have gained Microsoft’s new Solutions Partner ...
Very to pleased to share that we have gained Microsoft’s new Solutions Partner designation in “Modern Work”. Our team have gained this through successful completion of Intermediate and Advanced ...
We are very pleased to announce we have achieved to Cisco Small Business Specialisation Accreditation. Cisco have awarded this to us because they said “NCS IT Ltd has proven they can provide ...
May 2023 Hello, Welcome to our May newsletter update. World Password Day The 4th of May was World Password Day, we put together some tips for creating safer passwords and advice to ...
Members of the NCS IT team visited DTX Manchester 2023 at Manchester Central on 17th and 18th May. It was a great event, listening to some interesting speakers and meeting peers from across the IT ...
Review of the First Quarter of 2023 Hello, We have been looking back at some of the projects we have worked on so far this year (there have been many) and we thought we would put together a quick ...
We have all had those annoying pop-ups when creating a new password – you must use one special character, one capital letter, six letters, two numbers, one emoji…. (Ok maybe not that last one.) Given ...
April 2023 Hello, Welcome to our April newsletter update. Proud to be sponsoring Rossendale Triathlon We are very pleased to be sponsoring the Rossendale Triathlon again this year. It ...
We’ve been working behind the scenes to improve our green credentials as we believe it is important to how we run our business and we know a lot of our customers value their suppliers being ...
We are very pleased to be a sponsor of Bury Pride 2023. This is the second year running we have supported this event. It takes place on Saturday 29th April and you can find out all the ...
We are very pleased to be sponsoring the Rossendale Triathlon again this year. It takes place on 21st May and you can find all the details on the website here > ...
We are very pleased to have renewed our Sophos Silver Partner status for another year. Well done to Carl Nelson, Victoria Whittaker and Jeremy Santhouse for completing the Sophos training and ...
Our Technical Director was travelling the world last week…from the comfort of his desk! Last weekAndrew Charlesworthworked in three continents for multiple customers and suppliers! One ...
More than a dozen countries around the world have introduced full, partial or public sector bans onTikTok amid heightened national security concerns with more expected to follow suit. Most of the ...
March 2023 Hello, Welcome to our Marchnewsletter update. Our Helpdesk Here is our new Helpdesk Team. There have been some new faces who have joined us over the past few months ...
February2023 Hello, Welcome to our February newsletter update. New Faces on the Helpdesk A very warm welcome to Chris and Andy who have recently joined the NCS IT team as ...
A very warm welcome to Chris and Andy who have joined the Helpdesk. You can find out more about them on our Meet NCSpage > ...
Internet connectivity is at an all-time high. Not surprisingly, this has led to a rise in cyberattacks: Phishing and identity theft are prevalent (yet, underreported), and the adoption of best ...
Older versions of Office (2016 and 2019) will not be supported for connecting to Microsoft 365 from October of this year. This means that these older versions might not be able to take advantage of ...
As of 27th February 2023, Microsoft will enforce number matching on all MFA (multi-factor authentication) App users. What will happen is when a user tries to login and receives a notification to the ...
Microsoft 365 delivers brilliant services, but did you know that it doesn’t actually backup your Microsoft 365 data? We can help to eliminate the risk of losing access and control of your Microsoft ...
January 2023 Hello, Happy New Year and welcome to our January newsletter update. 5 IT-Related New Year’s Resolutions Have you made any New Year’s Resolutions this ...
Happy New Year! We hope 2023 is a happy, healthy and prosperous year for you. Like many others, we have bene thinking about New Year’s Resolutions and we’ve come up with 5 IT-related New ...
One of the most effective things you can do to protect your computer and network is to ensure all updates and security patches are installed as soon as they become available. PC Security Patching ...
Domain-based Message Authentication Reporting and Conformance (DMARC) is used to authenticate an email by aligning SPFandDKIM mechanisms. By having DMARC in place, domain owners large and small can ...
Hello, We have been looking back at some of the projects we have worked on this year (there has been a lot) and we thought we would put together a quick overview so you can see the kind of things our ...
Hello, Welcome to our November 2022 newsletter update. Who’s the new voice when you ring the Helpdesk? If you have telephoned our Helpdesk in the past few weeks you may ...
It’s the run up to Christmas and cybercriminals turn to imposter phishing techniques. Frequently, this involves asking a member of staff to purchase gift cards for Amazon, Apple etc. for ...
This is an example of the phishing emails we see every day. It is a real email that was sent to one of our generic email addresses. We have highlighted below some of the clues that show it isn’t an ...
Hello, Welcome to our October 2022 newsletter update. Exhibiting at North West Business Expo Last week, on Friday 21st October, we joined lots of other North West companies in ...
Having a leased line installed for your business is fast becoming a viable option for some businesses due to a big drop in price. If you’ve not had a price for a leased line installed in the last 12 ...
Last week, on Friday 21st October, we joined lots of other North West companies in exhibiting at the Shout Network North West Business Expo 2022 at the Bolton Stadium. We had a great day meeting lots ...
We will be exhibiting at the North West Business Expo 2022 on 21st October 2022. The event is taking place at the Bolton Whites Hotel from 9am until 3pm. Members of the NCS IT team will be there ...
September2022 Hello, Welcome to our September2022 newsletter update. Windows Server 2012 End of Life Microsoft have confirmed that all support will end for two of their popular ...
We’re also on the lookout for an IT Telesales Executive to join our brilliant Sales Team. Again, if you know someone who may be interested, please forward this email to them with the details ...
We are currently advertising an IT Account Manager vacancy to support our many new and existing customers. If you know someone who may be interested, please forward this email to them or direct them ...
Microsoft have confirmed that all support will end for two of their popular operating systems next year. The two affected programs are: Windows Server 2012 Windows Server 2012 R2 Their end-of-life ...
August 2022 Hello, Welcome to our August 2022 newsletter update. What is Multi-Factor Authentication? When you sign into your online accounts, you are essentially proving that you are ...
We have just launched our Managed Cyber Security offer which delivers a powerful suite of managed endpoint protection, detection and response capabilities to help protect your business from ...
When you sign into your online accounts, you are essentially proving to the site that you are who you say you are in order to gain access. Traditionally you have done this by inputting your username ...
July2022 Hello, Welcome to our July2022 newsletter update. Merseyside Business Expo On Thursday 30th June, we joined over 100 other companies at Exhibition Centre Liverpool at ...
Microsoft Office 2013 will reach the end of its extended support next year on 11th April 2023. This means that after this date, security updates for Office 2013 will no longer be available. If ...
We are very excited to announce that our Cisco Partner status has been elevated to Select Integrator and Small Business Specialized. Members of our team completed the necessary accreditations and ...
Last week, on Thursday 30th June, we joined over 100 other companies at Exhibition Centre Liverpool at the Merseyside Business Expo 2022. Here’s what we got up to on our stand on the day: ...
The Problem: Our customer is a financial/professional services company with over 60 staff, based in the North West. Their main line-of-business database had been corrupted and needed to be repaired. ...
On 14th June, NCS are sponsored Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce’s networking event at Elliot House on Deansgate in Manchester. Andy Longgave a great presentation about our customer journey ...
June 2022 Hello, Welcome to our June 2022 newsletter update. Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce On 14th June we sponsored the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce’s networking event at ...
We will be exhibiting at the Merseyside Business Expo 2022 taking place on Thursday 30th June 2022 at Exhibition Centre, Liverpool. It’s a free-to-attend event so please pop to our stand to say ...
