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Macro Systems Blog

Macro Systems has been serving the Metro Washington, DC area since 1997, providing IT Support such as technical helpdesk support, computer support and consulting to small and medium-sized businesses.

Redbox Kiosks Could Still Contain Your Data

Redbox Kiosks Could Still Contain Your Data

In June of this year, publisher Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, best known for its book series of the same name, filed for Chapter 7 and Chapter 11 bankruptcy and had many of its assets liquidated. One of these assets was the movie rental service Redbox and its eponymous scarlet rental kiosks, rendering the service defunct.

Nonetheless, many kiosks remain standing outside businesses even now, which makes us wonder… what about all the data they collected while they were in use?

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Five Functions of NIST-Supported Cybersecurity Framework

Five Functions of NIST-Supported Cybersecurity Framework

A well-structured framework is essential for establishing effective, consistent policies and strategies. This applies to many areas, including network security. Listed below is a look into the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) cybersecurity framework, which outlines steps to help safeguard your business.

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Episode 1 'Of Vice and Vulnerability': Ransomware

Episode 1 'Of Vice and Vulnerability': Ransomware

This blog post is written in the format of a daytime soap opera. Please make sure you read all of the dialogue as if being whispered by extremely attractive television stars and starlets!

Life goes on in the small town of Oak Falls, deep woods surrounding the little hamlet nestled on the coast of Cape Seguridad. Let’s follow the lives of some of the residents, their lives Of Vice… and Vulnerability.

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Signs You're Experiencing a Phishing Attack

Signs You're Experiencing a Phishing Attack

With digital technology taking on a greater importance for businesses than ever before, companies have to contend with a variety of threats, including increasingly popular phishing scams, regardless of their geographical location.

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How to Protect Your Personal Data

How to Protect Your Personal Data

Modern wisdom states that if you’re not paying for a product, you’re the product.

For all the good the Internet is capable of doing, it is equally capable of being dangerous… especially when data is involved. Websites and social media platforms collect data from their users and track their movements across the Internet, sell it to advertisers, and more recently, use it to train AI.

Listed below is what you can, and arguably should, do to limit these platforms' ability to do so.

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The FTC are Trying to Make Subscriptions Easy to Cancel

The FTC are Trying to Make Subscriptions Easy to Cancel

It isn’t rare for people to subscribe to things and only stay subscribed because the cancellation process is challenging and inconvenient. Nonetheless, the Federal Trade Commission is looking to stop this, adopting a rule that eliminates the capability for businesses to put hurdles in front of cancellation processes.

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What Your Business Needs to Know about Zero-Trust

What Your Business Needs to Know about Zero-Trust

Would you trust a bank that locked its doors for the night but left all its cash in a big pile in the middle of the floor? Probably not— if someone managed to get through the doors, nothing would stop them from helping themselves to the money inside.

This is effectively how cybersecurity once worked, with the presumption that if someone had access to a network, they had permission to access any data on it. Luckily, many businesses have made the switch to a better approach, known as zero-trust security.

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How to Reposition the Taskbar in Windows 11

How to Reposition the Taskbar in Windows 11

Windows 11 takes a page out of Apple’s design playbook and provides a taskbar that, instead of being off to the side, is smack in the middle of the toolbar. While some may like this change, others may not.

Luckily for these others, a simple setting change can return the taskbar to its familiar place like on older versions of Windows.

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Windows 11 Desktop Tips to Customize Your Workstation

Windows 11 Desktop Tips to Customize Your Workstation

Windows 11 features a robust desktop environment with a lot of neat tricks and customizations to work more effectively. Controlling your Windows desktop experience can increase productivity and streamline the way you interact with your computer. Listed below are four tips to help you customize and manage your Windows environment more efficiently.

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Best Practices to Safeguard Your Business from Cyber Threats

Best Practices to Safeguard Your Business from Cyber Threats

Over 25 percent of data breaches target small businesses, and the impact can be significant. To protect your business, you need the right technology and smart strategies. Listed below are some key steps to help safeguard your business from digital threats.

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Keep Better Track of Your Organization's IT

Keep Better Track of Your Organization's IT

Keeping track of your business' technology is critical for smooth operations and long-term success. You need to monitor things like computers, servers, mobile devices, and software licenses to avoid unnecessary costs and security problems. A good inventory system helps you know what technology you have, where it is being used, and when it needs maintenance or replacement. This ensures that your team has the right tools when they need them, which enhances productivity and growth.

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How Video Conferencing Has Improved

How Video Conferencing Has Improved

Video conferencing has become a mandatory tool for businesses, especially after the rise of remote work due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It used to feel like something from science fiction, but now it's a key part of how we work together. Video meetings are not only more reliable and easy to use, but they've also become a lot more accessible, helping people connect no matter where they are. Listed below is a look at some of the ways video conferencing has improved:

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Microsoft Excel Tips

Microsoft Excel Tips

Microsoft Excel is a great productivity tool and can be utilized in a lot of different and interesting ways. 

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How Tech Helps Businesses, including in Surprising Ways

How Tech Helps Businesses, including in Surprising Ways

There aren’t many successful businesses left that haven’t embraced technology in some ways. Even businesses that took a while to integrate it, like restaurants, are more often than not going to have some type of online ordering or point-of-sale system. Listed below is a look at some of the ways technology helps businesses advance.

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Your Business Isn't Too Small to Be a Cybersecurity Target

Your Business Isn't Too Small to Be a Cybersecurity Target

“I don’t need to worry about cyberattacks… my business is too small to be of any interest.”

This brief rationalization is one of the most dangerous fallacies a modern business can make concerning cybersecurity; it shows a fundamental misunderstanding of how modern cyberthreats operate. If this has been your mindset, we urge you to read on so we can help set you on a more realistic path.

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How to Fight Back Against Downtime

How to Fight Back Against Downtime

It’s natural for businesses to depend on their tools, like IT, to achieve success, but if you don’t take care of your systems, it could lead to downtime. You can bypass many of these challenges with the right approach to technology maintenance. Listed below are some of the proactive methods you can use to keep downtime to a minimum.

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Being a Green Business Helps Your Business and the Environment

Being a Green Business Helps Your Business and the Environment

Being a green business is certainly not a bad thing; not only does it help boost your company's environmental friendliness, but it can usually attract customers and clients who prioritize the environment. What is mentioned less is how being greener can actually give your business an advantage in the right circumstances.

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How to Stop LinkedIn from Using Your Data to Train AI

How to Stop LinkedIn from Using Your Data to Train AI

Artificial intelligence is everywhere, and it is making data more valuable than ever. This is because AI platforms rely heavily on data to function effectively. Many platforms and services gather data from their users to fuel these algorithms. LinkedIn has recently been found to do this—by default—without properly informing its users or updating its terms of service.

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How to Recognize & Deal with a Toxic Workplace

How to Recognize & Deal with a Toxic Workplace

“Toxic” is a buzzword that is often used these days, but when it is used to describe a business’ work environment, it needs to be treated with deadly seriousness.

If a workplace is a place people don’t like to be, many drawbacks will ultimately impact operations. Thus, it is to your advantage to keep your business as positive a workplace as possible.

Listed below: how to tell if your organization has a toxic workplace and, if so, how to resolve it.

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Outlining the Roles of a Router and Modem in Your Wireless Network

Outlining the Roles of a Router and Modem in Your Wireless Network

Both the router and modem are vital components of any wireless network, yet many people are unsure about the distinct roles they play in a personal or organizational Internet connection. Listed below is a break down of the function of each device and how they work together to support your network.

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Fairfax, Virginia 22030