FAQs

The job of a SPAM filter is to automatically recognise unwanted emails and prevent them from landing in your inbox. Unwanted emails can either be malevolent or simply unsolicited and 50% of all email traffic is SPAM. A SPAM filter is therefore a really effective way of preventing unwanted emails from interrupting your day and disrupting your IT infrastructure.

Remote Management Monitoring (RMM) is software that sits on your devices and stealthily monitors the health of the device, detecting potential issues before they become a serious one. It provides a valuable insight into how each device is performing, from laptops and desktops to servers.

Datto is an example of Remote Management Monitoring software. It is licensed via your IT support provider and is extremely efficient and effective.

Absolutely. Anti virus protects against viruses and malware by preventing it, detecting it and removing it.

Most viruses will enter your IT network through a malicious link in an email. Anti virus that contains email filtering will prevent that email from landing in your inbox in the first instance. That said, some phishing emails are sophisticated enough to get through, or for people to view it in their junk folder and believe it to be genuine nonetheless. The next phase of the anti virus would be to detect that the malicious link has facilitated a virus to enter your IT network and alert you, or your IT provider, to this fact. And finally, the third job of the anti virus is to remove any viruses from your network.

Whilst it’s not mandatory for organisations to be Cyber Essentials accredited, Hubtel IT recommends that any organisation that has an IT network, big or small, is Cyber Essentials accredited.

This is because cyber criminals don’t discriminate and will attack any type of organisation, regardless of sector and size. Cyber crime is become increasingly clever and anyone call fall victim to it.

During the King’s Speech in July 2024, a Cyber Security and Resilience Bill was announced. Whilst this is aimed at public services, here at Hubtel IT we think it is only a matter of time before it Cyber Essentials is legislated for all organisations in the UK.

More information about Cyber Essentials and the cyber security areas it covers is available here.

Cyber Essentials is an ISAME accreditation which is endorsed by the government. Cyber Essentials certification is awarded to organisations who have demonstrated compliance to 5 key areas of cyber security, passing a test by an independent auditor.

Once Cyber Essentials has been awarded, organisations are accessed annually to ensure they remain compliant. If organisations want to take it up a level, then Cyber Essentials Plus is the next stage.

It is widely agreed that 80% of cyber crime can be prevented with basic security measures in place and these measures are covered off by Cyber Essentials.

Hubtel IT is Cyber Essentials Plus accredited and more information about the scheme can be found over on our Cyber Essentials page.

If you suspect you’ve been a victim of cyber crime you should inform your IT support provider immediately.

You can report cyber crime or fraud to Action Fraud, either online or over the phone. For more information about the services provided by Action Fraud, please visit their website.

There’s also a wealth of information available online from the West Midlands Cyber Resilience Centre which can be accessed here.

The Cloud is a network of physical servers that are stored all over the world. Data is transmitted to and from those servers over the internet, where the data is also stored.

Putting your IT in the Cloud means that there is no need to retain a physical server on-premise, as data back ups can also be saved securely to the Cloud. This doesn’t mean that physical servers are obsolete, as it may still be relevant for your organisation to keep a physical back up as well as a virtual one in the cloud.

Telephony also can now be Cloud-based, and in fact, due to the forthcoming BT Switch Off, Cloud-based telephony will soon be the norm. For more information about the BT Switch Off, watch our video here.

More information about the Cloud can be found here, over on our YouTube channel.

Every organisation should have a Disaster Recovery Plan and assume that at some point, you will need to use is.

Do you know how your organisation would continue to function if your organisation got hacked, you suffered a data breach or there was a major incident that prevented you and key staff members from getting to work?

A Disaster Recovery Plan documents exactly how your organisation would continue to function in the event of any disruption and should be put to the test at least twice a year. It covers data back ups, data retrieval, keeping your communication channels open and the ability to work from other locations than the office.

Disaster Recovery Plans are imperative for any organisation.

The most obvious reason is that you’ve suffered repeated data breaches. No one is ever completely ringfenced from a cyber attack, but if you’ve suffered a few data breaches then there is something wrong with your cyber security measures in place.

Another common reason is that it takes too long to get issues resolved. If your IT infrastructure is set up effectively, there really shouldn’t be any issues that take an unreasonable amount of time to resolve.

It can be difficult to know if you’re getting value for money, but if your current IT support provider is not transparent with prices then this could be a sign it’s time to move on. IT support is about providing solutions and a service, not a sale.

Finally, can your current IT support provider support your growing business? Don’t be a victim of inertia loyalty. It may simple be the case that you’ve outgrown your current IT support provider and that’s ok, it’s a good enough reason to make the switch.

There are many factors to consider when choosing an IT support provider and addressing your current pain points is a good place to start! If your top pain point is response times, then look at what SLAs other providers offer. And don’t be afraid to ask for stats to back claims up; ask providers how many support tickets are fixed within the SLA and judge whether this will work for you.

It’s important to consider whether the IT support provider you’re considering is Cyber Essentials accredited. This will indicate whether they take cyber security seriously and whether or not your data will be safe in their hands.

What other accreditations do they hold? There are lots of industry accreditations, but really it comes down to how well they know Microsoft and how invested they are in cyber security.

A good IT support provider will have lots of reviews, either on their website or on Google. Take it a step further, and reach out to those referees for references. Make sure you’re asking for references from companies similar to yourselves though, as the chances of your requirements being similar are more likely.

It’s not always about price, the cheapest provider won’t necessarily be the best. Raise your existing pain points and ask how your new IT provider would deal with them. Does that sound like value to money to you?

We go into more detail about choosing a new IT support provider on our YouTube channel, which you can head to here.

If you’re thinking about changing to another IT support provider, then chances are it’s because you’re not happy with your current IT support. Moving to a new provider doesn’t have to be disruptive or expensive, as long as you’ve done your due diligence beforehand and have a clear on-boarding process with your incoming IT provider.

A good IT support provider will understand your IT goals and work with you to deliver these with minimal disruption to your business. Your incoming IT provider should manage the hand-over process with your incumbent and if any IT downtime is necessary then this should be planned during out of hours.

If you’re upgrading your IT support and/or infrastructure then naturally there will be additional costs but you should view these as an investment in your organisation. Good IT support is an asset to any organisation.

IT support pricing should always be transparent and you should always be able to see the value your IT support provider brings to your organisation.

For tips of choosing and IT support provider, head over to our YouTube channel and watch our

Choosing a new IT support provider video here.

Phishing attacks are really common and unfortunately increasingly sophisticated, so it’s not always easy to spot one. If you fallen victim to a phishing email, or even if you think you may have, you need to take immediate action to prevent hackers gaining access to your sensitive information.

We’ve made a short explainer video detailing the steps you need to take in the face of a phishing attempt. You can click here to watch the video over on the Hubtel IT YouTube channel.

That’s right. As technology advances it’s now possible to get a broadband connection without the line rental element, which means you only pay for the broadband and not the line.

This type of broadband is called SoGEA and it’s important to remember that it’s a data connection only. So, you won’t be able to connect your regular landline telephone to it, but you will still be able to make and receive telephone calls over the internet with the right hardware in place. If you’d like to know more about saving money and using SoGEA, give us a call at Hubtel IT.

If your existing telephone system is still relatively new then it’s likely that it will be compatible with Cloud based technology. In that case, we simply port your existing telephone numbers into the Cloud and program your hardware to adapt.

Older telephone systems will need to be replaced before moving to the Cloud. Given the long term efficiencies of Cloud based telephony, replacing your system sooner rather than later needn’t be a barrier to switching.

Cloud based telephony is also known as a hosted telephone system and you can learn more about it in our short explainer video by clicking here and heading over to the Hubtel IT YouTube channel.

Passwords should never contact personal information or be so predictable they can be guessed. Good passwords are at least 14 character long and contain a mix of lowercase, uppercase and punctuation. Stay away from single words and opt for phrases instead.

Cyber security should be at the heart of your IT set up and your password is your first line of defence against hackers. Don’t be tempted to go for something just because it’s easy to remember – cyber crime is not going away.

In fact, here at Hubtel IT we recommend using a Password Manager to generate and securely store all of your passwords. Don’t be put off by the perceived inconvenience of this extra layer of security; it’s nothing to what you could experience if you were to suffer a data breach.

More information about protecting your organisation from a data breach can be found in our short explainer video on our YouTube channel. Head over to the Hubtel IT YouTube channel here.

General rule of thumb is every 4 years, but that is subject to your usage and specification of the computer to start with.

Businesses who are hardware heavy should consider a Rolling Replacement Plan so that the cost and installations can be managed efficiently.

All current telephone systems are compatible with a system-specific app that, once downloaded to your mobile phone, will enable your mobile to function as if it was your office desk phone.