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News NCS IT

News


New Faces on the Helpdesk

Posted on 15 February 202315 February 2023

A very warm welcome to Chris and Andy who have joined the Helpdesk.

You can find out more about them on our Meet NCS page >

 

Posted in News

Why choose NCS?

Based in the North West, we’re used to making IT simple for businesses of all sizes across the UK. Since 1994, our knowledgeable and professional team has been trusted by many well-known businesses to provide first-class support and advice.

Whether you’re after an IT strategy for your expanding business, a secure remote system for employees on the go, a new set up for your office or firewalls to keep vital assets protected from cyber criminals – we’re ready to help.

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  • Our Cisco Partner Status has been Elevated
    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 ...
  • Exhibiting at the Merseyside Business Expo 2022
    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:      ...
  • This is why backups are so important
    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. ...
  • We Sponsored the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce’s Networking Event
    On 14th June, NCS are sponsored Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce’s networking event at Elliot House on Deansgate in Manchester. Andy Long gave a great presentation about our customer journey ...
  • June 2022 Update
    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’re Exhibiting at the Merseyside Business Expo 2022
    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 ...
  • We’re Sponsoring the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce’s Networking Event in June
    We are sponsoring Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce’s networking event on 14th June at Elliot House on Deansgate in Manchester. Members of the NCS IT team will be presenting and staying ...
  • May 2022 Update
    May 2022 Hello, Welcome to our May 2022 newsletter update.   New Recruit We are pleased to welcome Connor to our Helpdesk team. He has joined us as a first-line support engineer and you may have ...
  • Every Day is a School Day
    Well done to two of our engineers, Ross and Connor who have received verified achievements this month! Ross has received a verified achievement from Microsoft for Azure Fundamentals. Connor received ...
  • New Recruit – Connor
    We are pleased to welcome Connor to our Helpdesk team. He has joined us as a first-line support engineer and you may have already spoken to him if you have called the Helpdesk in the last couple of ...
  • NCS IT Sponsor Edenfield Cricket Club
    NCS IT are pleased to be sponsoring Edenfield Cricket Club for their 2022 season. We wish them lots of luck in their upcoming matches.  ...
  • Rossendale Triathlon 2022
    We are proud to be sponsoring Rossendale Triathlon again this year. It will be taking place Sunday 15th May. Good luck to everyone taking part! http://ow.ly/fsYa30sioE4  ...
  • Continuing our Partnership with Bacup Cricket Club
    The 2022 cricket season is the final year of our 3-year shirt sponsor partnership with Bacup Cricket Club. After lots of missed matches over the past two year due to COVID-19 and associated ...
  • DTX 2022
    Yesterday, members of the NCS team visited DTX Manchester 2022 at Manchester Central.   Here are some of our photos from the day:  ...
  • We are Sponsoring Bury Pride 2022
    We are excited to announce that we will be sponsoring the main stage at Bury Pride this year which will be taking place on 30th April. For more information about the event, please visit their website ...
  • April 2022 Update
    Hello, Welcome to our April 2022 newsletter update. Disaster Recovery Testing  We have noticed an increase in clients requesting disaster recovery testing and consultancy for insurance purposes. If ...
  • Disaster Recovery Testing
    We have noticed an increase in clients requesting disaster recovery testing and consultancy for insurance purposes. If this is something your business requires, please get in touch. We have a number ...
  • Exhibiting at Lancashire Business Expo 2022
    On Friday 25th, NCS IT and over 100 other companies exhibited at the Lancashire Business Expo at Preston Guild Hall.   Here are some of our photos from the day.     We will also be ...
  • We’re Exhibiting at the Lancashire Business Expo 2022
    We will be exhibiting at the Lancashire Business Expo 2022 taking place on Friday 25th March 2022 at Preston Guild Hall. It’s a free-to-attend event so please pop to our stand to say hi if ...
  • Microsoft Teams is the New Target for Phishing Attacks
    Cyber criminals are reportedly beginning to target employees on platforms such as Microsoft Teams and Slack. This is perhaps due to their increasing popularity – Microsoft Teams alone has 270 million ...
  • March 2022 Update
    Hello, Welcome to our March 2022 newsletter update. Lancashire Business Expo 2022 We will be exhibiting at the Lancashire Business Expo 2022 taking place on Friday 25th March 2022 at Preston Guild ...
  • IT Equipment – Cost of Ownership
    With the rising cost of living at the forefront of everyone’s mind at the moment, have you thought about how much your IT equipment actually costs to run? For example, a standard Dell or HP ...
  • Disaster Recovery – What would you do?
    Consider this business scenario It’s 9am on Monday morning. You arrive and the office and realise your IT systems are down. Email is not working either, and your main business programs aren’t ...
  • 7 Ways to Work Smarter in the Cloud and Drive Greater Impact
    Thank you for visiting our website. Here is Microsoft’s 7 Ways to Work Smarter in the Cloud and Drive Greater Impact whitepaper. Click the link below to download it for free. 7 Ways To Work ...
  • Newsletter February 2022
    Hello, Welcome to our February 2022 newsletter update.   New Partnership We have just confirmed our newest vendor partnership with Acronis. Acronis offer next-generation anti-virus, anti-malware ...
  • Newsletter January 2022
    Hello, it’s been a while since we sent out a newsletter, so here’s a quick update on what’s been happening at NCS over the past few months. Happy New Year First and foremost, ...
  • How Often do you Back Up your Data?
    In the event of hardware failure, virus infestations, theft or even just accidental deletion, would you be able to recover your data from a backup? The impact of any of these situations could be ...
  • Log4j advisory – December 2021
    You may have seen in the press about a new, extremely severe Java vulnerability called Log4j that can affect all Windows computers, including fileservers, laptops and PCs. It has put some of the ...
  • Making the Shift to a Modern Desktop with Microsoft 365
    How do you keep desktop environments secure while providing information protection and integrated identity and access management? Are you keeping your users happy and secure with the most up-to-date ...
  • Opening Hours Over the Festive Period
    We will have different opening hours over the festive period. These will be: Friday 24th December 2021 – 8am – 1pm Monday 27th December 2021 – CLOSED Tuesday 28th December 2021 ...
  • 10 Myths About Moving to the Cloud
      Most organisations that have moved to the cloud, have done so because they have decided they need to for business agility and the cost savings that come with it. If your organisation is ...
  • Great Black Friday Offer? Here’s How to Stay Safe when Buying Online
    This year, Black Friday falls on Friday 26th November, however many retailers have started to offer their Black Friday deals now. If you’re looking to take advantage of the promotions and grab ...
  • All About Two-Factor Authentication/Multi-Factor Authentication
    We have seen an increase in apps and websites insisting on Two-Factor Authentication (2FA). Whilst it may seem to be unnecessary, standard security procedures requesting only a username and password ...
  • What are Password Generators and should I be using them?
    Have you ever used a password generator? We recommend to our customers to use LastPass’ excellent password generator (https://www.lastpass.com/password-generator) which you can even download as a ...
  • Domain Fraud
    We have seen instances recently where fraudsters have purchased domains similar to a company’s name in order to impersonate them and fraudulently invoice their customers. Example scenario: 1. Joe ...
  • How to Block Attacks on your Mobile Devices
    Many people let their guard down on mobiles devices but you should be as careful as if you were using a desktop. Here are a few ways to block mobile attacks > When using Wi-Fi Don’t allow your ...
  • All About Microsoft SharePoint – Online File Sharing
    Microsoft’s SharePoint application can be used as a secure place to store, organise and access information from any device across your network. It is included free with all Microsoft 365 Business ...
  • All About Microsoft Teams
    Microsoft Teams is a messaging app which can be used as a workspace for meetings, real-time collaboration and file sharing. It is included free with all Office 365 Business subscriptions. We use ...
  • Do You Need to Backup Microsoft 365? 5 Reasons Why You Should.
    One of the major reasons for moving your business data, be it email, files or conversations, to Microsoft 365 is the ultra-resilient infrastructure and security that Microsoft datacentres provide. ...
  • What Does a Modern Workplace Look Like? – Your Business in the Cloud
    What Does a Modern Workplace Look Like? – Your Business in the Cloud   If there is one thing that the pandemic has taught us, it is that a business needs to be agile, flexible, and built ...
  • How Strong is Your Password?
    We’ve all seen those annoying instructions when creating a new password – “you must use one special character, one capital letter, six letters, two numbers, one emoji” …. ok, maybe ...
  • Windows 10 Versions, End of Life
    Windows 10 has regular version updates which introduce new features, make improvements and, most importantly, fix security issues. Each version release is given a version number, with the current ...
  • Our Approach During the Coronavirus Situation
    As we enter another period of lockdown and with Covid-19 cases increasing, we would like to take a moment to explain how NCS IT is responding to the situation. Firstly, let us clarify NCS IT is still ...
  • Empowering Remote Work with Microsoft Teams
    With the UK starting to get back to some sort of normality, some businesses are starting to open again whilst still allowing some staff to work from home for the time being. It is therefore crucial ...
  • COVID19 Phishing Scams Targeting Passport Details
    Fraudsters are targeting self-employed people in COVID-related HMRC phishing scams. Griffin Law has found a variation of the phishing attack which seeks to gain the passport details of self-employed ...
  • Beware of “Secure DNS” Scam Targeting WordPress Users
    NakedSecurity are reporting a new scam email which pretends to come from WordPress. The email claims that DNS security features will soon be added for your WordPress domain. It tells the reader to ...
  • Time to Consider Microsoft 365
    Your technology can make the difference between a good day and a bad one. How hard are your systems working for you? Are you managing multiple passwords? Are you using disconnected solutions for ...
  • Cyber Security for Remote Workers Webinar Recording
    Please find a recording of our Microsoft Modern Workplace webinar which was recorded live on 11th June 2020. https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZlxELx7cW7A NCS IT held our second free webinar on Thursday ...
  • Microsoft Modern Workplace Webinar Recording
    Please find below a recording of our Microsoft Modern Workplace webinar which was recorded live on 28th May 2020. https://www.youtube.com/embed/To6Tvw_EG54 The Microsoft Modern Workplace, built on ...
  • NCS IT Renews Microsoft Gold Partner Status for a further 12 Months
    NCS IT Ltd have successfully renewed their Microsoft Gold Partner status for a further 12 months. This renewal means the company have been Microsoft Gold Partners for nearly 15 years, a tremendous ...
  • Microsoft Modern Workplace Webinar
    NCS IT Ltd are holding a webinar on Thursday 28th May at 10.30am all about the Microsoft Modern Workplace. The Microsoft Modern Workplace, built on Microsoft 365, focuses on how users can work from ...
  • An Update from NCS IT Ltd
    Here’s an update from NCS as the situation currently stands… Office Staff NCS continues to trade effectively. All of our office staff are working from home and whilst we have lost some ...
  • Office 365 is changing to Microsoft 365
    Microsoft has announced that Office 365 is changing its name to Microsoft 365 on 21st April 2020. The products and prices are not changing at this point just the name. See below: Office 365 Business ...
  • Week 1 Working from Home
    So this is a bit different to our usual IT Security Briefing. We thought you might find it useful to hear from us every week during this difficult time to stay in touch and share how we’re ...
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