Whitepaper Archives

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.

Why You Need A Managed Firewall
This week we’re discussing managed firewalls. Why do we need a firewall? Firewalls are a critical part of any security stack Firewalls are crucial for small businesses for several reasons: Protection ...
Retailers Under Siege: Boost your Cyber Defences Now!
You will no doubt have seen that over the past couple of weeks, some of the UK’s most notable retailers have been hit by major cyberattacks. Marks & Spencer, Co-Op and Harrods were all targeted ...
Understanding DMARC: Protecting Your Email Domain
This week we’re talking about DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication Reporting and Conformance) – what it is and why your business needs it. With DMARC you can tell the world how to handle ...
April 2025 Newsletter
Hello Welcome to our April newsletter update. New Face on the Helpdesk We would like to introduce John who has recently joined our Helpdesk technical team. John has a wealth of ...
Global Trade Tensions Spark Concerns Over Tariffs on IT Services
As trade tensions intensify around the globe, governments are turning their attention to the tech sector—not only targeting IT services but also expanding tariffs to cover essential hardware such as ...
Less than 6 months to go!
14th October 2025 is going to be a big day for Windows and Office users, as Microsoft will be killing off support for the following: Windows 10 (all versions) Microsoft Office 2016 Microsoft Office ...
March 2025 Newsletter
Welcome to our March newsletter update. Microsoft Price Adjustments from April 2025 Microsoft Price tweaks are coming! From 1st April, monthly billing plans for annual subscriptions ...
Introducing Microsoft Teams Premium
Every business has unique collaboration requirements, but not all Teams setups are created equal. Microsoft Teams Premium enables organisations like yours to customise meetings, enhance security, and ...
Microsoft Zero Trust Workshop Video
Here is a video about Zero Trust from Microsoft. ...
Microsoft Price Adjustments from April 2025
Starting on April 1, 2025, Microsoft are introducing a pricing update across their platforms to standardise their billing structure. All new and renewing monthly billing plans for annual ...
Changes Coming to Microsoft 365 Subscriptions
Microsoft have announced changes to Microsoft 365 subscriptions, with two features being removed next year. 1. You will no longer have access to Skype calls to mobile numbers and landlines. On 3rd ...
All About Sophos AI-Powered Cyber Defences
This week we are looking at Sophos’ AI-powered cyber defences. Cybersecurity is awash with AI hype. Organisations are bombarded with both alluring promises of AI-powered cybersecurity transformation ...
Zero Trust – what does it mean?
Hello, This week we are looking at Zero Trust Principles in cybersecurity. In the past, you may have focused your defences on protecting network access with on-premise firewalls and VPNs, assuming ...
All About Huntress Endpoint Detection and Response
Hello, This week we’re looking at Huntress EDR (Endpoint Detection and Response). Huntress is a modern EDR software program which works alongside your usual anti -virus/anti-malware software. It is ...
The Huntress Managed Security Platform in Action – video
Find out more about Huntress here >...
Windows 10 and Office 2016/2019 End of life
The countdown is on! 14th October 2025 is going to be a big day for Windows and Office users, as Microsoft will be killing off support for the following: Windows 10 (all versions) Microsoft Office ...
All About Cyber Insurance
This week we’re looking at cyber insurance. Why is it important to consider cyber insurance? Cyber risk is inevitable. No business with internet-connected devices can eliminate cyber risk entirely; ...
January 2025 Newsletter
Welcome to our January newsletter update. Look Out for our New Quote Design From this week, all of our customers will start to receive quotes in a new format. These are being generated ...
Microsoft to Stop Support for Office Apps on Windows 10
Microsoft have announced they will no longer support Office apps, known as Microsoft 365 apps, running on Windows 10 later this year. This support cut off coincides with the Windows 10 end of life ...
Cyber Essentials Plus Certification Renewed
We are happy to report that we have just renewed our Cyber Essentials (CE) Plus certification for another year. Big well done to the team involved! We have had Cyber Essentials Plus certification for ...
Update to our Ticketing Portal 💻
Hello, Happy New Year to those we have not yet spoken to! We hope you have a healthy, happy and successful 2025. There are going to be some changes to our systems over the next couple of months which ...
🎄Keep Safe Online this Festive Season 🎄
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 ...
DMARC is soon to be a Requirement for PCI Compliance
From April 2025, DMARC will change from being best practice for PCI (Payment Card Industry) compliance to an essential requirement. As technology continues to evolve, so do the methods of ...
November 2024 Newsletter
November 2024 Hello, Welcome to our November newsletter update. 30th Anniversary Prize Draw Have you seen our email about our 30th Anniversary Prize Draw where you could win one ...
Are Password Managers Safe?
This week, we’re looking at password managers and if they are actually safe to use. First things first, what are password managers? A password manager is a software application designed to securely ...
October 2024 Newsletter
October 2024 Hello, Welcome to our October newsletter update. New Addition to the Office We recently commissioned local digital artist Andy Buttery to create a piece of artwork ...
Keeping Your IT Systems Up-to-Date
Following our email earlier this month highlighting different ways to improve your business’ cybersecurity, we wanted to talk more about keeping your IT systems up-to-date and why it is so important ...
Cybersecurity Awareness Month
Hi! October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month so in this week’s newsletter we’re going to look at ways to improve your business’ cybersecurity. Check your passwords are secure Passwords are an ...
Thinking About Business Continuity
This week we’re looking at business continuity and what you should consider when thinking about when creating your disaster recovery and business continuity plans. What do we mean by business ...
September 2024 Newsletter
September 2024 Hello, Welcome to our September newsletter update. Lock Down your Firewall As part of a response to an increased number of attacks from around the globe, firewall manufacturer ...
All About Leased Lines
Hello! This week, we’re going to explain what leased lines are and why they could be worth considering for your business. If you’re looking at ways to connect your business to the internet, you might ...
An Introduction to Internet of Things
This week, we’re going to explain what Internet of Things (IoT) is about and why it could be worth investigating for using in your business. First of all, what is Internet of Things (IoT)? ...
August 2024 Newsletter
August 2024 Hello, Welcome to our August 2024 newsletter update. Pleased to Support the NWAA Last week we had the pleasure of donating an iPad to the North West Aerospace Alliance (NWAA), ...
Copilot for Microsoft Teams – Videos from Microsoft
Microsoft have released a number of videos explaining the Copilot features available when using it with Microsoft Teams. Please find these below. 1.With so many meetings and so little time, ...
All About Endpoint Security
Hackers continue to target endpoints, with research showing that 70% of breaches worldwide originate at an endpoint. Add that to the fact that IT networks have an increasing number – and wider ...
Poor Security at the Electoral Commission Let Hackers Access 40 Million Voters’ Details
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 ...
July 2024 Newsletter
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
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. ...
Copilot for Microsoft 365 Online Workshop Recording
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 ...
June 2024 Newsletter
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 ...
SonicWall Elevate 2024
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 ...
All About Microsoft Copilot
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 ...
All About Business Email Compromise
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 ...
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 the final version of Windows 10. After this date, Windows 10 will stop ...
May 2024 Newsletter
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. ...
NCS IT 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. The NWAA (North West Aerospace Alliance) is the professional trade association for all ...
All About Cyber Essentials
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 ...
All About Passwords
This week, we’re going to delve into the world of passwords. These essential security components play a crucial role in safeguarding our digital lives. What is a password? A password is a sequence of ...
April 2024 Newsletter
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 ...
Changes are Coming to Microsoft Teams
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 ...
9 Reasons Why You Need To Back Up Your Microsoft 365
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!
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 Newsletter
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 ...
And the Good News Keeps on Coming!
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 are now a SonicWALL Gold Partner
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 ...
All About YubiKeys
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 ...
Curious about what a Yubikey does?
6 Terrific Tips to Improve your IT Health
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 Newsletter
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 ...
Supporting Salford Red Devils
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 ...
Office 365 and Multifactor Authentication
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 ...
How to Protect Against 99% of Cyberattacks
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 ...
All About Cloud-based Phone Systems
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 Newsletter
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 ...
5 IT-Related New Year’s Resolutions
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 ...
All About Vulnerability Testing
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 ...
All about Email Security
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
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 ...
Email Security Video from Cisco
Here is a great video about email security from our partners Cisco:...
An overview of DMARC
Here’s a short video that is an overview of DMARC: ...
November 2023 Newsletter
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 ...
Anybody can be a Target
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 ...
🎄Keep Safe Online this Festive Season 🎄
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 ...
Backing up your data: why and how!
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 ...
NCS IT Successfully Renews Cyber Essentials Standard
We have just renewed our Cyber Essentials standard for another year. We are now working towards achieving our Cyber Essentials Plus standard....
Dive deep into the power of Microsoft 365 Copilot
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) – Video
Learn about Azure Virtual Desktop (formerly Windows Virtual Desktop), why it’s unique, and what’s new in this video: ...
October 2023 Newsletter
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 from Phishing Attacks
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 ...
Multifactor Authentication and How it Works
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 MFA
Making accounts more secure with multifactor authentication – video from Microsoft ...
September 2023 Newsletter
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 ...
What is Microsoft 365 for Business?
Learn more about what you get with a subscription to Microsoft 365 for Business with this great video from Microsoft ...
Think You Know Ransomware?
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 ...
All About Multifactor Authentication
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 Newsletter
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 Newsletter
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 ...
We are now a Microsoft 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 ...
NCS IT have Achieved the Cisco Small Business Specialisation
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 E-newsletter
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 ...
Our Visit to DTX Manchester 2023
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 ...
Our first few months of 2023
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 ...
World Password Day
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 E-newsletter
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 ...
NCS IT are Going Green
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 ...
NCS IT Sponsor Bury Pride 2023
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 ...
Rossendale Triathlon 2023 Sponsors
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 have Renewed our Sophos Silver Partner Status
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 ...
Travelling the World….from a Desk!
Our Technical Director was travelling the world last week…from the comfort of his desk! Last week Andrew Charlesworth worked in three continents for multiple customers and suppliers! One ...

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Tag: Whitepaper

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