Richard Tubb's Blog, page 66

December 9, 2018

TubbTalk #47 – The Dark Web and Keeping MSP Clients Safe

Richard talks to Kevin Lancaster, CEO of ID Agent, about how their dark web monitoring tool helps MSPs keep their clients safe.



An Interview with Kevin Lancaster
Who is ID Agent?TubbTalk 46 - Kevin Lancaster of ID Agent

ID Agent has developed a tool, Dark Web ID, for MSPs to show their existing and potential customers how serious the cybersecurity challenge is. The tool flags compromised email addresses and passwords that are out on the dark web.


Originally working with government agencies and financial institutions in the US, as awareness around cyber security grew, Kevin and the team realised that it was important to be able to provide their software to other markets.


Kevin explains that by allowing MSPs to show clients how and where their data has been compromised, they can highlight the danger of the dark web and sell them additional security solutions that every business really needs.



How ID Agent Helps MSPs Win More Clients

Kevin explains that the dark web tool runs in two ways. Firstly, you can enter a domain or email address for any company anywhere in the world and find out if there are any hits for it on the dark web. MSPs can then show clients that the data is compromised.


It also allows MSPs to show which websites employees have used their work email addresses on. This means that MSPs can approach potential customers and give them a real reason why security matters and why they should invest in support.


Partner feedback says ID Agent is having a tremendous impact on their ability to get into an organisation, showing them they need to work with an MSP because they’re progressive and taking cybersecurity to the forefront of the conversation.


What is the Dark Web?

When you search via a search engine or type in a URL, that goes to an IP address and give you a result. This is the surface web that everybody uses every day. Then, there’s a sub layer which is known as the ‘deep web’, which doesn’t use the typical URLs.



The deep web has been architected in such a way that it’s encrypted, making it easy for users to be anonymous. Within this, little pockets known as the ‘dark web’ are used for nefarious activities such as selling drugs, guns or pornography.


It’s not easy to access this part of the internet, but it’s where ID Agent search for data that’s been acquired from companies, and if any credentials are up for sale within the dark web.


How ID Agent Finds Dark Web Intelligence

By monitoring and pulling in the data, ID Agent can report to MSP partners that the data is on the dark web. They in turn can share this information with customers and prospects and emphasise the importance of data security. Kevin says you have to be careful about finding data and what you report on. ID Agent uses human intelligence to try out where data will pop up next and where it will be published, traded or sold.


There are also some backend technologies that allow them to extract and scrape the data once certain areas are identified and monitored, and they also use automated tools to extract that data. The key is to ensure that it’s legitimate data and not faked.


How ID Agent Allows MSPs to Keep Clients Safe

Most MSP clients don’t know their data is compromised until it’s too late, and they then panic about trying to resolve the problem. Kevin says that MSPs use their platform in two different ways.



One is to approach customers or prospects and say they have a monitoring system as a standalone product and available at a set monthly price. The other is to embed the service within their security stack solution and charge for it in their bundles.


MSPs are proactively explaining to prospects all of the elements they need before they sign up, including endpoint, security awareness training, monitoring and backup. Kevin says: This is changing the conversation from ‘security is an expense’, to the new mentality, and I think ID Agent are having a pretty significant impact on it.’



Mentioned in this Episode

ID Agent
Business software solutions: ConnectWise
Document sharing tool: Dropbox
IT business management software: Autotask
IT Management Software Solutions: Kaseya
Business continuity and management: Datto

Interview Transcript

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You Might Also Be Interested In

How IT Companies can Significantly improve their Customer Service
pCloud – All your files with you anywhere you go
TubbTalk 44 – The Evolving MSP

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Published on December 09, 2018 23:25

December 6, 2018

Telegram Messenger – Secure Cloud-Based Messaging

Telegram MessengerEvery Friday I share one of my favourite finds of the week — a website, tool or an app that has impressed me.


My Friday Favourite this week is Telegram Messenger – Secure Cloud-Based Messaging.


What is it?

Telegram Messenger is a cloud-based instant messaging app, similar to WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger.


How can it help me?

If you’ve used WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger, you’re familiar with instant messaging.


Telegram Messenger works in a similar way — sending messages for free via Wi-Fi or mobile data — but has a high focus on security.


All activities within Telegram are encrypted. This means that even if they are intercepted, they won’t be visible to hackers.


Telegram Messenger - Secure Cloud-Based MessagingTelegram Messenger - Secure Cloud-Based MessagingI’ve been using Telegram for a while now, and as well as text-based instant messaging, Telegram also offers:-



Group Chats
Secret Chats
Multimedia (Pictures, Videos, file attachments)
Voice Calls

Telegram Messenger can also replace your default SMS (text-messaging) client app, to help you keep all your messaging in one place.


It’s so secure that Telegram has been banned in Russia following a court ruling. If the Russian authorities can’t read Telegram Messenger data, you can rest easy that it’s secure.



If security is high on your list of priorities (and if you want an example, US-based Netzbahn owner Norbert Doeberlein shared how an MSP can thrive in the security niche in TubbTalk #33) then Telegram Messenger may be a good choice for your instant messaging.


How much does it cost?

Telegram Messenger is free to use, and will always remain so, say its developers.


There are no ads and no subscriptions.


How can I get it?

Visit Telegram.org to download Telegram Messenger for Android, iOS, Windows Phone, PC, Mac, Linux or to use the web interface.


You can also follow @Telegram on Twitter.


Thanks to Rob McDermott for first introducing me to Telegram.


You Might Also Be Interested In

AppBlock – Stay Focused and Block Distractions
Loose Ends – Turn your spare time into a great time
My Experiment in using the Telephone instead of E-Mail

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Published on December 06, 2018 23:45

December 2, 2018

TubbTalk #46 – From CentraStage to Datto: One Cloud-based RMM’s Journey

Richard talks to Christian Nagele & Ian Van Reenen about their business journey, from cloud-based RMM operating their company, CentraStage, in a spare room, to being acquired by Autotask and then Datto.



An Interview with Christian Nagele and Ian Van Reenen
How They Started CentraStageTubbTalk #46 - From CentraStage to Datto

CentraStage moved location a couple of times before ending up in Ian’s apartment. The servers were in the bathroom because there was an extractor fan to keep it cool, and they used a spare room to run the business. The business was SaaS (Software as a Service) based from the beginning, which was unusual, as at the time (around 10 years ago) everyone was running server-based rather than cloud-based companies.


Christian says that it was Ian’s idea to be cloud-based and he stuck to that decision. They used Amazon Web Services (AWS) to develop their RMM (remote monitoring and management platform) when it was still new, and AWS developed alongside them, which allowed them to expand their offering. 


Why Autotask Bought the Business

Using AWS meant that CentraStage could offer a range of new, exciting features to their clients. They were supported constantly by AWS engineers which allowed them to find the best way to use the system and scale their business.


Christian explains that although they didn’t have a great deal of revenue or many MSP customers, their use of AWS was a key competitive differentiator. They had a highly-scalable platform which could offer new features quickly, based on what customers wanted, which was what led Autotask to choose to buy the business.



How the Business Grew

The business had grown steadily from scratch, and one of the advantages was that Autotask allowed them to continue to develop the RMM as they wanted. When they were then acquired by Datto, Ian worked closely with the VP of Engineering and the rest of his team to discuss what was needed.


Ian says, ‘They told us where they wanted to go, the direction and the metrics to include, and set us off to do that. It meant we suddenly had the resources to scale the business.’



From there, they went from a team of 35 with five salespeople to 175 sales staff and from a couple of hundred thousand devices to up to a million. They’d built the platform to do that from the very beginning, and AWS allowed them to do so.


The Future of RMM

Christian says: “Too many vendors have chased what I call excessive feature breadth, and tried to offer too many features when what MSPs need an RMM to deliver is pretty tightly defined in my world.” Trying to make an RMM do too many moves it into a different area.


Ultimately, the end customer wants a service – an IT infrastructure that is up and running is secure, efficient and serves the business goals. That’s what they’re looking for.”



The role of RMM is to be able to apply those service level agreements to better infrastructure. If it needs to be secure for instance, make sure that it’s patched, that the AV is running, firewalls are in place and the network is secure.



The Plans for the Next 12 Months

Both Ian and Christian are focussing on scale and growth. Ian has developed a roadmap to make Datto’s products good enough to sell themselves and to make their RMM the number one on the market. He will be expanding the team and getting the infrastructure in place to make this happen over the coming year.



Christian says his main task is to bring more MSPs on board with using Datto. He will be attending hundreds of events right across EMEA, including smaller, local events as well as big conferences.


He wants to support Datto to continue to increase its market presence to increase staff numbers and MSP partners. Too many vendors have disappeared from the marketplace in recent years or their offering has been diluted, and that’s not what he wants for Datto.


Mentioned in this Episode

Datto
Autotask
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Blog Post – Centrastage at AMITPRO (July 15th, 2009)

Interview Transcript

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Published on December 02, 2018 23:25

October 18, 2018

K Sport Wireless Headphones – True Wireless In-Ear Bluetooth Earphones

K Sport Wireless Headphones[1]


Every Friday I share one of my favourite finds of the week — a website, tool or an app that has impressed me.


My Friday Favourite this week is K Sport Wireless Headphones – True Wireless In-Ear Bluetooth Earphones.


What is it?

K Sport Wireless Headphones are true wireless in-ear Bluetooth earphones that can be used for sport or leisure.


How can it help me?

I’m an avid listener to Podcasts (read my article on Why you should listen to Podcasts for personal development for one reason why I listen so much) and regularly listen while I’m out walking.


I currently use wired headphones, which are fine, but since Apple released their AirPod earphones, I’ve been intrigued to go down the wireless earphone route.


KauiFit K True Wireless earphones with boxThe prices of wireless earphones remain fairly high — the Apple AirPod is £159 at time of writing — so I was intrigued to try the K Sport Wireless Headphones, which are very competitively priced at under £50.


The earphones themselves are small, sweatproof and rainproof and are pitched at the fitness market.


The earphones have no cables in use, come with replaceable ear tips, plus a unique dual USB charger cable.


They use Bluetooth with a range of 10m, and you can use the earphones for media, fitness training programmes or, when paired with your Smartphone and use with the built-in microphone in the earphones, for telephone calls.


K Sport Wireless Headphones


Each earphone fitted snugly in my ear and gave a great stereo sound quality. You can use just one earphone or both earphones at any time.


The earphone has a single button which you can use to control music or Podcasts. Press once to pause, twice to skip a track or hold down to turn on/off. I found this a very useful feature.


Charging time for the earphones is approx 1.5 hours, with 3-6 hours use time.


The K Sport earphones also come with an Android or iOS app that offers fitness programmes as an in-ear personal trainer.



How much does it cost?

The earphones are currently available as a Kickstarter project where you can purchase a set of K Sport Headphones for just £22.


I’ll update this article with a retail purchase price post-Kickstarter campaign.


At the time of writing, the Kickstarter campaign had already exceeded its £5000 goal with £13000 worth of funding!


How can I get it?

Kauifit LogoPledge £22 or more to the K Sport Wireless Headphones Kickstarter campaign.


Shipping is free worldwide.


Visit their homepage to find out more about Kuaifit (the company behind these earphones).


You can also visit the Kuaifit Facebook page, follow @KuaiFit on Twitter, or follow Kuaifit on LinkedIn.


You Might Also Be Interested In

Recommended Podcasts for IT Professionals
Brain.fm – Music to improve focus, meditation and sleep
Grid-It – Organise your gadgets, chargers, cables and headphones



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Published on October 18, 2018 23:45

October 14, 2018

How IT Companies can Significantly Improve Their Customer Service -TubbTalk #40

An Interview with Ted Stone

Who is Ted Stone?Tubb Talk 40 with Ted Stone of Customer First UK

Originally from Dallas, Texas, Ted has worked in a number of senior management roles in the US and UK and spent a lot of time working in Las Vegas. He came to the UK 14 years ago at the request of a banking company looking for help with improving their customer service.


Ted explains that he struggled to get the people he was working with to accept advice from an American, so he decided to find an official standard from within the UK that he could apply in his workshops. He chose Customer First because of its sustainability. 


Who are Customer First?

Customer First is the owner of a standard called “the putting the customer first standard”, which came out of a government initiative to establish a mandatory service level.


Originally, it was only available to those who were eligible for grants and funding, but as it became more established, companies who didn’t qualify for financial support began to request access to the standard.


The government decided to sell off the standard, which is now available to businesses looking to build the foundational principles of customer service. It’s designed to be specific enough to focus on each company’s needs, but also allow comparisons between organisations from multiple sectors.



Why Customer Service Should Matter to IT Companies

Ted believes that customer services is how IT companies can differentiate themselves from each other. Their potential clients are not experts in IT, so they will choose their supplier based on the way they’ve built a relationship. IT companies need to show that they’re reliable and easy to interact with.



Many people feel that IT support is service-driven, so they need the company to give them a clear answer about what the problem is. Customers need to feel reassured that the IT company can help them deal quickly and effectively with any problems with their technology.


How to Give Customers a ‘Plus One’ Experience

Ted explains that a ‘plus one’ experience is something that the customer wasn’t expecting that makes their interaction with your business better. A good example is an upgrade on a flight to first or business class, which any passenger will appreciate.


To give your own customers a plus one experience, Ted says you should never just give somebody one, Instead, you should offer them several options for what they would consider a plus one: “You’ve got to have the customer involved in the active decision-making of what they find to be important.”



Know what you can comfortably offer them and what you can then deliver against. If you have packages at different levels, find something in the package above the one your client is on, and offer them something from it as a plus one. It will make them feel special and may prompt them to move to a higher package.



How to Deal with Customer Complaints

Ted has the following advice for effectively dealing with the customer complaints every MSP will inevitably deal with:



Don’t get defensive. Everybody’s going to make mistakes, or feel like a mistake has been made at some point. It’s entirely possible for you to get a complaint and you haven’t actually screwed up any part of the customer experience. There’s an interpretation on the customer side that you’ve got something wrong.
Talk half as much as you listen and pay attention to what they’re saying. confirm back with the client exactly what they’re telling you they think is wrong and then start from there. If possible, let them tell you from the beginning what fix they would like to see. You may not be able do it, but you will have a good understanding of their expectations.
Once you get the initial complaint sorted and have a resolution on how you’re going to move forward and the client has accepted it, you need to later sit down with an open mind and consider the root cause of that complaint and make sure that it gets addressed to prevent more of the same complaint.
Consider if this is something that’s going to keep rearing its head. Deal with this, and if possible, communicate back with that customer to tell them you’ve realised you could do things better. Explain how you’ll change things in future and ask for their feedback.


Mentioned in This Episode

Website: Customer First UK
Twitter: Customer First UK (@CustomerFirstUK)
LinkedIn: Customer First UK

Interview Transcript
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Published on October 14, 2018 23:25

October 11, 2018

WordSwag – Generate Cool Text, Words & Quotes on Photos

WordSwag - Quotes on Your PhotosEvery Friday I share one of my favourite finds of the week — a website, tool or an app that has impressed me.


My Friday Favourite this week is WordSwag – Generate Cool Text, Words & Quotes on Photos.


What is it?

WordSwag is an app that enables you to easily add customised text, such as quotes on photos.


How can it help me?

It's remarkably easy to be remarkable - Richard Tubb


You can use WordSwag to quickly create beautiful and memorable quotation photos.


I’ve written before about using tools like Photofeeler to choose your business, social, and dating photos. But regularly sharing other interesting images to social media can be equally important in building a following, too!


One good way to do this is through quotation photos.


If you’ve ever heard a memorable quote from somebody and wanted to share it with others, then WordSwag allows you to quickly do this by way of a memorable photo with words.


For instance, I regularly sit in the audience during keynote presentations. When the presenter says something that really catches my attention, I capture a photograph of the speaker on my smartphone, then use WordSwag to add the soundbite from the speaker as text on the photo. I then share this quotation photo to social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram.


WordSwag also allows you to use stock images from Pixabay to create your own quotes.



How much does it cost?

WordSwag costs $4.99 as a one-off purchase for iOS, or £3.49 for Android.


How can I get it?

You can download WordSwag for iOS or download WordSwag for Android.


You can also find out more at the WordSwag homepage, follow @WordSwagApp on Twitter, or visit the WordSwag Facebook page.


A huge thank you to Steve McGowan of ATG IT for the great recommendation of WordSwag!


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Doodle – The simple way to decide on dates, places & more
Free Online Photo Editor
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Published on October 11, 2018 23:45

October 7, 2018

Why MSPs Need to Embrace Marketing – TubbTalk #39

Richard speaks to Paul Green, owner of MSP Marketing Edge, about why MSPs need to focus on marketing themselves to build better relationships with their clients.



An Interview with Paul Green
Who is Paul Green?TubbTalk 39 - Paul Green of MSP Marketing Edge

Paul is the owner of MSP Marketing Edge, a Milton Keynes-based business aimed at helping IT solution providers and managed service providers with their marketing efforts.


While resitting an A level he got a job selling newspaper advertising before moving into journalism. From there he started working at a local radio station, going from newsreader to presenter and finally the programme controller.


After 10 years of running radio stations he felt it was time for a change. Deciding to run his own business, he had a PR company for five years but found he wasn’t enjoying it. When his daughter was born prematurely he took time out and was surprised that the business ran itself. This encouraged him to sell it in 2016.


How MSP Marketing Edge Helps MSPs

When he left his last business, he couldn’t work with the same sorts of clients. He came across IT support and started learning more about the topic. Although he doesn’t have a tech background, Paul says that he loves talking about computers and technical solutions and soon saw gaps in the market.


It quickly became obvious that MSPs aren’t good at marketing and don’t know what to do. MSP Marketing Edge works with one business per area and provides them with content every month that they can use as their marketing material


This includes guides and ghostwritten books. They offer support with press releases, videos, emails, Facebook posts, LinkedIn, and more. They create a huge amount of content for a small number of clients and helps them lock out the competition in their area. 


Why Paul Thinks MSPs Don’t do Marketing

Paul says MSPs don’t market themselves because they don’t need to be good at marketing. MSPs often keep clients for 10 years and have long sales cycles. It’s also quite hard for customers to leave their current support company. MSPs can keep clients forever, but marketing is hard in the IT support marketplace. Vets, who Paul used to work with, can find new customers much more quickly, but also have a high turnover.


Changing MSP is a huge commitment, because it means handing your server and data to someone new and the potential risks are massive. MSPs have high retention rates, which is known as inertia loyalty. It’s easy for both the customer and the MSP to stick with each other. 


Upselling to Existing Customers

MSPs often overlook their existing clients in their quest to find new customers. Paul says people buy for one of two reasons: because they need something which is a decision made by the brain, or because they want something which is a decision made by the heart. 99.9% of people buying from an MSP, is actually a heart decision; a want decision.


The reason customers will pick one MSP over another is because they like them, not because of the knowledge they have. When it comes to existing clients, they’ll buy more from you because they want it.



Paul recommends to all the MSPs he works with to carry out strategic reviews every year; where they sit down with the client. The goal is not to look at the tech but to talk about the future of their business. Find out what they want to do and problems they’ve got, and look at how you can help them.


Most MSPS will find that every time they have these conversations with an existing client an opportunity comes up. It isn’t selling, it’s making someone happy. The more stuff you sell them, that they choose to buy from you, the longer they’ll stay. 


The Benefits of Writing a Book

Paul says people place a higher value on a book than anything else. He adds: “There’s nothing beats a book for branding you as an expert, because the perceptions are that publishing a book is difficult, can’t be an author unless you’re the best and it’s expensive to write a book.


Simply offering content in a PDF has no value, because everyone has hundreds of them on their desktop, but deciding to go the extra step and creating a print version is the best business card you could have. It helps you stand out from other MSPs.


Mentioned in This Episode

Continuum
IT Glue
MSP Marketing Edge www.mspmarketingedge.com
Encryption software: Bitdefender
Book: The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber
Cloud-based mailshot tool: Docmail
Cloud-based mailshot tool: Stammp
Cloud-based mailshot tool: MailshotMaker
Paul’s book: Updating Servers Doesn’t Grow Your Business


Interview Transcript
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Published on October 07, 2018 23:25

October 4, 2018

CloudApp – Screen Recorder Powered by the Cloud

CloudApp - Screen Recorder Powered by the Cloud Every Friday I share one of my favourite finds of the week — a website, tool or an app that has impressed me.


My Friday Favourite this week is CloudApp – Easy-to-use Cloud-based Screen Recorder.


What is it?

CloudApp is a cloud-based screen recorder tool that stores screen captures in the Cloud.


How can it help me?

CloudApp allows you to easily capture and share screen recordings from your computer. Once you capture a screen recording, it is stored for future reference.


Imagine having every single PRTSC (Print Screen) you ever captured available for you to refer back to — that’s what CloudApp does!


You could use CloudApp to grab screenshots to visually demonstrate ideas to others, to brainstorm content, or to collaborate on creative work. Why bother emailing somebody a description of something when you can take a screenshot and share it?


With CloudApp, you can record an entire screen or a section of your screen.


You can also record video and webcam footage. I’ve written before about how you can work with a virtual administrator to grow your business. My own team of VA’s are distributed, and so I use CloudApp to capture short video tutorials to share with the rest of Team Tubb.



What separates CloudApp from other screen recording apps is its ability to annotate and share screen captures easily.


As soon as you capture a screenshot, CloudApp uploads it to your private central repository, where you can then easily refer back to the screenshot in the future, or share the screenshot with others. You can search for screen captures by name, extension, image contents, text or even colour!


CloudApp also has a large number of integrations, allowing you to share screen recordings directly into apps such as Slack, Trello, Google Docs, Microsoft Office and more. This is a big time-saver over cutting and pasting or importing images.



How much does it cost?

CloudApp is free for individual users.


A CloudApp Team package starts at $8 per user.


CloudApp - Screen Recorder Powered by the Cloud


How can I get it?

You can download the CloudApp tool for Windows, Mac, Google Chrome web-browser, or Linux.


You can also visit the CloudApp homepage, follow @CloudApp on Twitter, or visit the CloudApp Facebook page.


You Might Also Be Interested In

Braintoss – Capture Your To-Do’s in One Click
Awesome Screenshot
Zoom – Cloud Video Conferencing

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Published on October 04, 2018 23:25

Cybersecurity Essentials for MSPs Master Course

Cybersecurity EssentialsA heads-up that security vendor Avast is holding a really interesting looking cybersecurity event in the UK.


The Avast Business one-day Cybersecurity Essentials for MSPs Master Course has been specially designed to equip Managed Service Provider (MSP) and IT Solution Provider businesses with cybersecurity skills, and help you to uncover new revenue streams.


Cybersecurity Essentials for MSPs

Security is the number one growth area for the most successful MSPs I work with.


With that in mind, this training course is a fantastic opportunity for attendees. I appreciate the team at Avast bringing my attention to it!


Speakers at Cybersecurity Essentials Master CourseAvast has assembled an impressive line-up of speakers and topics for the day, including:-



Noted cybersecurity expert Ian Trump will be delivering cybersecurity training (if you’ve never seen Ian speak, I’d *highly* recommend taking this opportunity to!).
Paul Morse of Avast will be talking about advances in endpoint protection.
MSP veteran Paul Fenwick will be delivering a session on creating a Multi-layered Security Strategy and how to deliver Managed Security Services.
Tim Wilkinson of Avast will be delivering a session on business growth.
There will also be a round-table discussion about MSP best practices.


Who is Avast?

If you’re not familiar with Avast, then they are the largest cybersecurity vendor in the world.


Avast logo


Founded in the Czech Republic, the company has 25 offices worldwide and over 1700 employees. They’re also part of the FTSE 250 Index.


Many years ago I wrote about the best free anti-virus for home users and recommended AVG.


Well, Avast acquired AVG Technologies (the third biggest Anti-Virus company in the world) in July 2016 for $1.3bn.  AVG had also previously acquired MSP vendor Level Platforms (LPI) in 2013 to consolidate their Managed Service Offering.


How to attend the event

The Master Course is a one-day event taking place on 10th October 2018 from 9am to 5.30pm.


It is taking place at Avast’s UK headquarters at Foundation Park, Building 7, Roxborough Way, Maidenhead, SL6 3UD.


Avast has now opened this course up, so whether you’re an Avast customer or not, you’re able to attend at no charge.


To reserve your seat at the training, visit the registration page for the Cybersecurity Essentials Master Class.


Kudos to Avast for putting together such a valuable training day for free.


Will you be attending? Leave a comment below or get in touch!


You Might Also Be Interested In

Questions to expect from your clients about using social media safely
Norse Attack Map – Real-Time Cyber-Attack Map
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Published on October 04, 2018 02:30

September 27, 2018

Chrono Download Manager – Manage your file downloads in Google Chrome

Chrono Download ManagerEvery Friday I share one of my favourite finds of the week — a website, tool or an app that has impressed me.


My Friday Favourite this week is Chrono Download Manager – Manage your file downloads in Google Chrome.


What is it?

Chrono Download Manager is an extension from Google Chrome.


How can it help me?

I’ve written before about why storing files in the cloud is a great time-saver — recently I wrote about pCloud — All your files with you, anywhere you go.


But sometimes you’ve got to download large batches of files from a website, and that website doesn’t always make it easy!


If you’ve ever tried to download a batch of files from within Google Chrome, you’ll know that there are a number of challenges you experience.


The first is that you have to click on each link individually to initiate the download.


The second is that Google Chrome is restricted (by the Operating System) to five concurrent downloads from any one server.


I was recently trying to download dozens of files from Humble Bundle and ran into both of these issues. It made for a painful download experience.


Chrono Download Manager helps alleviate these problems.


It seamlessly takes over downloads you make within Google Chrome and allows you to select multiple files to queue for sequential download.


It has some powerful filter-based search tools to find just the files you want. For instance, I used Chrono to find and download all PDF files from Humble Bundle in one batch, then another search for MP3 file downloads. A big time saver!


Chrono allows you bulk download images and videos from a webpage too.


You can also set up rules systems for downloads, to automatically route downloaded files into different folders based on their file type.


In short, once you use Chrono Download Manager to download files within Google Chrome, you’ll never want to go back to the standard Chrome download manager again!



How much does it cost?

Chrono Download Manager Screenshot


Chrono Download Manager is free.


How can I get it?

You can download Chrono Download Manager from the Google Chrome web store.


You can find out more at the Chrono Download Manager homepage.


You Might Also Be Interested In

Smash – File Transfer Service with No Size Limits
Firefox Send – Private Encrypted File Sharing
Storj Share – Earn money by sharing your hard drive space

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Published on September 27, 2018 23:45