How to Avoid Scams

We’ve spilled a lot of (virtual) ink on the topic of scams, security, and privacy over the last couple of years, and for good reason; scams are on the rise, and scammers are becoming more and more sophisticated in their methods, with more and more devastating results for their victims.

With scams on the rise here are three quick steps you can take to prevent issues when confronted with a potential scam. SEA it!

Stop

Take a breath to give yourself time to evaluate what is happening. Scammers will often pressure you into responding quickly to avoid further problems. The reality is a few minutes (or even an hour) are not going to make a big difference.

Evaluate

Why am I receiving this email? Phone call? Or text? Look at the information being presented. 

If you are looking at an email, you can usually click on the name of the sender and see if it is really from Amazon, Apple, PayPal, etc... Look for typos or poor grammar. The example below is pretending to be from Apple - that is NOT an Apple address.

If you're encountering a potential scammer in a phone call, simply ask them upfront for the name of the company, address, and a call back phone number. If you take control right away, you are already safer. Most scammers will hang up if asked this type of information. 

Website notification such as your computer is infected or compromised. This type of of notification is NEVER legitimate. 

Act

Delete the email, hang up on the caller, close your web browser, and restart your computer. Most of the time, these simple steps will keep you safe. 

We’ve provided many tips in the past on how to recognize and avoid scams. Click here to read our last blog post on the subject. 

Preventing Scams Before They Start

But what can you do to shore up your computer’s security before you encounter a scam? 

It may feel like you are helpless to prevent scammers from finding you, but there are a few steps you can take to help strengthen your computer’s security. There is no way to completely remove the risk of being hacked or scammed, but here are some things you can do to help make things just a little bit safer. 

1. Use a password manager so you can create unique, complicated passwords for each log-in

A common way accounts get hacked is from re-using passwords (or making very similar passwords with only slight variations). A password manager gives you the ability to create distinct, complicated, randomized passwords for each and every log-in that you have.

2. Use multi-factor authentication

Multi-factor authentication allows a website to confirm your identity by a means in addition to your password. Instead of just allowing you to log in if you have the correct password, it will check your password AND send a confirmation code to another device, for example, or use a similar alternate method to confirm it’s really you logging into your account. This is crucial to keeping critical accounts that store personal information secure, such as your social media accounts, or accounts with banking institutions. 

3. Use an antivirus software

We don’t recommend some of the antivirus software that you may automatically think of, such as Norton or McAfee— but we do like for all of our clients to have Malwarebytes installed on their computers. Malwarebytes has a free version available to consumers, and will scan your computer for malware and viruses. If you run this regularly, it can help to head off an issue at the pass. 

Of course, we are happy to help provide personalized security tips and check your computer! Call us today if you suspect you have been the victim of a scam, or if you’d just like to make sure your devices are as secure as they can be.

Our 2022 Gift Guide

It's become a yearly tradition to share what tech-centric gifts are on our wishlists this year! Hopefully, if you are still looking for the perfect gift for the tech-lover in your life, you'll find some inspiration here!

Sarah's Picks:

My pick for a gift for the gadget-hound in your life (or maybe yourself…?) this year is the Ember mug. If you’re anything like me, you get distracted halfway through your morning tea or coffee and wind up drinking half of it lukewarm. If this isn’t a problem for you, then maybe this product is not for you— but the Ember is a step up from the old fashioned mug warmers that are basically heated coasters. The Ember incorporates the heating element into the mug itself, so it will keep your beverage nice and toasty for as long as it takes you to finish it— up to 1.5 ours for the 10 ounce model, and up to 80 minutes for the 14 ounce model. You can adjust the temperature to be whatever is perfect for you, and you can even control the mug’s temperature with your smartphone! It can even tell when there is no liquid left in your mug, so it’s not wasting battery life heating air if you don’t happen to turn it off after your last sip.

The Ember isn’t inexpensive— the newest model of their basic 10 ounce mug is $129.95— but if you’re hunting for the perfect splurge for the coffee or tea lover in your life, this may be it! It’s also available in a larger 14 ounce model, as well as a travel mug model, so there’s a model out there for everyone. Find it on Amazon here, or on Ember's website here.

Do you have a fashion-forward Apple Watch user in your life? Many people just leave the standard band that their watch came with when they purchased it, but Apple makes several beautiful options that you can upgrade to. This is a perfect way to personalize the Apple Watch and make it look a bit more bespoke. I especially like the Leather Link option, available in three colors here. It's an unexpected twist on a traditional leather watch band, and the texture keeps it modern and unique.

It's a beautiful unisex design available in two wrist sizes and for either the 41mm or 45mm size watch case, so it should work for any Apple Watch lover you know. Pictured here is the Umber color way, but there are other colors available on Apple's website. At $99, it's a substantial gift that will be cherished for years to come.

John's Recommendations:

Do you know someone who loves their Mac laptop, but wishes they had a bigger screen while they’re using it at home? The Dell S2722QC is the same size and resolution as past 27” iMacs, and the USB-C connection lets you add a big display and charge your laptop with just one cable!

Thinking about a new Mac, but have a bunch of old USB peripherals that you’d still like to use? The entire industry is moving towards USB-C, so having a few extra adapters can be helpful. These simple plugs may not be the most exciting stocking-stuffers, but they are inexpensive and work well.

Non-Tech Gift Ideas

While we always love seeing Apple gifts under the tree, not all gifts need to be tech-driven! Here are two of my favorite gifts that have nothing even remotely technological about them. Deborah Myers has a special offer included!

Tree Gifts are a Gift to the Forest, Too!

"The U.S. Forest Service has identified MILLIONS of acres of National Forest land that is in 'desperate need of restoration.' This means that a fire, disease, or natural disaster has come through those areas and destroyed the forest beyond its natural ability to regrow itself. Our trees are always planted in these specially identified National Forests- the areas that need the most help right now. These are areas that used to be lush and thriving green forests, home to a wide variety of critters. Without our help, these 1,000,000+ acres would be dry, dead and desolate for decades to come. Planting a tree with Trees for a Change offers these forests new hope." -Trees for a Change

Gift someone a tree in their name, and Trees for a Change will plant a tree for them. The recipient will receive a lovely certificate, and can track their tree's location and know exactly where it is planted! Give a gift, and restore a forest.

Also available are beautiful Winter Holiday Pop-up Tree Gift Cards, and simple but elegant traditional Snowy Tree Gift Cards, for $23 and $16 respectively.

The Daily Clean Your House Flow®

Not only do these make a beautiful gift, but they will help nurture our environment.

The Daily Clean Your House Flow® is an easy self-help acupressure flow that works for all ages. Gift a stress reduction practice for everyone, even children. Self-Help Acupressure will make a difference in how you and your family members manage stress and feelings of being overwhelmed. Deborah Myers, acupressurist and Jin Shin Jyutsu practitioner, is passionate about showing others how we can help our bodies be healthier and happier. You can read about her one-on-one sessions (virtual and in-person) and her workshops here.

Right now, all of us, no matter our age, are experiencing moments when we feel like we can't breathe. Here's a way for you to take care of that, and get a special gift for you and your family to use now, and all year long!

Balancing your energy can make the difference in managing that "thing" called stress, and can help with letting go of feeling overwhelmed, help you have clarity and focus, increase productivity, and handle your feelings. Sounds especially good for the holiday season, right? You can receive all of that and boost your immune system, let go of achiness, improve sleep, and a whole lot more.

Discover why so many are using the flow during work and at home. Kids are making use of the flow during school, whether at home or online. Kids, parents, and teachers notice that everything about school is more manageable. Parents and teachers use the video and companion guide to help themselves adapt and flow with the stress of everyday life. You can watch the Daily Flow step-by-step and see what we mean. Click here to sign up and receive a free copy of the video, or purchase your own guide.

The video and companion books make great holiday gifts, but you may want to pick one up for yourself as well!

Ronnie says: "I use this process faithfully every day!!! It really works."

All About Spam!

First, let’s get this out of the way: there is no way to completely eliminate or avoid spam— junk emails— in today’s world. Spam is the cost of doing business digitally, and if you have an email address, you will eventually get spam emails. You may only get a few, or you may experience a deluge, but some will find you! It’s unavoidable. The only way to completely avoid spam email is to not use or give your email address to anyone, including your dearest friends and family. 

With that being said, there are some best practices to avoid getting more and more junk email. To understand how to avoid it, first you need to understand how you get these obnoxious missives in the first place. 

What Is Spam? 

I’m sure you’ve received emails advertising products and services that seem dubious at best, or downright fraudulent at worst. Common products being hawked include cheap prescription drugs, “male enhancement” pills, and dating services. Or, perhaps, you’re being told “Congratulations, You’ve Been Chosen…” for some special prize. Sometimes spam email masquerade as a company whose emails you may want to receive, but something about the message may seem “off”, or the email address it comes from may be a slightly altered version of the “official” email address. These are all Spam emails.

The marketing emails from legitimate businesses, some of which you signed up for, some of which you didn’t— aren’t considered spam.

How You Wind Up Getting Spam 

As you’ve probably noticed, many online entities offer (or require!) the option to sign up for an account to utilize their services. They usually need you to use your email address to communicate with you and tie your account to you. Think about how many times you’ve signed up for newsletters or an account and given out your email address— it’s probably to many more businesses and organizations than you can think of off the top of your head! 

If a business is part of a larger network of businesses shared by the same parent company, those other businesses may also have access to your email address and market to you using it. Some of these companies sell lists of their clients’ emails. This disclosure is often buried deep in the terms you agree to when you created that account. Other companies keep your information private, but may be the victims of a data breach where your contact information is leaked and made available to scammers and marketers. Many of you have had your email accounts, or have friends whose accounts, have been compromised; when this happens, the hackers gain access to all of your friends’ contact information.  

How To Avoid Spam

So, you may have already intuited the main way to help minimize spam email: don’t give your email address to websites that you don’t need to. This doesn’t mean you should be afraid of doing business online or avoid buying things from stores you frequent, it just means you shouldn’t enter your email address into every sign-up you encounter.

Some people find that after holding the same email address for years and years, the amount of spam becomes too much to deal with, and they start a new email address. I have to admit, I did this periodically in my younger days. However, this is an imperfect approach. Your new email address will eventually fall prey to spammers, and you’ll have to be diligent about updating your contact information with every entity you want to stay in touch with; invariably, you’ll forget some, and things will fall through the cracks. Besides, current email providers (i.e. Sonic, Comcast,  Google, etc.) have much better technology to help filter out spam. We do not recommend starting a new email address unless you find yourself in an extreme situation, but that is an option if things become unbearable. 

How To Deal With Spam 

We’ve established that seeing junk email in your inbox is unavoidable. What should you be doing with it when you see it? 

The Mail app and most web mail (accessing email via a web browser) have the option to help train your email which messages are spam. In the Mail app on your computer, you do this by clicking the button of the trash bin with the X on it (if you hover over it with your mouse, it should say “Mark as Junk” or something along those lines). With many web mail sites, you can do the same thing by checking a box next to the individual email, and then you can choose from menu options at the top of the list of emails in your inbox to mark an email as spam or move it to a junk folder. Sometimes, you have to open the email to find this option. By consistently marking spam or junk as such, your email will become better at recognizing which emails it should automatically filter into that folder so you never see them in your inbox. 

Some emails are unwanted, but not necessarily spam; this is an important distinction to make because if it’s not truly spam, you can deal with the email by unsubscribing. If a legitimate company gets ahold of your email address through legitimate channels (say, they purchased another business’ email list, or a sister company whose emails you signed up for shares your email address), once you open the email and scroll to the bottom of the message, there will be a small link that says “Unsubscribe”. By clicking that, you’ll be able to remove yourself from this company’s marketing list. Sometimes it takes a week or two for that change to go through, so you may see some more messages come through from them, but they’ll respect your desire to not hear from them again. It’s a good idea to consider unsubscribing from business’ emails that you may have once wanted to receive, but find yourself ignoring more and more, just so you don’t get overwhelmed by the number of emails you receive.

We know this is a lot of information to navigate, and depending on how you access your email, the things we are describing may look different for many of you. If you need help, call us today, and we’ll be happy to schedule you some time to work with John on learning what to do when you encounter spam email to keep it from taking over your inbox! 

Why We're the Apple Experts

We are so grateful for you, our loyal customers! We also know we've seen many new clients over the last several months, and even some of our long-time clients may not know our long history of supporting Apple users. Read on to learn more about why we are your best choice for troubleshooting, training, consultations, and many more of your Apple needs!

About Ronnie's Expertise

In 1996, Ronnie was attending SRJC in pursuit of a degree in graphic design. It was during the computer graphics classes that she developed a curiosity about how the computers worked. About this time, Ronnie was given an old Apple IIC computer; after she took it apart to repair it and figure out how to upgrade it, her path was set. She discovered that she had a natural understanding of technology.

Ronnie’s classmates would come to her for help with their computer issues; an even bigger discovery was Ronnie’s talent for teaching. She loves seeing that “AHA!” look come over a person’s face when they really understand.

After graduation from SSU, Ronnie joined the Apple Consultants Network, and it was here that Ronnie studied and became a Certified Apple Support Professional. She specializes in supporting and training clients in their homes. Ronnie currently holds several different Apple Certifications.

For Ronnie, helping clients with their technology is so much more than fixing problems. She has the ability to see a whole system from a broad perspective and then troubleshoot what needs attention. At this point, she enlists her teaching ability to help her clients understand more about their computers, and how to do what they need to do. Ronnie brings her whole self to her work, always making sure each client gets the personal service they deserve.

About John's Expertise

John has been working with computers in one form or another for his entire personal and professional life. Before he reached grade school, his parents found him at the family computer in the middle of the night, having learned how to turn it on and start a program from watching them. Soon, he was building PCs from scratch with his father, and using them for class projects. This carried through his professional life - from designing home theater systems, to producing video for local businesses, keeping computers running smoothly has been important to him.

About ten years ago, he realized that all of his friends and family were asking him for help with their computer issues, and that he really enjoyed the process: identifying what wasn’t working correctly, teaching the person what had gone wrong and why, and getting their system back up and running the way they wanted.

Eight years ago, a mutual friend put Ronnie and John in contact with each other; she needed a backup technician, and he was looking for a way to make his love of computers his main vocation.

Thousands of appointments later, John still approaches each one the same way: resolve the issue quickly and efficiently, while educating his clients along the way.

What You Have To Say About Us!

We are so lucky that our wonderful clients are vocal about their positive experiences with Technology Simplified! Here's what some of you have shared about your experiences working with us.

"Ronnie, I so appreciate how you meet my needs in a way that works for me, and of course my computer! The entire time was a pleasure to experience. Nice to know there is someone out there as I attempt to go through "dreaded technology"."

-Taj, Idaho

"Sarah, I wanted to write back and let you know how thankful my sister and I are for Ronnie, you and John. All of you have a wonderful way of communicating with Technology Simplified clients. Personally, I don’t know what I would have done without you as a technical resource over the phone and with e-mails. John is a terrific teacher and always so patient. There are no dumb questions… On that note, I can’t thank Ronnie and both of you enough for a professional and exceptional experience every time I need technical and IT support. Yes, we will contact Technology Simplified when the questions arise.”

-SH, Santa Rosa

"John arrived as always right on time and began work in earnest. He was able to identify the problem and found his way through a complicated mess to resolve things perfectly. As he was working I casually mentioned that I was having trouble with an Alexa (not an Apple issue). He immediately went into multitask mode and resolved that issue after several Alexa techs had been unable to. Hats off to John!”

-BP, Santa Rosa

"Ronnie, I really appreciate your time and expertise. You always go the extra mile. I trust you and it is refreshing and fabulous that you consider balance (heart and brain) in all that you do. Thank you so much for helping to make my world run smoothly."

-LLL, Kenwood

"John was here and everything about my computer was fixed and organized. He's amazing! Knowledgeable, thorough, positive attitude. and very patient. :)

Thank you to you, Ronnie and John for all that you do. Your business and help is invaluable."

-MH, SR

Common Scams!

Scams aren't a new subject, and it's even a topic we've covered extensively before, but we're continuing to see an uptick in scams. If you've ever been fooled by one, you know how sophisticated they are. Once upon a time, when people would call us to get help cleaning up the fallout of a scam, we'd hear things like "I can't believe I fell for that!" Now, the sentiment we're hearing repeatedly is "they were so good, I was completely convinced." Whether you've been taken in by a scam before or not, you need to educate yourself so you'll have your guard up anytime you encounter something fishy on your computer. Like the saying goes, "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure", and that is doubly true when it comes to today's sophisticated-- and dangerous-- scams.

One important change that we have been seeing lately is that scammers are going directly to clients' bank accounts. Sometimes they say they need account information to process a refund, or to make sure nobody else is accessing your banking information. After taking remote access of the computer, they'll ask you to log in to your bank, but will be taking note of your login information so they can access your accounts directly.

Never let someone you do not know and trust have remote access to your computer.

Take a look at some of the most common scams we see below, and learn how to recognize them!

Calling the Scammer Instead of the Official Help Line

One scam we've seen more and more often begins when our clients call a company for help. Your first instinct may be to Google (or use a search engine) to find a phone number. Let's say you have questions about an issue with your Amazon account, so you type into Google "Amazon support phone number." You may see a phone number appear prominently at the top of your results, and assume this is the number you should be calling. However, many scammers know that consumers have this habit, and have created fake websites, and then paid search engines to allow their result to appear before the "real" result.

This is true of not just Amazon; this can happen if you are searching for help from Apple, or Epson, or any other company. Google is simply a collection of what is on the internet that seems to match keywords you type in; they do not vet results, nor do they crack down on scammers. Google is a useful tool, but it will not help you to discern between legitimate and illegitimate results. Because of this, it is best to go to the website directly and then find their support section (often at the very bottom of the web page there will be a directory in small type with "Help", "Support", "Customer Service", or some other similar phrase). So, instead of Googling "Amazon support phone number," you will go directly to www.amazon.com and then look on the page for their official support center.

You should also be aware that many large companies like Amazon, Yahoo, and Google may not have a phone number for you to call. Often, you are asked to chat with an online representative, or submit a message that will be responded to like an email. Many large companies do not offer much in the way of support (which is why companies like us exist, to help fill that gap!).

Phishing Emails From McAfee, Norton, & Other Legitimate Businesses

Another scam we have heard about from several clients has to do with the legitimate antivirus company McAfee. While we do not believe most Apple users need separate antivirus software, McAfee is a legitimate business. Scammers have taken advantage of its popularity and the trust people have in the company. They will send users an email claiming that their subscription to McAfee is renewing, and that they should call if they wish to cancel the subscription before the first payment is processed. Of course, when users call the number in the email, they are speaking to scammers who are hoping to coax personal information from them.

To learn more about this particular scam, and to have a comprehensive guide for what to look for in phishing emails, read this blog post from McAfee.

Keep in mind, even though this specific example has to do with McAfee, in the past we have seen similar scams using Apple ("please call if you didn't mean to purchase this item/ this iCloud storage fee," etc...), and it's likely that scammers will adapt as more people become wary of emails from places like McAfee and Apple, and will target users of different products and businesses.

General Tips & Tricks To Avoid Scams

There are innumerable scams that exist. Here are some general guidelines to help you recognize when something might be a scam:

• Never call a phone number on a pop-up on your computer saying you need to call for support—this is malware and not a pop-up generated by your computer itself.

• If you receive a phone call that you are not positive is legitimate, you can always take down the person’s name and a case number if one exists, and call back a phone number that you know belongs to the entity in question to find out if the original call came from them or not.

• To find an “official” phone number, look on your bill or statement (if applicable), or go to the official website and look for the “Support,” “Help,” “Contact Us” or “Customer Service” information. DO NOT use a search engine to search for something like “Apple phone number” or “Epson printer help”. Many scammers have invested heavily in their websites so that their phone numbers will appear in a web search before the legitimate phone number, and so their websites look like the authentic site. You may unknowingly walk into a scam by calling a non-official phone number that looks like it is official. Go to the actual website and look for their contact information there.

• Do not pay anyone in gift cards. This is a common tactic that scammers will use as you cannot cancel a gift card payment after the fact or put a hold on it like you can with a credit card.

• Do not let anyone you don’t know have remote access to your computer. Many legitimate IT professionals (including us!) use this technology. If you call Apple Support (and you’ve followed our above advice and made sure you are calling the official phone number) and they want to connect remotely to your computer, that is ok. If you receive a call from someone telling you that an account has been compromised and they need to connect remotely to your computer, do not allow them to. This is how scammers can steal your personal information and install malware on your computer.

As always, if you have any concerns, please give us a call and arrange an appointment for help avoiding scams— or recovering from.

Best Practices for Backing Up

Having good backups are something I have preached for years! This topic became even more important in the wake of the disasters we have seen and experienced these last few years. Apple has made basic backup to an external drive very easy with their Time Machine software. Time Machine is great because it gives you the ability to recover a document you may have accidentally deleted. However, this should only be the beginning of your backup strategy.

Before we get into best practices, there are two terms you will see us use that need to be defined: cloud, and local. A local backup is something that is stored on your computer or on an external hard drive, and that isn't accessible via the internet. For instance, if you use an external hard drive that you keep plugged into your computer as a backup, that is a local backup. The cloud refers to external servers (specialized computers that save data and allow users to access them remotely-- that is, via the internet) that save your information. These servers are typically in a facility owned by Apple, Google, or whoever is storing your information for you. The information stored in the Cloud can then be accessed via the internet. They are secure, and a good way to make sure some of your data can be accessed on multiple devices. Many of you use the Cloud in the form of iCloud to help sync data between your devices; this works because Apple is storing some of your data (such as Contacts or Photos) on one of their servers.

There is a standing rule that a 3-2-1 strategy for your data is a must. This means that you have two local copies of all your data (i.e. your main computer and an attached external drive), and one backup off site or in the cloud.

Many people have the mistaken impression that Apple's iCloud also functions as a back up for your computer; it does not. iCloud is perfect for synchronizing your calendars, contacts, reminders, and notes between devices and as long as you are using iCloud Photos, it can also creates a backup of your Photos library. If you use an iOS device, iCloud is also perfect for creating a back up of your iPad or iPhone. But iCloud is not a backup for your computer!

Now, some of you may have the iCloud Documents and Desktop feature turned on, which saves many of your documents and files to iCloud, and functions as a partial backup. With that being said, this is not the right choice for many people and is still not considered a complete backup.

To truly create an offsite backup of your computer it's necessary to use a third-party cloud software such as Backblaze, or use a second external drive that you swap in and out and store somewhere other than the area you live in. Either of these choices have advantages and disadvantage. Take a look below for some more information about these options.

iCloud (note: this is not a suitable substitute for a backup for most users, but is very useful for syncing between devices and backing up select data)

Local or Cloud: Cloud

Includes: Data that synchronizes calendars, contacts, reminders, and notes. Backs up Photos if using iCloud Photos, and also backs up some data on iOS devices (like iPhones and iPads).

Positives: iCloud is built into Mac OS and iOS. It is easy to set up and monitor.

Drawbacks: iCloud requires a fast internet connection if you are using it for iCloud photos. It is also not a backup for your computer; it only backs up the specific data that it syncs (such as Contacts, Calendar, and Photos).

Cost: 50 GB is $0.99; 200GB is $2.99; 2 TB is $9.99 (billed monthly)

Time Machine (recommended for everyone)

Local or Cloud: Local

Includes: Your entire computer (all documents and data, including settings, apps, etc...)

Positives: Time Machine is built into the Mac OS. It is easy to set up, and easy to monitor. It backs up hourly and allows you to retrieve a version of your files in case of accidental deletion or corruption. It can be used as a startup disk and can easily restore your entire computer if needed. It also makes migrating to a new computer a breeze! Also should you need to evacuate you can just take your Time Machine drive with you.

Drawbacks: Time Machine requires an external drive to be connected to your computer all the time.

Cost: Free after the initial purchase of an external hard drive. The drive cost depends on the size of the drive you purchase, but they average around $150.

Local Backup Stored Off Site (Time Machine, Carbon Copy Cloner, or other software)

Local or Cloud: Local, but stored somewhere away from your home. You can keep this with a trusted friend or relative, in a safe deposit box, etc...

Includes: Your entire computer (or you can select specific files, if you prefer)

Positives: Easy to restore files if needed. By being kept offsite, this protects your backup in case there is a disaster at your home, such as a fire or flood, that destroyed your backup at home.

Drawbacks: You must remember to keep this backup updated (you'll need to bring it to your computer and update manually from time to time). You will also need to find a safe place to store it away from your current location.

Cost: Free after the initial purchase of an external drive. Your drive cost, depending on size, can be around $150. The Carbon Copy Cloner software is $39.99.

Backblaze (The only cloud backup software I recommend)

Local or Cloud: Cloud (with redundancy in their backups of your data)

Includes: All your data files

Positives: Backblaze creates a complete backup of all your critical files. It runs automatically once you complete the initial set up. Because your data is stored in the cloud, it is off site in case of a disaster. It also uses industry-standard encryption and security.

Drawbacks: The initial set up requires account creation and the installation of software. It requires a fast internet connection.

Cost: Unlimited storage space is provided for $70 a year. If you need to restore files from your Backblaze backup and choose to have them send a restore drive, the cost is $99, but you can also just choose to download your files for no charge.

We know that navigating backups can be complicated and confusing. If you would like personalized help with this, please reach out, and we can help you come up with a customized plan to ensure all of your data is being backed up. Call us at 707-573-9649 and we will schedule an appointment to discuss this.