Technology Advisor Blog



Linda Hanson

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Is Your Accounting Firm Meeting IRS Data Security Requirements?

Posted by Linda Hanson on 10/30/26, 9:12 AM

Most small accounting firms are doing everything right for their clients and not enough to protect them. The work is careful, the relationships are built on trust, and the data being handled every day (Social Security numbers, bank accounts, years of financial records) is exactly what cybercriminals are looking for.

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Tags: cybersecurity, data security, managed IT services in Boston, accounting





What a Cyberattack Really Looks Like for a Small Law Firm in Greater Boston

Posted by Linda Hanson on 10/15/26, 9:42 AM

Most people picture a cyberattack as something dramatic and obvious. For a small law firm in Greater Boston, the reality is that it usually starts with an email that feels routine and ends with an unexpected phone call.

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Tags: cybersecurity, managed IT services in Boston, managed service provider Boston, small business it support, it support boston, small business cybersecurity, law firm cybersecurity





Your Business Is More Exposed Than You Think: A Cybersecurity Checklist

Posted by Linda Hanson on 9/28/26, 11:29 AM

If someone asked you right now how secure your business is, what would you say?

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Tags: cybersecurity, managed IT services in Boston, managed service provider Boston, small business it support, it support boston, small business cybersecurity, cybersecurity awareness month





Are You Paying Too Much for Your IT Services?

Posted by Linda Hanson on 9/14/26, 11:57 AM

Most small business owners in greater Boston cannot confidently answer that question and that uncertainty is worth paying attention to.

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Tags: managed IT services in Boston, managed service provider Boston, small business it support, it support boston, small business cybersecurity





What Should You Do If You Think You Have Been Hacked?

Posted by Linda Hanson on 8/28/26, 10:25 AM

If something about your business technology feels wrong today, that instinct is worth taking seriously. Whether it is a computer behaving strangely, an employee flagging an unfamiliar login, or a client who received a suspicious email from your address, the worst possible response is to convince yourself it is probably nothing and wait.


 

How you respond in the first hour can significantly affect the outcome. Here is exactly what to do.

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Tags: cybersecurity, managed IT services in Boston, incident response, IT support, small business it support, small business cybersecurity





How to Tell If an Email Is a Scam

Posted by Linda Hanson on 8/12/26, 1:08 PM

Not long ago, a scam email was easy to spot. Poor grammar, generic greetings, or suspicious links that looked nothing like the brand they were pretending to be. Most people learned to recognize them and felt reasonably confident in their ability to delete them before any damage was done, but that confidence is now a liability.

Phishing emails in 2026 are professionally written, visually convincing, and increasingly personalized. They reference your name, your company, your colleagues, and sometimes details about your business that feel like they could only come from someone who knows you. They arrive from addresses that look almost identical to the real thing, and create urgency that makes you want to act before you think.

 In a recent workshop hosted by Ekaru, Ann Westerheim and Linda joined Lincoln Vierhus to break down exactly how Business Email Compromise and phishing attacks work and why they are so effective against small businesses in greater Boston. You can watch the full workshop here. 

One of the clearest takeaways from that conversation was this: the emails that cause the most damage are not the obvious ones, but the ones that look completely legitimate right up until the moment they are not.

So how do you actually tell the difference?

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Tags: phishing, email security, cybersecurity, managed IT services in Boston, business email compromise, small business it support, it support boston





Why Is My Computer So Slow? (And what to do about it)

Posted by Linda Hanson on 7/30/26, 10:21 AM

 

Why Is My Computer So Slow? And What To Do About It

You sit down to start your day, open an application, and spend the next several minutes watching a progress bar that does not seem to be progressing. It is one of the most common frustrations in any workplace and for small businesses it is more than an inconvenience. Every minute your team spends waiting on a slow machine is a minute they are not serving clients, moving work forward, or doing what you are actually paying them to do.

The good news is that slow computers usually have a reason behind them, and most of those reasons are fixable. Here is what is actually going on and what you should do about it.

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Tags: Windows, cybersecurity, IT services Boston, managed service provider Boston, small business it support, proactive IT





Windows July 2026 Patch Tuesday: What Small Businesses in Greater Boston Need to Know

Posted by Linda Hanson on 7/17/26, 3:25 PM

Microsoft released its July 2026 Patch Tuesday security update yesterday, and the numbers are impossible to ignore.

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Tags: Microsoft, Managed Services, Microsoft Updates, Microsoft Security Patches, Microsoft 365, IT services Boston, Boston Ransomware, Microsoft Windows 11 Update, IT support





Is Your Business Vacation Ready? What Small Business Owners in Greater Boston Need to Know

Posted by Linda Hanson on 6/17/26, 9:25 AM

Summer is here and most small business owners are thinking about time off.

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Tags: Customer service, cybersecurity, Security Awareness, IT services Boston, Tech Tips, vacation





Windows June 2026 Patch Tuesday: What Small Businesses Need to Know

Posted by Linda Hanson on 6/12/26, 8:52 AM

Microsoft released its June 2026 Patch Tuesday security update yesterday and this one is historically large.

June 2026 marks the largest single Patch Tuesday release in the program's history, addressing 200 security vulnerabilities across Windows, Office, Azure, Exchange, Hyper-V, and related products. For small businesses in Massachusetts that rely on Windows devices, there are several things worth understanding before the end of the week.

At Ekaru, we provide managed IT services for small businesses across greater Boston. Staying ahead of security patches is one of the most important things a small business IT support provider can do for its clients. Here is what matters most this month.

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Tags: Security, Patches, Microsoft Windows Update, Microsoft, Desktop, Managed Services, Microsoft Security Patches, IT services Boston, Computer Restart, Microsoft Windows 11 Update





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