Managed IT Services Are Often Labeled an “Expense” and That’s a Costly Mistake

Many businesses see Managed IT Services as just another line item:
• Monthly fee
• “Insurance” you hope you never need
• Something you only think about when something breaks

On the surface, it feels like an expense.

But that view usually comes from looking at IT as a repair service instead of what it actually is: business infrastructure.

Why IT feels like an expense

IT is often invisible when it’s working:
✔️ Emails send
✔️ Files open
✔️ Systems stay online

There’s no “wow” moment... until something goes wrong.
So leadership only sees the cost, not the prevention.

How Managed IT actually becomes a value-add

✅ Prevents downtime before it happens
One hour of downtime can cost thousands in lost productivity and revenue. Proactive monitoring, patching, and maintenance prevent small issues from becoming business-stopping events.

✅ Turns unpredictable costs into predictable ones
Break-fix IT is reactive and expensive. Managed IT replaces surprise invoices with a predictable monthly investment.

✅ Protects revenue, reputation, and trust
Cyber incidents don’t just cost money, they cost credibility. Clients expect their data to be protected. Managed security isn’t optional anymore.

✅ Frees leadership to focus on growth
Every minute a business owner spends troubleshooting printers, scanners, or software changes is time stolen from strategy, sales, and leadership.

✅ Supports non-technical staff
IT isn’t just for “tech people.” It supports the accounting clerk, office manager, and operations team who just need things to work, even after Microsoft’s latest update changes everything again.

✅ Scales with the business
Growth fails when technology can’t keep up. Managed IT ensures systems, security, and processes scale smoothly as the business grows.

The real question isn’t “What does IT cost?”

It’s:
• What does downtime cost us?
• What would a data breach do to our reputation?
• How much leadership time is lost fixing tech problems?

Managed IT isn’t a sunk cost.
It’s an investment in stability, security, and productivity.

If you want IT that actively supports your business, not just fixes it when it breaks, Top Speed Computer Service, a trusted local Managed IT provider, can show you what that value really looks like.

"ClickFix" Is One of the Most Dangerous Scams We’re Seeing Right Now - and It Looks Completely Legit

Worse it's for sale on the dark web for about $5; a criminal buys it, starts sending it off in emails and when a victim falls for it they now have full access to someone’s computer for $5.

Not partial access.
Full control.

They can:
• Record every keystroke
• Turn on the webcam
• Steal passwords and files
• Take over the computer remotely
• Install even more malware

And here’s the scary part: the victim installs it themselves.

How the scam works (in plain English):

You get an email that looks like it’s from Booking.com.
Subject line: “Reservation Cancellation”
It mentions a refund over $1,000 and urges you to click quickly.
The link goes to a website that looks EXACTLY like the real Booking. com - correct colors, logos, fonts. Nothing looks suspicious.

Then:
• A fake “loading error” appears
• You click “refresh”
• Your browser suddenly goes full screen
? A Blue Screen of Death appears.
It looks like your computer has crashed - but it hasn’t.

It’s just a webpage pretending to be Windows.
Instructions pop up telling you to:
➡️ Press Win + R
➡️ Paste something
➡️ Press Enter

You think you’re following the instructions to fix your computer.
What you’re actually doing is running malware.

Why this attack is so effective

There’s:
❌ No bad file to scan
❌ No obvious warning
❌ No software exploit
❌ Nothing for your standard anti-virus program to catch

The trick is social engineering - using fear and urgency to get you to do exactly what the attacker wants.
This technique has exploded in the last 6 months (up 517% per Securonix) and is now one of the most common ways computers are compromised, right behind phishing.

? Important rule to remember
Real Windows errors NEVER ask you to take action.
They don’t ask you to paste commands.
They don’t ask you to “fix” anything.
They just show an error and to try a restart.

If a website ever tells you to:
• Press Win + R
• Paste something into PowerShell
• “Fix” a crash from inside your browser
? Close it immediately.

What to do if this ever happens

✅ Close the browser
✅ Do not paste anything
✅ If you already did, disconnect from the internet immediately and get professional help!

This isn’t about being “bad with computers.”
It’s about criminals getting very good at tricking normal people.

Awareness is your best defense.
Please share this - especially with coworkers, family members, or anyone who might panic when something “looks broken.” Or those who want to try and fix it themselves first - this kind of exploit can cost them everything.

Local Help Matters

If you or your business ever see something like this, or just want peace of mind, call a trusted local computer service company immediately.
They can check your system, stop the infection, and make sure your data (and accounts) are safe before more damage is done.

Waiting can make it worse.
Getting help early can save everything.

Attention Business Owners: Meet DeerStealer - a sophisticated new malware scheme whose creators are offering this, Malware as a Service, for sale on the dark web.

Here’s the issue in plain terms:

• Hackers are buying full-fledged attack kits (including DeerStealer) for $200–$3,000/month, giving them advanced capabilities you’d expect only from elite cyber-crime groups.

• It uses sneaky methods to break past your security: using simple Sponsored ad pages that trick someone into downloading malicious files instead of the intended application

• Once inside, it steals everything: browser extensions, crypto-wallets, VPN credentials, email apps, documents - basically your business’s lifeblood.

• Why this matters: It’s not just about losing data. It’s about losing trust, exposing client or partner information, and facing costly disruption.

What you can do RIGHT NOW to defend your business:

✅ Work with a Manager Service provider who will monitor for unusual activity like unexpected file access, remote logins, or new tools being installed.

✅ Educate your team on the “copy-paste” trick, if someone asks you to paste a command into your run prompt, stop and verify.

✅ Require suspicion: if an email or POP-up urges immediate action, take a step back and ask questions rather than act on fear.

✅ Enforce Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) everywhere, make it harder for attackers even if they acquire an employee's credentials.

✅ Keep operating systems, software, and browsers updated. Many advanced attacks depend on outdated systems.

✅ Verify the website or application is the intended location or genuine software and not something "Sponsored" to get you away from the real deal.

This isn’t a “might happen someday” threat; it’s happening now, and now lower level cyber criminals are are able to purchase the tools like DeerStealer meaning these kinds of attacks will become more prolific.

Stay ahead. Share this with your team. And if you’d like help assessing your vulnerability, tightening your defenses, or adding Managed Services to your business call us today.

Why Backups Must Never Be an Afterthought

Recently, a devastating fire destroyed a data center in South Korea, 858 terabytes of data were lost. Shockingly one primary system had zero backups. Experts are estimating that roughly 17% of the South Korean government has been affected, and that about eight years' worth of data was lost. The fire took down email, websites, and part of the country's emergency services.

Disasters can affect any organization, big or small.

? Can your business afford to lose years of emails, critical systems, or files?
? What would the cost of the downtime, recovery, reputational damage, and regulatory consequences be to your business?
? Disasters that cause data loss come in many shapes and sizes: hardware fails, cyberattacks happen, devices get stolen, and human's make mistakes.

Solid, regularly tested backups aren’t optional. They’re your business's safety net.
At minimum, you should have:
?Multiple copies of critical data, one readily at hand and one separated from your network in case of ransomware encryption
?Off-site / cloud backups
?Regularly tested & verified backups

Reach out today if you're interested in learning more about protecting your business with secure back-ups. Top Speed Computer Service - 775-852-4333

Elderly Americans lost $12.5 billion in 2024 according to the numbers released by the Federal Trade Commission. This is up from 2023's $10 billion lost to scammers by elderly Americans. And that number is astronomically higher than 2020's $3.5 billion lost by elderly Americans. There are two questions that need to be asked: 1. What can be done to prevent these scams? 2. What can you, as friends and family, do help after someone has fallen victim to a scam?

How to Prevent Scams

Prevention is the goal, but scammers are professional social engineers so if they successfully make contact with an elderly person chances are they will have a way to get them to do what they want. So true prevention can only be accomplished by completely removing potential access between the scammers and potential victims. And to that end I can't imagine someone wanting giving up their Internet, cell phones or even home phones for those that still have a home phone line, but that would be the only way to truly prevent any access from these types of scammers.

So then what's Plan B? Remarkedly like our parents told us over and over when we were kids, we now need to remind them over and over again to never call a phone number that pops up on your computer, never allow anyone to access your computer remotely (I used to say unless you know them or can walk into the company's office and meet the staff, but more and more scammers are pretending to be those local companies so I can no longer provide this exception), and do not answer calls from unknown numbers.

Once the scammers have the elderly on the phone they have a repertoire of ways to bend the victim to their will. The first way the scammer has to get the elderly to be compliant is care and compassion. "Oh yes it's good you called, that popup means your computer is badly infected. Give me access to your computer and I'll help you." OMG he's so nice he's going to get this horrible virus off my computer... but in reality he's going to steal your credentials, get into your bank accounts, and try and bleed you dry. If care and compassion aren't working they usually go next to fear. "Oh if you don't let me on your computer we can't stop the bad people from using that virus to steal all of your money." Don't you mean you need on my computer so you can be the bad guy to do that? Fear of financial loss is very effective to convince the elderly to be compliant.

Another frequent scam right now is the fake Paypal / eBay / iTunes / etc invoice. There's always a number to call to get that straightened out and that call will take you to someone very "helpful". A person who for some bizarre reason needs access remotely to your computer, but ok he's helping...right?  Wrong! In this scam you will be asked to log into your bank account while he's on the computer with you...only he will be stealing your banking credentials (and any other credentials he can, especially your email so he can cut you off from seeing all the things he's about to do). Then in a long story short he will "accidentally" refund you too much money and so he doesn't get fired now you have to get gift cards or Bitcoin or something to get the extra money back to him so he's not fired. He's so scared of being fired!!! And you wouldn't want his "innocent" mistake to cost him his job, would you?

Usually it goes down like this, he's now showing you completely fake banking information, he's asked you to confirm that you see the $600 refund he put in your account, and you say oh no I see a $6,000 refund in my account (all of this is staged) and he freaks out and begs you to do X, Y and Z to get him the $5,400 back, so he's not fired. So you start running around doing what he's asked (gift cards, Bitcoin, etc). Meanwhile you let him into your actual account which he's bleeding dry and adding insult to injury you might actually manage to buy $5,400 in gift cards give him the card number and code and you're out even more money. And boy is he grateful. When you discover the extent of the damage you are beyond devastated.

There is a variation of this that involves a phone call or email instead, calling or emailing on behalf of a grandchild, for instance, who is in need of money and of course a grandparent is going to want to help. It's always urgent enough that there is no time to call the grandchild or child to determine if there is actually an immediate danger. Getting a person frazzled is a good way to turn off the thinking part of their brain and then suggest to them how they should respond. The scammer will have very specific instructions and they will be happy to walk you through to get them the money needed... Go buy gift cards and read the information off of them, go to a Bitcoin ATM, etc. Going to the bank is less successful these days as many banks have protocols for an elderly person coming in and requesting to wire transfer a large amount of money. Bank tellers are trained to carefully ask questions to protect their customers from scams and financial loss. A simple question that they ask when it relates to a relative in mortal peril is "Oh that sounds awful what happened when you tried to reach them yourself?" So often is I didn't try, such-and-such, told me they wouldn't answer and then the banker can insist they call the person. Wise bankers have stopped untold amounts of fraud with these simple questions.

The final primary way scammers get the elderly to do what they want (they are always coming up with new ways so this is not an exhaustive list) is to verbally abuse them and demand they do certain things. This seems to be most effective on elderly women who are more likely not sure what to do when they start being demanded they do things by some stranger on the phone. Although they will employ the tactic of name calling against any woman if they think it will work. Worse because they have often done some research, or the data file on the victim already includes this information, they can use family members names and threaten to do harm to them, financial harm or release embarrassing photos, get them fired, etc, if the victim does not comply.

Considering all of these horror stories you may have gone back to considering taking away the Internet and phones to protect your family; I totally understand that. Having worked with these individuals who have been horribly scammed they might have preferred that to loosing their entire savings. 

After a Scam

Mitigating damage after a scam is very time sensitive. The first problem you run into is determining what actually happened and the extent of the damage. After someone realizes they've been scammed they will likely feel embarrassed and not want to discuss exactly what happened, but exactly what happened is what must be known to prevent further damage.

If the victim let someone on their computer remotely you must assume everything on the computer has been compromised. While the scammer was working the magic of distraction it is well within possibility that everything of value on the computer was stolen - that includes all login credentials stored in browser, tax returns, Word docs that contain your passwords, other private documents and even sometimes pictures. Pictures if they found something juicy and want to use it to get additional money out of a person or in some cases it's just because they think the person / people in the pictures are attractive. 

Steps to Take After a Scammer was on Your Computer

• Immediately change your banking password if you logged into your banking while they were on the remote session with you.
• Immediately change your email password if you logged into your email while they were on the remote session with you. (Update your password on your phone if you get mail there as well.)
• Notify your bank(s) and have them put a watch on your account(s). If there are already transactions that have been initiated hopefully you have contacted your bank fast enough to stop the transactions.
• Take your computer to a local computer company, like us, to have it cleaned and the remote software removed. Some banks are requiring proof of having your computer cleaned prior to re-authorizing online access to banking accounts.
• Now change every other password you had stored in your computer. This will be time consuming and laborious but unless you want to suddenly find you've lost access to your Facebook account, which is now actively selling Bitcoin to your friends, or your Amazon account suddenly starts making deliveries to people you've never heard of you'll want to get all of those passwords changed and 2FA enabled to an Authenticator App on your phone wherever possible.

This will be difficult and even more so for those who are older. If you can, accompany them with as much as possible, if a large sum of money is missing they will likely be feeling extremely overwhelmed and a family member or friend helping them remember all the steps they need to take will help them. Bear in my and remind them often if they are beating themselves up that this is a mistake that hits tens of thousands of people every year; the Internet comes with risks and professional con men who make a fortune annually by tricking people into giving them exactly what they want. Hopefully, much of the damage can be mitigated if you act quickly.

Part of securing your passwords is understanding how they become compromised. Two of the most frequent ways passwords are compromised is through Brute-Force attacks and data breeches. In a Brute-Force attack, hackers are using a systematic plan to check all possibilities until the correct one is found. If a hacker knows that the site requires a minimum of 8 characters and requires the use of both alphabetical and numeric characters they will start with those parameters. This is not done by hand. They write programs to do the dirty work.

So how do you defeat attacks like this? 

Starting in July a Sextortion email scam has been inundating peoples' inboxes.  Some reports show individual email boxes receiving the threatening email 2 - 3 times per day in the last couple of weeks.  For those who have visited adult websites and have a webcam either on their laptop or setup nearby, the scam feels pretty scary.  However, a critical look at the email shows it for what it is, a scam.

Stealing credentials (your logins and passwords) is an ever growing industry.  Those stealing your information are usually selling it off to other criminals who will then work to profit from it.  Imagine what someone could do, connecting your password to your email address and then attempting to access bank accounts and credit cards.  All they need is control of your email to reset passwords and setup email rules so you'll never even see those emails come through.  Even worse is when they initiate bank transfers to offshore accounts.  You never see it happen because they're in your bank account creating the transfer and in your email forwarding any messages that show what's happening while it's being authorized and sent.

That is what makes this new scam particularly dangerous.  How many of your have employees who would click on what appears to be an email order for product and thereby compromise the entire company?