25Seven IT Practical IT support for UK small businesses

25Seven IT

Practical IT support for UK small businesses

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Five Columns and a Cupboard Full of Laptops: The Kit List Your Office Can Actually Keep
Cybersecurity

Five Columns and a Cupboard Full of Laptops: The Kit List Your Office Can Actually Keep

Most small firms can tell you who has which laptop today. Ask who bought it, when the warranty runs out, or what should happen to it when that person hands in their notice, and the answer gets hazy. Here's a deliberately small asset register that a non-technical office manager can keep alive — and the awkward questions it quietly answers.
The Keys Are in a Coat Pocket: Rehearsing MFA Recovery for a Small UK Firm
Cybersecurity

The Keys Are in a Coat Pocket: Rehearsing MFA Recovery for a Small UK Firm

When the only phone with the authenticator app goes missing, a small business can lose access to email, finance and admin consoles in minutes. This is a practical, low-drama way to map your MFA methods, set up a safe break-glass route and test recovery before you need it.
Before the Lease Van Arrives: Wiping the Office Copier’s Memory
Cybersecurity

Before the Lease Van Arrives: Wiping the Office Copier’s Memory

That bulky multifunction printer by the kitchen is not just furniture. Before it goes back to the lease company, gets sold or is scrapped, it may still be holding scanned contracts, payroll forms and client records on an internal drive. Here is a practical UK small-business routine for getting the data out before the machine leaves.
Your Enquiry Form Is a Front Door, Not a Mailbox: Keeping Bot Spam Out Without Shutting Customers Out
Cybersecurity

Your Enquiry Form Is a Front Door, Not a Mailbox: Keeping Bot Spam Out Without Shutting Customers Out

When a website contact form starts attracting fake quotes, link drops and bot rubbish, the temptation is to bolt on more barriers. The better approach is to treat the form as a front door: check who is arriving, route real visitors quickly, and keep the junk away from the people who need to reply.
Shared Walls, Shared Bandwidth: What a Serviced Office Really Signs You Up For
Cloud

Shared Walls, Shared Bandwidth: What a Serviced Office Really Signs You Up For

Flexible office space comes with a fitted kitchen, a nice meeting room and a broadband connection you don't control. Here's what that actually means for your email, your firewall and your ability to get anyone to fix a problem at 9am on a Monday.
One Network, Everyone In: Does Your Guest Wi-Fi Actually Separate Anything?
Cybersecurity

One Network, Everyone In: Does Your Guest Wi-Fi Actually Separate Anything?

A guest Wi-Fi name is not the same as a separate network. This 45-minute check helps small UK offices spot whether visitors, smart devices, printers and staff laptops are all sharing one flat network — and gives you a sensible list to hand to IT support.
The Password Was Never the Problem: Rolling Out a Password Manager Without a Rebellion
Cybersecurity

The Password Was Never the Problem: Rolling Out a Password Manager Without a Rebellion

Shared logins, a whiteboard in the comms cupboard and one long-serving colleague who knows everything — it's a pattern we see in almost every small UK office we walk into. Here's the four-week, low-drama way to move to a proper password manager, including what to do when someone quietly refuses to install it.
The Email That Says It's From You (But Isn't): Rolling Out DMARC Without Breaking the Post
Cybersecurity

The Email That Says It's From You (But Isn't): Rolling Out DMARC Without Breaking the Post

Someone can send email that looks like it came from your own address, and your customers have no easy way to tell. Here's a calm, practical route through SPF, DKIM and DMARC for a small UK firm, starting with monitoring and only tightening the rules once you know who legitimately sends as you.
The Machine Behind the Label Printer: Triage for Windows 10 Leftovers
Cybersecurity

The Machine Behind the Label Printer: Triage for Windows 10 Leftovers

Consumer extended security updates for Windows 10 ended on 13 October 2026, but the odd straggler is still humming away in UK small offices. Here is a calm, practical order of work for finding those machines, isolating the risky ones, and deciding between refurbished Windows 11 hardware, a straight replacement, Linux, or commercial ESU.
Before It Leaves the Building: Retiring an Office Computer Without Creating a Data Problem
Cybersecurity

Before It Leaves the Building: Retiring an Office Computer Without Creating a Data Problem

That old desktop in the cupboard is not just clutter — it is a storage device with a history. Here is a practical 45-minute routine for UK small firms to retire a computer cleanly, from asset register to WEEE paperwork.
The Apps Nobody Bought: Exposing and Tidying Shadow SaaS in a Small UK Office
Cloud

The Apps Nobody Bought: Exposing and Tidying Shadow SaaS in a Small UK Office

Someone signed up for a free tool with their work email in about ten seconds, and two years later it's still running, still holding customer names, and nobody has ever looked at it. Here's a gentle, practical way to find those apps, work out which ones deserve a closer look under UK GDPR, and clear out the ones that don't.
The Domain Account Nobody Checks: A Registrar Review for Small UK Firms
Cybersecurity

The Domain Account Nobody Checks: A Registrar Review for Small UK Firms

Your domain is the address on the van, the link in every quote, and the front door for customers. Yet the registrar login often sits untouched for years. Here's a practical, coffee-length review covering transfer locks, auto-renew, recovery contacts, DNS alerts and a simple rehearsal for the day the domain goes missing.
The Bank Details Changed. The Invoice Didn't. A Small Firm's Payment Pause
Cybersecurity

The Bank Details Changed. The Invoice Didn't. A Small Firm's Payment Pause

Supplier invoice fraud rarely looks dramatic. It looks like a familiar PDF, a polite nudge and a new sort code. Here's a practical 2026 playbook for UK small firms: spot the switch, verify by phone, tighten the mailbox, and keep legitimate suppliers moving.
The Guest Link You Forgot Is Now a Copilot Answer
Cybersecurity

The Guest Link You Forgot Is Now a Copilot Answer

Copilot doesn't create new leaks; it exposes the ones already sitting in SharePoint and OneDrive. Before you switch it on, run a short permission audit that closes stale guest links, tightens broad access and sets a simple no-go list for sensitive files.
Who Holds the Keys? A 90-Minute Rehearsal for Changing IT Support
Cloud

Who Holds the Keys? A 90-Minute Rehearsal for Changing IT Support

Most small firms only find out what they don't control on the day they try to leave an IT provider. This is a calm, practical rehearsal you can run in 90 minutes—covering Microsoft 365, DNS, backups, phones and data handover—so a future provider switch is boring rather than dramatic.
The Day Your Cloud Bill Changes: A Small Firm's One-Page Escape Route
Cloud

The Day Your Cloud Bill Changes: A Small Firm's One-Page Escape Route

Cloud services are convenient right up to the moment a renewal email lands with new terms, a higher price or a product name you no longer recognise. This guide explains what you actually own, what you need to export, and how to keep a one-page exit plan ready without turning it into a project.
Small Tickets, Big Signals: Turning Your IT Support Queue Into a Threat Radar
Cybersecurity

Small Tickets, Big Signals: Turning Your IT Support Queue Into a Threat Radar

Most small firms treat the helpdesk as a repair shop: something breaks, someone fixes it, everyone moves on. But the same tickets, read in batches rather than one at a time, can reveal phishing attempts, account takeover attempts and ageing kit long before they become an incident.
Before the Dial Tone Dies: A Small Firm's Line-by-Line Plan for the PSTN Retirement
Cloud

Before the Dial Tone Dies: A Small Firm's Line-by-Line Plan for the PSTN Retirement

The UK's old phone network is winding down, and the tricky part is rarely the desk phone. It is the alarm, lift line, card terminal or fax that quietly depends on it. Here is a calm, checklist-led way to find every line, ask the right questions and test before you switch.
Proof, Not Promises: Getting Through a 2026 Cyber Insurance Questionnaire Without a Security Team
Cybersecurity

Proof, Not Promises: Getting Through a 2026 Cyber Insurance Questionnaire Without a Security Team

Insurers are asking sharper questions about multi-factor authentication, tested backups and incident plans — and 'we are careful' is not an answer. This is a practical walk through a typical 2026 questionnaire, with the simple evidence a small UK firm can gather without hiring a security consultant.
When the Fibre Drops Mid-Order: A No-Drama 4G Backup for a Small Office
Cloud

When the Fibre Drops Mid-Order: A No-Drama 4G Backup for a Small Office

One dug-up cable can take out your card machine, your email and your shared files at the worst possible moment. A cheap 4G router plus a laminated one-page procedure keeps a small UK office trading while the ISP gets its act together.