4 Tips for Being More Productive With Chromebooks

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Although Chromebooks is not nearly as powerful and not nearly as widespread as Windows or Mac machines are, it is still a worthy competitor.

More and more people, including schools and businesses, are using Chromebooks and are benefiting from their lightweight style, quick startup, and simplicity. Here are four tips for using Chromebooks for work and for being more productive while doing so.

Use Android Apps

The newer Chromebooks come pre-installed with Google Play, and some older Chromebooks can get it through an update. There are many Android apps that you can use to increase your productivity. Until now, you only had Google Docs to write in. Now you can download the Microsoft Word app or an alternative like WPS Office. You can also download useful apps such as Evernote, Skype for Business, and even Metatrader 4.

Use Chromebooks Offline

Although Chromebooks are primarily designed to be used with an internet connection, they can definitely be used offline as well. Google Docs can be made to sync offline so that you can use it without wifi and have all changes synced when you get back online. You can also sync your Google Drive storage to be used offline. Again, Android apps will come in handy offline as well.

Split Screens

Chromebooks usually have smaller screens, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have more than one window open at once. You can resize windows just as you can on Windows devices. You can drag tabs to open them in a new window if you need to compare two things side by side. Apps can be opened over Chrome. Pro tip: To quickly split a window so that it appears only on the right-hand or left-hand side of the screen, click Alt + [ or Alt + ].

Use Voice Typing

Getting carpal tunnel syndrome? Google Docs has a voice typing feature that lets you speak into a microphone and have your voice converted into text. Of course, make sure to proofread your work.

Contact us today for more IT and computer tips.

6 Tips for Conserving Battery Power

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There’s nothing more frustrating than having your battery die on you just as an important deadline looms. Fortunately, there are a number of ways to conserve your laptop’s battery. Here are six tips for keeping your battery power going.

Display Auto Turn-Off

Set your laptop so that your display turns off by itself if your laptop is not used for a specific amount of time. This can be one minute, five minutes, ten minutes, or whatever. This way, your battery won’t drain while you are on a bathroom break.

Reduce Brightness

Even when the display is on, reducing the brightness will help save a lot of battery power.

Disable Wifi

If you do not need the internet and can work offline, disable the wifi. Having your laptop connected to the internet causes a strain on the battery. A lot of things will be going on in the background. For example, Windows may be updating its software.

Remove External Devices

If you are not using them, remove any external drives or devices from your laptop. Take out any USB sticks and DVDs. Do not use your laptop to charge your phone. All of these things take up precious battery power.

Use the Battery Saver

Turn on the battery saver feature that is built into Windows if you need to save battery. Some manufacturers install additional features to help you save and conserve battery power.

Shut Off Background Noise

Focus on one thing at a time when your battery power needs to be conserved. Shut off things that are running in the background by using your task manager to figure out what is using up the CPU. Don’t have multiple windows open at once; if you do not need a program at the moment, close it instead of minimizing it.

For more information, contact us today.

Find Your Weak Link And Help Prevent Security Breaches – Computer Tip Of The Day

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There have been many unfortunate incidents of hackers stealing customer and employee information. Including, social security numbers, credit card numbers, checking account numbers, and other highly-sensitive information. Basically, data security is not something that should be taken lightly. Thus, you should never assume that your business will not become the target of security breaches.

Hackers have become very sophisticated. Many of them will tend to find a weak link in a business’s security features. It can be extremely difficult to access a business network through various firewalls and other barriers. However, many businesses will still have their data breached because hackers will find access to the system through a weak link.

What can you do to prevent breaches from occurring in your business?

Use a Risk Assessment

What kind of sensitive information is being used in your business? Once you take the time to evaluate the different types of sensitive information, you will gain a better understanding of what information will likely be targeted by hackers. The information that you feel is most vulnerable should be at the top of the list of data to secure first.

Encrypt Your Data to Prevent Security Breaches

Do you have encryption software installed on all the computers in the office? Do you have encryption software installed on your workplace’s mobile devices and USB drives? Not only should you use data encryption, but you should also make sure all devices and important accounts are being secured with passwords.

Revisit Your Security Policy

When some data breaches occur, it is due to what is taking place on the inside. Only the employees you trust the most with sensitive data should have access to it. If it is unnecessary for an employee to have access to sensitive data, they should not be able to easily access it. We encourage you to have a data privacy policy that will lay down the rules for accessing sensitive data. Additionally, any paper documents you have in the office should be secured. Therefore, they cannot be easily accessed by unwanted hands and unwanted eyes.

Security is a constant struggle because there is always someone who is looking for any weak links and vulnerabilities. Do you want to reduce the chances of your business becoming a target of security breaches? Contact us today for more information.

Proactively Addressing Mobile Threats

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More and more employees are using their smartphones and other portable devices in order to work on off-site projects, at home, or simply on the go.  While this has greatly increased productivity in many respects, there are inherent dangers in essentially allowing access to corporate systems to go out the office door, with very little to safeguard this access.  Any organization that allows their staff members to either use their own mobile devices for work-related activities and/or who issues mobile devices to their staff for external use should ensure they have an all-inclusive policy to cover usage and security practices. This will help protect individuals and companies from mobile threats.

External Threats

So what are some of the issues that can arise from the use of mobile devices used for corporate activities?  Regardless of whether an employee is using their own device or a corporate one, it is very easy for any of the following to occur:

  • a device is lost or stolen,
  • downloading of questionable 3rd party apps,
  • sharing of devices with unauthorized people,
  • and/or using unprotected Wi-Fi sources.

If any of these situations occur, unless protective measures are already in place, corporate data can easily fall into the wrong hands.  In addition to the expenses incurred from cleaning up a data breach, are other costs such as loss of trust and potential litigation from clients, and loss of public reputation as a trustworthy source of products and/or services.

Policy Solutions

A good mobile device policy will cover two key areas, and both must be addressed proactively, rather than after the fact.  The first part of the policy is put into place by IT administrators.  Their responsibilities include:

  • remotely locking lost or stolen devices,
  • creating and enforcing proper password and encryption policies,
  • discovering and restricting tampered devices,
  • and ensuring corporate data is removed from personal devices upon employee termination.

The second part of the policy pertains to instructing employees on the proper use of their mobile devices.  Employees need to follow certain protocols including:

  • reporting lost or stolen devices immediately,
  • following their employer’s policy on downloading 3rd party apps,
  • following password and Wi-Fi policies,
  • and not sharing their devices with family members or other external parties.

By creating a proactive and comprehensive mobile device policy, employees will thoroughly understand what their employer expects of them and IT administrators will be able to quickly resolve issues if they arise.  Using this two-pronged approach maximizes the ability of any business to properly secure both corporate and client data.  Please contact us if you would like more information on how to properly institute a mobile device security policy to protect your organization’s essential data.

Computer Tip of the Day: Knowing Your Computer

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Computer terminology can be confusing, especially for those who have not worked with computers very much. There is an advantage to knowing your computer. When computers break down, it can save time and money to have an understanding of their individual components. This is due to the fact that a technician might not have to be paid to resolve the problems. Research on the internet can be done to find solutions to computer problems using the names of computer parts as keywords in an internet search.

Sometimes knowing the parts of a computer isn’t enough. It helps to learn how to interpret error messages and error codes that a computer spits out. Computer error code details can usually be searched on the internet to learn more about what the error code means.

Troubleshooting

When troubleshooting a computer regardless of whether it’s a desktop, laptop, tablet, or phone, 8 separate parts should be kept in mind. That is a power supply, hard drive, RAM, CPU, motherboard, keyboard, mouse, and screen. This is necessary because if one does not know the difference it will be more difficult to obtain help on free computer-help forums. Additionally, to search keywords on the internet in general.

For example, the display that allows one to see data stored on a computer is called the monitor or screen. When an error code is displayed on the screen, it would cause confusion to say, “My hard drive is giving me a certain error code,” or, “My screen has a computer virus.” It’s a common issue that the different parts of a computer are confused. The recommended terminology is to say, “My screen is displaying an error code”. Also giving specific details of the error code. Although the source of the problem might originate with the computer’s hard drive, the error code for that will typically be displayed on the screen.

Please contact us so that we may help sort out any issues with your computer.