Do You Know How to Copy More than One Document at a Time?

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Copying a document is simplicity in itself. You can simply either:

  1. Right click and select the word “copy” when it appears to copy the file and right click to choose “paste” when you have accessed the file where you want it to be, or
  2. Hit the Control key plus C to copy, and the Control key plus V to make it appear in the file you want. But what if you want to copy multiple files?

Learn how to copy more than one document with our computer tip of the day.

Copy More than One Document

There are several different ways to do this.

First, do you want to copy all the documents in a given file? Open the file and hit Control plus A to select all the files. Then, perform one of the two methods above.

Or, you may want to select a bunch of documents that are next to each other, but not every single one in the file. Simply click the first document you want to copy. Then depress the Shift key and click the last document of your selection. The first, last, and everything in between will be selected.

After they are selected, perform one of the two methods in the first paragraph. Finally, if you simply want to copy more than one, but they aren’t next to each other, there’s a simple method.

Click the first document you want to copy. Then hold the Control key down while you click the others. Then copy the ones you’ve selected. Paste them. Voila, and presto.

This is one of those moves that’s easy to forget if you don’t do it very often. But it’s simple and easy to remember if you keep this info in a handy place.

Contact us for more information.

Free Open Source Software for Business

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Free Open Source Software

Budgeting for Business

Managing budgets is quite often a crucial part of any business that is woefully overlooked, especially for startups. A key area where budgets are strained is in the software that is used. Most users are familiar with using Windows or Mac along with Office applications and Antivirus software without much regard to costs beyond their initial purchase. However, for businesses, these software costs have a long-term and continuous impact.

Software is Expensive

So when we take a business approach to software where each PC would have a typical Windows operating system, Microsoft Office program, and Antivirus software, we can see how costs can add up quickly across multiple machines. In addition to the initial software costs, you also have ongoing licensing fees and any technical support services you might need beyond software.

Open Source Software as a Business Solution

Open Source Software, like the Linux operating system, is used in billions of computing devices daily. For everything from personal computing to supercomputers. Businesses especially rely heavily on Linux as a foundation to run their systems and the best part is that it’s a free open-source operating system.

Using Open Source Software can serve a variety of needs for many forms of businesses. For the typical office setup described earlier, an alternative free setup would be:

  • Desktop Operating System: Linux Mint
  • Office application: LibreOffice
  • Antivirus: not an absolute requirement for desktop Linux
  • Software costs and licenses: $0

Free Open Source Software is Good

Now the term “Free” is not often associated with quality software products. As mentioned earlier, Linux is used in every aspect of the business. So quality is not something that should be of concern. What is of value is that these free Open Source options have matured to the point where it’s simple, stable, and compatible with other software programs like Microsoft Office. And since much of our daily computing needs center on internet browsers like Chrome, users will feel right at home on an Open Source computer.

Technology is rapidly evolving and developing software solutions that lead to more efficient budgets. This is something that all businesses can gain value from. Contact us for professional technology and support solutions.

 

Eliminate Threats by Regularly Backing Up Your Data

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Backing Up Your Data

Are you doing regular data backups? You can eliminate a lot of threats by backing up your data. Many companies neglect to back up their data often enough. Unfortunately, many of them have already suffered the consequences. Let’s look at some of the reasons why regular backups are important.

Viruses and Malware Affecting Your Data

Let’s face it. Hackers want your data, and they’ll try as hard as they can to get it. The most dangerous of them all are ransomware hackers. These hackers install malicious code that slowly encrypts your data without your knowledge. They then deny you access to your files until you pay a ransom. Since they have the decryption key, it’s impossible to retrieve your information unless you pay up. Many companies, hospitals, and even law enforcement and sheriff’s offices have been forced to give in — only because they didn’t have a backup of their files on hand.

System Failures

What will you do if your computer, network, server, or system suddenly crashes? This happens all the time, and you’ll need a backup file to restore everything back to normal.

Natural Disasters

Power outages, storms, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes — these are all natural disasters that can ravage your offices and ruin your files. You have no control over these occurrences, so you need to be prepared.

It’s not enough to just back up your data; you need to back it up the right way. One of the wrong ways of backing up is by keeping some sort of connection between your computers and your backup files — if hackers gain access to your computers, they can gain access to your backup files as well. Contact us for professional and automatic backup solutions, so that you can set it and forget it.

Why Your Company Needs Data Encryption

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Data Encryption

Are you doing enough to safeguard your company’s data from cyber threats? According to a report published by Panda Labs, approximately 18 million new malware threats were identified in Q3 2016, which translates into roughly 200,000 threats per day.

Of course, you can protect your data from hacking and other cyber threats with encryption services. It’s often viewed as the single most effective way to protect data. So, what is it and how does it work?

What is Data Encryption?

Encryption is the process of encoding information so that it’s only “readable” by the intended user or users. This doesn’t prevent unauthorized users from accessing the data — nor is that the intention. Rather, it prevents users from reading the data unless they have the corresponding key.

Encryption works by using an algorithm to convert the data into a special code. Once encrypted, only users with the associated key can decrypt and read it.

Benefits

The single most common reason cited for data encryption is protected from cyber threats. Firewalls, spam blockers, and anti-malware/virus software are all effective safeguards to protect data from unauthorized use, but encrypting it adds another layer that companies can use to further strengthen their internal security.

While there’s no law specifically requiring you to encrypt data, it’s often used to reinforce compliance, such as in the case of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996. HIPAA Security Rules require doctors and other covered entities to implement technical safeguards to protect their data from disclosure — and there’s no stronger technical safeguard than encryption.

To learn more about data encryption and how it can safeguard your business from disaster, contact us today.

Why You Should Use a Password Manager: Our Computer Tip of the Day

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A password manager is a practical way to keep track of your passwords and improve security. In today’s computer tip of the day, you will learn why and find useful links and suggestions on how to use a password manager.

You should have long, complex passwords that are different for each website. However, passwords like these are often hard to remember. A password manager lets you keep all your passwords in a secure vault. You will only need to memorize one strong password that gives you access to the vault when you need it.

Use a Password Manager

Why is it better to use software than to just write your passwords in a notebook? Consider what happens if you lose this book or it gets destroyed. Resetting all your passwords is an arduous task, especially if you don’t have the password to your email account.

A password manager securely stores all your passwords offsite. Additionally, you can use it to generate very secure passwords, such as a 15-character random password containing a mix of letters, numbers, and symbols. You can save a secure password for each individual website. As you log into the website, the username and password will be automatically filled in for you.

A good password manager, such as LastPass or Dashlane, also has procedures in place to protect you when there is a known breach. You would receive a notification and suggestion to change your password for the compromised site. Furthermore, most password managers can run a security check to make sure all your passwords are appropriately secure.

While many password managers have a free version, some of them require payment for certain uses. Consider determining if the security benefits of a password manager are right for you.

Please contact us for more information on technology.