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5 Easy Ways to Spring Clean Your Computer

Andrew Moon — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 11:00:21 +0000

With Spring in the air, now is a good time to do an annual clean up of the computers, servers and electronic equipment in your office, both inside and out. Failure to thoroughly clean your computers and servers at least once or twice a year will result in decreased performance and possibly even system failures.

Here’s why:

Dust clogs the computer’s cooling system causing it to heat up, damaging sensitive electronic equipment. Dust can also cause fan noise and (believe it or not) slow performance!

Crumbs and dirt in your keyboard can cause keys to stick and crunchy sounds when typing. Plus, it’s just gross and unhealthy; do you know there are more germs on your computer keyboard than the average public toilet? Even dust, fingerprints and dirt build-up will make your computer monitor dim and fuzzy.

But the physical “dirt” is only the beginning…

Here are 5 quick steps you can take today to clean up your systems and improve performance:

1. Use Disk Cleanup to delete temporary files, unused programs and any other files taking up space and slow- ing things down. (Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Cleanup)

2. Defrag your hard drive to speed up access to your data. (Start > Control Panel > System and Security > Administrative Tools > Defragment your hard drive).

3. Update your spyware and antivirus software with the newest definitions. The internet changes fast. Having outdated security can slow you down dramatically.

4. Make sure you have the latest security patches and updates installed and configured properly.

5. Check your backups and conduct an emergency “restore” of the data. Remember, the best time to check your backups is when you DON’T desperately need to recover your data!

Want Us To Spring Clean Your Computer Network?

• 10% off any service, repair or upgrade.

• A FREE 27 Point Spring Network Check-Up.

• A FREE Computer Cleaning Kit to keep your keyboards, monitors and computers squeaky clean.

Why would cyber criminals want to attack me?

Andrew Moon — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 17:42:17 +0000

“I’m just a small business. I don’t have anything cyber criminals want.” I hear this all the time from small business owners. Find out why that’s wrong thinking.

April 23rd, 11:00-1:00PM EST – What is Cyber Security and How Do You Protect Yourself From Pop-ups, Viruses, Spyware, Identity Theft, Spam & Other Cyber Threats

Is Microsoft’s New Cloud Based Office Licensing Model Going to Affect Your Business?

Andrew Moon — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 11:00:02 +0000

Microsoft announced earlier this year that they are going to place all of their Microsoft Office desktop and cloud-based Office 365 software applications under one umbrella in a renewed effort to push their cloud-based subscription model.

Microsoft will still sell their existing desktop versions, but these will not be as “fully featured” as the upcoming cloud-based versions (note that any Microsoft software that ends in 365 is their cloud based software). It’s becoming very apparent that whether you’re a home user or a large company, Microsoft wants you to buy the cloud ver- sion of their products going forward. If you don’t want the cloud version on a monthly subscription, you’ll have to settle for a dumbed down version of the product instead.

Here’s what this potentially means for you:

The new “Office” family covers all different editions of Microsoft Office, from Student and Home Editions to the most powerful tools that Microsoft offers.
You will never have to worry about buying CALs (Client Access Licenses) for Office 365.
You will now be able to shift your budget dollars from one time or annual license purchases to an ongoing monthly operating expense, thus evening out cash flow.
Things should be getting easier for you to manage. Whether you are starting from scratch or updating software licenses for your office, you’ll be able to get everyone running on Office, Exchange, Sharepoint, Lync, Word, Excel and even Skype under one single license.
Microsoft is also preparing a half-dozen bundles for Office and Office 365, many aimed at small business.

BYOD or COPE? Do You Allow Employees To Use Their Own Devices For Work?

Andrew Moon — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 01:14:29 +0000

The evolution of personal mobile devices and the rise of how necessary they are to business success these days are forcing many small business owners to make a choice. BYOD or COPE? Or “Bring Your Own Device” vs. “Corporate Owned, Personally Enabled”.

The Typical Solution – BYOD. According to the CDW 2012 Small Business Mobility Report, 89% of small- business employees use their personal mobile devices for work. But the headache involved here is how do you support and secure all of these devices? The scary thing is that most small businesses have NOT deployed (or plan to deploy) any systems for managing and securing employees’ personal devices.

The Alternative – Is COPE Any Better? A minority of small businesses has implemented a Corporate Owned, Personally Enabled (“COPE”) policy instead. They buy their employees’ mobile devices, secure them, and then let employees load additional personal applications that they want or need. And the employers control what types of apps can be added too. And the “personally enabled” aspect of COPE allows employees to choose the com- pany-approved device they prefer while permitting them to use it both personally and professionally. COPE is cer-

tainly more controlled and secure, but for a business with a limited budget, buying devices for every employee can add up pretty quick. If you go the COPE route and are large enough to buy in volume, you can likely negotiate substantial discounts.

Security Concerns With BYOD. If you have client infor- mation that must be kept secure or other industry specific regulations regarding the security of client data, then COPE is likely your best approach. It takes out any gray area of whose data is whose. Plus there is a certain com- fort level in being able to recover or confiscate any device for any reason at any time to protect your company with- out any worries of device ownership.

Advice For BYOD Companies. Despite the numerous advantages of COPE, most small businesses will still choose BYOD because it can save them money. Here are 2 of Lawrence Reusing’s (GM of mobile security at Imation) important rules for BYOD. Consider these when creating your mobile device policy.

1. Assume employees will use personal devices on the corporate network even if they are told not to. 50% of employees use personal devices to take confidential data out of companies every day.

2. Assume employees value convenience more than security. If your policies are inconvenient, employees will work around them.

If you have questions as to which solution is right for your company, we are here to help. If you need help craft- ing a Mobile Device Policy for your staff, give us a call or contact us. We are here to help.