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    Viewing posts from: November 2016

    11.28.2016

    4 Ways to Increase Your Laptop Battery Life and Charge

    1. Keep the Vents Clear
    Never ever sit your laptop on a couch cushion, or on a mattress, or anything soft that hinders airflow through the little slot on the bottom and sides of your machine. Those vents can suck up dust and debris, clogging up the fans and causing your laptop to work harder. And, the harder the machine works, the more battery power it is going to require. If you hear a loud buzzing (like a fan spinning really fast), or your laptop base is so hot you could cook an egg on it, chances are you should consider moving to a tabletop or hard surface to work on. If this buzzing is consistent, the laptop doesn’t cool down or you need assistance cleaning the dust out of the vents, contact your IT provider.  
    1. Keep the Screen Brightness Down
     

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    11.23.2016

    Hacker in network of 80 computers

    A fellow member of The ASCII Group shared a week long horror story of recovering an 80 workstation, 4 server environment for a large general contractor client.  If you don't read the entire story remember this, all it takes is 1 click to encrypt (lock) the entire network.  This was a form of Ransomware that was stealthy enough to bypass all of the layers and lock/shut everything down within 5 minutes.  The virus bypassed 2 firewalls, anti-virus, and spam filtering.  The main thing the client did not fully cooperate with was Security Awareness training.  This a service that sends "fake" spam messages, and alerts the employee that they have clicked on the  

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    11.17.2016

    4 Ways to fight off infection

    Although this is not necessarily about a computer virus, they are some good tips to stay well.  This may have been written while on cold medicine and I apologize for any typos.

    1. Clean Your Keyboard and Mouse with an Approved Electronics Cleaning Cloth or Solution
    It is a fairly easy process to accomplish, and worth the effort for sure. Think about it – you dug into the candy dish after multiple people at the office, you and Sally swapped TPS reports, you shook hands with a visitor and you used the doorknob to vacate the restroom. Then, you came back to your keyboard and started typing. You see where I am going with this. Speak with the office manager to see if you have any approved cleaning solutions on hand, then reach out to your IT solutions provider before moving forward with the scrub down.  
    1. Don't Eat around Your Computer
     

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    11.07.2016

    Secure Passwords tips

    In this day in age, most passwords that were used in the early 2000’s are common knowledge now, and have a specific complex and secured password can mean the difference between having your information exposed or secured. Here are a few tips when considering a secured password. 1. Do not use password repetitively, have specific password for each account. 2. Do use a mix of letter, numbers, symbols and/or characters to make it harder for someone to guess your password. 3. Do not use common words or phrases as these are easy to guess; instead, if you do like common words, add a number to the beginning or end of it, or use characters such as “$” instead of “S” and “@” instead of “A” 4. Do use extra layers of security such as 2-Step Verification to ensure the security and current status of your password. These are just a few tips, using a password manager such as LastPass will not only securely store your credentials, sites, and notes the software will also generate very complex and secure passwords for you.

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    11.01.2016

    The ASCII Group Names Newport Solutions to North American Vendor Advisory Committee

    Bethesda, Maryland - October 14, 2016 -- The ASCII Group, a membership-based community of independent MSPs, VARs and Solution Providers, today announced that Jeff Olejnik of Newport Solutions, Inc. in Fountain Valley, CA, USA is now a member of ASCII’s National Vendor Advisory Committee.   ASCII-Vendor-Advisory-Committee The Committee, comprised of representatives from twenty member businesses across the country and various sectors of technology, will work with ASCII headquarters on a regular basis to discuss potential alliances with vendors that would bring value to the overall group.  Members were selected based on their technical and program evaluation skills.  These initiatives would add to the more than 60 value-add programs ASCII currently provides to its members. "We are delighted to welcome Jeff Olejnik to our Vendor Advisory Committee and I look forward to the insight and guidance he will bring," said Shannon Mayer, VP of Business Development of The ASCII Group.  " Each committee member will contribute their unique perspective to the ASCII mandate and their input will help to create solutions that help our members meet challenges and take advantage of innovative technologies."  

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