MSPNetworks Blog

If you’ve ever used technology, the power button has had a pretty consistent appearance, and an even more consistent use. However, there’s a reason that the power symbol we’re so familiar with looks the way it does. Furthermore, there’s more that the power button can ultimately do.

What the “Power” Symbol Means

The symbol that appears on the power button looks somewhat unique. However, this makes more sense when you consider that it’s just what you get when you smoosh the “|” for on and the “O” for off into a single symbol.

How the Power Button Can Be Used

Hopefully, you’ve already learned that your power button should really only be used to power up your system, or—if no other options are available—to power off the device after all your work is saved and your programs are all closed out (again, only as a last resort). Whenever you can, it is better to use the shut down option nestled into the operating system.

We take this so seriously because abusing the power button is just a convenient means to abuse the device itself. Improperly powering down your system in this way can lead to file corruption and potentially give the device a hard time when you start it back up.

Of course, with help from a technician, it is possible to remap your power button to do something different when it is pressed if you so choose.

Remapping Your Power Button

You have the capability to change your power button’s functionality, allowing you to set it to do something other than turn off your system when it is pressed—or, if you’re working with your laptop, your lid is closed when it's plugged in or running on stored battery power. In your Control Panel, under Hardware and Sound, find your Power Options and Choose what the power button does.

Your options as to its function include:

• Do nothing
• Sleep
• Hibernate
• Shut Down (when pressing the power button on a laptop)
• Turn off the display (when pressing the power button on a laptop)

Make sure you Save changes so that your settings are properly applied.

Interested in finding out more about your technology and how it can most benefit your business? Give MSPNetworks a call at (516) 403-9001 to find out more.

Windows 7 is only days away from being officially retired by Microsoft. The software company has done all it can to try to educate users about the end of the OS, which has its last support update on January 14, 2020, but won’t be getting any more. As of this writing there are still nearly 25 percent of computers running Windows 7. Let’s take a look at why it is imperative that you upgrade or find a solution to get out from under the Windows 7 OS. 

The first thing you should know is that when the end of life date passes, the software will still be completely functional. It’s not as if it will fail to load on your computer, but what will happen, however, is that it will not get another software patch or update. Over time, this could cause a whole slew of negative situations. Among them, networks that the Windows 7 computer is connected to will not be secure. That could cause some very real problems. 

Of course, you could take your Windows 7 systems offline, or quarantine them behind another firewall, but there is nothing you can do that will be safe over a prolonged amount of time. You will be breached, and any new vulnerabilities will become large holes in your computing infrastructure. You may not think you can afford to upgrade away from Windows 7, but you sure cannot afford to be left without support from Microsoft. 

So, What Are the Options?

Currently, you have several options, even now, that can keep your business out of the line of fire, so to speak. These include:

Upgrade systems to Windows 10 

This is the obvious one. By upgrading to Windows 10, you are sure to get the security patches and other updates needed to keep your business out of harm's way. Since the minimum specifications that it takes to run Windows 10 aren’t much more than it takes to run Windows 7, it seems like a solid plan to upgrade if you can. Here are the specs your computer will need:

• Processor - 1 GHZ or faster
• RAM - 1 GB for 32-bit or 2 GB for 64-bit
• Hard disk space - 16 GB for 32-bit or 20 GB for 64-bit
• Graphics card - DirectX 9 or later with WDDM 1.0 driver
• Display - 800 x 600 resolution

All told, most computers that were running Windows 7 can run Windows 10. Above are the minimum specifications, so if you have a computer with this hardware profile, you shouldn’t expect the Windows 10 OS to run fast.  If you are going to go this route, we recommend that every Windows 10 workstation have some type of 2 GHz dual-core processor, 4-to-8 GB of RAM, and at least a 160 GB hard drive.

Replace Hardware Systems

If you have some money burning a hole in your pocket, or if you can get some good terms on a lease, this may be the easiest way to move past Windows 7. You would have all new hardware which would come with Windows 10 installed. It may take some time to configure your new hardware with your line-of-business software, but at least you would get regular Windows 10 updates. 

Virtualize and Use a Thin Client

You can repurpose your old hardware to act as thin clients. This may take some capital to do since you would have to virtualize your data and applications, but it might just be an option for your organization. Since you have a severely limited timeline, it may be impossible to ensure that your data is protected before the deadline. 

Microsoft is offering a service called Microsoft 365 that could make this transition a little easier. For a flat rate billed per user, you can get Windows 10, Office 365 with a terabyte of OneDrive cloud storage, and dynamic security software that can be accessed through any Internet browser. If you have teams of workers that only need access to productivity software, you could do much worse than this cloud-based option. 

No matter how you go about doing it, you have to get out from under Windows 7 now. Call our IT experts today at (516) 403-9001 if you would like help going through your options. 

Windows 7 is only days away from being officially retired by Microsoft. The software company has done all it can to try to educate users about the end of the OS, which has its last support update on January 14, 2020, but won’t be getting any more. As of this writing there are still nearly 25 percent of computers running Windows 7. Let’s take a look at why it is imperative that you upgrade or find a solution to get out from under the Windows 7 OS. 

The first thing you should know is that when the end of life date passes, the software will still be completely functional. It’s not as if it will fail to load on your computer, but what will happen, however, is that it will not get another software patch or update. Over time, this could cause a whole slew of negative situations. Among them, networks that the Windows 7 computer is connected to will not be secure. That could cause some very real problems. 

Of course, you could take your Windows 7 systems offline, or quarantine them behind another firewall, but there is nothing you can do that will be safe over a prolonged amount of time. You will be breached, and any new vulnerabilities will become large holes in your computing infrastructure. You may not think you can afford to upgrade away from Windows 7, but you sure cannot afford to be left without support from Microsoft. 

So, What Are the Options?

Currently, you have several options, even now, that can keep your business out of the line of fire, so to speak. These include:

Upgrade systems to Windows 10 

This is the obvious one. By upgrading to Windows 10, you are sure to get the security patches and other updates needed to keep your business out of harm's way. Since the minimum specifications that it takes to run Windows 10 aren’t much more than it takes to run Windows 7, it seems like a solid plan to upgrade if you can. Here are the specs your computer will need:

• Processor - 1 GHZ or faster
• RAM - 1 GB for 32-bit or 2 GB for 64-bit
• Hard disk space - 16 GB for 32-bit or 20 GB for 64-bit
• Graphics card - DirectX 9 or later with WDDM 1.0 driver
• Display - 800 x 600 resolution

All told, most computers that were running Windows 7 can run Windows 10. Above are the minimum specifications, so if you have a computer with this hardware profile, you shouldn’t expect the Windows 10 OS to run fast.  If you are going to go this route, we recommend that every Windows 10 workstation have some type of 2 GHz dual-core processor, 4-to-8 GB of RAM, and at least a 160 GB hard drive.

Replace Hardware Systems

If you have some money burning a hole in your pocket, or if you can get some good terms on a lease, this may be the easiest way to move past Windows 7. You would have all new hardware which would come with Windows 10 installed. It may take some time to configure your new hardware with your line-of-business software, but at least you would get regular Windows 10 updates. 

Virtualize and Use a Thin Client

You can repurpose your old hardware to act as thin clients. This may take some capital to do since you would have to virtualize your data and applications, but it might just be an option for your organization. Since you have a severely limited timeline, it may be impossible to ensure that your data is protected before the deadline. 

Microsoft is offering a service called Microsoft 365 that could make this transition a little easier. For a flat rate billed per user, you can get Windows 10, Office 365 with a terabyte of OneDrive cloud storage, and dynamic security software that can be accessed through any Internet browser. If you have teams of workers that only need access to productivity software, you could do much worse than this cloud-based option. 

No matter how you go about doing it, you have to get out from under Windows 7 now. Call our IT experts today at (516) 403-9001 if you would like help going through your options. 

‘Twas the night before Christmas, and with all the work done,
The office was closing for some holiday fun;
Their coats buttoned up, they had all saved their files,
Everyone’s face creased in a big, toothy smile.

Colleen from finance had handed out treats,
Fresh homemade cookies, hand-frosted and sweet,
So, with smiling mouths filled with sugary tastes,
All had made their way home, arriving with haste.

With Santa Claus starting his gift-giving flight,
The office was dark, with minimal light.
The monitors sleeping, the servers were quiet,
All was at peace, no cause for disquiet.

For the office was shielded by a steadfast guard,
A managed service provider, of highest regard -
And thank goodness it was, for early that day
An emergency threatened to cause a delay.

In early morning hours, December 24,
The servers were running their nightly backup chores.
The MSP realized the problem at hand,
Their disk space was filled up, an issue unplanned.

Luckily, the office had wisely signed on,
To have their IT watched over to avoid denouement,
Remote Monitoring and Maintenance protected their assets,
As the MSP caught and resolved any threats.

From malware and spyware, to issues of all kinds,
Attacks and vulnerabilities, and all of their signs,
The MSP acts, and the MSP delivers,
Acting as a business’ IT caregivers.

So, when the MSP realized the disk space-based issue,
A solution was deployed so the backup could continue,

By deleting some outdated backups to free up space,
The MSP reported the problem to the workplace.

But the MSP did more than just issue a report,
The professionals there explained why the backup fell short,
And recommending to the business more space to save data,
The MSP helped keep their storage pro rata.

How happy the business was to have this service -
To know that they had little reason to be nervous!
To trust that any problems of theirs would be addressed,
Without breaking the bank or leaving them stressed.

So, the staff of the business was free to relax,
Without worrying that problems would fall through the cracks.
So, without any remnants of their after-hours plight,
A Happy Christmas was had by all, and all had a good night.

Look, we get it. All you want is for the technology your business relies on to just… work. While that may not always be possible, there are quite a few things you can do to help prevent issues. For this week’s tip, we’ll go over some basics that will help make your use of your computer much less stressful.

1. We’re Not Kidding When We Say “Turn it Off and On Again.”

Yes, we’re aware that this advice has become the go-to punchline for any jokes at IT’s expense. However, we’re also aware that this is the case because we do offer this advice a lot, and that’s because it works. A surprising amount of issues can be resolved through a simple reboot. You know how refreshing a nap can be for someone? A reboot can work similarly for a computer, as it gets rid of all the extra data that can otherwise bog it down. This is a simplified way of describing the process, of course… the important thing is that you know we aren’t just asking that question to sound smart.

As silly as it admittedly sounds, a quick reboot is effective often enough to make it worthwhile to ask right off the bat.

However, it is important to remember that a reboot requires more than just turning your monitor on and off, or just logging out and in again. You need to actually restart your computer - and not by pressing the physical power button on your device, as this could cause worse problems. Instead, use the Restart option - found in the Start menu, under the Power icon. Furthermore, you also need to remember that locking your computer is a different process entirely, but still should be done whenever you leave your computer unattended. All you have to do is press WINDOWS+L.

2. Don’t Rush Your Computer

Anyone who has sat at a computer and had to wait for a process to complete understands how irritating this wait can be. There’s a real feeling that almost seems like helplessness - so it’s only natural that we have the urge to do one of the few things we can do… click on what we wanted to do, over and over and over and over…

There are a few problems to this approach. First, there’s probably some reason that the computer seems not to be completing its action. Second, your computer isn’t ignoring any of these additional clicks. As a result, if/when your computer makes it past whatever it is that is causing the holdup, it’s going to take all those clicks seriously. You won’t just open one instance of whatever file or program you were trying to access, you’ll open the application however many times you clicked on the shortcut. This will be annoying. Naturally, the same can be said for trying to print something out, or really any other action you were trying to complete. Doing so can even slow your computer down further.

Try to be patient… but, if the problem persists, reach out to IT for assistance.

3. Exercise Password Caution

It’s hard to overstate the importance of your passwords and their impact on your security overall. This means you have to be careful about how you remember them, as well as where and how you input them. Take your Caps Lock key, for instance. It won’t matter if you spell you password correctly if Caps Lock is activated unnecessarily, because it’ll still be wrong.

In terms of your security, you need to also consider the consequences of how you and your team stores your passwords. Let’s say that one of your employees is trying to cover up some corporate espionage. If another employee keeps their passwords written on a sticky note somewhere around their workspace (stuck to their monitor, for instance), that gives the insider threat a great way to pin their activities on someone else. This is why it is so important that every computer is locked when left unattended, as we discussed above, especially if the browser or other applications have their access credentials ‘remembered’ by your device.

If you’re seeking a simpler way to remember all the passwords you need to keep in mind, you’d be better off utilizing a password manager.

4. Talk to IT

Regardless of whether you have an internal IT team or you have a managed services agreement with a provider like MSPNetworks, you need to make sure you are communicating your issue to them in clear detail - chances are, they’ll assume that you have some kind of computer-related issue if you’re reaching out to them. Make sure you provide as much detail as you can, like what your error message says specifically, or a screenshot of your issue, if possible. This makes their job much easier, which leads to quicker resolution times. Hopefully, it goes without saying that you should remain available to IT to ask any questions of you once you reach out to them.

If your business needs more help with its information technology, don’t hesitate to reach out to us! We can help your operations by providing the IT solutions and services necessary to remain competitive today. Call (516) 403-9001 to learn more.