Windows 10 is coming, do I HAVE to install now?

SandraNet on March 14, 2016

Where the release is free and it will at some point be the only supported operating system, it is not necessary to run the update immediately. There are pop-ups daily in browsers that read the configuration of the machine and suggest you are missing something should you not update your operating system. Pay no attention, unless you really want to.

Here are a few suggestions for Windows 10 and upgrading.

Back up your machine and all of your data. This should already be a plan, but it cannot be said enough. We have plenty of ideas of backups, so if you need any, give us a call.

Check to find out if the other applications you have installed are compatible with Windows 10.

You have a month to roll back the update, should you decide you do not like it, or it is not working for you the way you had hoped.

Open the Start menu and select Settings.

Click the “Update & security” icon and select “Recovery”.

You should see a “Go back to Windows 7” or “Go back to Windows 8.1” option.

Click the Get started button to get rid of your Windows 10 install and restore your previous Windows install.

If it has been over a month, you will not have the option to run the recovery, If this is the case, you will need to use your prior operating system DVD, or download to reinstall. The product key is generally on a sticker on the top or back of your machine (depending on the brand).

Do a “Custom (advanced)” installation, and this will not save any of your files or programs, so be sure to again… back up your machine prior to the installation.

If you do not feel comfortable installing this update yourself, PLEASE call Sandra Network support line at (978) 535 – 0202 #3, and we will schedule to have a technician do it for you.

The MAJOR things to take away:

BACK-UP your hard drive BEFORE you begin the upgrade.
You can always roll back within 30 days.
If you would like, contact Sandra Network’s Support line and we will schedule a technician to do the upgrade for you 978.535.0202 #3, or [email protected]m.

How often do I have to save my work

SandraNet on January 13, 2016

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Ever hear of the old hang gliding saying? “Never fly higher than you’re willing to fall?” well, you should apply the same to how much work you are willing to loose. Time is valuable, and we all know that time is money. Therefore, properly saving work files is important to avoid losing your valuable work.

If the project that I am working on is billable for clients, then I save more often. I am not willing to lose an hour of billable work, so, therefore, I would not go an hour without saving. Backups are as important as saving. If 4 hours of work has been done, and diligently saved, and then my computer crashes, then I am still back to ground zero. Personally, I save work files every few minutes, and backup every hour. In the event that saving vs. backup is confusing:

Saving your work: When you are working, nothing is written permanently to your pc. All the current work is being done in memory, which is temporary storage for all the items you are working on. Memory is flushed when you reboot your computer, so it is not permanent. When you save your work, it commits it the hard drive. The hard drive is permanent storage. It’s like taking that list in your head, and writing it down before you forget!

Backing Up:

When you backup your files, you are creating a copy of your work, and putting it somewhere else. As much as we would like to think of our computer as permanent, hardware failures happen, and data is lost. By keeping a copy in a separate location, you can retrieve your data if you have hardware failure. If you are backing up to a disk, or tape drive, the backups should never be ON TOP of the computer you are working on. In the case of building damage (fire, water, etc), your backups are going to be ruined with your computer.

Most programs (not all) do an auto-save in the event you suddenly loose power, but it is still best to intentionally saving work on your interval. Programs also have shortcuts to saving work. Some of the shortcuts or features you can look for:

AutoSave: See if your program supports AutoSave, and if the increments are configurable.
AutoBackup: Some programs, like QuickBooks, do not necessarily allow you to “save” your work, each transaction is saved to the program database individually. However, they do have a backup program that can remind you to back up your data daily or as you exit the program. Ensure you are picking an alternate location to back up to.
Keyboard shortcuts: Programs, like Microsoft Office Products, frequently have Keyboard Shortcuts to save your work. Ctrl-S is one of them.
Cloud based Backup Products: If you have contract with a cloud based backup company, or an IT company who supports and monitors backups, you should ensure you have continuous backups of all the work you have saved.

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Why do I need more than one backup?

SandraNet on January 8, 2016

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“My IT Company is crazy! They want me to have multiple backups… I use my flash drive nightly, and am ok.”

“I know I have backups, someone set it up years ago and it runs automatically… I think.”

“What, you should test your backups?”

Yes, backing up can be a pain, but unless you are willing to use all your hard work, or memories, it might be worth it. If your home or office burns down, what will you be able to retrieve if you don’t have multiple backups.

Types of data to backup:

System State:

This is a copy of the configuration of your machine. In the event of failure, sometimes the COST of rebuilding the machine and the programs is the most expensive element.

Data:

This is your documents, pictures, music libraries and company data. One should always create multiple backups for such data.

Application based backup:

Many applications have their own backup, and for restoration purposes, need the backup in their proprietary format in order to restore the data. If this is the case with the applications, you should run the application-specific backup, and then backup the data file set it produces on another medium.

Types of backups (Media)

USB Drive:

Great for second copies of data and system state and data. Do realize that after the USB Devices fall from the top of the cabinet once, they can mechanically stop working and become DOA. Not a good place for your only backup, and definitely not a good place for original files and music libraries!

Tape Drives

These have been in service for years, and still work. Unfortunately, they do rely on complicated restores of data, and offsite storage. Nothing says failure when your backup tapes are on top of the server you are backing up. Very expensive fire | storm | water victim when the tapes are ruined with the server they are backing up. Can be very expensive for both tapes and tape drives.

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I won’t click on random or suspicious links

SandraNet on January 6, 2016

Fake emails and websites will try to look like a real company’s email: all for the purpose of stealing your personal information. Passwords and account numbers are the favorite to grab, but sometimes to simply track your browsing habits and send information to the criminal’s web site. Hence it is important to check shortened links that come in emails to ensure more safety.

EBay, PayPal, Amazon are some of the favorites to spoof, because they are such common web sites. If you are getting emails from a web site like those mentioned, and you are not sure, then close the email. Open a browser, and login to the web site directly. Any email that came to you should be mentioned somewhere in the notifications area. The good news is a lot of the emails come from out of country, and the wording of the emails are sometimes a giveaway. Check for proper use of grammar and spelling. Really look at the logo in the email – is it pixelated? Or, does it look as clean as the ones on the web site.

Online Thief

How to tell if the link in the email is safe without clicking on it

Use a link scanner

Link scanners are web sites and plug-ins that allow you to enter in the URL of suspicious link and check it for safety. URLVoid is a really good one, because it uses multiple services to research.

In order to copy the link safely, without clicking on it, you can right click on the link and choose copy shortcut (IE), Copy Link (Firefox) or Copy Link Address (Chrome). You can paste this into the Link Scanner utility.

Check Shortened Links

URLVoid can’t handle shortened URLS from services like tinyURL or Bitly, Ow.ly. To check shortened links that you usually find on services like Twitter, you can use Sucuri. It will expand the shortened links and check it against a variety of services to ensure no threats are pending. In order to copy the link safely, without clicking on it, you can right click on the link and choose copy shortcut (IE), Copy Link (Firefox) or Copy Link Address (Chrome). You can paste this into the Link Scanner utility.

Hover over the link

If you hover over a link without clicking on it, you will see the full URL pop up with the links destination in the lower corner of your browser.

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I Promise to Restart My Computer

SandraNet on January 5, 2016

How often should I restart my devices? That is always the question. We all know the technology answer to everything: Did you restart? But why? Restarting your device simply gives your device a fresh start. Nothing bogging down memory, froze applications cleared, and generally either fixes or at least give a fresh troubleshooting start.

If the device is a smartphone, you should not have to restart it often at all. If you have recently installed OS updates, or, on occasion if things just don’t seem to be acting right. You can simply shut down the apps to solve the problem. Restarting your device is sometimes the quickest way to free up RAM. If the phone is suddenly running much hotter than usual, a restart is also in order.

If the device is a tablet, like an iPad or Android, they are in the same category as a smartphone. However, when you get into Surface Pros, Windows Tablets, or equivalent, then they should be treated and restarted as you would a laptop. If applications are hung up, or when the fans are whirring loudly and sound like a jet airplane. Most newer laptops with Windows 8 or Windows 10 are designed to sleep and use virtually use no power or resources. Because of this, you should not have to keep restarting your device.

If the device is a laptop, it depends on the brand, and the usage. If applications are installed, Windows Updates, or simply seems like the fans are whirring, it is simply time to reboot. Windows 7 Laptops have more of a power draw, and should be rebooted a little more often. And what about if you running something older? Restart at the end of each business day, and then call Sandra Network for a replacement!

If the device is your desktop, then same rules apply as a laptop. Windows 10, Windows 8 need a restart rarely. Windows 7, sometimes. Anything older, daily is best.

Personally, I try to remember to restart each Friday or at the end of my work week, to ensure the computer AND I both get a fresh start for my return Monday morning.

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I won’t click on any emails unless I know who it is from

SandraNet on January 4, 2016

Are you surprised that Great Aunt Mildred is actually on email? Well, most likely she isn’t, and you are being scammed. Is it unusual that your Help Desk department just sent out a coupon for a great deal? If it seems too good to be true, then it probably is an email scam.

Typically, if the email is from a scam artist, known as a “fake” email, the sender will try to make sure the email comes from a real company. They are really meant to get you to click on them and share personal information. The real key is in the email headers. Where email headers are found varies based on the email program you are using. In Gmail it’s under Show original. In Outlook you can find it in various places, depending on the version. Most recently, it is in File – Properties.

Email Properties

click to see sample of header

The headers should be read from the bottom to the top. Each server that handled your email is listed, with its own message, starting with Received. For example:

To find the REAL sender of your email, you have to find the earliest trusted gateway, which would be at the top. You can trust it if it lists the mail server for the domain in question. So, if it is from [email protected], you will see SandraNetwork.com. If you’re really unsure, you can run a query from a utility like MXToolbox. If this is above your technical interest or ability, simply consulting with your IT person is the best idea. The best thing to do is copy and paste the headers into an email to IT and your answer should be quickly answered!

Fake emails also usually have
the following properties:

Urgent tones. If it is threating to suspend your account, ruin your credit, delete all your data. Especially if you do not respond right away.

Asking for an immediate reply with confidential information. Anyone legitimate would not ask for confidential information in an email.

Generic greetings. Most companies that you have accounts with personalize emails to you with your first and / or last name.

BadEmailExample

Need help? Click Here
Have a Question? Click Here

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Windows 10 is coming, do I HAVE to install now?

Here are a few suggestions for Windows 10 and upgrading.

The MAJOR things to take away:

I won’t click on random or suspicious links

How to tell if the link in the email is safe without clicking on it

Use a link scanner

Check Shortened Links

Hover over the link

I Promise to Restart My Computer

I won’t click on any emails unless I know who it is from

Fake emails also usually have
the following properties:

4 Critical Security Mistakes That Put Your Organization At Risk

Address:

8 Essex Center Dr Suite 330,
Peabody, MA 01960, United States

Local Phone:

978-535-0202

Here are a few suggestions for Windows 10 and upgrading.

The MAJOR things to take away:

Types of data to backup:

System State:

Data:

Application based backup:

Types of backups (Media)

USB Drive:

Tape Drives

How to tell if the link in the email is safe without clicking on it

Use a link scanner

Check Shortened Links

Hover over the link

Fake emails also usually have the following properties:

4 Critical Security Mistakes That Put Your Organization At Risk

Address:

8 Essex Center Dr Suite 330, Peabody, MA 01960, United States

Local Phone:

978-535-0202

Fake emails also usually have
the following properties:

8 Essex Center Dr Suite 330,
Peabody, MA 01960, United States