Covid-19 and Working Remotely
A How-To Technology Resource

Welcome to The Computer Center’s Covid-19 resource center for small businesses. Our focus is to provide you with the information you need to keep your business running, collaborate with your team, meet with customers, and make the best of the current situation by leveraging technology. Visit www.computer-center.com/covid19/ for access to more helpful information.

IT Security Tip #7:
Never Use PERSONAL Devices To Connect To COMPANY Data

You’re a hardworking team player who likes to check e-mail and get a few things done after hours – all good! But here’s something you might not know: you should never access company data, file servers, or applications through personal devices and home PCs that are not properly monitored by us. Why?

If you and your kids are using a home PC to play games, access Facebook and surf the web AND you’re not diligently updating and monitoring the antivirus software, firewall, and security patches on the machine (and who does, honestly?), then there’s a high probability you’re infected with spyware or malware. Since most malware is designed to operate in total stealth mode undetected, you won’t know that some hacker is watching you log in to your company’s file server or key cloud application containing critical, sensitive data and capturing your login with a key logger. Bottom line, ONLY use company-approved devices that are properly protected and monitored to access company data; and if you just can’t help but take work home, let us know so we can set you up with a SECURE way to work remote or from home.

Microsoft Tips for Windows

Open File Explorer Quickly

Press Windows key ⊞ + E, then open the folder you want in File Explorer.

Shortcut of the Week

Google Chrome Keyboard Shortcuts

Use the chrome:// commands to access many hidden features of Chrome. There is a few dozen of these commands available that allows you to do everything from viewing DNS information, GPU information, look for conflicts, setting flags, and much more. A listing of these commands can be accessed by typing chrome://chrome-urls in the omnibox.

Have an unfortunate co-worker that’s not getting a copy of the TCC Tuesday Tidbits? Forward them your copy. Or, better yet, have them sign up at https://computer-center.com/tuesdaytidbits/

Submit your TCC Tuesday Tidbit requests and ideas to me by calling (608) 755-1524.

Sincerely,

James Pearson, President The Computer Center 39 S. Main St. – Upper Janesville, WI 53545 (608) 755-1524

Covid-19 and Working Remotely
A How-To Technology Resource

Welcome to The Computer Center’s Covid-19 resource center for small businesses. Our focus is to provide you with the information you need to keep your business running, collaborate with your team, meet with customers, and make the best of the current situation by leveraging technology. Visit www.computer-center.com/covid19/ for access to more helpful information.

IT Security Tip #6:
How To Spot A Phishing Email

A phishing e-mail is a bogus e-mail that is carefully designed to look like a legitimate request (or attached file) from a site you trust in an effort to get you to willingly give up your login information to a particular website or to click and download a virus.

Often these e-mails look 100% legitimate and show up in the form of a PDF (scanned document) or a UPS or FedEx tracking number, bank letter, Facebook alert, bank notification, etc. That’s what makes these so dangerous – they LOOK exactly like a legitimate e-mail. So how can you tell a phishing e-mail from a legitimate one? Here are a few telltale signs.

First, hover over the URL in the e-mail (but DON’T CLICK!) to see the ACTUAL website you’ll be directed to. If there’s a mismatched or suspicious URL, delete the e-mail immediately. In fact, it’s a good practice to just go to the site direct (typing it into your browser) rather than clicking on the link to get to a particular site. Another telltale sign is poor grammar and spelling errors. Another warning sign is that the e-mail is asking you to “verify” or “validate” your login or asking for personal information. Why would your bank need you to verify your account number? They should already have that information. And finally, if the offer seems too good to be true, it probably is.

Microsoft Tips for Windows

Talk Instead of Type

On the touch keyboard, select microphone 🎤. On a physical keyboard, press Windows logo key ⊞ + H to dictate what’s on your mind.

Shortcut of the Week

Google Chrome Keyboard Shortcuts

Quickly close a tab by clicking the x on the tab. If you have a mouse with a wheel pushing in on the wheel anywhere on the tab also closes the tab. Shortcut keys Ctrl + W or Ctrl + F4 also closes the currently open tab.

Have an unfortunate co-worker that’s not getting a copy of the TCC Tuesday Tidbits? Forward them your copy. Or, better yet, have them sign up at https://computer-center.com/tuesdaytidbits/

Submit your TCC Tuesday Tidbit requests and ideas to me by calling (608) 755-1524.

Sincerely,

James Pearson, President The Computer Center 39 S. Main St. – Upper Janesville, WI 53545 (608) 755-1524

Covid-19 and Working Remotely
A How-To Technology Resource

Welcome to The Computer Center’s Covid-19 resource center for small businesses. Our focus is to provide you with the information you need to keep your business running, collaborate with your team, meet with customers, and make the best of the current situation by leveraging technology. Visit www.computer-center.com/covid19/ for access to more helpful information.

IT Security Tip #5:
How To Foil Ransomware

Not too long ago, the CryptoLocker ransomware virus was all over the news, infecting over 250,000 computers in its first 100 days of release (at least that’s the number reported – the real numbers are probably MUCH higher). The threat was fairly straightforward: Pay us or we’ll delete all your data.

Ransomware, like the CryptoLocker attack, works by encrypting your files to prevent you from using or accessing them. After your files are compromised, the hackers behind the attack then pop up a demand screen asking for payment ($400 to $2,000) within a set time frame (e.g., 72 hours or three days) in order to get the key to decrypt your files. The last CryptoLocker virus forced many business owners to lose data or pay up since there was no other way to decrypt the files.

Obviously, the best way to foil a ransomware attack is to be incredibly diligent about IT security; but with hundreds of thousands of new attacks being created daily, there are no guarantees that you won’t get infected. Therefore, it’s critical to maintain a full, daily backup of your data OFF-SITE so that IF you do get whacked with ransomware, you can recover all your files without having to pay a thin dime; and don’t forget to back up off-site PCs, laptops, remote offices and third-party software data stored in cloud apps as well!

Microsoft Tips for Windows

See Suggestions And Tips In Action Center

From time to time, action center will show you suggestions and tips to help you get the most out of Windows. Open action center to see if there’s anything new.

Shortcut of the Week

Google Chrome Keyboard Shortcuts

Since each open tab runs its own sandbox to help with browser stability, it can be difficult to see the overall system resources being used. For example, in the Windows Task Manager you will see multiple instances of Google Chrome running for each open tab.

Use the Chrome Task Manager to show you how much memory and CPU resources each open tab and extension you have installed is using. To open the Task Manager press Shift+Esc or click the Google Chrome menu icon in the top-right corner of the window, click Tools, and then Task Manager. If you want to get real geeky, click the stats for nerds click at the bottom of the Task Manager.

Have an unfortunate co-worker that’s not getting a copy of the TCC Tuesday Tidbits? Forward them your copy. Or, better yet, have them sign up at https://computer-center.com/tuesdaytidbits/

Submit your TCC Tuesday Tidbit requests and ideas to me by calling (608) 755-1524.

Sincerely,

James Pearson, President The Computer Center 39 S. Main St. – Upper Janesville, WI 53545 (608) 755-1524

Covid-19 and Working Remotely
A How-To Technology Resource

Welcome to The Computer Center’s Covid-19 resource center for small businesses. Our focus is to provide you with the information you need to keep your business running, collaborate with your team, meet with customers, and make the best of the current situation by leveraging technology. Visit www.computer-center.com/covid19/ for access to more helpful information.

IT Security Tip #3:
Use STRONG Passwords!

Thanks to powerful brute-force-attack software readily available online, hackers can try tens of millions of possible password combinations per second. For example, hacking software can guess a five-character password in under three hours. If you only use lowercase letters, it’s 11.9 seconds.

You KNOW you need to have a better password than “password” or “letmein” if you have any hope of keeping hackers out of your PC; but what does a “strong” password mean? A good password should be at least eight characters long (or longer!) and have a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols that are hard to guess. Don’t use dictionary words with proper capitalization because they’re easy to guess (like Password123#). Even though it meets the requirements we just discussed, it’s easily hacked; remember, hackers have sophisticated password-hacking software that will run 24/7/365. If you want a quick tip for remembering your password, use a phrase and insert letters and numbers into it, like $h@KeNb8ke.

Get A Mobile Plan For Your Surface Pro X

Find a mobile plan in your area and set up your cellular data connection from where you are. Because your Surface Pro X has an eSIM, there’s no need to go to a physical store to get a SIM card to get online.

Shortcut of the Week

Google Chrome Keyboard Shortcuts

Use the Chrome autofill feature to automatically fill out online forms with common fields: name, email, adress.

1. Click the Customize and control Google Chrome icon located in the upper-right corner of the browser window
2. Click Settings
3. In the menu on the left click Autofill
4. Click Addresses and More to add or update your information

Have an unfortunate co-worker that’s not getting a copy of the TCC Tuesday Tidbits? Forward them your copy. Or, better yet, have them sign up at https://computer-center.com/tuesdaytidbits/

Submit your TCC Tuesday Tidbit requests and ideas to me by calling (608) 755-1524.

Sincerely,

James Pearson, President The Computer Center 39 S. Main St. – Upper Janesville, WI 53545 (608) 755-1524

Covid-19 and Working Remotely
A How-To Technology Resource

Welcome to The Computer Center’s Covid-19 resource center for small businesses. Our focus is to provide you with the information you need to keep your business running, collaborate with your team, meet with customers, and make the best of the current situation by leveraging technology. Visit www.computer-center.com/covid19/ for access to more helpful information.

IT Security Tip #2:
Working From Home? DON’T! Until You Read This

If you plan on catching up on some work from home AND you’re using a personal device such as a smartphone or personal laptop – DON’T! Unless your personal device is covered under our plan, you could accidentally introduce a virus to the company’s network.

ONLY devices that are under our vigilant watch of patching, updating, and monitoring should be used to work remotely. Side Note: We can set up a way for you to work from home securely; call our office if you would like us to set that up: 608-755-1524 or visit computer-center.com/contact.

Hear Everything With One Ear

Select Start ⊞ > Settings ⚙ > Ease of Access 🕒 > Audio 🔈, then switch on the toggle under Turn on mono audio. If you’re using one earbud or something similar, the audio will be combined into one channel.

Shortcut of the Week

Google Chrome Keyboard Shortcuts

Pin your favorite tabs to save space on your tab bar without losing quick access to your favorite pages. To pin a tab, right-click on any open tab and select pin.

Have an unfortunate co-worker that’s not getting a copy of the TCC Tuesday Tidbits? Forward them your copy. Or, better yet, have them sign up at https://computer-center.com/tuesdaytidbits/

Submit your TCC Tuesday Tidbit requests and ideas to me by calling (608) 755-1524.

Sincerely,

James Pearson, President The Computer Center 39 S. Main St. – Upper Janesville, WI 53545 (608) 755-1524

Covid-19 and Working Remotely
A How-To Technology Resource

Welcome to The Computer Center’s Covid-19 resource center for small businesses. Our focus is to provide you with the information you need to keep your business running, collaborate with your team, meet with customers, and make the best of the current situation by leveraging technology. Visit www.computer-center.com/covid19/ for access to more helpful information.

IT Security Tip #46:
Is My PCI Compliance Good Enough To Serve As A Network Cybersecurity Audit?

We often get asked if an organization has passed their PCI compliance requirements for accepting credit cards; is there really a need for more security and compliance? The answer is yes! While the PCI architecture and requirements heavily overlap network security issues, a network security audit is going to take a deeper look into how you utilize the technology you own. Most businesses typically need to conduct a network security audit at the same time they conduct a PCI audit.

The PCI regulations have gone a long way toward making every business that accepts credit cards become more secure – it’s a threat to the payment industry to have unsecured businesses responsible for millions in fraudulent charges. A good network security audit at the same time as your PCI audit typically provides for a balanced scale when weighing security and functionality.

Microsoft Tips for OneDrive

Share And Collaborate With OneDrive

Sign in to OneDrive with your Microsoft, or work or school account. Pick a file or folder by selecting the circle in the upper corner of the item, then select Share at the top of the page.

Shortcut of the Week

Google Chrome Keyboard Shortcuts

The Google omnibox does more than displaying the URL and allowing you to search. It has the capacity to perform mathematical calculations and answer questions like “how many cups are in a liter?”

Have an unfortunate co-worker that’s not getting a copy of the TCC Tuesday Tidbits? Forward them your copy. Or, better yet, have them sign up at https://computer-center.com/tuesdaytidbits/

Submit your TCC Tuesday Tidbit requests and ideas to me by calling (608) 755-1524.

Sincerely,

James Pearson, President The Computer Center 39 S. Main St. – Upper Janesville, WI 53545 (608) 755-1524

Covid-19 and Working Remotely
A How-To Technology Resource

Welcome to The Computer Center’s Covid-19 resource center for small businesses. Our focus is to provide you with the information you need to keep your business running, collaborate with your team, meet with customers, and make the best of the current situation by leveraging technology. Visit www.computer-center.com/covid19/ for access to more helpful information.

IT Security Tip #45:
Is It Time For Cybersecurity Planning?

The time to start planning for a security threat isn’t during a virus outbreak or immediately after you discover funds transferred within your banking accounts. Decisions and judgments made during this time are typically driven by emotion and not facts. The time to make those cyberthreat plans is now.

Things to consider when you’re planning:

• Physical access to your building(s)
• What to do with lost or stolen mobile devices
• PCI (payment card industry) compliance requirements
• Data-breach incident response
• Threat monitoring

That’s where we are here to help! Give us a call at (608) 755-1524 and we’ll be glad to help you evaluate your “cybersecure” plan.

There are great resources out there for businesses that just don’t know where to start with cybersecurity. Take a look at fcc.gov/cyberplanner for a customizable guide to where to get started with operational and organizational planning.

Microsoft Tips for OneDrive

Upload Photos From Your Phone To OneDrive

Open the OneDrive app on your phone, sign in with your Microsoft account, and turn on Camera Upload in the app’s settings. Photos taken with your phone are automatically saved in OneDrive.

Shortcut of the Week

Google Chrome Keyboard Shortcuts

Google Chrome has several dozen keyboard shortcuts that can help improve your productivity.

Ctrl+1-8

Pressing Ctrl and any number 1 through 8 moves to the corresponding tab in your tab bar.

Ctrl+9

Switch to the last tab.

Ctrl+H

Show history.

Ctrl+J

Open Downloads window.

Ctrl+K

Move the cursor to the address bar.

Ctrl+T

Open a new tab.

Ctrl+Shift+T

Undo any closed tab.

Have an unfortunate co-worker that’s not getting a copy of the TCC Tuesday Tidbits? Forward them your copy. Or, better yet, have them sign up at https://computer-center.com/tuesdaytidbits/

Submit your TCC Tuesday Tidbit requests and ideas to me by calling (608) 755-1524.

Sincerely,

James Pearson, President The Computer Center 39 S. Main St. – Upper Janesville, WI 53545 (608) 755-1524

Covid-19 and Working Remotely
A How-To Technology Resource

Welcome to The Computer Center’s Covid-19 resource center for small businesses. Our focus is to provide you with the information you need to keep your business running, collaborate with your team, meet with customers, and make the best of the current situation by leveraging technology. Visit www.computer-center.com/covid19/ for access to more helpful information.

IT Security Tip #44:
Should My Computer Be Encrypted?

It’s another Tuesday in the airport, and you just cleared the TSA line and went to the pretzel shop for a quick bite before you catch your plane. You sit your laptop down to get a straw, and the next second…your laptop is gone. It’s not in sight, nor is the thief who stole it.

If you have a password on your laptop, that will likely prevent the thief from immediately having access to your private documents. What it doesn’t stop is someone removing the hard drive from your laptop and connecting it to another computer – suddenly your hard drive is sitting there, ready to browse – just like any other folder or drive letter.

What do you do? Encrypt it! A good first step toward protecting the hard drive of your laptop and other mobile devices is to encrypt it. With the drive encrypted, a thief can’t just pull it out, hook it up and suddenly have access to all your files. At least you’ve made it pretty hard for them to get to your data.

Microsoft Tips for Office

Harness The Power Of Your Voice

Microsoft 365 saves you time and effort with transcription and voice commands in Word.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2020/08/25/microsoft-365-transcription-voice-commands-word/

Shortcut of the Week

Windows Explorer Search Shortcut Key

While in Windows Explorer, hit the F3 key and type the name of the file you are looking for to quickly search for your file.

Have an unfortunate co-worker that’s not getting a copy of the TCC Tuesday Tidbits? Forward them your copy. Or, better yet, have them sign up at https://computer-center.com/tuesdaytidbits/

Submit your TCC Tuesday Tidbit requests and ideas to me by calling (608) 755-1524.

Sincerely,

James Pearson, President The Computer Center 39 S. Main St. – Upper Janesville, WI 53545 (608) 755-1524

Covid-19 and Working Remotely
A How-To Technology Resource

Welcome to The Computer Center’s Covid-19 resource center for small businesses. Our focus is to provide you with the information you need to keep your business running, collaborate with your team, meet with customers, and make the best of the current situation by leveraging technology. Visit www.computer-center.com/covid19/ for access to more helpful information.

IT Security Tip #43:
New Quarter, New Password

It’s a wise idea to follow the calendar year when changing passwords to your online sites, financial/banking sites, and computer systems. We recommend you change these passwords at least once every three months. It’s also important you don’t reuse passwords or use the same passwords for two different resources.

If your social media account gets hacked, you don’t want the attacker to also be able to gain access to your Amazon.com and banking accounts simply because you used the same password for both sites. Maintaining separate passwords is a lot of work – but the cybersociety we live in demands it.

A good password will be composed of both lowercase and CAPITAL letters, numbers and !@#$%^ (symbols). Passwords for various sites should always be different, but they can be similar. You may use J@nu@ry1! for site A and J@nu@ry1@ for site B.

Need help in developing strong password policies? Give us a call and we’ll be happy to help.

Microsoft Tips for Office

Give Feedback With A Digital Pen

Edit and mark up Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files with your Surface Pen or other digital pen. Look for the Draw menu. It’s a fast (and dare we say fun) way to give feedback.

Shortcut of the Week

Display Multiple Clocks in Windows

To add more than one clock, follow the steps below.

1. Click the Change date and time settings option.
2. In the Date and Time window, click Add clocks for different time zones.
3. In the Additional Clocks tab, check the first “Show this clock” box.
4. Select the time zone for the second clock and the name of the clock, then click OK.

If you want to show more than two clocks, repeat the steps above for each additional clock. Now when hovering over the date and time in the Taskbar or clicking on the time, you should see all new time zones.

Have an unfortunate co-worker that’s not getting a copy of the TCC Tuesday Tidbits? Forward them your copy. Or, better yet, have them sign up at https://computer-center.com/tuesdaytidbits/

Submit your TCC Tuesday Tidbit requests and ideas to me by calling (608) 755-1524.

Sincerely,

James Pearson, President The Computer Center 39 S. Main St. – Upper Janesville, WI 53545 (608) 755-1524