Covid-19 and Working RemotelyA 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 #32: Routers Are At The Big-Box Stores – Why Do I Need To Pay?
Routers and firewalls can be confusing – they essentially serve the same purpose of distributing Internet to devices on the network. A router like you’d purchase at a big-box store is designed to serve the needs of home, not the needs of business. It’s likely more important that the Xbox has a great WiFi signal so little Jimmy can play his game, rather than being able to deny all Internet access from North Korea. A firewall, unlike a router, is intelligent. You typically pay a subscription fee because the firewall is constantly updating itself to protect against the newest cyber-attacks. Unlike a router, the firewall actually looks at all Internet traffic passing through it to make sure it’s legitimate, not a virus, and was requested from a computer inside. They also allow us to block access totally to some third-world countries known for producing cyber-attacks. A good firewall can also let you know what your staff has been up to – who’s that looking on careerbuilder.com for five hours? Don’t cheap out, and don’t buy your gate to the Internet for your business at a big-box store. It truly is the gate between your business and the rest of the world – and you want a strongly armed guard, not a non-intelligent robot. If you can afford to invest in one thing, get a good firewall!
PS – Business-grade firewalls can be used in homes, too – especially if you want to control the content users can access on the Internet, and want to see what the people in the house have been doing. There is no rule that a firewall is just for business – we sell them for use in the homes of lots of CEOs, CIOs and other professionals.
This Tuesday Tidbits series is one great way to keep your employees informed, but you STILL need a good AUP in place and training. If you’d like our help in creating one for your company, based on best practices, call us at (608) 755-1524. You’ll be glad you did.
Contact us if you have any computer-related needs by visiting computer-center.com.
Microsoft Tips for Windows
Have A Question About Teams?
In the bottom left corner of Teams is where you’ll find Help. Select Help > Topics, then browse featured topics, or search for something you need. You can also check out the Training tab for short how-to videos to get up to speed on Teams.
Shortcut of the Week
Show File Extension In Windows 10
By default, file extension are not displayed in Windows 10. To view file extensions, open a new File Explorer window by pressing Windows Key + E and then Select the View tab. Check the box labeled File name extensions.
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