February 2015
microTECH Times Covered I.T. 24/7—Never Worry Again!
7 Reasons To Stop Serenading Your Old Server And Find A New One You’ll Love! Ready to cut the ties with your old server and start fresh? If your server is over 4 years old, prevention is the only true cure for your woes. Take a look at these great advantages to upgrading your server before summer hits.
business. Not only are your employees unproductive, but you may lose data or incur costs to repairing your server and recovering your company information.
Think about it, your server is working 24/7/365 each year. It is safe to say, this is
head for the coffee pot when you are uploading or downloading large spreadsheets or folders with information you need for work? If so, your server is slowing you down. You and your staff won’t have to wait when saving new files or retrieving information with a new server. The increased speed and efficiency will change the way you work.
the hardest working piece of equipment in your business. A failed or breached server can be devastating leaving your company hanging and customers terribly unhappy. Here are 7 reasons to stop dancing around the problem and jump into a new server this quarter.
1. You deserve a safe and reliable partner. In the past year has your security been threatened? Has your server gone down? If you just said “yes” and started counting how many times, your overdue for a new server. Downtime and security breaches can be very costly for your
2. You shouldn’t be kept waiting. Do you
3. You need room to store what you want when you want. Running out of space for your shoes is one thing, you can just build a shoe rack or buy a closet organ(Continued on page 2)
What’s Inside...
PO Box 503 Deepwater, NJ 08023 877-540-6789 www.microent.net
Escape Disaster With A New Firewall……….…..pg 2 The Skinny About SSD’s.………...pg 3 Don’t Run From Your Inbox ...…pg 3 Your Signature Is More Than Just Your Name..….pg 4 Network Health Audit ……..pg 4
Sweet Valentine Roses are red, violets are blue, I deleted my back-up to make a folder for you! You auto-complete me. We go together like workstations and peripherals. Valentine... my mind can’t ESC you! You and I click.
Valentine’s Day, Is That All? While we will all undoubtedly fall victim to the Valentine’s craze, February has a few other mentionable observances you may love.
February is International Expect Success Month. This fancy observance reminds us to focus on key factors that encourage success like attitude, determination, and expectations. Take some time out this month to evaluate your personal and business goals to set yourself on the path for success.
National Caffeine Addiction Awareness Month. February is also National Caffeine Addiction Awareness Month. While coffee has now been found to be a healthful beverage that can prevent strokes and prolong the onset of some types of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and even Alzheimer’s, too much of a good (Continued on page 3)
February 2015
microTECH Times
7 Reasons To Stop Serenading... (Continued from page 1)
izer. A server isn’t that easy. Running out of space can slow down everything you use daily. No one should be limited on size with new technology available today. A new server will more than likely hold double what you’re working with right now. This type of expansion will not only give you more space, but increased efficiency too.
4. Everyone loves a free lunch. No more Dutch dating. You could spend the extra money you will save in technical support with a new server on lunch each quarter for your entire office. While it won’t be enough for a T-bone steak, you will see a dramatic decrease in security breaches and failures. A new server solution will extend greater security features than their predecessors.
5. Compatibility. Over the past few years, many software companies have been gearing up for newly released server products. Most of them will follow Microsoft and stop supporting the older versions of their software pushing companies to upgrade. Stay ahead of the curve with
compatible equipment for the software you love.
6. Backing up could save you big bucks! Ok, we all know back-ups are important. All those files you save each day at work are invaluable. Now that there aren’t hard copies to reach for it is critical to have a good back-up of the data from your server somewhere preferably off-site in case of an emergency. It may seem like a lot of stuff to store; trust me if it was all on paper it would take up your entire office. However, today’s back-up technology has evolved significantly so we’re able to offer massive storage solutions with little ramp up time and low monthly costs. Remember, your recovery after a disaster is only as good as the back-up you have available to restore your network.
7. While there is no guarantee with love, your server should have a good warranty. A new server, comes with a new warranty. You will have server support from the manufacturer that can save you thousands if a hardware related problem arises.
Don’t forget support. Windows Server 2003’s end of support is July 14th, 2015. This end of support means increased support costs and security/compliance issues for many companies. If you are concerned about this July cut-off and have questions about options, give us a call today.
Call for your Network Health Audit and Server Quote. We will come on-site and review your entire network. Then we will work with our engineers to create the perfect solution just for business. You will receive a quote that shows you all the details of our review, our recommendations and a server quote. Need service and support too? We can take care of it all.
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Escape Disaster With A Firewall Flustered about security? Can’t tell what precautions are best for your company? Consider a network security appliance.
Start with a good firewall. Firewalls work like a filter between your computer or network and the Internet. They give your systems a basis to work from with clear definitions of what is “ok” and what is prohibited.
Windows computers come with firewall options. However, these are not enough for an entire business network. Your company may require a more robust solution to keep your data safe.
Security appliances for businesses. Companies like Untangle provide a wide range of Internet appliances focused on content control and your network security. These small pieces of equipment provide a security blanket of coverage for your entire network.
Compliance, check! Most security appliance companies like Untangle aim to please with equipment focused on HIPAA and PCI compliance as well as anti-spam filtering, secure backup, and recovery options.
microTECH Times
Valentine’s Day, Is That All... (Continued from page 1)
thing can be bad. Health experts recommend no more than three to four cups of highly caffeinated beverages daily. Timing can be a great way to regulate your consumption. Many people plan on drinking caffeine first thing in the morning, before work outs and as a mid-day boost.
Fat Tuesday—Mardi Gras. The Tuesday before Ash Wednesday or the 7th Tuesday before Easter many enjoy celebrating Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras! Believe it or not, Fat Tuesday — Mardi Gras traditions are celebrated in a long list of countries including Belgium, Brazil, Italy, Sweden, the Netherlands and the United States. This observance refers to a time for celebration before the penitential season of Lenten begins. The most popular traditions include wearing masks and costumes while indulging in dance, sports, and parades.
Happy Valentine’s Day! Everyone loves spoiling their special someone just because. Who can resist those tiny chocolates, gift baskets, and an overall excuse to take a long romantic weekend getaway.
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February 2015
The Skinny About Solid State Drives Do you get your coffee ready in the morning while your computer is booting up? Give your computer a boost with a solidstate drive (SSD).
Old school hard drive. When you think of a hard drive, you may have a metal case floating in your mind. A magnetic coating stores the data for your computer and a small read/write head on a hinged arm accesses the data while the drive spins in the enclosure.
What is a solid-state drive (SSD)? Solid-state drives function much like traditional spinning hard drive but they don’t have the same insides. They take care of the same job retrieving your data while your computer is booting up, but the information is actually stored on a series of
flash memory chips that are all woven together. Solid-state drives can be permanently installed on the motherboard in high-end computers (desktops or laptops). This type of drive gives your computer a boost in speed and memory.
Advantages to a solid-state drive. While the price tags on SSD’s are a bit higher there are a few great advantages: greater storage capacity, faster boot times (generally boots in seconds), higher overall performance times, increased durability since there are no moving parts inside, and significantly less noise.
Who needs an SSD? We recommend SSD’s for people that work on the go, travel often, encounter rough work environments, need immediate access to their data, or have large files they use often.
Don’t Run From Your Inbox, Show It Some Love Feeling like your inbox is trying to steam roll you? Here are 5 quick tips and tricks to help you embrace Outlook with open arms again.
1. Learn a few new shortcuts: Outlook has a unique set of shortcuts you can use to skip through the menus quickly and get things done. Check https:// support.office.com/ and type in Outlook Shortcuts to learn more.
2. Limit desktop notifications. It’s very distracting to have Outlook popups cluttering your screen every few minutes. Organize them. Start by turning off all of the alerts under the Mail Options. Then create rules to display alerts just for the communications you want to see by right clicking on the message, click “Rules” and “Create Rules”.
3. Use your flags to queue action. The flag feature will prompt you to take action. Just hover over the flag on a mes-
sage in your inbox and right click to set a specific follow-up. There are a set of flags already loaded in outlook that you can choose from or you can create a custom follow-up activity to remind you later.
4. Quick Step with Outlook. Setup your Quick Steps in Outlook by clicking on the right angle with an arrow pointing down in the lower right corner or through the email options. These are shortcuts to help you zip through your replies with ease.
5. Add a splash of color with custom categories. Keep messages organized by category so you can address messages of similar nature all at once. Categorizing your messages will help you efficiently address them with care. Right click on a contact in your address book to preset the categories and flags for each person. Or right click a message.
February 2015
microTECH Times
“We make all of your computer problems go away without adding additional full-time I.T. staff!” Ask about our fixed price service agreements — Computer support
Inquiring Minds... Your Signature Is More Than Just Your Name. Did you know that many people today use your e-mail signature as a way to get to know you and create a contact entry about you?
ture services like WiseStamp, Stationery Central and My Live signature too. These easy to use tools can help you format your signature with graphics like social media icons or other design elements.
Crafty without being crafty. Did you know that most people love heartfelt and homemade gifts for Valentine’s day? Who has the time or talent to pull that off? Try these technical tips to slam dunk your gift this Valentine’s day.
Here are a few standard layouts to consider:
Keep it short, but provide all the information you need for a reply. 4-6 lines of information is pretty standard. You can use pipes or colons to separate text and try to use simple plain text unless you have the information repeated like the written signatures above. Don’t forget the basics like your name, phone number, company name, email and website. Additional items like your social media accounts and logo are quite common too.
Signature services. Believe it or not, there are e-mail signa-
Lovestagram: It’s Instragram with a Valentine twist.
Instant Poetry: This app puts your words in beautiful order.
American Greetings: Show you care with love coupons and notes for your sweetie.
Is your honey a little more traditional? That’s ok, try these sites to set the mood in a pinch:
H.Bloom.com: Send flowers, even same day if you need.
OpenTable.com: Sneak into a last minute reservation at your favorite restaurant. There’s an app for that!
Fall In Love With Your I.T. Again!
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee to the depth and breadth and height of the glorious tech support services that keep businesses running like a charm.
PO Box 503 Deepwater, NJ 08023 877-540-6789 www.microent.net
Don’t just grin and bear it through daily technical difficulties. Fall in love with a solution that actually provides a knowledgeable companion when you need it most. Give us a call today for your:
Network Heath Audit See how we can help you love your IT again.
Micro Enterprises LLC • (877) 540-6789