Blue Lightning IT Services Resource Center

What to Do if Your Hard Drive Fails

December 17, 2017 by Matthew Schulz

If your hard drive is going bad, chances are strange things are happening and you're a little panicked. It's where you put your digital memories, your household files and maybe that thesis you've been working on for months. As far as you're concerned, that hard drive IS the computer and failure is not an option. Perhaps it was overheated, knocked around or came from the factory with a flaw.

Sorry to say, but eventually all hard drives will fail. So how do you know if it's definitely the drive and what should you do?

Start by watching for these signs:

Computer slowing down: Because most hard drives contain moving parts, the slower it gets, the slower your computer gets. It's a bit like a record player, with spinning plates and a needle whipping from side to side. You hard drive may eventually take longer to spin up and longer to retrieve files, which will have an impact on everything from booting up to playing games.

Blue screen of death: A classic Windows error, this is when your computer locks up to only show a blue screen with an error code, which while it does mean something specific has gone wrong., can always be translated loosely to "nope, not today". The more often your computer does this, the more severe the problem is.

Not booting up: During the initial boot up stage, your computer is loading a program stored on the hard drive - it's your operating system. If some of the files have a problem or can't be found, Windows won't boot. Errors vary, but the outcome is the same.

Corrupted files: Sometimes a file won't open because the computer says it is corrupted. Some essential pieces of the file are missing, and unlike a book where a missing page is only inconvenient, it's a deal breaker for computer files.

Noises: You're familiar with the normal noises your computer makes, but as the hard drive fails the noises can change. You might hear clicking, grinding or even a sci-fi phaser noise. Noises will get louder or speed up during heavy file access.

Whenever something is clearly wrong, the key is to stop and turn your computer off. Continued use can result in more data loss. Even if you don't have a backup yet, turn it off now because the large task of backing up can cause extra strain on an already delicate hard drive. It's tempting to hurry and try to get a quick copy of your files, but in these cases, it's not about time - it's about the extra spinning, scratching, warping, and electrical charge, all dissolving your precious data with each access.

If you are experiencing any of the above symptoms, you may be experiencing a potential hard drive failure.

How to Search Google Safely

December 8, 2017 by Matthew Schulz

We all love Google, quickly finding everything that we need on the Internet. It's replaced dictionaries, encyclopedias, instruction manuals, newspapers and in many cases, even doctors. However, sometimes your search results are not the real thing and can be downright malicious.

Here's how to search safely:

Pay attention to the URL in Google

Below every result title there's a URL in green. No matter what the title says, this URL is where your click will take you. Unfortunately, cybercriminals will often list their site with a familiar and trusted title but link you to their scam/malware pages.

For example, the title could be your bank name (eg. Example Bank), which seems legitimate, but the URL could be www.baabpjhg.com which is obviously not your bank. Sometimes they'll attempt to trick you by putting the real site into the link too (eg. www.baabpjhg.com/examplebank.com) which makes it even more likely to catch you when skimming through search results quickly.

When you visit the page, it might look exactly like your bank's site and ask for your login credentials, which are then harvested for attack. While gibberish in the link is pretty easy to spot, sometimes they'll take advantage of a small typo that you can easily miss. For example, www.exampebank.com (missing the letter L).

Notice Google search results vs paid ads

Google does a pretty good job at making sure the most relevant and legitimate sites are at the top of the list. However, paid ads will usually appear above them. Most of the time, these paid ads are also legitimate (and you can quickly check the URL to verify), but occasionally cybercriminals are able to promote their malicious site to the top and catch thousands of victims before being removed.

Believe Google's malicious site alerts

Sometimes Google knows when something is wrong with a site. It could be a legitimate site that was recently hacked, a security setting that's malfunctioned, or the site was reported to them as compromised. When this happens, Google stops you clicking through with a message saying "this website may be harmful" or "this site may harm your computer". Stop immediately and trust that Google has detected something you don't want in your house.

Turn on safe search

You can filter out explicit results by turning on Google Safe Search. While not strictly a cybersecurity issue, it can still provide a safer Google experience. Safe Search is normally suggested as a way to protect browsing children, but it also helps adults who aren't interested in having their search results cluttered with inappropriate links, many of which lead to high-risk sites. Switch Safe Search on or off by clicking Settings, Safe Search in the Google Chrome browser.

Need some help securing your system and browser settings?

What You Need to Know About Facebook Privacy

December 6, 2017 by Matthew Schulz

In this issue, we talk about how to lock down your privacy settings on Facebook. And also find out how to securely store your precious digital photos.

Your birthday is the first piece of info collected when you sign up, and it's great getting birthday wishes from friends and family when it appears in their newsfeed. But while Facebook is sending your balloons and funny memes, your birthday is now public knowledge. It seems harmless, but when you call your bank or other institution, what's the first question they ask to verify your identity? Your birthday! Some password recovery systems even ask questions like "which high school did you go to?" assuming this is knowledge that only you would know. Except...you've just publicly shared it on Facebook. Whoops!

We've all heard stories of people who've lost their jobs after less-than-wholesome pictures or statements have gone public. If you have a reputation to keep, you definitely don't want pictures from last weekend's private party showing up, especially if you really let your hair down. While you can't control what others do with photos they take of you, you can control whether or not you're tagged in them.

Fortunately, there are settings in Facebook that allow you to control who sees what information and what happens when you're tagged. Despite what you may have heard or seen floating around in a Facebook share hoax, you do have complete control over your Facebook privacy, and it's easy to adjust.

How to Check and Adjust Your Facebook Privacy Settings

See what your account looks like to an outsider: From your Facebook homepage, click your name on the blue bar at the top of the page. Click the three dots next to View Activity Log and then select View as...
Run a quick privacy checkup: Click the question mark in the top right corner and choose privacy checkup. Think about with you really need to share - do people need to know the YEAR of your birth or just your birthday? You friends will still get the notification, and you'll still get the balloons.
Edit advanced privacy: While the checkup covers the most obvious info, you can go much deeper. Click the V-shaped dropdown to the right of the questions mark. Go to settings and choose privacy.
Adjust timeline and tagging: In the privacy settings, you can explicitly control who can tag you, who can see or share the tagged content, and what shows up on your newsfeed.

Tightening your Facebook privacy only takes a few minutes, but it can save you a whole lot of trouble in the future.

New “KRACK” WiFi Security Issue: This Affects All of Us

November 28, 2017 by Matthew Schulz

A recently discovered WiFi security flaw can put your sensitive information at risk. Here are three ways to protect yourself in today's newsletter.

The invention of WiFi has been a science fiction dream come true. We can use our laptops anywhere in the house, our phones are using home internet instead of sucking down our cellular data, and our gadgets are all communicating. It's essentially the backbone of the smart tech boom for home and business alike. Most networks are password-protected with an encryption called "WPA2" and this has been safe and secure, until now.

Recently, a security flaw called KRACK was discovered that allows hackers to break into WiFi networks - even the secured ones. Your laptop, mobile phone, gaming console and even your smart fridge are possibly vulnerable as a result.

How KRACK works

The Key Reinstallation AttaCK isn't a problem with your device or how it was set up. It's a problem with the WiFi technology itself. The attack gets between your device and the access point (i.e. router) to reset the encryption key so hackers can view all network traffic in plain text. Since we rely on WiFi so much, this might mean hackers have a front row seat to your credit card numbers, passwords, chat messages, emails, photos and more.

Note: The hacker must be in the physical range of your WiFi to exploit this flaw, it doesn't work remotely like other attacks we've seen recently. Given most WiFi ranges extend well past your own home/business, this is small comfort, but important to know.

How to protect yourself

Run your updates: Software updates are being released which fix the flaw. Microsoft and Apple have already released one for their devices. Take a few minutes to make sure you're up to date and with all your patches on any device that uses WiFi (your smartphones, laptops, tablets, PCs, game consoles, etc.). Unfortunately, some devices may be slow to get an update, or if they're older, may not get an update to fix this issue at all. If possible, consider using a cabled connection on those older devices or upgrade to one with support.

Be very careful with public WiFi: While your local business center, library or school campus has expert IT professionals keep guard over your security, it's a very different matter at your local coffee shop. It's unlikely small locations such as this will be on top of security patches. Remember, a hacker exploiting this flaw only needs to be in the same WiFi area as you, so be careful you don't give them a dollop of private information with their coffee.

Check your browser security: Before sending anything secure over the internet, check you're using a HTTPS site. You'll know these by the little padlock you see next to the URL, and the address specifically begins with HTTPS. Major sites like Facebook, Gmail and financial institutions already use HTTPS.

Do you need help updating your devices or to regularly keep your devices updated with the latest updates and patches?

We can help! Contact us today!

URGENT ALERT: 143 million Customers Exposed in Financial Data Breach

November 22, 2017 by Matthew Schulz

Credit reporting company Equifax revealed that it's databases were hacked in a large-scale breach affecting millions across the US, UK & Canada. While no hacking event is ever good news, some are easier to ignore than others - this isn't one of them. The sensitive nature of the exposed data now requires immediate action for all those even possibly affected.

The short version: Equifax is one of the three main organizations in the US that manages & calculates credit scores. To do that effectively, they have access to almost every piece of financial data for adults in the country, plus pretty much anyone who's lived/worked in the US. We're talking social security, tax file numbers, driver's licenses, credit card numbers...the big stuff. On July 29th, Equifax disclosed the breach stating that hackers had repeatedly gotten in through a vulnerability in the web application from mid-May to July of this year.

If you're an Equifax customer: As scary as this all sounds, what's done is done. Equifax, cybersecurity experts & law enforcement officials are on the case, working to minimize the long-term damage.

The best action now is to protect yourself against fallout:

Go to http://www.equifaxsecurity2017.com to see if your data may have been affected. There was some news that this site was delivering random results, but Equifax announced it has been corrected. At this stage it's safe to assume everyone with a credit history has been impacted, so unless that link gives a definite "No, you're safe" response, continue with the following recommendations.
Claim the Equifax free year of credit monitoring & identity theft insurance (if you're a US resident). If you're not eligible, consider sourcing your own. As the hacked data will continue to circulate for some time, also consider extending your credit monitoring for a few more years.
Keep a close eye on your finances and accounts. Check for notifications of new credit applications, monitor your statements and bills, and immediately report any suspicious activity or sudden change in billing.
Change all of your passwords to be strong, unique and long. Any of the stolen data may give hackers a free pass into the rest of your bank accounts, email and personal information.
Add two-factor authentication where possible. This is when an account demands a second layer of authentication before allowing access or changes - getting the password correct isn't enough, the hacker would also need to get the special code sent by SMS.
Consider freezing your credit report. This makes it harder for identity thieves to open accounts under your name, as access is completely restricted until you choose to un-freeze.

Need help with your passwords?

Why is my Computer Running so SLOW?

November 16, 2017 by Matthew Schulz

Whoa, who slammed on the brakes? Your computer used to speed through startup and let you open almost everything at once, but now it's struggling to crawl along! Everything takes so much longer or crashes without warning. Something isn't right. If it's gotten so bad that you've found yourself drooling over the idea of a new computer, even though your system isn't that old, we've got some good news: you can get your whizzy speeds back with a little TLC.

Computers generally start slowing down within 12 months, but it's not because their parts are broken and it's not because they're faulty. It's not even because you have so many browser tabs open that you lose count. Slow computers have a number of causes, but the most commons ones are easily fixed.

Background programs

Whenever your computer is turned on, it's running programs in the background. You didn't start them and they may not be essential to operation, but off they go anyway. You can't even see some of them, they don't have windows or anything to look at. A good example is your antivirus program. You don't need to see it all the time, but you know it's running in the background, protecting you.

Over time, more and more programs might slip into the background and casually suck up your system's resources, like iTunes helper, Acrobat updater, Cortana listening, Skype or Spotify. We can speed up your system by setting these background programs to run only when you need them, or remove them completely.

Application bloat

How do you improve last year's version of a program? Add more features! The problem with this is the applications become bloated with features you may not need (or even know about), but that keep needing more and more system resources. Each time the developers review their programs, they assume you've bought the latest and greatest computer and can run whatever they release.

This means a slow computer can sneak up after an auto-update. You may not even know that the update happened, just that your computer is suddenly making you very unhappy. Eventually, your system grinds to a halt. We can remove unused applications or increase your computer power as required.

Slow hard drives

Your data is stored on a part called a hard drive. It's usually a mechanical type that works like a record player, with a spinning platter and a "needle" reading it. If you data is spread out across lots of places on the platter, the hard drive head "needle" has to go backwards and forwards thousands of times just to retrieve a single file. Unsurprisingly, that takes more time to bring up your file. We can optimize your data to give the hard drive head a break, but an even better solution is to upgrade to an SSD. That's a Solid State Drive that stores data in memory chips, like your USB drive, and has no moving parts. Without the physical need to move a hard drive needle, your computer can access data much faster.

Unfortunately, once your computer starts slowing, for whatever reason, the problem only gets worse. The background programs will continue to multiply, the bloat keeps coming, and the hard drive begs for relief. Rather than buy a whole new system though, it's completely possible for your current computer to go back to being lightning fast - and for a fraction of the cost.

Would you like us to give your computer a new lease on life?

Keep Up To Date by Outsourcing Your IT Needs

November 15, 2017 by Matthew Schulz

Updating your business software is one of your best protections against cyberattacks, but actually going through and running the updates is a task that often gets overlooked. Either they take too long, they pop up at inconvenient times, or you simply don’t know when an update is available. Do you have a plan in place to ensure all your technology devices are up-to-date, or are you flying by the seat of your pants?

Emergency updates are a killer

Just between us, most businesses update their software only when the repair techs come to fix a major breakage. The techs run the updates before they leave, then the systems sit there with ever-widening security gaps… until another breach happens and the techs are called back for another band-aid solution. Emergency only updates in a break/fix model are a great little earner for those techs, not so good for your up time or budget.

Finding time for maintenance

To keep your business up and running securely, you need someone who lives and breathes updates. They’ll need to have top tech skills so they know when and how to apply all the patches, and how to make sure all your other technology devices are playing nice (and do it all after-hours). If you have an in-house IT specialist, you’re set – and they should already have an update plan. But if you don’t have a qualified IT team member, outsourcing to managed services is the perfect solution. You get highly skilled technicians remotely applying your network updates after hours. It’s also a great alternative when your in-house IT team is overloaded and has no time left for routine maintenance. We’re able to partner with your existing IT team member or IT department to take care of the small tasks, leaving them free to focus on bigger initiatives.

What else needs to be checked?

Beyond running security patches, it’s important to keep your business moving forward. Here are a few areas we at Blue Lightning IT Services look at as part of managed services:

Hardware health: The last thing you want are multiple days of downtime after a piece of hardware dies a spectacular death, dragging other components down with it. By not staying on top of your hardware health, you’re opening yourself up to lost productivity, lost income and unknown delays. Our managed services can assess and replace components before they break. If suitable, we’ll also save you money by recommending (and helping) you move to a cloud solution, so you can access your data with inexpensive hardware like tablets.
Operating System expiry: While it’s great that you have a preferred OS, keeping it after the manufacturer ceases support can leave your business wide open for attack. It’s simply not a good combination. With our managed services, we will advise you of any changes coming up for your OS, and suggest the best upgrade for your needs.
Legacy programs: Updates to your software have the potential to disrupt older programs, either resulting in errors, slow performance or even downtime. With technology advancing so fast, we often find additional requirements with an update, such as extra processing power, memory or graphics. At Blue Lightning IT Services, we will always make sure to check for compatibility as a whole before running an update.

Staying on top of your maintenance and upgrades can be a huge challenge for small business.

Outsourcing to our managed services can help more than your budget.

4 Ways to Increase Your Laptop Battery Life and Charge

August 17, 2017 by Matthew Schulz

1. Keep the Vents Clear

Never ever sit your laptop on a couch cushion, or on a mattress, or anything soft that hinders airflow through the little slot on the bottom and sides of your laptop. Those vents can suck up dust and debris, clogging up the fans and causing your laptop to work harder. The harder the laptop works, the more battery power it is going to require. If you hear a loud buzzing (like a fan spinning really fast), or your laptop base is so hot you could cook an egg on it, chances are you should consider moving to a tabletop or hard surface to work on. If this buzzing is consistent, the laptop doesn't cool down or you need assistance cleaning the dust out of the vents, contact us today.

2. Keep the Screen Brightness Down

When you do not need the screen brightness cranked up, turn it down. The screen is the number on battery drain on any mobile device, including your laptop. Adjusting this setting will significantly lower your battery usage.

If you are using Windows, click the Start button and select Settings on the left side of the start menu. Then click on System > Display. You can adjust accordingly from here by moving the slider under Brightness and color.

If you are using a Mac, open Spotlight and search Energy Saver where you can adjust the screen brightness.

Make sure to keep the brightness to a minimum to conserve as much battery power as possible.

3. Hibernate and Sleep

While you are in the power options on your Windows or Mac, you can tweak your power options to optimize your laptop's battery life by adjusting the hibernate and sleep settings to further conserve battery power. You will notice these settings have dropdown menus or sliders to manually adjust when the computer to turn off the display, go into sleep mode or hibernate after a defined time that you set. You can also use the built-in power plans or default power options. Essentially, you want your laptop to hibernate and sleep sooner when it's inactive and not being charged.

4. Unplug When Charged

When the battery is full and the laptop is not in use, unplug it from the charger. Generally speaking, and according to Battery University a battery will give you 300 to 500 full discharge cycles or charges. Keeping it plugged in can significantly decrease the amount of charges that the battery can take. Keeping that juice flowing when the laptop is full can be damaging for some batteries. Battery University even recommends operating your laptop between forty and eighty percent battery life to get the most life out of the battery.

If you need assistance with setting the correct power options or you need any help with your laptop's battery, contact us today!

We can help you test your laptop's battery and let you know if you need a battery replacement.

4 Quick Tips to Understanding Cloud Technology

August 14, 2017 by Matthew Schulz

1. What is the Cloud?

The cloud is virtual and therefore does no require any hardware of your own to deliver a service. Cloud technology can deliver that service to you, without having to install anything or have it on a server at your business. This is something that you can access remotely, or via the Internet through your web browser. Offsite, secure third-party data centers manage all of your cloud data so that your can acecss it at your convenience.

2. You May Already be Using the Cloud

Are you using Gmail? Amazon Music? A Kindle? Dropbox? These are all cloud services that store the data you access. All you have to do is log into their servers to get what you need. If you use an Apple iPhone or iPad, then you're familiar with the iCloud service, the cloud technology that allows you to sync and upload your photos and contacts.

3. Why Use the Cloud?

The cloud is convenient for accessing and backing up data no matter where you go. With it, you can access servers anywhere, rather than just locally from your office. This allows you to perform your job duties at home or on the go! There is no need to carry around (and risk losing) USB drives with sensitive information on them. If you lose that USB drive, then your files are gone forever. If you back them up to the cloud or store them there, however, you can easily retrieve that data.

4. Why is the Term "Cloud" Used?

There is a literal and figurative meaning here. Have you ever laid down in the grass and looked up at the clouds in the sky? Oh, look, an elephant! A boat! Oh nice, a dinosaur! But the person next to you may not see the same shapes. They may see a sandwich, a skyscraper or an airplane in the clouds instead. The possibilities are almost endless, and not everyone has the same vision. Cloud technology is similar, offering a plethora of possibilities to help support and scale your business. Also, clouds are generally always above us. Just head on up, and grab whatever you need 0n-demand. The sky is always accessible.

So, you can store and access files in the Cloud. You can use cloud-hosted applications, like Gmail and Google Docs. Finally, the cloud gives you access to your data anywhere with a network connection. This all sounds great, right? It is, but as with anything on the Internet, these services need to be used responsibly. Is your IT services provider helping to manage this?

Let us share with you how you or your small business can utilize the cloud.

5 Quick Tips That Could Help You Transition To Macs

August 12, 2017 by Matthew Schulz

1. Spotlight search

Pour an extra cup of coffee for your new best friend. Spotlight is a handy-dandy tool to help you find nearly anything and everything on a Macintosh computer. In the top right of your screen you will see a magnifying glass. Click it, and type in what you are looking for. That is it. Spotlight does the work for you. It will search the machine for any file, folder, and/or application on your hard drive.

2. Know the keyboard

Your PC muscle memory may trip you up on this one for awhile, but practice makes perfect. You'll learn that there are minor differences in the Mac keyboard. The Alt buttons do not exist, for one. You will also notice that there are a few new keys as well - such as Command and Option. Some of your keyboard shortcuts on a Mac are different. For example, you can print on a Windows machine by pressing Ctrl+P. On a Mac, you can perform the same action, but the button combo is Command+P. These differences are subtle, but good to know. TechRadar has an awesome list of common keyboard shortcuts for people making the switch, and of course Apple Support has their own article on the Mac keyboard as well.

3. The mouse

If you are using an Apple mouse, no more left and right clicking. To left click and select something, physically press down on the mouse, like you are pushing it against the table. To right click, hold Control on the keyboard, and click. If you have an Apple Magic Mouse, you can customize the clicking options to be more intuitive. If you don't like the idea of this weird new mouse technology, any Mac-compatible USB mouse will do.

4. The trackpad

If you have a MacBook, you will notice that the right and left buttons are also missing from the trackpad. The trackpad on your Macintosh works much like a touchscreen on your mobile device. You may use gestures and multiple fingers to operate it. For instance, you may pinch in or zoom out to magnify or reduce an item on your screen, again, much like a smartphone. Scrolling up and down can be done by moving two fingers up and down on the trackpad. Apple Support once again put together this great guide to elaborate a little more on this.

5. Remember your support system

Blue Lightning IT Services and Apple Support can help you when something breaks. There are tons and tons of support materials provided by Apple to help you make the switch. The Apple Support site has support documents detailing every square inch of your new Macintosh device. The Apple Support Community is a group of people just like you, but also has experts available to troubleshoot and answer questions. When the going gets tough, we get going.