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Tech News from FlexITechs
| May 26, 2015
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10% Off End-User Security Service!
Dear (Contact First Name),
Thank you for your continued interest in FlexITechs. If you'd prefer not to receive our occasional email newsletters, use the "Unsubscribe" link above.
Also, be sure to:
Sincerely, Eric Magill, FlexITechs |
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Passwords, passwords ... ugh
While hackers can wreak havoc by stealing our identities or our money or our Contact lists, etc., etc., etc., quite possibly the most notable impact on every single one of us is the need to create complex passwords to keep them out of our stuff.
I run into this several times a week -- I ask for a password to log into a computer or a web site and am met with a blank stare, setting off a chain of events to remember or re-set the forgotten passwords. The amount of time lost remembering or re-creating passwords is staggering.
If you have to re-create them, my condolences if you are on a sensitive site that requires you to use a different password every couple months and prevents you from using the same password twice.
Further condolences if you've forgotten the answers to the Security Questions you answered or the Security Question processor is so strict you have to enter the answer exactly as you did when you set it up (i.e., Road vs. Rd.).
If you work in an industry that must follow strict data protection requirements, you might even be forced to generate a different token or key every time you log in. While that method doesn't require you to remember a password, it certainly consumes time as you press the buttons to get the new keys and enter them into your login screen.
By far, however, the most annoying password problem I run into is the "saved" password, the one that is saved on your favorite web sites so you don't have to enter it every time you log in. Invariably, when the browser has to be re-set, those password settings disappear and suddenly it's impossible to log in because the password was long ago forgotten since it didn't have to be entered anymore.
You can write your passwords in a notebook or on a piece of paper, but often, subsequent changes to that password fail to be added.
You can use a password manager, which vary in price from free to $50. I downloaded the free version of one of the top-rated managers, DashLane, and played with it and it worked as advertised, for both web site passwords and offline passwords such as computer logins. For web sites, the first time you access one after installing DashLane, it prompts you to save your login information as you type it in.
DashLane claims to save users 50 hours a year of typing in passwords and logins. Add in the time lost to remembering and re-creating passwords, and for some, that might be an accurate figure.
DashLane seems simple enough and is more secure than paper storage or unencrypted documents since it requires (of course) a password to access your passwords -- unless you forget the Master Password to your password manager or hackers crack it :-(
Finally, as if we don't go through enough pain with passwords, if you are asked to enter your cell phone number to receive a code in a text message to re-set it (Microsoft does this), please be sure to double-check that you entered your cell phone number correctly. If you enter it incorrectly, the code to re-set your password will blast off into the ether and you'll be forced to call Microsoft tech support to re-set it. As you can imagine, that is not a painless phone call.
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Powering off a Computer
I don't mean to insult anyone's intelligence here, but I've seen enough confusion about how to properly turn off a computer with sometimes disastrous results that I thought I should provide this public service announcement.
The ONLY time you should use the power button to turn off, or shut down, a computer is if the safer methods don't work.
This goes for both Windows and Mac computers, though their safer methods vary.
Shutting Down Windows
For Windows Vista and Windows 7, and Windows 8 computers that have been modified to work more like Windows 7, left-click your Start button in the lower left corner and then click Shut Down (or Restart if you just want to restart the computer and not turn it off).
For Windows 8.1 computers that have not been modified to work more like Windows 7, you have a couple options:
- If you use Windows 8 in Desktop mode (the traditional Windows screen), right-click on the Start button in the lower left corner and click Shut Down
- If you use Windows 8 in Metro mode (the one with the tiles):
- Swipe in from the lower right corner (or hover your mouse there if not using a touch screen) and tap or click the Start button in the menu that pulls out
- Tap or click the Power icon that appears in the upper right corner
- Tap or click Shut Down in the menu that drops down
- You can also follow the video tutorial for shutting down a Windows 8 computer.
Shutting Down a Mac
For Macs, left-click the Apple icon in the upper left corner and click Shut Down.
This allows the computer to turn off as it was designed to and greatly reduces the chance of hardware failure or software or data corruption due to an unexpected shutdown.
Consequences of Using the Power Button
If you do shut down with the power button, you'll notice, at least in Windows, that when you reboot the computer, it notes the unexpected shutdown and offers the opportunity to launch Startup Repair the next time you turn it on.
If you do so, you can enter into some options that can be very dangerous. I've had more than one customer choose that option and accidentally wipe their hard drive and all of their data.
When to Use the Power Button
The only time you should ever use the power button to shut off a computer is if the normal options don't shut it down.
In that case, hold the power button in until you hear the computer turn off. This takes about five seconds, so if you have to use the power button, don't push it in and let go. I've seen people do that and give up and pull the power cord to turn a frozen computer off.
Holding it in for five seconds gives it time to save settings, data, etc., and avoid corruption.
Under no circumstance should you ever turn off a computer by pulling the power cord out. Doing so greatly increases the risk of hardware damage and/or failure.
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BizTech Talk -- Cloudy in Sussex
I've written about this before, about the difficulties Sussex County businesses have in moving to the Cloud due to Internet speeds and reliability here.
The problem is especially acute in areas served only by Mediacom and Verizon DSL, or only Mediacom.
More and more, businesses need the ability to access their data anytime, anywhere, and Sussex County businesses are no different.
To do so, however, requires putting at least some data in the Cloud, which requires the Internet connection to be reliable and fast.
Mediacom, as evidenced by yet another prolonged outage -- this one more than six hours last weekend -- is fast enough but not reliable.
Verizon, which refuses to upgrade its aging wireline DSL infrastructure in 99% of Sussex County to FIOS, is reliable but too slow for many online applications and large downloads.
Still, to remain competitive, we can no longer restrict our businesses to a 9 to 5 existence inside four walls. We must have the capability to respond to requests in the field or on the road. We must be able to maximize our time in a hotel or an airport. And it's nice to have some flexibility in our work schedules by being able to work from home.
That requires access to our data, which often means Cloud access, but if your Internet is unreliable or too slow, you risk losing access to your data in the office, too. More than a few times, I've had customers lose their Internet but still be able to work in the office because their on-premise network still functioned. Had they been completely in the Cloud, they would have been shut down entirely.
We desperately need better Internet in Sussex County to help us take advantage of the promise of online, Cloud-based services and applications.
Regardless, we are experimenting with cloud-based applications such as Office 365 that allow storage both locally and in the Cloud. That provides the anytime, anywhere access to files while also providing a fall-back if the Internet goes out. If you want to look at that hybrid on-premise / Cloud option, call us at 302-537-4198.
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We thank you for your business the past 11 years and hope we can continue to fulfill your technology needs in the future. If you have any questions about current technology issues, feel free to contact us at 537-4198.
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Sincerely,
Eric Magill
FlexITechs
Microsoft Small Business Specialist |
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