Coleman Technologies Blog

Let’s face it; running a business can be expensive, and taking any measures possible to mitigate those costs can have huge benefits for your bottom line. One way companies are minimizing costs is by implementing a Bring Your Own Device policy, or BYOD, to allow employees to use their own personal devices for work purposes. We’re here to help you do so without putting security at risk.

But first, what does a Bring Your Own Device policy entail, and why is it so popular and effective for businesses?

BYOD is More Than Just an Employee Convenience

BYOD, when implemented properly, can give your employees the ability to use their personal devices for work purposes, opening up a whole range of benefits for both the employer and the employee. For the employee, they get to use a device they are familiar with, allowing them to be more productive. For the employer, they save capital by not having to provide employees with technology.

These benefits, however, are only effective when the devices are properly managed and secured. Let’s discuss some ways you can keep BYOD from becoming a liability for your company.

Issues Related to BYOD Strategy

Plan Ahead

Most business decisions cannot be made haphazardly, especially when it comes to technology implementation. You’ll want to take your time and consider the various elements involved with any change to your technology strategy. For example, you will want to consider that your business is working with data, and that data should not be accessed by anyone without the proper permissions; especially on a device that you don’t have much control over.

This is where classification comes in. Assign levels of classification to dictate who can access which data and on which devices. A good rule to follow is that you should work from the principle of least privilege. Provide the least amount of access possible for your staff to do their jobs, and nothing more until it becomes evident that they need further access. The fewer people who can access said data, the more secure it will be.

Be Prepared for Problems

The best way to prevent issues from escalating is to expect them to happen and be ready to address them. You might run into issues with your expectations for the policy differing from your team’s, which could lead to friction between management and your workforce. As such, you need to be ready to respond to situations where your authority and their privacy might clash.

We recommend that you always be transparent with your team about security and make sure their privacy is a priority whenever possible. We’ll cover this topic in greater detail in a moment, but for now, try to make security as easy as possible by providing them with easy-to-use tools like password managers and antivirus to reduce friction whenever possible.

Weigh Privacy and Security Appropriately

Ultimately, the trickiest part about BYOD is managing the balance between security and privacy in a way where your team feels respected and in control of their own technology, not the other way around. Your BYOD policy should maintain privacy without sacrificing security, something that a mobile device management tool can make much easier to manage. This will help to reduce friction whenever possible.

Let Coleman Technologies Help

If you’re ready to implement BYOD, we can help make the process easier. To learn more, call us at (604) 513-9428 today.

Nostalgia is a powerful force. It can drive us to look to the past for things we once loved, such as the music we listened to over the years. However, what if the music you loved was lost forever?

This could be the case for many, as older hard drives that archive this music have been discovered to have failed. Let’s examine the situation to see what lessons any small-to-medium-sized business can learn.

Meet Iron Mountain Media and Archive Services

Iron Mountain specializes in data management and storage services. It works with various industries to fulfill their document management and digital transformation needs, including the music industry. Iron Mountain provides archived storage for media assets for this particular client base. As a result, they store thousands upon thousands of hard disk drives that their clients asked them to use in the 1990s.

During a routine survey of its storage vaults a few years ago, the provider discovered that of these thousands upon thousands of HDDs, approximately a fifth—yes, 20% of them—were unreadable.

A Brief History of Why HDDs are the Standard Format

Ironically, the migration to HDD as the standard storage format was originally due to a similar problem. Masters, once converted to the preferred commercial format of the time, were put into storage as tape. Believe it or not, the tape degradation these masters suffered was discovered thanks to the Guitar Hero video game franchise and 5.1 surround sound. Artists wanted to make sure their work was compatible with these new platforms, but they found that their tapes weren’t all in working condition. Some had degraded, storage space conditions damaged some, and some were obsolete, having been produced for certain technologies in formats that were not easily played. Some were just missing.

We’d be the first to say that tape is far from the ideal storage medium, and we’re willing to guess that anyone who lost their masters in this way would easily agree.

As a result, the industry quickly shifted to HDD-based masters… but even this has its issues, as Iron Mountain discovered and has been trying to spread the word about.

What’s the Problem with HDDs?

Let’s say there was a nu metal band called Letters From Charlie of the Bears that had its heyday in the ‘90s, and their masters were saved via HDD. Letters From Charlie of the Bears ends up breaking up as the demand for nu metal wanes in the ‘aughts, unlike their many contemporaries that adjusted their music to match demand. However, with nu metal returning to fashion nowadays, Letters From Charlie of the Bears gets back together. They decide to remaster some of their old albums to capitalize on the renewed interest and go back on tour… only to find that the hard drives that once contained their work have gone kaput.

A few issues with HDD archival storage could lead to this scenario. First and foremost, these hard drives were never really designed with long-term archival storage in mind. Plus, the whole thing is rendered inoperational if any moving parts inside the drive fail. Older file formats have also made these master files difficult—if not impossible—to access.

What Does This Mean for Your Business?

There are two key lessons to be learned by the average business in British Columbia from this situation.

First, the importance of backup. As lovely as it would be to have technology that can inherently be trusted, and as hard as IT providers like Coleman Technologies work to keep business technology functional, the hard truth is that you can never fully trust your data storage. As a result, you must have a backup strategy that ensures you always have access to the most up-to-date version of your data and that features data redundancy to ensure that—even if something happens to one of your backup copies—you always have a working set of data to utilize.

Of course, having a backup is one thing. Knowing you can rely on it is quite another. We recommend that you occasionally test your backups by trying to operate solely from what you have stored in them. This is the second lesson to be learned.

We’re Here to Help

As part of our IT services, we offer comprehensive backup preparations and management, helping to protect your business against disasters of all kinds through adherence to key best practices. Find out how you can benefit from this by giving us a call at (604) 513-9428.

There are several factors that contribute to the speed of a PC. Let's very briefly break these down:

CPU/Processor

The CPU handles all of calculations a computer performs. These days consumer-class CPUs handle billions and even trillions of instructions per second. While dated processors can greatly influence the actual speed of a computer, if your PC is fairly new (as in 1 or 2 years old, and possibly older for higher end builds) it's likely not bottlenecking your performance. Today, CPUs are equipped with two, four, or even more cores, which means the CPU can handle an more calculations exponentially and consume less electricity.

RAM/Memory

Random Access Memory is basically the short-term memory of your computer. While your computer is loading and running applications, they get stored in the RAM. The RAM is much faster than the hard drive, so your computer doesn't need to spin it's wheels looking for specific files and parts of applications. The more RAM you have, the more "stuff" that can be stored in it. The faster your RAM, the faster your computer can sift through the data that gets temporarily pushed into it. Once your RAM is full, your computer will depend on the hard drive to retrieve information, and that's where things get sluggish. Once you stop running a program, it will remove itself from the RAM to free up some space for everything else running.

Hard Drive

The hard drive is the storage device of a computer. For extremely high-end PCs, the hard drive is the bottleneck. Hard drives, when compared to RAM, are very slow to access and write information. Once your computer needs to rely on your hard drive heavily for RAM, things are going to start getting bogged down. While it's great that your PC can rely on your hard drive in this way for those times it needs some extra memory, it is likely this is the slowdown. Unfortunately, because hard drives are mechanical and have moving parts, there's limitations to how fast science can make them perform. There are costly solid-state drives, but as a performance-improving factor on a standard workstation, typically solid state drives aren't the cost-effective answer.

Of course, there are software factors as well. Malware and Spyware can bog down your system, and after a lot of use, temporary files can bog things down. Before upgrading hardware, you'll want to have a technician run a quick evaluation on your PC - it's possible a little cleanup can make all the difference in the world.

Otherwise, the next step is upgrading the RAM. RAM is usually relatively cheap, even to double or triple your existing RAM with faster, higher performance memory. Often the cost of the new RAM itself will be between $50 and $100, and more than likely less than that, and that's for a substantial increase, but it depends on your PC.

Is your computer running slow? Does it get bogged down by the time you have all of your day-to-day applications open? Contact us at (604) 513-9428 for a quick evaluation to see if a simple, cost-effective upgrade will help you perform your job more effectively.

Why a Hardwired Connection?

Security

The fact is that a direct connection is inherently more secure than one that is broadcast over the airwaves, as these have the potential to be snagged in transit much more easily. Therefore, if security is paramount, a wired connection is the better option by default. That said, there are ways to secure your wireless connection, utilizing a VPN.

Speed

Wired connections are also much faster than a wireless one, whether data is being communicated within your business network or to and from the Internet. In terms of efficiency, the wired connection comes out on top.

Stability

Save for a case of infrastructure failure, the only way you could lose a wired connection would be if the wire were to be unplugged. This stability not only makes them more reliable; it contributes to the consistency of the aforementioned higher speeds.

Why a Wireless Connection?

Convenience

The lack of cables that a wireless connection requires just makes Internet access so much simpler for a business to implement. Without the need to adapt any existing infrastructure to run wires and such things, it is far easier to add, subtract, and move users around as need be.

Mobility

Wi-Fi’s inherent mobility works so well for businesses because a user can pick up what they're doing and bring it with them if they have the right device. This makes it much more practical to implement in the workplace, especially if collaboration requires meetings to happen in various places in the office.

Scope

Speaking of the right device, a wireless connection enables work to be done on a much wider, and yes, more mobile assortment of solutions. On a related note, businesses that interact with the public regularly can configure their Wi-Fi to offer guest functionality. This enables these businesses to offer their patrons a convenient perk.

Why Hybrid May Be Best

This is the real important takeaway: you don’t have to choose between wired and wireless connectivity.

Embracing both options can effectively negate the shortcomings of either, ultimately improving your business’ capability to get work done—large tasks performed over the wired connections, with communication and collaboration sticking to Wi-Fi. It all comes down to your business’ individual needs and situation.

Whichever option works best for you, you can count on Coleman Technologies being the best resource you can turn to. Find out what we have to offer in terms of assistance and support by calling (604) 513-9428.

Magnets are often portrayed as the bane of technology’s existence, especially in media where data must be scrubbed from devices through the use of a magnet. How true is this representation of the relationship between magnets and technology? We’ll examine this in today’s blog article.

Science Says Magnets Aren’t Necessarily the Problem

Scientifically speaking, magnets are not great for your computer or your smartphone. That much is indisputable. However, there are a lot of other factors in play, especially the duration of the exposure and the strength of the magnet.

Think about the weak magnets you use to pin your kids’ drawings up on the refrigerator. They are magnets, but they are nowhere near strong enough to cause measurable or permanent damage to any of your devices. Magnets in this context are generally designed to be as strong as they need to be, and no more, specifically so they don’t cause unforeseen issues.

If you want to cause some real damage to a device, you need the heavy-duty, industrial-sized magnets. They are the ones you need to watch out for.

How Dangerous Are Magnets to Your Technology?

If you aren’t working in an industry where you are constantly exposed to such technology, then you should have little to fear from magnets actually causing damage to your technology. Such magnets are often turned off when not in use, as well, as there is no need for them to be functional all the time.

Here’s a fun fact: magnets are actually a crucial part of your current workplace, as they are used in hard drives to read and write data. To put this into context, the aforementioned fridge magnets are nowhere near as powerful as the ones found in a hard drive, and solid state drives don’t utilize magnets at all. There is no chance that such weak magnets could ever damage your average business technology solutions unless you are trying VERY hard to mess things up.

Smartphones, though, are a different story. Smartphones are made with magnetic materials, and as such, are somewhat susceptible to issues from magnets, but problems should disappear after the exposure ceases. Smartphones don’t store data on magnetic disks like with hard drives, so if these devices are exposed to magnets, certain functionality could be disabled temporarily, but it’s not a permanent problem or even a remotely serious one. On the same token, so many smartphone accessories like smart keyboards, cases, and other peripherals use magnets, and don’t affect the longevity of the device at all. 

Ultimately, You Shouldn’t Really Worry That Much

All in all, the big thing to keep in mind regarding magnets is that you shouldn’t bring your technology around heavy-duty, powerful magnets. The average user has virtually no chance of suffering serious or permanent damage from your everyday magnet. Still, we will caution you against testing this yourself.

We hope you found today’s article interesting! Be sure to let us know what other topics you’d like covered in future blog articles.

Your computer has a brain, of sorts, in its CPU… a tiny square that literally enables everything the device does, as it processes billions of instructions at a time. Of course, to support this on such a relatively tiny piece of hardware, most CPUs are packed with microscopic transistors—these transistors being small enough to fit hundreds on a single blood cell.

As you might imagine, this means things can go wrong pretty easily… and gone wrong, things have. Many newer computers are suffering from a bug that could cause permanent damage to the CPU… and if you don’t take steps fast, it could be too late.

High-End CPUs from Intel Come with an Unwanted Bug

Intel’s Raptor Lake CPUs can potentially disable themselves due to a bug that affects the high-end processors, particularly if the computer is overclocked. An overclocked computer is one configured to use additional electricity to enhance its performance.

Reportedly, if the CPU requests too much voltage—anything over 65 watts—the problem rears up and makes issues like errors, crashes, or total PC failure more likely.

While it was initially thought that only Raptor Lake CPUs suffered this issue, more reports suggest that more CPUs have seen similar issues. It is now thought that any 13th or 14th generation processor put out by Intel could have this problem, meaning that this issue could stretch to hardware purchased in late 2022.

Fortunately, most laptops will only use 5 to 20 watts, and office PCs in general will cap out at 65 watts unless it is specifically overclocked. It’s far more likely that higher-performance systems, such as those used for video editing, graphic design, or autoCAD, and personal gaming will be affected.

A Resolution is On the Way

As of this writing, Intel is continuing to work on a fix that will prevent processors from heating themselves out of commission. However, despite being called a patch, the fix won’t restore an already-damaged CPU. There is also no recall in place, so if you find yourself starting to experience issues, you may have to deal with the manufacturer directly.

That said, we should point out that most of our clients are unlikely to encounter these issues in their business machines. The affected machines are pretty exclusively upper-end, recent devices, and only exhibit the problem when overclocked. This is most common on gaming machines, which are sometimes overclocked by the manufacturer.

Regardless, this still serves as a valuable reminder that updates and patches are critical. Without this one, certain PCs could cook themselves from the inside out, all the while crashing and otherwise experiencing issues.

Don’t Let Security Patches Pass You By

Granted, you can still run into IT issues even if you keep up with your patches and security updates, but keeping your business’ IT maintained is important if only to keep your risk levels down. If there isn’t diligent maintenance happening on every piece of technology, you’re welcoming in potential risks.

We can help fix that. If you’d like assistance with the necessary management and maintenance of your business’ essential IT, give Coleman Technologies a call at (604) 513-9428.

When taking stock of your business assets, technology is particularly critical to pay attention to. Let’s discuss why this is and what you must do to manage it properly.

You Rely on Your IT Infrastructure, So Treat It as Such

There’s a lot that your IT enables you to accomplish every day—for most businesses, it’s the majority of their processes. This means that a lot is riding on your technology.

Resultantly, it needs more maintenance than just a scan here or an update there.

To properly take care of an IT infrastructure, there needs to be a comprehensive understanding of every component involved. You also need the tools required to keep track of these components and how well each is functioning—hardware and software alike—to ensure your productivity isn’t suspended needlessly.

As you do so, recorded documentation of your inventory can prove to be significantly valuable.

What Should Your Documentation Include?

Generally, it is a good idea to keep track of a few variables and details:

• All network-attached devices, from the network infrastructure to every endpoint and peripheral
• The date when each component on the network was added
• How each device is configured
• Every license your business holds, with their status
• A comprehensive service history

Having this information at your disposal will enable your IT administrator—whether they’re a part of your in-house team or a part of an outsourced team like ours here at Coleman Technologies—to be more strategic about your IT infrastructure. This includes how you plan out your future investments as well.

If you’d like to learn how we can provide this kind of service to you and your team, don’t hesitate to give us a call at (604) 513-9428 today!

It’s a common enough frustration—just as you really need it, your mobile device’s battery is on its last legs. This is something that we all would like to avoid if we could. That’s why we wanted to take the time to share a few ways to prolong your device’s battery life just a bit longer.

Five Tricks to Prolong Your Device’s Battery Life

While there are a few other means of keeping your device charged for longer, we figured it best to stick to the simplest and most cost-effective ones.

Avoid Apps that Drink Up Charge

Different applications will call for different things, and if those demands utilize more of the system’s resources, more power will be necessary to support them. Basically, the more computing that needs to be done, the more power will be used up. This is why using multiple apps at once eats away at your battery faster, too. Apps that keep the screen on, play video, or make your phone generally feel warm to the touch tend to be the ones that consume the most battery.

Keep Locked When Not Actively Using

Locking your phone offers a variety of benefits, not the least of which is the fact that it turns off the screen, thereby saving your device a considerable amount of power.

Update the OS

Your phone’s operating system effectively controls how the device works, which itself will influence how long its battery lasts. In fact, part of the improvements made during updates are generally related to battery optimization.

Therefore, an up-to-date OS and the bug fixes it brings often assists with battery performance and longevity.

Set Sleep Mode to Kick in Faster

As a power-saving measure, most mobile devices have a setting that will turn off the screen and suspend background processes until the phone is actively used once again. Once sleep mode is activated, it requires a password to disengage, making it a basic security feature as well as a power-saving one.

Minimize Notifications and Location Services

While both location services and notifications are meant to make a mobile device’s processes more convenient, they can also result in the battery being drained. Try turning off all non-essential notifications for less drain on the battery. Limiting location services to only kick in when an app is actively being used both maintains your privacy, and your battery!

Trust Coleman Technologies to Ensure Your Business IT Works as Well as Possible

Give us a call at (604) 513-9428 to find out what our managed IT services can do to improve your work processes!

Every organization, whether it’s a farm with a stable full of horses or an office with a stable filled with people, depends on its access to the Internet. Most people take for granted their ability to connect whether it be with their smartphone via Wi-Fi or their workstation, which is typically hardwired. There is a whole infrastructure behind the near ubiquitous Internet access you enjoy. Today, we will go through some of the essential hardware needed. 

Modem

A modem is used to convert digital data from a computer into analog signals for transmission over analog communication lines (such as cable or fiber) or vice versa. It’s the central device of your network as it allows for connection to the Internet. 

Router

Routers are a fundamental networking device that connects different networks together, such as your local network to the Internet. They route data packets between devices in your network and external networks.

Switch

Network switches are used to connect multiple devices within a local area network (LAN). They operate at the data link layer of the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model and forward data only to the device it is intended for.

Access Point 

Wireless access points are used to create or extend wireless networks. They allow Wi-Fi enabled devices to connect to a wired network.

Firewall

Firewalls are security devices that filter and monitor network traffic, helping to protect a network from unauthorized access, malware, and other security threats. They need to be updated regularly to ensure that you have all the necessary threat definitions covered.

Hub

Hubs are basic network devices that connect multiple devices in a Local Area Network (LAN). However, they operate at the physical layer and simply broadcast data to all connected devices, which can result in network congestion.

Network Attached Storage

Network Attached Storage (NAS) devices are specialized storage systems designed to store and manage data accessible over a network, providing file sharing and backup capabilities.

Many times modern networking forgoes the physical connections, but many businesses still employ all types of network connections and cables to facilitate the needs of their staff. If you would like to learn more about modern networking and how we can help you build a secure and robust network for your business, regardless of your business, give the IT professionals at Coleman Technologies a call today at (604) 513-9428.

Google’s Project Zero team has discovered 18 zero-day vulnerabilities impacting the Samsung Exynos modems—four of which enable remote code execution. Let’s talk about what this issue does, and what needs to be done to minimize risk.

These Threats are Severe and Need to Be Addressed

Without going too far into the weeds, some of these vulnerabilities—which, in addition to mobile devices, were also identified in wearables and vehicles—can be carried out with the attacker only knowing the target’s phone number and can give the attacker access to the device with no need for the target to provide access. In fact, a vulnerable device could be compromised without the target even being made aware.

Samsung’s list of impacted devices includes:

• Samsung mobile devices, including those in the S22, M33, M13, M12, A71, A53, A33, A21, A13, A12 and A04 series
• Vivo mobile devices, including those in the S16, S15, S6, X70, X60 and X30 series
• Google’s Pixel 6 and Pixel 7 series

Plus, any wearables that use the Exynos W920 chipset and vehicles with the Exynos Auto T5123 chipset are also impacted. It is also important to note that this is by no means an exhaustive list.

Patches Aren’t All Available as Of Yet, But There is a Fix

Because this issue impacts devices from so many vendors and manufacturers, patches aren’t necessarily available for everything that is going to be impacted. However, you should disable Wi-Fi calling and Voice-over-LTE to prevent the threat, and update your devices when patches are released.

For most of the common smartphones, like the recent Google Pixel phones and Samsung Galaxy phones, these updates were pushed out in the March security patch. If you own these devices, you need to make sure you apply these updates because not doing so will leave your device extremely vulnerable to attack.

We’re Here to Help You Manage the Complicated IT Businesses Require

Reach out to us for any assistance needed with implementing these fixes, or any of the rest of your IT. Call us at (604) 513-9428 today for help.

How Do Hard Drives Store Data?

A traditional mechanical hard drive, also known as an HDD, holds your data on small magnetic platters. These platters are layered on top of each other, with a small mechanical arm that rests above them. Think about a record player, with the arm and needle over the record, except you have many, many records stacked on top of each other.

Of course, a record player spins the record between 33 and 78 times per minute. Your hard drive typically spins the platters much faster, most of them clocking in at 7200 rotations per minute.

The platters spin so fast, that it creates a cushion of air that prevents the head of the arm from touching the surface of the platter while it spins. This is critical, because if the head (the needle, to continue with the record analogy) were to even graze the surface of the platter, it would destroy the data on the drive.

These hard drives are mechanical in nature. Just like your car, mechanical systems can and will fail eventually. The little motor in the drive can burn out, the spindle can cease up, and so forth. These issues will very likely make the hard drive inaccessible. Thus, your data is lost. Opening files, saving files, and general computer use (even web surfing) causes the hard drive to read and write data. You are always using it, and depending on its stability to protect your data.

(Of course, there are also SSD drives, which don’t utilize moving mechanical parts. These tend to be a little more shock resistant, but they aren’t immune to failure.)

Yet, we trust these devices every single day. If you have a computer or a laptop, you likely have one or two of these inside it. Your servers tend to have many more. Many of us have external hard drives we use to store data to take around with us. If they are using a mechanical-based hard drive, all of our data is at the mercy of several rapidly moving parts and a cushion of air.

This leads us to ask:

Why Would You Ever Rely on a Single Hard Drive?

If your data is only stored on a single hard drive, consider it at high risk. It only takes one tiny issue to lose it all.

Fortunately, preventing data loss is easier than ever. We help businesses establish thoroughly tested, highly-trusted backup solutions that ensure that no disaster will be able to destroy your data. That includes storing a copy of all of your data on a separate device within the office, and a copy stored securely offsite that you can access at any time. This means even a major disaster like a fire or flood doesn’t cause data loss.

Want to learn more? Give us a call at (604) 513-9428.

What’s the Difference Between the Shut Down and Restart Processes?

Before Windows 8, there was no difference whatsoever (aside from the obvious fact that Restart would start the device back up). This changed, however, with the introduction of Windows 8, and a new feature: Fast Startup.

Shut Down

Still present in Windows 10, Fast Startup shortens what was once a much longer start process after a user had clicked Shut Down.

While all a user’s files and programs are still shut down, the heart of the operating system is just put into standby mode. Please note that it does power down everything, unlike hibernate and standby. This makes it much easier for Windows to reactivate. However, since not all processes are completely stopped, present issues won’t be affected. Your problem will still be there the next time the workstation is turned on.

Restart

On the other hand, restarting the device actually does put a stop to all processes and resumes operations with a fresh boot on the motherboard level. This is why restarting your computer seems to take so long as compared to manually turning it off and on again.

So, the difference is really in the granularity of the shutdown process. Counterintuitively, “shutting down” a computer leaves more components active than a restart does, which is why restart is the process recommended when troubleshooting an issue.

So, while we may recommend that you “turn your computer off and on again,” or “reboot,” what we really mean is “restart your computer.”

For more assistance in dealing with pesky technology issues, lean on the managed services that Coleman Technologies provides. Learn more about what we offer by calling (604) 513-9428.

What is BlueKeep?

BlueKeep is a malware strain that was first discovered in May 2019, and was patched in short order to prevent it from becoming another situation like EternalBlue. EternalBlue was the exploit that allowed WannaCry to have such a considerable impact, especially on healthcare providers in the UK. Despite this precedent, however, many hospitals neglected to apply the necessary patches--and that isn’t even the worst part.

The worst part is that the three systems that BlueKeep impacts (Windows 7, Windows Server 2008, and Windows Server 2008 R2) share one thing in common: they have all passed their end-of-life date, and therefore no longer receive security updates.

This makes this situation a two-fold disaster. Not only have patches been released to mitigate BlueKeep, the systems affected by BlueKeep should not be in use anyways.

Of course, it only gets worse, and paints an unfortunate portrait of medical IT. A reported 22 percent of BlueKeep-vulnerable devices are yet unpatched. Worse, 45 percent of connected medical devices remain vulnerable, making things like x-rays, anesthesia machines, and other care-driven technology a risk to use.

Are you concerned about your organization’s technology?

Lean on the IT experts at Coleman Technologies for assistance. We can help any organization ensure that their technology won’t put their operations or their patrons in harm’s way. Learn more about what we can do by calling us at (604) 513-9428.

How to Tell How Old a Computer Is

When a computer starts to get too old, it can become a problem for productivity. In fact, to help avoid this, some even recommend replacing a work computer every four years… but how do you tell how old a work computer is in the first place?

This isn’t always as cut-and-dried as one would think it should be. Some computers and laptops will have a date right on the case, neat the serial number. If there is no date provided, a quick search for the serial number might give you an idea.

You can also check the components of your computer itself, using the System Information tool. In the Search Windows box, type in “sysinfo.’ From the results, access System Information and in the window that appears, you can find plenty of information to help you date the machine. For instance, if the BIOS of the device has never been upgraded, the date will likely tell you how old the machine is, more or less. Searching for other components can help you to confirm this estimate.

As a result, you can get a better idea of whether your computer’s issues are age-related, or if there’s something else creating problems.

Signs That Say It’s Time to Replace Your Computer

There are quite a few factors that can indicate when your computer is due to be retired. While these indicators can each be a sign that something else is going on with your machine, a combination of a few of them is a fairly reliable signal that you and your device will soon have to say goodbye:

• The computer is huge. In the interest of space, many modern devices are built to be compact, taking up less space than their predecessors did. While this isn’t a hard and fast rule (powerhouse workstations often take up a lot of space out of necessity), a larger, basic-function workstation or laptop is generally an older one.
  
  
• Startup and shutdown take forever. Again, there are a few different issues that could contribute to lengthy startup and shutdown times. Too many applications may be set to automatically run in the background, or your hard drive might be almost full. However, this is another common symptom of an aging device.
  
  
• You’re encountering hardware and software limitations. If your attempts to upgrade your computer’s hardware and software - especially security software - are stymied by a lack of interoperability or support, it’s probably time to consider replacing it. This is even more so the case if your work-essential solutions can’t be upgraded any further or runs slowly, or loading your applications takes notably long and they can’t efficiently run simultaneously.
  
  
• Your computer is loud. If the fans in your device (whether it’s a desktop or a laptop) run loud, it’s a sign that your computer either needs a good cleaning or needs a good replacing. If the issue persists after a thorough cleaning has taken place, that’s a sign that your hardware is working too hard, a sure sign of age-related issues.

If you feel that your hardware is due to be replaced, reach out to Coleman Technologies. We have the contacts to help you procure the equipment you need to remain productive and offer the support to keep this equipment going. Call us at (604) 513-9428.

Generally speaking, microchips in computers are made out of a variety of materials, but the most common is silicon. These microchips are responsible for acting as semiconductors and give your devices the ability to perform various tasks. We’ll get into the details about a couple of them here.

Memory
One of the more notable uses of microchips in devices includes temporarily storing data. These kinds of chips have a familiar name that you’ve probably heard before--Random Access Memory, or RAM. As long as the chip is receiving power, it can store data on the device. Once the device is turned off and the chips are no longer receiving power, this temporary data is wiped. Depending on what the device is used for, the computer might have many RAM chips installed on it; otherwise, the device will be slowed down considerably by resource-intensive tasks.

Microprocessors
Microprocessors have a lot to do with your device’s CPU, or central processing unit. You’ll often hear the comparison of a CPU to the brain of the human body. The CPU is responsible for processing all of the programmable commands on the device. Microprocessors generally rely on logic to function as intended. Of course, depending on the kind of device, various strength microprocessors will need to be used, as the same kind of microprocessor won’t work for every single kind of device out there.

Other Kinds of Chips
Depending on the device used, you might find various device-specific chips in use. For example, some devices that have cameras might have chips specifically designed for use with video recording or picture taking. Others that have networking abilities might have chips designed for use with those. Basically, chips are responsible for both the everyday functionality of your devices, as well as some of the specific, more advanced features that not everyone will be using.

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The holidays are over and some of the best gifts are ones that replace our dead and dying electronics with shiny new ones. Then comes the matter of discarding your old devices. In today’s blog, we will discuss what you should and shouldn’t do when looking to get rid of your old devices. 

Why Recycling Your Old Tech Matters

Modern devices are packed with materials that can harm the environment if not disposed of properly. For example, lithium batteries, found in most gadgets today, can explode or leak dangerous chemicals if thrown away carelessly. Even small electronic items, like singing greeting cards, need special handling to avoid causing harm.

A simple rule to follow: don’t toss it in the trash if it's electronic.

What to Do with Your Old Devices

Check What You Have

Before throwing anything out, review your old tech. Could it still be useful? Consider repairing and donating items like laptops, tablets, or phones to schools, charities, or people in need. This helps others, keeps your technology organized, and reduces waste.

Stay Organized

Not every device needs to be replaced. Keep a record of your tech inventory to know what’s still in good shape and what needs replacing. This will help you make smarter decisions about upgrades and maintenance.

Recycle Responsibly

Most electronics, from old phones to smart toys, can be recycled. Many manufacturers offer recycling programs, and local governments often partner with facilities that accept electronic waste. These services can safely process your gadgets and keep harmful materials out of the environment.

Need Help with Business Tech Recycling?

If you’re managing technology for a business, proper disposal is even more important. Our team at Coleman Technologies can guide you through recycling your old equipment and setting up new tools to meet your goals for the year ahead.

Call us at (604) 513-9428 to get started. Let’s make this year productive—and sustainable.

Businesses Depend on IT

There are a lot of different pieces of technology that go into a business, and like a puzzle they all need to fit together and work. So where do all of these puzzle pieces come from? Let’s examine different types of technology.

Servers and Networking

Here are two scenarios, and the different methods businesses use to handle them:

Walter’s business is growing extremely quickly, but his servers are the same ones he’s been using for years. He realizes he is running low on storage space, and his increasing staff puts pressure on him to upgrade his server. Walter manages to cobb something together, hoping it will suffice for the time being. When Walter attempts to merge his servers into one slightly larger server, he misconfigured a few components resulting in downtime for his entire staff. Not only has he wasted his own time, but now he is experiencing the most expensive segment of downtime he has ever experienced. 

Jesse, on the other side of town, also is experiencing extraordinary growth. Jesse however, makes a simple phone call to his managed service provider. He is connected to a professional, who advises Jesse on server options that will sufficiently support his growing business. His managed service provider not only points him in the right direction, but also comes on site to install this new technology. Jesse knows he isn’t a tech know-it-all, so he leaves deployment of servers to the professionals. His business is ready for increased data storage that same week he decided it was time to expand. 

Workstations

Your business’ employees are only capable of what their technology can handle. When it comes time to upgrade or add additional workstations, there are a few options one can take. Let’s see how our two business owners handle these situations.

Walter, who is an impulse spur of the moment shopper, sees what he believes is a fantastic deal on eBay. He decides that these second-hand computers will be able to handle all of his employee’s programs without issue. However, upon arrival Walter notices that his computers are missing a few components. It turns out that the eBay listing was actually for five home-made computers that the builder was never able to get to operate properly, rather than complete working PCs. Overlooking the description just set him back a large amount of money, and the computer repair shop charges nearly as much as a brand new PC would have. 

Jesse, has a few empty desks he would like to fill with capable computers as well as a few new employees. He reaches out to his managed service provider to discuss which computer might fit the needs of his business. The professionals are able to use their connections to get Jesse a fantastic deal, and most importantly, the purchase of the computers comes with free installation.

Software as a Service

What good would a computer be without the necessary software? Businesses should be utilizing the latest and greatest software. There are a few different approaches a business owner can take to procure the necessary software to boost productivity within the office.

Walter knows that software can be expensive, so he decides to torrent a few versions hoping that he doesn’t get caught. Unfortunately, however, Walter is exposed as a fraud and his business is the center of attention for all things media. His business suffers massively, and he wishes he had spent a fortune on the software instead. 

Jesse too knows how expensive software can be. Unlike Walter, he once again leans on his managed service provider. They offer what is known as software-as-a-service. This service gives you all the latest and greatest software, for a low monthly cost. It’s like renting a tool, as opposed to buying it outright. Not only does this tool come with free installation as well as support, but it doesn’t set Jesse back a large sum of money. He is able to give his employees all of the programs they need to proficiently do their jobs. 

Which Experience Sounds More Enjoyable?

If you had a choice to be Jesse or Walter, which would you choose? Managed services truly offer support for all of your business needs. If you would like to learn more, reach out to our professionals by calling Coleman Technologies at (604) 513-9428 today!

It is important to keep modern computers clean, and laptops are no exception. However, a laptop's different form factor makes cleaning it much different from cleaning a traditional desktop computer.

Let’s review the process that someone seeking to clean their laptop should follow, broken down between the different components.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN: Make sure you have backed up all your data, then turn off the device and unplug it. While we’re going to stick to safe methods of cleaning a laptop, accidents happen, so let’s mitigate most of the issues before there’s a risk of them taking place.

How to Clean a Laptop’s Chassis

• Use a microfiber cloth, very lightly dampened with water or a dedicated laptop cleaning fluid, to wipe down the exterior of your device. Be careful around ports and vents to avoid introducing moisture to the laptop's interior.
• Use compressed air to clean all vents and ports, applying it at an angle so debris isn’t pushed further in.
• If your laptop’s documentation confirms you can, gently open the back to clean vents, ports, and fans with compressed air. Make sure doing so won’t void any warranties.

How to Clean a Laptop’s Keyboard

• Carefully lift up your laptop and, with it upside-down, gently shake it to dislodge any crumbs from the keyboard.
• Use a microfiber towel to wipe down the keyboard, and use compressed air to clear out additional debris.
• If the laptop features removable keycaps, remove and replace one first to ensure you can do so. If you aren’t sure, however, don’t try removing the keys or keycaps.

How to Clean a Laptop’s Screen

• Use a microfiber cloth to wipe your screen, dampening it slightly if necessary.
• Use water, a 70% isopropyl alcohol solution, or a dedicated screen cleaning solution, avoiding other household cleaners.
• Use slow, circular motions to avoid creating streaks.

Hopefully, these tips will help you properly clean your laptop. Just be careful to avoid damaging your device.