Coleman Technologies Blog

Two-Hour Solution

Roger Seip, author of Train Your Brain for Success, took a proactive and prepared look at productivity by developing his Two-Hour Solution. The idea is to take two hours to plan out a schedule to follow each week, based on how your plans and goals culminated the week before. Investing this time should allow you to make the most of your available time to accomplish what you want to accomplish.

The reason that this is different than simply going over your calendar each week is the fact that, if guided by the Two-Hour Solution, you’re figuring out how the time you’re spending contributes to your goals. “Green time” is time that helps you generate financial capital, while your “red time” is the time that you spend preparing for green time, without generating any profit. To account for the wrench in the works that would ordinarily throw off your schedule, you also include “flex time” to provide a buffer. What’s left is your “re-creation” time, where you recover from your productive endeavors by doing the things you want to do.

Prioritizing

Steven Covey is an educator and a businessman who came up with a philosophy to living a full life that can also apply to life in the office.

Consider your big priorities, your more flexible responsibilities, and your rote tasks in the workplace as large rocks, smaller stones, and sand, respectively. Your time is a bucket, ready to be filled with these items as you see fit.

Let’s say you decide to start with the “sand,” before trying to cram in the “rocks” and “stones.” Chances are pretty good that you won’t be able to accomplish very much at all, at least nothing of any circumstance. However, if you prioritize the more impactful rocks, then the stones, and fill in the rest of the space with your sand, your bucket—or workday—is then used as productively as possible, and anything you didn’t get to complete isn’t of consequence.

Two-Minute Rule

While there are countless variables that can potentially influence the amount of time a task will take to complete, you eventually get a feeling for the typical duration, right? So, some tasks can predictably take a significant amount of time, while others take almost no time at all to make it through. The idea of the Two-Minute Rule, thought up by productivity consultant David Allen, takes advantage of that difference. His strategy: if a task will take two minutes or less, do it.

If that seems too simple, it kind of is. The philosophy behind the Two-Minute Rule is to build up your motivation to tackle the larger responsibilities by successfully completing smaller tasks. Think about it—every task, regardless of how large it is, can be broken into smaller, more manageable chunks, chunks that can take mere minutes to complete. Once you’ve completed enough of these two-minute tasks, it only makes sense to see the greater responsibility through… and with the progress you’ve already made supporting you, completing it seems that much more feasable. 

The Blastoff Method

Entrepreneur and motivational speaker Mel Robbins devised this practice to help overcome the mental blocks that encourage us to procrastinate rather than doing things that are good for us. Robbins posits that, by hesitating, we put the brain into “protection” mode—by thinking about everything that needs to be done between point A and point B, your brain ultimately prevents you from doing what you need to do. However, if that hesitation can be avoided, your productivity (or, by Robbins’ original theory, your well-being) will see benefits.

Her solution is to close the gap that hesitation creates between your capability to do a task and your perception of that task. Her recommendation is to, quite literally, treat yourself like a rocket and count down to your action. Focus on counting down…5,4,3,2,1… and act immediately, before your thoughts get in the way.

Scientifically, by doing so, you are bypassing a behavioral process and resetting an established habit loop… allowing better, more productive habits to be created instead. Give it a try next time you encounter a task you want to avoid starting.

Create a Time Crunch

We’ll wrap up with another method that Roger Seip came up with. If you really feel you work better on a deadline, add a bit of a hurdle as you are scheduling your “green time” … give yourself less time than you think you’ll need. The pressure can help you to focus. Naturally, you need to avoid any flex time you have assigned for this to work.

What methods do you use to keep yourself focused and productive? Do any of these approaches sound like something you want to try? Let us know in the comments!

For the technology solutions that can also help you improve your practical productivity, talk to us! Give us a call at (604) 513-9428 to discuss your options.

Summer is here, and sometimes, your technology pays the price. In today’s blog, we’ll discuss some ways to protect your tech as you travel and enjoy the nice weather.

Keeping Devices Safe While Traveling

Don't let cyber criminals ruin your summer plans. Protect your devices with these tips:

Install Updates Before You Travel

Keep your software and devices up to date to close any vulnerabilities hackers might exploit. This can also prevent the need for urgent updates using unreliable hotel Wi-Fi or mobile data.

Avoid Public Wi-Fi

Assume unknown public networks are compromised. Avoid using untrusted Wi-Fi, but if you must, ensure websites you visit use  “https://” instead of “http://” and avoid transmitting personal or sensitive information.

Backup Important Data

Backup your mobile data, such as contacts, photos, and videos, to prevent loss if your device is lost, stolen, or damaged. Sync your data with another device, like a laptop or desktop.

Activate "Find My" Features

Enable the "Find My Device" feature on your phones, tablets, and laptops. This feature allows you to track your device's location if it’s lost or stolen, as long as it’s turned on and connected to the internet.

Keeping Your Electronics Cool

Here are a few tips to keep your technology cool when it gets hot.

Provide Ventilation

To extend the lifespan of your devices, ensure they have adequate ventilation. Leave a gap of 2-to-3 inches around them and keep the vents free from obstructions. Most electronics have vents on the back or side that draw in cool air and expel hot air, so make sure these aren't blocked.

Keep Away from Heat Sources

Avoid placing your computer and other electronics in direct sunlight or near windows. Position them in the airflow of a fan or air conditioner for optimal cooling. Since heat rises, store your devices on lower levels of your home when possible.

Clean Devices Regularly

Fans in your devices help keep them cool, but dust, dirt, and hair can slow them down or cause them to stop. Use compressed air to clean out dust and keep all vents clear.

Power Down When Overheating

If a device overheats and malfunctions, turn it off and disconnect the power supply immediately. Allow it to cool down before using it again. Ensure it’s not stacked with other devices and that the area around it is clear to prevent future overheating.

To gain more insights on how to utilize technology best, keep coming back to our blog.

We talk a lot (and we mean a lot) about cybersecurity, with ransomware getting a lot of our focus…and for very good reason. Ransomware is a huge threat that today’s businesses need to be prepared to deal with. In light of this, we wanted to share a few tips to help you avoid the negative ramifications of ransomware.

Keep Stock of Your Network and Its Protections

When you consider how many potential access points an attacker has to target your business’ network with ransomware—or any other threat, for that matter—it can be really concerning, really quickly. In short, there are a lot of ways that your business could be targeted, so you need to take the time and ensure they are all sufficiently protected. All internet-facing applications need to be fully up-to-date, every endpoint needs to be locked down, and your team all needs to be educated to help lock down security further.

The key is that you need to be aware of these needs in order to do anything about them, so make sure you’re paying attention.

Protect Your Data Through Backups

Your business relies on its data, and as such, your data is a prime target for cybercrime. The entire point of ransomware is to take advantage of this reliance, cutting off your access to it in order to coerce a payment out of you—a payment that you’re more motivated to make as your business drags to a halt without its essential resources. However, this all hinges on the fact that you wouldn’t have access to your data. If you maintain your access to this data (by keeping it safely backed up, for instance) you’ve eliminated what makes ransomware so effective, allowing you to purge the infection and start fresh.

If you aren’t sure how you should be handling your backups, you don’t have to worry. All you need to do is call (604) 513-9428 for our help.

Train Your Team

One extremely common way that ransomware is spread is through various means of manipulating your business’ users, like phishing messages, malicious attachments, and infected downloads. You can help minimize your risk by educating yourself and your team members on how to identify risks and avoid them appropriately. Remind them not to open or click on unexpected attachments or links, not to plug in random devices they’ve found, and generally act in a more secure way.

Coleman Technologies can not only help keep your business productive, but secure and resilient as well. Learn more about what we can do by giving us a call today at (604) 513-9428.

We all know companies collect a lot of data. After all, your business is no exception to this rule, and you likely collect significant consumer data to facilitate operations. But if you get the itch to protect your personal privacy (and you should), there are ways to limit how much advertisers, criminals, and other companies can gain access to. Here are just a couple of ways.

Actually Read the Privacy Policies and Reports

Apps and websites take in a lot of data, but you have more control over it than you think.

For example, scroll to the Data Collection section of any website’s privacy policy. You’ll see notes for what data the app or service collects, how the company stores it, and how it uses that information. App stores also contain information that can shed some light on how they use your data, so take note of that whenever you download a new app (and be sure to check the permissions too while you’re at it!).

Depending on the country and regulations associated, companies may have to email you notifications about policy changes and security issues, so pay attention and be your own advocate for data privacy.

Opt Out of Data Collection

Some companies have begun to use customer data to train generative AI tools, which doesn’t sit well with consumers.

We recommend that you do what you can to limit data collection whenever and wherever possible. Oftentimes you’ll find information on data removal in your user settings, as is the case with most platforms that use generative AI in some way. If you can significantly reduce the number of apps and services that use your data in this way, you’ll be in a lot better shape.

After all, you don’t know what the data is used for unless the company explicitly tells you.

Give Them Bad Data

Have you ever looked at a sign-up form for an app or website and wondered, “Why do I need to give them this information?”

For some apps, certain information might be needed, like your name, email, or date of birth. Other times, the website or app might ask for completely irrelevant data that does not affect how you use the service. In cases like this, there’s no reason to offer the information, and it would be foolish to do so without knowing why the data is collected.

You’re also free to not accept cookies on many websites, despite those increasingly large banners that claim otherwise.

Ready to Take Security More Seriously?

The big reason to be aware of personal data privacy and security: you’ll be more likely to protect that of your customers.

We know security is a nightmare to handle logistically, which is why we do all the heavy lifting for businesses just like yours. With Coleman Technologies, you can know your business will always be doing what it can to stave off attacks against its consumers’ privacy.

To learn more, call us at (604) 513-9428.

Tip #1: No Fear
Sometimes technology can be a tad bit intimidating, especially when people are expecting you to quickly grasp a concept with little-to-no experience. The best thing you can do is not be afraid of screwing up. After all, there aren’t many actions you can take with a computer that will break the machine, the applications you are using, or the file you are working on. If you don’t have much experience with the computer and you want to learn anything from this blog today, learn that Ctrl+Z will undo. Having a good understanding that Ctrl+Z will undo your last action in almost every application you are going to use should give you the confidence you need to stop worrying about possible failure.

Tip #2: Liberally Use Search Engines
For the computer novice, it can sometimes be intimidating to try to find applications and files within an operating system. No matter what problems you come across, keep in mind that the Internet is the world’s greatest troubleshooting guide, and you only need to know how to open your browser to get at it (on modern machines, you may not need even that). Once you have your browser open, simply type your search query in the address bar. It will return results. You may have to dig through the results, or alter your search perimeters slightly, but you will be able to find the answers to the problems you are having with the help of a search engine.

Tip #3: Learn Keyboard Shortcuts
This is typically for speed. If you can quickly learn a few basic shortcuts, you will enhance your ability to control your computer tenfold. Here are a few suggestions to get you started:

• Ctrl+A - Select all
• Ctrl+C - Copy selected content
• Ctrl+X - Cut selected content`
• Ctrl+Z - Undo (Seriously, this one is crucial.)
• Ctrl+Y - Redo

There are many more depending on the application you are working in. Most applications will provide their shortcuts under their Help menu. Learning these will quickly make you a much more proficient user.

Tip #4: Find Your Comfort Zone
When Michael Jordan first picked up a basketball, he wasn’t a natural, so how can anyone expect to use something as complex as a computer proficiently right off the bat? If you are a new user, or just someone that isn’t proficient with a computer yet, stick to what you know. If you have a series of applications you feel some level of skillfulness with, stick to them. While our first tip suggests that you shouldn’t have fear, that mainly pertains to navigating your way around a computer, not the frustration a user can build when they continuously make mistakes. If you want to enjoy your time on the computer, stick to the applications you know, and you will have a good time.

We want everyone to remember that there was a time when we were all new to the computer; and, since computer skills are now an expectation of almost any career path (not to mention a major form of communication), learning your way around a computer will improve your standard of living. Do you have any other tips you could suggest to new users to keep them engaged and improving? Leave them in the comments section below.

Be Prepared to Lose Power
Electricity is perhaps the most important part of using technology in the workplace, as without it, the devices that empower your business’ operations just won’t function. In some cases, you might suddenly lose power, leading to data loss and other disaster scenarios that could strike your business down if you’re not prepared for them. With progress grinding to a halt, downtime will ensue, creating a considerable loss for your business.

Even if you’re not losing power, an excessive amount of it can create a surge, damaging the infrastructure itself and harming the individual components that make it up. It’s ultimately in your best interest to take measures against these events, as you made an investment that needs a substantial return. Surge protectors can be helpful to prevent excessive power from crippling these important machines, but in some cases, you’ll want a more powerful solution. An uninterruptible power supply, or UPS device, can help your servers, workstations, and other important technology shut down properly in the event of a power outage or surge, giving you the ability to minimize damage done.

Maintain a Steady Internet Connection
The Internet is an invaluable tool that can help your business succeed, and the Internet plays a larger role in its functionality than it ever has before. A lack of Internet ultimately becomes downtime for many organizations, as they depend on the Internet for various services and communications. More often than not, there’s nothing you can do about a lack of Internet if it comes from your service provider. To keep this kind of downtime from sinking operations, many businesses have implemented backup Internet connections, just in case they ever have to use it. This comes with a downside--you’ll have to maintain that connection--but it will likely be worth the investment if you ever need it.

Place Boundaries on Your Staff
Even the best employees are known to make mistakes from time-to-time. While you can trust them for the most part, nobody is perfect, nor should you expect them to be. Some might even try to implement their own solutions with the intention of making their jobs easier and more efficient. This is called shadow IT, and it can be dangerous. You have no way of knowing whether it’s putting your business at risk. You can implement measures to ensure that your employees aren’t downloading unauthorized applications through the use of administrator and user privileges. If you limit what your users can do with their machines, then you have less to worry about.

Coleman Technologies can help your business ensure managing IT doesn’t become a hassle. To learn more, reach out to us at (604) 513-9428.

Once you have your content selected, whether it’s text or an image, all you have to do is press two keys.

To cut a word or phrase from one place in your content, press Ctrl + X. To copy this content instead, keeping the original and duplicating it elsewhere, press Ctrl + C. Pasting your content is just as simple - with the place you want the content added selected, press Ctrl + V. This will insert your content where you want.

If you happen to be copy-pasting from a website to another document, it may not be a bad idea to paste it without bringing any formatting from the website over. Otherwise, it is apt to look funny on your documents. Pasting without formatting is almost as simple as regular pasting, you just add another keystroke in the middle: Ctrl + Shift + V.

Of course, any of the tasks can be accomplished with the mouse alone. Right clicking on a word, an image, or a group of selected text will bring up a menu that includes all of the above options. However, your cursor is generally more accurate than the mouse, so you may have to undo your efforts (Ctrl + Z) a few times before it’s right.

Real World Example:
Let’s say you want to send a webpage link to someone in an email or instant message. In your web browser, click the address bar (that’s the part with the ‘http://… “). That will highlight the URL. Hold down Ctrl and press C. Then go into your email or instant messenger, click where you want to paste the URL, and hold down Ctrl and press V.

Whichever you use, it’s bound to be more time-efficient than rewriting anything that needs to go in a different spot. Make sure you subscribe to our blog, so you can be alerted whenever we upload more content!

What is Breadcrumb Navigation?
As per the aforementioned fairy tale, breadcrumb navigation consists of a path leading home. In this case, home is the homepage. With breadcrumb navigation, you can more easily keep track of how you got to the current web page you’re on, as well as the path back to the home page. This path can typically be viewed at the top of the page. Each step includes a link that navigates back to a specific page.

Let’s say that you’re looking at a service page on a website. If the path you took leads back to the home page, you’ll see all of the pages in between in the breadcrumbs menu. For the sake of this example, let’s say the pages in between are the second menu item and the fifth menu item. It would look something like this:

Home > [Menu 2] > [Menu Item 5]

Since these breadcrumbs are links, you can click on any one of them to be brought back to that page. This lets you continue browsing with minimal chance of getting lost on the site trying to backtrack.

More Than Just Websites
You might notice that this navigation style is similar to the ones used in toolbars in file folders or files saved on your desktop. The reason is the same--it makes finding certain files easier at a later date. The location can also be shared with others who need to know where it is.

Breadcrumbs are typically meant for helping users with browsing and organization. Are there any other features out there you can think of that do the same thing? Let us know in the comments.

Rotate the Document

It is very easy to accidentally scan a document into your computer so that it doesn’t appear upright on your display. A program like Adobe Acrobat Pro offers an in-menu option that allows you to do just that - in Document, find Rotate Pages. This option will allow you to select the pages that need to be rotated, and how to rotate them. Other programs may feature a toolbar button that allows you to rotate each page.

Fixing your pages, despite taking a few moments of time, is certainly a worthwhile thing to do, as it makes the document easier to read, promoting accuracy and convenience.

Password Protecting the Document

As long as the person or people who need to see a particular PDF have the proper password, protecting the document in question with a password is a generally good idea - especially if it contains “for your eyes only” information. To make these files as secure as possible, make sure that the passwords are distributed through secure means.

In Word, you can save your files as a PDF using the “Save as” function, simply selecting the PDF option as you do so. You will also see a button offering More options, which brings up a second dialogue box where you can find “encrypt document with a password” in that box’s Options button. By selecting encrypt document with a password, you will have the option to provide a password (and confirm it). At that point, anyone opening the PDF will need to enter that password to view it.

Merging PDF Files

It isn’t uncommon for different parts of the same document to be saved as different PDF files, or for multiple copies to be saved with different information filled in. It is usually better to have all of this information consolidated, to make reviewing it much easier. While many free and paid software titles can allow you to do this, you should reach out to us before you select one, as we can help you make the right choice for your needs - you probably don’t want the program’s watermark on your finished document, or find yourself needing to merge more documents than a free program will allow.

If you’ve already acquired Adobe Acrobat, merging your files is fairly simple. After opening the program, access the Tools menu and select Combine files. Doing so will give you the ability to Add Files… and once you have selected all of the files that should create your new PDF, click Combine. Once they are combined, clicking Save as will allow you to store it where it belongs.

Signing a PDF

Many times, a contract that needs to be signed will arrive as a PDF. While many resort to printing these documents out to sign them, there is an easier way - signing them electronically.

This time, the free Adobe Reader software can get the job done, but you should still check with your IT resource before using it.

If Adobe Reader is approved and installed by IT, you can easily sign PDFs electronically. By opening the PDF file with Reader, you have access to a Fill & Sign button. Click it, then Sign and Add signature. You’ll then have access to three options:

• Type - you simply type your name into the field, and an electronic signature is rendered (which will not look like yours).
• Draw - you use your mouse to draw out your signature.
• Image - you use a scanned image of your actual signature that is then saved for future use.

Once you’ve positioned your signature where it should be, click apply and make sure you save your revised PDF.

Always remember to check with your IT team before you download any software! For more IT tips and other useful pieces, make sure you subscribe to our blog!

Properly Managing Your Email Like a Professional

Let’s not split hairs here: checking your email throughout the day can be a major waste of time. In order to avoid sinking time you could otherwise spend productively on reading (and re-reading) emails, there are a few habits you could develop.

Impose Rules on Your Email Habits

As we’ve said, repeatedly checking your email throughout the day can very quickly become a waste of your time. To avoid this, schedule times throughout your day to commit to checking your email. Once your time is up, stop until your next scheduled time.

We’ve all also accumulated emails that we simply don’t need to read. As harsh as it may seem, archive these emails, or unsubscribe as they come in to keep your inbox clean based on the subject line or the sender.

Managing Important Emails

Admittedly, not every email that comes in will be a waste of time. However, an overstuffed inbox can make it easy to miss something important. To avoid this issue, utilize folders to file your emails so that your inbox doesn’t become overfilled.

If Time is Left, Return to Your Inbox

If you finish your other tasks, return to your inbox and review your messages in order of importance. If you happen to run out of time, stop your review until your next opportunity. As you review your emails, don’t be afraid to unsubscribe to emails that aren’t important to your tasks.

Don’t Be Afraid to Leverage Filters and Labels

Filters and labels can help you to keep your emails more automatically organized. Your filters/labels should be relevant to their content. One can contain messages from a certain sender or pertain to a certain topic. As a result, you will be able to more easily keep your emails organized.

Rules like these can also keep you from having to deal with automatic replies, like out-of-office autoresponders and similar replies that you don’t need to receive.

What other emails have gotten in the way of your productivity? Let us know… we might cover them in a future blog! For more information, subscribe to our blog!

You might have noticed that some of your younger workers are leaving your business much earlier than you might expect them to. This could be because of a phenomenon called “shift shock,” which examines employee engagement and satisfaction. Let’s consider how shift shock could potentially harm your business.

Defining Shift Shock

The term shift shock was first coined by Kathryn Minshew, the CEO and co-founder of The Muse—a values-based career platform. Minshew explains shift shock as a new employee's feeling when their new position is not what they hoped it would be.

The Muse further surveyed their audience members and found that 72% of respondents had experienced this lack of alignment at some point.

If these numbers worry you, get a load of these other ones:

• 29% of respondents said that their feelings of shift shock included both a job’s responsibilities and the company itself
• 41% would tolerate shift shock for two to six months as a new hire
• 48% indicated that shift shock would inspire them to try returning to their previous job

Getting Down to the Bottom of Shift Shock

Various factors contribute to shift shock in the workplace, including:

The Workplace Culture Doesn’t Match Worker Mentalities

The people who can adopt the mentality that work is a part of their personality tend to eventually overwork themselves. When a workplace actively encourages this type of behavior, this type of culture can lead to employee absenteeism and lower retention rates, forcing employers to find new hires once again.

Young workers, on the other hand, are fighting this workplace mentality by establishing that they will not tolerate this type of working environment. They are much more interested in meaningful work and maintaining a healthy work/life balance.

Skills and Talents Are Being Underutilized

Most young workers are eager to enter the workforce and put their degrees and proficiencies to the test. However, those who cannot find and secure positions in their areas of expertise might be disheartened when the job doesn’t utilize their degrees at all. About half of degree holders hold positions that don’t require a degree, and employers take this to mean that there is a talent shortage.

There is Little Transparency with Hiring Practices and Workplace Culture

Many individuals look at the job interview as a potential employee trying to make a good impression, but in reality, it takes two to interview. The employer also needs to make the effort to attract top talent, and if their hiring practices are misleading, the new hire will find out quickly and leave just as fast as they accepted the offer.

Policies Promised are Barely Present, If At All

Remote work is hardly a perk anymore. These days, if anything, the younger generation has come to expect it. Despite recent events showing that it is possible and beneficial to allow remote work in some capacity, many companies still resist it. If an employee applies for, interviews for, and accepts a job that is advertised as remote-eligible, they will be shift-shocked and burned when they discover that it is, in fact, not.

Your Business Can Avoid Shift Shock

If you want to limit the effects of shift shock on your business, you need to work to provide as much transparency throughout the hiring process as possible. If you offer your new hires a clear vision of what to expect, you'll have won half the battle. Be sure to establish realistic expectations right from the start, though.

Of course, you must also follow through on your end of the bargain. If you promise something, then work to make it happen. Proper technology and training can enable much of what you promise to your younger team members, including remote work.

If you’re ready to take the next step and ensure that your team has all the technology you promised them, then don’t wait any longer. Get started by calling us today at (604) 513-9428!

We are always writing about how useful technology is, but it’s surprising how little even the most committed techie knows about the options that are available to them. In this week’s blog we decided to go through three features in the Windows OS that can be a big help. 

Built-in Dictation

One tip that not many people know about is the built-in dictation feature in the newer versions of the Windows operating system. All you need to do is type Windows key + H. This will open the dictation toolbar. This allows you to use speech to fill out any text field inside of windows.

Focus Assist

With so many distractions it's not a surprise that we keep getting interrupted from our work. Notifications are built-in to almost every app, and they can be a little much sometimes. Windows offers the Focus Assist feature that will work to keep you focused and on track. 

Simply go to Settings > System > Focus Assist.

Once open, you can configure the software to automatically turn on during certain times. In the Focus Assist settings you can fully customize the priority of the notifications so that important messages come through but that notification from Amazon about the tent you want to buy can be tabled for later. 

Use Multiple Desktops

One really neat feature that Microsoft has rolled out over the past few iterations of Windows is the multiple desktop feature. It allows users to separate whole projects from one another and allow them to move between them seamlessly. 

To access this feature you can right-click on the taskbar and go to Taskbar Settings. Once there you need to toggle on the Task view option. This will create a Task view icon just to the right of the start icon on the taskbar. Push it and you can create a whole new desktop environment (with its own background) to help keep your work organized.

Windows has long been one of the most important business tools and with Windows 10 and Windows 11, Microsoft has created operating systems filled with cool features and resources. If you want to learn more great tips and tricks, visit our blog again soon.

There are a few kinds of vendors, offering various things to businesses like assorted supplies, equipment, and services. One kind of vendor that has grown increasingly crucial in particular, is that which delivers cloud services to businesses. Due to the expansion of the cloud’s utility in all kinds of business purposes, the choice of a vendor has also expanded in importance.

How to Select the Right Vendor, for Cloud Services and Otherwise
This is going to require some preemptive research and consideration of your own goals. Once you’ve determined your priorities in both the short and long-term, you and your IT resources should examine your available options to see which vendor is most compatible - and that’s in more ways than one.

Not only should your vendor offer what you need at a reasonable rate, there should be some consistency in the goals that your organization and theirs have. You also need to be able to trust your vendor to attend to the services agreed upon, whether that’s a managed agreement or a simple equipment procurement.

How Cloud Services are Different
However, your vendors for your cloud services should be held to a somewhat higher standard - after all, your data is going to be at stake. Therefore, it is important that they be graded differently than your other vendors would be.

Before committing to a cloud service provider; or a cloud strategy in earnest, there are two considerations that must be examined. First, what data is your vendor going to be able to access, and second, what applications can your vendor access as well?

After this initial consideration, you need to also take other factors into account, like how business-critical a said process is, how compliant they are to certain policies, and how much risk is involved in a given action. From there, you can establish if a particular cloud vendor is a good fit or not.

At Coleman Technologies, we can technically be considered a vendor ourselves, as we provide our managed services to other businesses. As such, we’d like you to consider us a candidate for your IT needs. Give us a call at (604) 513-9428 for more information.

Antivirus is a staple security solution for businesses and everyday PC users, but have you ever considered how it works? By thinking through some of the details, you might gain a greater understanding of how antivirus works, what it does, and why you need to keep it updated. Today, we’re going to discuss just that, starting from square one.

First, the Threats

Antivirus is designed to detect threats on your company’s network, but how exactly does it do that?

It’s all based on threat definitions, an idea that is known as signature-based detection. Antivirus software typically has a long running list of viruses and other types of threats called a signature database against which your computer cross-checks. When you download a file or program, the antivirus software will see if it can find a match, and if it does, it blocks the file from being opened.

Since threats are constantly evolving, you need to ensure you’re using up-to-date threat definitions, otherwise your antivirus won’t be able to identify threats it doesn’t know to search for.

Next, the Search for Suspicious Behavior

Since not all threats are found in the aforementioned signature database, the antivirus software has to use different metrics to discover potential threats on your network.

Antivirus software can detect suspicious behavior to see if an application or program is acting the way it should. It might catch a program changing settings behind the scenes, for example. Once the antivirus software has identified potential suspicious behavior, it can take steps to block it.

You can think of it like a security system that catches criminal activity in the act, then uses the evidence to issue a “sentence.”

Finally, Quarantining and Removal

Cyberthreats are dangerous, and they need to be addressed as such.

Antivirus tools will lock threats into a quarantine where they can be safely handled by your security team. While in quarantine, it cannot cause you any more harm. From here, a security professional like our team at Coleman Technologies can remove the threat from your infrastructure without any risk of further damage.

Of course, it’s not always a clean removal in this way, and some threats are more resilient and sticky than others, but rest assured that an antivirus is one of the best ways to keep your business safe while conducting business online.

Want Real-Time Protection Today?

We’re sure you’re already using an antivirus tool, but is it the right one for your business? We can equip your business with an enterprise-grade antivirus solution that will keep it safe for the long haul. Learn more by calling Coleman Technologies at (604) 513-9428 today.

Sure - if you want to limit how you can leverage it to your business’ advantage. Here, we’ve assembled a few features that you can use to make YouTube a better resource for your business.

First Up: YouTube’s Keyboard Shortcuts

Whether you’re using YouTube as a research tool or presenting your findings in a meeting, effectively using its built-in shortcuts can make your use of the website much more productive (and, let’s face it, more impressive).

If you’re doing research, jumping back to the beginning of a video will be super handy - and is possible, by pressing the 0 (zero) key. You can also use your arrow keys to fast forward or rewind the video in five-second increments (or ten-second increments, if you hold the Ctrl key at the same time).

If you’re using YouTube as a part of a presentation, you can quickly pause and resume the video by pressing either the spacebar, or the K key. If your audience can’t quite hear what you’re presenting, you can adjust the volume using the up and down arrow keys. The M key will mute the video, and unmute it when you’re ready to hear the video again.

Starting From a Specific Point in the Video

Speaking of using YouTube as a part of your presentation, you may not always want a video to start from the very beginning. YouTube gives you a few options to do so - the easiest being grabbing the altered link to your desired time directly from YouTube.

Let’s look at this video about phishing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfnA7UmlZkE

There’s a lot of information in this video. What if you want to focus on one specific aspect, like how phishing can be spotted? This video doesn’t dive into this aspect until just about the one-minute mark. YouTube offers a function that eliminates the need of fast-forwarding to this point. Under the Share option, the menu that appears offers a Start at option. You can select the precise time that you want your video to start. The link that appears will begin your video at the moment you have selected (unless a pesky ad gets in the way):

https://youtu.be/jfnA7UmlZkE?t=63

Search Filters to Improve Your Results

If you’re having trouble finding the right content on YouTube, there are filters that you can whittle down your results by - making it more likely that you will find more videos that fit what you are looking for. You can seek out videos that were uploaded during a specific time frame, that fall within a certain duration, and seek out specific channels, playlists, and other media types - among other filters.

YouTube can be one of the greatest resources available today... as long as you can find and share the information you need. For more ways that technology can improve your business and its processes, subscribe to our blog!

Understanding Smart Scheduling

These software solutions are commonly found in industries that are subject to a lot of outside influence and fluctuating demand due to a variety of factors, such as retail. Smart scheduling gives these businesses the capability to schedule their employees more effectively, using automation to simplify the process.

Having said that, the principles of smart scheduling can be applied to all industries if they are viewed as a process, rather than a technology. Not only can all industries apply these principles, they should, as all businesses must deal with numerous factors that impact their operations.

Looking at it in this light, smart scheduling effectively just boils down to consolidating your various circumstances and scheduling to accommodate them accordingly. It’s recognizing that certain times will have different demand levels, that some conditions will impact operations, and making the preparations to deal with them proactively.

Scheduling More Intelligently

Even if you don’t have a dedicated solution lined up for these purposes, there are some ways that you can embrace the concept of smart scheduling. Consider these strategies:

• Bring Your Information Together—You should consolidate any available information that you have regarding your schedule and your business’ operations to make it easier for you to predict patterns and prepare for them. Understanding what priorities you have, and how much your employees have been available to accomplish, will assist you in scheduling your team more effectively.
• Communicate—Communication is one of the most important factors when determining your success, and this goes for how much information your schedule provides. Give your employees context into their tasks to help empower their procedures and productivity.
• Use a Scheduling Platform—Businesses have many options to assist them with their scheduling available, and not all of them need to be inherently “smart.” Finding one that works for your needs will bring considerable benefits to your business and its processes. 

Regardless of the business solutions you need, Coleman Technologies is here to help you manage them. To learn more, reach out to our team by calling (604) 513-9428.

Let’s go over how to set up this capability. As a disclaimer, it will require you to edit some of your menu options, so reach out to your IT resource to confirm that it is okay to do so and to assist you if need be.

You should also know that Track Changes won’t work if a spreadsheet contains a table that hasn’t been converted into a range. To make this conversion, select the table, navigate to the Design tab, and click the Convert to Range option. If you want others to be able to collaborate on your workbook, it needs to be saved in a shared location.

Adding the Track Changes Buttons

To access these options, you’ll need to add them to your Ribbon menu (unless your version of Excel includes them by default). Doing so is simple:

• Right-click on the Ribbon menu. From the options available, select the Customize the Ribbon option.
• On the resulting dialog screen, find the drop-down menu labelled Choose commands from: and select All Commands. In the other menu, select Main Tabs, and find Review in the list that appears. Click on the + next to Review, and then click the New Group button.
• Right click on New Group, renaming it to “Track Changes.”
• With “Track Changes” selected, find Highlight Changes and Accept/Reject Changes in the left-hand list. Click the Add button to add them to your “Track Changes” group.

Once your Highlight Changes button has been added to the Review category of the Ribbon menu, click on the Highlight Changes button. A box will appear, where you should select both Track changes while editing… and Highlight changes on screen. Click Okay once you’ve done so.

Once you’ve done this, any changes made to the spreadsheet will be marked with a small triangle in the corner of the cell to display the most recent change.

Reviewing all Changes

After everyone has contributed their input, you can choose to accept or reject the changes that have been made with the Accept/Reject Changes button. You’ll be asked to Save the Workbook, and once you have, the changes will be highlighted one by one with the option to Select Changes to Accept or Reject.

All changes will be listed so that you can Accept them or Reject them accordingly. The cursor will automatically proceed to the next change for you to repeat the process. If there are multiple instances of a similar change (like all ampersands or percentages written out instead of the symbols used), you can use the Accept All button to mass update them.

With any luck, we’ve helped make collaboration that much easier for you and your team members. For more tips like this, as well as best practices and other IT assistance, make sure you subscribe to our blog. Remember, our team is always available at (604) 513-9428 for your IT needs.

The Ideal Task Formula

The consensus of many productivity experts and trusted names is that the equation to build out a task essentially looks like this:

Step + Detail + Deadline + Context = Task

This works well, as it can apply to either a complete project, or each piece of a larger project. Let’s take a closer look at each part.

Step

Every task is going to feature some action or another, whether something needs to be researched, written, completed, or reviewed, what have you. Essentially, this defines the what of the task at hand, the goal that the person assigned to it needs to accomplish.

Detail

This takes the step and builds it out with additional context and specificity. This might involve such details as:

• Who the task is assigned to
• Why they’re completing the task
• What contribution this task gives toward the final goal
• Where the assigned team member can find the resources needed to complete the task

Deadline

Of course, one of the most important details associated with any task is the date and time it needs to be completed. By specifying this, you prevent your projects from remaining in a holding pattern, moving them along.

Context

The final things you include in your task are the other important details surrounding it: how long is allotted to spend on it, any projects it is associated with, and where it should fall in the assigned team member’s priorities. This enables the person you’ve assigned to better organize their schedule to make the most effective use of their time.

Let’s say you wanted to assign one of your team members to write you a blog post about creating a task, so you needed to task it out. The final product might look something like this:

“Write blog post about creating tasks”

Creation of blog for website describing how to create a task for a business goal to be posted on Friday. Please compose blog on document found in content creation folder.

Assigned to SEAN – Priority 5

*If unable to complete, please inform HR and reschedule to next week*

Wednesday: 9:30—10:30

• Seek out sources for blog post about how to task out responsibilities
• Compose blog post
• Contact BRIAN to read blog over and proof

Friday: 1:30—2:00

• Post blog to website”

There you have it: how to task out your business’ processes for your team to reference as they follow your instructions. This process can apply to just about anything, if you are careful to follow the steps and provide a clear and comprehensive view of that which needs to be accomplished. The more information you provide, the better the outcome will likely be.

For more information to help you boost your productivity, and information about the tools that can help you to do so, subscribe to our blog today!

Those familiar with the online version of Gmail will find all of this quite familiar, as Smart Compose has been predicting their next words for some time now. It will seem newer to those more familiar with the Gmail application in macOS and Windows, as it hasn’t been available there until now. 

Using Smart Compose on Android Devices

The first thing you’ll have to have in order to use Smart Compose is an active Google account, with the latest version of the Gmail application installed on your chosen device. As you type, Smart Compose will present its predictive text suggestions that a user can either accept, or just keep typing to ignore. While this form of machine learning is pretty basic, it does demonstrate how a device can “learn” how a user is most likely to use it - in this case, what word is likely to come next in the user’s sentence.

Turning Smart Compose Off (and On Again)

Of course, some users may find these suggestions inconvenient or distracting. That’s totally fair, and means that these users should deactivate the Smart Compose feature. Access the Gmail app’s menu by pressing the hamburger icon at the top left. You should see your Settings from there. You will be asked to choose from the accounts that have access to your device. Once you’ve selected the appropriate account, look under General settings to find Smart Compose. Use the toggle switch to activate it or deactivate it as you please.

While Smart Compose may not be quite as impressive as the artificial intelligence that appears in feature films, it has one major advantage over them: it can actually be used to benefit your business. For other ways that you can give your business operations a boost through technology solutions and tips, subscribe to our blog! You can also reach out to us directly by calling (604) 513-9428.

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.