Coleman Technologies Blog

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.

The Stakes Are High
A lost smartphone is something that needs to be taken seriously nowadays. Not only is it an expensive device to replace, its contents could be considered priceless. Anything you’ve accessed via that phone (potentially including your finances and social media) is then at risk. If this device was used for business purposes, your data could be at stake if your device was stolen - and, if you used it as a part of a two-factor authentication measure, there goes your access to your network.

Clearly, this wouldn’t be a good thing.

This is precisely why Android includes a feature to help you find a device, should it ever be lost.

Auto-Location
On your Android device, you need to work proactively and enable a few settings.

In your Settings, you should be able to find a Find My Device option. Make sure this is turned on. Your Location should be set to High accuracy. Finally, you will want to enable Google to Use Location History. While this will diminish your privacy from the eyes of Google, it will make your phone that much easier to find.

To locate your device, you’ll then need to access the same Google account that is used on the device in question from a web browser. Google is able to give you a general idea of where the device was last located on a map, and even what Wi-Fi networks it is connected to. The Find My Device application can do the same thing if you have access to a second device.

Find My Device also allows you to remotely lock your device and display a message to help anyone who might find it get it back to you. Once you’re in the vicinity of your device, you can also command your device to ring. This command will override the volume settings, increasing the chances of it being heard.

If you truly believe that your device has been stolen, there is also the nuclear option: remotely wiping the device via Find My Device.

Keep in mind, in order for these features to work, you absolutely have to enable them on your phone first. Otherwise, you’ll be out of luck if the device ever goes missing.

Act Fast
It is also important to remember that these features will only work as long as the phone is on. Sure, you could still check for its last known location in Find My Device, but there’s no guarantee that it will still be there.

Finally, if you truly believe that your device was stolen, contact the proper authorities and give them everything you know.

With any luck, you’ll be able to find your lost phone lickety-split. While you’re here, take a look at some of our other blogs, where you can find other handy tricks and useful information, courtesy of Coleman Technologies.

What Are Templates?
Evernote’s templates are handy, pre-built structures for notes that provide users with a simpler means of organizing specific types of information. Instead of taking time struggling with your formatting each time you start a new note, you can apply one of the templates that Evernote offers on their website. Those with a subscription to Evernote Plus, Premium, or Business can even use formatting they’ve created in past notes to generate their own templates for repeated use.

Applying Templates in Evernote
Once you’ve acquired a few templates, either from the Evernote website’s collection or from a past note, applying one of your choosing is relatively simple.

• In Evernote, start a new note.
• In the body of the note, click Templates to view the ones you have saved.
• From there, you can search for any templates you have, delete ones you no longer want or need, edit their names, and of course, apply them to notes.
• If you want to edit a template, follow the same process, and once you’ve made the changes that you want, save it as a new template. Note: only those with Plus, Premium, or Business accounts are able to do this.
• Plus, Premium, and Business users are also able to create their own templates this way.

So, what do you think? Is this a welcome change to Evernote? What other improvements would you like to see them make down the line? Let us know in the comments!

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.

Applying Software Patches
It should be clear that software patches are designed to fix security problems and improve the functionality of the software, but some organizations simply don’t have time to implement them manually, or they simply don’t understand the purpose for them. Part of the problem is that sometimes the developers aren’t necessarily clear that patches are available, while other times those within your organization may not even know how to administer them. Regardless of the reason, there are usually problems on a network that will go unattended for extended periods of time.

Most hackers only want to take advantage of the issues they can detect. Thus, there could be countless threats out there designed to target countless unpatched vulnerabilities on your network that not even the hackers can know about. It makes sense for a hacker to use just one exploit to target a handful of vulnerabilities. Therefore, it’s important to make sure that all software that you use is updated and patched.

Additionally, your systems shouldn’t be running unused programs. The more software you have, the more ways hackers can take advantage of your organization’s network vulnerabilities. Moreover, you might even be wasting revenue on renewing software licenses that you don’t even need, so it’s best perform a network audit from time to time to get the worthless software off your infrastructure.

Dodging Social Engineering Attempts
Social engineering is broadly categorized as any method that takes advantage of unprepared users or those who are ignorant of solid network security practices. Examples include a phone call or email message claiming that the network has been breached by a foreign entity and that “tech support” needs to remote into the computer and resolve the issue. There are other, more subtle methods as well, such as targeted spear phishing attacks that go after specific users with personal information that convince them that the hacker is someone in authority.

These types of attacks vary in sophistication, but they can range anywhere from an employee receiving a message claiming that they’ve won a prize, to the intruder physically following your employees into the office and stealing sensitive data manually. In instances like these, a little bit of employee training can go a long way. Teach them to look for anything suspicious, and inform them that vigilance is incredibly important in the workplace.

These two security improvements barely scratch the surface of what your organization should be focusing on for network security. If you want to fully protect your business to the best of your ability, give us a call at (604) 513-9428.