25 Jun 2019

Protect your Android device from viruses

2019-07-08T14:27:06-07:00

Your smartphone and/or tablet are essential to your day-to-day tasks. Should they get infected by viruses, would you know what steps to take? If you’re using an Android device, you’re in luck. This guide can help you remove viruses on your Android phone or tablet.

The lowdown on Android viruses

A virus infection on Android devices is actually incredibly rare. Seeing pop-up ads prompting you to buy a virus removal app doesn’t automatically mean your device is infected. In fact, buying one of these apps could get your device infected by a virus! That’s because all Android viruses are contracted via apps you install on the device. To avoid getting infected, install only apps from the Google Play app store. If you must buy one from third-party stores, do some research first.

If you suspect that your device has been infected, here’s what you can do:

  • Use antivirus apps from Google Play or Google Play Protect – A lot of these are […]
Protect your Android device from viruses2019-07-08T14:27:06-07:00
24 Jun 2019

Don’t neglect Mac’s awesome Notification Center settings

2019-06-24T08:00:21-07:00

Can you remember a time when you didn’t receive a few dozen notifications per day? Apps today send all kinds of alerts to our devices, some helpful and some not. It’s not difficult to customize how your devices send you notifications, especially if you use a Mac desktop computer or laptop.

Managing alerts within Notification Center

You can see everything from previews of new emails to reminders about upcoming meetings by clicking the three horizontally stacked lines in the upper right-hand corner of your Mac’s screen.

Selecting the Notifications tab will display all kinds of alerts that you can delete by clicking the X icon in the upper right-hand corner of the box. Alternatively, you can click the X to the right of Today if you want to clear all your notifications for that day.

How to customize what is shown in your Notification Center

If you would like to change which apps can display notifications on your computer:

  1. Open the System Preferences app.
  2. Select the Notifications icon.
  3. Click on the app that you want to […]
Don’t neglect Mac’s awesome Notification Center settings2019-06-24T08:00:21-07:00
21 Jun 2019

Virtualization and licensing

2019-07-08T14:29:25-07:00

For a successful virtualization project, it’s important to understand software licensing and support policies for virtualized and cloud environments. Today, many enterprises invest in software to track licensing compliance and vendor support policies because policies could differ substantially among vendors. For most, licensing concerns focused on deploying server applications to server virtualization infrastructures. Here are some things you need to know before you make a decision.

Why are licenses an issue?

Virtualization is a complex topic, but here’s a quick overview of how it works and why licensing is almost always an issue. Most people are starting to work the concept of cloud storage into their everyday lives. Think of virtualization as a cloud where your server(s) store their hardware capabilities and your network computers can pull from that cloud as needed.

In this scenario, let’s assume employee A and employee B have two identical desktop computers with barebones hardware. Employee A needs to perform some basic text editing while employee B needs an in-depth scan […]

Virtualization and licensing2019-07-08T14:29:25-07:00
20 Jun 2019

Prevent your laptop from overheating

2019-07-08T14:29:36-07:00

An overheating laptop is not an uncommon thing. Unfortunately, this can lead to decreased laptop efficiency and a shorter lifespan. Here’s how to protect your laptop from damage due to overheating.

Causes of overheating

Laptops generate heat when in use. That’s why they have internal fans that blow out hot air and suck in cooler air. So when your laptop keeps shutting down or suffers some serious slowdowns, chances are it’s overheating.

Some causes of overheating are:

Damaged or malfunctioning fans are due to dirt and grime clogging up the fan, preventing it from rotating properly.
Blocked air vents prevents air from flowing into the laptop.
Old laptop battery rely on lithium, a chemical that naturally decays over time; as the battery gets older, it becomes less efficient and generates more heat
Running too many software programs in the background can cause your processor and fans to go on overdrive.
Bad habits when using your laptop, such as using uneven or soft surfaces as padding, can block the air vents, leading to overheating.

What to do […]

Prevent your laptop from overheating2019-07-08T14:29:36-07:00
19 Jun 2019

How to calculate the TCO of VoIP

2019-07-08T14:29:47-07:00

Picking a VoIP solution for your business can be tricky since there are so many data plans to choose from. But here’s a pro tip: Calculate the total cost of ownership (TCO) and not just the monthly fees.

What is TCO?
TCO is the overall sum of procuring, deploying, and operating a VoIP system over its life cycle, which is typically five years. An experienced VoIP expert should be able to give you an informed approximation.

Upfront costs
Upfront costs are largely determined by whether you buy a VoIP system outright or rent it from a reputable third party. Although the former carries a steep upfront cost, payment will not continue indefinitely. This makes sense for large, fully staffed corporations with massive budgets. Meanwhile, the latter option is better for small- and medium-sized businesses that prefer to pay a small monthly subscription rather than make a huge investment.

Beyond the price of the VoIP package, upfront costs also include additional costs like headsets, webcams, and a stronger network connection to […]

How to calculate the TCO of VoIP2019-07-08T14:29:47-07:00
18 Jun 2019

Step up your PowerPoint game with these pointers

2019-06-18T08:00:24-07:00

Do your officemates groan whenever they have to sit through another PowerPoint presentation? Once it’s your turn, knock their socks off by using these easy-to-follow tips.

Start slideshows instantly
The audience doesn’t want to see the speaker’s cluttered desktop or unread emails as the PowerPoint presentation is being set up. Simply select the file and save it as a PowerPoint Show. Bypass the editing mode and start the show with a double click and end it with the Esc key.

Pull back the focus with blackouts and whiteouts
Audience members tend to lose focus or drift away when presentations are longer than usual. If you suspect audience members are starting to lose focus, hit the B key for a complete blackout or the W key for a total whiteout. Then hit any key or click the mouse to return to the slides — this technique helps get the eyes back on you, where they belong.

Say no to bullet points
Both Steve Jobs and Tim Cook agree that bulleted lists aren’t the ticket. A […]

Step up your PowerPoint game with these pointers2019-06-18T08:00:24-07:00
17 Jun 2019

Presenting Google Drive’s PDF management features

2019-07-08T14:29:58-07:00

These days, cloud services such as Google Drive are gaining prominence as more teams rely on them to accomplish business goals with increased cost savings and productivity. But for some reason, Google Drive’s PDF-handling features have gone underappreciated, despite PDFs being a mainstay in workstations and offices for quite some time now. It’s time you knew about those features.

Save PDFs to Google Drive

Google Chrome’s PDF viewer can do much more than just read your PDFs. Like other web browsers, Chrome lets you save web pages as PDFs by right-clicking on the web page, selecting Print… from the menu, and selecting Save as PDF from the Destination drop-down menu.

However, if you’re logged into Chrome, you can save PDF files into your Google Drive. To do this, go back to the Print window, click the Destination drop-down, and select Save to Google Drive. This will save you some time from having to go to your Google Drive and manually uploading the file from your local disk.

Convert docs into PDFs

If […]

Presenting Google Drive’s PDF management features2019-07-08T14:29:58-07:00
14 Jun 2019

Boosting SMB marketing with automation

2019-07-08T14:32:30-07:00

Small business marketing has often been a difficult endeavor for small business owners. Marketing involves a great deal of time and effort, and can require a significant financial investment. Previously, only large corporations could afford marketing automation, but that’s no longer the case. Read the five most profitable benefits of this new IT innovation here.

Instant responses to email requests
If a customer or prospect sends your business an email via your website or a “Contact Us” form, any delay in response could ultimately cost you a client. But if you have a marketing automation plan in place, you can customize automatic email responses to respond to these leads as soon as an email is received. This either provides potential customers with the information they requested or informs them that you will be responding in greater detail soon.

Stop leaving voicemails and start closing deals
There’s a reason most people prefer to communicate via email: Keeping in touch over the phone can be tough if both parties are always busy. An […]

Boosting SMB marketing with automation2019-07-08T14:32:30-07:00
14 Jun 2019

Cloud-based ERP and its benefits

2019-07-08T14:33:21-07:00

Using the cloud is so common these days that most small- to mid-sized businesses (SMBs) have at least one cloud service supporting their operations. An increasingly popular cloud-based service is enterprise resource planning (ERP). But what is it? And what are the advantages of using a cloud-based ERP? Here’s a quick and informative overview.

Define: Cloud-based ERP

ERP is management software, usually offered as a bundle of applications, that aims to help businesses automate the collection, storage, management, and interpretation of data from various sources like accounting, inventory, marketing, service delivery, etc. With ERP, business owners and managers can get an integrated real-time view of business processes, resources, and commitments.

Cloud-based ERP solutions are simply a suite of ERP apps delivered to users over the Internet, usually accessed via a browser. The software usually does not need to be installed on computers and is offered on a per-user, per-month, flat-rate fee.

Companies using a cloud-based integrated ERP solution have experienced the following five benefits:

1. Increased ERP performance

One issue with in-house ERP […]

Cloud-based ERP and its benefits2019-07-08T14:33:21-07:00
12 Jun 2019

Windows 10 May 2019 Update’s best features

2019-06-12T08:00:04-07:00

The Windows 10 May 2019 Update is now available for download, and it brings a wealth of new features, tools, and apps that will help you and your team be more productive and efficient, as well as give you a better user experience. Read on to find out about Windows 10’s best new features.

Light theme

If Windows 10’s dark mode is, well, too dark for you, you’ll love the new light mode. You can enable light mode on your Windows 10 computer by tweaking the Colors settings. In the Settings app, click on Personalization > Colors, then select the Light option from the “Choose your color” drop-down menu.

Alternatively, you can enable light mode by changing your PC’s Themes settings. In the Settings app, click on Themes > Windows (light).

A cleaner Start menu

The May 2019 Update features a new, less cluttered Start menu. The tiles and shortcuts are now arranged in a single column instead of the default two columns in previous versions.

Also, for those using a new Windows computer […]

Windows 10 May 2019 Update’s best features2019-06-12T08:00:04-07:00
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