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A handy guide to keeping computers and mobile devices cleanKeeping work PCs and mobile devices clean not only encourages people to be more organized, but it also prevents glitches and downtime due to poorly maintained hardware. It also contributes to immaculate workspaces, which may positively affect employee morale. If you want your workstations and devices to look spick and span, here’s how to get […]

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A handy guide to keeping computers and mobile devices clean

Keeping work PCs and mobile devices clean not only encourages people to be more organized, but it also prevents glitches and downtime due to poorly maintained hardware. It also contributes to immaculate workspaces, which may positively affect employee morale. If you want your workstations and devices to look spick and span, here’s how to get started.

Desktop monitors

You spend several hours looking at your computer monitor, so it's important to make sure it doesn't have any dust or smudges. To clean your monitor, turn it off first and gently wipe the screen with a microfiber cloth.

If there are still spots, try dampening the cloth before wiping but make sure you don’t spray water onto the screen. Don’t press too hard on the display, as this could damage the pixels on the monitor. Also, don’t use paper products like napkins or tissues, as they can leave a residue and scratch the monitor.

Mobile screens

Mobile devices will usually accumulate fingerprints. The best way to clean your mobile device’s screen is to wipe it down a microfiber cloth. For tougher spots, dip the cloth in a small amount of water and then gently wipe the screen. Don’t splash water onto the device itself, as the liquid could get inside and damage internal components, which can void your warranty.

Some people suggest rubbing alcohol to remove fingerprints and disinfect the device. While this will work for some screens, many manufacturers advise against this because the alcohol can wear down the protective film on some devices.

If you find dust or gunk in the edges or cracks of your screen, take the device to a mobile shop for more thorough cleaning. Do not open the device yourself, as this could also void the warranty.

Keyboards

Debris and dirt can accumulate between the keys of your keyboard. Before you start cleaning your keyboard, be sure to unplug it. Then gently run cotton swabs dipped in water or rubbing alcohol over the keys.

To remove dirt between keys, you can use a keyboard brush or compressed air, which can be purchased at most office supply and computer stores. Spraying compressed air in between keys should be enough to get rid of most of the dust and grit.

Computer mice

Similar to the keyboard, mice can get quite dirty with grime from dust and your fingers. To clean a mouse, unplug it then use cotton swabs dipped in rubbing alcohol.

Computer towers

Before you start cleaning your computer towers, disconnect the power source and all wires to avoid short-circuiting.

Next, take a slightly damp microfiber cloth and wipe down all sides. Be careful when cleaning the front and back, as these parts house sensitive ports and components.

Dust can also clog up cooling fans, causing them to stop working properly. This can potentially lead to other components overheating. To clean the insides of your computer tower, remove the casing with a screwdriver. Then, use a brush or short bursts of compressed air to remove accumulated dust.

Making sure your computer is clean and running optimally is important to staying productive at work. If you want more advice on how to optimize your IT, our technicians are here to help. Call us today.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

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How can you prepare your VoIP for the holiday season?The holiday season is upon us, which means businesses will likely be bombarded with a wave of customer calls and inquiries. As a business owner, you need to make sure that your Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) systems are ready to cope with the holiday rush. Below are a few ways to ensure crystal-clear calls. […]

The post How can you prepare your VoIP for the holiday season? appeared first on Complete Technology Resources, Inc..

How can you prepare your VoIP for the holiday season?

The holiday season is upon us, which means businesses will likely be bombarded with a wave of customer calls and inquiries. As a business owner, you need to make sure that your Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) systems are ready to cope with the holiday rush. Below are a few ways to ensure crystal-clear calls.

Check your VoIP equipment

Sometimes, problems with VoIP don't have anything to do with your service provider or even the servers that host the solution. Issues may stem from the physical VoIP lines and phones themselves. One common issue with VoIP is that if your equipment is stacked too closely, users may experience a degradation in call quality.

You can ask your employees to check call quality, especially if two or more VoIP devices are close to one another. If there are issues, moving the devices further apart should clear this up.

Beyond this, take the time to inspect all cables and connections to ensure they are in good condition and are able to deal with increased wear and tear during the holidays. If your equipment is old and outdated, you may need to replace them with newer models.

Establish VoIP system monitoring

With people rushing to get their last-minute shopping done, your staff will likely experience a sharp spike in inquiries and assistance. A monitoring solution can predict when issues may arise. Whether you are open or closed for the holidays, make sure to implement the following:

For busy periods

  • Set up call queuing with hold music or estimated wait time.
  • Leave recorded messages with complete information and an alternative way to contact support, such as a hotline, an email address, or your website.
  • Change your configuration to help you manage shorter business hours.
  • Reroute or put messages on hold when the company has reduced hours.

For closed periods

  • Set automated messages or announcements to inform customers that your business will be closed during the holiday season and what day you will reopen.
  • Update receptionist greetings before Christmas to remind callers of your holiday hours.
  • Reroute incoming calls for employees who will be working remotely.

Enable dedicated support

The great thing about VoIP is the support that comes with it. You can keep call costs low, as employees working from home can still communicate with the office. A good VoIP system can be configured to work for you and your customers no matter what hours you are open during the holidays.

Whether it’s diverting calls to mobile devices or remote machines, a good VoIP service provider understands that your business needs to be operational even during the holidays, and can accommodate those needs.

Work with an experienced IT provider

Christmas is busy enough without having to worry about something like a phone outage. If you need help with your phone systems or want to discuss how VoIP could help your business, call us today and we’ll recommend the best VoIP solution to ensure that your customers are happy and satisfied.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

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Understanding Microsoft 365 collaboration toolsThere are three Microsoft 365 tools that are typically used for office communication and collaboration: Microsoft 365 Groups, Yammer, and Microsoft Teams. While these three are similar, did you know that there are subtle differences that set them apart from each other? Let's take a look at some of these. Microsoft 365 Groups With Microsoft […]

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Understanding Microsoft 365 collaboration tools

There are three Microsoft 365 tools that are typically used for office communication and collaboration: Microsoft 365 Groups, Yammer, and Microsoft Teams. While these three are similar, did you know that there are subtle differences that set them apart from each other? Let's take a look at some of these.

Microsoft 365 Groups

With Microsoft 365 Groups, every member gets a shared inbox, calendar, project planner, notebook, and document library. You can also integrate third-party apps like Twitter, Trello, and Mailchimp to Groups so notifications are sent directly to your shared inbox.

This means all relevant messages and information are sent to one place, so if your organization normally communicates via email, Microsoft 365 Groups is ideal. What’s more, HR and sales departments that communicate with external parties will also find plenty of uses for its email features.

A big downside of Microsoft 365 Groups, however, is email overload. Since all messages and notifications are sent to one inbox, users may become overwhelmed by the number of emails they have to sort through every day.

Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams, a chat-based collaboration platform, works with Skype for Business, so you can text, call, video chat, and share files with colleagues. Thanks to its seamless integrations with other Microsoft 365 apps, you can even work on shared files without leaving the app.

Unlike Groups, Microsoft Teams is designed for more advanced collaboration, making it great for completing projects with tight deadlines or other tasks requiring immediate feedback.

Yammer

Much like Groups and Teams, Yammer works well with other Microsoft 365 tools like Outlook and OneDrive. However, Yammer is a professional social media app designed to foster open communication and break down barriers between teams.

Yammer serves like a virtual office bulletin board: important files and announcements can be shared with the entire company through this platform. Users can also see the most popular post on their feeds, follow it, and even comment.

Yammer also takes design elements and features from social media apps like Facebook, making it a popular choice for companies with millennials in their workforce.

Although we’ve discussed the fundamental differences between Groups, Teams, and Yammer, we’ve barely scratched the surface of what each app can do. To figure out which apps you need, you must understand how your employees work, how they like to collaborate with one another, and what you want to achieve from such collaborations.

Fortunately, there's another way to find the right app for your business: ask the experts. Contact us today for an IT assessment!

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

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Here’s how to speed up Google ChromeGoogle Chrome is the most popular web browser in the world with over three billion users and more than 63% share of the market. Its speed is one of its most notable advantages over other browsers, which is why it’s preferred by most users. But even the fastest browser can have issues from time to […]

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Here’s how to speed up Google Chrome

Google Chrome is the most popular web browser in the world with over three billion users and more than 63% share of the market. Its speed is one of its most notable advantages over other browsers, which is why it’s preferred by most users. But even the fastest browser can have issues from time to time. If your Chrome has slowed down, here’s how to quickly get it back to tip-top shape.

Use the latest version of Chrome

Google continually optimizes its products, so make sure that Chrome is always updated to keep it working as fast as possible.

Disable or delete extensions

Extensions are downloadable programs from the Chrome Web Store that you can add to your browser to give it more functionality and a personalized touch. For example, you can add an extension that blocks ads, one that shortens URLs, or one that shows your most important tasks of the day. While these extensions are useful, they can slow down Chrome if there are too many installed at once.

Most extensions are accessible beside Chrome’s address bar, and you can quickly uninstall them by right-clicking on their icons and selecting Remove from Chrome. You can also manage all extensions by typing chrome://extensions in your browser’s address bar and hitting Enter. From there, you’ll find a list of all the extensions you have. Simply scroll through the list and click Remove to delete the extensions you don’t need.

Close unused tabs or put them in sleep mode

The more open tabs you have on Chrome, the more processing power the web browser requires from your computer. The best way to reduce your browser’s workload is to close unused tabs.

As of this writing, Chrome can’t yet put tabs on sleep mode like Microsoft Edge can. To be specific, that feature is still in the experimental stages. If you’re willing to try that feature out, then follow these steps:

  1. In Chrome’s address bar, type chrome://flags/ and press Enter.
  2. Type Freeze or Reduce User-Agent in the search bar.
  3. In the drop-down menu next to the Reduce User-Agent request header, select Enabled.
  4. When the Relaunch button appears, click it. The relaunched browser will detect inactive tabs and put these on “sleep” mode.

Chrome warns users to save their work before proceeding — and with the feature being experimental, there may be yet-unknown bugs that may ruin your Chrome experience. If you don’t want to take those risks, you can use Chrome extensions like Session Buddy and Tabby to help you manage the processing power consumption of your tabs. There are other extensions available, but these may be riddled with bugs, so choose carefully.

Shut down unnecessary tasks

Unbeknownst to you, Chrome may be running resource-intensive tasks that you no longer need. To close them and make your browser run faster, do the following:

  1. At the top-right corner of Chrome, click the More button (i.e., the circular icon with three vertically aligned dots inside).
  2. Click More tools > Task Manager.
  3. Click the Memory footprint heading to sort tasks by how much memory they use.
  4. Select the task you want to shut down, then click End Process. Keep in mind that you’ll lose any unsaved work that that task was doing, so think before you click.

Clear your browsing data

Chrome stores cached copies of websites you visit so it can load pages faster when you visit them again. It also keeps a database of your browsing history and cookies for the same purpose. As you visit more and more websites, these pieces of data accumulate in Chrome and can slow the browser down.

Thankfully, the solution is easy: clear your cache. Simply access your browsing history by entering chrome://history in your address bar. From the left panel, select Clear browsing data. Choose which data to delete by clicking on the checkboxes of all items you want deleted, like cached images or cookies. You can also select the time range that will be affected by the deletion. You can delete your history for the past hour, the last 24 hours, the last seven days, and from the beginning of time. Once you’ve selected the files you want to delete and their corresponding time range, click Clear data.

Remove malware and ads

Sometimes, Chrome slows down because of malware or adware extensions. Extra toolbars, recurring pop-up ads, and web pages redirecting to other addresses are clear indications of these. To remove the unwanted software, type chrome://settings/cleanup in your browser, and click Find to detect and remove harmful software on your computer.

A top-performing web browser benefits your business in many ways, including enhancing your employees’ productivity and speeding up communication. If your web browser is performing poorly or takes forever to load a page, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us so we can identify and fix the problem right away.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

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