Business update and hosting promotion

I hope you have all kept well through this ongoing covid-19 pandemic. Please stay safe. Also, follow your healthcare and government guidelines to help keep others safe.
We owe a big thank you to all those people who continued to provide the most basic of services to the general population: health care workers of any sort, police and fire services, farm workers, transportation workers, grocery employees…the list is really endless. I have a heightened awareness and appreciation for all those people who do what society might consider mundane jobs, but are key to fully functioning, productive populous. Thank you!
It has been a challenge this year for all businesses to find ways to ensure their products and services remain available to clients. Those I continue to serve have the technical ability to work remotely, through solutions implemented by me. However, those in-house, hardware based, products are now getting quite long-in-the-tooth trying to remain reliable and secure in these times. Businesses need to modernize to remain productive and viable.
To ensure I continue to modernize and be as viable as those businesses I serve, work has been ongoing since the start of the year to revamp my service offers to a more web-based, automated model. I am happy to announce you can take advantage of the first of those services now.
Web hosting plans and domain name purchases can now be completed online from my web site. For your convenience, payment can be made via a secure credit card gateway and those services will be provisioned for you within minutes.
Please have a look at what is available at https://mscsinfo.com. In recognition of my 30 years as an IT consultant, the first five new hosting clients can use a promotion code to discount any new, yearly hosting plan, by 30%. Enter promotion code CHQXV35NZW when you checkout to get your savings. Remember, only five codes are available. Act fast!
Keep your eye out for more options to help future proof your business technology by utilizing remote software services coming to my web site.
As always, should you need remote support or would like to discuss making your business available from anywhere you have an internet connection, contact me using any of the options on my web site. Thanks!

MSCSINFO web site refresh

My main web site has been refreshed! (http://www.mscsinfo.com) It is much brighter, and I feel, easier on the eyes. This update process will continue, with the end result of adding more value to you. Please have a look, and send me any comments you feel might be helpful to aid in your use of the web site. (I am also working to enable some e-commerce capability, so stay tuned!)

Thank you for your continued support!

Windows 10 Free Upgrade Period Ending

According to Microsoft, more than 350 million devices are now running some version of Windows 10. Do you have a compatible device that has not yet been upgraded? If so, why not? I do understand people have an aversion to change. But, as they say, the only constant in the technology industry is change!

You might want to investigate your options this month. The free upgrade period is coming to an end on 29 July 2016. That means if you have computer hardware that can take advantage of Windows 10, and want to do so, you will pay for the option to use it should you miss that deadline. More details here:

https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2016/06/29/windows-10-anniversary-update-available-august-2/#m7BzyZCIuf2M7SBv.99

You might already have an icon on the bottom right of your screen that looks like a white window pane. That is Microsoft letting you know that your device might be ready for the Windows 10 upgrade. Click on it and follow the prompts to start the process. If you have compatible hardware, the process should finish in a few hours. If there is something you need to do before the upgrade can proceed, you will be given instructions about resolving any issue(s). After the upgrade completes you have 30 days in which to try out the new operating system. Should it not be to your liking, you can revert to whatever operating system you were using before the process. No harm, no foul.

For consumers, should you not have that icon, you may have taken action to hide it, or have not applied updates to your computer. (The icon comes as a result of a Windows Update.) Do a Windows Update check from your control panel, and apply all the important and security updates. If the icon still does not appear, use this link to start the process:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

Just click on the big ‘Upgrade now’ button.

As always, it is prudent to have a complete backup of your system before you make major changes. I suggest an image based backup, as opposed to a data only backup. Image backups are easy to create with Windows 7 or 8.1, and there really is no reason not to make one regularly, whether or not you are going to upgrade to Windows 10. Hard drives have been known to fail unexpectedly, be damaged by a virus; or the computer system itself can get stolen. Having a good backup that will allow you to recreate your system is a definite plus.

Should you have any questions or concerns, please contact me. I am happy to help!

Will Windows Phone 10 survive?

I have been a fan of the Windows Phone devices since the time Microsoft purchased the Nokia phone business. I found the interface easy to use, and the hardware capable for my needs. I had previously used phones with Windows Mobile installed; not necessarily because I was a fan, but because I wanted to stay within one ecosystem. So, when Microsoft invested billions of dollars to acquire Nokia, I felt it was a pretty safe bet to continue down the path I set for myself of sticking with one provider for all my computing needs. My servers were running Windows, my various computers were running Windows, and my phone (at the time an HTC HD7) ran Windows. I was quite satisfied at how all my devices worked together.

Then Windows 8 came along, and my old HTC was not going to get an upgrade. I had used the phone for several years, and it was getting quite long in the tooth. What to do? I still wanted a Windows Phone. However, my carrier was not going to provide any of the handsets running Windows. So, no opportunity to get a new phone there, even if I wanted to lock into another two year contract. I did some investigation at other cell phone providers, and found nothing to my liking. I kept coming back to that Microsoft investment of BILLIONS of dollars in Nokia. So, even though Windows Phone had not grabbed a big market share, with Microsoft behind it, I felt confident it would grow. I finally purchased an unlocked Lumia 1020 for about $600.00 to replace my HTC phone. That is a lot of money for anyone to spend on a phone, and I was still hesitant at the time to do so. When Windows 10 Mobile was announced, I was quite satisfied my purchase was the correct one, as all reports were that my expensive phone hardware would get the Windows 10 Mobile upgrade. Yay! My decision was validated, and I looked forward to using the new features.

Not so much. The technical media sees Windows Phone as pretty much going the way of the Dodo. Despite having awesome hardware. (The newest Nokia phones, running Windows 10 Mobile, can connect to a Surface Dock and function as a regular computer, complete with full sized monitor, keyboard and mouse. How cool is that?) I was looking forward to getting the update on my Lumia 1020. Alas, Microsoft breaks its Windows 10 Mobile upgrade promise.

With reports of only about 2% market share, Microsoft will probably cut their losses sooner, rather than later. So I, and ‘tens of others’, will have to start considering what phone device to use next. There are a lot of media suggestions that the Windows Phone platform will not be around much longer. Even though some media report Starbucks, and a few US based banks, are starting to offer applications for the platform. Who knows how many other developers are working on Windows 10 Mobile applications? I won’t do anything soon, as my phone works quite well. It will not suddenly stop working once that inevitable decision is made to discontinue the line. However, I feel sad such a great set of products will probably soon be gone; and I will have to compromise by purchasing yet another device.

Were Windows Phone devices poorly marketed? Overpriced? Under supported by developers? Yes, to all three, in my opinion. Will there be a ‘Surface’ branded replacement phone to round out the other hardware products Microsoft are now offering. Maybe. In any case, I will carry on investigating products that make sense for my small business; and by extension, yours. Stay tuned!

Triple Blue

While I had to hold my nose as I marked an X on the ballot, the results of the 2015 Canadian federal election have changed the political landscape here from ‘blue’ to ‘red’. Whether that is going to benefit the country or not, remains to be seen. However, like his father before him, Justin Trudeau seems to have generated some feelings of hope and optimism into the population. No more feeling ‘blue’ in Canada. Something to cheer about.

Along those same lines, Toronto Blue Jays fans have hope and optimism back in their clubhouse, with a win in the third game of the American League Championship Series. Will the team take the series? That would be awesome; and also something to cheer about.

And blue number three? Windows 10 seems to have hit a home run with computer users as well. (Blue being the colour associated with the operating systems from Microsoft.) At the October 2015 new hardware launch event, Microsoft said that Windows 10 was now running on over 110 million devices worldwide.

I have been using it since it became available for evaluation; about a year before it was officially released to the public. As part of the Windows Insider (i.e. guinea pig) team, I continue to have one laptop running the latest evaluation version of the product. From a general use standpoint, it seems to have combined the best of the Windows 7 and 8/8.1 operating systems into one. Most people will find the familiarity of the desktop look to be comforting, and the new features, intriguing. I encourage you to give Windows 10 a try.The upgrade is free from Microsoft. And that is also something to cheer about!

It’s a ‘10’ kind of day!

The day has finally arrived – Windows 10 starts to roll out to the general public today. If you have reserved your copy of Windows 10, you will get notified when it is available to you. Note – it will take weeks for it to be deployed widely. Do not expect to see it right away. However, when the bits are ready for your computer, you will be informed with a Windows Update notification.

(If you do not recall getting a notification about Windows 10 being available for your computer, make sure the ‘GWX or Get Windows 10’ application is installed. It was installed by a Windows Update – KB3035583. Get it by going to your control panel and run Windows Update to install any available updates for your computer. The GWX application includes a compatibility checker to let you know about any issues with your existing hardware or software. Hopefully, there will be no surprises for you should you choose to move to Windows 10. If you need help with any of this, please contact me.)

Should you get Windows 10? Well, like all good IT people, my response is “that depends”. It really does depend on you, and how happy you are with what you currently use. My personal feeling is most people using any version of Windows 7 or 8 should upgrade. It will be familiar to Windows 7 users, with the added benefits of the live tiles and Modern applications that now are capable of running in a window. Windows 8 users will no longer have the ‘shock’ of the switch between the desktop and the Start screen. (If you are still using Windows XP we need to talk…)

From a performance standpoint my test laptop seems to work quite snappily. I don’t have any hard data to share; that is just a subjective observation from having used the various versions of Windows 10 over the past year. All my programs seem to work without any issues. However, there is one gotcha. Windows Media Center is gone. For those of you, like me, who used that as a control hub for picture viewing, listening to music, and watching movies and videos, this is a big loss. There are other solutions, most notably VLC, that can be installed as a replacement.

If you have any questions or concerns, or you just want to see Windows 10 in action to help with your decision, please contact me. I am happy to work with you. You can reach me from my web site at http://www.mscsinfo.com/contact.html, or give me a call at 905-770-6967.

Be careful out there…

Well, the criminal elements of society continue to prey on the unsuspecting consumer. I still spend hours helping clients (both home and business) with virus infected, or otherwise compromised computers. It seems everyone is a target. Bad guys can be those who want to annoy others with incessant popup advertising, all they way up to people whose mission it is to destroy data and/or lives.

The latest warning article to cross my desk is about a spyware program called Rombertik. It apparently collects data on everything you do online. The nasty part (as if collecting all you do online were not enough) is that it monitors itself for detection by your antivirus tools. Should it detect that it has been discovered, it ‘bricks’ your computer by overwriting key system areas, or by encrypting all your files.

So, make sure whatever antivirus solution you use is always up to date. Trust no one. Or, the slightly less harsh, trust, but verify. (i.e. get in touch with the sender of that email with the ‘cute picture’ attached, to make sure they are actually sending you something; and it is not a bad email just using the name of your friend to gain your trust.) If you have any doubts, just delete it – whatever ‘it’ is.

One of the easiest things to do to protect yourself when working with your computer is to slow down. That seems counter-intuitive in this age of getting things done quickly. However, it will probably save your bacon, by having you not click on something just out of habit. Be thoughtful about what links you click. Hover your mouse over the link to see where that click might take you. (Anyone can make a link and disguise it as something nice. Hover your mouse over this link for a Great Summer Activity! See? Either right at the mouse, or perhaps at the bottom of your browser window should be an indication of the web page you will actually be directed to when you click the link. What it says on a link is not necessarily where you will end up.

Also remember that no one will initiate a phone call to you letting you know your computer has errors, viruses, internet problems, etc.They typically say they are from Microsoft, or Windows Support, and they want to connect to your computer to ‘fix’ the problem.  If you receive a phone call like that, please just hang up.They do not have your best interests at heart.

As always, if you have any questions, or would like further help with your specific situation, please contact me.

2015 – One Month down…

Well, I hope your first month of this year has passed with no problems. Are you still enjoying the new gadgets received last December? I certainly hope the shine has not worn off so soon!

Unfortunately, I have had to help a number of you with virus infections. Luckily, they were not too bad to eliminate. Please continue to read my blog posts about being vigilant with email use, and web browsing. And do ‘like’ my Facebook page, too, as another point at which you can keep notified about technology issues. (https://www.facebook.com/MSCSINFO)

I continue to work with the new Windows 10 operating system. To date, I have looked at it as a virtual machine. That is so I did not have to dedicate any specific hardware to it. There have now been three or four iterations of the product, each time getting better and better (in my humble opinion…) So, now I am ready to take the plunge into putting it on a laptop. There is a ‘promise’ of an in-place upgrade that is non-destructive; as well as an option to easily roll-back to the previous operating system version. (I am still going to make sure I have a good backup because this is not the final release, by any means.)

What is very interesting,to me, is a recent statement by Microsoft. When the final bits are ready there will be a free upgrade for all users of Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 to Windows 10 for the first year of availability. (There are some hardware restrictions, but the majority of computers out there now running those systems should qualify.) To read more about the latest release see: Windows 10 An Exciting New Chapter

I’ll let you know how my upgrade experience progresses. Thanks for reading!

Sysadmin Day!

I wonder how many beer will be bought for me today????!

New Canadian Anti-Spam law

A new Canadian law comes into effect on 1 July 2014. It is meant to help control the amount of spam email (or any electronic communications, really) that gets to you. On the surface, that is great. However, can you say ‘Canada Do Not Call List’ without rolling your eyes in disgust? It will remain to be seen how useful this new legislation will be in combatting the electronic junk that continues to bombard us. I suspect the ‘bad’ people will continue to ignore the new law, just as they do the Do Not Call list. But I am getting cynical in my old age…

You have probably been receiving a lot of messages asking you to opt-in to email communications from the various companies with which you deal; especially those that send out newsletters. They are trying to comply with this new legislation. I was only made aware of the law within the last couple of months. But, I cannot find any specific guidance on what backend systems need to be in place to comply with the law. It appears that businesses will have to make their own tracking system. (Thankfully, there is a three year implementation phase to get these monitoring processes in place.)

Here is a link to the basic information I have been able to find: http://cfib.ca/a6267e After 1 July 2014 the onus is on the sender of any Commercial Electronic Message (CEM) to prove they have your express or implied consent to do so. That means businesses of all types will have to have a system in place to keep track of those consents, as well as a means to reconfirm an implied consent after two years from the start of the relationship.

I have to go now to start working on my system to manage this new Canadian business requirement. If you are an existing client, expect a message from me!