Welcome to the First Column IT Tech Blog

HomeBlog
Don’t Let Tech Troubles Bring You Summertime Blues

Don’t Let Tech Troubles Bring You Summertime Blues

June 14, 2024

With the summer months comes the promise of fun… why would you want to stress about your technology during that time? To help prevent this, we’ve put together some tricks to protect your devices… both from cybersecurity issues and from the weather.

How to Protect Your Devices Throughout Your Travels

Your summer plans are too important to leave in the hands of cybercriminals. Here are a few ways you can keep your devices safer:

Update Before You Leave

Installing any software updates minimizes the vulnerabilities that a hacker could take advantage of while also avoiding the possibility of relying on notoriously insecure hotel Wi-Fi or eating up your mobile data.

Speaking of Which, Avoid Public Wi-Fi

It’s a good policy to assume that any public network is a compromised network. If you have the option, avoid it. If you have no choice, only use secure websites (https in the URL), utilize a virtual private network, and never share or transmit anything personal or sensitive.

Backup

Of course, we always recommend backing up data, and this is no exception. Your mobile data all needs to be backed up and synced across another device so you don’t lose your data if the device is lost, stolen, or otherwise damaged.

Use Finding Features

Today’s devices typically come with a tracking feature built in, allowing you to locate any on and Internet-connected device should it be lost or stolen.

How to Keep Your Devices at a Safe Temperature

Hot technology isn’t good, so here are a few tips to help keep your devices cool:

Ventilation is Your Friend

Your devices need to breathe, so ensure they have a few inches of space around them and nothing is blocking their vents. This will allow the heat mitigation systems within the devices to do their job and keep them cooler.

Heat is Not Your Friend

On a related note, you should try to keep your devices out of direct sunlight and, ideally, in the path of a fan or even an A/C. It also helps to keep your devices on lower levels of your home as heat rises.

Keep Your Devices Clean

Debris in your fans, such as dust, dirt, hair, and other detritus, can negatively impact their performance and slow or even stop their functioning. Cleaning them with compressed air will help keep them functioning appropriately. 

Kill the Power

If your device overheats and malfunctions, turn it off and disconnect the power supply. Do not turn it back on until it has cooled down. Refer to the earlier tips to help prevent it from overheating again.

Make sure you keep checking in here for insights and tips!

Previous Post
January 6, 2023
Reduce The Amount of Battery Life Chrome Uses
Google Chrome consumes your battery a lot faster than you might think, but Google has started to take steps toward implementing a feature that could potentially help users get more battery life while using their web browser. This new feature, an experimental one implemented with Chrome version 108, could potentially be a game-changer for both personal and professional Chrome use.
January 5, 2023
Is the Cloud Still a Good Business Decision in 2023?
A few… Well, more than a few years ago, when cloud computing exploded, it was one of the most exciting new ways to manage, distribute, and store digital information. Like most technological trends, it’s hard to pinpoint an exact date when the cloud became a thing, but generally the term started getting thrown around in the late 90s when some software platforms started using the Internet to host applications and information. In 1999, Salesforce was perhaps one of the most popular cloud-based platforms, offering a hosted version of their software that was available “on-demand” for businesses with a licensed subscription. 
January 4, 2023
Tip of the Week: How to Copy Excel Data
So, you’ve spent a ton of time and energy transcribing data into Microsoft Excel, only to find out that you need this same data elsewhere in your spreadsheets, too. Bit of a bummer, unless you know how to accurately and easily copy all of this data. Let’s go over how you can do so.

Have a project in mind?

Start with our free consultation. We will provide a detailed proposal and firm quote based on your specific IT support needs. All at a predictable monthly cost per seat.
Free Consultation - Sign Up Here