Blog - IT Managed Service Provider First Column IT, VA, DC & MD

Our number one goal is to take care of the complexities of your technology, so you don’t have to! Part of that mission includes educating your team and providing an easy-to-access source of information so your business can focus on thriving. We hope you enjoy our tech blog and turn to it as your go-to source for the latest technology news and advice.

February 26, 2025

Take Social Media Scams Seriously

While social media has given us the capability to communicate beyond anything we’ve seen since the popularization of the Internet itself, this isn’t all a good thing. These platforms have made it easier for people to scam others, after all, making it necessary for everyone to take their personal cybersecurity and that of their company even more seriously.

February 24, 2025

Three Easy Ways to Start Making Security a Priority Today

Security is one of the more worrisome parts of running a business, and it doesn’t matter what size your organization is either. Whether you’re a small startup or a large enterprise, security is still going to be paramount. But it doesn’t have to be confusing; in fact, we have three simple strategies you can start implementing today to help you move your security infrastructure in the right direction.

February 21, 2025

For Businesses, Windows PowerToys are More Like Power Tools

Windows PowerToys is a collection of handy utilities that can offer a lot of value to those with some use for them. We wanted to briefly run through some of the most business-friendly options you might want to implement into your operations.

February 19, 2025

Microsoft Windows for Beginners: Part 1 - The Taskbar

Windows might be the standard for business, but that’s because it was the original standard. These days, children grow up with Chromebooks in schools while using Mac and Apple products for their personal devices. It might not be safe any longer to assume that today’s workers know what they’re doing with the Windows operating system, especially as a younger generation grows up and enters the workforce.

February 17, 2025

Tip of the Week: Save This List of YouTube Keyboard Shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts are an underrated way to be more productive throughout your workday. Today, we want to highlight some excellent shortcuts that will help you make the most out of everyone’s favorite video platform, YouTube.

February 14, 2025

Three Reasons Downtime is Really Bad for Your Business

Experiencing downtime can severely harm your business. If you're not actively monitoring your network to minimize it, you're putting your operations at risk. Downtime refers to any period when your organization isn't functioning as intended, and it's crucial to manage it diligently. Failing to do so can lead to several challenging issues.

February 12, 2025

Tip of the Week: Sick of Google’s AI Overviews? Here’s How to Say Goodbye

Artificial intelligence—AI—is rapidly appearing in more and more contexts, but one most people have almost certainly seen by now is at the top of Google’s search engine results. For those who would rather not see these generated results—which have been found to be occasionally contradictory or outright wrong, depending on the source the AI has drawn from—there are actually a few ways to accomplish this.

February 10, 2025

The Fascinating History of the Cut, Copy, and Paste Shortcuts

Technology can do some incredible things, but there’s a reason why basic tools still remain popular even to this day. It’s because they cracked the code for productivity, and they are so easy that anyone can use them. For example, there’s the Cut, Copy, and Paste commands that can be used in literally any application out there.

February 7, 2025

Think Microsoft Will Extend Windows 10 Support? Think Again

Later this year, Windows 10 will no longer be supported—October 15, if you want to be exact. Are you taking steps to ensure you’re upgrading away from Windows 10? If not, you might want to get on that… and consider upgrading away from Office, while you’re at it, since Microsoft is pulling support for that around the same time, too.

Welcome to the First Column IT Tech Blog