Okay, computers are complicated. Everybody knows it, even IT professionals understand how infuriatingly complex computers can be sometimes! Unfortunately, the average computer owner doesn’t know what it takes to make a computer last, and you may have wondered in the past why that factory new performance and speed turns into the unbearably sluggish piece of junk we’ve all dealt with at some point or another. And you can’t be blamed for not knowing either, because a computer’s need for maintenance isn’t talked about and as widely known as a car’s for instance.
 
Even if you aren’t a big car person, and I am not, we all know about the basic upkeep that a car requires. Topping up the tank, getting an oil change, putting air in the tires are all things we know we have to do, because if left unchecked, they could cause much bigger problems. Computers are exactly the same way! If you don’t at least occasionally pay attention to your computer’s needs, it can cause lasting damages down the road.
 
Secondly, both need to be cleaned every once in a while. Neglecting a car’s hygiene won’t only make it look bad, it will also make it rust faster which in turn can interfere with its performance. While your computer won’t quite rust over, you have to be on the lookout for dust. I know, I know, the most common indoor annoyance since the existence of particles is difficult to keep at bay but checking the inside of your computer periodically will really go a long way. If you find dust clogging up the inside, use a can of air to blow it loose and a soft cloth to wipe it down. Dusting the inside of a computer can go a long way towards staving off damage down the road.
 
Thirdly, we like cars to go fast. Not everyone wants to be a speed demon, but at the very least we want to go fast enough to get where we’re going in a reasonable amount of time. Once again, that sounds exactly like what we expect out of our computers. Waiting for something to load on a computer is a comparable experience to sitting in rush hour traffic sometimes. And just like rush hour, you might be dealing with this problem on a regular basis, if not every day. There are a number of both free and not-so-free tips on how to speed up your computer on our video "How To Speed Up Your Computer".

Another huge similarity is the need for safety features and precautions. We care about them a lot on our cars, and for good reason. There’s a good reason that a car’s brakes can always overpower its engine. Turn signals aren’t only there for convenience, they’re there so that you can let nearby drivers and pedestrians what you’re doing, and everyone’s safer for it. Anti-virus works the same way. Sure, your computer’s security may not be a matter of life and death like a car, but it very much is a matter of financial ruin, identity theft, and losing your control of your social media, which is scary for a myriad of reasons. If you’re a business owner, this is especially important. For example, sixty percent of businesses that are hit with ransom-ware attacks go out of business within six months. Being lax on IT security can lead to the loss of your very livelihood. Consult your IT provider to make sure you have more than enough protection.
 
If you still need your IT secured, give us a call here at Nice Guy Technology. We’re here to help.

Video Transcription:
​Computers are constantly evolving. In a world where technological innovations are moving faster than ever before, your computer’s speed should be no exception. The days of dial-up, and even low-speed Wi-Fi, are largely antiquated and gone. With these advancements in connectivity and hardware, your computer should always run super quickly... right? Unfortunately, we both know that that’s not always the case. Computer manufacturers rarely prioritize speed over everything else, and because of that, we so often find ourselves in the multi-generations old issue of screaming at your computer because it won’t even Google something quickly let alone download a file. Luckily, we have some tips on how you can speed your computer up and stop dealing with those spinning beach balls and blue rings.

Let’s start with some things you can do that are totally free and won’t pose any cost to you: Firstly we recommend deleting unnecessary files from your main hard drive. Whether it be a solid state or a hard disk drive, your computer may be performing slowly due to the clutter of unneeded files. Scanning your computer for viruses also helps, as removing those viruses could and likely will speed up your computer. Also, if you have a lot of programs open at the same time, this can really slow down your computer, so try keeping your opened programs to a minimum, and see if you notice any difference. This is especially likely to be a culprit if you use particularly taxing programs such as video editors. Keeping your operating system up to date can help as well, because using a computer on an outdated foundation will likely cause various performance issues. It’s also very important to never download a program that promises to speed your computer up for you unless you know for certain that it’s legitimate. There are services such as the anti-virus Bitdefender that comes with a package for performance optimization. Choosing a less than reputable program for this, however, could give you viruses or malware.

If those free, less involved options don’t work for you, you may need to go a bit further in how you improve your speed. Namely, your computer’s hardware might need to be upgraded. The number one hardware upgrade that we recommend is from a regular hard drive to a solid-state drive, or SSD. This will make your computer so much faster with loading and opening programs, assets, and any other files you end up storing on that drive. Our second recommendation is to install larger amounts of RAM into your computer. RAM is also commonly referred to as your computer’s memory. Upgrading memory basically makes the computer a better multitasker so that having multiple programs open won’t be such an issue. Of course, sometimes even a hardware upgrade can’t solve an issue if your computer is too old or too beat up. If your goal is to pump some more life into a decade old computer, we recommend having a professional look at first to let you know if it would be a waste of your money. 

As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact us here at Nice Guy Technology. And, if you’re a business owner, there’s no reason that IT should be yet another responsibility for you. Please give us a call, we want to know how we can help make your life a little bit easier.

It is time for students to start the school year, and with different times comes different procedures. Most kids will be studying online, at least for now. With the internet playing an increasingly vital role in children’s lives, we must be vigilant toward the online dangers that could threaten their safety. We have devised these 6 tips to help you and your children understand how to stay safe so that you can focus on giving your child a great education.

1. Treat all your personal information like your biggest secret. Never share a full name, school name, password, home address, or phone number. Assume that anyone on the internet wants this information for malicious purposes.
2. Stranger Danger! Let your student know that if a stranger reaches out to them online, they need to block that person and tell you or a trusted adult immediately.
3. Remind students to ask permission before downloading or purchasing apps.
4. Be wary of emails from people you/they don’t know. Never click links or open attachments that you aren’t expecting from someone.
5. When using video, be aware of your surroundings. Does the background reveal any personal information or exact location? Use a sticker or piece of tape to cover the camera when not in use.
6. If your student or any other child becomes the target of cyberbullying, remind them to screenshot the evidence, block the bully, and share the experience with a trusted adult.

Video Transcription:
Hi, we're Nice Guy Technology and we're an MSSP - or Managed Security Services Provider. What does that mean in English? Well, business waste time and money every day on technology issues. We fix the problems and keep things running smoothly so that you can have peace of mind and focus on your business!

​We provide automated, remote monitoring as well as top of the line antivirus and antimalware so that your technology can stay secure and last longer. We'll even connect remotely to your computer to help you solve a problem on the spot! We also provide onsite assistance because sometimes technology needs a hands-on approach. If you're located in the greater Columbus area, we'll be there.

Nice Guy Technology strives to provide small to medium sized businesses with a simple, effective solution for tech management that doesn't require the elevated cost of a full time, in-house IT professional. You should be able to spend the time you need focusing on your business, not wrangling your technology.

​And, you should never have to deal with rude or complicated IT professionals. With Nice Guy Technology, you won't have to. We stand by our obligation to be... kind, committed and clear with everyone we work with. Thank you! We can't wait to help you accomplish great things!

Video Transcription:
​What exactly are the cookies and cache and what do they do? Well, when you visit certain websites, they’ll create what’s called a cookie. Unfortunately, not the baked treat cookie. Although that would be awesome. Rather, these cookies are files that save your browsing information so that things can run and load faster. The cache is pretty similar. It keeps pieces of and parts of the different pages you visit in its memory so that it can load faster the next time you visit those pages.
 
The problem is that cookies and the cache can do exactly the opposite of what they’re supposed to by clogging up your browser, especially if the data is older. This is why clearing them could help speed things up or fix problems you might be having with the site. Here’s how you can clear the cache and cookies:
 
I’ll be showing you how to do this first with Chrome, and secondly using Firefox. Other browsers should work quite similarly. In Chrome, first click the “more” button in the top right corner. It looks like 3 dots stacked on top of each other. Then go down here and hover the mouse over “more tools.” Mouse over here and click on the “clear browsing data” button. It’ll open up the settings tab here, and if you want to preserve your browser and download history, you can go to the advanced section here and uncheck everything except for “Cookies and other site data” and “Cached images and files.” Then click clear data at the bottom right of the popup, and you’re done!
 
On Firefox, you’ll want to click on the “gear icon” in the top right corner. This takes you to a menu that has several different tabs on the side. Click the Privacy and Security tab and scroll down until you see “Cookies and site data.” From here you will have the options for clearing data, managing data, and managing permissions as well as a box that can be checked that allows Firefox to delete the cookies and site data when Firefox is closed. To clear the cookies and cached images, just click “clear data,” then on the next menu, click “clear.”
 
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to us here, at Nice Guy Technology! We’re here to help.

Video Transcription:
​You’ve likely heard the term “phishing” before, but what exactly does it mean? Well, phishing refers to when hackers disguise themselves as trusted sources to try to trick you into “taking the bait” so to speak, so that they can steal your sensitive information. These phishing attempts can come in the form of email, text messages or phone calls and often times appear to be legitimate.
Let’s talk about a few tricks you can use to protect yourself from phishing scams:
 
Never send passwords or personal information via email. Your information is the primary thing that hackers and scammers are looking for, and they’ll use it to access your finances or anything else they can use to make a profit at your expense.
 
Secondly, don’t click unexpected links or open unexpected attachments. Hackers use these to install viruses on your device, and you likely won’t know the extent of the damage until it’s far too late.
 
It’s also important to hover your cursor over links to reveal the actual URL. If the real URL is different from the one that appeared to be legitimate, then that’s a huge red flag that something is wrong! You’ll also want to check the URL and the message for misspellings and poor grammar. It’s incredibly unlikely that a legitimate company will be sending out haphazardly written materials, and far more likely that a criminal would do exactly that.
 
Please, if you receive an email, text, or voice message that seems phishy, check with your IT department or feel free to contact us here, at Nice Guy Technology! We’re here to help.

Video Transcription:
​We’re in the middle of Spring now, and despite the world being turned upside down, I think that the Spring-cleaning mindset is just as important as ever. In fact, more important than it ever has been! We’re all a little, or a lot, stir crazy, and setting some goals for yourself while in quarantine can do nothing but help. That’s why I’d like to give you some ideas for Spring-cleaning your tech.
 
I know that we’re probably nowhere near the first people to recommend physically cleaning your technology right now, but that’s because it really is a good idea to get those germ-infested screens nice and pristine! First of all, we recommend using canned air to get all that dust and debris out of the interior of your computers and keyboards. Dust accumulates in these areas much faster than you’d think, and with enough buildup and time, can and likely will do damage to your devices. To clean the grime off of screens and the outside of your tech devices, you can either use a solution made for that, or use a glass cleaning solution as long as it doesn’t have ammonia. You’ll also want to use a microfiber cloth to avoid being too rough.
 
Your hardware isn’t the only thing that needs attention, the software side of things should get a touch up as well. Check to see if your device needs software updates, or if your applications need updated. Also, one of the most important things you can do to ensure lasting security for your data is to back everything up! Systems, devices, and files all need backed up, and only then can you be sure that no matter what happens to your device, you’ll be able to find everything you otherwise would have lost. You’ll also want to delete all of the applications you no longer use. We’ve all downloaded applications that we wanted to use a year ago and haven’t touched since, but they unnecessarily take up space and can slow your computer down. Dormant apps could even pose a security risk depending on how secure they are to begin with!
 
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to comment on this video or reach out to us here, at Nice Guy Technology! We’re here to help.

Video transcription:

If you’re like me, you’re opening up the same few internet tabs every time you get on your computer. This is especially likely if you’re working from home right now, since you’d be using certain websites over and over again for your job. To make things just that much easier, I want to show you how you can set your web browser to automatically open certain pages when you get on.
 
I use Chrome, so that’s what we’ll be using here, but most other browsers are going to have really similar instructions. The first thing you want to do after opening the browser is click on the “more” button located in the top right corner, it looks like 3 dots stacked on top of each other. Near the bottom here you can find the “settings” button, and that’s where we want to go. Scroll down to the bottom where you’ll find a section called “On Startup.” If you click on “Open a specific page or set of pages” you’ll see the option to add a new page or use your current pages. One way to set this up is to go ahead and open every tab that you want to open automatically from now on. Then if you click on “Use current pages,” it will include every tab that’s open aside from the settings one that you’re currently using. You could also click on “Add a new page” where you’ll need to put in a URL. Do this by going to a page: Nice Guy Technology’s “News & Updates” for instance! – random example – and copy that URL. Then all you have to do is paste it back into settings, and voila: Everything you want is there right off the bat.
 
This can seem like a small thing, but by saving you a few seconds every time you go online, it really adds up quickly. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to comment on this video or reach out to us here, at Nice Guy Technology! We’re here to help.

The greatest threats to your company and its data come from hackers and cybercriminals. It’s just as important, however, to ensure the physical security of your devices while working from home.
 
Implement these recommendations:
• Shut down your device and store it in a secure place before leaving your home for any reason.
• Lock your computer when you step away from it. This is especially important if you have children or other family members around.
• Place your work devices out of sight at the end of the day. Not only does it keep them from being stolen, but helps you maintain work-life balance.

​Want more tips for setting up safe Work From Home networks? Check out our free resources here.

Of course, if you have an immediate IT need, you can always reach us at 614-233-1648.