tech bench Archives · Page 2 of 4 · AE Technology Group

How Professional Help Desk Support Can Benefit Your Company

Is your company is trying to handle its internal help desk support needs on its own?

You are probably misdirecting time, money, and management attention that could better be used in building your core business.

Many small companies try to provide the hardware, software, and network support their employees need by depending on in-house personnel. Sometimes it’s a small support group with official responsibilities for assisting employees. Other companies provide IT support on an informal basis, relying on the willingness and ability of some workers, who have job responsibilities of their own, to share their time and knowledge with coworkers when the need arises.

Although it may seem that keeping IT support in house is the most cost-effective option for a business with a limited budget, just the opposite is often the case. The cost in lost time, in employee confusion and frustration, and in operational inefficiency as workers are diverted from their own tasks in a sometimes futile attempt to aid coworkers, often far outweighs the cost of using a professional help desk support service.

A good Help Desk provider will have employees whose job it is to know your IT setup in depth, so that they can offer expert assistance with hardware, software, and networking issues on a 24/7 basis. Plus, they’ll be able to train your employees so that fewer IT-related problems arise in the first place.

Unlike your company, a Help Desk vendor’s business is focused on maintaining a dedicated, expert staff, along with time-tested procedures for handling a wide variety of support issues quickly and successfully. It’s very difficult for a small internal support staff, and certainly for employees who informally share their expertise with coworkers, to match the service a professional Help Desk company can provide.

If you would like to explore how the professional Help Desk services AE Technology Group offers can provide superior IT support, and help you eliminate unnecessary distractions from your core business, please contact us.

3 Tips for Troubleshooting Computer Problems for Businesses

troubleshooting computer problems

Computer problems can be a difficult thing to deal with in any business environment. If you are having network issues, computer hardware failures or software compatibility problems, it can be a real challenge to self diagnose and find the cause of the issue. Troubleshooting computer problems is our strong suit but it’s always important for our clients to address the issue first to determine if there really is a problem.

#1 – Run CCleaner on the PC in Question

CCleaner is a free application for Windows computers that specializes in clearing away excess files on your PC. You can use CCleaner to delete temporary internet files, cookies, undeleted recycle bin items and more. Additionally, CCleaner also clears your registry. Be sure to use the backup option provided before attempting to clear, sometimes clearing the registry can create errors and doing this backup would be essential to restoring. CCleaner also provides the user with access to uninstalling applications, changing which applications run on startup, analyzing the condition of your hard drive and more.

#2 – View Speccy on the PC in Question

Speccy is another free application developed by the same company. Speccy allows you to see details about your computer such as the CPU, RAM, motherboard, graphics card, hard drive, optical drive, audio and operating system. It not only lists the parts and their specifications, it also provides temperature data for these individual components. If your CPU was overheating, it would be listed here for you to find while operating the computer. Parts that are overheating can cause issues with the computer and make it much less efficient.

#3 – Run Anti-Virus, Anti-Malware and Defragment Software

If your computer has been infected with a virus, has malware or has become bogged down from use, running these tools can fix the problem. Anti-virus and anti-malware software is essential to clearing your computer of corrupted files and applications that are intending to cause harm. Defragement software works to clean up your hard disk drive and realign files on the disk in a simplified formation. Defragmenting is important for computers with older hard drives.

These three things can help you troubleshoot computer problems by ruling out what isn’t. If it is not a registry or file error which should would be cleared with CCleaner, a hardware issue which should by found by Speccy, or a virus, malware bug or hard drive fragmentation issue, then you may want to contact us and speak with a professional computer troubleshooting expert.

Optimize Your Business by Speeding Up Your Windows 10 Startup

One common complaint from Windows users who’ve upgraded to Windows 10 is a suddenly slow startup speed. Since upgrading, have you gotten in the habit of arriving at the office, turning on your computer, and then shuffling off to brew some coffee while waiting for it to start up?

Even if it isn’t that bad, chances are that you can speed up your startup with these tips.

1. Run a virus scan

Windows comes loaded with its own virus protection package, Windows Defender. You can either use that or whatever third-party anti-virus program you prefer. Just open the program and follow its instructions to run a full-system scan. Once you’re certain that you’re virus and malware-free, move on to the next step.

2. Check your startup applications

The more applications and processes your computer has to boot, the longer your startup time will be. To make changes here, open your Windows task manager by hitting Ctrl + Alt + Esc on your keyboard. Sort the items by their ‘startup impact rating’, so that the high ones are listed first. Determine which high impact processes are crucial upon startup, and simply disable anything that isn’t. Remember, you aren’t uninstalling these programs, so don’t worry. You can always return to the task manager to undo any changes you’ve made.

3. Turn on Fast Startup

From the Start Menu, click on Power Options. On the left panel, click Choose What The Power Button Does, and then select Change Settings That Are Currently Unavailable. From there, check the box for Turn On Fast Startup, save your changes, and voila!

4. Delayed start options

Did you know that you can alter your startup so that some applications boot immediately, and others do soon after? This will get your PC up and running more quickly without forgoing any necessary startup applications.

To do this, reboot your computer, and then as soon as the desktop appears, hit the Windows Key + R. This opens your Run Box. Type in services.msc and hit enter. Observe the list of services that appear. If any of them seem to take longer to launch than the others, right-click and open it. From there, change the settings from default to delayed start, save the changes, and reboot.

For more tips to keep your business computer running smoothly, contact us today.

speed

How to Create a Password to Protect Your Computer

A password is a word or string of characters you use for user authentication. You must know it in order to prove your identity or gain approval to access an account. A hacker is a person who illegally gets access to a computer system and tampers with the information.

Tips on how to protect your computer from hackers are below.

Do not use a password that contains parts of your name or email address.
Do not include personal information or use consecutive numbers in your password.
Avoid using a password that has familiar slang terms or phrases.
Use variations on numbers, punctuation, capitalization and spelling. A secure password is lengthy, random, and unique.
Use the Bruce Schneier’s Method. It was created by a security expert who recommends that you take a sentence and turn it into a password. Take the words from the sentence, then abbreviate and combine them.

It is also important to protect your computer from viruses by using antivirus software. There are several commercial products that can help protect your computer from various viruses, worms, Trojans and other hacker tools. Your software must be configured to update its database on what to look for. Use a firewall as well because it tries to block hackers from entering or using your computer. Firewall examines electronic data coming in or out of your computer and compares it to the rules. If the data matches the rules, it is permitted to pass. If it does not, it is blocked.

For more information please contact us.

How to Type Faster on the Computer

Doing something for years doesn’t guarantee that you’re doing it correctly. This is the case for several people who have never had formal typing training.

Here’s how you can type faster on the computer

Improve your finger placement

Finger placement is the most important factor when it comes to typing. Some users still don’t know what keys their fingers should be on while in the starting position.

It might feel uncomfortable at first, but you’ll get used to it over time. Remember, there’s no real way to improve your typing speed without getting your finger placement down first.

Use all 10 fingers

10 fingers can type faster than 2 fingers. No one argues that, and yet you’ll still see many people in the office who type with their two pointer fingers.

As long as you’ve learned the correct finger placements, you can type with 10 fingers. All you have to do is know which keys each finger is responsible for.

Practice

Once you’ve taken care of the two most important factors — finger placement and using all 10 fingers — there’s not really anything else that you need to learn. However, starting to type this way will undoubtedly feel awkward at first. By using sites like Typingtest.com, you can improve your speed over time. Just start out slow, learn the correct movements, and get better as you go along.

Buy a new laptop

It’s possible that your laptop is limiting your typing speed. Some brands, like Lenovo, are known for having excellent keyboards. If you just picked the cheapest laptop at Best Buy several years ago, then it may be time for a new one. If typing speed is your main focus, then read reviews regarding different laptops and their keyboards.

To talk more about improving your typing speed on the computer, or anything else, contact us today.

computer tips