Ferrum Technology Services Blog

No one likes a slow, glitchy computer. Sometimes, though, these issues aren’t just random annoyances—they could be signs that your computer’s hardware is starting to fail. Here are some warning signs to look for and why they matter.

If you think about it, having more knowledge about most things is inherently better than having less knowledge about it. In business computing, knowing how your business’ computing infrastructure and network is functioning, having the tools to remediate problems should they occur, and getting out ahead of potentially devastating problems could be the difference between a well-oiled machine and frustration and downtime. For this month’s tip, we thought we would give you everything you need to know about effectively monitoring your business’ IT. 

Microsoft OneNote has established itself as one of the most useful note-taking apps on the market. You might already be familiar with the sticky note, those little post-it notes you stick on your monitor to remember something. Today, we want to show you how you can use “sticky notes” in Microsoft OneNote.

Inviting guests and external users to your Microsoft Teams meetings is often necessary to fully utilize the platform's collaboration features. However, it's crucial to handle guests and external users with care, especially given the current focus on cybersecurity.

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.

Network security is an incredibly nuanced topic with a lot of specifics that must be addressed. Still, today, we want to give you some actionable items that you can use to take an active role in improving network security for your business. Let’s dig into some of the essential dos and don’ts of network security for small businesses.

Mobile devices, mainly smartphones, have become an indispensable tool for people to stay connected and to get things done on the go. While they can be a source of distraction, when used wisely, mobile devices can significantly enhance productivity. Let’s explore some practical tips on how to leverage the potential of your mobile device to maximize your efficiency and achieve your goals.

Technology is remarkably useful for plenty of business-related tasks, but even the most knowledgeable user isn’t going to know all of the features available to them. This is why we like to cover even small, basic tips that people can use to get just a little more value out of their technology. Here are three ways you can get more out of your Windows operating system.

My team and I are big fans of a good spreadsheet, just as a simple way of organizing and contextualizing your data. Therefore, we’re all for sharing some neat ways that you can make these visualizations even easier to communicate your findings through.

Let’s talk about how you can make your Excel spreadsheets into a heat map, giving you this kind of increased visibility.

You’ve probably seen QR codes all over the place, especially now that everyone has a built-in scanner right on their smartphone’s camera. They provide businesses with quick and easy ways to share information about resources, whether those resources are instruction manuals, assembly directions, restaurant menus, or even business cards. You can easily make QR codes for your business using a built-in Google Chrome feature.

We all have our favorite websites that we access all the time. Google Chrome makes it easy to set your favorite to the Home button in the browser window, allowing you to quickly make it back to your home page with a single click. Sure, you could just add a new bookmark and click that, but it’s just not the same as clicking on the Home button.

By default, when you download a file from the Internet, it will go to your Downloads folder, unless you specify for them to go elsewhere. While this is certainly a fine place for your downloaded files to wind up—at least for the short term—what if you wanted to change the default file location for your downloaded files? This is what today’s blog is all about: how you can change the downloaded file location for your Google Chrome web browser.

If you have ever asked yourself if it’s possible to protect a specific file or folder on your computer using built-in Windows functionality, then the answer is yes, it is possible. With some very basic file encryption, you can protect a file on your computer… as long as you aren’t expecting military-grade encryption or security, anyway.

Never underestimate the power of a comfortable workspace, as it can bring about improvements to productivity and employee satisfaction that can directly influence how profitable your business is. Since so many employees are still working remotely, we thought we would cover some ways employees can make the home office feel more comfortable.

If you have ever tried to wrestle with an out-of-control inbox, then you know it can be a challenge. You receive countless emails every day, and if you don’t find a way to handle them all, it can be challenging to stay on task. How can you make sure that your inbox organization isn’t putting your productivity on the line?

Any devout user of Android devices knows that Google Chrome is probably going to be the default browser on their devices, but what if you wanted to, for whatever reason, use a different one? There is a way to change the browser used on your Android device, and it all starts with knowing which browsers are available for use.

Computers are machines, and machines function best when they are kept clean and tidy. Therefore, to get the most return on your investment for your computer and other computing hardware, you’ll have to keep things relatively clean. Today’s blog is all about how to make sure this happens!

Want to get more out of your smartphone’s battery? There are plenty of ways to get more juice out of a charge, such as turning off Wi-Fi or other settings, but today’s tip will walk you through changing the screen resolution. This shouldn’t have a major effect on what you can do on your phone, but it can slightly reduce the amount of battery your phone uses while the screen is on.

How often do you run out of storage space on your computer? Hopefully, never. If you notice your computer’s hard drive is filling up but you aren’t adding a lot of files to the drive, it might be temporary files such as cookies and browser cache files taking up space.

Some high-profile business owners are notorious for having daily routines that build good habits, like going to the gym or waking up early, but more often than not, the stressors of day-to-day business build bad habits that compound on each other over time. Therefore, it is imperative that you address this now and develop good, productive habits.