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Ferrum Technology Services Blog

Ferrum Technology Services has been serving the Elgin area since 2007, providing IT Support such as technical helpdesk support, computer support, and consulting to small and medium-sized businesses.

Hashtags Mean Business

b2ap3_thumbnail_tagball400.jpgWhat's a #hashtag? One recent addition to popular culture is the use of hashtags. Every time you look at a flier, watch the news, or talk with a teenager, you'll be exposed to different and confusing hashtags. What are hashtags anyway? What's their function? How can they help your social media marketing efforts? #readmore

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ALERT: Crypto Locker Ransomware Alert

cryptolocker.jpgEarlier this year, a nasty new type of ransomware burst onto the scene. Unlike others, however, this new one’s bite was every bit as bad as its bark. The Cryptolocker hijacker sniffs out your personal files and wraps them in strong encryption before it demands money.

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IBM CEO Explains the Importance of Data Management

b2ap3_thumbnail_data400.jpgAs doing business becomes more complex and competitive, having access to accurate data is becoming increasingly important. This is the assessment of IBM chair, president and CEO Ginni Rometty from her speech on October 2nd at the IBM InterConnect 2013 event. According to Rometty, businesses that successfully use data will share these three characteristics.

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Heed Our Warning and Upgrade from Windows XP

b2ap3_thumbnail_xpeee400.jpgFor years we have been recommending to our clients that they upgrade from Windows XP. Come April 8th, 2014 this is no longer a recommendation, it's a necessity! While April 8th may not be the end of the world, it is the end of your computer's world if you're still running XP because Microsoft is ending support.

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What You Should Know About Google Glass

b2ap3_thumbnail_glass400.jpgEvery few years, an invention that carries the potential to shake things up enters the market. Over the past fifty years alone, cell phones, digital music, personal computers, GPS technology, and more has changed the way our culture works, prioritizes, and interacts. Is Google Glass the next game-changer?

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The Art of Technologese

b2ap3_thumbnail_vend400.jpgYou can hear what they are saying, but it just doesn't make any sense. You zone out. Cookies. Rambo. The Yankees. "Does that sound good", says your IT technician as you snap back into the conversation. "Sure!", you say reluctantly. Your tech is a master in the ancient art of Technologese.

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Comparing Real Clouds to Cloud Computing

b2ap3_thumbnail_ccloud400.jpgMany people believe cloud computing takes place in actual clouds and is therefore affected by the weather. In reality, the clouds in the sky do not affect computers, and information is actually stored in data centers that look nothing like clouds. Even though virtual clouds and real clouds are different, we can compare them in order to learn about cloud computing.

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Good Communication Prevents Frustrating-yet-Funny IT Support

b2ap3_thumbnail_iteee400.jpgIt's frustrating to do things the hard way. Although sometimes, the frustration experienced by others can be pretty entertaining to watch. One of the ripest scenarios for frustration is bad IT service caused by poor communication. Having good communication tools can save both ends of an IT support call from getting frustrated.

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Is Your Company Prepared for a Disaster?

b2ap3_thumbnail_expect400.jpgAccording to a recent study, only 13% of small businesses consider themselves vulnerable to a data-loss disaster. In reality, 20% of small businesses will have an accident once every five years. No business is impenetrable. Every organization needs a disaster recovery plan.

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Mobile Battery Maintenance is so 2005

b2ap3_thumbnail_dacingbatt400.jpgIs it a myth? Is it really best to wait for your mobile devices' batteries to fully deplete before you recharge them? This sagely advice has been floating around for years, but is it true or just hearsay? Battery technology has recently made some great advancements, ushering in a new-school of mobile battery maintenance practice.

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How Safe is Your Email?

Email is (and has been) a prime method of communication for businesses of all sizes. With email comes a whole slew of issues that are essentially synonymous with the technology; spam, information overload, phishing, and information privacy. Even Nationwide small businesses that only do business locally are at risk of these issues. Personal email accounts are equally at risk. Employing proper precautions and practices whenever communicating via email is very important to prevent the risk of security compromises, monetary loss, and even legality issues.

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Slow Computer? Increase your memory to boost computer Speeds

Sometimes when your workstation feels bogged down, a relatively cheap and simply hardware update can make a huge difference in performance. Adding more RAM (Random Access Memory, often just referred to as memory) can be a game changer for your bogged down PC.

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What is your Identity Worth to You?

Your identity has quite a lot of value, especially in the wrong hands. Security firm ZoneAlarm put together some numbers in 2011 concerning identity fraud, and it even shocked us. Let's talk about a few of these statistics and what it means.

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Disaster Recovery and Why it Matters to Nationwide Businesses

When you mention the term 'disaster recovery,' most people think about the big ground-shattering events like earthquakes, fires, floods, tropical storms, etc. While these natural events are certainly disasters and devastating in their own right, smaller things can constitute as a disaster for your business, and they aren't seasonal.

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5 Tips for Saving Money on your IT

Saving a little on your technology can go a long ways, but cutting too many corners can lead to additional problems and expensive downtime. Here are a few ways you can cut costs without creating long term issues.

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Let's Talk Tablets

Tablets are definitely becoming a staple in the consumer electronics world. For the longest time, the tablet PC was an expensive, clunky device that just didn't wow consumers. Some businesses had adopted tablets back in the day, but they were difficult to use, hard to support, and they simply didn't perform for the price tag. However, like many consumer electronics, Apple reinvigorated the tablet market with the original iPad, and now it would seem tablets are here to stay. The question is, are they right for businesses?

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