#fifonetworks — Public Fediverse posts

How to handle QuickBooks Desktop updates without giving the users Administrator privilege level: a case study.

THE SCENARIO
A small business runs QB Desktop, not QB Online. The data files are on a local server. There are three computers in the server room for Remote Access. Each RA computer has QB installed. Employees can work from home a certain number of days per week. They remote into these computers and run QuickBooks from there.

THE PROBLEM
The remote workers don’t have Administrator privileges (of course). But... QuickBooks updates can’t be installed without Admin privileges. Periodically they get stuck and can’t work until someone logs into each RA computer and applies the QB updates. This wastes valuable time and occasionally puts deadlines at risk, like payroll.

THE SOLUTION
The business owner now pays me a monthly fee to login to each RA computer twice a month and apply all updates. I do this the first time shortly after “Patch Tuesday,” so I can apply all Microsoft updates at the same time. I do it again near the end of the month. I do this after hours so it doesn’t interfere with the workflow.

FIFO NETWORKS
I provide small business tech support, by the hour, for companies that are too small to need a full-time IT person on staff. It’s not automated. I’m a real human being who checks the logs, pays attention, applies the fixes, and verifies the fixes work. I taught IT and Cybersecurity at a couple of colleges for 17 years. Let’s talk, and find out if I can help you.

#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks

#RemoteSupport #TechSupport #HelpDesk

How to handle QuickBooks Desktop updates without giving the users Administrator privilege level: a case study.

THE SCENARIO
A small business runs QB Desktop, not QB Online. The data files are on a local server. There are three computers in the server room for Remote Access. Each RA computer has QB installed. Employees can work from home a certain number of days per week. They remote into these computers and run QuickBooks from there.

THE PROBLEM
The remote workers don’t have Administrator privileges (of course). But... QuickBooks updates can’t be installed without Admin privileges. Periodically they get stuck and can’t work until someone logs into each RA computer and applies the QB updates. This wastes valuable time and occasionally puts deadlines at risk, like payroll.

THE SOLUTION
The business owner now pays me a monthly fee to login to each RA computer twice a month and apply all updates. I do this the first time shortly after “Patch Tuesday,” so I can apply all Microsoft updates at the same time. I do it again near the end of the month. I do this after hours so it doesn’t interfere with the workflow.

FIFO NETWORKS
I provide small business tech support, by the hour, for companies that are too small to need a full-time IT person on staff. It’s not automated. I’m a real human being who checks the logs, pays attention, applies the fixes, and verifies the fixes work. I taught IT and Cybersecurity at a couple of colleges for 17 years. Let’s talk, and find out if I can help you.

#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks

#RemoteSupport #TechSupport #HelpDesk

How to handle QuickBooks Desktop updates without giving the users Administrator privilege level: a case study.

THE SCENARIO
A small business runs QB Desktop, not QB Online. The data files are on a local server. There are three computers in the server room for Remote Access. Each RA computer has QB installed. Employees can work from home a certain number of days per week. They remote into these computers and run QuickBooks from there.

THE PROBLEM
The remote workers don’t have Administrator privileges (of course). But... QuickBooks updates can’t be installed without Admin privileges. Periodically they get stuck and can’t work until someone logs into each RA computer and applies the QB updates. This wastes valuable time and occasionally puts deadlines at risk, like payroll.

THE SOLUTION
The business owner now pays me a monthly fee to login to each RA computer twice a month and apply all updates. I do this the first time shortly after “Patch Tuesday,” so I can apply all Microsoft updates at the same time. I do it again near the end of the month. I do this after hours so it doesn’t interfere with the workflow.

FIFO NETWORKS
I provide small business tech support, by the hour, for companies that are too small to need a full-time IT person on staff. It’s not automated. I’m a real human being who checks the logs, pays attention, applies the fixes, and verifies the fixes work. I taught IT and Cybersecurity at a couple of colleges for 17 years. Let’s talk, and find out if I can help you.

#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks

#RemoteSupport #TechSupport #HelpDesk

How to handle QuickBooks Desktop updates without giving the users Administrator privilege level: a case study.

THE SCENARIO
A small business runs QB Desktop, not QB Online. The data files are on a local server. There are three computers in the server room for Remote Access. Each RA computer has QB installed. Employees can work from home a certain number of days per week. They remote into these computers and run QuickBooks from there.

THE PROBLEM
The remote workers don’t have Administrator privileges (of course). But... QuickBooks updates can’t be installed without Admin privileges. Periodically they get stuck and can’t work until someone logs into each RA computer and applies the QB updates. This wastes valuable time and occasionally puts deadlines at risk, like payroll.

THE SOLUTION
The business owner now pays me a monthly fee to login to each RA computer twice a month and apply all updates. I do this the first time shortly after “Patch Tuesday,” so I can apply all Microsoft updates at the same time. I do it again near the end of the month. I do this after hours so it doesn’t interfere with the workflow.

FIFO NETWORKS
I provide small business tech support, by the hour, for companies that are too small to need a full-time IT person on staff. It’s not automated. I’m a real human being who checks the logs, pays attention, applies the fixes, and verifies the fixes work. I taught IT and Cybersecurity at a couple of colleges for 17 years. Let’s talk, and find out if I can help you.

#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks

#RemoteSupport #TechSupport #HelpDesk

How to handle QuickBooks Desktop updates without giving the users Administrator privilege level: a case study.

THE SCENARIO
A small business runs QB Desktop, not QB Online. The data files are on a local server. There are three computers in the server room for Remote Access. Each RA computer has QB installed. Employees can work from home a certain number of days per week. They remote into these computers and run QuickBooks from there.

THE PROBLEM
The remote workers don’t have Administrator privileges (of course). But... QuickBooks updates can’t be installed without Admin privileges. Periodically they get stuck and can’t work until someone logs into each RA computer and applies the QB updates. This wastes valuable time and occasionally puts deadlines at risk, like payroll.

THE SOLUTION
The business owner now pays me a monthly fee to login to each RA computer twice a month and apply all updates. I do this the first time shortly after “Patch Tuesday,” so I can apply all Microsoft updates at the same time. I do it again near the end of the month. I do this after hours so it doesn’t interfere with the workflow.

FIFO NETWORKS
I provide small business tech support, by the hour, for companies that are too small to need a full-time IT person on staff. It’s not automated. I’m a real human being who checks the logs, pays attention, applies the fixes, and verifies the fixes work. I taught IT and Cybersecurity at a couple of colleges for 17 years. Let’s talk, and find out if I can help you.

#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks

#RemoteSupport #TechSupport #HelpDesk

Over the weekend a man in Oregon called for tech support (I’m in Washington). “Bob, I can’t get my printer to work.”

I connected remotely to his computer while we talked on the phone. He’s running Windows 11 Home, 25H2. I opened “Printers & Scanners” to see what’s up. He has one printer, and it had an error message. I started from the beginning: downloaded and installed the current driver package directly from the HP website, power cycled the printer, and rebooted the computer.

I tested printing from “Printers & Scanners” with the normal test page, then tested from Microsoft Word – oops! – it’s coming up in fax mode! I set the printer as default and tested again. Then I asked the client to try printing something, whatever it was that he couldn’t print before he called me.

He opened Outlook, opened an attachment, and printed it. Success.

You see, a lot of this isn’t hard. They just need a friend.

He’s a residential client. I looked in my records, and he’s been a client since May of 2019. This was the eighth invoice in seven years. The last invoice before this was in October, 2024 – 21 months ago! But he remembers me, and when he does need help, I get the call.

THE LESSON
Repeat business matters. But you also need to have a large, dynamic, growing customer base, because everyone doesn’t need your help every month.

Does this seem insecure? Never knowing if, or when, a client will call back? No. It’s not insecure at all, if you build your client base.

The beauty of this business model is that no one person can ever fire you. No one can take away your income.

You’ve got to do the work, though, of providing consistently good service, and always be marketing. Continually be about the business of nurturing and growing your customer base.

#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks

#RemoteSupport #TechSupport #HelpDesk

Over the weekend a man in Oregon called for tech support (I’m in Washington). “Bob, I can’t get my printer to work.”

I connected remotely to his computer while we talked on the phone. He’s running Windows 11 Home, 25H2. I opened “Printers & Scanners” to see what’s up. He has one printer, and it had an error message. I started from the beginning: downloaded and installed the current driver package directly from the HP website, power cycled the printer, and rebooted the computer.

I tested printing from “Printers & Scanners” with the normal test page, then tested from Microsoft Word – oops! – it’s coming up in fax mode! I set the printer as default and tested again. Then I asked the client to try printing something, whatever it was that he couldn’t print before he called me.

He opened Outlook, opened an attachment, and printed it. Success.

You see, a lot of this isn’t hard. They just need a friend.

He’s a residential client. I looked in my records, and he’s been a client since May of 2019. This was the eighth invoice in seven years. The last invoice before this was in October, 2024 – 21 months ago! But he remembers me, and when he does need help, I get the call.

THE LESSON
Repeat business matters. But you also need to have a large, dynamic, growing customer base, because everyone doesn’t need your help every month.

Does this seem insecure? Never knowing if, or when, a client will call back? No. It’s not insecure at all, if you build your client base.

The beauty of this business model is that no one person can ever fire you. No one can take away your income.

You’ve got to do the work, though, of providing consistently good service, and always be marketing. Continually be about the business of nurturing and growing your customer base.

#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks

#RemoteSupport #TechSupport #HelpDesk

Over the weekend a man in Oregon called for tech support (I’m in Washington). “Bob, I can’t get my printer to work.”

I connected remotely to his computer while we talked on the phone. He’s running Windows 11 Home, 25H2. I opened “Printers & Scanners” to see what’s up. He has one printer, and it had an error message. I started from the beginning: downloaded and installed the current driver package directly from the HP website, power cycled the printer, and rebooted the computer.

I tested printing from “Printers & Scanners” with the normal test page, then tested from Microsoft Word – oops! – it’s coming up in fax mode! I set the printer as default and tested again. Then I asked the client to try printing something, whatever it was that he couldn’t print before he called me.

He opened Outlook, opened an attachment, and printed it. Success.

You see, a lot of this isn’t hard. They just need a friend.

He’s a residential client. I looked in my records, and he’s been a client since May of 2019. This was the eighth invoice in seven years. The last invoice before this was in October, 2024 – 21 months ago! But he remembers me, and when he does need help, I get the call.

THE LESSON
Repeat business matters. But you also need to have a large, dynamic, growing customer base, because everyone doesn’t need your help every month.

Does this seem insecure? Never knowing if, or when, a client will call back? No. It’s not insecure at all, if you build your client base.

The beauty of this business model is that no one person can ever fire you. No one can take away your income.

You’ve got to do the work, though, of providing consistently good service, and always be marketing. Continually be about the business of nurturing and growing your customer base.

#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks

#RemoteSupport #TechSupport #HelpDesk

Over the weekend a man in Oregon called for tech support (I’m in Washington). “Bob, I can’t get my printer to work.”

I connected remotely to his computer while we talked on the phone. He’s running Windows 11 Home, 25H2. I opened “Printers & Scanners” to see what’s up. He has one printer, and it had an error message. I started from the beginning: downloaded and installed the current driver package directly from the HP website, power cycled the printer, and rebooted the computer.

I tested printing from “Printers & Scanners” with the normal test page, then tested from Microsoft Word – oops! – it’s coming up in fax mode! I set the printer as default and tested again. Then I asked the client to try printing something, whatever it was that he couldn’t print before he called me.

He opened Outlook, opened an attachment, and printed it. Success.

You see, a lot of this isn’t hard. They just need a friend.

He’s a residential client. I looked in my records, and he’s been a client since May of 2019. This was the eighth invoice in seven years. The last invoice before this was in October, 2024 – 21 months ago! But he remembers me, and when he does need help, I get the call.

THE LESSON
Repeat business matters. But you also need to have a large, dynamic, growing customer base, because everyone doesn’t need your help every month.

Does this seem insecure? Never knowing if, or when, a client will call back? No. It’s not insecure at all, if you build your client base.

The beauty of this business model is that no one person can ever fire you. No one can take away your income.

You’ve got to do the work, though, of providing consistently good service, and always be marketing. Continually be about the business of nurturing and growing your customer base.

#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks

#RemoteSupport #TechSupport #HelpDesk

Over the weekend a man in Oregon called for tech support (I’m in Washington). “Bob, I can’t get my printer to work.”

I connected remotely to his computer while we talked on the phone. He’s running Windows 11 Home, 25H2. I opened “Printers & Scanners” to see what’s up. He has one printer, and it had an error message. I started from the beginning: downloaded and installed the current driver package directly from the HP website, power cycled the printer, and rebooted the computer.

I tested printing from “Printers & Scanners” with the normal test page, then tested from Microsoft Word – oops! – it’s coming up in fax mode! I set the printer as default and tested again. Then I asked the client to try printing something, whatever it was that he couldn’t print before he called me.

He opened Outlook, opened an attachment, and printed it. Success.

You see, a lot of this isn’t hard. They just need a friend.

He’s a residential client. I looked in my records, and he’s been a client since May of 2019. This was the eighth invoice in seven years. The last invoice before this was in October, 2024 – 21 months ago! But he remembers me, and when he does need help, I get the call.

THE LESSON
Repeat business matters. But you also need to have a large, dynamic, growing customer base, because everyone doesn’t need your help every month.

Does this seem insecure? Never knowing if, or when, a client will call back? No. It’s not insecure at all, if you build your client base.

The beauty of this business model is that no one person can ever fire you. No one can take away your income.

You’ve got to do the work, though, of providing consistently good service, and always be marketing. Continually be about the business of nurturing and growing your customer base.

#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks

#RemoteSupport #TechSupport #HelpDesk

A client upgraded their phone system for the first time in years. The old system was IP-based, but was down-converted to deliver voice and ringing to regular old copper line phone extensions. The new system is a true end-to-end VoIP system: you can literally plug that phone into any Internet-connected port in the world, and it’ll ring when someone dials its dedicated number.

The biggest problem for the client was configuring the call flow in the Comcast Business VoiceEdge dashboard. To solve this, I worked with them on creating call flow diagrams. After a few rounds of changes, we got two complete scenarios worked out that the owner and managers all agreed on.

From that point, it’s pretty easy: I just login to the dashboard and configure it.

The odd thing to me is that their Account Rep didn’t create those call flow diagrams before the cutover to the new system.

THE LESSON
When you’re installing a new phone system, or changing your business operations, give some thought to the call flow before you log into the phone system configuration dashboard. Your phone system works exactly as its instructed to.

#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks

#RemoteSupport #TechSupport #HelpDesk

A client upgraded their phone system for the first time in years. The old system was IP-based, but was down-converted to deliver voice and ringing to regular old copper line phone extensions. The new system is a true end-to-end VoIP system: you can literally plug that phone into any Internet-connected port in the world, and it’ll ring when someone dials its dedicated number.

The biggest problem for the client was configuring the call flow in the Comcast Business VoiceEdge dashboard. To solve this, I worked with them on creating call flow diagrams. After a few rounds of changes, we got two complete scenarios worked out that the owner and managers all agreed on.

From that point, it’s pretty easy: I just login to the dashboard and configure it.

The odd thing to me is that their Account Rep didn’t create those call flow diagrams before the cutover to the new system.

THE LESSON
When you’re installing a new phone system, or changing your business operations, give some thought to the call flow before you log into the phone system configuration dashboard. Your phone system works exactly as its instructed to.

#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks

#RemoteSupport #TechSupport #HelpDesk

A client upgraded their phone system for the first time in years. The old system was IP-based, but was down-converted to deliver voice and ringing to regular old copper line phone extensions. The new system is a true end-to-end VoIP system: you can literally plug that phone into any Internet-connected port in the world, and it’ll ring when someone dials its dedicated number.

The biggest problem for the client was configuring the call flow in the Comcast Business VoiceEdge dashboard. To solve this, I worked with them on creating call flow diagrams. After a few rounds of changes, we got two complete scenarios worked out that the owner and managers all agreed on.

From that point, it’s pretty easy: I just login to the dashboard and configure it.

The odd thing to me is that their Account Rep didn’t create those call flow diagrams before the cutover to the new system.

THE LESSON
When you’re installing a new phone system, or changing your business operations, give some thought to the call flow before you log into the phone system configuration dashboard. Your phone system works exactly as its instructed to.

#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks

#RemoteSupport #TechSupport #HelpDesk

A client upgraded their phone system for the first time in years. The old system was IP-based, but was down-converted to deliver voice and ringing to regular old copper line phone extensions. The new system is a true end-to-end VoIP system: you can literally plug that phone into any Internet-connected port in the world, and it’ll ring when someone dials its dedicated number.

The biggest problem for the client was configuring the call flow in the Comcast Business VoiceEdge dashboard. To solve this, I worked with them on creating call flow diagrams. After a few rounds of changes, we got two complete scenarios worked out that the owner and managers all agreed on.

From that point, it’s pretty easy: I just login to the dashboard and configure it.

The odd thing to me is that their Account Rep didn’t create those call flow diagrams before the cutover to the new system.

THE LESSON
When you’re installing a new phone system, or changing your business operations, give some thought to the call flow before you log into the phone system configuration dashboard. Your phone system works exactly as its instructed to.

#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks

#RemoteSupport #TechSupport #HelpDesk

A client upgraded their phone system for the first time in years. The old system was IP-based, but was down-converted to deliver voice and ringing to regular old copper line phone extensions. The new system is a true end-to-end VoIP system: you can literally plug that phone into any Internet-connected port in the world, and it’ll ring when someone dials its dedicated number.

The biggest problem for the client was configuring the call flow in the Comcast Business VoiceEdge dashboard. To solve this, I worked with them on creating call flow diagrams. After a few rounds of changes, we got two complete scenarios worked out that the owner and managers all agreed on.

From that point, it’s pretty easy: I just login to the dashboard and configure it.

The odd thing to me is that their Account Rep didn’t create those call flow diagrams before the cutover to the new system.

THE LESSON
When you’re installing a new phone system, or changing your business operations, give some thought to the call flow before you log into the phone system configuration dashboard. Your phone system works exactly as its instructed to.

#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks

#RemoteSupport #TechSupport #HelpDesk

A man passed away recently. He had eight different email addresses, including a couple that belonged to his wife before she died in 2019. His family is paying me to close down his social media presence and close out the email accounts. I just closed an AOL email account that he opened in the 1990s. A couple of the other old emails (anyone remember Juno?) had no MFA, and the passwords consisted only of uppercase and lowercase letters.

These old email addresses are a spammer’s dream. Easy to crack into, well established addresses, and the deceased person won’t complain or tighten security.

If you have a loved one who passed away, make some decisions about their email addresses. Add MFA that you control if you’re going to keep the email active. And when it’s time, close the account. I know that’s a big emotional step. It seems so final. On the other hand, your loved one probably doesn’t want their old email address used for cybercrime.

#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks

#RemoteSupport #TechSupport #HelpDesk

A man passed away recently. He had eight different email addresses, including a couple that belonged to his wife before she died in 2019. His family is paying me to close down his social media presence and close out the email accounts. I just closed an AOL email account that he opened in the 1990s. A couple of the other old emails (anyone remember Juno?) had no MFA, and the passwords consisted only of uppercase and lowercase letters.

These old email addresses are a spammer’s dream. Easy to crack into, well established addresses, and the deceased person won’t complain or tighten security.

If you have a loved one who passed away, make some decisions about their email addresses. Add MFA that you control if you’re going to keep the email active. And when it’s time, close the account. I know that’s a big emotional step. It seems so final. On the other hand, your loved one probably doesn’t want their old email address used for cybercrime.

#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks

#RemoteSupport #TechSupport #HelpDesk

A man passed away recently. He had eight different email addresses, including a couple that belonged to his wife before she died in 2019. His family is paying me to close down his social media presence and close out the email accounts. I just closed an AOL email account that he opened in the 1990s. A couple of the other old emails (anyone remember Juno?) had no MFA, and the passwords consisted only of uppercase and lowercase letters.

These old email addresses are a spammer’s dream. Easy to crack into, well established addresses, and the deceased person won’t complain or tighten security.

If you have a loved one who passed away, make some decisions about their email addresses. Add MFA that you control if you’re going to keep the email active. And when it’s time, close the account. I know that’s a big emotional step. It seems so final. On the other hand, your loved one probably doesn’t want their old email address used for cybercrime.

#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks

#RemoteSupport #TechSupport #HelpDesk

A man passed away recently. He had eight different email addresses, including a couple that belonged to his wife before she died in 2019. His family is paying me to close down his social media presence and close out the email accounts. I just closed an AOL email account that he opened in the 1990s. A couple of the other old emails (anyone remember Juno?) had no MFA, and the passwords consisted only of uppercase and lowercase letters.

These old email addresses are a spammer’s dream. Easy to crack into, well established addresses, and the deceased person won’t complain or tighten security.

If you have a loved one who passed away, make some decisions about their email addresses. Add MFA that you control if you’re going to keep the email active. And when it’s time, close the account. I know that’s a big emotional step. It seems so final. On the other hand, your loved one probably doesn’t want their old email address used for cybercrime.

#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks

#RemoteSupport #TechSupport #HelpDesk

A man passed away recently. He had eight different email addresses, including a couple that belonged to his wife before she died in 2019. His family is paying me to close down his social media presence and close out the email accounts. I just closed an AOL email account that he opened in the 1990s. A couple of the other old emails (anyone remember Juno?) had no MFA, and the passwords consisted only of uppercase and lowercase letters.

These old email addresses are a spammer’s dream. Easy to crack into, well established addresses, and the deceased person won’t complain or tighten security.

If you have a loved one who passed away, make some decisions about their email addresses. Add MFA that you control if you’re going to keep the email active. And when it’s time, close the account. I know that’s a big emotional step. It seems so final. On the other hand, your loved one probably doesn’t want their old email address used for cybercrime.

#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks

#RemoteSupport #TechSupport #HelpDesk

A couple of weeks ago a new small business client signed up for firewall monitoring service. After I got set up with remote access, I started poking around and discovered that they were paying for licenses for features that had never been enabled. It didn’t cost them any more money – I just had to flip the toggles on the dashboard and activate the features. Then, for a couple of those features, there were some choices to be made and settings to adjust to refine the operation.

THE LESSON
Buying hardware or software to protect your system is only the first step. That hardware appliance or app has to be configured correctly in order to do its job correctly.

#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks +1 206-465-2422

#TechSupport #HelpDesk

Cybersecurity - Networks - Wireless – Telecom – VoIP

A couple of weeks ago a new small business client signed up for firewall monitoring service. After I got set up with remote access, I started poking around and discovered that they were paying for licenses for features that had never been enabled. It didn’t cost them any more money – I just had to flip the toggles on the dashboard and activate the features. Then, for a couple of those features, there were some choices to be made and settings to adjust to refine the operation.

THE LESSON
Buying hardware or software to protect your system is only the first step. That hardware appliance or app has to be configured correctly in order to do its job correctly.

#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks +1 206-465-2422

#TechSupport #HelpDesk

Cybersecurity - Networks - Wireless – Telecom – VoIP

A couple of weeks ago a new small business client signed up for firewall monitoring service. After I got set up with remote access, I started poking around and discovered that they were paying for licenses for features that had never been enabled. It didn’t cost them any more money – I just had to flip the toggles on the dashboard and activate the features. Then, for a couple of those features, there were some choices to be made and settings to adjust to refine the operation.

THE LESSON
Buying hardware or software to protect your system is only the first step. That hardware appliance or app has to be configured correctly in order to do its job correctly.

#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks +1 206-465-2422

#TechSupport #HelpDesk

Cybersecurity - Networks - Wireless – Telecom – VoIP

A couple of weeks ago a new small business client signed up for firewall monitoring service. After I got set up with remote access, I started poking around and discovered that they were paying for licenses for features that had never been enabled. It didn’t cost them any more money – I just had to flip the toggles on the dashboard and activate the features. Then, for a couple of those features, there were some choices to be made and settings to adjust to refine the operation.

THE LESSON
Buying hardware or software to protect your system is only the first step. That hardware appliance or app has to be configured correctly in order to do its job correctly.

#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks +1 206-465-2422

#TechSupport #HelpDesk

Cybersecurity - Networks - Wireless – Telecom – VoIP

A couple of weeks ago a new small business client signed up for firewall monitoring service. After I got set up with remote access, I started poking around and discovered that they were paying for licenses for features that had never been enabled. It didn’t cost them any more money – I just had to flip the toggles on the dashboard and activate the features. Then, for a couple of those features, there were some choices to be made and settings to adjust to refine the operation.

THE LESSON
Buying hardware or software to protect your system is only the first step. That hardware appliance or app has to be configured correctly in order to do its job correctly.

#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks +1 206-465-2422

#TechSupport #HelpDesk

Cybersecurity - Networks - Wireless – Telecom – VoIP

“Bob, my printer quality is low. Please come fix it.”

I drove to the client’s office. It’s a small business, about a dozen employees. The VP fills multiple rolls, something that you’ll understand if you’re in a small business yourself. She’s Head of HR, and also Senior Accountant. When I got there, she said, “I can’t print the employee insurance cards. Look at this mess. They’re illegible.”

Thanks, Delta Dental, for issuing insurance “cards” as PDF files where the text on the back of the cards is in about 3-point font. Love you for that.

Anyway, to start, the black toner on the laser printer was out. She replaced it with a toner cartridge that was OPEN, out of its wrapper, laying on a counter. When the first cartridge was installed, the printer had a “low toner” message. With the replacement cartridge, the one that was already open, it showed zero black toner. Now it wouldn’t print the insurance cards at all.

She looked around and found a box with new toner cartridges in it. All four: black, magenta, cyan, yellow. The box still had the form fitting Styrofoam package filler, and each toner cartridge was sealed in plastic. I thought, “Now we’re getting somewhere!” But no. No, we were not getting closer to a solution.

We put the new black toner cartridge in the printer, closed the top, and the LCD screen said, “Insert the black toner cartridge.” It didn’t even recognize it. Can you guess now? They bought a box of off-brand of toner cartridges to save money.

I said, “Okay, there’s nothing more to do here until you get good toner cartridges. I recommend sticking with the manufacturer’s cartridges for the most reliable print quality.”

The VP said, “Those cost too much! I’m not paying for those cartridges!”

So I didn’t fix the company’s printer problem, and I’m fine with that. I correctly diagnosed the problem and prescribed an effective cure.

There comes a point when you can’t blame your problems on Tech Support. You have to own your decisions. It’s your responsibility when you decide that you won’t take action, or won’t spend money on proper repairs.

THIRTY MINUTES LATER...
While I was working on a different problem for one of the other people, about thirty minutes later the VP came out of her office and said, “I just ordered two brand-name black toner cartridges. They’ll be here Monday.”

She just had to mull it over for awhile, I guess, and wrap her head around the idea that quality is worth paying for, if it brings the desired results.

THE LESSON
It’s not always about fixing the technology. Sometimes, it’s about fixing the decision maker.

#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks +1 206-465-2422

#email #TechSupport #HelpDesk

Cybersecurity - Networks - Wireless – Telecom – VoIP

“Bob, my printer quality is low. Please come fix it.”

I drove to the client’s office. It’s a small business, about a dozen employees. The VP fills multiple rolls, something that you’ll understand if you’re in a small business yourself. She’s Head of HR, and also Senior Accountant. When I got there, she said, “I can’t print the employee insurance cards. Look at this mess. They’re illegible.”

Thanks, Delta Dental, for issuing insurance “cards” as PDF files where the text on the back of the cards is in about 3-point font. Love you for that.

Anyway, to start, the black toner on the laser printer was out. She replaced it with a toner cartridge that was OPEN, out of its wrapper, laying on a counter. When the first cartridge was installed, the printer had a “low toner” message. With the replacement cartridge, the one that was already open, it showed zero black toner. Now it wouldn’t print the insurance cards at all.

She looked around and found a box with new toner cartridges in it. All four: black, magenta, cyan, yellow. The box still had the form fitting Styrofoam package filler, and each toner cartridge was sealed in plastic. I thought, “Now we’re getting somewhere!” But no. No, we were not getting closer to a solution.

We put the new black toner cartridge in the printer, closed the top, and the LCD screen said, “Insert the black toner cartridge.” It didn’t even recognize it. Can you guess now? They bought a box of off-brand of toner cartridges to save money.

I said, “Okay, there’s nothing more to do here until you get good toner cartridges. I recommend sticking with the manufacturer’s cartridges for the most reliable print quality.”

The VP said, “Those cost too much! I’m not paying for those cartridges!”

So I didn’t fix the company’s printer problem, and I’m fine with that. I correctly diagnosed the problem and prescribed an effective cure.

There comes a point when you can’t blame your problems on Tech Support. You have to own your decisions. It’s your responsibility when you decide that you won’t take action, or won’t spend money on proper repairs.

THIRTY MINUTES LATER...
While I was working on a different problem for one of the other people, about thirty minutes later the VP came out of her office and said, “I just ordered two brand-name black toner cartridges. They’ll be here Monday.”

She just had to mull it over for awhile, I guess, and wrap her head around the idea that quality is worth paying for, if it brings the desired results.

THE LESSON
It’s not always about fixing the technology. Sometimes, it’s about fixing the decision maker.

#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks +1 206-465-2422

#email #TechSupport #HelpDesk

Cybersecurity - Networks - Wireless – Telecom – VoIP

“Bob, my printer quality is low. Please come fix it.”

I drove to the client’s office. It’s a small business, about a dozen employees. The VP fills multiple rolls, something that you’ll understand if you’re in a small business yourself. She’s Head of HR, and also Senior Accountant. When I got there, she said, “I can’t print the employee insurance cards. Look at this mess. They’re illegible.”

Thanks, Delta Dental, for issuing insurance “cards” as PDF files where the text on the back of the cards is in about 3-point font. Love you for that.

Anyway, to start, the black toner on the laser printer was out. She replaced it with a toner cartridge that was OPEN, out of its wrapper, laying on a counter. When the first cartridge was installed, the printer had a “low toner” message. With the replacement cartridge, the one that was already open, it showed zero black toner. Now it wouldn’t print the insurance cards at all.

She looked around and found a box with new toner cartridges in it. All four: black, magenta, cyan, yellow. The box still had the form fitting Styrofoam package filler, and each toner cartridge was sealed in plastic. I thought, “Now we’re getting somewhere!” But no. No, we were not getting closer to a solution.

We put the new black toner cartridge in the printer, closed the top, and the LCD screen said, “Insert the black toner cartridge.” It didn’t even recognize it. Can you guess now? They bought a box of off-brand of toner cartridges to save money.

I said, “Okay, there’s nothing more to do here until you get good toner cartridges. I recommend sticking with the manufacturer’s cartridges for the most reliable print quality.”

The VP said, “Those cost too much! I’m not paying for those cartridges!”

So I didn’t fix the company’s printer problem, and I’m fine with that. I correctly diagnosed the problem and prescribed an effective cure.

There comes a point when you can’t blame your problems on Tech Support. You have to own your decisions. It’s your responsibility when you decide that you won’t take action, or won’t spend money on proper repairs.

THIRTY MINUTES LATER...
While I was working on a different problem for one of the other people, about thirty minutes later the VP came out of her office and said, “I just ordered two brand-name black toner cartridges. They’ll be here Monday.”

She just had to mull it over for awhile, I guess, and wrap her head around the idea that quality is worth paying for, if it brings the desired results.

THE LESSON
It’s not always about fixing the technology. Sometimes, it’s about fixing the decision maker.

#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks +1 206-465-2422

#email #TechSupport #HelpDesk

Cybersecurity - Networks - Wireless – Telecom – VoIP

“Bob, my printer quality is low. Please come fix it.”

I drove to the client’s office. It’s a small business, about a dozen employees. The VP fills multiple rolls, something that you’ll understand if you’re in a small business yourself. She’s Head of HR, and also Senior Accountant. When I got there, she said, “I can’t print the employee insurance cards. Look at this mess. They’re illegible.”

Thanks, Delta Dental, for issuing insurance “cards” as PDF files where the text on the back of the cards is in about 3-point font. Love you for that.

Anyway, to start, the black toner on the laser printer was out. She replaced it with a toner cartridge that was OPEN, out of its wrapper, laying on a counter. When the first cartridge was installed, the printer had a “low toner” message. With the replacement cartridge, the one that was already open, it showed zero black toner. Now it wouldn’t print the insurance cards at all.

She looked around and found a box with new toner cartridges in it. All four: black, magenta, cyan, yellow. The box still had the form fitting Styrofoam package filler, and each toner cartridge was sealed in plastic. I thought, “Now we’re getting somewhere!” But no. No, we were not getting closer to a solution.

We put the new black toner cartridge in the printer, closed the top, and the LCD screen said, “Insert the black toner cartridge.” It didn’t even recognize it. Can you guess now? They bought a box of off-brand of toner cartridges to save money.

I said, “Okay, there’s nothing more to do here until you get good toner cartridges. I recommend sticking with the manufacturer’s cartridges for the most reliable print quality.”

The VP said, “Those cost too much! I’m not paying for those cartridges!”

So I didn’t fix the company’s printer problem, and I’m fine with that. I correctly diagnosed the problem and prescribed an effective cure.

There comes a point when you can’t blame your problems on Tech Support. You have to own your decisions. It’s your responsibility when you decide that you won’t take action, or won’t spend money on proper repairs.

THIRTY MINUTES LATER...
While I was working on a different problem for one of the other people, about thirty minutes later the VP came out of her office and said, “I just ordered two brand-name black toner cartridges. They’ll be here Monday.”

She just had to mull it over for awhile, I guess, and wrap her head around the idea that quality is worth paying for, if it brings the desired results.

THE LESSON
It’s not always about fixing the technology. Sometimes, it’s about fixing the decision maker.

#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks +1 206-465-2422

#email #TechSupport #HelpDesk

Cybersecurity - Networks - Wireless – Telecom – VoIP

“Bob, my printer quality is low. Please come fix it.”

I drove to the client’s office. It’s a small business, about a dozen employees. The VP fills multiple rolls, something that you’ll understand if you’re in a small business yourself. She’s Head of HR, and also Senior Accountant. When I got there, she said, “I can’t print the employee insurance cards. Look at this mess. They’re illegible.”

Thanks, Delta Dental, for issuing insurance “cards” as PDF files where the text on the back of the cards is in about 3-point font. Love you for that.

Anyway, to start, the black toner on the laser printer was out. She replaced it with a toner cartridge that was OPEN, out of its wrapper, laying on a counter. When the first cartridge was installed, the printer had a “low toner” message. With the replacement cartridge, the one that was already open, it showed zero black toner. Now it wouldn’t print the insurance cards at all.

She looked around and found a box with new toner cartridges in it. All four: black, magenta, cyan, yellow. The box still had the form fitting Styrofoam package filler, and each toner cartridge was sealed in plastic. I thought, “Now we’re getting somewhere!” But no. No, we were not getting closer to a solution.

We put the new black toner cartridge in the printer, closed the top, and the LCD screen said, “Insert the black toner cartridge.” It didn’t even recognize it. Can you guess now? They bought a box of off-brand of toner cartridges to save money.

I said, “Okay, there’s nothing more to do here until you get good toner cartridges. I recommend sticking with the manufacturer’s cartridges for the most reliable print quality.”

The VP said, “Those cost too much! I’m not paying for those cartridges!”

So I didn’t fix the company’s printer problem, and I’m fine with that. I correctly diagnosed the problem and prescribed an effective cure.

There comes a point when you can’t blame your problems on Tech Support. You have to own your decisions. It’s your responsibility when you decide that you won’t take action, or won’t spend money on proper repairs.

THIRTY MINUTES LATER...
While I was working on a different problem for one of the other people, about thirty minutes later the VP came out of her office and said, “I just ordered two brand-name black toner cartridges. They’ll be here Monday.”

She just had to mull it over for awhile, I guess, and wrap her head around the idea that quality is worth paying for, if it brings the desired results.

THE LESSON
It’s not always about fixing the technology. Sometimes, it’s about fixing the decision maker.

#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks +1 206-465-2422

#email #TechSupport #HelpDesk

Cybersecurity - Networks - Wireless – Telecom – VoIP

“Bob, one of my employees can send email from his iPhone, but he’s not receiving any emails.”

Well, that’s backwards – usually I see problems the other way around; they can receive, but not send.

I tried working with him on a phone call yesterday morning, but when you can’t see the screen, tech support is more difficult. The client’s main business location is in a town less than an hour from my office, so I went to their location after lunch to work on it in person.

Oh, so many details were left out! It turned out that he wasn’t receiving emails on his iPhone, his iPad, or his laptop – but he could send from the phone and the laptop.

And... the problem started in March, and was continuous from then until now!

Okay. First things first. Let’s log into Outlook on the web and see whether that works. I’m starting to have a hunch that I’ve seen this problem before, with other clients.

Outlook on the web looks the same. So I went into the Rules settings, and there was the culprit. The rule was named “....” That’s it, the only rule, and the rule name was just four dots. I clicked the drop-down arrow to expand the rule. And the rule said, on incoming mail, move it to the Deleted Items folder and mark it as read! So he was receiving email all along, he just didn’t know it.

I looked in the Deleted Items folder, and there were more than 1,300 messages, including my two test emails from earlier in the day. I moved everything back to the Inbox.

Here’s what happened. In March someone had started sending email pretending to be this employee. He changed his email password, and the outbound spam stopped. That’s all the company did. They thought the problem was solved.

Well, that locked the cybercriminal out, but it didn’t delete the rule that the cybercriminal had created to cover their activity. That rule didn’t get deleted until yesterday, June 24.

THE LESSON
If you believe your email has been compromised, after securing your account, log into each device, and especially the web instance, and look for rules you didn’t create. If a device was compromised, the malicious rule may be in Outlook’s rules on the device. This scenario can also happen in other email apps, like Thunderbird, and in other web-based email accounts, like Gmail. Whether it’s web-based or app-based, look for rules or filters that you were unaware of, and delete them.

#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks

#email #TechSupport #HelpDesk

Cybersecurity - Networks - Wireless – Telecom – VoIP

“Bob, one of my employees can send email from his iPhone, but he’s not receiving any emails.”

Well, that’s backwards – usually I see problems the other way around; they can receive, but not send.

I tried working with him on a phone call yesterday morning, but when you can’t see the screen, tech support is more difficult. The client’s main business location is in a town less than an hour from my office, so I went to their location after lunch to work on it in person.

Oh, so many details were left out! It turned out that he wasn’t receiving emails on his iPhone, his iPad, or his laptop – but he could send from the phone and the laptop.

And... the problem started in March, and was continuous from then until now!

Okay. First things first. Let’s log into Outlook on the web and see whether that works. I’m starting to have a hunch that I’ve seen this problem before, with other clients.

Outlook on the web looks the same. So I went into the Rules settings, and there was the culprit. The rule was named “....” That’s it, the only rule, and the rule name was just four dots. I clicked the drop-down arrow to expand the rule. And the rule said, on incoming mail, move it to the Deleted Items folder and mark it as read! So he was receiving email all along, he just didn’t know it.

I looked in the Deleted Items folder, and there were more than 1,300 messages, including my two test emails from earlier in the day. I moved everything back to the Inbox.

Here’s what happened. In March someone had started sending email pretending to be this employee. He changed his email password, and the outbound spam stopped. That’s all the company did. They thought the problem was solved.

Well, that locked the cybercriminal out, but it didn’t delete the rule that the cybercriminal had created to cover their activity. That rule didn’t get deleted until yesterday, June 24.

THE LESSON
If you believe your email has been compromised, after securing your account, log into each device, and especially the web instance, and look for rules you didn’t create. If a device was compromised, the malicious rule may be in Outlook’s rules on the device. This scenario can also happen in other email apps, like Thunderbird, and in other web-based email accounts, like Gmail. Whether it’s web-based or app-based, look for rules or filters that you were unaware of, and delete them.

#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks

#email #TechSupport #HelpDesk

Cybersecurity - Networks - Wireless – Telecom – VoIP

“Bob, one of my employees can send email from his iPhone, but he’s not receiving any emails.”

Well, that’s backwards – usually I see problems the other way around; they can receive, but not send.

I tried working with him on a phone call yesterday morning, but when you can’t see the screen, tech support is more difficult. The client’s main business location is in a town less than an hour from my office, so I went to their location after lunch to work on it in person.

Oh, so many details were left out! It turned out that he wasn’t receiving emails on his iPhone, his iPad, or his laptop – but he could send from the phone and the laptop.

And... the problem started in March, and was continuous from then until now!

Okay. First things first. Let’s log into Outlook on the web and see whether that works. I’m starting to have a hunch that I’ve seen this problem before, with other clients.

Outlook on the web looks the same. So I went into the Rules settings, and there was the culprit. The rule was named “....” That’s it, the only rule, and the rule name was just four dots. I clicked the drop-down arrow to expand the rule. And the rule said, on incoming mail, move it to the Deleted Items folder and mark it as read! So he was receiving email all along, he just didn’t know it.

I looked in the Deleted Items folder, and there were more than 1,300 messages, including my two test emails from earlier in the day. I moved everything back to the Inbox.

Here’s what happened. In March someone had started sending email pretending to be this employee. He changed his email password, and the outbound spam stopped. That’s all the company did. They thought the problem was solved.

Well, that locked the cybercriminal out, but it didn’t delete the rule that the cybercriminal had created to cover their activity. That rule didn’t get deleted until yesterday, June 24.

THE LESSON
If you believe your email has been compromised, after securing your account, log into each device, and especially the web instance, and look for rules you didn’t create. If a device was compromised, the malicious rule may be in Outlook’s rules on the device. This scenario can also happen in other email apps, like Thunderbird, and in other web-based email accounts, like Gmail. Whether it’s web-based or app-based, look for rules or filters that you were unaware of, and delete them.

#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks

#email #TechSupport #HelpDesk

Cybersecurity - Networks - Wireless – Telecom – VoIP

“Bob, one of my employees can send email from his iPhone, but he’s not receiving any emails.”

Well, that’s backwards – usually I see problems the other way around; they can receive, but not send.

I tried working with him on a phone call yesterday morning, but when you can’t see the screen, tech support is more difficult. The client’s main business location is in a town less than an hour from my office, so I went to their location after lunch to work on it in person.

Oh, so many details were left out! It turned out that he wasn’t receiving emails on his iPhone, his iPad, or his laptop – but he could send from the phone and the laptop.

And... the problem started in March, and was continuous from then until now!

Okay. First things first. Let’s log into Outlook on the web and see whether that works. I’m starting to have a hunch that I’ve seen this problem before, with other clients.

Outlook on the web looks the same. So I went into the Rules settings, and there was the culprit. The rule was named “....” That’s it, the only rule, and the rule name was just four dots. I clicked the drop-down arrow to expand the rule. And the rule said, on incoming mail, move it to the Deleted Items folder and mark it as read! So he was receiving email all along, he just didn’t know it.

I looked in the Deleted Items folder, and there were more than 1,300 messages, including my two test emails from earlier in the day. I moved everything back to the Inbox.

Here’s what happened. In March someone had started sending email pretending to be this employee. He changed his email password, and the outbound spam stopped. That’s all the company did. They thought the problem was solved.

Well, that locked the cybercriminal out, but it didn’t delete the rule that the cybercriminal had created to cover their activity. That rule didn’t get deleted until yesterday, June 24.

THE LESSON
If you believe your email has been compromised, after securing your account, log into each device, and especially the web instance, and look for rules you didn’t create. If a device was compromised, the malicious rule may be in Outlook’s rules on the device. This scenario can also happen in other email apps, like Thunderbird, and in other web-based email accounts, like Gmail. Whether it’s web-based or app-based, look for rules or filters that you were unaware of, and delete them.

#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks

#email #TechSupport #HelpDesk

Cybersecurity - Networks - Wireless – Telecom – VoIP

“Bob, one of my employees can send email from his iPhone, but he’s not receiving any emails.”

Well, that’s backwards – usually I see problems the other way around; they can receive, but not send.

I tried working with him on a phone call yesterday morning, but when you can’t see the screen, tech support is more difficult. The client’s main business location is in a town less than an hour from my office, so I went to their location after lunch to work on it in person.

Oh, so many details were left out! It turned out that he wasn’t receiving emails on his iPhone, his iPad, or his laptop – but he could send from the phone and the laptop.

And... the problem started in March, and was continuous from then until now!

Okay. First things first. Let’s log into Outlook on the web and see whether that works. I’m starting to have a hunch that I’ve seen this problem before, with other clients.

Outlook on the web looks the same. So I went into the Rules settings, and there was the culprit. The rule was named “....” That’s it, the only rule, and the rule name was just four dots. I clicked the drop-down arrow to expand the rule. And the rule said, on incoming mail, move it to the Deleted Items folder and mark it as read! So he was receiving email all along, he just didn’t know it.

I looked in the Deleted Items folder, and there were more than 1,300 messages, including my two test emails from earlier in the day. I moved everything back to the Inbox.

Here’s what happened. In March someone had started sending email pretending to be this employee. He changed his email password, and the outbound spam stopped. That’s all the company did. They thought the problem was solved.

Well, that locked the cybercriminal out, but it didn’t delete the rule that the cybercriminal had created to cover their activity. That rule didn’t get deleted until yesterday, June 24.

THE LESSON
If you believe your email has been compromised, after securing your account, log into each device, and especially the web instance, and look for rules you didn’t create. If a device was compromised, the malicious rule may be in Outlook’s rules on the device. This scenario can also happen in other email apps, like Thunderbird, and in other web-based email accounts, like Gmail. Whether it’s web-based or app-based, look for rules or filters that you were unaware of, and delete them.

#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks

#email #TechSupport #HelpDesk

Cybersecurity - Networks - Wireless – Telecom – VoIP

A local client asked for service today, saying that his laptop was giving him a message that his C: drive was out of free space. He’d been living with the error message for a few weeks; it wasn’t sudden. Since he was local, I went to his office instead of connecting remotely. Some things are just easier and quicker if you’re right there.

INITIAL CONDITIONS
Windows 11 Home, 25H2, all updates current.
Drive C: was about 220 GB used, 0 free.
Drive D: was nominally 2 TB, about 1.2 TB used.

I did some checking and cleaned up a little bit on the C: drive, but only recovered about 2 GB.

THE SHOCKER
“Do you ever use Copilot?”
“No, and I don’t care about it.”
Start – Control Panel – Programs and Features – Copilot – Uninstall.
And then drive C: showed 35 GB free space.
Copilot was using 33 GB of his OS disk.

OTHER RELEVANT DETAILS
I went back to the office and uninstalled Copilot on a Windows 11 Pro computer, 24H2, all updates current. I only recovered about 1 GB. In addition to the fact that it was only 24H2 and not 25H2, I had already disabled Copilot features on this particular computer, even though I hadn’t uninstalled it.

“Your mileage may vary,” but if your OS drive mysteriously fills up, it’s something to investigate.

#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks

#HelpDesk #TechSupport

Cybersecurity - Networks - Wireless – Telecom – VoIP

A local client asked for service today, saying that his laptop was giving him a message that his C: drive was out of free space. He’d been living with the error message for a few weeks; it wasn’t sudden. Since he was local, I went to his office instead of connecting remotely. Some things are just easier and quicker if you’re right there.

INITIAL CONDITIONS
Windows 11 Home, 25H2, all updates current.
Drive C: was about 220 GB used, 0 free.
Drive D: was nominally 2 TB, about 1.2 TB used.

I did some checking and cleaned up a little bit on the C: drive, but only recovered about 2 GB.

THE SHOCKER
“Do you ever use Copilot?”
“No, and I don’t care about it.”
Start – Control Panel – Programs and Features – Copilot – Uninstall.
And then drive C: showed 35 GB free space.
Copilot was using 33 GB of his OS disk.

OTHER RELEVANT DETAILS
I went back to the office and uninstalled Copilot on a Windows 11 Pro computer, 24H2, all updates current. I only recovered about 1 GB. In addition to the fact that it was only 24H2 and not 25H2, I had already disabled Copilot features on this particular computer, even though I hadn’t uninstalled it.

“Your mileage may vary,” but if your OS drive mysteriously fills up, it’s something to investigate.

#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks

#HelpDesk #TechSupport

Cybersecurity - Networks - Wireless – Telecom – VoIP

A local client asked for service today, saying that his laptop was giving him a message that his C: drive was out of free space. He’d been living with the error message for a few weeks; it wasn’t sudden. Since he was local, I went to his office instead of connecting remotely. Some things are just easier and quicker if you’re right there.

INITIAL CONDITIONS
Windows 11 Home, 25H2, all updates current.
Drive C: was about 220 GB used, 0 free.
Drive D: was nominally 2 TB, about 1.2 TB used.

I did some checking and cleaned up a little bit on the C: drive, but only recovered about 2 GB.

THE SHOCKER
“Do you ever use Copilot?”
“No, and I don’t care about it.”
Start – Control Panel – Programs and Features – Copilot – Uninstall.
And then drive C: showed 35 GB free space.
Copilot was using 33 GB of his OS disk.

OTHER RELEVANT DETAILS
I went back to the office and uninstalled Copilot on a Windows 11 Pro computer, 24H2, all updates current. I only recovered about 1 GB. In addition to the fact that it was only 24H2 and not 25H2, I had already disabled Copilot features on this particular computer, even though I hadn’t uninstalled it.

“Your mileage may vary,” but if your OS drive mysteriously fills up, it’s something to investigate.

#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks

#HelpDesk #TechSupport

Cybersecurity - Networks - Wireless – Telecom – VoIP

A local client asked for service today, saying that his laptop was giving him a message that his C: drive was out of free space. He’d been living with the error message for a few weeks; it wasn’t sudden. Since he was local, I went to his office instead of connecting remotely. Some things are just easier and quicker if you’re right there.

INITIAL CONDITIONS
Windows 11 Home, 25H2, all updates current.
Drive C: was about 220 GB used, 0 free.
Drive D: was nominally 2 TB, about 1.2 TB used.

I did some checking and cleaned up a little bit on the C: drive, but only recovered about 2 GB.

THE SHOCKER
“Do you ever use Copilot?”
“No, and I don’t care about it.”
Start – Control Panel – Programs and Features – Copilot – Uninstall.
And then drive C: showed 35 GB free space.
Copilot was using 33 GB of his OS disk.

OTHER RELEVANT DETAILS
I went back to the office and uninstalled Copilot on a Windows 11 Pro computer, 24H2, all updates current. I only recovered about 1 GB. In addition to the fact that it was only 24H2 and not 25H2, I had already disabled Copilot features on this particular computer, even though I hadn’t uninstalled it.

“Your mileage may vary,” but if your OS drive mysteriously fills up, it’s something to investigate.

#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks

#HelpDesk #TechSupport

Cybersecurity - Networks - Wireless – Telecom – VoIP

A local client asked for service today, saying that his laptop was giving him a message that his C: drive was out of free space. He’d been living with the error message for a few weeks; it wasn’t sudden. Since he was local, I went to his office instead of connecting remotely. Some things are just easier and quicker if you’re right there.

INITIAL CONDITIONS
Windows 11 Home, 25H2, all updates current.
Drive C: was about 220 GB used, 0 free.
Drive D: was nominally 2 TB, about 1.2 TB used.

I did some checking and cleaned up a little bit on the C: drive, but only recovered about 2 GB.

THE SHOCKER
“Do you ever use Copilot?”
“No, and I don’t care about it.”
Start – Control Panel – Programs and Features – Copilot – Uninstall.
And then drive C: showed 35 GB free space.
Copilot was using 33 GB of his OS disk.

OTHER RELEVANT DETAILS
I went back to the office and uninstalled Copilot on a Windows 11 Pro computer, 24H2, all updates current. I only recovered about 1 GB. In addition to the fact that it was only 24H2 and not 25H2, I had already disabled Copilot features on this particular computer, even though I hadn’t uninstalled it.

“Your mileage may vary,” but if your OS drive mysteriously fills up, it’s something to investigate.

#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks

#HelpDesk #TechSupport

Cybersecurity - Networks - Wireless – Telecom – VoIP

“Bob, I can’t copy and paste from this document.”

A client recently had some difficulty copying and pasting from a PDF document, and the problem was because they didn’t understand the different types of PDF documents. I’ve run across this several times, and it occurs to me that there are probably a lot of people who could benefit from a little tutorial.

PDF TEXT
Take a Microsoft Word document and save it as a PDF file. When you do this, the text is still text. In the PDF document you can select the text, copy it, and paste it somewhere else.

PDF “PICTURE” OF TEXT
Take a paper document, place it on a scanner, and scan it to PDF. You can still see the letters and words in the PDF file. You can still read it. But you can’t select, copy, and paste text from this kind of PDF document.

In the first example, the letters are (often) a series of Unicode characters. The application’s Graphical User Interface (GUI) displays the characters on top of a solid colored background. The background is often, but not necessarily, white. The Unicode characters and the background are literally unrelated to each other.

In the second example, the letters are composed of (say) black pixels organized on a background of white pixels. The letters and the background are integrally related to each other. It is a single, flat, two-dimensional surface arranged of pixels of different colors.

SOLUTION
If you need to separate the text from the background in a PDF “picture” of text, the solution is to use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. OCR is a feature included in most modern PDF editors. OCR software analyzes the contrast in pixel colors and deduces the presence of known characters, like letters, numbers, and punctuation. The accuracy of the OCR software depends on the degree of contrast, and the amount of visual “noise” in the file. If you extract text with OCR software, proofread the result carefully, because there may be errors in the output.

#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks

#HelpDesk #TechSupport

Cybersecurity - Networks - Wireless – Telecom – VoIP

“Bob, I can’t copy and paste from this document.”

A client recently had some difficulty copying and pasting from a PDF document, and the problem was because they didn’t understand the different types of PDF documents. I’ve run across this several times, and it occurs to me that there are probably a lot of people who could benefit from a little tutorial.

PDF TEXT
Take a Microsoft Word document and save it as a PDF file. When you do this, the text is still text. In the PDF document you can select the text, copy it, and paste it somewhere else.

PDF “PICTURE” OF TEXT
Take a paper document, place it on a scanner, and scan it to PDF. You can still see the letters and words in the PDF file. You can still read it. But you can’t select, copy, and paste text from this kind of PDF document.

In the first example, the letters are (often) a series of Unicode characters. The application’s Graphical User Interface (GUI) displays the characters on top of a solid colored background. The background is often, but not necessarily, white. The Unicode characters and the background are literally unrelated to each other.

In the second example, the letters are composed of (say) black pixels organized on a background of white pixels. The letters and the background are integrally related to each other. It is a single, flat, two-dimensional surface arranged of pixels of different colors.

SOLUTION
If you need to separate the text from the background in a PDF “picture” of text, the solution is to use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. OCR is a feature included in most modern PDF editors. OCR software analyzes the contrast in pixel colors and deduces the presence of known characters, like letters, numbers, and punctuation. The accuracy of the OCR software depends on the degree of contrast, and the amount of visual “noise” in the file. If you extract text with OCR software, proofread the result carefully, because there may be errors in the output.

#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks

#HelpDesk #TechSupport

Cybersecurity - Networks - Wireless – Telecom – VoIP

“Bob, I can’t copy and paste from this document.”

A client recently had some difficulty copying and pasting from a PDF document, and the problem was because they didn’t understand the different types of PDF documents. I’ve run across this several times, and it occurs to me that there are probably a lot of people who could benefit from a little tutorial.

PDF TEXT
Take a Microsoft Word document and save it as a PDF file. When you do this, the text is still text. In the PDF document you can select the text, copy it, and paste it somewhere else.

PDF “PICTURE” OF TEXT
Take a paper document, place it on a scanner, and scan it to PDF. You can still see the letters and words in the PDF file. You can still read it. But you can’t select, copy, and paste text from this kind of PDF document.

In the first example, the letters are (often) a series of Unicode characters. The application’s Graphical User Interface (GUI) displays the characters on top of a solid colored background. The background is often, but not necessarily, white. The Unicode characters and the background are literally unrelated to each other.

In the second example, the letters are composed of (say) black pixels organized on a background of white pixels. The letters and the background are integrally related to each other. It is a single, flat, two-dimensional surface arranged of pixels of different colors.

SOLUTION
If you need to separate the text from the background in a PDF “picture” of text, the solution is to use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. OCR is a feature included in most modern PDF editors. OCR software analyzes the contrast in pixel colors and deduces the presence of known characters, like letters, numbers, and punctuation. The accuracy of the OCR software depends on the degree of contrast, and the amount of visual “noise” in the file. If you extract text with OCR software, proofread the result carefully, because there may be errors in the output.

#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks

#HelpDesk #TechSupport

Cybersecurity - Networks - Wireless – Telecom – VoIP

“Bob, I can’t copy and paste from this document.”

A client recently had some difficulty copying and pasting from a PDF document, and the problem was because they didn’t understand the different types of PDF documents. I’ve run across this several times, and it occurs to me that there are probably a lot of people who could benefit from a little tutorial.

PDF TEXT
Take a Microsoft Word document and save it as a PDF file. When you do this, the text is still text. In the PDF document you can select the text, copy it, and paste it somewhere else.

PDF “PICTURE” OF TEXT
Take a paper document, place it on a scanner, and scan it to PDF. You can still see the letters and words in the PDF file. You can still read it. But you can’t select, copy, and paste text from this kind of PDF document.

In the first example, the letters are (often) a series of Unicode characters. The application’s Graphical User Interface (GUI) displays the characters on top of a solid colored background. The background is often, but not necessarily, white. The Unicode characters and the background are literally unrelated to each other.

In the second example, the letters are composed of (say) black pixels organized on a background of white pixels. The letters and the background are integrally related to each other. It is a single, flat, two-dimensional surface arranged of pixels of different colors.

SOLUTION
If you need to separate the text from the background in a PDF “picture” of text, the solution is to use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. OCR is a feature included in most modern PDF editors. OCR software analyzes the contrast in pixel colors and deduces the presence of known characters, like letters, numbers, and punctuation. The accuracy of the OCR software depends on the degree of contrast, and the amount of visual “noise” in the file. If you extract text with OCR software, proofread the result carefully, because there may be errors in the output.

#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks

#HelpDesk #TechSupport

Cybersecurity - Networks - Wireless – Telecom – VoIP

“Bob, I can’t copy and paste from this document.”

A client recently had some difficulty copying and pasting from a PDF document, and the problem was because they didn’t understand the different types of PDF documents. I’ve run across this several times, and it occurs to me that there are probably a lot of people who could benefit from a little tutorial.

PDF TEXT
Take a Microsoft Word document and save it as a PDF file. When you do this, the text is still text. In the PDF document you can select the text, copy it, and paste it somewhere else.

PDF “PICTURE” OF TEXT
Take a paper document, place it on a scanner, and scan it to PDF. You can still see the letters and words in the PDF file. You can still read it. But you can’t select, copy, and paste text from this kind of PDF document.

In the first example, the letters are (often) a series of Unicode characters. The application’s Graphical User Interface (GUI) displays the characters on top of a solid colored background. The background is often, but not necessarily, white. The Unicode characters and the background are literally unrelated to each other.

In the second example, the letters are composed of (say) black pixels organized on a background of white pixels. The letters and the background are integrally related to each other. It is a single, flat, two-dimensional surface arranged of pixels of different colors.

SOLUTION
If you need to separate the text from the background in a PDF “picture” of text, the solution is to use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. OCR is a feature included in most modern PDF editors. OCR software analyzes the contrast in pixel colors and deduces the presence of known characters, like letters, numbers, and punctuation. The accuracy of the OCR software depends on the degree of contrast, and the amount of visual “noise” in the file. If you extract text with OCR software, proofread the result carefully, because there may be errors in the output.

#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks

#HelpDesk #TechSupport

Cybersecurity - Networks - Wireless – Telecom – VoIP

Passion can be ground down to little pieces of apathy. Here's an example.

Today I was working for a government agency that I've done projects for many times over the years. A long-time employee was assigned as my escort to get into secure areas. I asked a lot of questions. The answers to those questions will be transformed into a report of the "as is" condition of equipment and policies, along with recommendations. The report will be delivered to people much higher up the org chart than my escort.

Here's the thing that stings: he knows what the "as is" conditions are. He knows how the "as is" conditions developed. And he knows what should have been done.

This employee doesn't have the knowledge and skills to make my investigation and report completely unnecessary, but a lot of the stuff could've been prevented if they had listened to him over the years.

Now, in defense of those people in the org chart above him, it's worth mentioning that his own statement contains a lot of truth: "It always comes down to budget."

And somehow, year after year, these things weren't prioritized high enough to allocate money for maintenance and training exercises.

I'll write my report. I'll make my recommendations. And I'll get paid.

But will action be taken? Will anything change? My escort doesn't think so.

He's very good at his job, and he'll do excellent work, doing exactly what rhe government is paying him to do, as he counts down the remaining time before his retirement.

But he's quit making suggestions. Suggestions are viewed as annoying, not as prescriptive or proactive.

I wish this scenario was rare, but it's common. As the consultant who's brought in after the problems become too big to ignore, I've seen this repeatedly.

Have you seen a situation like this? Can you share a story with us, without putting your job at risk?

#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks

Cybersecurity - Networks - Wireless – Telecom – VoIP

Passion can be ground down to little pieces of apathy. Here's an example.

Today I was working for a government agency that I've done projects for many times over the years. A long-time employee was assigned as my escort to get into secure areas. I asked a lot of questions. The answers to those questions will be transformed into a report of the "as is" condition of equipment and policies, along with recommendations. The report will be delivered to people much higher up the org chart than my escort.

Here's the thing that stings: he knows what the "as is" conditions are. He knows how the "as is" conditions developed. And he knows what should have been done.

This employee doesn't have the knowledge and skills to make my investigation and report completely unnecessary, but a lot of the stuff could've been prevented if they had listened to him over the years.

Now, in defense of those people in the org chart above him, it's worth mentioning that his own statement contains a lot of truth: "It always comes down to budget."

And somehow, year after year, these things weren't prioritized high enough to allocate money for maintenance and training exercises.

I'll write my report. I'll make my recommendations. And I'll get paid.

But will action be taken? Will anything change? My escort doesn't think so.

He's very good at his job, and he'll do excellent work, doing exactly what rhe government is paying him to do, as he counts down the remaining time before his retirement.

But he's quit making suggestions. Suggestions are viewed as annoying, not as prescriptive or proactive.

I wish this scenario was rare, but it's common. As the consultant who's brought in after the problems become too big to ignore, I've seen this repeatedly.

Have you seen a situation like this? Can you share a story with us, without putting your job at risk?

#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks

Cybersecurity - Networks - Wireless – Telecom – VoIP

Passion can be ground down to little pieces of apathy. Here's an example.

Today I was working for a government agency that I've done projects for many times over the years. A long-time employee was assigned as my escort to get into secure areas. I asked a lot of questions. The answers to those questions will be transformed into a report of the "as is" condition of equipment and policies, along with recommendations. The report will be delivered to people much higher up the org chart than my escort.

Here's the thing that stings: he knows what the "as is" conditions are. He knows how the "as is" conditions developed. And he knows what should have been done.

This employee doesn't have the knowledge and skills to make my investigation and report completely unnecessary, but a lot of the stuff could've been prevented if they had listened to him over the years.

Now, in defense of those people in the org chart above him, it's worth mentioning that his own statement contains a lot of truth: "It always comes down to budget."

And somehow, year after year, these things weren't prioritized high enough to allocate money for maintenance and training exercises.

I'll write my report. I'll make my recommendations. And I'll get paid.

But will action be taken? Will anything change? My escort doesn't think so.

He's very good at his job, and he'll do excellent work, doing exactly what rhe government is paying him to do, as he counts down the remaining time before his retirement.

But he's quit making suggestions. Suggestions are viewed as annoying, not as prescriptive or proactive.

I wish this scenario was rare, but it's common. As the consultant who's brought in after the problems become too big to ignore, I've seen this repeatedly.

Have you seen a situation like this? Can you share a story with us, without putting your job at risk?

#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks

Cybersecurity - Networks - Wireless – Telecom – VoIP

Passion can be ground down to little pieces of apathy. Here's an example.

Today I was working for a government agency that I've done projects for many times over the years. A long-time employee was assigned as my escort to get into secure areas. I asked a lot of questions. The answers to those questions will be transformed into a report of the "as is" condition of equipment and policies, along with recommendations. The report will be delivered to people much higher up the org chart than my escort.

Here's the thing that stings: he knows what the "as is" conditions are. He knows how the "as is" conditions developed. And he knows what should have been done.

This employee doesn't have the knowledge and skills to make my investigation and report completely unnecessary, but a lot of the stuff could've been prevented if they had listened to him over the years.

Now, in defense of those people in the org chart above him, it's worth mentioning that his own statement contains a lot of truth: "It always comes down to budget."

And somehow, year after year, these things weren't prioritized high enough to allocate money for maintenance and training exercises.

I'll write my report. I'll make my recommendations. And I'll get paid.

But will action be taken? Will anything change? My escort doesn't think so.

He's very good at his job, and he'll do excellent work, doing exactly what rhe government is paying him to do, as he counts down the remaining time before his retirement.

But he's quit making suggestions. Suggestions are viewed as annoying, not as prescriptive or proactive.

I wish this scenario was rare, but it's common. As the consultant who's brought in after the problems become too big to ignore, I've seen this repeatedly.

Have you seen a situation like this? Can you share a story with us, without putting your job at risk?

#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks

Cybersecurity - Networks - Wireless – Telecom – VoIP

Passion can be ground down to little pieces of apathy. Here's an example.

Today I was working for a government agency that I've done projects for many times over the years. A long-time employee was assigned as my escort to get into secure areas. I asked a lot of questions. The answers to those questions will be transformed into a report of the "as is" condition of equipment and policies, along with recommendations. The report will be delivered to people much higher up the org chart than my escort.

Here's the thing that stings: he knows what the "as is" conditions are. He knows how the "as is" conditions developed. And he knows what should have been done.

This employee doesn't have the knowledge and skills to make my investigation and report completely unnecessary, but a lot of the stuff could've been prevented if they had listened to him over the years.

Now, in defense of those people in the org chart above him, it's worth mentioning that his own statement contains a lot of truth: "It always comes down to budget."

And somehow, year after year, these things weren't prioritized high enough to allocate money for maintenance and training exercises.

I'll write my report. I'll make my recommendations. And I'll get paid.

But will action be taken? Will anything change? My escort doesn't think so.

He's very good at his job, and he'll do excellent work, doing exactly what rhe government is paying him to do, as he counts down the remaining time before his retirement.

But he's quit making suggestions. Suggestions are viewed as annoying, not as prescriptive or proactive.

I wish this scenario was rare, but it's common. As the consultant who's brought in after the problems become too big to ignore, I've seen this repeatedly.

Have you seen a situation like this? Can you share a story with us, without putting your job at risk?

#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks

Cybersecurity - Networks - Wireless – Telecom – VoIP

“I will not treat the user’s device as if I own it.”
The FIFO Networks Software Developer’s Code of Ethics, written ten years ago, is still relevant. Perhaps now more than ever.

Here’s the link.
https://fifonetworks.com/software-developers-code-of-ethics/

#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks

Cybersecurity - Networks - Wireless – Telecom – VoIP

“I will not treat the user’s device as if I own it.”
The FIFO Networks Software Developer’s Code of Ethics, written ten years ago, is still relevant. Perhaps now more than ever.

Here’s the link.
https://fifonetworks.com/software-developers-code-of-ethics/

#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks

Cybersecurity - Networks - Wireless – Telecom – VoIP

“I will not treat the user’s device as if I own it.”
The FIFO Networks Software Developer’s Code of Ethics, written ten years ago, is still relevant. Perhaps now more than ever.

Here’s the link.
https://fifonetworks.com/software-developers-code-of-ethics/

#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks

Cybersecurity - Networks - Wireless – Telecom – VoIP

“I will not treat the user’s device as if I own it.”
The FIFO Networks Software Developer’s Code of Ethics, written ten years ago, is still relevant. Perhaps now more than ever.

Here’s the link.
https://fifonetworks.com/software-developers-code-of-ethics/

#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks

Cybersecurity - Networks - Wireless – Telecom – VoIP

“I will not treat the user’s device as if I own it.”
The FIFO Networks Software Developer’s Code of Ethics, written ten years ago, is still relevant. Perhaps now more than ever.

Here’s the link.
https://fifonetworks.com/software-developers-code-of-ethics/

#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks

Cybersecurity - Networks - Wireless – Telecom – VoIP

Steps for setting up a new phone system... are you helping a company replace their existing phone system? I just did this with one of my clients recently, and it occurred to me that it might be helpful to someone to have a brief overview.

STEP ONE: Call flow diagrams. Make call flow diagrams that cover business hours, after hours, line busy, and so forth. Does the call go first to an Automated Attendant (AA)? What will the announcement say? The flow diagram may include what happens with various options: “For Sales, press 2...” Get the diagrams all laid out and approved by everyone involved in the decision making process. BTW, the decision making process should include the people who actually answer the phones. For real. Ask them.

STEP TWO: Record the announcements. From the call flow diagrams, you now know exactly how many recorded voice announcements you’ll need. Get them all recorded in advance. Have the recordings approved by the decision maker(s). Store a digital backup copy of those recordings, separate from the folder you’ll use to upload the recordings.

STEP THREE: Train everyone. Before the new phone system is put online, let people know what will be different and what will be the same. Have a Quick Start Guide for every user. The QSG will have information they need right away, like how to transfer a call, park a caller, put a call on hold, adjust screen brightness and volume, speed dial setup, and so forth. And make sure everyone understands the call flow.

STEP FOUR: Activate the new phone system. Do the configuration. Upload the recordings. Go live. And stay close, because there will be hiccups. Some people won’t read the QSG. Some will read it, but won’t understand it. Some will get nervous when they have their first caller on the line. You be calm and cool, so they can be calm and cool. You’re not there to berate them, you’re there to enable them. And if one of them loses their cool, you don’t lose yours. You’re the strong one.

#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks

Cybersecurity - Networks - Wireless – Telecom – VoIP

Steps for setting up a new phone system... are you helping a company replace their existing phone system? I just did this with one of my clients recently, and it occurred to me that it might be helpful to someone to have a brief overview.

STEP ONE: Call flow diagrams. Make call flow diagrams that cover business hours, after hours, line busy, and so forth. Does the call go first to an Automated Attendant (AA)? What will the announcement say? The flow diagram may include what happens with various options: “For Sales, press 2...” Get the diagrams all laid out and approved by everyone involved in the decision making process. BTW, the decision making process should include the people who actually answer the phones. For real. Ask them.

STEP TWO: Record the announcements. From the call flow diagrams, you now know exactly how many recorded voice announcements you’ll need. Get them all recorded in advance. Have the recordings approved by the decision maker(s). Store a digital backup copy of those recordings, separate from the folder you’ll use to upload the recordings.

STEP THREE: Train everyone. Before the new phone system is put online, let people know what will be different and what will be the same. Have a Quick Start Guide for every user. The QSG will have information they need right away, like how to transfer a call, park a caller, put a call on hold, adjust screen brightness and volume, speed dial setup, and so forth. And make sure everyone understands the call flow.

STEP FOUR: Activate the new phone system. Do the configuration. Upload the recordings. Go live. And stay close, because there will be hiccups. Some people won’t read the QSG. Some will read it, but won’t understand it. Some will get nervous when they have their first caller on the line. You be calm and cool, so they can be calm and cool. You’re not there to berate them, you’re there to enable them. And if one of them loses their cool, you don’t lose yours. You’re the strong one.

#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks

Cybersecurity - Networks - Wireless – Telecom – VoIP

Steps for setting up a new phone system... are you helping a company replace their existing phone system? I just did this with one of my clients recently, and it occurred to me that it might be helpful to someone to have a brief overview.

STEP ONE: Call flow diagrams. Make call flow diagrams that cover business hours, after hours, line busy, and so forth. Does the call go first to an Automated Attendant (AA)? What will the announcement say? The flow diagram may include what happens with various options: “For Sales, press 2...” Get the diagrams all laid out and approved by everyone involved in the decision making process. BTW, the decision making process should include the people who actually answer the phones. For real. Ask them.

STEP TWO: Record the announcements. From the call flow diagrams, you now know exactly how many recorded voice announcements you’ll need. Get them all recorded in advance. Have the recordings approved by the decision maker(s). Store a digital backup copy of those recordings, separate from the folder you’ll use to upload the recordings.

STEP THREE: Train everyone. Before the new phone system is put online, let people know what will be different and what will be the same. Have a Quick Start Guide for every user. The QSG will have information they need right away, like how to transfer a call, park a caller, put a call on hold, adjust screen brightness and volume, speed dial setup, and so forth. And make sure everyone understands the call flow.

STEP FOUR: Activate the new phone system. Do the configuration. Upload the recordings. Go live. And stay close, because there will be hiccups. Some people won’t read the QSG. Some will read it, but won’t understand it. Some will get nervous when they have their first caller on the line. You be calm and cool, so they can be calm and cool. You’re not there to berate them, you’re there to enable them. And if one of them loses their cool, you don’t lose yours. You’re the strong one.

#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks

Cybersecurity - Networks - Wireless – Telecom – VoIP

Steps for setting up a new phone system... are you helping a company replace their existing phone system? I just did this with one of my clients recently, and it occurred to me that it might be helpful to someone to have a brief overview.

STEP ONE: Call flow diagrams. Make call flow diagrams that cover business hours, after hours, line busy, and so forth. Does the call go first to an Automated Attendant (AA)? What will the announcement say? The flow diagram may include what happens with various options: “For Sales, press 2...” Get the diagrams all laid out and approved by everyone involved in the decision making process. BTW, the decision making process should include the people who actually answer the phones. For real. Ask them.

STEP TWO: Record the announcements. From the call flow diagrams, you now know exactly how many recorded voice announcements you’ll need. Get them all recorded in advance. Have the recordings approved by the decision maker(s). Store a digital backup copy of those recordings, separate from the folder you’ll use to upload the recordings.

STEP THREE: Train everyone. Before the new phone system is put online, let people know what will be different and what will be the same. Have a Quick Start Guide for every user. The QSG will have information they need right away, like how to transfer a call, park a caller, put a call on hold, adjust screen brightness and volume, speed dial setup, and so forth. And make sure everyone understands the call flow.

STEP FOUR: Activate the new phone system. Do the configuration. Upload the recordings. Go live. And stay close, because there will be hiccups. Some people won’t read the QSG. Some will read it, but won’t understand it. Some will get nervous when they have their first caller on the line. You be calm and cool, so they can be calm and cool. You’re not there to berate them, you’re there to enable them. And if one of them loses their cool, you don’t lose yours. You’re the strong one.

#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks

Cybersecurity - Networks - Wireless – Telecom – VoIP

Steps for setting up a new phone system... are you helping a company replace their existing phone system? I just did this with one of my clients recently, and it occurred to me that it might be helpful to someone to have a brief overview.

STEP ONE: Call flow diagrams. Make call flow diagrams that cover business hours, after hours, line busy, and so forth. Does the call go first to an Automated Attendant (AA)? What will the announcement say? The flow diagram may include what happens with various options: “For Sales, press 2...” Get the diagrams all laid out and approved by everyone involved in the decision making process. BTW, the decision making process should include the people who actually answer the phones. For real. Ask them.

STEP TWO: Record the announcements. From the call flow diagrams, you now know exactly how many recorded voice announcements you’ll need. Get them all recorded in advance. Have the recordings approved by the decision maker(s). Store a digital backup copy of those recordings, separate from the folder you’ll use to upload the recordings.

STEP THREE: Train everyone. Before the new phone system is put online, let people know what will be different and what will be the same. Have a Quick Start Guide for every user. The QSG will have information they need right away, like how to transfer a call, park a caller, put a call on hold, adjust screen brightness and volume, speed dial setup, and so forth. And make sure everyone understands the call flow.

STEP FOUR: Activate the new phone system. Do the configuration. Upload the recordings. Go live. And stay close, because there will be hiccups. Some people won’t read the QSG. Some will read it, but won’t understand it. Some will get nervous when they have their first caller on the line. You be calm and cool, so they can be calm and cool. You’re not there to berate them, you’re there to enable them. And if one of them loses their cool, you don’t lose yours. You’re the strong one.

#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks

Cybersecurity - Networks - Wireless – Telecom – VoIP