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Back to School Sales Tax Holiday

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Computers and Computer-Related Accessories

The exemption applies to an eligible item selling for $1,000 or less per item when purchased for noncommercial home or personal use. This exemption does not apply to sales of personal computers or computer-related accessories for use in a trade or business; or to sales in a theme park, entertainment complex, public lodging establishment, or airport.

The term “Personal computers” includes electronic book readers, laptops, desktops, handhelds, tablets, and tower computers. The term does not include cellular telephones, video game consoles, digital media receivers, or devices that are not primarily designed to process data.

“Personal computer-related accessories” includes keyboards, mice (mouse devices), personal digital assistants, monitors, other peripheral devices, modems, routers, and nonrecreational software, regardless of whether the accessories are used in association with a personal computer base unit. Computer-related accessories do not include furniture or systems, devices, software, or peripherals that are designed or intended primarily for recreational use. The term “monitor” does not include a device that includes a television tuner.

Examples of Exempt Computers and Computer-Related Accessories:

  • Cables (for computers)
    Car adaptors (for laptop computers)
  • Central processing units (CPU)
  • Compact disk drives
  • Computer for noncommercial home or personal use: Desktop, Laptop, Tablet
  • Computer batteries
  • Computer towers consisting of a central processing unit, random­-access memory, and a storage drive
  • Data storage devices such as: Blank CDs, Diskettes, Flash drives, Jump drives, Memory cards, Portable hard drives, Storage drives, Thumb drives, Zip drives
  • Software such as: Antivirus, Database Educational, Financial, Word processing
  • Speakers (for computers)
  • Storage drives (for computers)
  • Tablets
  • Web cameras
  • Docking stations (for computers)
  • Electronic book readers
  • Hard drives
  • Headphones (including “earbuds”)-
  • Ink cartridges (for computer printers)
  • Keyboards (for computers)
  • Mice (mouse devices)
  • Microphones (for computers)
  • Modems
  • Monitors (except devices thatinclude a television tuner)
  • Motherboards
  • Personal digital assistant devices (except cellular telephones)
  • Port replicators
  • Printer cartridges
  • Printers (including “all-in-one” models)
  • RAM – random access memory
  • Routers
  • Scanners

Examples of Taxable Computers and Computer-Related Accessories:

  • Batteries (regular)***
  • Cases for electronic devices (including electronic reader covers)
  • CDs and DVDs (music, voice, pre-recorded items)
  • Cellular telephones (including smart telephones)
  • Computer bags
  • Computer paper
  • Computers designed and intended for recreation (games and toys)
  • Copy machines and copier ink and toner
  • Digital cameras
  • Digital media receivers
  • Fax machines – stand alone
  • Furniture
  • Game controllers joysticks, nun chucks)
  • Game systems and consoles
  • Games and gaming software
  • MP3 players or accessories
  • Projectors
  • Rented computers or computer-related accessories
  • Smart telephones
  • Surge protectors
  • Tablet cases or covers
  • Televisions (including digital media receivers)
  • Video game consoles

Contact us to receive a quote for your computer and computer-related back to school needs!

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Cloud Storage or Local Server – The Best of Both

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Cloud computing is growing rapidly in business today, and for good reason too. The cloud provides freedom to do and achieve more than ever before. Greater collaboration, unlocking work possibilities in new locations and often reducing costs provides a healthy boost for companies.

Every business is unique however, and cloud solutions don’t fit for every scenario. Connection issues, internet plans, or technical requirements can rule it out as an option. In these situations, we recommend installing a Network Attached Storage (NAS) solution instead. Which is a very small server with a lot of hard drives.

A NAS is particularly popular in small, mid-sized businesses, and home environments. Due to their low power consumption, small footprint, and low cost, they are an ideal upgrade. By employing a NAS device to do the heavy lifting, power users and businesses enhance their networks and get more out of their systems.

Reliable, Fast Access

A NAS solution is ideal for the job when a property can’t achieve lightning fast internet speeds or services aren’t reliable enough to run a business on. Serving files locally rather than from a remote server saves vast amounts on uploads and downloads.

Many of the benefits of the cloud can be created locally inside your home or office. Save and retrieve files from multiple devices with fast local network speeds. Complete file transfers, backups, and sharing at the speed of the hardware you purchase yourself. Rather than being limited by the speeds offered by your ISP.

A NAS gives you many advantages of the cloud with the level of control, speed, and accessibility of a local server. All this is achieved for a fraction of the maintenance and cost typically associated with conventional servers.

One Device, Many Uses

NAS devices act as a centralized backup location for active files and devices across the network. Using the device as a file store allows you to share projects easily, collaborate on files, and keep up-to-date copies while revisions change.

The device can be set up to allow redundancy across multiple hard drives. This means backed up data is never vulnerable to only a single hardware failure. A fully redundant NAS is capable of handling a hard drive failure, or even removal, without interrupting your workflow. Simply replacing the affected hard drive with a new one will backup your files again and re-balance your device as if nothing had happened at all.

Lightweight File Access

Retaining access to your files away from the office isn’t an ability exclusive to cloud services. NAS devices can be configured to provide secure access to files and folders on remote connections. Working remotely is just as easy as working in the office.

When the rest of the office IT is shut-off and shut down, the device remains on and connected to the network, access is never interrupted. Their low power consumption makes it practical to leave the device powered on for regular backups and easy data access. They don’t require the heavy maintenance or large footprint of a bulky server. As a simple solution, a NAS device allows you to focus only on the data.

The Best of Both Worlds

NAS devices provide high-speed file access and configuration of a local server and combines it with the low footprint and ease of use of a cloud service. Without relying on a bad ISP, weak connection, or power-hungry hardware, a NAS could be the solution that supercharges your business.

Find out if network storage is the right fit for your business. Call us today at (352) 688-8011 to talk about the IT you need to meet your goals.

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SSD: Make Your Old Computer Your New Computer

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The solid-state drive (SSD) has swiftly become the go-to upgrade to breathe new life into an ageing computer, and for good reason too.  A SSD swiftly brings an old laptop or desktop up to date with modern machines in just a single step.

SSD, Solid State Drive

The price of solid-state memory has fallen dramatically in recent years. As costs have dropped, the popularity of the technology has increased exponentially.  At one time a SSD was a rare treat for serious PC enthusiasts. Now it’s cheaper and more readily available than ever. No other single solution is as cost-effective, quick to swap, and impressively effective as swapping out an old hard drive in favor of the faster and more modern SSD.

Out with The Old HDD

The hard disk drive (HDD) is a technology that dates back as far as the 1950s.  They became the default solution all PCs would use for decades to come.  Most old laptop and desktop machines still contain their original, worn hard drives they left the factory with.

The HDD was a mostly mechanical device.  Inside a solid outer casing was a series of spinning disks arranged in a delicate stack known as a platter. Each disk could read and save data using a tiny needle moving across the disk’s surface.  

The technology looked and worked much like a miniature record player.  Like a record player, widely in use at the time that hard drives were developed, the hard drive had some serious drawbacks.

The series of tiny disks and needles that made up the HDD were incredibly fragile.  Vulnerable to dust or movement, computers commonly succumbed to hard drive failures that rendered the machine and its stored data unusable. Occasionally, simply moving a laptop while reading or writing data can damage a hard drive’s spinning disk.

In with The New SSD

The primary reason to switch to a SSD, on top of their impressive durability, is the incredible increase in speed.  Because the SSD has no moving parts at all, working more like a digital camera memory card than a vinyl record player.

A SSD simply makes the process of retrieving and saving data to storage many times faster.  Eliminating the mechanical component, removing the need to move a physical disk, and not needing to physically pick up the data means a much faster and smoother operation.

Computer startup, where the operating system loads all its data from storage, can take as little as one-quarter of the time of a comparable HDD.  Additionally, loading regular applications and data from an SSD takes a fraction of time of a HDD. A SSD completely breathes new life into an old machine and computers with a SSD replacement for the hard drive feels like using an entirely new machine for a fraction of the cost.

Replacing the main mechanical component also eliminates wear and tear working to break down your machine.  While a HDD slows over time, degrades, and can eventually suffer mechanical failure; a SSD remains as durable as the day it was purchased.

Ideal Laptop Upgrade

In a laptop setting, the SSD makes even more sense.  They require less power than older hard drives, making the most of your battery charge.

Furthermore, not needing a large disk platter, mechanical parts, or protective outer case means they are about half the weight of a mechanical drive.  Making an old machine lightweight certainly brings it another step closer to a modern machine.

They run almost silently too.  The familiar click-clack of the hard drive is a thing of the past.  Many users comment on the noise their laptop used to make starting up and loading programs.  Noisy laptops are a tech throwback we’re so happy to leave behind.

For many who feel like their old system is showing its age, the prohibitive cost of purchasing a whole new machine keeps them invested in their old one.  A simple, fast SSD upgrade can make your old machine new again at a much smaller price. If swapping long startups, and slow load times sounds right for you, consider upgrading to a SSD. You won’t look back.

Give us a call at (352) 688-8011, so we can give your machine a new lease on life.

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Exposed Passwords In Plaintext via Instagram Bug!

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To add to the latest Facebook drama that has been in the news and all over social media there has been yet another bug reported!

It is HIGHLY recommended that you update your passwords immediately.

Instagram ( Facebook Owned ) has recently patched a reported bug within their new feature set called “Download your Data”… In order to prove you are the correct user so your data doesn’t fall into the wrong hands, they ask you to re-enter in your user credentials. This new feature has inadvertently transferring those creds via Plaintext and may have been viewed by nefarious entities.

Sources – https://thehackernews.com/2018/11/instagram-password-hack.html

Instagram Has Exposed Passwords In Plaintext

FBI Asking Everyone to Reboot Their Routers

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VPNFilter Malware

Over the past few days, it has come to light that an FBI operation has targeted and seized a Malware Command Center / Servers that are said to be linked to the same Russian hacking group that was responsible for hacking the Democratic National Committee back in 2016. This piece of sophisticated malware is what’s known as a “World Wide Botnet” which is basically a small network of infected devices ( Routers in this case ) controlled by a central command center, all working together to accomplish a larger goal.

Since the FBI now has control over the “Malicious Servers” they are requesting that everyone just simply reboot their Routers. Doing so will clear the device’s memory and in turn effectively remove any malware that may be stored in the device’s memory.

Sources & Reading Materials:

http://www.wctv.tv/content/news/Malware-around-the-world-has-some-concerned-locally-484124701.html
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/139-AM-Tampa-Bay-25096598/episode/michael-bower-how-does-this-29375371/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/the-cybersecurity-202/2018/05/31/the-cybersecurity-202-only-you-can-prevent-a-vpn-filter-malware-attack-that-s-a-problem-for-the-fbi/5b0ed7b81b326b492dd07eec/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.86a51883398d
https://thehackernews.com/2018/05/vpnfilter-router-hacking.html
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-announces-actions-disrupt-advanced-persistent-threat-28-botnet-infected
https://www.thedailybeast.com/exclusive-fbi-seizes-control-of-russian-botnet
https://www.snopes.com/news/2018/05/25/fbi-warns-routers-cyber-attack/

Chrome 66 now available for download

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Chrome version 66 is now available to Android, Windows, Linux, Mac, and iOS, for update/download. In order to make sure you are using the latest version follow the simple 3 steps in the infographic below this article.

Google’s Chrome 66 featured highlights:

  • Over 62 Security/Bug Fixes.
  • New media autoplay behavior: auto-playing content is muted by default along with other restrictions/permissions.
  • Passwords export feature: You can now download .csv file in “Managed passwords”.
  • Site Isolation Trial: This supposedly improves security and helps mitigate the risks posed by Spectre chip bug by running pages from different websites in different processes with each process blocked from receiving sensitive data from other sites.
  • Chrome 66 will also set all website certificates issued by Symantec’s legacy PKI to not trust.

Installation steps:
Follow the steps below and your browser will update itself. Once installed a simple restart of Chrome Browser will launch the new version. You can check which version you are running on the About Chrome page like the infographic below, or by simply typing “Chrome://version” into the Chrome URL bar.

Perpetual backups could be in our future

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Eternal 5D data storage – University of Southampton

Backups may be a thing of the past sooner then we think. The scientists at the University of Southampton have invented what many are referring to as “Superman Memory Crystals”. Quarts crystal disks that have the ability to store a massive 360TB of data for over 13.8 billion years at the extreme temperatures of 190°C & is even stable of up to and possibly exceeding 1000°C. This has opened up a whole new World of perpetual data storage.

Using nanostructured glass, scientists from the University’s Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC) have developed the recording and retrieval processes of five dimensional (5D) digital data by femtosecond laser writing. – University of Southampton

Elon Musk has even included one of these “Memory Disks” aboard the FalconX with the Tesla when they launched it into space back in February.

This form a data storage won’t be available to the consumer realm for quite some time yet. Until then we all still need to be vigilant and continue to back up our valuable data as safely as possible. The current best practice for keeping data as safe as possible in the unfortunate, unforeseen event of hardware failure is to follow the 3-2-1 Backup Strategy. A 3-2-1 strategy means having at least 3 total copies of your data, 2 of which are local but on different mediums (pc & external disk drive), and at least 1 copy offsite ( in the cloud ). The first two copies are your responsibility but for the “Offsite” backups Computer Corrections has you covered with our Cloud Backup & Storage service that starts at a low $5 a month!

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Happy Valentines day!

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14 new Critical Vulnerabilities patched – Microsoft releases Security Updates for Valentine’s day!

“Meanwhile, Adobe on Tuesday also released security updates for its Acrobat, Reader and Experience Manager products to address a total of 41 security vulnerabilities, out of which 17 are rated as critical and 24 important in severity.
Users are strongly advised to apply security patches as soon as possible to keep hackers and cybercriminals away from taking control of their computers.” – The Hacker News
 
 
Click through to Read more on the topic here: https://thehackernews.com/2018/02/microsoft-patch-update.html

Microsoft Releases Guidelines for Cyber-security and Privacy

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In this day and age, everyone ( at least we hope ) has been a bit more concerned about securing their personal data and upping their privacy game. It’s not always a straightforward task, and it may be hard to decide where to start. To help out, Microsoft has written and publicly released a whitepaper detailing today’s current Cyber-Security & Privacy Guidelines.

These guidelines are geared towards the Non-Profit sector but everyone can gain some knowledge by reading and trying to conform to this set of guidelines.

The Cyber-Security & Privacy whitepaper includes but is not limited to topics such as:

  • Non-Profit Best practices
  • Cybersecurity & Resources
  • Privacy
  • Legal Landscape
  • EU data protection principles
  • Achieve compliance
  • How the cloud can help
  • Using the cloud

To download the Whitepapper:
Download Whitepapper

 
 

Additional Reseources on cyber security and privacy in the cloud

Complete Managed I.T. Services – Computer Corrections offers several low cost solutions to help with Cybersecurity as well as Privacy.

When is the last time you made a backup of your device?!

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With the passing of Thanksgiving & Christmas right around the corner as well as the upcoming New Years, there are going to be tuns of photos taken this holiday season!

Contact us today to set up a safety net with our Comprehensive Offsite Backup Plans. Gain peace of mind that your very important family photos and personal data are stored safely away from those accidental spills and drops! ( it happens to the best of us 😉 )

Get your Backup Plan Today!  OPEN A SUPPORT TICKET

#backups #offsitebackups #databackups #photobackups #holidayphotos #datasafetynet

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