Can we reinstall 2020? How the coronavirus affects tech.
Can we reinstall 2020?
This version of 2o20 definitely has a virus. And it’s affecting all the tech sectors. This is what you need to know for your business now.
Tech Support
All tech companies, from Apple to Microsoft to Webnames, are seeing big increases in request for tech support as people work from home. At the same time their own workers are now operating from home. Everyone is trying hard but there is a definite increase in wait time for responses and support for all tech products and services right now.
Tech Supplies
A lot of the factories in China and Korea that makes the chips and bits in smartphones and computers have been closed or repurposed to make medical supplies. Supplies of smartphones and computers are shrinking fast. Both Apple and Microsoft have closed their stores but are still offering online sales but with long waits for deliveries.
Amazon still has stock but have prioritized deliveries of medical supplies. This means long waits on order delivery.
Keep Your Team Together
You’re in luck if you have Office 365 Business Premium. Business Premium comes with Teams, SharePoint, Skype for Business and OneDrive. You can even increase your default 1TB storage per user quite cheaply for 26cents per 1TB per month (you can find this in the Admin centre under Billing, Purchase Services, AddOns).
Teams provides a place to share files, chat to coworkers and video conference.
You can use Zoom for video conferences however there are concerns about privacy and limitations on the free account.
All video and conference call services are being used to the max so expect delays and lags in service. If you can, schedule your meetings for later in the day like 7pm.
Here’s some tips on how to look best on webcam.
Power to the People
Now you have more devices to plug into your home. Make sure you’re using the best power surge protection. I just wrote a blog on surge protectors for your office.
Remote Desktop and VPN
Most of my clients are now using remote desktop and VPN services to work from home. It’s really important to keep your devices up to date for this to work consistently. Plan to install updates before it causes a problem with remote access. When Windows runs updates it frequently decides not trust connections from outside (like your Remote Desktop connection). Until you install the updates and reboot the computer you will have a problem.
Coronavirus Scams and Hacks
Hackers are quite comfortable working from home and have cooked up all kinds of new scams related to coronavirus:
- scam texts regarding government bailout payments
- threatening to infect family if you don’t extortion or sextortion
- scam emails about government payments
- fake government web sites
Remember if it sounds too good to be true, don’t click on it. Sophos, the antivirus company, has a live blog of all the latest COVID related scams and threats here.
The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre has some good resources if you have been scammed.
