Computer Support, Design, Print and Business Telecoms - ABC Service, Tavistock, Devon

April – May 2023 Newsletter

Apr 15, 2023

Here we go again!

Wow these come around quickly, which is a good thing that means time is flying by hopefully in a good way for everyone ?

ISP (Internet Service Provider) Emails

Do you have an email address with your ISP (Internet Service Provider) such as BT, TalkTalk etc? If you do, where possible, we recommend actually not using it….we have seen a number of clients who have moved to a different provider and then months or even a year later the emails suddenly stop working! The ISP then asks you to pay yearly for continued use…some of you have gotten away with it but if they catch up to you….that’s it….we highly recommend you use independent email addresses such as Gmail or Outlook (Hotmail). It doesn’t matter who you are with then.

Browsers

So there are a range of internet browsers out there including the well known Google Chrome and Edge but there are also Firefox and Opera. Google Chrome is still very much known for it’s heavy Memory (RAM) usage so if you have an older device it might be worth changing your browser to one that isn’t so intensive….Microsoft comes with Edge as it’s default built in browser which is light on the system but also it’s worth looking at Firefox as a nice, tidy, quick and light browser….its also compatible with older PC’s!

Passwords

For years, people would say that you should change your passwords regularly well you can forget having to do that! It’s an outdated practice. As long as your password is secure then you should only need to change it if you believe there has been a leak or breach in data. To ensure your password is secure use a mix of letters (upper and lowercase), numbers and characters too. Minimum of 8 characters long, ideally 10 characters if you can. Why are we saying this….a study showed that actually renewing your passwords are a waste of time as the majority of people when questioned just use the same password and/or stick either an exclamation mark “!” or a “1” on the end of it.

“Hacked”

We see and hear the term “hacked” all too often….the word is thrown out there and it sounds scary for some people because they feel violated….of course “hacked” means someone has illegally and forcefully accessed personal data. But, this term needs to stop or at least a bit of knowledge wouldn’t go amiss. If you are a basic home user….sorry but you are not important enough to the Russian Government…unless you are a secret agent of course! A lot of people who have had their emails “hacked” or Facebook “hacked” have most likely leaked their data on a website i.e. the website you visited via that email link the other day that looked a bit suspicious but they were offering such a good deal it was too good to be true…it could well have been! OR you left your password as “password”…..tut tut…for an extra level of security, whack on 2FA on your accounts and you are all good…2FA is Two Factor Authentication and a lot of places opt to have a Text come through to your personal mobile number, voila, secure. ?

The Staff

Hannah has been with ABC Service for a couple of years now. After completing her A levels in Art and Further Maths. She came here to help us out as a part time member of staff and quickly ended up doing full-time and completely taking over the Print department. She is now in-charge of anything print and design here at ABC! Organised and fussy…not a bad thing when in print! Quietly spoken in general so if you need her to speak up do say so.

Alice joined us on an apprenticeship doing her Customer Service course and also carrying out a Business Administration course. All of which has helped her develop here at ABC Service. She organises the diary for us and also attends to the billing etc. She loves learning new things….including old phrases! Come and throw a few at her (obviously explain what they mean as well haha).

For more information on what we do here at ABC Service do checkout our website www.abcservice.co.uk

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