Posts

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Oxford’s Secure Quantum Computing Breakthrough

Researchers at Oxford University’s UK Quantum Computing and Simulation Hub claim to have made what could be an important breakthrough in quantum computing security.  The Issue  As things stand, if businesses want to use cloud-based…

Tech Tip – How To Restore Recently Closed Files in File Explorer

Accidentally closing a File Explorer window that you needed can be frustrating, especially if you were deep in a directory structure or working with multiple files. Windows allows you to quickly reopen a recently closed File Explorer window…

Tech Tip – Record Steps in Windows to Explain a Problem to Others

If you need an easy way to explain to others the nature of a technical issue or the steps to take to solve that issue, Windows has an often overlooked, built-in 'Steps Recorder' to help you. As the name suggests, it records the series of steps…

A Dozen Handy Google Maps Tricks

With Google Maps now one of the most popular mapping services globally, used by millions of people every day, plus having new features regularly being added, here we look at a dozen top Google Maps (Android) tricks to help you on your way.  Driving  Since…

How To Quickly Access Symbols and Special Characters

Trying to find and insert particular symbols or special characters into something like a Word document can often be awkward and time-consuming, but Windows provides a quick-access character map for these symbols and characters to streamline…

What Is Customer Journey Mapping Software?

In this tech insight, we look at what customer journey mapping is, its benefits, the challenges of using it, and also we look at some of the popular customer journey mapping software solutions available.  What Is Customer Journey Mapping?  Customer…

Use Task Scheduler to Automate Tasks in Windows

Automating routine tasks can save time and ensure that critical operations aren't overlooked. The Windows Task Scheduler allows you to automate tasks such as daily backups, weekly disk cleanups, off-hours software updates, periodic service…

DMARC Diligence (Part 3) : Implementing and Optimising DMARC for Maximum Security

In this third and final part of our series of ‘DMARC Diligence’ insights, we explore the detailed process of DMARC deployment, its monitoring, optimisation, and preparing businesses for future email security challenges.  Last…

Optimise Power Plans For Your Battery Life

Windows allows users to customise or switch between different power plans based on their current needs, balancing performance with energy consumption. This is especially useful for laptop users who may need to maximise battery life or require…

DMARC Diligence (Part 2) : The Forgotten Domains : A Hidden Vulnerability

In this second article of the “DMARC Diligence” series, we shift our focus towards securing non-sending or “forgotten” domains and outline a strategy for their protection through DMARC implementation.  Recap Of Part 1  You…

Easy Batch Renaming of Files in File Explorer

Renaming multiple files one by one can be tedious and time-consuming. Windows File Explorer offers a simple way to batch rename files, which can be especially useful for organising documents, photos, or project files efficiently. Here's how…
email

DMARC Diligence (Part 1) : The Basics of Email Authentication

In this, the first of a series of three articles explaining DMARC and email authentication, we look at why SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are the key pillars of email authentication.  The Issue  Businesses face numerous cyber threats,…

Access Windows Secret “Send To” Menu for Quick Actions

Windows includes an extended "Send To" menu that offers more options for dealing with files, such as copying them directly to specific locations or sending them to compressed (zipped) folders. Here's how to access it: In Microsoft Windows,…

Exploring E-Signatures

In this tech-insight, we look at what e-signatures are, their benefits plus some of the main e-signature providers, as well as what to consider when choosing an e-signature service.  Popularity of E-signatures  The initial growth…
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Firm Ordered To Stop Employee Face-Scanning

The UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has ordered Serco Leisure to stop using facial recognition technology (FRT) and fingerprint scanning to monitor employee attendance.   Not Necessary or Proportionate  An…

Make MS Word Spellcheck Uppercase Too

You may not know that Microsoft Word doesn’t spellcheck uppercase words by default so, if you’d like to make sure your entire document (even your uppercase words) is fully spellchecked, here’s how: In Word, click on 'File'. Click…

Doorbell Ding-Dong

After the Amazon-owned ‘Ring’ video doorbell company’s recent major subscription price hike across its range caused anger and made the news, we look at what customers have said and if there’s a way to beat the price hike.  Ouch!  Ring…

What Are ‘Virtual’ Credit Cards?

In this tech-insight, we take a look at the world of virtual cards, who offers them, their benefits, and other secure payment alternatives. What Are Virtual Credit Card Numbers?  Virtual credit cards and their card numbers (as the…

Developing A Consistent Brand Voice Using ChatGPT

If you want to develop a comprehensive guide on your brand's voice and writing style to ensure consistency across all company communications, you can use ChatGPT to help you. Here's how:  Open ChatGPT and input a description of the…

Recover Unsaved Word Documents

If you use Microsoft Word on the desktop, it’s worth knowing that Word automatically saves versions of documents as you work even if you don’t, allowing you to save yourself time and trouble by recovering any unsaved documents. Here’s…

Remove Hidden And Personal Data Before Sharing A Word Document

If you’ve got a desktop Word document that you need to share externally, and you want a fast way to check for (and remove) personal information, comments, or other hidden data that you might not want to distribute, Document Inspector can…

Bring Someone Else Into Your Outlook Conversations

If you’re involved in an email conversation in Microsoft Outlook and you want a fast and easy way to introduce other colleagues to certain parts of your message without having to start a new conversation, here’s how:  In the body…
IT Growth

‘Only’ Double IT Spending Growth (To $5 Trillion) – IT & Security News (mklink.co.uk)

New research from Gartner has predicted that global IT spending this year will reach $5 trillion and IT spending growth will be more than double that of 2023.  A First – Spending More On IT Than Communications  In its IT…

Create Instant ‘To-Do’ Desktop Notes with Sticky Notes

Jot down ideas, to-do lists, or important reminders for yourself using Sticky Notes in Microsoft Windows. This simple but effective tool allows you to place virtual notes on your desktop, freeing you from paper notes that can get lost, and…

Use ChatGPT Within Microsoft Word

The ‘Add-Ins’ link on the menu (top-right) in Microsoft Word in Office 365 enables you to use many useful apps and tools directly within Word, including ChatGPT. Here’s how it works:  Open a Word document and click on ‘Add-Ins’…

Distraction-Free Reading In Word

If you have a document in Microsoft Word that you'd like to convert to a more readable, book-like format, reducing distractions and allowing you to really focus on the content, here's how: Open the document in Microsoft Word. Go to the…
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Pin Tabs In Chrome To Save Time And Stay Organised

If there are websites that you use regularly, pinning tabs is a way to save time, stay organised, and get right to the websites you need every time you open your Google Chrome browser. Here’s how it works: Open Chrome and type in the…
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Using Chrome As A Drag And Drop File Viewer

If you’d like to save time and conveniently view various types of files like PDFs, images, and text documents directly in the browser, eliminating the need for multiple separate applications, here’s how to use Google Chrome as simple, all-purpose,…
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Use Chrome As A Simple Note-Taking App

If you’re using Google Chrome to browse the internet and want a quick way to jot down notes or ideas without needing a separate app, this trick will turn a Chrome tab into a simple note-taking app. Here’s how it works:  Open a…
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Silence Distracting Website Notifications Using Chrome’s ‘Mute Site’

If you’re often overwhelmed by notifications such as customer service chats or discount alerts when you arrive on a website, Google Chrome has an in-built feature to instantly mute these. Here’s how it works:  When using Chrome…
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Filtering Video Searches In Google

If you need to search Google for a specific video, or for the best version of that video, Google Search lets you filter video results by duration, time, quality, source, and more. Here's how it works: Type the words into Google Search that…
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Use Google Translate To Check For Mistakes In Your Content

If you’ve written content such as blog posts, articles etc that you’d like to check thoroughly for any mistakes and hear more clearly how it sounds being read back, try using Google Translate. Here’s how.  Go to Google Translate.  Copy…

Enhance Password Security with Emojis

If you’d like to protect your privacy and prevent yourself from being tracked by websites other than the one you are currently visiting, there’s a way to automatically block third-party cookies in Google Chrome. Here's how: In Chrome,…

Automatically Block Third-Party Cookies In Google Chrome

If you’d like to protect your privacy and prevent yourself from being tracked by websites other than the one you are currently visiting, there’s a way to automatically block third-party cookies in Google Chrome. Here's how: In Chrome,…

How To Get A Full Long Page Screen Capture In Chrome

If you'd like to capture long web pages in their entirety, e.g. for use in documentation, presentations, or competitor analysis, Google Chrome has a lesser-known but built-in way for doing this. Here's how it works: Go to the web page you'd…
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Create Shortcuts for Important WhatsApp Chats 

If there's a particular and important chat you access frequently, you can create a shortcut for it on your device's home screen. Here's how: Long-press on the specific chat in the chat list until it's selected. Tap on the three…
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Prioritise WhatsApp Messages By Pinning A Chat To The Top

If there's a particular WhatsApp chat you would like to prioritise, you can pin it to the top of your chats list. Here's how:  For Android: Tap and hold the chat you want to pin, then tap the Pin symbol at the top of the screen.  For…

Google Chrome’s Link To Highlighted Text Feature

If you’ve found a specific passage of text in a web page that you’d like to show to another person, Google Chrome has a built-in feature that allows you to share a link that goes straight to that text. Here’s how it works:  In…

How To Save Time By Sending Public (But Private-Looking) Messages In WhatsApp

If you’d like to use WhatsApp to save time when asking a group of people the same question, making it look as though you’ve asked each of them individually and not having to open each chat to ask them separately, here’s how:  For…
IT confused

Study Shows 20% Of Time Wasted Within IT

A study by the University of Copenhagen and Roskilde University has revealed that computer problems are responsible for us wasting between 11 and 20 per cent of our time.  How The Study Worked  The study involved 234 participants,…

Sharing How To Organise Your Bookmarks In Chrome

If you’ve got a long list of bookmarks in Google Chrome that’s not in order, using ‘Bookmark Manager’ can help get your bookmarks organised and easily navigable. Here’s how to use it:  In Chrome, top right, click on the three…

Sharing Your Location In WhatsApp

If you’d like an easy way to let others know where you are, e.g. a group of friends on a night out, or as a safety precaution, you can choose to share your location on WhatsApp. Here’s how: Go to ‘Settings’ on your phone. Tap…
data usage

How To Check Your Web Usage

In this insight, we look at the many ways to check how much bandwidth you’re using, thereby helping to avoid exceeding data caps, and providing other benefits.  Why Monitor Bandwidth?  As we move deeper into the digital age, internet…

Backup ChatGPT By Exporting Your Chats

If you’d like to backup your ChatGPT chats, it’s possible to export them by email from within ChatGPT. Here’s how: In ChatGPT, click on the three dots (bottom left). Click on ‘Settings & Beta.’ Click on ‘Data Controls. Click…

Time Travel In Google

If you’d like to see, or remind yourself of what Google’s search engine was like back in 1998 when it started, here’s a fun, instant way to do just that:  Type ‘Google in 1998’ into Google’s search bar.  Google will…

Assigning Roles To ChatGPT : The “Act As …” Prompt

If you're looking for a fast, easy, and effective prompt to make ChatGPT write in a specific stye, or the style of a specific person / type of person, try assigning a role. Here's how: To give ChatGPT a persona / a well-known personality,…

Customise Your Google Home Page With A Favourite Photo or GIF

If you’d like to customise and personalise your Google home page to show your favourite photo or GIF, here’s how: Save a favourite GIF or photo to your device (you may already favourite photos and GIFs saved). On the Google home…

How To Quickly Check If Any Of Your Passwords Have Been Leaked

Google’s updated Password Manager in Chrome allows you check if any of your passwords have been compromised or involved in a data breach. Here’s how to use it:  In Chrome, click on the three dots (top right).  Select ‘Passwords’…
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Government Pushing For Right To Spy On WhatsApp Users (and others)

The recent amendment to the Online Safety Bill which means a compulsory report must be written for Ofcom by a “skilled person” before encrypted app companies are forced to scan messages has led to even more criticism of this rather…

Convert Handwritten Meeting Notes To Typed Text With Google Keep

Rather than spending time typing out your handwritten meeting notes, Google Keep’s OCR means you can quickly convert them into typed text simply by taking a photo of them using your phone. Here’s how to use it:  If you have a Google…

How To Make A Windows PC Startup Faster

Just a few clicks and changes in the task manager can save you time by making your Windows PC startup faster. Here's how: Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to bring up the task manager. Click on the 'Startup' tab. Click on 'Startup Impact'…

Quick Access To Emojis

If you’d like a really fast way to find and use particular emojis on a Windows PC, here’s how:  In Microsoft Word, Press the Windows key + the full stop symbol on the keyboard.  Keep typing the word that describes the emoji…
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5 Ways to Speed Up Your Phone Charging

If you would like to save time and speed up your phone charging, here are five easy ways you can do this:  1. Switch To Airplane Mode  Switching on Airplane mode stops the cellular, Bluetooth, radio, and Wi-Fi features which…
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Force Your Android Screen to Be Bright – Even When You’ve a Low battery

If you've less than a minimum threshold of battery life left, Android Phones typically automatically dim the screen (making it almost unreadable) sometimes when you need to be able to read it the most! If you want to force it to be bright (even…
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Disable Read Receipts In WhatsApp

WhatsApp shows blue ticks to indicate when your messages have been read by the recipient. If you want to disable read receipts and prevent others from seeing when you've read their messages, you can turn off this feature. Here's how: Go…
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How To Use ChatGPT as a Collaborative Brainstorming Tool

If you're working alone but need to brainstorm, you can use ChatGPT as an effective collaborative brainstorming tool, inspiring innovative thinking and generating fresh insights. Here's how: Set the Context: Open ChatGPT, set 'New chat'…
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Customise WhatsApp Notifications

Using WhatsApp as a personal note-taking tool allows you to conveniently store and organise your thoughts, links, and important information and provides a fast and accessible way to capture and retrieve notes whenever you need them. Here’s…
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Customise WhatsApp Notifications

If you’d like to give notifications for a certain WhatsApp group you’re in a different as tone so you know when new messages arrive there without having check, here’s how: To set a custom notification sound for a specific group: Open…

Creating and Sharing WhatsApp Call Links

If you’d like a way to create and share a WhatsApp call link so that anyone with a WhatsApp account can join your call by opening the link, here’s how: Tap the 'Calls' tab and tap 'Create Call Link'. Select your call type, video,…
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Use the ‘Autocomplete’ Command In ChatGPT

If you need to complete a sentence or get creative when writing some content but don't have the time or are struggling to come up with new ideas, using the "/autocomplete" command in ChatGPT can help. Here's how: "/autocomplete" is a command…
circuit board

1954 : Silicon Makes A Splash

On 10th May 1954, Gordon Kidd Teal created a sensation at an Institute of Radio Engineers conference when he presented silicon transistors for the first time by announcing they were ready for production and available for sale. Why The…
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Making ChatGPT Produce Answers In Tabular Format

If you’d like to save time and stay organised by getting outputs from ChatGPT that are already in tabular format, here’s how:  - Ask ChatGPT to list the benefits of two or more different ways of delivering a list, and to answer…
last will
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Should You Make An ‘E-Will’?

In the past, people have primarily focused on their physical belongings and financial assets when planning for the future. However, as more and more of our lives move online, digital assets have become just as important to consider. So, do…
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The UK’s New AI Taskforce

In this article, we look at the reasons for the government’s formation of the Foundation Model Taskforce, and how the DeepMind and Google Brain tie-up could solve some big issues for Alphabet in the AI world. £100 Million Investment In…
Selection of ice creams with sprinkles

Computers, Margaret Thatcher & Ice Cream

On 6th May 1949, the Electronic Delay Storage Calculator (EDSAC) ran its first set of programs. This historic British computer calculated a table of square numbers and a list of prime numbers. It was developed by Maurice Wilkes with his…
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Tech Tip – Using The “Debug” Command To Clarify In ChatGPT

If you are unsure why ChatGPT provided a certain response or want to see how it arrived at a particular conclusion, you can use the “Debug” command. Here’s how:  Using the “Debug" command followed by your question will make…
IT Engineer

Want to be a ‘Prompt Engineer’?

No – it’s doesn’t mean engineers that are punctual! In this article, we will explore the role of prompt engineers in the AI industry, why the job is necessary, why it’s suddenly a sought-after role, and what the future prospects are…
Integrated Circuit

The Birth of The IC

Around this time 62 years ago (April 25th, 1961), Robert Noyce (co-founder of Fairchild Semiconductor) patented his invention – a monolithic integrated circuit (IC). Jack Kilby patented a similar invention, but his version was difficult…
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Tech Tip – Ask For Sources In ChatGPT

If you’ve produced some content using ChatGPT and, knowing that it can sometimes generate incorrect information, would quickly like to check that the source data is from reputable sites, here’s how: In the window below the last response…
PC
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Quantum Threat Growing

Following large investments in quantum computing followed by the ensuing advancement of this technology in recent years, as well as looking forward to benefits this could bring, there is also the growing threat of ‘quantum hacking.’  Quantum…
youtube

A Trip to the Zoo and $1.6 Billion Later …

On April 23, 2005, at exactly 8:31:52 pm local time, the first ever YouTube video was uploaded. It was titled ‘Me at the Zoo’ and is a 19 second recording of the co-founder of YouTube (Jawed Karim) standing in front of an elephant enclosure.…
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Tech Tip – Changing Your WhatsApp Wallpaper Background

If you'd like to personalise who you're chatting to by using their photo as a background in the chat, or you'd simply like to change and brighten up your WhatsApp experience, you can easily change the default background to chats. Here's how: Within…
Ice

April 14th, 111 Years Ago : Radio Helps 706 Survivors

Imagine for a moment that it’s April 14th, 1912 and just moments ago you were having a pleasant evening onboard one of the most luxurious and largest ships of its time. However, you are now sitting in a tiny lifeboat, surrounded by pitch…

Tech Tip – Save Time By Personalising Auto-Correct In Microsoft Office

If you’d like to save time when using Microsoft Office by personalising the auto-correct options so that auto-correct doesn’t try to correct even the most unnecessary things, here’s how: For example, in Word, go to File > Options…
Microsoft

Microsoft Is Founded

Bill Gates originally wanted to become a lawyer, like his father, when he was a young child. However, as he grew up he discovered computers and on this week in history (4th April back in 1975) he, along with his school-friend Paul Allen…

Tech Tip – Storyline Posts

If you'd like a way to share experiences, celebrate milestones, conduct a poll, propose ideas, and discuss your interests with people across your organisation directly from Microsoft Outlook, try Storyline Posts. Here's how. In Outlook,…
Intel chip

Intel Founder and Moore’s Law Creator Dies

Gordon Moore, the co-founder of Intel Corp, predictor of home computing, and the creator of ‘Moore’s Law’ has died at the age of 94.  Intel Corporation  In July 1968, Gordon Moore famously co-founded Intel Corporation with…
DataCenter
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World Backup Day Is An Important Reminder

World Backup Day founder, Ismail Jadun, has said that March 31 will “will make everyone think about their situation, learn about the various options and get their files backed up”.  World Backup Day  World Backup Day, first…
MicroProcessor

The Eighth Wonder of Moore’s Law

Further to the news that Gordon Moore, co-founder of Intel, died last week, it’s a reminder that also last-week-in-history (22 March 1993), Intel announced it would be shipping its Pentium microprocessor. This was the successor to the Intel…
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Tech Tip – How To Limit Data Usage By WhatsApp

WhatsApp can use up a lot of space and mobile data by automatically downloading some large photos, videos, and voice messages. Here's how to limit the types of media that are automatically download and the amount of mobile data WhatsApp calls…
Silicon Chip

The Symbolics of Transistors

On 14th March 1950, the first prototype of the silicon transistor was demonstrated by researchers at Bell Labs, the company spawned from its eponymous founder Alexander Graham Bell (i.e. the person widely accredited with inventing the telephone). This…
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Tech Tip – Using The Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool

In addition to Windows Defender, Windows 10 has a Malicious Software Removal Tool (MSRT) that's designed to remove hidden malware from your device, and normally receives regular updates and runs itself in the background. However, if you're…
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Tech Tip – How To Add Emphasis To Your Words In WhatsApp

If you’d like to be able to add a bit more emphasis to some of your messages in WhatsApp, here are some fast and easy manual ways to add bold, italic, or strikethrough. To make word or phrase bold, put asterisks either side of the word…
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Tech Tip – How To Annotate PDF Files In Google Drive On An Android Device

Google has announced that you can now use a stylus or your finger to annotate PDFs in the Google Drive app on your Android device. Here’s how: On the Android Device, open the Google Drive app. To enter preview mode, open the PDF you…

Tech Tip – Send Web Pages To Your Inbox

If you’d like a way to send web pages you find interesting to your inbox rather than bookmarking them in Chrome and forgetting about them, the "InboxThis" extension may be helpful. Here’s how to use it: Go to the Google Chrome Web Store…
Shower

Want Free Hot Water? Have A Server In Your House!

Green distributed computer network heating company Heata is offering to provide up to 4.8kWh of free hot water per day in exchange for installing a business cloud server in your home.  Green Distributed Compute Network  Heata,…
look at laptop

Usage Based Pricing And Now Hybrid Pricing

Although Openview’s recent second report shows that most SaaS companies used usage-based pricing last year, many are now moving to hybrid models.  What Is Usage Based Pricing?  Usage-based pricing (UBP) is a pricing model where…

Tech Tip – Useful YouTube Shortcuts

If you'd like a fast and easy way to navigate within YouTube, here are some top keyboard shortcuts. While watching a YouTube video, use the following letters on their own on the keyboard (no need for shift) for the following functions:…
PC
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Quantum Computing Breakthrough

Researchers from the University of Sussex and Universal Quantum have announced that they have made a major breakthrough in quantum computing that could help solve the most complex real-world problems.  What Are Quantum Computers?  Quantum…

Tech Tip – How To Check A Website’s Power Usage

If you don't want to drain your Windows 11 laptop's battery while out and about, Firefox can show you how much power specific websites use up. Here's how it works: In Firefox, go to the website you want to measure and click the three dots…
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Tech Tip – Fast Highlighting

If you’d like a fast method of highlighting paragraphs of text (e.g. for copying and pasting) without having to click and drag your mouse to a specific point, here’s how to do it. To quickly highlight a paragraph/several paragraphs of…
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Tech Tip – Disabling Your Laptop’s Touchpad

If you’d like to avoid accidentally moving the cursor around while typing on your Windows 11 laptop, here’s how to disable the touchpad: On the taskbar, right-click the Windows start button and select ‘Settings.’ Left-hand sidebar,…
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Tech Tip – Helpful Hyphens

You can use a hyphen after a search term to exclude words that you don’t want Google to search for. For example, the search may be for a mustang horse rather than a mustang car. Here’s how it works: In the Google search box type mustang…
Happy phone support

Top Questions To Ask An IT Support Company

This second part of ‘Why Use Outsourced IT Support?’ focuses on what kind of questions to ask when looking for your ideal outsourced IT support company.  10 Important Questions  Here, we’ll focus on 10 important questions…

Tech Tip – Search For Related Websites Or Synonyms In Google

If you need to research competitors (for example) and look at similar websites, or you need relevant search information about something but may not know the exact words to type in, here are two small Google tips that could be a big help: Searching…
office worker

Why Use Outsourced IT Support?

Looking at this question in two parts, here we’ll be firstly looking at the pros and cons of opting for outsourced IT support.  The Popularity Of Outsourced IT Support  A considerable number of businesses in the UK now use…

Tech Tip – Edit A PDF Using Google Drive

If you have a Google account, you can use Google Drive to open and edit a PDF. Here's how: Right click on the PDF in Google Drive and select 'Open With > Google Docs'. Edit the PDF. To re-save it as a PDF, go to 'File' (top left),…

Tech Tip – Upload An Image To Google To Aid A Search

Google’s Image Search allows you upload an image (or paste in the URL) to identify what a product is and where it can be found on the Web. This could be very useful when searching for presents. Here’s how it works. Go to Google and…

Tech Tip – Find Images With Transparent Backgrounds In Google

If you need to quickly find images on any subject which already have a transparent background, there’s a quick and easy way to do it with Google’s Image Search. Here’s how: Go to Google and click on ‘Images’ (top right) for Image…
Money

Rising Data Management Costs Affecting Businesses

A report from Seagate has highlighted how the rising costs of storing and managing data is hitting businesses hard.  One-Third Of Company Budgets  The report highlights how up to a third of company IT budgets are being eaten up…

Tech Tip – Sharing In Microsoft OneDrive

Microsoft’s OneDrive cloud storage system at Onedrive.com allows you to share files and folders with other members of your team, control who has permission to just view or to edit files and folders, and work together on them at the same time.…

Tech Tip – Share Any Web Page With a QR Code

If you’d like a quick way to share a page from any website, Google Chrome gives you the option to share a QR code for any page. Here’s how it works: After making sure that your Google Chrome browser is updated to the latest version,…
Parliament

UK Could Be Like Silicon Valley Says Hunt

Speaking in the House of Commons, UK chancellor of the exchequer Jeremy Hunt said that Brexit “freedoms” could be leveraged to “turn Britain into the world’s next Silicon Valley.”  How?  Mr Hunt highlighted…

Tech Tip – Set Pages To Load Automatically In Chrome 

If you'd like to save time by making your most often used and/or favourite pages load automatically whenever you open Google Chrome, here's how: In Chrome, click on the three dots top-right and select 'Settings'.In the left-hand menu select…

Tech Tip – Convert Picture Of A Data Table To A Usable One In Excel

Microsoft Excel is still one of the world's most widely used data tools and a new feature (for desktop), 'Data from Picture', means that you can now import a picture of a data table and convert it into a usable one within Excel. Here’s how: Save…
microphone

Speech Recognition And Voice Commands

In this insight, we look at how you can use voice commands to carry out tasks in Windows, plus how speech recognition technology can be used for voice control of different systems and devices.  How Does Speech / Voice Recognition Work?  Voice…
smartspeaker

What Is ‘Matter’ ?

Here we look at what Matter 1.0 is, its advantages for the IoT and setting up a smart home (or office), and what its current limitations are.  What Is Matter?  Released just recently this October, Matter 1.0 is the new open standard…
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Tech Tip – Stop Password Risk From Google’s Enhanced Spellcheck

It’s been reported that if you have Google’s Enhanced Spellcheck enabled, it could be sending everything you type to Google’s servers, including passwords. Here’s how to stop that from happening:  To check if you have enabled…
coder
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What Is A Discord Server?

In this insight, we look at what a ‘Discord server’ is, how to set one up, and the pros and cons of Discord servers.  What Is It?  Launched in 2015, ‘Discord’ (https://discord.com/) is a (free to access) voice, video and…

Tech Tip – Free Online Image Editor

If you’re looking for a free, online image editor with plenty of functionality, you may want to try Photopea.  With Photopea, you can edit photos, apply effects, filters, add text, and crop or resize pictures in your browser. It supports…
Laptop

Companies To Increase IT Spend To Beat Recession

New research from Gartner suggests that companies may be planning to increase their IT spend to help them meet the challenges of a recession.  The Recession  Following the worst bout of inflation for 40 years and a shrinking economy,…

Tech Tip – Keep Gmail Safe From Third-Party Access

If you've ever given your Gmail address for access to any third-party website, app, or game, there's a way check which apps you've given access to, clean up any apps you no longer use, and keep your account safe. Here's how:  Go to…
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‘Sentient’ Human/Mouse Brain Plays Video Pong

Dr Brett Kagan, of Cortical Labs, claims not only to have grown the first 'sentient' lab-grown mini-brain in a dish, but also that it can play vintage 1970s video game’ Pong’… albeit badly.  What??  Believe it or not, as…
Microsoft
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Re-Branding Means Microsoft Office Becomes Microsoft 365

After 30 years of Microsoft Office, a major re-branding will see it being re-named as Microsoft 365 as part of Microsoft’s expansion of its productivity suite.  What, Who, And How?  Microsoft has announced that starting in…
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Politicised PayPal Problems

After PayPal first announcing that it would fine customers for using its services to spread misinformation and then, following a backlash, saying this had been an error, we look at what happened and why.  Policy Update – Fines for…
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WhatsApp For Business?

In this article, we look at the features, pros and cons of the business-focused version of WhatsApp.  Launched in 2018  The business-focused Android version of ‘WhatsApp Business’ was launched in January 2018 in the UK, and…

Tech Tip – Save Time in Gmail by Using ‘Smart Compose’ 

If you regularly use Gmail, switching-on ‘Smart Compose’ in your Gmail settings can enable time-saving predictive writing suggestions to appear as you compose an email. Here’s how to switch it on:  In Gmail, top right, click on…
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AI Scan Predicts Your Heart Disease Risk

A new AI-based 60-second retina scanning tool can predict a person’s risk of heart disease by looking at the veins and arteries in their eye.  Level Of Risk Revealed by Looking at Blood Vessels  The test findings of the new ‘Quartz’…

Universal Charging Cable Gets EU Vote

Following a provisional agreement in June, the European Parliament has voted in favour of a law to ensure that all devices have a single universal charger.  Why? Back in June, the EU Parliament highlighted the following reasons why…
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Forget Hacking, What About Tracking?

In this article, we look at the many different ways we are being tracked online, plus which measures users can take to avoid being tracked.  Why Are We Being Tracked?  Internet tracking is used for a number of reasons, including:  Improving…
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What Are ‘BEC Campaigns’?

In this insight, we look at what BEC campaigns are, their characteristics, together with what businesses can do to protect themselves from the threat of BEC campaigns.   What Is A BEC Campaign?  A business email compromise…

Tech Tip – Annotating, Signing, And Saving PDFs in Firefox 

The release of Firefox 104 in August gave users the ability to annotate PDFs, e.g., sign PDFs directly in the browser and save them. Here’s how:  Open a PDF in Firefox, i.e., drag it into the Firefox Window, or right click on the file…
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The Growth Of Low Code

After a recent Medix report noted the widescale adoption of “low-code” by business, we look at what it is, the reasons for its growth, and the pros and cons of using it.  What Is Low Code?  Low code applications are those built…
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Tech Tip – Search Bookmarks And History Too From Chrome ‘Omnibox’

The combined address bar and search box in Google Chrome has been improved to allow you to search your bookmarks, history and tabs, as well as the Web. Here’s how to do it: To activate this new feature in Chrome 105 (released in September): Type…
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Tech Tip – Putting A List In Alphabetical Order By Surname In Microsoft Word

If you’re using Microsoft Word and you need to put a list in alphabetical order based on the second word in each list entry, e.g. by surname in a list of names, here’s how: Highlight the text list.Click on the A-Z button in the top menu…
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Tech Tip – Customise Google Chrome

If you’d like to customise and personalise your Chrome browser, including changing the colour, the theme, and the avatar, here’s how: Click on the three dots (top right) and click on ‘Settings.’Click on ‘You and Google.’Pick…
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The Queen And Technology Throughout Her Reign

Ahead of the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, we look at the technology the monarch was known to use during her reign. Embracing Technology? Queen Elizabeth II very much embraced and enjoyed technology and the Queen’s reign of 70…
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Softaculous : What Is It And Why Is It Used?

In this insight, we look at what Softaculous is, what features it offers, and how it can be used to help businesses.  What Is It?  Softaculous is a time and hassle-saving, open-source app, auto-script installer that enables the…
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Tech Tip – How To Use Notepad To Test Your Antivirus

Here’s a simple tip using Notepad to check if your antivirus is working as it should: Open Notepad.Type X5O!P%@AP[4\PZX54(P^)7CC)7}$EICAR-STANDARD-ANTIVIRUS-TEST-FILE!$H+H* into notepad.Save the file as either e.g., test.exe or test.bat…
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What Is Microsoft Azure?

In this insight, we look at what Microsoft Azure is, plus what it offers businesses.  Azure  Microsoft Azure (formerly Windows Azure) is Microsoft’s public cloud computing platform. Public cloud refers to cloud computing services…
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Tech Tip – How To Backup Your WhatsApp Conversations

With so many of us using WhatsApp for important business matters, it makes sense to backup chats either on Google Drive or iCloud Drive. Here’s how: To make a Google Drive backup: Open WhatsApp and Tap More options (the three dots).Select…
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What is GitHub, GitLab Etc?

In this insight, we take a look at what GitHub and GitLab are, and why they are important in the world of software development.  GitHub, from GitHub Inc., is a not-for-profit website and cloud-based hosting service for open-source development…
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Tech Tip – How To Send WhatsApp Voice Messages 

If you need to instantly deliver important and time-sensitive information to contacts and groups in WhatsApp, you could use ‘voice messages.’ Here’s how to use this feature:  To send a voice message Open an individual or group…

Tech Tip – How Group Tabs In Chrome To Keep Related Pages Together

One way to get more organised when using Google Chrome is to group open website tabs together with a click to keep related pages together in one workspace. Chrome’s ‘Group tabs’ lets your give the groups a label/name and colour. Here’s…

Tech Tip – An Easy Way To Copy Web Data To Excel  

Save both time and effort with this ever-so-easy way to copy web data into excel. Instead of copying and pasting chunks of data at a time, e.g. from a table on web page, simply copy the URL of the page you’d like to get the data from. Here’s…

Tech Tip – Instant Google Search From Highlighted Text

If you are reading a web page or blog in Google Chrome and come across a term you’d like to know about, Google has a built-in way to search for that term simply as a result of when you highlight the text with your mouse. Here’s how it works: In…

Tech Tip – Avoid Speeding Tickets With Google Maps Feature 

If you’re off on your holidays and days out to enjoy the warm weather, there’s an audible speed trap feature in Google Maps can help you monitor your speed and avoid a getting a ticket. Here’s how to use it: In Google Maps, tap on…

Tech Tip – How To Colour Code Your Outlook Calendar

If you’d like to get more at-a-glance organisation and track all items related to a project or task in your Microsoft Outlook calendar, colour-coding can help. Here’s how to add it: From the main calendar view, right click on an appointment,…
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What Is ‘Data Gravity’ ?

In this insight, we look at what ‘data gravity’ is, what challenges it creates, and some ways in which businesses can tackle data gravity challenges.  What Is Data Gravity?  Working with (larger) datasets means the need to collect,…

Tech Tip – Sending WhatsApp ‘View Once’ Messages

If you want to add an extra layer of privacy to sending a photo or video in WhatsApp (e.g. a photo of a password), adding a “view once” designation before sending the message means that the photo or video will disappear as soon as the recipient…

Tech Tip – Identify Objects In Photos Using Google Lens

If you have the Google Photos app, you can use ‘Google Lens’ to identify a picture and show search results about the objects featured in a photo, e.g. an animal, a plant, or a building you took a photo of on holiday. Here’s how it works: Open…

Tech Tip – Share Your Location With A Friend On WhatsApp

If you're meeting up with someone, or you want a friend to know exactly where you are (which can be a useful safety feature) WhatsApp has a fast and easy way to share your location with someone at the tap of a button. Here's how to use it: Tap…

Tech Tip – How To Make A Group Voice Call Using WhatsApp

If you need to hold a group meeting, you’ll be pleased to know that WhatsApp allows users to make a group voice call for up to 32 participants for free! Here’s how: Open the group chat you want to voice call.Tap ‘Voice call’ and…

Tech Tip – Windows 11 : Customise Your Touchscreen Keyboard

If you have a touchscreen PC, Windows 11 gives you the option to customise the touch keyboard with different colours and themes. Here’s how:  To enable the touch keyboard in the first place, right-click the taskbar and select ‘Taskbar…

Tech Tip – Backing Up Your Gmail Account

If, like many people, you have a Gmail account that contains all manner of important personal and / or business emails, Gmail’s ‘Takeout’ feature provides a handy way to back them up. Here’s how to use it:  Log in to your Google…

Tech Tip – How To Reduce Your Phone Battery Consumption

With so many of us depending on our smartphones for many aspects of our business and personal life, and with electricity prices rising, here are some ways to reduce battery consumption and save electricity: Use Dark Mode (for OLED screens).Stick…

Tech Tip – A Neat Way To Remove The Background From A Photo 

If you need a really fast and simple way to remove the background from any photo, you may wish to try using ‘removebg’. Here’s how it works:  - Go to www.remove.bg.  - Click on ‘Upload An Image’ to upload the photo…

Tech Tip – Type Faster In Windows 11 Using ‘Voice Typing’ 

Windows 11 ‘voice typing’ feature uses online speech recognition so that you can enter text on your PC simply by speaking. Here’s how to use it: Firstly, make sure you’re connected to the Internet, have a working microphone, and…

Tech Tip – Setting Up ‘Gestures’ In Windows 11

Being able to use gestures on the touch screen or touchpad of your Windows 11 device can help make work faster and easier. Here’s how to set them up: Gestures that are supported by Windows 11 include tapping, scrolling, zooming, and three…
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How To Stay Focused Among The Chaos

In this insight, we look at some of the Microsoft Windows features that can be used to minimise distractions and help you to stay focused.    Minimise Interruptions, Stay Focused   Being able to stay focused during…
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Trials Running Broadband Cables Through Water Pipes

Tech Tip – Organise Windows Using ‘Snap Groups’

Windows 11 has upgraded Snap Assist to Snap Layouts and Snap Groups. You can use these features to customise the sizes of apps on the desktop, and to snap other apps into your chosen layout. Here's how it works: Hover the mouse over a window's…

Tech Tip – Using Microsoft’s Floating ‘Edge Bar’

The Edge Bar is a handy floating sidebar / mini (Bing) browser that comes with the latest version of Edge in Windows and makes searching and accessing email and other platforms faster and easier. Here’s how to enable and use it: Open Edge…

Tech Tip – How To Do A ‘Disk Cleanup’ On A Windows 10/11 PC

Freeing-up space and getting rid of junk files can help a PC perform faster and better. Here’s how to use the built-in Window ‘Disk Cleanup’ tool to find and delete those old junk files: In the Start menu, search for Disk Cleanup,…

Tech Tip – Adding Notes To Passwords With New Chrome Password Manager

A new feature to Chrome’s built-in password manager means that users will soon be able to store notes with their passwords. The feature, currently limited to Chrome’s latest Canary release, means that: A “Notes” field will appear…

Tech Tip – Windows 11 : Realign the Start button To The Left

If you've started using Windows 11 and, as a long-time Windows user, you'd prefer the Start button to still be on the left rather than centred, here's how to move it back:  Press the Windows Key + I to open the 'Settings' app. Select…

Tech Tip – Personalising News With Widgets

If you’re finding that you’re keeping up with the news more lately, try using ‘Widgets’ to catch upon the news at a glance in Windows 11. Here’s how: Sign into your Microsoft account.To show or hide the widgets board, select the…

Tech Tip – How To Make Sure All Data Is Removed When Re-Setting A Windows Device

If you need to use the “Remove everything” option to reset a Windows device, and don't want to leave any data behind (a known current issue), here's the latest workaround from Microsoft: Sign out or unlink OneDrive before resetting the…

Tech Tip – Windows 11 – Quickly Organise Open Apps

Organising your open apps on the screen in a way that suits you can be a great help to productivity and can save time. Here’s how to choose the right snap layout in Windows 11: Hover over a window's maximise button OR press Windows logo…

Tech Tip – Windows 11 – Connect With Anyone Using The Chat Icon

Windows 11 has Microsoft Teams as a pre-installed app that users can access from the Taskbar by clicking the ‘Chat’ icon. To connect with anyone, if they're on iOS, Android or Mac, here’s how: Click on the Chat icon in Windows 11 Taskbar…
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What Is 5G And What Does It Offer?

In this article we look at 5G and what it offers businesses? 5G refers to the fifth generation of technological standards for broadband networks (hence its suitably apt name). Broadband networks - the last generation of which was known as 4G…
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European Oil Facilities Targeted By Cyber Attacks

In a worrying trend, oil facilities in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands have all recently been targeted by cyber-attacks. Germany The attack on German oil, vehicle fuel and petroleum products company Oiltanking Deutschland GmbH &…

What Are Disposable Emails?

In this article, we look at what disposable email addresses are, their benefits and disadvantages. We also look at a few examples of disposable email address services. What Are Disposable Email Addresses? Disposable / temporary email…
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Some Unmissable Chrome Extensions

In this tech insight, we look at what Chrome extensions are and how to access them. Then we look at 10 examples of popular and useful Chrome extensions. What Are Chrome Extensions? Extensions for Google’s Chrome browser are software…

Tech Tip – Create And Share A Form Using Google Forms

For occasions where you need to create surveys, quizzes, or get other quick and easy responses, you may not have tried Google Forms. Here’s how to use them: Go to forms.google.com and sign-in with your Google login.Select the type of form…

Tech Tip – An Easy Way To Transcribe Your YouTube Videos

If you’d like an easy way to get a text transcript of your YouTube videos, try using YouTube’s built-in transcript tool. Here’s how: Log in to YouTube and go to YouTube Studio.Select Subtitles from the sidebar (left).Select a video,…
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Government ‘Help to Grow’ Scheme : Software And Free Business Advice

The UK government has just announced the launch of its ‘Help to Grow’ digital scheme which offers discounted software and free advice to small businesses. Applications Open Now The Help to Grow scheme is designed to support smaller…

Tech Tip – 3 Helpful Chrome Tricks

Here are 3 tips/tricks for Google Chrome to help with queries and searches that can be typed directly into the address bar (also known as the Onnibox): Find websites that are similar For example, type related:bbc.co.ukThis will deliver…
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How To Check Your VPN

In this article, we take a look at some of the ways users can assess how good their VPN really is. What Is A VPN? A ‘Virtual Private Network’ (VPN) is used to keep internet activity private, evade censorship / maintain net neutrality…

Tech Tip – Making Your Browser Remember Your Passwords

Your browser may have a Password Manager but sometimes an issue (e.g., conflicting extensions) may cause the browser not to save or remember your passwords. Here’s how to fix the issue for popular browsers Chrome and Edge: For Google Chrome: Open…

Tech Tip – 3 Top Google Maps Tricks To Try

The Google Maps mobile app now has many useful and surprising features. Here are 3 top Google Maps tips you may like to try: 1. Remember Where You Parked When using Google Maps on Android, on reaching your destination, tap the blue location…

Tech Tip – How To Run Older Programs Using the Windows 10/11 Compatibility Mode

If you’d like to run favourite but no longer compatible versions of older programs, apps, and games (legacy software) on Windows 10/11, try using ‘Compatibility Mode’. Here’s how. To enable legacy software that worked on old versions…

Tech Tip – A Fast Way To Open Items From Your Taskbar

If you’d like super-fast and easy way to open the items/programs that are pinned to your Taskbar in Windows 10, here’s how: Look at the Taskbar and note which number order (left to right) the item/program is that you’d like to open.Use…

Tech Tip – Using Google To Search Within A Website

If you’d like to quickly search within a whole website (e.g. a competitor’s website for specific term or subject) here’s a quick way to do so using Google. Go to Google.In the search field, type “site:” followed by the URL of the…

Tech Tip – Using Windows ‘Hello’ For Easier and Safer Device Sign-In

Microsoft Hello offers a way for Windows 10/11 users to get a more personal (and secure) way to instantly access Windows 10 devices using a PIN, facial recognition, or fingerprint. Here’s how to set it up: In your device, Select “Start…

Tech Tip – Changing Your Default Web Browser in Windows

If you’d like to change your default Windows 10 web browser from Edge to Chrome or Opera, here’s how: In the ‘Start’ menu and select ‘Settings’ or type ‘Settings’ in the Windows search field.In ‘Settings’, select ‘Apps’,…
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Hybrid Working Results In Move Off-Premise For Tech Infrastructure

Research by Zen Internet has revealed that hybrid working is causing businesses to question whether they now need enough on-premise tech infrastructure to support a full capacity office. Most Business Have Hybrid Working Plan The research…

Tech Tip – Using The Spacebar To Speed Up Email Reading

Here’s how to use the Reading Pane and Spacebar in Outlook to sort through your daily emails more quickly: In Outlook, select “View” and “Reading Pane.”Select the Reading Pane to sit on the right-hand side.Select the top email…

Tech Tip – 3 Top YouTube Tips

If you use YouTube videos in your website or need to view or share specific parts of YouTube videos quickly, here are 3 top tips: How To Start A YouTube Video At Any PointIf you need to share part of a video rather than making someone watch…

Tech Tip – How To Open A File Without Knowing The Extension

Trying to open a file where you don’t know the file type and there's no extension can be frustrating, time-consuming and potentially insecure so here are options to help: First check that the file actually has no extension: Right-click…
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What Is A Digital Twin?

In this insight, we look at what a digital twin is, what the benefits of using one are, and which industries commonly use digital twins. What Is It? A digital twin is an accurate virtual model of a physical object that uses data gathered…

Tech Tip – How To Delete Old Emails In Gmail Automatically

If your Gmail account has filled up with old emails that look like they may take some time to delete, here’s how to quickly set up a filter to delete them automatically. Open Gmail, click on the ‘Settings’ (top right), and select ‘See…
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Tech Insight – Apple : What is Sideloading?

In Apple’s new “Building a Trusted Ecosystem for Millions of Apps” white paper, it describes the threat posed by ‘sideloading’ on its App Stores. Here’s what you need to know.  Sideloading Sideloading normally…

Tech Tip – How To Turn On WhatsApp Encrypted Backups

Facebook has just enabled encrypted backups for WhatsApp messages to Google Drive or Apple’s iCloud. The feature, however, is not enabled by default so, if you’d like to backup your important WhatsApp messages, here’s how to turn the…

Tech Tip – How To Check Your Google 2FA Settings

Two-factor authentication (2FA) adds an extra security dimension to accounts, and with Google now heading down the route of automatically enrolling millions of users into 2FA, here’s how to check if 2FA is turned on for your Google account: Go…

Tech Tip – Scheduling Emails in Outlook

If you’re working late/early/at weekends but you’d like your emails to be sent on the right day/time in the working week, or perhaps to catch the recipient just when you know they’re returning to the office, you can schedule your emails…

Tech Tip – Stopping Distracting Ads In YouTube

If you’d like a fast and easy way to remove the distractions of ads popping up in and around the frame when watching YouTube videos, here’s how: Select any video on YouTube.Insert “_popup” between the word “watch” and the question…

Tech Tip – A Quick Look At Your Desktop

If you’re browsing the Internet or working on file in Windows 10 but you need a fast look at your desktop here’s how: While in a browser or working on a Microsoft Office file e.g., Word, find the tiny vertical line to the far, right…

Tech Tip – Open Pinned Programs Easily With Keyboard Shortcuts

If you use certain Windows 10 Microsoft Office programs often, you can pin them to the taskbar and then open them quickly and easily with keyboard shortcuts. Here’s how: If you have a program open e.g., Word, hover your mouse over it (in…

Tech Tip – Boost Your Security Protection In Google Chrome

With so many browser-based security threats, here’s a fast and easy way to activate 2 settings in Google Chrome browser to protect you from the popular threats of phishing and untrusted browser extensions: Open the Chrome browser, click…

Tech Tip – Get Gmail in Your Windows 10 Mail App

If you’d like a tidy, easy way to see your Gmail emails and Microsoft emails all in one place in Windows 10, here’s how to set it up: Click on ‘Start’ and type ‘Mail’, and select the Mail app.Open the app, right hand side click…

Tech Tip – Backing Up Your Chrome History

If you’ve lost your Google Chrome history and you’d like to avoid the frustration of having to waste time trying to find those useful and interesting websites that you remember looking at, here’s how to back-up your history so it doesn’t…

Tech Tip – All The Emojis You’ll Ever Need

Emojis can be a great tool for creating more engaging social media posts and more, so here's a site where you can find and copy all the emojis you'll need: To find the emoji you're looking for:Go to https://emojipedia.org/Type a name/description…

Tech Tip – How to Search A Whole Website For A Specific Term In Google

If you need to search just one domain for a particular search term, here’s how to use Google to do just that: Go to Google.com.Enter site: www.website.com search term into the search box e.g., site:bbc.co.uk painting.Refine your search. Email: hello@gmal.co.uk Visit…
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Featured Article : Why is Data Science … Big?

In this article we look at what data science is, and what is driving its growth and value to businesses and organisations worldwide. Data Science Data science uses multiple disciplines, scientific methods, and processes (e.g. domain expertise,…

Tech Insight – What Is Business Process Management?

In this article, we take a brief look at Business Process Management (BPM), how it works, and how it can add value. What Is Business Process Management (BPM)? BPM is also referred to as business process improvement (BPI), business process…

Tech Tip – Minimise All Windows Instantly With The Show Desktop Button

If you’d like to know a fast way to minimise all your open windows with one click in Windows 10, here’s how... Look at the bottom far right-hand side of the screen, to the right-hand side of the ‘notifications’ icon. You will see…

Tech Tip – Using The Windows Clipboard History

If you’ve copied and pasted several items today but need to quickly and easily go back and use something you pasted earlier, you can use the clipboard history in Windows 10. Here’s how: To open the clipboard history, press the Windows…

Help Improve Your Productivity With Microsoft’s MyAnalytics

If you’d like to get data-driven insights into your work habits to improve your productivity, you could try Microsoft 365 MyAnalytics platform. Here’s how: Sign into your Microsoft 365 account.Select MyAnalytics from the app drawer or…

Tech Tip – Create Simple To-Do Lists Using Google Tasks

Google Tasks (like Microsoft To-Do), which is already built into Gmail and Google Calendar offers an easy way to create simple to-do lists. Here’s how to use it: Sign-in to Google, open Calendar, and click on the ‘Tasks’ symbol (right-hand…

Tech Tip – Checking If Links Are Safe or Spam

If you’ve ever wanted to click on a link to a website but wanted a way to check first whether it's spam or worse, here are five ways to safely check: Check the status of a website URL using Google’s Transparency Report, which harnesses…

Tech Tips – Creating Drop-down Lists in Google Sheets

If you use Google Sheets and need to simplify data-entry, adding dropdown lists can really help. Here’s how to add them: In Google Sheets, select the cell where you want the dropdown list.Click on ‘Data’, select ‘Data Validation’,…
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Tech Insight : What is DaaS?

In this article, we take a brief look at what DaaS is, as well as its advantages and disadvantages. Desktop as a Service Desktop as a Service (DaaS) is a service where virtual applications/virtual desktops, via a third-party…

Tech Tips – How To Use Anchors (Bookmarks) In Google Docs

If you’d like to make it faster and easier to navigate between different document sections in Google Docs, here’s how to insert anchors (known as ‘bookmarks’): In Google Docs, type the name of the document in the Title column and…
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June Heatwave Saw High Temps And It Affects The Web Too

In this article, we look at how the weather can affect your Internet connection, and therefore the fortunes of the Web. Vulnerabilities Thinking beyond the router that is indoors, and protected from the weather, the rest of the infrastructure…

Tech Tips – Exporting/Importing Google Chrome Bookmarks

If you’re switching devices or need to re-install Google Chrome from scratch but don’t want to lose your collection of bookmarks, here’s how to export and import them.Export From Chrome’s ‘More’ menu (the three dots, top right)…
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Tech Insight – What Is A VPN?

In this article, we take a brief look at what a VPN is, how it works, its advantages, plus its disadvantages. What Is A VPN? A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is a service that allows you to create a secure connection to another network…

Tech Tips – Re-Open A Recently Closed Tab

Sometimes you can accidentally close an important browser tab. Here’s a fast and easy way to re-open that tab: In Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge, right click on the title bar of the browser (the part above the address field).Select ‘Reopen…

Tech Tips – Sending ‘Private’ Emails in Gmail

If you need to send an email containing private/sensitive information, you can do it in Gmail using confidential mode. Here’s how: Open Gmail and log into your account.In the upper-left corner of the screen, select Compose.At the bottom…

Tech Tips – How To Delete The Last 15 Minutes of Your Search History In Google

If, for whatever reason, you have not used Incognito browsing in Google and would like a fast and easy way to delete the last 15 minutes of your search history, here’s how: Open the Google Search app on your Android or iOS device.Tap on…

Tech Tips – Using Alexa As An Intercom System

If you have Amazon Echo devices in your home (or office), the ‘Drop In’ feature allows you to use Alexa as an intercom through your Echo devices. Here’s how: Open your Alexa app.Tap 'Devices' (lower-right corner).Tap 'Echo & Alexa'…
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10 Programming Languages And Examples Of Their Uses

In this article, we take a brief look at ten popular programming languages and what they’re used for. Recent History What we would recognise as the first computer programming languages date back to the 1940s, were very specialised and…

Tech Tips – Add Or Remove Comments In Word

Using comments in Microsoft Word is a good way to leave feedback and reply to feedback in documents that you and your team are working on. Here’s how: To add a comment, click the ‘Review’ tab (top of the screen).Highlight a word in…
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Image Optimisation

In this article we look at image optimisation, the different types of compression and image files, and how files different file formats can be compared and best used. Vectors or Bitmaps? Raw, digital image files start as either vectors…
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Tech Insight – What Is An MSP?

In this article, we take a brief look at what an MSP is, what services they provide, and what benefits businesses get from using an MSP. MSPs A Managed Service Provider (MSP) is a company that delivers outsourced IT services and support…

Tech Tips – Setting Up An ‘Out Of Office’ Autoreply In Gmail

Many people may be familiar with how to set up an ‘out of office’ email in Outlook, but it can also be done in Gmail too. Here’s how: Log in to Gmail and select the ‘gear’ (settings) symbol (top right).Select ‘See all settings’.Scroll…

Tech Tips – Receive Only Your Important Notifications in Outlook

If you would like to save time by configuring Outlook to only send you alerts when important emails arrive, here’s how: This involves setting up custom alert rules for specific people whose emails are particularly important to you e.g.,…

Tech Tips – Creating An Email List In Outlook

If you’d like a quick and easy way to regularly email group of contacts (e.g. work colleagues or suppliers), Outlook gives you the ability to create a Distribution List (or Contact Group in 365).Here’s how it works: For Outlook Online Log…

Tech Tips – Free Ways to Share Photos

We all take lots of photos with our smartphones, so here is a selection of some of the best free places to share (and back up) photos. Google Photos. Just having a Gmail account gives access to this service where you can share photos with…

Tech Tips – How To Speed Up Your Phone Charging

If you are finding that your phone is getting slow at charging, here are some of the possible causes and solutions: Incompatible or faulty accessories, such as power brick, USB cable, or charging pad/mat (for wireless charging). Choosing…

Tech Tips – Adjust The Sound For Specific Apps

If you would like to have better control of the volume levels of individual apps that you have open on Windows 10 this can easily be done via the settings (Sound) section and the hidden ‘Volume Mixer’. Here’s how:Using (Sound) Settings Click…

Tech Tips – How To Wipe Your Phone Or Laptop Before Selling It

If you would like to sell a phone, laptop, tablet, or other device, but would like to know how to completely wipe it first, here’s how:Firstly, make sure you’ve backed up things like your photos, other important files, and WhatsApp chats.…

Tech Tips – Open All Tabs At Once

If you’re using Microsoft’s Edge browser, a handy organising feature means that you can easily get a full, instant view of every window you have open and quickly tab between them. Here’s how: Press Alt + Tab.Holding down Alt, click…

Tech Tips – Organising Files Using ‘Libraries’

If you would like a quick and easy way to bring all relevant files from different drives into one virtual folder that you can search at one time, use the Windows 10 ‘Libraries’ feature. Here’s how: Go to/open File Explorer.If ‘Libraries’…

Tech Tips – Autofill and Sync Passwords

If you’re a Microsoft Windows user and you’d like to avoid the hassle of remembering and typing your passwords across devices and platforms, Autofill can do it for you as it is now being rolled out with the Microsoft Authenticator app,…

Tech Tips – Continuing Where You Left Off With Edge

If you would like to preserve all your browser tabs and reopen them the next time you restart Microsoft Edge e.g. if you’ve had to restart your machine while browsing, here’s how: Open Edge, click on the 3 dots (top right) and select…

Tech Tips – Restoring Previous Versions Using File History

If you’d like to restore a previous version of a file in Windows 10 you can do this using File History.  Here’s how: Firstly, to enable File History: Go to ‘Settings’ and select ‘Update & Security’ and in the left-hand-side…

Tech Tips – PDF’s From Almost Anything

PDFs are really useful files for sharing and printing and one good thing about Windows 10 is that it enables you to make a pdf out of almost anything.  Here’s how: From any Windows 10 app, use the Print command.In the Print dialogue…

Tech Tips – Colour Filters

If you're having trouble seeing what's on the screen, Windows 10 allows you to apply a colour filter which changes the screen's colour palette and can help you distinguish between things that differ only by colour. Here's how to use it: Select…

Tech Tips – Steps Recorder

If you would like a fast and easy way to describe to someone else (with pictures and steps) how you do something on your Windows 10 computer, the ‘Steps Recorder’ will record what you do and produce a file or slideshow showing those steps. To…

Tech Tips – Stop Skype From Opening Automatically

If you would like to stop Skype from opening and appearing automatically, every time you log into or start-up Windows 10, here’s how: Go to ‘Settings’ (type ‘Settings’ in the taskbar and select it).Click on ‘Apps’.On the ‘Apps…

Tech Tips – Optimising Storage

You can make sure that you are making the best use of the space on your computer by using the Storage Sense feature in Windows 10.  Here’s how: When enabled, Storage Sense will automatically work in the background when your PC is…

Tech Tips – How To ‘Unsend’ An Email With Gmail

If you use Gmail and if you would like to avoid sending an email to the incorrect recipients, without the promised attachments, with the wrong subject line, or worse, here’s how: Gmail settings offer the option of pausing an email delivery…

Tech Tips – Stop Videos From Automatically Playing

In Windows 10, using Microsoft Edge, here’s how you can block annoying autoplay ads and videos on a web page: Click on the 3 dots (top right) and select 'Settings'.Select ‘Cookies and site permissions’ (middle of the left-hand menu).Scroll…

Tech Tips – Faster Startup

If your computer’s getting a little slow and you would like to save time by having a faster computer startup with Windows 10 by trimming down the number of programs that try to load on startup, here’s how: Go to Settings > Apps > Startup.Look…

Tech Tips – Organising Tabs With A ‘Bounce’

In Windows 10, if you would like a fast and easy way to stay organised by instantly getting a birds-eye view of each tab that you have open without interrupting the flow of your work this tip is for you. Click on the tab part of the current…

Tech Tips – Windows 10 Emoji/Kaomoji Keyboard

If you would like a fast and easy way to include emojis in your writing or get access to a free resource of extra graphics when using Windows 10, you may not know that Windows 10 now has an integrated emoji and Kaomoji keyboard. Here’s how…

Tech Tips – Sending Delayed Emails

In Microsoft Outlook you can delay the delivery of an individual message or you can use rules to delay the delivery of all messages by having them held in the Outbox for a specified time after you click Send.  Here’s…

Tech Tips – Jump Lists

In Windows 10, if you would like to return quickly and easily to a location that you have recently visited, the ‘Jump List’ feature in the taskbar can help. Here’s how it works: Jump list works for browsers, folders, and other programs…

Tech Tips – Cloud Download PC Reset

If you are using Windows 10 and you need to do a clean install on a PC/reset a PC, Microsoft’s ‘Cloud Download’ feature as part of the new Windows update makes it easy. This feature means that there is no need to gather files from…

Tech Tips – Windows Switch

If you like to save time while you are working with Windows 10, here is a tip to help you quickly and easily open up windows from your taskbar using ‘Windows Switch’: Hold down the Windows key + 1 and this opens the first item that’s…
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Password Security and The Road Ahead

The fact that websites continue to be hacked and passwords are frequently stolen (and that a computer recently set a record by guessing 100 billion passwords per second) calls in to question how passwords can still be used safely and what lies…

Tech Tips – Using New Privacy Controls on Amazon Echo

If you have an Amazon Echo smart speaker at home or in the office (which could be both if you are working at home) here’s how to protect your privacy using the newly introduced privacy controls. Amazon’s smart speakers take voice recordings…

Tech Tips – Tracking Prevention With Microsoft Edge

If you use the Windows 10 Microsoft Edge browser and you’d like to improve your security and privacy by blocking potentially harmful trackers, here’s how: In Microsoft Edge, select Settings and more  > Settings  > Privacy and services.Set…

Tech Tips – Reading Articles That Are Behind Paywalls

If you find an article that you’d really like to read but it’s behind a paywall and you don’t want to sign-up to the online publication just to read one thing, here’s how to read the whole article: Go to https://outline.com/ Copy…

Tech Tips – Matching Displays

If you need to use 2 or more monitors to help you to get more things done and multi-task, here are some tips for making sure those monitor displays match up.If the monitors are the same make/model Windows may be able to automatically extend…

Tech Tips – Optimise Working Space With Snap Assist

If you are using Windows 10 and you want to multi-task and make the most of your single screen Snap Assist enables you to split your screen between two open windows.  Here’s how: Hold down the Windows key on the keyboard and use the…
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Just What Is The Internet of Things?

With a vast and growing number of business, industry, consumer and civic IoT (internet of things) devices and systems now being used, we look at their advantages, the threats to the IoT and how we move forward in a way that maximises the benefits…

Tech Tips – Sync Sticky Notes Across Devices

If you are using Windows 10 and need some simple, handy reminders about work, appointments, calls and more, synced across all your devices and other apps, Microsoft’s Sticky Notes app can help. Here’s how it works: Open the Sticky Notes…

Tech Tips – Space and Speed

On your PC, if you would like to be able to monitor how much space your apps are taking up and keep your machine running quickly by getting rid of the ones you do not need, here’s how: To check how much space your apps are using go to…

Tech Tips – Turn Your Phone/iPad Into A HD Webcam

Whilst availability of peripheral-hardware for remote-working may be less of an issue now that it was a just a couple of short months ago (when Covid-19 took off and caused a shortage of equipment) remember that if you are struggling for a…

Tech Tips – One-Click Fix For Accessibility

If you are using Word (or any Office app) in Windows 10, there is a one-click way to make sure that your messages and documents can be read by people of all abilities.  Here’s how: With your chosen document open click on ‘Review’…

Tech Tips – Use The Timeline

If you’re using Windows 10 and you need to quickly find a document that you’ve worked on in the past using the Timeline can help you to find it and start working where you left off. To find files using the timeline: Either select…

Tech Tips – Translate Text On The Fly

If you are using Word in Windows 10 and you would like a really fast and easy way to translate text into another language and include it in your document, here’s how. Highlight the text in your Word document that you would like to translate.Right-mouse…

Tech Tips – Dictation

If you’d like to give your hands a rest, if you need to quickly capture notes, or even if you’d like to take an easy written record of the information given in a phone call, try using the dictation feature in Windows 10.  Here’s…

Tech Tips – Getting Organised Using Microsoft Edge

If you are using Microsoft Edge in Windows 10, here’s a way that you can organise multiple browser tabs that you need to have open for a job or project into a ‘Collection’ that you can easily access later. To make a ‘Collection’…

Tech Tips – How To Lock Your Screen

If you’re using Windows 10 and you’d like to prevent others from seeing what you’re working on, if you need to walk away from your device, here’s a quick and easy way to lock your screen: Press the Windows logo key + L.Or, if you’re…

Tech Tips – Slide To Shutdown

If you’d like to create a fast, easy, and decorative way to shut down your Windows 10 PC, creating a ‘slide to shutdown’ shortcut allows you to simply pull down an on-screen picture blind to turn off your PC.  Here’s how to set…

Tech Tips – Open A Link In A New Browser Tab With Just One Click

If you would like to know how to save time and easily open a link in an online document in its own new browser tab using one just click, here’s how: If you are browsing an online document that has a link in it, click the ‘middle’ button…

Tech Tips – How To Keep Your Wi-Fi Connection Secure

A good, secure Wi-Fi connection is often the backbone of many peoples' day-to-day online business and is a key-component of data security, so, here are a few tips for making sure that your wireless connection is secure: Make sure that your…

Tech Tips – How To Create Start Menu Folders

Windows 10 users can help users to get organised with their current work by creating named Start menu folders that have a group of relevant live app Tiles in them.  Here’s how to create your Start menu folders: Click on the Start…

Tech Tips – Save Time With Aero Shake

If you’ve got a screen full of windows open on Windows 10 and you need to unclutter your screen so you can concentrate on just the one you’re working on, the old ‘Aero Shake’ trick still works and can save time. Here is how to use…

Tech Tips – How to Have Better Video Chats

If you would like to improve your video conference calls in terms of how things look, sound and operate, here are a few tips: Consider using a webcam rather than the built-in laptop cam.  It may be better quality (picture and sound) plus…

Tech Tips – How To Stop Background Apps

Here’s how to stop background apps from running in the background on Windows 10 as they can use up more of your battery power and data. Go to: Settings > Privacy > Background apps.To stop all from running, toggle ‘Let apps run…

Tech Tips – How To Change The Background In Zoom

Here is how to change the background in Zoom to something that is a little more interesting than an overcrowded bookshelf: In the Zoom app, click your profile (at the top right), and then click Settings.  On the left-hand menu, click…

Tech Tips – 3 Ways to help speed up your Windows 10 PC

In this week's edition of Tech Tips we look at 3 different ways to help you to speed up your Windows 10 PC: 1. Change Power Settings If you are using a power saver plan, you can change your power settings to “Higher Performance” or…

Tech Tips – On-Demand OneDrive

This week we show you how to access all your OneDrive files without having to download them and use storage space on your Windows device. We also display how it is possible to have certain files and folders available on-demand locally on your…
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UK Job Candidates Favour Tech-Savvy Companies

New research conducted by Censuswide on behalf of Tableau Software has revealed that half of UK job candidates would reject a job offer from a company that offered no digital and data potential. Training The research results, which…
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New Law To Advance Fast Broadband Roll-Out Announced

Amendments to the UK’s Electronic Communications Code will give broadband operators compulsory rights to install their apparatus on another person’s property, thereby getting around the problem of landlords not responding to requests for…
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How to prepare your business and its IT systems for the Olympics?

The 2012 Olympic Games is fast approaching and will put extra pressure on your business and IT systems. The Olympics will bring to London: -10,000 athletes -37,000 members of the press -800,000 spectators per day -At 37 venues   The…