30
Nov, 2022
Tip of the Week: Improve LinkedIn Privacy

Tip of the Week: Improve LinkedIn Privacy

Tip of the Week: Improve LinkedIn Privacy

Have you ever received an email notification that someone has checked out your LinkedIn profile? While you might be flattered in the moment, you might then suddenly notice that LinkedIn is doing the same thing to you, telling others when you have looked at their profile. While this isn’t always a bad thing, and can even be good for networking, you might want to adjust this setting so that your privacy can be maintained a bit better.

Adjusting Your Privacy Settings on LinkedIn

The first step is to navigate to the LinkedIn website, which you can find here. After this, you should click on your profile icon in the topmost bar (near the right corner of your screen). You then want to click on Settings & Privacy.

You should see several options in the left column, but the one you want to click on is Visibility. Afterwards, select Profile Viewing Options.

When you select Private Mode from the list, you will see a couple of different options, both of which have some merit, depending on how private you want to get with your account. The first option is Someone At [Insert Workplace Here], while the other hides your identity entirely. It’s up to you how thorough you want to be with this setting.

It’s worth mentioning that people will see that someone viewed their profile no matter what you do; you just have more power over how you look to someone when you view their profile. If you want your company’s name to appear still, then go with the former option. If you would rather have complete anonymity, then go with the latter.

There is one caveat to this setting adjustment, and it’s a big one: when you appear private to others, they will appear private to you, meaning you won’t know who is viewing your profile, although you might get a couple of hints based on where they work. Still, it’s a setting that you might consider adjusting, so now you know how to do it!

Privacy on social media is kind of an odd thing; you don’t want to overshare, but you also don’t want to be a complete stranger. It’s up to you to determine how and why you use social media. We just urge you to always use caution when interacting with anyone you don’t know, as you never know who could be on the other end of the account.

What are some tips and tricks you would like to see us cover in the future?

28
Nov, 2022
Remember When Apple Recommended Physical Persuasion to Fix a Computer?

Remember When Apple Recommended Physical Persuasion to Fix a Computer?

Remember When Apple Recommended Physical Persuasion to Fix a Computer?

Apple has long been a key part of the technology industry, producing quality hardware year after year. Although Apple tends to produce sleek and high-end hardware running its proprietary operating systems, these devices are far from perfect and were especially controversial at certain points in the past.

One Model Had to Be Slammed on the Desk to Work Properly

You can’t make this stuff up. We would normally steer clear of telling you to whack your device on your desk, but one particular Apple device needed a little tough love in order to function properly.

1982 saw Apple experience a massive surge in popularity. Steve Jobs was on the cover of Time magazine, and the company experienced its first ever $1 billion in annual sales. Even though Apple was producing devices that looked marvelous in comparison to the competition, they often came at the cost of functionality. Look to the Apple III for a perfect example of this in action.

To make the Apple III as sexy as possible for the consumer, the unsightly air vents were removed.

Computers produce a lot of heat even under the best of circumstances, so imagine how much these bulky pieces of machinery produced when cooling vents were removed from the equation. When there is no air circulation, you create what is essentially an oven that roasts the insides of the device, rendering it incapable of functioning as intended.

And let’s also remove the fans for good measure, Apple said. Why do you need fans if there are no vents?

In response to the considerable heat, parts would expand within the device and grow dislodged from their connectors, leading to further issues that turn the computer into a $4,240 liability–the equivalent of about $14,270 in modern US currency. When their devices wouldn’t function properly, frustrated business workers would call Apple to complain and ask for support.

One day, in frustration to the issue, an Apple engineer by the name of Daniel Kottke accidentally fixed his device by slamming it onto his desk, snapping the warped parts back to where they were supposed to be. With the parts back in place, the device worked as it was intended to all of a sudden.

So, you can imagine the look of shock and astonishment on people’s faces when they contact Apple for tech support, only to have the technicians tell them to slam it on the desk and give it a smack for good measure.

We Won’t Tell You to Beat Your Technology

Of course, modern technology support has evolved considerably since 1982. We won’t tell you to beat up your device to get it to work the way it’s supposed to; we’ll take care of your technology for you so that you can focus on being productive throughout the workday. To learn more about what we can do for your business, call us today at 810.230.9455.

24
Nov, 2022
card_skimming_69867689_400.jpg

Nothing Good Comes from Card Skimmers

card_skimming_69867689_400.jpg

Card skimming is a very real problem for companies and individuals alike, but there will always be those who are more impacted by these kinds of financial scams—particularly those who rely on prepaid cards provided by the government for food assistance and so on.

Skimming Losses Really Hurt Those Receiving Assistance

It has been confirmed by authorities that those who take advantage of Electronic Benefits Transfer, better known as EBT, which permits those paying for their food purchases through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, are at greater risk for loss from card skimming.

This is largely due to the way that the SNAP card works. The associated EBT account is debited to reimburse the store for the purchase, making the EBT card the same as a debit card. The card also has a PIN associated with it that allows the user to withdraw money from an ATM.

The issue with EBT cards is that they lack the protections that other payment cards have, like smart chip technology or fraud protections. SNAP funds can be stolen and spent, and without these protections in place, those who need the funds are left in a tight spot.

This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who uses cards for payment—after all, hackers have been stealing card data for as long as they have existed—but they are getting much better at doing so inconspicuously. One way that they do this is through the use of card skimming devices which they hide inside cash machines, or those that are camouflaged to look like they are a part of the machine itself. This puts people at risk of having their card data stolen and duplicated by hackers and scammers, who can then use that information for fraudulent purchases or to sell them online to the highest bidder.

What Can You Do?

Until more states implement improved security measures for EBT cards, like eliminating the magnetic strip and replacing it with the modern security chips that other cards use, most of the security measures taken will depend on the user being more aware of how and where they are using their cards. Be on the lookout for signs that a machine has been tampered with, especially if the devices are found in a place that isn’t out in the open. And, of course, if you see something suspicious, say something so that others don’t become victims, too.

We want to help you be as secure as possible in your use of technology, so for more great tips and tricks, be sure to call us at 810.230.9455.

23
Nov, 2022
cool_data_262582377_400.jpg

Data Sure is Neat, Part 2

cool_data_262582377_400.jpg

How much information does your typical book hold? If you haven’t read it yet, go back and read our last blog about how much data is stored in the Library of Congress, then come back here to learn more about the everyday applications of data and how much we store on a day-to-day basis.

Examining the Bit

Data is made up of bits, or strings of ones and zeros. There are 7 bits in English characters and 8 bits in a byte.

Data is stored in ones and zeros because that’s the way we have been doing it for the past 70 years. We like to use the example of a machine that has seven lights on it to represent data. If the light is on, then it’s a zero, and if it’s off, it’s a one. The combinations of lights translate into various characters, like letters, numbers, and symbols, and when strung together in large arrays, can represent vast quantities of data to be read by a system.

Magnets use this method to store data, and they are the backbone of the present-day hard drive. With spinning platters that look an awful lot like a stack of  CDs, the hard drive uses magnets to read and write data to the drive. These devices are sensitive and can detect something as tiny as something billions of times smaller than an eyelash cut into a hundred different pieces. Pretty shocking stuff.

Basically, the hard drive was crucial to the development of data storage, and it remains to this day a common staple in the office environment and even for consumer electronics. Solid state drives, or SSDs, are also quite popular, and they run using electrical charges to tiny transistors. Since they don’t rely on mechanical movements or magnets, they are the preferred choice for mobile devices, tablets, and laptops, and they can run a lot faster than your average desktop computer HDD as a result.

How Much Data is Contained On Your Smartphone?

If the US Library of Congress holds 51 Terabytes, how much does the average smartphone hold?

A typical high-end smartphone has about a quarter or half a terabyte, but if your smartphone has a Micro SD card slot, you could potentially expand its storage by an entire terabyte. That is about a 50th of the Library of Congress, or over a million books. It’s pretty shocking, considering how small those little guys are.

Here are just a couple of ways you can use a 1 Terabyte Micro SD card:

  • 200,000 songs
  • 250 full-length movies in full HD
  • 6.5 million pages of PDF documents
  • 250,000 photos taken with a 12 megapixel camera
  • Essentially every video game from the 80s and 90s.
  • Or you could store 10,000 copies of Windows 95 and Microsoft Office 95.

How Much Data Does Humanity Produce?

Humanity has produced 44 zettabytes as of 2020, and this would require 44 billion 1 TB Micro SD cards. This number could double by the end of this year, and by 2025, it could exceed 200 zettabytes. Absolutely mind-blowing.

Considering the fact that more than 62 percent of all people on the planet use social media, send emails, move information from one point to the next, and so on, this isn’t that surprising. With 300 billion emails sent daily and over 500 hours of YouTube content uploaded daily, data generation is not slowing down anytime soon.

Look, Data is Important

We hope that this look at data generation has made you look at your own data in a different light. Yes, new data is created all the time, but you can save a lot of time and energy by protecting the data you already store with data backup and disaster recovery solutions. Failing to do so is like doing the same work twice; there’s no reason for it, so don’t do it.

NuTech Services can be your go-to resource for data backup solutions. To learn more, contact us at 810.230.9455.

21
Nov, 2022
dataLibrary_82175447_400.jpg

Data Sure is Neat! Part 1

dataLibrary_82175447_400.jpg

It isn’t a secret that technology has come so, so far as compared to just a short time ago. Take data, for instance. Let’s dive into why something so incredibly small is so incredibly important (and while we’re at it, how much space today’s data would take up in other formats).

What is Data?

To explain data, let’s go back to how data was stored before we had fancy-schmancy computers and smartphones and the like—in books! The typical novel contains somewhere from 60,000 to 110,000 words, with lengthier epics containing more (as you would expect). To get a sense of exactly how much data this translates to, let’s turn our attention to the typical text message, with its maximum of 160 characters, and anywhere from one to three sentences on average. English-language characters are each 7 bits, with each bit represented by a 1 or a 0. 01000001 stands in for “A,” while 01000010 stands in for “B.”

So, what does this matter? I promise, we’re getting there.

A text message can contain a total of 1120 bits of data, 1120 ones and zeroes. With 8 bits in every byte, this translates to 140 bytes per text message. 1,000,000 bytes make one Megabyte.

The average word to be found in our novel is made up of about five characters, meaning it could contain anywhere between 300,000 to 555,000 characters. Multiplying by seven for the bits that make up each character, and dividing by 8 for the bits in each byte, we have 481,250 bytes, or 0.48125 Megabytes, in our book.

Following this logic, a large book could contain about a half a Megabyte of information…then you also have to consider metadata, the cover, and the other assorted information an ebook would contain, which means it’ll be about one Megabyte in size. This is added to further by any images or illustrations.

How Much Data Can Be Found in a Library?

Okay, so because libraries often hold books that are far larger than the average novel—textbooks, reference books, encyclopedias, dictionaries, and the like—some files will be much, much larger than a Megabyte, while others could very well be much smaller. For simplicity, let’s assume that the average book in our hypothetical library equals one Megabyte.

The typical library generally holds between 5,000 and 500,000 books, although some hold millions. The United States Library of Congress, for instance, has over 51 million books, 25 million manuscripts, and millions of other items in its massive collection. Again, to keep things simple, let’s omit everything but the text in each of the 51 million books and calculate the data stored within.

51 million Megabytes equals about 51 thousand Gigabytes, which then converts to 51 Terabytes. Many PCs contain 1 to 2 Terabyte drives, so the entire book collection of the Library of Congress could be contained on about 25 home computers. Crazy, when you think about it.

Of course, we don’t currently have mobile devices with this kind of capacity, but who knows what the future will hold.

It’s also important to acknowledge that we only calculated based on the text alone. If each book was scanned in as images, you could expect the total per book to be closer to 8 Megabytes, with a need for 408 Terabytes to hold the Library of Congress. That would take far more than a room of workstations to contain.

Stay Tuned for the Data Your Organization Handles

Next time around, we’ll discuss how much data the average human being generates, in addition to what is stored in your business each day. Make sure you check back so you don’t miss it!

18
Nov, 2022
hybridWork_527720872_400.jpg

Hybrid Work Has Led to a Decrease in Necessary Office Space

hybridWork_527720872_400.jpg

With the COVID pandemic still affecting businesses all over the world, many are still considering remote and hybrid work operations. In fact, there are many employees who have yet to step back into the workplace in any capacity, meaning that workspaces previously well-populated are being underutilized.

According to a 2022 Office Space survey conducted by Robin Powered, businesses are struggling to make effective use of their office space due to a number of factors. These factors include the ongoing pandemic, the Great Resignation, and the simple adoption of remote or hybrid work policies in general. Here are some of the results and numbers from the report:

  • 46% of respondents surveyed in July don’t use any more than half of their available office space.
  • A paltry 11% utilize all of their available office space.
  • 48% of respondents claim their use of available office space has decreased since the start of the pandemic.
  • 60% of those currently using half or less of their current office space had already downsized pre-pandemic.
  • 46% of those surveyed plan to reduce their office space in 2023.
  • 59% of those surveyed plan to cut their office space by half or more.

The reason behind these numbers makes perfect sense. 83% of respondents claim that they have made the above changes to save money, whereas 73% of them have plans to move in the direction of hybrid operations before they would consider layoffs or other cost-saving measures.

The interesting part of the survey is how employees respond to these new policies. Here are some of the results:

  • 37% of employees working for surveyed companies work in-house full-time.
  • 61% of employees are working in hybrid accommodations.
  • 87% of hybrid employees spend two or more days a week at the office.

So, if your employees are spending time away from the office, you should be shifting your focus to how you can best support your employees during their remote and hybrid work times. After all, you’re saving money from the arrangement, so why not reinvest those assets into making the experience better and more meaningful for your employees?

If you work with a technology provider like NuTech Services to handle the implementation and management of your remote work needs, then you’ll know for sure that your infrastructure can handle this shift for long-term success. To get started, call us today at 810.230.9455.

16
Nov, 2022
computerTranslate_238459874_400.jpg

Tip of the Week: Translating a Gmail Message

computerTranslate_238459874_400.jpg

There are times when you might receive an email written in another language. Even if it’s unlikely, it helps to be able to translate a message for the rare time when you might receive one, particularly if your organization occasionally conducts business beyond your country’s borders. Let’s go over how you can use Gmail’s built-in translation functionality.

We should start by saying that we doubt the translation function will ever be 100% guaranteed accurate, but it should do well enough to give you an idea of what the other person has to say. If that’s all you need, then this tool might be just for you. Otherwise, consider a more comprehensive solution.

Translate Your Email in Gmail

First, you’ll see that the moment you receive an email that seems to be written in another language, you’ll see the translation open at the top of the page. If you see this button, you can translate the message into your preferred language using the Translate button. Click it and it will run the translation right away.

Now, if you don’t see the translation button, you’ll have to tweak some settings. Tap the three-dot menu for the message and find the translate Message menu. You’ll see this open up the Translate bar. Select the language from the drop-down list, or have Gmail detect the language on its own. Once you do, you can click on the Translate Message option to complete it. You can also revert it to the original language in the same way.

If you want to just turn on automatic translation, you can do it pretty easily. This option should be on the right side of the screen after you have translated your message, along with the language you have selected. You can disable automatic translations in the same way.

We hope you got some value out of today’s blog. Be sure to subscribe to learn more!

14
Nov, 2022
Risk_135412552_400.jpg

You Need to Address Risks Head On

Risk_135412552_400.jpg

Nowadays, there seems to be risks at every turn that can negatively impact your business. Obviously, some are more concerning than others, but ultimately you need to find solutions to every problem you have to ensure that it can run routinely, let alone efficiently. Let’s take a look at some of the risks the average small business faces and what technology can do to help you circumvent these particular issues. 

Network Security

One of the biggest problems that businesses face is the prospect of having their network breached by cybercriminals. The concern is that because there are so many people looking to steal data or illegally access your network to siphon money, data, and leave your business holding the bag, that you need a comprehensive plan to keep your network secure. 

These days, IT threats come in all sizes. There are marginal threats that can slow down your business’ growth to ransomware that could have a marked effect on your ability to operate. That’s why it is crucial to ensure that you are doing everything you can to protect your business from cyberthreats. Three of the most important are:

  • Employee training – Most threats that negatively affect a business hit your employees in some way first. Making sure that they know how to spot a potential phishing attack; how to make, and when to update, a secure password; and how to securely handle data is critical. 
  • Security software – The deployment of security software is more in-depth for businesses than it is for individuals, but it’s the same concept. Deploying antivirus and anti-malware tools can help eliminate threats; spam protection can cut down on the amount of time-wasting and potentially dangerous messages your staff is exposed to; firewalls can help eliminate threats entering your network; and content filtering can keep staff off of potentially dangerous websites.
  • Data backup – One of the best ways to ensure that no threats have longer lasting effects on your business is by ensuring that important data and applications are backed up locally and in the cloud. 

Physical Security

More people are working remotely, sure, but many businesses are trying to maintain a company culture with employees working from an office or other location. With crime on the rise, it’s important that every business has the security tools in place to ward against theft and other physical security problems. You may be surprised to know that a lot of data breaches start because of a physical security breach. 

There are several strategies and tools that NuTech Services can help with to maximize your business’ physical security. They include:

  • Digital cameras – One of the best deterrents to those interested in breaching the security of your business are cameras. Security systems can go a long way toward protecting all of your investments. 
  • Access control systems – Not every employee needs access to every part of your business. Putting in advanced access control systems can help keep unauthorized people out of certain areas and can produce sophisticated logs that can help you ascertain when problems happen if one does pop up.
  • Digital signage – Sometimes not having clear signage can inadvertently cause security problems. Digital signage is continuously customizable and more affordable now than at any time in the past. 

Keep Your Business Secure

At NuTech Services, we can help your business be as secure as possible from a litany of threats. If you would like to talk to one of our knowledgeable consultants about how we can help you get your security where you need it to be, give us a call today at 810.230.9455.

11
Nov, 2022
mobileMagnifyingGlass_71159277_400.jpg

Tip of the Week: Adjust Your Screen Size in Android

mobileMagnifyingGlass_71159277_400.jpg

Sometimes you just want to look at your phone without squinting at the screen to read small text. In cases like this, you can change the display size of your Android’s screen. To get started, simply follow the directions in this blog article. Before you know it, you’ll be browsing your phone without having to strain your eyes.

Please keep in mind that you need to be running at least Android 10 to follow the steps in this blog.

Change Your Display Size in Android

We should preface this by saying that we aren’t changing the physical screen size; rather, we are adjusting the screen’s zoom. Adjusting the zoom can make fonts easier to read and objects easier to see or interact with. To get started, go to the Settings app. If you swipe down on your screen twice, you should see a gear icon at the top of the screen. Tap it to open up the Settings.

From here you should select Display. You should see several options appear before you, but the one you are looking for is Display Size. If you don’t see this option, you should see a Screen Zoom option which functionally does the same thing.

You should see within this setting a drag bar at the bottom of the screen. You can tap and drag the meter to adjust the screen zoom for your device. Find your preferred setting and you should be all set.

Can I Change the Screen Resolution?

Adjusting the resolution can also help make certain objects or texts more crisp. To change this, simply follow the same directions outlined above. However, instead of clicking on Display Size or Screen Zoom, click on Screen Resolution. You can adjust it to suit your needs.

That’s it! By following these simple tips, you can use your device without straining your eyes or viewing blurry images. You’ll find that it’s easier on your eyes and more enjoyable to use in general.

For more great tips and tricks, be sure to subscribe to our blog.

9
Nov, 2022
appCacheCleaner_294613377_400.jpg

Clearing an Android Device’s Cache

appCacheCleaner_294613377_400.jpg

While you’re using your device, it will store data in a temporary location called the cache. In order for your device to operate as well as it can, you might find yourself in need of a good ol’ cache-clearing. You can do this on the device level and on the application level. Let’s take a look at how you can do this for your Android device.

Clear the App Cache

If you have an application on your device that is giving you issues, you can clear the cache to try and resolve the issue. Start by opening your Settings app and selecting Apps. This process might look slightly different depending on your device’s operating system and model, but it should be something close to this.

Pay attention to where it says Your Apps. You should see a hamburger menu here, which will display all of your device’s applications. If you sort your apps by their size, you’ll see which ones are taking up most of the space on your device. Select the app you want to clear the cache for to move on to the next step.

From the app’s page, you’ll see an option for Storage. At the bottom of the screen, select the Clear Cache option. The cache will automatically refill over time—after all, the data stored in the cache is supposed to improve performance and make your device run a bit better—so if you ever notice that it’s getting a little too bogged down, it’s a good idea to periodically clear the cache.

Clear the Browser Cache

Similarly, you will want to clear your browser cache every so often to delete any temporarily stored images and site files. Here is the process for how you can do it with your favorite web browser:

  • Chrome: Three Dot Menu > Settings > Privacy and Security > Clear Browsing Data
  • Firefox: Three Dot Menu > Settings > Delete Browsing Data
  • Edge: Three Dot Menu > Settings > Privacy and Security > Clear Browsing Data

The process is mostly the same for each of the mobile web browsers. All you have to do is select the kind of data you’d like to delete from the cache.

What other tips would you like to see us cover in the future? Be sure to let us know in the comments.

7
Nov, 2022
dataProtection_505098897_400.jpg

Whoops! Microsoft Update Has Been Missing This Critical Security Vulnerability

dataProtection_505098897_400.jpg

For the most part, Microsoft takes security as seriously as it should, issuing updates and patches to maintain your Windows and Server operating systems. While you can count on receiving these updates for your supported operating systems, what you might not have known is that Microsoft accidentally overlooked a flaw in its own defenses.

The Flaw is in Vulnerable Drivers

Microsoft has a Windows Update tool that is supposed to detect and add vulnerable software drivers to a blocklist.

Drivers are the bits of software that help your computer interface with various hardware. Without the driver properly installed and updated, the hardware doesn’t behave the way it should. Of course, we’re talking about software here, so drivers can be just as vulnerable to threats as any other software can, and because of their functionality, they have access to systems on your PC that can cause problems.

Well, Microsoft’s Windows Update tool hasn’t been managing the block list, even though Microsoft has insisted on reinforcing it. You may have been receiving updates and patches as needed, but this is one particular piece of security that has not been updated.

This flaw gives threats the ability to push any known vulnerable driver to your PC, then use those vulnerabilities to their advantage. These types of flaws are not new or unheard of; they have been around for at least a decade, and the large increase in threats over the past several years can be attributed to this vulnerability. Attackers like to cast wide nets using easy-to-leverage vulnerabilities, and this one fits the profile just fine.

Microsoft has been working on a fix and says that something will be coming with the next Windows update.

Businesses usually want to prevent their users from installing and configuring new devices on their work PCs, and this is a sound strategy to prevent many threats from striking your business. It’s not a magical cure-all, but it will go a long way.

If you’re ready to protect your network from external threats, know that NuTech Services is ready and able to assist your business with implementing enterprise-grade security solutions. All you have to do to get started is call us today. You can reach us at 810.230.9455.

4
Nov, 2022
segmentation_242465241_400.jpg

Network Segmentation is a Smart Move for Business Cybersecurity

segmentation_242465241_400.jpg

When it comes to your network and its security, you cannot give all of your users access to all of your assets. It’s just not a good practice, and doing so can potentially put your resources at risk. Let’s discuss how network segmentation can make a world of difference for the integrity of your network and the data found on it.

Explaining Network Segmentation

Network segmentation can best be described as the practice of segmenting your business’ network into different parts with the intention of protecting its various resources.

To use a practical example, consider how a bank might be set up. The bank isn’t just secured at the front door; it’s also secured at various points within the building, including security cameras and multiple locked doors, safety deposit boxes, and vaults, all of which require different keys to access.

Network segmentation works in the same way, providing multiple different opportunities to partition off various parts of your network for authentication and access control. This helps to handle not just external threats, but internal ones as well. It’s just one major component of a zero-trust architecture model, and it’s an important one.

How Does Network Segmentation Protect Your Business?

Network segmentation works by keeping certain people based on roles and responsibilities away from specific data on your infrastructure, thereby reducing the risk that it can be compromised or stolen. This helps your business against cybercrime and helps to limit employee access to data they have no business accessing.

For example, you wouldn’t want anyone on your sales team to have access to the personal or private data shared with human resources, and you wouldn’t want any regular employee handling payment information from a client or the financial information for your company’s banking. Each department has its own data that is required for it to function, and you don’t want to put yourself in a compromised situation because you let the wrong employee access the wrong kind of information.

If your business’ network is properly segmented, you can limit access to this information based on user role. Your HR department can have access to all of the records they need to do their jobs, and the same goes for accounting, IT, or any other part of your organization. This is especially important for positions like executives and IT administrators, who might have super admin access to the network, thereby granting considerable permissions for the entire network. Imagine if that account got hacked and used against you; you don’t want to think about it.

Let Us Help to Protect Your Network

NuTech Services can help your business handle all of its issues related to network security. To learn more, contact us at 810.230.9455.

2
Nov, 2022
messyDesktop_197023584_400.jpg

Tip of the Week: How to Hide or Remove Desktop Icons

messyDesktop_197023584_400.jpg

Your Windows desktop can often get cluttered with icons, so it is helpful to have the ability to show or hide them so you can keep your focus on the task at hand. Let’s discuss how you can do this with your Windows PC.

We should note here that deleting the icons from your desktop is not necessarily removing the programs from your computer. Deleting the icons is merely deleting the shortcut to the application, and in order to actually remove it from your computer, you’ll have to go through the official uninstallation process.

Delete Icons from Your Desktop

You can delete icons from your desktop to make it easier to look at, and it’s remarkably easy to do it. Just right-click on the icon and select Delete from the menu. If you want to delete multiple icons, though, you can use Ctrl to select multiple icons and delete them all at once if you’d like.

This will send the icon or file to the Recycle Bin where you can find them later on, if you need to. Alternatively, you can click and drag the icons into the Recycle Bin to delete them.

Hide the Icons on Your Desktop

If you’d like to hide all of the icons on the desktop, you can do this pretty easily, too. All you need to do is right-click on the desktop and hover over the View option. Uncheck the option for Show Desktop Icons, which will hide them from view. To bring them back, simply recheck the option.

Do you have any suggestions for decluttering your desktop? Be sure to let us know in the comments below.