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Ferrum Technology Services Blog

Ferrum Technology Services has been serving the Elgin area since 2007, providing IT Support such as technical helpdesk support, computer support, and consulting to small and medium-sized businesses.

Microsoft is Working to Revolutionize Long-Term Data Storage

Microsoft is Working to Revolutionize Long-Term Data Storage

Considering the amount of data created on a daily basis, there will eventually come a time when the amount of data will outweigh our ability to store it. The technology giants at Microsoft are taking the initiative to find a solution to this dilemma, and they are working with the University of Southampton in England to make this vision come to life.

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Google and Microsoft Both Offer Work Profiles for Businesses

Google and Microsoft Both Offer Work Profiles for Businesses

Microsoft and Google offer work profile systems that can help you keep your personal life and professional life on the same mobile device, albeit separate. These are often found with enterprise settings that allow for greater security and control over how employees use their devices for work duties. Let’s look at how the work profiles function for Microsoft and Google.

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Farewell, Microsoft Office…Hello Microsoft 365!

Farewell, Microsoft Office…Hello Microsoft 365!

Microsoft’s initiative to rebrand Microsoft Office is reaching the final stage of its journey—a plan that has been years in the making. What will this assimilation into the Microsoft 365 brand mean for users of Microsoft’s services and products?

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Some Microsoft Tools will Soon Feature AI Capabilities

Some Microsoft Tools will Soon Feature AI Capabilities

Artificial intelligence has become a popular topic to discuss in the business world, and like just about any current technology trend, you know Microsoft has to hop on the bandwagon with its own solution. Microsoft’s new AI-powered image generation tools will be integrated into many of their applications moving forward.

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A Windows Vulnerability found in your Calculator? Here’s What You Should Know

A Windows Vulnerability found in your Calculator? Here’s What You Should Know

Sometimes security breaches and hacking attacks come from the most unlikely of sources, even going so far as to utilize trusted applications to infect an endpoint or network. This is the case with a new phishing attack which uses the Calculator application that comes built-in with Windows in a very creative way. This is just one example of how hackers have been forced to innovate to combat the increasingly secure systems which businesses and users rely on today, and it should be a testament as to why you can never be too careful.

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Microsoft 365’s Core Tools are What You Remember from Office 365

Microsoft 365’s Core Tools are What You Remember from Office 365

The modern business requires many different types of tools to be successful and productive throughout the workday, but one of the most notable is the productivity suite. They are incredible solutions that give organizations access to several different applications that perform various functions for companies.

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Does Your Organization’s Hardware Support Windows 11?

Does Your Organization’s Hardware Support Windows 11?

Microsoft has claimed that Windows 10 would be their chosen operating system for the foreseeable future, but we can never expect technology to rest on its laurels and grow stagnant. Enter Windows 11, the latest Microsoft operating system. What are the specifications needed to upgrade your business to this new OS, and how can you know when it is time to do so?

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Microsoft Pricing is Going Up, but We Can Help Get Your Money’s Worth

Microsoft Pricing is Going Up, but We Can Help Get Your Money’s Worth

We just wanted to provide a public notice that Microsoft intends to increase the price of its Microsoft 365 and Office 365 offerings. If your business relies on these tools in its operations, you can expect to see your costs for them go up, regardless of where they are sourced from.

That’s the bad news. The good news is, we can help you get the greatest mileage out of these solutions… potentially by introducing you to capabilities that you have yet to take advantage of.

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Is Your Business Considering Upgrading to Windows 11?

Is Your Business Considering Upgrading to Windows 11?

Windows 11 has been released into the world, but has your organization embraced it yet? If not, you’re certainly not alone. Adoption for Windows 11 has been relatively slow, all things considered, and recent surveys and polls show that Windows 11’s adoption will proceed in this fashion–at least for the near future.

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FoggyWeb is the Latest Malware to Wreak Havoc

FoggyWeb is the Latest Malware to Wreak Havoc

The attack on SolarWinds earlier this year caused a lot of challenges, and now that time has passed and the dust has settled somewhat, Microsoft has uncovered another type of malware associated with the attack. This one is called FoggyWeb. What does this threat do and what can we learn about it?

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Microsoft Dealing with Major Data Leak

Microsoft Dealing with Major Data Leak

Incorrect configurations on your infrastructure’s hardware are surprisingly easy mistakes to make, and even worse, they can have severe security ramifications if they are not discovered promptly. It can happen to anyone, as evidenced by a recent data leak. One of the most popular software developers out there, Microsoft, made a pretty nasty blunder with one particular setting that led to a huge data leak that could have exposed millions of records.

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Excel Shortcuts You Can Use to Be More Efficient

Excel Shortcuts You Can Use to Be More Efficient

Microsoft Excel is the premier spreadsheet software, but unless you know keyboard shortcuts and formulas, it can be tricky to get the most value out of it as a software solution. Thankfully, with just a couple of keystrokes, you too can achieve mastery over this software. Here are some of the most popular and useful keyboard shortcuts for Microsoft Excel.

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New Patent Suggests Microsoft is Working on Wellness Technology for Its Apps

New Patent Suggests Microsoft is Working on Wellness Technology for Its Apps

The workplace can be a stressful place, and studies have been done on this increase, as well as what can be done to mitigate the damage. To combat this increase, Microsoft has filed a patent that suggests new ways to resolve workplace stress might be in development in the near future. But is this technology actually necessary for identifying when you are stressed?

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Microsoft Thwarts Major Hacking Attempt

Microsoft Thwarts Major Hacking Attempt

With the 2020 U.S. Election under a month away, there has been a lot of concern that outside interests would try to influence the results. Microsoft has recently disrupted a huge coordinated hacking effort that had designs of altering the election infrastructure needed for a fair and secure election. Let’s take a look at the effort and Microsoft’s response in today’s blog.

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Which is a Better Spreadsheet Option, Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel?

Which is a Better Spreadsheet Option, Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel?

Spreadsheets are a supremely useful tool for businesses to use, but it is important for you to consider which option will work out best for your particular needs. Let’s consider the biggest two spreadsheet applications available today—Microsoft’s Excel and Google’s Sheets—to familiarize yourself with your options.

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Tip of the Week: Stop Word from Editorializing

Tip of the Week: Stop Word from Editorializing

At the time of this writing, Microsoft Word has a market share just shy of 37 percent, making it a pretty safe bet that you’ve used it at some point. As a result, you’re probably familiar with Word’s insistence of changing how certain things are formatted, which can become irritating - especially if you had it formatted how you wanted it the first time. This week, our tip will cover how you can stop Word from editorializing.

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Microsoft Ending Windows 7 Support

Microsoft Ending Windows 7 Support

If you are still using the Windows 7 operating system for your business, you probably have looked into upgrading. If you haven’t you only have about a month until Microsoft officially retires the OS. As a result, you will need to make a plan to keep your business’ IT supported while you find a solution. 

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Tip of the Week: Limiting OneDrive Sharing

Tip of the Week: Limiting OneDrive Sharing

Statistically speaking, there’s a pretty good chance that you use Microsoft Office 365 in your business, which means you can use OneDrive, Microsoft’s contribution to cloud-based storage and collaboration. If this is how your users work productively, they are probably already familiar with how they can share these documents - but what if there are some things you don’t want freely shared around? Today, we’re going over how you can restrict OneDrive sharing capabilities.

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Microsoft is Releasing Out-of-Band Security Updates

Microsoft is Releasing Out-of-Band Security Updates

Patching your software is one of the most important, yet ignored, tasks in computing. Keeping all of your software up to date with the latest threat definitions can help your business’ IT stay secure. Recently, in a somewhat atypical move, Microsoft has announced that they have released an emergency out-of-band security update to fix two critical security issues. 

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Tip of the Week: Excel Tips That Work

Tip of the Week: Excel Tips That Work

Microsoft Excel has a ton of functionality, but how much of it are you actually utilizing? This week’s tip will help you take full advantage of keyboard shortcuts, so you can leverage the solution to the best of your ability.

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