If you've used a computer anytime over the past 20 years, you've probably been infected by a virus, malware, or some other malicious piece of software. You may have been lucky and been able to get it cleaned off without much trouble or maybe you weren't so lucky and lost data. Think about today, … Read More
Data Hashing and Encryption and How They Enhance Security
Data Hashing. Encryption. These are words that one hears all the time about the topic of security. Sometimes, they are used interchangeably when they are different things despite both being critical to security. In this blog post, we will explain both and also explain how they can be used … Read More
Going Back to the Office? Now what?
Back to School, Oops, Work! With a lot of State Governors and Local Government Leaders allowing their Coronavirus / COVID-19 / "Stay at Home" / Quarantine orders to expire or reissuing less stringent ones, I'm sure many of us are actually getting excited about getting back to work or at … Read More
SandStorm IT Response to the COVID-19 / Coronavirus Pandemic
To All Customers and Friends, In response to the COVID-19 / Coronavirus pandemic and the nationally and state-declared state of emergency, SandStorm IT wants to share the plans and precautions we are taking. We remain committed to continuing to provide the necessary services and support … Read More
5 Google Search Tricks You May Not Know
Google has become such a part of most people's everyday life that the word "Google" was adopted as a verb into the Oxford English Dictionary over ten years ago. It has become completely ubiquitous since then. Chances are anyone who has touched a computer or a mobile device connected to the Internet … Read More
Lost “it” in Windows 10? Here’s where to find it.
If you’ve recently made the jump from Windows 7 to Windows 10, or even from Windows 8, you might be surprised to see just how much has changed in your new Operating System. With such a user interface design change, you may be lost trying to find things such as "My Computer". Here are some of the … Read More
Why do I need an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS)?
Imagine you are working on an important job for your company's most profitable client. Or perhaps you are in college and working on a final term paper. Maybe it is a massive spreadsheet or a multiple page document that you have spent hours working on. Suddenly the power at your office or home goes … Read More
What are social media bots and how can I protect myself?
Chances are, if you have used any popular social media platforms recently, you have been exposed to social media bots. By definition, this is not necessarily a bad thing, since these bots are just accounts on social media which are run automatically by a computer program rather than a human. … Read More
What are the best ways to combat computer infections?
The best way to combat computer infections is to NEVER connect to the internet. Of course, this is not a desired or viable option for most people. But unfortunately, the internet is the most common way of receiving or transmitting infections. Luckily, a mix of the right software and knowledge can go … Read More
Got a popup on your Windows 7 PC? Here’s what it means and what you can do.
So, you have the "Your Windows 7 PC is out of support" popup? Rest assured, it's not some kind of malware or false warning, it's legitimately from Microsoft. Around 29.7% of the PC's in the world still use Windows 7. The message that pops up on boot is pretty ominous but it's exactly what will … Read More