Security Checkpoint Bitwarden New Login Item

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Security Checkpoint Bitwarden Create a New Login Item

In Security Checkpoint Bitwarden we will show you how to create a new login item with its own unique password!

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It’s 2023 and you still need a password manager. Passwordless solutions are on the horizon, but in order to be ready you need to get your house in order today. One key tool to help you with that is the password manager. We use Bitwarden and recommend it to anyone who can remember their main password. If you trust yourself with that, use Bitwarden. The free account is fantastic for most people and their paid account offers more useful feature at a reasonable price. Best of all it works on all computing devices you already use: Windows, MacOS, Linux, Android, iPhone, iPad, Google Chrome, FireFox, Edge, no matter where you are online, you can use it!

Security Checkpoint – is a new series of web videos where we go through and improve our digital privacy and security one step and one minute at a time. These are all great security and privacy practices. You can follow along as Alan goes through his digital life and cleans up data and access.

Need help with your company’s cyber security? Contact us now to see how we can help!

If this post helped you improve your digital security and privacy please like, subscribe, and click the YouTube bell. You’ll be the first to know when we have more tips on Security Checkpoint for twitter and other digital services.

Security Checkpoint Bitwarden History and iPhone App

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Security Checkpoint Bitwarden History for Generator

Security Checkpoint Bitwarden History for generated passwords will help you recover any you might have forgotten. No worries! Then we flip over to show you Bitwarden on the iPhone App. Got an Android phone? Again, no worries! Bitwarden is on all devices you use and there’s an app there too.

Bitwarden Logo

It’s 2023 and you still need a password manager. Passwordless solutions are on the horizon, but in order to be ready you need to get your house in order today. One key tool to help you with that is the password manager. We use Bitwarden and recommend it to anyone who can remember their main password. If you trust yourself with that, use Bitwarden. The free account is fantastic for most people and their paid account offers more useful feature at a reasonable price. Best of all it works on all computing devices you already use: Windows, MacOS, Linux, Android, iPhone, iPad, Google Chrome, FireFox, Edge, no matter where you are online, you can use it!

Security Checkpoint – is a new series of web videos where we go through and improve our digital privacy and security one step and one minute at a time. These are all great security and privacy practices. You can follow along as Alan goes through his digital life and cleans up data and access.

Need help with your company’s cyber security? Contact us now to see how we can help!

If this post helped you improve your digital security and privacy please like, subscribe, and click the YouTube bell. You’ll be the first to know when we have more tips on Security Checkpoint for twitter and other digital services.

Security Checkpoint Bitwarden Generator

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Security Checkpoint Bitwarden Generator

Security Checkpoint Bitwarden Generator can help you create and securely store unique passwords for all your digital life.

Bitwarden Logo

It’s 2023 and you still need a password manager. Passwordless solutions are on the horizon, but in order to be ready you need to get your house in order today. One key tool to help you with that is the password manager. We use Bitwarden and recommend it to anyone who can remember their main password. If you trust yourself with that, use Bitwarden. The free account is fantastic for most people and their paid account offers more useful feature at a reasonable price. Best of all it works on all computing devices you already use: Windows, MacOS, Linux, Android, iPhone, iPad, Google Chrome, FireFox, Edge, no matter where you are online, you can use it!

Security Checkpoint – is a new series of web videos where we go through and improve our digital privacy and security one step and one minute at a time. These are all great security and privacy practices. You can follow along as Alan goes through his digital life and cleans up data and access.

Need help with your company’s cyber security? Contact us now to see how we can help!

If this post helped you improve your digital security and privacy please like, subscribe, and click the YouTube bell. You’ll be the first to know when we have more tips on Security Checkpoint for twitter and other digital services.

Security Checkpoint Layered Approach and Bitwarden

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Security Checkpoint A Layered Approach to Security

Security Checkpoint A Layered Approach to Security

Security Checkpoint why use a layered approach with Bitwarden? Imagine having a few pieces of Swiss cheese, each one has holes in different places. Then imagine stacking them on top of each other until there are no holes. Now things can’t get through. This is why we use a layered approach to security. Some measures may not prevent some attacks, but together several layers will prevent most risks.

Security Checkpoint – is a new series of web videos where we go through and improve our digital privacy and security one step and one minute at a time. These are all great security and privacy practices. You can follow along as Alan goes through his digital life and cleans up data and access.

It’s two for Tuesday today since we have 2 videos to share today!

Introduction to Bitwarden

It’s 2023 and you still need a password manager. Passwordless solutions are on the horizon, but in order to be ready you need to get your house in order today. One key tool to help you with that is the password manager. We use Bitwarden and recommend it to anyone who can remember their main password. If you trust yourself with that, use Bitwarden. The free account is fantastic for most people and their paid account offers more useful feature at a reasonable price. Best of all it works on all computing devices you already use: Windows, MacOS, Linux, Android, iPhone, iPad, Google Chrome, FireFox, Edge, no matter where you are online, you can use it!

Need help with your company’s cyber security? Contact us now to see how we can help!

If this post helped you improve your digital security and privacy please like, subscribe, and click the YouTube bell. You’ll be the first to know when we have more tips on Security Checkpoint for twitter and other digital services.

Building a Better You: Tech with Alan Youngblood

Building A Better You Tech Talk Podcast
Microphone in podcast studio

Ep. 16 The Tech Industry Uses So Much Jargon – IT with Alan Youngblood

Building a better you tech talk new podcast just dropped today! When Nick Spindler and Chris Morgan, co-hosts of the Garner Young Professionals‘ Building a Better You podcast invited our founder Alan Youngblood to join for an episode he was delighted. We’ve listened to several episodes of the podcast and highly recommend that you listen, subscribe, and like the channel.

Nick and Chris are doing a great job collaborating with the Garner Chamber of Commerce. They created a great resource that is sourced by our community and the shared knowledge and wisdom we each bring.

Building A Better You Tech Talk

In episode 16 Alan Youngblood shares about Building a Better You and talks tech with Nick and Chris. The conversation covers the fundamental IT security practices that everyone can do to improve and mitigate real risks. There’s even some decidedly low-tech suggestions that Alan shares about how he connects with nature and integrates more humanity in life and work. Listen below and contact us if you have questions or need help with your company’s technology!

18. A Look Back w/ Nicole Barone Building a Better You

In this episode, Nicole Barone is back to help us take a look at the podcast so far and dive deeper into some of the insights we've gained from it. Info about the Garner Young Professionals: HERE Info about Davis Insurance and Financial Services: HERE Contact Nicole: [email protected] Info about Community of Hope Ministries: HERE Info about Chris Morgan – Grow Local Realty: HERE Info about Nick Spindler – Grow Local Realty: HERE Music by Zeph Park
  1. 18. A Look Back w/ Nicole Barone
  2. 17. A Good Foundation w/ Tarkisha Poole
  3. 16. The Tech Industry Uses So Much Jargon – IT w/ Alan Youngblood
  4. 15. What If I Want To Change Careers? w/ Sarah Edwards
  5. 14. Knowing Your Why w/ Denise Pavona

Security Checkpoint Twitter Part 3

hand of man using twitter in android smartphone with icons of social media on screen smartphone life style smartphone era smartphone in everyday life
Security Checkpoint Twitter Part 3: Hardware Tokens

Security Checkpoint – Twitter – is a new series of web videos where we go through and improve our digital privacy and security one step and one minute at a time. These are all great security and privacy practices. You can follow along as Alan goes through his digital life and cleans up data and access.

security checkpoint on twitter

Multi-Factor Authentication

In this quick video we go through multi-factor authentication or MFA. It’s also called Two factor or two step authentication. Think of MFA as a layered approach to verifying you are how you claim to be. Why a layered approach? Simply, the more layers of security you have create more hoops for hackers to jump to breach your data. Good security requires knowing what you value. Then you take as many reasonable measures to prevent valuable data and systems falling into the wrong hands.

Follow along with the video in your own account at twitter.com

Authenticator Apps

We covered these last time, so watch the previous episode for more info.

Hardware Token Keys

We also demonstrate setting up a hardware token key. These function like the technology equivalent of a house key. You’ll have to pay a premium if you want this next-level security. We have the Yubikey 5C with NFC and Yubikey 5 with NFC.

You’ll want at least two (one shared backup is fine for a small company or department). Remember house keys? What happens if you accidentally lock yourself out of your house in a hurry to get somewhere? Well maybe you have another key entrusted to a neighbor or nearby family or friends. You don’t hide it the first place any thief would look under your doormat, do you? Maybe you need to check on that too. That’s why it’s important to buy at least a couple keys whenever you choose to use them. Set up both the same way at the same time and store your backup in a safe place. You can literally use a safe or locked filing cabinet for extra security!

Because you’ll want two hardware token keys and they are roughly $50 each, you should budget $100 to get started with these. You will also need to plan a couple of weeks lead time for the order process and until you get the devices delivered.

Don’t Care About Twitter? Think Again

Don’t use twitter much anymore but still have your account? Neither do we! Who cares? Well we do, and you should too! Cleaning up old data, accounts, and systems is a very vital part of your digital security and privacy well being. Imagine you had your old email from middle school without updates and just left the account running. The old server never got updated enough and now someone got into it and used it to compromise your work Instagram. Yikes! So safe removal, deletion, or updated security are required for all systems you use in your digital life.

Need help with your company’s cyber security? Contact us now to see how we can help!

If this post helped you improve your digital security and privacy please like, subscribe, and click the YouTube bell. You’ll be the first to know when we have more tips on Security Checkpoint for twitter and other digital services.

Security Checkpoint Twitter Part 2

red blue and yellow textile

Security Checkpoint – Twitter – is a new series of web videos where we go through and improve our digital privacy and security one step and one minute at a time. These are all great security and privacy practices. You can follow along as Alan goes through his digital life and cleans up data and access.

security checkpoint on twitter

Multi-Factor Authentication

In this quick video we go through multi-factor authentication or MFA. It’s also called Two factor or two step authentication. Think of MFA as a layered approach to verifying you are how you claim to be. Why a layered approach? Simply, the more layers of security you have create more hoops for hackers to jump to breach your data. Good security requires knowing what you value. Then you take as many reasonable measures to prevent valuable data and systems falling into the wrong hands.

Follow along with the video in your own account at twitter.com

Authenticator Apps

In this video we setup an authentication app on our mobile phone. We use Authy and recommend it to everyone. If you already use Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator, Cisco Duo, or a similar app feel free to use that instead. These apps provide a good level of extra security with no additional cost. Don’t be distracted by that long list, just pick the one that you like the most and only use one.

Hardware Token Keys

We also demonstrate setting up a hardware token key. These function like the technology equivalent of a house key. You’ll have to pay a premium if you want this next-level security. We have the Yubikey 5C with NFC and Yubikey 5 with NFC.

You’ll want at least two (one shared backup is fine for a small company or department). Remember house keys? What happens if you accidentally lock yourself out of your house in a hurry to get somewhere? Well maybe you have another key entrusted to a neighbor or nearby family or friends. You don’t hide it the first place any thief would look under your doormat, do you? Maybe you need to check on that too. That’s why it’s important to buy at least a couple keys whenever you choose to use them. Set up both the same way at the same time and store your backup in a safe place. You can literally use a safe or locked filing cabinet for extra security!

Don’t Care About Twitter? Think Again

Don’t use twitter much anymore but still have your account? Neither do we! Who cares? Well we do, and you should too! Cleaning up old data, accounts, and systems is a very vital part of your digital security and privacy well being. Imagine you had your old email from middle school without updates and just left the account running. The old server never got updated enough and now someone got into it and used it to compromise your work Instagram. Yikes! So safe removal, deletion, or updated security are required for all systems you use in your digital life.

Need help with your company’s cyber security? Contact us now to see how we can help!

If this post helped you improve your digital security and privacy please like, subscribe, and click the YouTube bell. You’ll be the first to know when we have more tips on Security Checkpoint for twitter and other digital services.

Security Checkpoint Twitter Part 1

Twitter on Samsung tablet screen

Security Checkpoint – Twitter – is a new series of web videos where we go through and improve our digital privacy and security one step and one minute at a time. Because these are all great security and privacy practices you can follow along as Alan goes through his digital life and cleans up data and access.

security checkpoint on twitter

In this quick video we go through app sessions and user sessions. We apply the principles of least privilege by getting rid of app connections and logged in sessions that are no longer needed.

Follow along with the video in your own account at twitter.com

Over time we all add apps and accounts that we no longer use or care about. Let’s take care of those now on Twitter. Each one of these increases our cyber attack risk surface. It’s a simple theory: any way that I can access my own accounts is also a potential opening for hackers.

Need help with your company’s cyber security? Contact us now to see how we can help!

If this post helped you improve your digital security and privacy please like, subscribe, and click the YouTube bell. You’ll be the first to know when we have more tips on Security Checkpoint for twitter and other digital services.

Ready for a Passwordless Future with Passkeys?

The Passwordless Future with Passkeys

Are you ready for the passwordless future with passkeys? It’s already here. Or near. Well, it’s a good goal for all of us.

Passwords are annoying. And many times they don’t do enough to prevent data breaches.

If you’ve ever heard our founder Alan talk for a while you’re guaranteed to hear him say:

Security and usability are fundamentally at odds.

Alan Youngblood

This doesn’t have to be the case though. It is super easy to use Passkeys, but don’t take my word for it:

Login process with Passkeys on Macbook Pro

And it’s even more secure to use Passwordless systems.

By using the security capabilities of your devices like Touch ID and Face ID, passkeys are way more secure and are easier to use than both passwords and all current 2-factor authentication methods.

Learn more or try for yourself at Passkeys.io

The Security Holy Grail

Why can’t we have both security and usability? 

Why not both?

Typically this is a natural trade-off. Most security measures make your everday work and life a little bit more difficult while also making it much more difficult for hackers. So in practice it’s good security policy to take reasonable efforts that you know will be a slight pain to you and a major pain to hackers making them think twice.

Can’t we have both though? Every so often there is a truly different way that makes that possible!

That’s where Passkeys and passwordless systems come in. There’s a lot to say about this but the bottom line is simple: there are now computer systems that do not use passwords and are actually more secure than the systems that do.

Passwordless Future with Passkeys is More Secure

Do not mistake any of this to say we need to get rid of passwords. We’ll come back to this later but in some ways we may always have passwords for certain uses even in the passwordless future.

This also doesn’t mean wide open access or less secure systems. But how? In InfoSec we refer to authentication in a few ways. Authentication verifies a person or user of a system to make sure they are who they say they are.

Authentication can be:

  • Something you know. For example: a password.
  • Something you have. For example: a hardware token or smart badge/card.
  • Something you are. For example: fingerprint scanning, Face ID, or other biometric data.

Two factor or multi factor authentication (MFA) is just a combo of more than one of those methods. More layers of security tends to give a more secure system.

But many passwordless systems actually combine several factors into one more simple action. For example, using Passkeys combine Something you have: your mobile smartphone and something you are: the phone’s biometric touch or face id. So instead of fumbling around with a 6 digit code or remembering a password that’s hard for you to remember and easy for a computer to guess, you already have MFA built-in with one simple step.

Passwords are the weakest link in security. Think about it: they are shared at some point in the login transaction with the server. It’s something you know but that doesn’t mean someone else might know it too. I can tell you about “MySUPERsecretPasswd456!” and you you already know that one. Pro-tip: we never use that password and we recommend you never use it either. With something like passkeys, the hardware of your smartphone is leveraged and authenticates to the server basically saying you are who you claim to be and everything’s fine to let you in.

I’m just going to assume for a minute that you do a good job managing your passwords and use significantly complex, unique ones on all your accounts. Even if that were true for everyone, there’s a lot of data that gets exposed when you are a part of a service, let’s just say Facebook because so many people are there. Let’s say someone on Facebook signs up with a password “Password123.” This laughably easy password then gives hackers a potential in to the entire system. While it may not expose everyone or everything, at minimum, it provides this hacker with the next step and clues to hack other data and people. 

I'm in!

Why We Can Trust the Security of Passwordless Passkeys

What’s wilder about these systems is that they aren’t entirely new. That’s part of the reason we can trust them.

These are all built on well established protocols and technologies. Much of the magic of public/private key cryptography has been around in regular use for decades, since the 1970’s. Passwords we use now are still vulnerable because common wording or being knowable by people other than the authorized users.

Why We Can’t Have Nice Things

The biggest challenge is that even if there’s a better way, it requires change from a lot of people. Many of us are not ready for a passwordless future with passkeys if it involves doing things differently.

There’s two crucial requirements to be able to use Passwordless systems:

  • Everyone using them has to have either an up to date smartphone, computer, or hardware key token.
  • Every account and system software needs to have this feature integrated into them and users need to learn how to use it.

Easier said than done.

I don’t wanna change I’ll rise above it But it’s so damn hard to make that change

Adam Granduciel, song Change performed by The War on Drugs

Change isn’t always easy. I get it. Even when we’re in a bad place sometimes we want to cling to the “devil we know.” Why risk it doing things differently?

Plus this requires change from a lot of people, namely those we lack any control or influence over. As a company’s leader it would be easy enough to make it corporate policy to assure all employees make a change that helps everyone. But there’s still the other end of these systems, the platform holders that you can make requests to but ultimately don’t have to do anything. And there’s the bit about having updated computing devices. While this is good practice in general, it doesn’t mean we all do it. And there’s the training, why learn a new thing if what we all did a few years ago seems perfectly fine to get the job done?

Passwordless Future Goals with Passkeys

For all these reasons we recommend Passwordless systems as a great goal. We ourselves are working toward implementing and using these systems incrementally in our business and personal lives where possible. But it has to be opt-in.

You can lead an animal to water but you cannot make them drink.

Old English proverb attributed first to John Heywood

Having the personal buy-in from each person who will use the system means they are showing up ready to learn something new and try it for its merits.

The Password is dead! Long live the Password!

General Hux isn't ready for the passwordless future with passkeys. The password is dead! Long live the password!
The password is DEAD! Long live the Password!

You didn’t really think we’d be giving up the passwords everywhere so soon did you?

Because it’s simply not practical to expect everyone to give up their current systems we suggest you phase in the Passwordless tech where you can. Meanwhile, passwords are still the best standard way to secure everything from your WiFi connected toaster to databases with trade secrets.

So we’ll end here by pointing you back to advice that’s still great for using BitWarden as your password manager for all the systems that aren’t ready for that change yet. If you don’t feel like you can remember your master password or secure it in a safe place like a lockbox, you should consider using a different trusted system like 1Password in the video below.

And if you are already using LastPass, you need to use a different system as fast as you can make the switch. While we used LastPass previously but a number of reports of breaches and a general negligence of security practices at their organization mean that moving to a better system is the best thing you can do for your security right now.

Josh at All Things Secured has you covered on a step by step guide to make the switch from LastPass to 1Password.

Make the switch from LastPass now. Thank us later. We will thank you too because helping everyone helps everyone.

Ready to ditch those pesky passwords for something more secure? Get in touch and see how we can help your organization make the transition!

Things fall apart, are you ready with a backup and repair plan?

New Motherboard

I’ve never been a fan of Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, but that doesn’t make the title any less true. Are you ready with a backup and repair plan?

This is especially true when it comes to the technology we count on in our daily lives and at work. Anyone worth their salt in the IT field know it’s not a matter of “if” but when will things break. We can help you prepare to handle it with no sweat. The sooner we work out a backup and repair plan for you the better your options will be and the less painful the repair and upgrade process will be.

To prove that I’m not trying to scare you here I’ll share my own stories from recent weeks:

The System’s Down

In my personal life I enjoy playing video games either solo or with friends. Two nights a week are scheduled for online gaming with my friends, so a Thursday evening rolled around and I started up my desktop gaming PC that I built but it didn’t start up. Yikes! Gratefully, I own other platforms like Valve’s Steam Deck, a Nintendo Switch, and a PS5 that we were able to play a different game on together. But all this came about a month after one of my friends, Lee, had his gaming PC die on him in much the same fashion.

Don’t get it twisted, I know this is a first world problem, but it’s a problem nonetheless.

So over the weekend after that I began troubleshooting my PC and it allowed me to clean up and dust inside. The problem was that it was having trouble POST’ing (Power On Self Test). The light would come on and the system fan would spin and then it would go completely off before it even output the BIOS or Windows 10.

Cleaning the old PC motherboard is a part of any good backup and repair plan and it extends the life of components already in use.

So I went through testing parts and narrowing down what was and what was not working inside. The Power Supply can often be an issue when you see these symptoms, so I used the jumper test to confirm that it was still working. RAM is also another possible cause of the problem, so I tried testing each module one by one and those seemed to work. There were some issues with the way I re-seated them, but ultimately I was able to get one to work and the PC back online. Then I tried all of them and got the whole PC to boot up.

The Problem that Almost Wasn’t

“We’re back in business!” I thought with only a little bit of time working on it and no new parts needed. So I went on about using it some for a while and made sure that the data backup that was set to run finished then shut it down after the weekend. If you are worried about your PC, contact us and ask about a backup and repair plan that works for you! No problem feels that bad when you’re confident in your backup solutions.

When it Rains it Pours

Meanwhile I got the itch to play a retro game on PlayStation 2, so I plugged mine in and found that the DVD-ROM drive was not working there and while it would start up it made some clicking sounds and acted like there was no game disc in it. Again, not that big of a deal, but a bit discouraging nonetheless.

Then the next week I had another online gaming night and went to turn on my PC to play and the same problem happened. Except this time I was unable to get it to start no matter what I did. Given the working Power Supply Unit (PSU) and the working RAM, the situation must be that the motherboard was no longer working. Rest in pieces, old gaming PC.

We Can Rebuild Him. We Have the Technology.

But from those pieces I was able to reuse a lot of the PC itself and put a decent but not exorbitant bit of money to repairing the PC. The final price tag was just over $500 and the repairs came with some great upgrades. I took my time to deliberate and plan what to get, and what I could keep.

The components that needed replacement were the motherboard, CPU (with cooler), and RAM. All other components I tested and worked so I kept them: the case, the HDD’s (Hard Disk Drives) and SSD’s (Solid State Drives), the Graphics Card, the monitors, keyboard, mouse, and DVD-RW drive.

The Best Backup Plan is Knowing Who to Ask

My gaming buddies were also a big help in asking about certain part of the upgrade plan considering Lee and another friend Nic had both done similar upgrades and repairs. I wanted to switch to an AMD processor instead of using Intel this time around and there are differences. Both brands are good, but I wanted AMD and needed to know about their current line the Ryzen series.

Additionally, manufacturers tend to be confusing about RAM and it’s difficult to be sure that you get modules that actually work with your motherboard. Many list OC or “Overclocked” speeds, likely because it sounds faster, but if you don’t go by the JEDEC standard it may not work in your system. Nic helped me remember to triple-check for RAM compatibility which is a great practice for us all to have.

Finally, there are some motherboards for AMD CPU’s that either are not compatible with certain processors or some that require a firmware update out of the box before you can use them. I wanted one that would work as soon as I assembled it and ended up finding a good option for a bit more money from MSI. It also has built-in WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5, two features that I use and appreciate having.

Down Goes the Laptop

One of the days while I was planning the repair and upgrade, I came home from a long appointment and decided to log in to my laptop just to see where my emails stood and catch up on other work. Much to my chagrin, my laptop didn’t boot up. If you work with me a while you’ll hear me repeat the British WWII era slogan: Keep calm and carry on. Part of what keeps me calm throughout this process on my own devices is knowing I have a backup and repair plan for everything I use.

My laptop did POST so there’s a start there. But it complained about the fans not working with a Dell diagnostic program that loaded automatically. While I had been dusting and cleaning my desktop, I also did my laptop and was worried I bumped something inside. So I opened up the case again and re-seated some of the plugs like the power and the fans. Then I restarted it and ran the automatic diagnostics.

It cleared the tests and worked this time. Whew! Following that I booted to Windows 11, and ran Dell’s SupportAssist, and updated any drivers in the system. I usually use Linux in a dual boot, but the system hardware updates work better on Windows with Dell.

Live in your world, play in ours! PS2 Repairs

With one bullet dodged, I got a bit more confidence and looked up repair and replacement options for my PlayStation 2. Being an older retro game console there’s not as many clear backup and repair plans out there. It’s a bit costly to get a replacement part so I decided to try a repair.

Naturally I voided the already expired warranty to get inside the case of the device and begin to repair it. I started cleaning and dusting, though it wasn’t too bad overall. Well that didn’t fix it. It wasn’t until later that I was able to find a gear that is used to calibrate the disc spinning mechanism and by fine tuning that, the discs and games ran again.

On disc-media, the discs themselves are the backup. Thanks YouTube tutorials for helping know how to plan repairs on the PS2! Oh there you are Zone of the Enders The 2nd Runner, now for a second chance…

It’s Always Something…

Once the parts came in for my desktop PC I began to repair it. There was a surprise while I was installing the new motherboard: the power connectors. The new one has an extra plug for a 4-pin ATX power cable in addition to the ones it requires. Thankfully online forums clarified that you only need those to overclock your PC. I typically don’t, so I went ahead and powered it on.

The power came on this time, so we’re definitely getting somewhere. But there wasn’t anything on the screen at first. The new system requires using a discrete graphics card. So I made sure everything was wired up with mine and plugged in the main monitor. I was able to determine the manufacturers’ hotkey to boot into BIOS and now we’re really cooking.

Making progress in BIOS

After that I configured what I thought needed to happen and restarted the PC. But nothing happened. Oops! In BIOS I reconfigured the boot settings to Legacy mode, since my previous build was installed on rather old hardware.

Okay now we’re really getting there, Windows 10 booted up and automatically updated to run with the new parts.

The backup was a good precaution when Windows automagically setup most things after the repair, which was nice.
After the backup and repairs: The RGB lighting is kind of cool even if I never asked for it.

Who Broke the Internet this time?

As if that wasn’t enough, when coming home from a busy day out I found that my Internet was down. And it just so happens another hobby of mine, fantasy football had two league’s drafts that night.

You may recognize that’s AT&T logo on my modem, and they are my ISP (Internet Service Provider). I’m not blaming them for this one down-time incident, because this is the only incident I can ever remember. Every other time they have been providing high speed reliable Internet service. Your provider may not be as reliable, but even the best sometimes have problems. Outside of the event, I highly recommend their fiber service to anyone who has the option.

Be aware that a backup and repair plan for an ISP is inherently different and requires cooperation. If necessary you can purchase an enterprise network connection which will usually guarantee uptime as part of your contract.

The light’s on but nobody was home on the other end…

Instead of complaining, I ended up packing it up and heading over to Panera Bread. I ate dinner and used their WiFi to do my fantasy drafts. Things worked out well overall. I was able to check and see that the Internet connection was working before I left the restaurant.

Not too shabby considering some of the picks at the end were auto-drafts due to Internet connection issues. Aside from some injuries, no backups nor repairs needed to this roster!

Things fall apart, are you ready with a backup and repair plan?

Whatever you do in life for work, for fun, or for your family are all now inextricably tied into the digital world. We’ve helped many clients who’ve experienced similar problems. Like an old PC breaking down, a PC infected by malware, crucial data recovery, and restoring connections of printers. No matter what your life throws at you, you can count on things falling apart. Are you ready? We can help you setup a backup and repair plan or suggest replacements to upgrade and get you back online.

Trust us, because we’ve all been there and learned lessons to minimize your downtime and get you back to doing what you love doing best!