Windows Server 2008 end of life is happening on January 14th 2020 – this means Microsoft is stopping all official support for the operating system. There will be no further security updates for servers running it and they could be vulnerable to attack from outside sources. The operating system was first launched February 2008, so it has had a good … Read More
Windows 7 End of Life is January 2020 – is Your Business Ready?
When Microsoft released its popular personal computer operating system, Windows 7 on October 22, 2009 it pledged to give users 10 years of support. Those 10 years are now up and the company is stopping support for Windows 7 on January 14th 2020. What does end of life mean for Windows 7? End of life simply means that Microsoft no … Read More
How to use virtualisation for disaster recovery
When we talk about disaster recovery plans, we tend to think of huge corporations with spare offices setup in different locations – desks, phones, PCs and servers just sitting there waiting for something catastrophic to happen to the old office*. When it does, the idea is that employees can simple switch to the spare office and continue working without missing … Read More
Optima will have a stand at the Let’s Do Business Brighton Expo on 13th June
We will be on Stand C4 – Come and say hi! Our IT Director Jay Hine will again be representing Optima at the Let’s Do Business Brighton Expo on June 13th. We will have some great goodies to give away including our new branded pens and of course our famous ponchos in a ball! Free Prize Draw! We will also … Read More
How to safely browse the internet
Now we use the internet to such an extent we need to make sure our details and browsing history is safe and secure. What are Cookies and what do they do? Cookies are used to track our browsing history and are used by companies to target advertising based of our searches. In some instances, this is useful as it shows … Read More
Smart speakers – justified paranoia or am I just behind the times?
I have to confess that even though I work in IT my house is anything but a hive of technological gadgets. I don’t even have a smart meter! During recent conversations more and more people admit to having installed Amazon Alexa or Google Smart Assistant devices in their homes. These devices are activated by a keyword “Alexa” or “Ok Google” … Read More
New Voluntary Code for Banks to Repay Victims of Push Payment Scam
There is finally some hope for the thousands that have fallen victim to so called ‘push payment’ scams with the announcment of a new voluntary code for Banks. Push Payment scams are where a fraudster seems to highjack emails and ask people to pay an outstanding bill or invoice to a different Bank Account. The account in question is owned … Read More
Major outage hits Sky Broadband
Tuesday August 2nd – A major outage is effecting Sky Broadband customers this morning and seems to be a nationwide issue. The problems started being reported at around 8am. Sky tweeted quickly: We are aware that fibre customers are having issues browsing, engineers are investigating. Sorry for making your morning more stressful. ^MM — Sky Help Team (@SkyHelpTeam) August 2, 2016 The … Read More
Major BT Broadband outage
Wednesday 20th July – From about 9.00am BT’s broudband services has been suffering severe disruption. The issue is affecting several parts of the country ans is currently listed as ‘ongoing’ on BT’s service status page: A tweet from BT just after 9am confirmed the issue. Some BT Broadband customers have reported problems accessing websites this morning. Sorry, we’re aware of … Read More
Windows 10 free upgrade ends soon
As you may be aware the Free Windows 10 Upgrade will end on 29th July 2016. Once this ends the approximate cost of the Windows 10 software will be around £170.00. Our Experiences Having used Windows 10 in our Company for nearly a year I have found it to be very stable and usable. It is far better than Windows … Read More
Optima will be at Let’s Do Business in Brighton, 12th May
Optima will have a stand at this years’ Let’s Do Business in Brighton on May 12th. Jay Hine, our IT Director, will be manning the stand for the day. Please feel free to come and have a chat (and grab some freebies!).
Warning: Locky virus encrypts local files
Locky Virus, a new ransomeware threat Please be aware that there is a new variant of ransomware doing the rounds. This is called Locky and, as with other ransomware, it encrypts all the files not only on the PC but also on any mapped drives on servers. Once the files are encrypted the only way to get them back is … Read More
How to stop Windows 10 automatic upgrades
Don’t switch off half way through the Upgrade! Upgrading to Windows 10 can be of benefit to a lot of people. However, if you are running a small network with various bits of 3rd party software you may not want the upgrade to take place.Microsoft have created a small program that now sits in the Taskbar (see above image) asking … Read More
GDBA 2016 – It’s almost time to announce our winner!
It’s almost time for us to announce our winner! As some of you may know, this year we are proudly sponsoring the award for Digital Marketing Business of the Year at the 2016 Gatwick Diamond Business Awards. It’s been a far more interesting journey that we expected when we set out. We’ve meet some great people with genuine passion for … Read More
Windows PC in a stick
The ultimate in PC portability If you are someone who gives training or demos to either existing or potential clients have a look at this neat bit of kit. This is basically a complete PC in a stick. It has a Windows operating system, Bluetooth for a Keyboard and Mouse and a Wi-Fi connector to attach to either a client’s … Read More