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Windows 10 End-of-Life & Windows 11 Preview : What this means for your business

July 2, 2021by Euclid Networks in Atlanta, How-To, Windows 10, Windows 11, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows XP

Microsoft announced recently that Windows 10’s End-of-Life date is set for October 14th, 2025. As a business owner, the practical impacts of this announcement can be difficult to sort out – but not to worry – Euclid Networks is here to help you sort it out!

October 14th, 2025 will will mark just over 10 years since Microsoft’s Windows 10 operating system was first introduced – we know, we know – we can’t believe it has been that long either. With the recent announcement of Windows 11 however, it’s important to get ahead of the game when planning your long term IT budget, and equipment upgrade paths.

Windows 11 promises to be a meaningful upgrade from 10, more tightly integrating with MS’s cloud service offerings.

The majority of our clients have moved on to Windows 10 for their OS, and are covered by our proactive patching and updating service – but for those who still haven’t, now is the time to make the switch. As Windows 10 and Windows 11 share the same “DNA”, upgrading from 10 to 11 promises to be much simpler than an upgrade from – for example, Windows 7, or Win XP.

Win 10 End-of-Life : What it means for your business

Once Windows 10 reaches its end-of-life, the operating system will no longer receive important security updates, or new features via patches. As it will have reached the end of its cycle, 3rd party software vendors will also begin phasing out their support for the operating system, meaning new versions of those programs will default to Windows 11 as their recommended platform.

As an IT support provider, we can’t stress enough how important keeping current on security updates is, for the protection of your business’ data, and overall network. The #1 avenue for malware and ransomware attacks is through outdated software. Outdated software can potentially cost your business tens, or hundreds of thousands of dollars in remediation and lost revenue.

Ransomware in 2020 : At a glance (source : Nationwide)

» The average enterprise ransom payment is $111,605.

» 205,280 organizations were affected by ransomware attacks in 2019.

» The average cost for victims of ransomware attacks to recover more than doubled in the final quarter of 2019. According to a new report from Coveware, a typical total now stands at $84,116. That’s a little over double the previous figure of $41,198.

Windows 11 : What’s New?

Start Menu : Windows 11 has a new, simplified Start menu. Live tiles are gone, replaced with a list of app icons and recent files. Documents you edit in Office apps on other devices—even devices that aren’t running Windows—will appear as recent files here, too, thanks to Microsoft 365. Don’t have Microsoft 365 yet? We can help – contact us today!

Multi-App & Multi-Monitor Support : Windows 11 also features “Snap Groups”, which helps organize your windows, as you multi-task. Selecting a single taskbar icon will now pull up a group of snapped apps. Also, when using Windows 11 on a tablet, windows that are side-by-side will automatically stack on top of each other when you change the device’s orientation.

Multiple monitors support is improving also, with a “new docking and undocking experience.” When you unplug a monitor, the windows on the monitor will minimize themselves rather than getting in the way. When you reconnect the monitor, Windows will automatically restore the windows to their original positions on that monitor.

Widgets and MS Teams on the Taskbar

Tighter integration with Microsoft 365 and Redmond’s cloud offerings, means integrations with its services like Microsoft Teams and Onedrive will be built directly into the Windows 11 task-bar. We’ve seen iterations of this pop up in the latest Windows 10 updates, but as MS moves forward, expect the benefits of using Microsoft’s cloud offerings for your business to increase!

& More!

Details are forthcoming, but stay tuned – Microsoft has planned to begin rolling out Windows 11 as soon as this fall – expect to begin seeing it on new devices soon.

About Euclid Networks

Euclid Networks is an IT support provider that brings a fresh, proactive approach to your business computing needs. We serve a wide variety of Atlanta area businesses, including Legal Firms, Healthcare Providers, Non-Profits, and Professional Services Providers.

Our experience in the technology industry and dedication to personalized service sets us apart. We’re real people, who care about tech support.

Here’s What We Know About WannaCry / WannaCrypt / Wcry Ransomware

May 15, 2017by Euclid Networks in Atlanta, Networking, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Server, Windows XP

Over the weekend, businesses, institutions, and individuals in 12+ countries have fallen victim to a ransomware program known as “WannaCrypt”, or a variant thereof. For those unaware, WannaCry is fast-spreading form of malware that remotely targets nearby computers running on unpatched or unsupported versions of Windows.

Once infected, computers with this malware being encrypting all the user files they can find on the network, displaying a red ransom note (below) demanding $300 for a decryption key, with the cost increasing as time goes on.

From a technical perspective, the malware spreads via SMB – that is the Server Message Block protocol – typically used by Windows machines to communicate with file systems over a network.

Microsoft released a fix for the exploits (MS17-010, used as a part of its March “Patch Tuesday” release), but unpatched Windows systems remain vulnerable. If you are certain your PCs were updated after March 28th, you should be safe – if you’re unsure and would like to schedule an assessment, please contact us today!

 

Euclid Network’s Partner Update

For current partners of Euclid Networks, our proactive monitoring and maintenance software ensures all computers on service plans have critical Microsoft patches regularly reviewed, whitelisted by our partner NOC, and deployed to our client’s machines. We strongly believe in a proactive approach to IT Support, and ensuring software is up to date on business systems is our top priority.

Due to the seriousness of this particular outbreak, we are also manually reviewing our partner’s machines to ensure Microsoft security bulletin MS17-010 has been implemented across the board.

Additionally, our Antivirus partner, Webroot, has announced they have deployed preventative measures for this ransomware – and our partners using Dell Sonicwall Firewalls with Comprehensive Gateway Security Suite licenses should rest assured they have another layer of protection, with Sonicwall having discovered this malware and its variants as of mid-April.

 

Your Mitigation Strategies for Ransomware : Backup

In today’s technology environment, having good preventative measures in place is only the first step to having a comprehensive disaster plan in place.

Ideally, you want to have a 3-2-1 backup strategy in place. This means having at least 3 total copies of your data, 2 of which are local but on different physical devices (such as external storage drives) and 1 of which is offsite – preferably cloud based, with versioning capabilities.

If you don’t have a backup strategy in place, or want to re-evaluate your current plan, please contact Euclid Networks for a consultation!

If you’re unsure of how to assess your current needs, just consider your ability to recover from the following scenarios:

  1. All your files become corrupted (or encrypted) and replicated to your backup devices before anyone realizes.
  2. You have backup on one machine or server which is protected, but envision other devices that can communicate with your machine, and how they might be affected by the spread of malware.
  3. Envision a scenario where all your physical devices have been stolen, or your home or business is subject to fire or flood.

Resilience against all of the above scenarios is not difficult, but it takes careful planning, and continually reassessing your technology environment!

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Windows 8.1 Update 1 released, Official MS Support for XP Ends

April 8, 2014by Euclid Networks in Atlanta, Windows 8, Windows XP

Today marked two important milestones for business Windows users – the release of Windows 8.1 Update 1 (KB2919355), and the official end of Microsoft support for Windows XP as of April 8th. If your company is still actively using Windows XP, contact us to learn more about what this means for your office’s computers.

Windows 8.1 Update 1 includes some relatively major changes – concessions for folks not using the operating system with a touchscreen. Most notably, the “Start Menu” has been more widely embraced – something MSFT has been reluctant to do, and an option business users have been demanding. Now, even when modern ‘metro’ style apps are in use, the taskbar remains visible. For multi-tasking business users, this feature was sorely missing.

taskbar-improvements-windows-8.1-update

As well, there are updates for the metro style interface – bringing some of the ‘hidden’ right sidebar features (such as search) out into the open. This has been, in our experience, one of the biggest confusing factors for new Windows 8.1 users.

start-screen-revised-small

For our Atlanta business IT support partners running Windows 8.1, rest assured we’ll be rolling this patch out ASAP! For those holding off on upgrading to Microsoft’s latest operating system, this is a small step in the right direction.

Finally, we’ve made some updates of our own to euclidnet.com – We’ve added a dynamic feed of our latest Facebook posts, and our latest Twitter posts, under our ‘about us‘ section. If you haven’t already, remember to Like us on facebook and Follow us on twitter to stay current on one of Atlanta’s best IT support providers, and our tech-tips blog.

How to : Quickly open a command prompt at a location using the Windows Explorer address bar

March 7, 2014by Euclid Networks in How-To, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows XP

Ever needed to quickly open a command prompt at a particular location on your hard drive? In the regular course of providing tech support for our Atlanta business partners, we use this quick trick on an almost daily basis.

Simply type ‘cmd’ into your address bar, and voilà – a command prompt at your computer’s current location – in this case c:\Windows.

2014-03-07 tech support command prompt

 

Ridiculously simple, but something many folks don’t know! You can also open any number of other programs in the same manner – the address bar functions in basically the same way as the search dialog in the Windows 7 start menu.

If we’ve helped you out, we’d love to hear from you in the comments below.

Advisory : Microsoft ending support for XP computers and Office 2003 on April 8th, 2014

January 21, 2014by Euclid Networks in Atlanta, Excel 2003, News / Blog, Windows XP, Word 2003

If you haven’t yet heard, Microsoft is formally ending support for computers running Windows XP, and Office 2003  on April 8th, 2014. Although this date has been announced for some time, we know a considerable number of people who still rely on systems using XP. Read more to find out about what this means to your organization.

2014-01-21 16_51_45-Support ends in 2014 for Windows XP and Office 2003!

Windows XP End-of-Life : What changes?

Although formal support will end for XP and Office 2003, systems will continue running indefinitely. The main changes to expect with XP’s end-of-life event are :

  1. No further operating system patches – Patches keep Windows up to date and at least reasonably protected from malicious attacks. With no further updates being released by Microsoft, XP and Office will become increasingly insecure and vulnerable to 3rd party malware and viruses.
  2. Microsoft Security Essentials will be discontinued for XP – Microsoft’s widely used anti-virus program, and its underlying “Windows Defender” software will no longer be updated. Paired with a lack of new operating system patches, this will only make XP even less attractive to the businesses which rely on it. Luckly (and somewhat bewilderingly), Microsoft just announced (Jan 15, 2014) they would continue releasing updates for MSE until July 14th, 2015.

Analysis and Next Steps

So, what is a responsible business owner to do? The answer, we think, is not simple. A great number of the world’s computers (an estimated 28%) still rely on XP. Integrated systems also tend to rely on XP, as it is a proven and stable development platform. Practically all U.S. ATMs, for instance, are reported to use the operating system. So, the chance Microsoft will extend support for XP is likely – a notion their Jan 15th announcement supports. And others in the community have expressed their disbelief about the true impact of XP’s ‘death’ as well.

But, all the same – while we won’t preach doom and gloom – it does make sense to begin migrating critical business systems from XP to a newer operating system – and of course, we’re here to help.

Deleting files from old Offline File Cache in Windows 7 or XP

December 10, 2013by Euclid Networks in Networking, SBS 2008, Windows 7, Windows Server, Windows XP

As network support providers, we frequently come across come across scenarios where a computer on a business domain has a user profile that has old Offline File Cache data in it. Typically, the user account has moved to a new domain, or is pointing to an old server path, no longer in use. This can happen if the user account has redirected folders enabled on the My Documents or Desktop folders – and the server is no longer in use, or unreachable. This can result in low disk space, or in many cases, duplicate files.

You also may need to delete your offline file cache if you are receiving the error message : “Unable to merge offline changes on \\server_name\share_name. The parameter is incorrect.” in your sync center.

Fortunately, the fix is relatively simple.

Windows 7

Open an elevated command prompt (Start -> type CMD in search box -> Right Click, Run as Administrator)

type : “REG ADD “HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\CSC\Parameters” /v FormatDatabase /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f”

Reboot computer – the Client Side Cache will be cleared on your next login.

THIS WILL DELETE ALL CACHED OFFLINE FILES – DATA WILL NOT BE RECOVERABLE, ENSURE YOU HAVE BACKUPS IN PLACE.

Microsoft’s Notes :

Make sure that files are synchronized before you add this registry entry. Otherwise, unsynchronized changes will be lost.
The actual value of the new registry key is ignored.
This registry change requires a restart. When the computer is restarting, the shell will re-initialize the CSC cache, and then delete the registry key if the registry entry exists.

Windoes 7 Reference : http://support.microsoft.com/kb/942974

 

If you have Windows XP, follow this procedure : http://support.microsoft.com/kb/230738

Windows won’t start after Microsoft Update installation

October 17, 2013by Euclid Networks in Atlanta, Hardware & Drivers Issues, SBS 2008, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Server, Windows XP

Windows won’t start after update installation

This is a common problem we run in to while providing IT support with older computers. After applying a Microsoft Update patch, windows will partially boot, or not boot at all. Most of the times, windows will boot to its start screen, with a message similar to the below :

“Configuring Windows updates… 90% complete… Do not turn off your computer.”

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