7 Ways To Keep Your Company Computers In Top Shape

One of the largest investments facing any business owner is the purchase and maintenance of the company’s computer equipment. The days of getting by with aging, hand-me-down office equipment, and Jurassic-era computers are long gone. Today’s business environment demands top-of-the-line computer hardware and software. This kind of technology doesn’t come cheap, so you want to make sure that you get the maximum return on your investment by doing whatever is necessary to keep your company computers in top shape.

In this article, we will cover 7 crucial computer care steps you should be taking today to ensure that your company computers keep functioning at their best for as long as possible. 

1.   Install and USE Antivirus & Anti Malware Protection

IT experts report that issues related to viruses, malware, and spyware are responsible for around 80% of all unplanned downtime, costing the collective business world billions each year in lost productivity and IT costs. The best way to make sure that your business is not stuck footing the bill for IT mitigation, and forced downtime is to prevent your company’s computers from becoming infected in the first place. Installing the latest, and greatest antivirus and antimalware is a good first step. However, for a truly effective cybersecurity program, you need to take the time to ensure that every staff member is trained in the proper use of the programs, and kept in the loop on the latest cyber threats. It takes a vigilant effort on all fronts to protect your company’s computers and network from the ever-evolving array of malicious cyber villains. Considering the cost that one data breach can cost your company, and the damage that can be done to your company’s computers in a short amount of time, the investment in solid antivirus, and antimalware protection is well worth the cost.

2. Update Your Computer Software Programs

This one often slips through the cracks. It is easy to overlook the older, outdated, or obsolete software running on your computer. In fact, most business owners don’t discover that their company computers are running outdated software until a conflict inevitably develops between a newer program, or hardware upgrade and the outdated software. When this occurs it can bring your entire operation to a halt while you try to track down the errant piece of software that is at the root of the failure. You can keep your company computers running at peak efficiency and avoid any unexpected surprises by ensuring that your company computers are always running the latest versions of any installed software programs.

As an added note, outdated software is often targeted by bad actors who are able to exploit older versions of popular software programs to gain access to your computer system.

3. Upgrade Your Hardware

The importance of keeping your company computer upgraded are similar to the reasons that you need to keep your computer software up to date. That being said, your company’s computer hardware upgrades should extend beyond your company’s desktop computers or laptops. For optimum efficiency, you should make certain that all of your hardware from servers, to multifunction printers, modems, and more are upgraded regularly to ensure that you are using the latest technology. Upgrading your hardware regularly not only keeps your company computers running as smoothly, and quickly as possible, but also helps stave off attacks by bad actors who may be able to exploit known weaknesses in outdated hardware.

4. Leave Your Computer On At The End Of The Day

This one may seem a bit counterintuitive. After all, it seems reasonable to assume that if you want to prolong the life of your computers you should power them down whenever you are not using them. This is actually not the case. You may have noticed that your computer’s power menu features both a “shut down” and a “sleep” option. There is a good reason behind the inclusion of the “sleep” feature.

Computers are full of complex and delicate components that are very sensitive to changes in temperature and surges of electricity. When you power your computer down completely, all of these components switch off and their temperature drops to that of the ambient environment. When you return and power your computer back on each day, these delicate and sensitive components are shocked with both a surge of electricity and a rapid increase in temperature.

Going through this cycle every day can dramatically decrease the lifespan of the components inside your computer leading to more frequent computer repair service expenses and unexpected downtime. To prolong the life of your computers, use the sleep function to log out and dial down your computer’s function at the end of the day, rather than shutting your system down completely.  

5. Update Your Network Infrastructure

Business computers are generally connected to a broad network infrastructure made up of other computers, smart equipment, servers, and the internet. This means that should one computer or component become compromised, the virus or malware can quickly spread through your entire network like wildfire. You can prevent one compromised component from taking down your entire business computer system by beefing up the built-in defenses of your network infrastructure, and ensuring that all parts of your network are kept updated with the latest software and hardware.

While a solid firewall is an excellent start, you will want to make sure that your modems and servers are kept well-maintained and updated as well. Additionally, pay regular attention to the settings that you have implemented on your network infrastructure to ensure that they are providing adequate protection and that they have not been compromised either accidentally, or by a bad actor trying to create a backdoor into your system.

Choosing the optimum settings for your office computer network can be an intimidating task if you are not, particularly computer savvy, so you may want to consider consulting with a professional computer repair service or network security team for assistance in setting up the proper protection.

6. Don’t Neglect Physical Protection

This one is a bit of a no-brainer. If you want to ensure that your business computers last as long as possible make sure that you are providing the best physical protection possible for each computer, and computer component. As we discussed earlier, computers are made up of a variety of delicate, and sensitive components. These components are exceedingly fragile and have rough handling, or the rigors of regular use can damage these pieces leading to a call to a computer repair service.

You can help prolong the time between computer repair service visits by providing and using physical protection devices to guard your business computer equipment against accidental damage. Surge protectors and spill guards should be installed to protect equipment used on location.

Laptop computers and smart devices that travel with employees in the field need even greater physical protection. Laptops should be protected by waterproof laptop cases when not in use. For the best protection choose hard-sided cases whenever possible. Smart devices, including mobile phones, tablets, and other sensitive equipment should be protected with shock-resistant cases, and screen protectors.

The best physical protection does not come cheap, and it can seem like a daunting expense when you must supply protective casing for a business full of equipment. However, when compared to the cost of replacement for broken computers and devices, physical protection is well worth the initial price.

7. Partner With A Professional Computer Repair Service

One of the best ways to ensure that your business computers stay in tip-top shape for as long as possible is to ensure that your team with a top computer repair service with the experience, and knowledge to keep your entire business network, and all of your computer equipment running smoothly.

Partnering with a professional computer repair service to provide regular maintenance and repair for your office computer equipment can help you catch small issues and correct them before they have a chance to metastasize into larger problems that can threaten your entire computer network infrastructure.

A reputable computer repair service, like one of our recommended computer repair services, Boxaid, will help you set up the needed protections to ensure that your computers are safe from viruses, malware, and spyware, as well as other outside cybersecurity threats. They will work with you to make certain that your computer software and hardware are kept up to date, and advise you when new equipment may be needed to better protect your system. Finally, by partnering with a computer repair service, you have the peace of mind of knowing that when you do require an immediate fix for a faltering computer, help is just a phone call away.

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If you are looking for a solid computer repair service to protect your investment, reach out to Boxaid today. With more than 15 years of computer repair service industry experience, and thousands of 5-star reviews you can rest assured that Boxaid has the expertise needed to keep your business computers operating at their prime.