Information technology (IT) systems are expected to meet high standards of operation, while offering 24/7 availability, security, and performance. In today’s environment, you have to keep pace with the constant changes in IT, performance demands, and pressure to...
Portland IT Support Articles & Business Tech News
Cybersecurity, M365, Managed IT Services, AI, & Technology Trends for Portland Businesses
Patch Right and Keep Hackers Out
In the arms race between network administrators and hackers, battles are fought over the security holes in enterprise software. Your best defence is the patches that vendors release to plug those holes. Vendors are working to make patching easier and more trustworthy...
Computers: Is Consumer Grade Enough for Your Business?
Sure, it's enticing. You’ll save money right now if you run out to your local big box store or hop online and purchase that computer or that combo firewall/wireless router that's on sale. But is that money saved really worthwhile for your business in the long...
Disaster Recovery Solutions—More Accessible, and More Necessary, Than Ever Before
used with permission from the Microsoft Small Business Site Very few of us would hide our life savings under our mattress with confidence that those funds would remain safe and sound. Financial institutions provide us with a plethora of options for the...
Google says you should use SSL on your website
Google announced that websites that use SSL (https) encryption will now be rewarded with better search engine ranking. Right now, the effect is minimal, but over time this will become more important to your SEO efforts. The message is if you aren't using SSL now, time...
The taste of satisfaction sure is sweet.
We love our customers and the things they do for us, even more so when it fills our bellies! SpireTech was contacted by a client who was unable to resolve their problem through their normal support contacts, and really needed someone who knew their stuff and...
Private Cloud Drive & Server Promotion
Editor's note: This post is from 2013 and describes a service SpireTech no longer offers. Free server promotion on our Private Cloud Drive and Servers starts Monday 12/16/2013. Offer good through Jan 31, 2014. Quantities are limited, so act now. See flyer or...
APC recalling 15 million surge strips
APC is recalling 15 million computer surge strips due to fire hazard. These were very popular and there is a very good chance you own one! If you have one that looks like this, turn it over and check the model number and year of manufacture from this table and submit...
Don’t wait until it breaks to upgrade
I'd like some of our clients to give serious consideration to retiring some aging hardware and software that is still out there: Server 2003 and Windows XP. Microsoft is ending support for XP on April 8, 2014. I still see hundreds of XP systems out there on...
Considering year end IT upgrades?
Now is the time to have that chat with your CPA to see if spending any of your hard-earned profit this year may help lower your tax 2013 liability. In our case, we "saved" about 1/3 the cost on our taxes by spending some of it this year. The IRS ratchets up the...
How to detect phishing emails and spam
After some recent discussions with some clients and family, it occurred to me that many people still have questions about how to tell "fake" emails from real ones - so I thought it might be a good time to point out some sure-fire ways to know when to hit that delete...
Impressions of a Windows 8 Tablet vs Apple iPad
I own two tablet devices. I have had an iPad for years, and a couple of weeks ago I was given a Windows 8 tablet (a Lenovo Thinkpad 2). I purchased the keyboard dock for the ThinkPad, which also came with a nice optical pointing device that is very similar...
Unique “Local” Cloud Storage Service for Business Launched by Spire Technologies, Inc.
Editor's note: This post is from 2013 and describes a service SpireTech no longer offers. Local file server replacement, collaboration capabilities among benefits of PortlandCloud.com Portland, OR - August 14, 2013 SpireTech, a 20-year old Portland-based IT company,...
The dark side of Internet search
The Internet search engine Shodan has made a splash by getting a spotlight on multiple blogs and sites like CNN this month. There is a lot of sniffing and crawling that happens on the internet; Shodan's niche is the darker side of the internet - sites that aren't...
A month after the upgrade to Windows 8
A little over a month ago, my notebook crashed with a corrupted hard drive after an improper shutdown. I decided to take the plunge and go to Windows 8 instead of re-installing Windows 7 and all of my programs, because I had a good backup of all my...
Do you have an old file server?
Editor's note: This post is from 2013 and describes a service SpireTech no longer offers. During the economic downturn, many of our clients deferred server upgrades for longer than is wise or recommended. Now that the worst of the recession seems over, many...
