Today’s post is brought to you by the physical security side of me. There are days when I just don’t feel like waiting for the coffee maker, so I stop at a local coffee shop on the way in to work. Today, I noticed something next to me that just made me shake my head. While I love Beaverton, it’s not a perfect place with no crime. I’ve lived all over the world – I have yet to find that “perfect” place.

Anyway, when I pulled up to the coffee shop, this is the exact view I had while stepping out of the Protocol16 truck.

This laptop was left in a vehicle, where it could have been easily snatched by nearly anyone willing to break a window out - or simply open the door.

In Germany, this situation is a legal one as well. The law there states that this is “temptation of theft”. That means that any would-be thief can actually sue YOU for tempting him/her to steal your property.

I understand that you can’t watch your belongings 24/7. I know that there are times when you must leave things, like laptops, in your car, but don’t do it like this. The rear of this vehicle was tinted. Simply placing it in the back seat would have been 100 times better than this. Under the seat is an even better option, but in a bag, or with something covering it is probably best.

Please be careful with your laptops, especially when it comes to physical security. Something like this takes seconds to disappear and it can have such a profoundly negative effect on your life, it’s not worth doing.
Justin

Every business needs to change to survive. Change is something everyone is use to, but typically hates.

We think this will be a good change, and one that we’re doing proactively. In fact, we don’t need to do this to survive, we’re just doing it to be a little more customer friendly – although we’re already way up there on that “chart”.

Coming this weekend, is a change that will cause an up-roar in the competition. They’ll complain to friends and family, to each other, and I’m sure us – but hey, adapt or get out of the industry, right?

So, watch the blog for more info!
Justin

Unless you were living under a rock last night, you noticed the wind, rain and, for some of us, the power outages & brownouts. If you were under a rock, in a hill or were in a valley, I hope you missed all the “fun”…

Unfortunately, not everything survived the ordeal. We’ve fixed 2 dead computers this morning (as of 8:30AM) due to power surges when the electricity kicked back on after a quick brownout.

We always recommend surge protectors UPS’ for servers and important machines, and this is why. Fortunately, the fixes for these machines are VERY quick and we managed to get our customers running again with no major damage other than bad power supplies.

Please note: Power Strips are not surge protectors. They typically maintain a very small fuse that doesn’t help in these situations.

Computers that are left plugged in during storms can have various problems without a surge protector or UPS. If you have any questions, please let us know.
Justin

It’s no secret that one of Protocol16′s competitors is the Geek Squad, but what exactly is the “GS”? I spent some time this weekend researching their tools, how they hire and what their internal policies are – it’s always good to know your enemy… One of my “enemies”, in this instance, is just down the road… The Best Buy in Beaverton.

What I learned surprised me a lot. While I knew that I didn’t like how the service operated, I found out that there are some things that go on behind that scenes that make that feeling go from “didn’t like” to “disgusted”…

First, I knew GS’ prices are roughly TWICE those of Protocol16′s. While I don’t agree on some of their time estimates, most of our times do align, when you think of things in raw hours of required labor for a specific fix.

Now, some of you may have just found out that their pricing is roughly twice as much as ours, but how would you feel if you were charged that for an outsourced company to remotely work on your computer? That’s right, outsourced labor. GS runs a program called “Agent Jonny Utah” which is high-tech, internal, lingo for “outsourcer”. According to the article, they’re in India. Don’t know about you, but I’d want to talk to the guy that actually worked on my computer…

I managed to find some interesting material on this program as well. You would think it mentions things like “lower costs for customers” or “better quality”, but no. I discovered terms like “Better utilization of on-floor reps” and “gross margins” – it’s all about the money folks, not about the quality, not about your computer and not about you (except for your money).

I also found out during the course of my research that the GS uses “proprietary tools” to locate and destroy viruses and spyware. What that actually means is, they repackaged several antivirus tools into one package AND use a rebranded service for their remote work that many computer repair shops use, they’re just charging you MUCH more than any normal computer repair shop would for the same tools.

We’re about quality. We’re about welcoming you into our family and ensuring that everything runs right, not about the money. My goal when starting Protocol16 was to ensure that my customers were happy and that I’d eventually have a normal job that I felt was not going to affect how I slept at night. I’ve worked for far too many corporations that literally caused me to lose sleep at night.

I hate talking bad about any company, but the GS is the same type of company I left to start Protocol16.
Justin

An interesting thought came to me while I cracked open a 221 page security checklist for Server 2008 yesterday evening. It was nearly midnight, I had to be up by 6:30 the next morning, yet I just sat down to read a security guide that would make any normal person’s head spin. My wife describes these things as “worse than VCR and Stereo setup directions”, and perhaps, she’s right. It’s amazing how halfway through most of these guides, you find conflicting advice and information: “Open port X” then 30 pages later: “Close Port X” – which is it? These security guides can literally make you go cross eyed after about 100 pages.

I guess my point is, most technicians that pour their life into their business, even as an employee, and never really go home and relax. I have never been one to leave work at work and I’m certainly not going to stop now. If I can find something online late at night, that will either make my life easier or can save a customer some time and money, I’m going to take the time to study it.

On the note of always working. I was driving around Beaverton in the Protocol16 mobile computer repair truck and my wife and I pulled into a grocery store parking lot. I got all kinds of crazy looks… My guess was that it seems crazy that a repair truck would roll up to that grocery store, but that’s my mentality. If I’m out of the office and we get a call, I need to be prepared to go to that customer’s location to fix their problem. Why should my customer wait for me to drive back to the home office, grab the truck then head out to their office or home? In heavy traffic, that could be an extra 40 minutes or more. Unless they’re on the other side of the city, I would nearly be there by that time.

I guess that last paragraph says something as well. We are not a business that likes to schedule people into time slots. If we can do it right then and there, we’ll tell our customer that. I don’t know how many times I’ve been met with utter shock when I can tell a business that we’ll be there in a half hour. Your computers are important, why would you need to wait a day or two? I’ve personally been told that no one would be able to look at a computer for a week because one shop was “so busy”. My thoughts: hire more people… Perhaps I’m too deadset on providing quality to my customers instead of worrying about my profit margins.
Justin

In an attempt to make things easier for our visitors, Protocol16 made an update yesterday that some of you may have noticed: the chat feature on the bottom right of the website. We haven’t deployed it across the entire site yet (later today), but we’re always looking for ways to make the experience better for our visitors.

If you have any comments about the site or a feature you wish to see, let us know!
Justin

Today’s post is brought to you by the letter “C”. C is for Craigslist, where we found a posting for a competing company attempting to hire someone in the Portland Metro area. Oddly, while this story has been Q’d for awhile, a local competitor recently posted a very similar reaction to the same situation that I found.

While I won’t post the company advertising on Craigslist, the add location or the ad itself, I will post what I found.

This particular company is a local company that has a shop for computer repair on the west side. They advertise the same basic employee requirements (we actually require more) that Protocol16 does, but with a huge twist: their hourly rate.

The add that we found on Craigslist the other day was for Oregon minimum wage. The only type of person that this add attracts, at least in our experience in posting positions, are people with little to no experience.

As an IT professional, I wouldn’t have replied to this position since I know that the owner of the company was looking at taking advantage of the employee. I can also guess, just from the ad and the salary, that employee turnover is probably an issue as well.

While we have a low amount of employees, as a business owner, I make the decision on pricing that we pay for salaries. When I advertised a position over this summer, I posted a decent hourly wage – well over what most IT shops would pay. While I got a lot of qualified applicants (hundreds applied), I decided to wait since no one stuck out at me and I didn’t have an immediate need for someone – they would have just decreased my personal workload. That’s actually another thing that separates Protocol16 from other companies, we hire the best employees on our terms, not when our workload increases to the point of just needing to hire the first guy or girl that looks great on paper.

Perhaps my point is: Just because a business has a shop or looks professional, doesn’t mean you’re getting professional help, in the long run. Do you want someone learning on your computer? If you have a teenager working on your computer and you’re paying $100 an hour, there’s probably something wrong – don’t be afraid to ask for qualifications of people working on your computer!
Justin

In a horrible story for a business, crooks withdrew over half a million dollars in payroll funds by using check scams.

If you haven’t clicked the link, basically what happened is a company in Maine had over half a million dollars withdrawn online. The company used online banking with multiple security questions and still got hacked. Now, they’re on the line for over $300, with interest.

Officials believe that the crooks infected one or more computers with some type of key logging software and just watched. After that, they gained the account information as well as the answers to all the security questions.

This is the exact reason that many places, including Protocol16, recommend that your online banking should be handled by a computer that isn’t touched by people that browse the internet. If you log into a bank account online, either for home banking or for business payroll, you need to watch out.

We’ll always recommend that, if you have a payroll or computer that you access online banking with, that you use a computer that is updated on a normal basis, but not used for any other function, especially surfing the internet. This computer can be older, since it won’t be used for much other than basic accounting.

Please be careful out there…
Justin

A lot of people out in the Portland Metro area need computers recycled. In fact, even my father-in-law needed some computers recycled since he just didn’t want to throw the machines away – not to mention that it’s practicably illegal now (or is it?)… But, it can be very hard to get rid of these machines and some places even charge you for the removal of them. Not Protocol16.

Well, with that said, Protocol16 is offering Free PC recycling in the Portland Metro areas. This means that if you have a PC, or even 3, that you need to get rid of, give us a call and we’ll be more than happy to stop by and pick it up.

Why We Do It
Protocol16 recycles computers in Portland due to the fact that it helps the environment. Secondly, it’s because we can actually recycle the parts into repairs that we do on computers (we offer lower pricing for re-used parts, in specific situations). Third, helps a lot of people out with the problem of recycling their computer. Forth, some computers be worked into a donation program for various non-profits around the Portland Metro areas. These would be non-profits that need computers or hard drives (for storage space) in a very severe manner. We are still working on a list of possible candidates – we’ll publish a list when we set it in stone.

Like we’ve always said, we hope to leave every single customer with a smile on their face and this is something that helps everyone.

What We Take
First and foremost, we use computer parts. That being said, we primarily collect the computer towers and laptops – working or not. We will, however, accept Monitors and LCD screens, as long as they’re in working condition. We don’t mind scratches, chips, etc.

So, if you’d like your computer recycled, give us a call and let us know that you have a PC for pickup. We’ll make an appointment to collect them for you, at your convenience, no strings attached.

Requirements
If you wish to recycle your computer, just let us know and setup an appointment. Our only requirement is that you sign a slip stating that Protocol16 has taken the computer from you. We’ll write down a quick description and serial number, if we can find one, and just ask for your signature. It’s that simple!

Due to space requirements, we do have a maximum amount of computers that we can take: 3 full computers at once.

Contact Us
If you have a few computers that need to go away in Beaverton, Portland or even Woodburn, give us a call and we’ll make your appointment!
Justin

Today’s Post is Brought to You By the Letter V.

We all know there are viruses out there, at least we should. We also know that you should have your anti-virus software updated on a normal basis (you DID renew your anti-virus subscription, right???). Well, we see a lot of virus problems on top of spyware (spyware is a program that watches what you do, sending personal info across the internet, etc. It can also serve advertising up, and generally muck things up.) here in Portland and it’s a curious thing.

The number one call we receive is “My computer is slow, what can I do?” I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again: “It depends”. But, I will say that many times it turns out to be viruses and spyware on the computer. The easiest way to get rid of these programs is to use a program like SpyBot Search & Destroy or anti-virus software. While I use to recommend AVG for home users, I’m actually starting to change my mind.

Over the summer, it seems, the AVG Free Edition has been failing to catch many types of viruses. While I don’t like saying that out in the public eye, I see this more as a warning to those using it. Just be careful.

If you read the report on AV-Comparatives, you’ll see several anti-virus (ok, I’ll call them AV’s from here on out) companies that are reviewed. Unfortunately, AVG earned 1 out of 3 stars (there is a zero-star category too..) We’re currently working on yet another partnership with an un-named AV company that I feel is worth the installation. While I would love to talk about it for now, I can’t until we finalize everything. As always, if we partner up, that means we can pass on savings to our customers.

For now, I would renew your licenses for what you currently have installed. If you don’t have anything installed, read the report from the link above and decide for yourself which one you would like to install. If you want to skip through the rough stuff, scroll down to page 8 of the report for the ratings.

If you’ve got an infection that just won’t go away, we can help out with that as well since we have the software to help out. If your AV software is up-to-date and things are still slow, give us a call at 503-524-9047. We’ll be more than happy to help out.
Justin