If you’ve been following this blog at all in the past year, then you know that here at AGT Computers, Ltd., we have been big cheerleaders for the new Windows 10 operating system. We love the new Edge browser which allows users to quickly navigate the web and make notes directly onto web pages and share with friends. We love the new personal assistant Cortana which lets users highlight web text and ask for more information. Microsoft wasn’t quite done with new innovations with the system for 2015, however, and the company will soon be rolling out Window 10 phones, hopefully starting next month. With the upcoming Windows 10 phone a new adapter will be available which will turn that smart phone into a working computer. Microsoft likes to refer to their new phone as a PC in your pocket.

With the display adapter, users can plug in a mouse and keyboard and harness the power of Windows 10 without lugging around a laptop. This portable PC enables the use of all the shortcuts you can take on a PC installed with Windows. Take your new phone, either a Lumia 950 or 906 XL, and connect it to the display dock and you are ready to use your favorite applications like Microsoft Office and Outlook.

While the new Windows 10 phones will be released in November, the Windows 10 update may take another month before it is available. Installing the update requires 8GM of internal memory and a Lumia 950 or 950 XL phone. These phones will include a 5.2 inch display and a hexa-core Qualcomm processor for the 950 and a 5.7 inch display and a octa-core Qualcomm processor for the 950 XL.

Check back for updates on these new Windows phones and until then remember that at AGT Computer, we are here to help with all of your computing needs. This includes repairs to laptop, desktops, tablets and smartphones. We can help you install the Windows 10 operating system, as well as software updates. AGT Computers serves the Blackpool, Lancashire, Fylde, Lytham and surrounding areas with cloud storage, cyber security and system upgrades. We are a Microsoft Silver Partner for Small and Midmarket solutions and can work with you to meet all of your personal computer or company’s IT needs.

Summer is finally here and at AGT Computer Services, Ltd. we want to help you celebrate the season with some great deals on Antivirus Protection and Internet Security. In today’s tech savvy world, hackers have become more ingenious in figuring out ways to get at your sensitive data. Likewise, viruses and malware have become even more sophisticated in the ways in which they can attack computer systems. You need to protect yourself and data against these cyber threats and now is the perfect time to do it while saving yourself some money in the bargain.

At AGT, we are offering Panda Antivirus Pro 2015 for £24.99 and Panda Internet Security 2015 for £34.99. We are also offering free installation that can be performed remotely or at one of our locations in Blackpool, Lytham or St. Annes.

Get Panda Antivirus Pro for £24.99, with free installation, and protect yourself from cyber threats. Included in the package is antivirus protection, Wi-Fi protection, firewall protection and a special emergency rescue kit. Panda Antivirus Pro is fast and effective and once it is installed on your computer you can rest assured you will be receiving the best protection against Internet threats and malware in realtime. Also included is a bidirectional firewall that keeps your Wi-Fi network safe. Share photos and videos and surf the web worry-free. Antivirus Pro also helps protect against identity theft and other forms of on-line fraud such as phishing attacks. The rescue kit offers unlimited usage for you and your family with safe-mode computer disinfectant.

Panda Internet Security 2015 is available for £34.99 and offers the same protection as Antivirus Pro Plus but also offers on-line backups and parental control features. Safeguard data and backup those important files while protecting your family from inappropriate content.

Virus Protection	✓	✓
Firewall	✓	✓
Wi-Fi Protection	✓	✓
Parental Control		✓
Online Backup		✓
Panda Price	£32.99	£40.99
AGT Price	£24.99	£34.99

At AGT Computer Services, we can help you or your business with all your IT support and computer hardware and software needs. We also offer computer repair services at our three locations. If you live in Blackpool, Lytham, Preston, Fylde or the surrounding area, give us a call. We are a Microsoft Silver Partner for Small and Midmarket solutions and can work with you to meet all of your personal computer or company’s IT needs.

Credit card fraud is a major issue that has been plaguing merchants for years. The theft of credit card numbers and other sensitive personal data costs businesses and their customers millions of pounds annually. As technology advances to thwart the efforts of would-be thieves, so does the technology hackers use to breach security and steal this information. As larger corporations make headway in credit card theft prevention, many hackers now focus their efforts on smaller business who may not have the financial resources to properly protect their systems at the level of the bigger companies. The good news is, that theft prevention does not have to be a huge expense.

With the majority of attacks focusing on small business, there has been an increase in need for these companies to become PCI compliant. PCI or PCI DSS, is the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard and it is a set of requirements that can help businesses, both large and small, protect the sensitive data they store. By maintaining a secure environment for the processing, storage and transmittal of payment card information, companies can protect their customers as well as their own bottom line.

All companies in the UK, regardless of size, sales, or amount of employees, if they accept credit card payment, must be PCI compliant. The cost of not becoming PCI compliant can be monetary penalties, legal fees and the termination of the ability to accept credit cards. This is not to mention the cost in lost sales, customers and a damaged reputation.

Becoming PCI compliant can be a simple process. AGT can help identify the types of cardholder data your business is processing and storing. We can assess and take inventory of the data and troubleshoot for any vulnerabilities in the system. We can fix potential breaches and advise you on the proper steps necessary to remediate the problem.

At AGT Computer Services we can help your business become PCI compliant. For as little as £45.00, AGT can get you set up or we can conduct a full-site survey and offer a free estimate of the cost to get your business fully compliant.  If you have a business in Blackpool, Lytham, Preston, Fylde or the surrounding area, give us a call. We are a Microsoft Silver Partner for Small and Midmarket solutions and can work with you to meet all of your personal computer or company’s IT needs.

There are many reasons to outsource your IT needs. For many small businesses there comes a time when their IT needs grow beyond their in-house capabilities. In the ever changing area of Information Technology, sometimes companies struggle to stay on top of upgrades and new software applications. The answer for many lies in the outsourcing of these IT needs to a reliable third-party resource like AGT Computer Services.

There are many benefits to be gained by outsourcing IT for everything from database and application management to data storage and troubleshooting technical issues. Many IT Directors may feel that outsourcing is an indictment of their talents and may be a blow to their ego, but it can actually free up their time and resources so they can be better used on expanding the business as a whole. While an in-house team may feel they can handle any problem that comes their way, or they may feel uneasy about surrendering control to an outside entity, the benefits can far outweigh any of the perceived drawbacks. One of the biggest reasons to outsource IT services is simple economics. Outsourcing saves companies money. 

When a business outsources their IT needs to a company like AGT, they will start to see savings on the cost of hardware maintenance and are also guaranteed to have quick access to new applications as they become available. They stay current on upgrades as well. By outsourcing some or all of these tech services, businesses can make their IT costs more predictable and therefore more manageable. Companies can also avoid paying high licensing costs on software applications.

When employees leave the company this can many times leave employers in the lurch until they find a suitable replacement, which can be challenging enough. When you outsource your services to a trusted company like AGT Computer Services, our knowledge and expertise doesn’t walk out the door. Consequently, your business can spend less time training staff and more time moving the company forward. Recruitment and training costs are lowered as well as the training time necessary to learn upgrades and new applications. An outsourced IT team can work in tandem with in-house employees to form a solid team while taking up less space and other resources. A third party support team can provide assistance at all hours and can help business owners rest a little easier at night knowing they are protected around the clock. We can solve problems quickly and remotely.

Many companies are not able, or even willing to outsource all of their IT needs, and that’s fine. Whatever the company is comfortable with, there is a solution. If you think your company might be ready to outsource some or all of their IT needs, AGT is ready to discuss what we can do to serve you. If you have a goal in mind, let us know and we can help you reach it. At AGT Computer Services we provide IT support and cloud storage to our customers in the Blackpool, Lancashire, Lytham and Fylde areas. We allow your employees to focus on your business while we focus on your IT issues.

Now hold on a minute, back up. We couldn’t let such an important event as World Backup Day go by without mentioning it. World Backup Day commences on 31st March this year which gives us an opportunity to remind both individuals and business owners about the importance of backing up their files. It is estimated that as much as 30 percent of computer users have never backed up their files. Ever. If a disaster struck that left their hard drives permanently disabled, how could they ever recover their files? They couldn’t, and as a result they would lose family photos, important documents and other files they will be hard pressed to replace. This is bad enough for an individual, but if you’re a business, you can’t afford to lose your customers’ data, or your own for that matter. It is absolutely necessary to perform regular system backups to protect yourself and others.

You never know when a disaster may strike. It could be a case of severe weather that floods equipment, or an electrical storm that causes damage to a network — even a flood could sink your data files. It’s hard to put a monetary value on all that lost data, but it would be quite expensive. To combat this, all of your system software and information should be backed up on a regular basis. Performing a cloud backup is well advised, and using a professional service such as AGT Computer Services can help safeguard your systems. USB hard drives and rotating hard drives may not offer enough protection by themselves. Even using a fireproof safe to protect a portable drive may not be enough to protect against damage entirely. Storing files in the cloud is added protection from any harmful event that may occur. A cloud backup can either involve a subscription backup service or an off-site FTP server with the backup performed over the Internet.

World Backup Day is a good time to start thinking about the future of data storage as well. Over the course of the next few years, data storage will be seeing a transition in format. 512-byte sector hard disk drives will be changing over to 4,096-byte sector drives. This may present an issue with users of Microsoft’s Small Business Server 2011. This sector, also known at 4K or 4KB, is more reliable and has an increased capacity, but this may cause issues with compatibility in current software applications and operating systems. If you use Windows operating systems it will be important to stay on top of this issue to ensure a smooth transition.

While World Backup Day may serve as a reminder of the importance of performing backups, but this should not be considered an annual event. Small businesses should be backing up their files continuously. If you operate a business in Blackpool, Preston or Lytham, contact AGT Computer Services to find out how we can help you protect your systems and data. Everyone who uses a computer should consider every day to be World Backup Day. We do.