laptop battery
By admin Productivity 0 Comments

How to increase laptop battery life: five battery-saving tips

You’re at the café. You’ve got your coffee. And your muffin. You’re ready to work! But then you open your laptop and… your battery is almost dead. This time you might need to be that person, with your cord snaking between chair legs. But follow these high-yield, low-effort hacks and you’ll not only have tip-top power for your next café visit, but you’ll also be extending the overall life of your laptop battery. 

Avoid 0%

If possible, avoid draining your battery below a 20% charge. As long as your laptop is running on a lithium-ion battery (which most modern laptops do), it’s best practice to charge before your battery is completely drained. This hack will extend the life of your battery, as usage with a low charge puts a strain on the battery itself, and eventually reduces its charging capacity.

Takeaway: plug your laptop in while there is still some juice left.

Use power saver mode

When your laptop is unplugged, switching to battery saver mode will reduce the display brightness, prevent some background downloads/syncing and suspend most background apps. Unless you’re completing tasks that require a lot of battery power (editing videos, for example), you shouldn’t notice too much difference in overall performance. You can also tweak your settings manually to meet your needs – search for ‘Power Options’ on Windows machines and ‘Energy Saver’ if you are using macOS.

Takeaway: know your energy-saving options and use them when appropriate.

Streamline your workflow

Think of your laptop like a house, leaving six or seven apps open when you’re not using them is like leaving that many lights on in empty rooms. Try to minimise your open applications to just one or two – and check in Task Manager that you don’t have apps running unnecessarily in the background. If you don’t need the connectivity, disabling wi-fi and/or Bluetooth will reduce your power usage even more.

Takeaway: close unused apps and use Airplane mode if possible.

Ensure airflow and avoid overheating

Despite the name, laptops are designed to be used on a hard surface – this ensures airflow for the vents that pull in cool air and expel warm air, keeping your machine at an even temperature. Heat is the enemy of your device – affecting not only short-term life, but also longer-term battery health. Avoid placing your laptop in locations prone to heating up; don’t leave it in the car, for instance, or in direct sunlight.

Takeaway: Aim for cool environs and keep your laptop off your lap!

Stay up to date

Updating your operating system has all sorts of benefits – not the least is that patches and upgrades can help programs run more efficiently, conserving battery power. It’s best to schedule these processes only when you’re plugged in, though, as software updates can quickly suck battery life.

Takeaway: Don’t ignore software update notifications; do update software when plugged in.

Contact Geelong’s laptop repair and sales specialists

The strategies outlined will help you make the most of the battery you have. However, if you’re concerned about the health of your laptop battery, or you’re in the market for a new laptop, the team at Geelong Technology Group are here to help. We are experienced in laptop evaluations and repairs for both Windows and Apple machines, and we’re committed to providing the best customer service when it comes to sales.

 

Give us a call or drop by our specialised service center and showroom to chat in person:

 

📞 1300 GET GTG (1300 438 484)

📧 support@geelongtechnology.com.au

📍 166 Francis St, Belmont

cybersecurity awareness training
By admin Computer Security • 0 Comments

Cybersecurity awareness training: how often is often enough?

You’ve finally put together a gun team. Everyone is firing on all cylinders, despite the stress and upheavals of the past few years. The very last thing you need is one of your employees falling for a phishing attack that results in a costly ransomware infection. But how often should you be implementing cybersecurity awareness and phishing training? Is there a golden training window that will keep your staff alert but not alarmed?

Phishing training every four months

Research has shown that the cybersecurity training sweet spot is once every four months. Any sooner and you’ll be rehashing information that your staff already know – a loss of efficiency. Too much later and the ability to detect phishing emails, mastered through initial training, begins to wane – a possible loss of much more.

Why ongoing cybersecurity training is important

Looking at cybersecurity training as a set-and-forget option is no option at all. As we noted in our recent blog about the possible cybersecurity mistakes businesses can make, developing a sustainable company culture of good cybersecurity is one of the strongest ways to protect your business assets and data. A good employee training program that focuses on everyday ‘cyber hygiene’ will instil confidence in your staff that they know what to look for and what your company’s cybersecurity protocols and procedures require. Well-trained employees significantly reduce a company’s risk – and routine training reinforcement will reduce that risk even more. Regular training is also good for staff morale and mental health: more knowledge = individual empowerment = a lower likelihood of making mistakes = less stress.

Effective cybersecurity training

Successful cybersecurity training will target your employee’s habits and behaviours, creating a sense of accountability and ensuring they make the right decision when it comes to protecting sensitive corporate information and assets. No longer just your employees, cyber-aware staff members become your company’s first line of defence against cyberattacks. Effective training should include:

 

  • The various types of cybersecurity threats, particularly those that utilise social engineering as a means of bypassing tech-based defences
  • The significance of password security
  • Your company’s internet, email and social media policies
  • Your company’s policies on the protection of business data
  • Methods to not only identify threats but also to report them (the last thing you want is possible cybersecurity threats swept under the metaphorical rug)

Contact the Geelong cybersecurity specialists

Cybercriminals are getting smarter and sneakier every day – we may no longer fall for an email from a dispossessed African prince, but we may fail to look twice at a slightly odd request from the company CFO. Even the strongest security safeguards will fail if users are not cyber-aware, so now is the time to embed cyber-resilience throughout your organisation. 

 

Servicing Geelong, the Bellarine Peninsula, the Surf Coast and surrounding regions, Geelong Technology Group helps small and medium businesses succeed by supporting and managing their IT needs. Armed with the latest cybersecurity information, we can not only assist your business with security awareness, but we can also implement comprehensive cybersecurity solutions, ensuring your important business data is cyber secure.

Give us a call today to find out more on 1300 GET GTG (1300 438 484) or stop by our showroom at 166 Francis St, Belmont.