Once you've unboxed that laptop you just bought, there are important things that need to be done. After installing Windows 10, you must unlock its full potential by customizing some critical settings. You can ask a technician for help with this, but here are a few things you can do on your own.

The ransomware threat isn’t going away anytime soon, which is bad news for computer users everywhere. Fortunately, Windows 10 has built-in security features to keep you from falling victim to ransomware.
Controlled Folder Access
This feature allows you to list certain documents and folders as “protected.

Ransomware is a type of malware that encrypts your data and makes it impossible to access unless you pay a ransom. While it may appear to be difficult to stop, you should never give in to the hacker’s demands. Before you end up being a victim of ransomware, protect yourself with virtual disaster recovery (DR) solutions.

First things first, what should you do with your brand new laptop? You go through the Windows 10 setup, and you're all done, right? Not really. Your notebook isn’t ready -- until you do some tweaking. Let's get the ball rolling.

#1 Check for updates

Your new laptop should check for updates automatically, but you can also check manually.

Ransomware takes your data hostage and demands a payment for its recovery. While it may seem like there’s no other choice but to pay the ransom, you should never give in to the hacker’s demands. Before the next wave of ransomware comes around, it’s important to protect your business with virtual disaster recovery solutions.

How many new technologies did your business adopt last year? Too many? Too few? You’ve officially made it through 2017 and there’s no better time than now to review which IT fads were worth investing in, and which ones should be left in the past.

The WannaCry ransomware strain was created by amateurs who copied and pasted security vulnerabilities from a famous hacker group. It’s no longer a threat if you have updated your computer, but as evidenced by a recent announcement, the hacker group will continue to release dangerous security exploits for anyone to use.

The recent WannaCry and Petya ransomware attacks have caused massive disruptions for Windows users. Although ransomware infection has slowed down in the past few weeks, many experts are saying that this is only just the beginning. Soon, newer and far more dangerous strains of malware will be developed.

Microsoft products usually have an end-of-support date, where no more feature updates and security patches will be offered. However, earlier this month, Microsoft has released a security update for Windows XP, an operating system that has been unsupported since 2014. Although releasing a patch for an old system seems unusual, Microsoft does have its reasons.

Skype has made many improvements to become the go-to audio and video communication tool. But as more people turn to Skype to conduct their business, hackers are sure to follow. Recently, Skype has been plagued with fake Flash ads, which if triggered, lead to devastating ransomware infections.