Professional Help Computer Services, Inc.

Storm Prep:
How to Keep Your Tech Running if the Power Goes Out

Hey neighbors! With the ice and snow heading our way, we know the power might flicker or go out. We want to make sure you stay connected to weather updates and loved ones.

Here is a technician-approved checklist to squeeze every minute of battery life out of your phones, tablets, and laptops.

📱 PHONES & TABLETS

Charge NOW: Don't wait until the lights flicker. Plug everything in immediately.

Lower Screen Brightness: The screen uses the most power. Turn it down as low as you can comfortably see.

Enable "Low Power Mode":

iPhone: Settings > Battery > Low Power Mode.

Android: Settings > Battery > Power Saving Mode.

Close Apps: Swipe away apps you aren't using. Maps and Facebook drain battery even in the background.

The "Searching" Trap: If the power goes out and cell towers go down (showing "No Service"), switch to Airplane Mode. Your phone burns massive energy trying to find a signal that isn't there. Check for signal once every hour instead.

💻 LAPTOPS

Modify Power Settings: Click your battery icon and slide the slider to "Best Battery Life" or "Battery Saver."

Unplug Accessories: USB mice, external hard drives, and phone chargers plugged into your laptop will drain the laptop battery fast. Unplug them.

Shut Down, Don't Sleep: If you aren't using the laptop, shut it all the way down. "Sleep" mode still sips power.

🔋 EMERGENCY PREP

Gather all your portable power banks (backup batteries) and charge them now.

If you have a car charger, make sure you know where it is. (Only charge in the car if the garage door is OPEN and the car is outside!).

Stay warm and stay safe, neighbors! We’ll be open to help with any tech troubles once the storm passes and it's safe to do so.

Chase Customers Seeing Duplicate Zelle Transactions. What You Need to Know

Chase Customers Seeing Duplicate Zelle Transactions. What You Need to Know Customers of Chase’s online banking services saw double transactions, fees and payments in their accounts on Friday, in a glitch that was not fixed until late in the day.

We are still receiving phone calls from customers reporting a suspicious phone call demanding immediate payment for utility services. We want to assure you that the City of Union will never contact you to demand an immediate payment for services or threaten to disconnect your services. Also, we will not require you to make a payment via prepaid debit card. Please do not give out personal financial or electronic account information if someone contacts you demanding payment.

If you receive this type of phone call be sure to hang up and quickly report suspicious calls to law enforcement authorities.

If you think you're "too small" or not important enough, think again. When it comes to cybercrime, everyone's a target.

Small Businesses Are More Frequent Targets Of Cyberattacks Than Larger Companies: New Report When it comes to avoiding cyber attacks, bigger is apparently better. At least that’s acocrding to a new report that shows small businesses are three times more likley to be targeted by cyber criminals than larger companies.