vCTO Secure Blog

vCTO Secure has been serving the Seattle area since 2011, providing IT Support such as technical helpdesk support, computer support, and consulting to small and medium-sized businesses.

What is Bloatware, and What Should Be Done About It?

What is Bloatware, and What Should Be Done About It?

Let’s face facts: regardless of how one spends their time at home, there really is no reason the vast majority of today’s workers would ever need the Xbox Game Bar application on their work device… and yet, there it is. Thanks, Microsoft?

This is an example of what is known as “bloatware”—unwanted software added to an operating system to help the developers, oftentimes to make a few extra bucks. 

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How to Quickly Take a Screenshot in Windows 11

How to Quickly Take a Screenshot in Windows 11

Sometimes it can be really handy to take a screenshot of something on your computer screen. Sure, there are tons of applications you can download and install that let you do this, but with the modern version of Windows 11, you don’t need any of that if you just need to take a quick screenshot and share it with someone or put it in a document. Let’s jump right into it!

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Microsoft May Have Opened Up Millions of PCs to a Potential Cybersecurity Threat

Microsoft May Have Opened Up Millions of PCs to a Potential Cybersecurity Threat

Microsoft generally takes security very seriously, and for the most part, if you keep your Windows and Server operating systems updated, you can generally depend on some base-level security and stability. Unfortunately, it was recently discovered that, for almost two years, a very critical defense mechanism within Windows wasn’t being properly secured.

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What You Need to Know About the Command Prompt

What You Need to Know About the Command Prompt

Have you ever accidentally seen a black box with a blinking cursor and a bunch of nonsense populate on the screen? This is the command prompt, and it can be a useful tool for IT administrators to handle certain tasks or situations, although you might not necessarily use it much yourself. Still, it’s an interesting function of your operating system, so we wanted to discuss it a bit with today’s blog.

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Tip of the Week: Use Dark Mode to Go Easy on your Eyes

Tip of the Week: Use Dark Mode to Go Easy on your Eyes

Staring at a bright computer screen all day can bother your eyes, especially if it’s done on a routine basis. We know that staying away from computers and devices is something that we cannot really get away from in the business environment, but you can take steps to make it more manageable and easier on your eyes through the use of Dark Mode.

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Use This Built-In Tool to Record Screenshots, Audio, and Video of Your Windows 10 Screen

Use This Built-In Tool to Record Screenshots, Audio, and Video of Your Windows 10 Screen

If you have ever had to write up a report or process for a particular task, you know that images can go a long way toward helping people understand what exactly needs to be done. For Windows 10 users, there is a built-in tool that you can utilize to take screenshots, record video, and even record audio alongside all of this: the Xbox Game Bar.

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Keep Your Eyes on This Upcoming Windows 10 (or Perhaps 11?) Update

Keep Your Eyes on This Upcoming Windows 10 (or Perhaps 11?) Update

In 2015, Microsoft seemingly confirmed that Windows 10 would be the last version of Windows. This prompted users and industry professionals to believe that we would not be receiving Windows 11 anytime soon. With a major update to the Windows 10 operating system on the horizon, some folks aren’t sure what to think. Still, what does this update to Windows 10 mean for your business?

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The ABCs of Windows-Key Shortcuts

The ABCs of Windows-Key Shortcuts

The Windows OS is chock-full of capabilities, with many of these given an associated keyboard shortcut for added convenience. Of course, having these capabilities is one thing, but remembering so many is quite a different story. For your reference, we’ve put together a list of the shortcuts associated with the letter keys, with a few extras as a bonus.

Take note of any that you might have particular use for.

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Tip of the Week: How to Use Windows 10’s Screenshot Tool

Tip of the Week: How to Use Windows 10’s Screenshot Tool

The screenshot is one of the great tools that users can use to capture information in their browsers. If you are using a PC, you have access to many of them. Once you set one, you can typically use the Print Screen key to capture the image. Today, there is a Snip & Sketch tool that provides better functionality and is much easier to use.

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An Upcoming Windows Update Might Optimize Your PC Based on How You Use It

An Upcoming Windows Update Might Optimize Your PC Based on How You Use It

Windows is the most used operating system in the world, which should really come as no surprise. After all, it can be found in just about every environment: most businesses utilize it, and there is no shortage of Windows desktops and laptops in homes around the world. While nothing has been set in stone yet, Microsoft may implement a new setting to let all the different uses of Windows shine.

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Tip of the Week: How to Digitally Sign a PDF

Tip of the Week: How to Digitally Sign a PDF

PDFs are a hugely useful file format, especially as a means of securing a signature. Just in case you’re not sure how to do so effectively, let’s go over how you can digitally sign your PDF files.

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Tip of the Week: Doing More With the Windows Key

Tip of the Week: Doing More With the Windows Key

First introduced in 1994 as only the second piece of hardware produced by Microsoft, a new keyboard that came with Windows 95 was where the Windows key first debuted. Now, the Windows key (also known as the “Win Key”) is an extremely useful tool for the user who is aware of its capabilities.

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The Future of Windows 7

The Future of Windows 7

Did you take advantage of the free upgrade to Windows 10? This free upgrade was offered all across the globe to Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 users for a limited period of time. You expect users would flock towards Microsoft’s newest operating system; so why were so few migrating to Windows 10? 

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Tip of the Week: Two Taskbar Tips

Tip of the Week: Two Taskbar Tips

Microsoft Windows is run on a majority of business computers. As a result, having a good understanding of some of the features that will make using the software easier is beneficial. This week, we will go over some things you can do with the taskbar that will make navigating your computer easier. 

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Tip of the Week: Simple Windows 10 Tips to Leverage

Tip of the Week: Simple Windows 10 Tips to Leverage

Windows 10 is the culmination of all the prior versions of the operating system, which means it offers all the great options that earlier versions did with contemporary improvements to make these options even better. To leverage the full potential of Windows 10, we recommend following these five simple tips.

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Make Sure You Are Using Supported Software

Make Sure You Are Using Supported Software

Any organization that is running unpatched versions of older Windows operating systems is playing with fire… period. Therefore, it’s your prerogative to make sure you’re adequately protecting your business’ data, and one of the most important ways you can do this is by ensuring your infrastructure is properly maintained.

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Tip of the Week: It’s Possible to Change Your Windows Password Without Knowing Your Password, Here’s How

Tip of the Week: It’s Possible to Change Your Windows Password Without Knowing Your Password, Here’s How

In a recent survey, it was discovered that the average computer user has a whopping 27 online passwords to remember. Unsurprisingly, the same survey found that 37 percent of people forget at least one password each week. For many online services, forgetting a password means simply resetting it via email, but what if you forget your Windows password?

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Tip of the Week: Prevent Windows From Updating Your PC at the Worst Possible Time

Tip of the Week: Prevent Windows From Updating Your PC at the Worst Possible Time

Windows Updates are generally issued with the intention of improving your user experience, but sometimes they can cause complications. This is why most IT departments will opt out of implementing them and will instead review the issued updates before doing the work themselves. However, for the average PC user who simply wants to postpone updates from interrupting your day, read on and find out what you can do about them.

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Dark Web Monitoring

When you visit the Internet, you are more than likely sticking to the pages that can be accessed by typing an address into your browser, or by clicking on a link in a search result.

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