Here are our 5 must-do jobs to clean up your tech:

1. Clean your Hardware – Remove crumbs and dust from your PC or laptop – you can use compressed air to help blast the debris out from nooks and crannies (be sure to follow the instructions). Use a damp microfibre cloth to clean the casing, screen, smartphone and tablet.
2. Cut the Clutter – Remove unused apps (if you are unsure which apps you should leave you can check here). Freeing up space by deleting unwanted apps and software will speed up your device and help it last longer.
3. Have a Sort out – Go through your files and photos, delete duplicates, old screenshots and any that are blurry and get them organised into folders – be sure to back them up to an external drive. Print your faves and put them up to enjoy!
4. Clear the Cache – When you visit a website or open an app for the first time your device collects data and stores it in order to make it quicker to load in the future. Over time this cached data can cause your devices to run slower so it makes sense to periodically clear the cache.
5. Update Your Operating System and Antivirus – Make sure your devices are running the latest operating system – any known bugs and security issues will get fixed and your devices will run more efficiently. Antivirus is a non negotiable – make sure it’s up to date and running to protect your devices from phishing, hacks and viruses.

Have fun clearing out some garbage and give your devices a well deserved spruce up.

If you need any help cleaning your laptop, PC, smartphone or tablet then we are always on hand. Contact Ben here: https://www.filegenie.co.uk/get-in-touch.html

It is a good idea to take precautions to protect our valuable items such as using the inbuilt security on our phones and computers or using strong locking and immobilising devices on bikes, cars and caravans. But did you know there are national registers that allow you to input your valuables to their databases and apply security tags to allow them to be returned to you if they are recovered?

Immobilise is the world’s largest free register that can be used by the public and businesses. You simply register your valuables and/or company assets and the ownership details can then be viewed by the police on the national property database – NMPR. Immobilise is the only ownership registration service supported by all UK police forces, the Greater London Authority, and the mobile phone industry.

How Immobilise works:

• The Immobilise Property Register is part of the Recipero Crime Reduction Ecosystem – Learn more about Recipero here: Recipero
• Police are able to track and trace owners of stolen or lost items by utilising the data help on Immobilise/NMPR.
• You can purchase additional security devices from Immobilise to help track and protect your belongings from would-be thieves. These include security marking kit, bike RFID tagging device, asset labels and window decals.
• You can register most items on Immobilise – you are not limited to items with serial numbers as you can give detailed descriptions and add photos of the items in question (eg jewellery) – marking the items with UV pen or asset label will give you a uniques identifier for something that otherwise wouldn’t be able to be registered.
• Reporting lost or stolen items is quick and easy and  simply by logging into your account.
• Immobilise is linked with CheckMend – a database which allows traders to check if goods they are purchasing are stolen.
• You can even download property details for a police report or to give to your insurer, simplifying the claims process.

Theft and loss will always happen but taking steps to protect your valuables through Immobilise can help deter thieves and increase the likelihood of your belongings finding their way back to you should they be recovered. As with any security you want to make your valuables as difficult and unattractive to steal as possible – using a database to register your items adds that extra layer of protection.

GDPR – What you need to know:
The Data Protection Act 2018 is the UK’s implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Anyone who uses personal data must follow ‘data protection principles’ and ensure the information is used fairly and within the law. Personal data must only be used for specified purposes and needs to be limited to what is necessary. Find out more about the Data Protection Act 2018 here.

Minimise the Risks
Employees who work from home and that handle personal data must be fully trained on GDPR and how it affects their working practices. All employees must use strong passwords – it’s hard to keep track of passwords so password managers are a great tool to keep them safe and secure. Encourage your employees to use a VPN (virtual private network) when working from home as an extra layer of security.

The use of company devices is the most expensive option (but most secure) for employees who work remotely. The devices should be able to be supported and updated remotely and measures should be put in place to prevent data loss.

If your employees wish to use their own devices for working from home there are considerations you need to take into account before authorising in order to help prevent data protection and security breaches:

• Ensure your employees have up to date software (including operating system).
• Bear in mind the likelihood of family members or other members of the household seeing sensitive data.
• Do other members of the household share the devices? If so, how can you ensure sensitive data is not shared?
• Encrypt sensitive company data – there are multiple third party hard drive encryption software solutions.
• Discourage the practice of storing or transferring sensitive data to insecure storage devices such as USB sticks.

Security Checklist:

• Up to date policies for remote working.
• Make sure all your employees (and you) are fully trained on data protection and how to remain secure when working remotely.
• Guidance on working remotely for all employees.
• Ensure all employees use strong passwords and utilise multi-factor authentication where possible.
• Ensure employees use company email addresses when dealing with sensitive data.
• Control access so that employees only have access to the data they need and nothing more.
• Ensure all employees have up to date antivirus software installed (and turned on) on any personal device being used for work.
• Ensure you use a corporate VPN to keep connections secure.

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When Employees Leave
To protect against data loss you need to make sure you remove access to the company email address immediately. Remove access to all applications and disable, retrieve and wipe any company owned devices.

On leaving, ask the employee to sign a document acknowledging they have returned any company owned devices and that they haven’t kept any company data.