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As a business that relies on or drives technology, the best equipment is key to success in any industry. How do you know which hardware is the best for your business? Let’s take a look at one of the basics of computer hardware, the two different types of drives. We’ll look at each drive, then compare the two so you can make the best decision for your business or IT department now and in the future.

The first things to know about computer drives is that they store your precious information in very different ways. That said, each drive has its own positives and negatives, and deciding on the best drive for your business depends on what your computers or devices are being used for.

What is a Hard Disk Drive?

Hard disk drives (HDDs) are the original drives; solid state drives didn’t show up on the scene until much later. HDD are made up of one or more magnetically sensitive platters that look like DVDs. Each platter has an actuator arm with a read/write head and a motor to spin the platters and move the arms when necessary. The I/O controller and firmware lets the hardware know how to function and also communicates with the rest of the computer or device.

How Do HDDs Work?

Just like DVDs and CDs, the platters have tracks or concentric circles. The tracks consist of sectors that each have unique addresses used to locate and organize the data you put on the computer or device. Firmware efficiently detects and corrects data errors before writing it on the platters utilizing an algorithm. Preset speeds for home use HDD platters are 4200-7200 rpms, although they will be higher for businesses who need higher read/write rates to process data faster.

What are the Drawbacks & Benefits of HDDs?

HDDs have several drawbacks due to the mechanical pieces that find data, as they can break. Additionally, finding data this way is more time-consuming than electronic methods, like those the solid-state drives use. Just like a record player, HDDs can skip or refuse to work at all if they are dropped suddenly or not taken care of. Laptops are particularly susceptible to this issue. HDDs are generally less expensive that SDDs and have the same amount of storage space or more.

What is a Solid State Drive?

A solid state drive (SDD) is newer than HDDs and rely on non-volatile memory to store data electronically. Non-volatile means the data remains on the device or computer when it’s turned off. SDDs resemble USB drives but are more substantial. Both pieces of tech use the same technology to function, known as NAND. NAND is flash memory that stores data in gates organized in a grid pattern. Blocks are composed of grids, and grids are composed of pages. Instead of a read/write arm, the SSD controller keeps track of data locations.

SSDs use a more complicated process to update data, and all data in a block must be refreshed at once if any is updated. Old data is erased after being moved to a different block, and new information is rewritten with changes in a new block. Whenever an SSD drive is idle, “garbage collection” completes this process of throwing out the old while bringing in the new. TRIM prevents premature wear and tear on an SSD by noting when rewriting can be skipped with some data.

What are the Drawbacks & Benefits of SDDs?

SSDs have their own set of drawbacks and benefits. SSDs are more expensive than HDDs due to new technology, and it can be challenging to find enough storage on SSDs if you need a significant amount. In general, HDDs may hold about 2.5 times more data. SSDs are fantastic for games, apps, movies, and videos because they load much faster, weigh less, and can withstand more abuse. SSDs are much cooler because they use much less energy than HDDs.

Should You Choose and HDD or an SDD?

If you need large amounts of storage and are not concerned about portability or video or gaming capability, HDDs are best for your line of business. If you’re more video or gaming focused, then SDDs may be right for you. Ultimately, the individual demands of your particular business will help you decide which type of drive to use, or whether you need to migrate to a different kind of drive to accommodate your business.

What is PIPEDA?

PIPEDA, which is short for Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, is a Canadian law protecting the rights and privacy of consumers in Canada. The law specifies how private organizations are supposed to collect, use and distribute data from consumers. Organizations covered by PIPEDA must obtain the consent of consumers when collecting, using and disseminating personal data.

Consumers, on the other hand, have the right to access any information held by a private organization and even challenge its accuracy. PIPEDA stipulates that data collected from consumers must only be used for the purpose for which it was collected. If an organization wishes to use the data for any other purpose, they need to obtain consent from the consumer once more.
Individuals are also assured that their information will be protected by the organizations that hold their data.

Where and How Does PIPEDA Apply?

PIPEDA directs organizations on the collection, use and disclosure of information collected from consumers in the course of commercial undertakings. As per PIPEDA Act, commercial activities refer to any transaction of a commercial character which may include selling, bartering and leasing of membership, donor or fundraising lists.

In provinces with privacy legislation similar to PIPEDA, some organizations/activities are exempt to this law. Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia have adopted privacy laws that are considered substantially similar to PIPEDA. Other provinces with similar legislation, although it is regarding personal health details, are New Brunswick, Ontario, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador.

Even in provinces with privacy legislation similar to PIPEDA, the federal law which is PIPEDA still applies to all international and interprovincial transactions and all federally regulated businesses such as banks, transport and telecommunication companies.

Rights of an Individual According to PIPEDA

According to PIPEDA, personal information refers to details on an identifiable person without the inclusion of name, title, telephone number and business address of an employee of a business/organization.
PIPEDA grants individuals the right to:

• know the reasons why an organization collects, uses and distributes personal information;
• expect organizations to collect, use or disclose information responsibly and not for any other purpose other than which the consumers consented;
• expect the collected data to be accurate, complete and be updated at all times;
• access personal information held by an organization without limitations and make corrections when necessary;
•  complain how an organization uses their personal information if they feel that an organization does not respect their privacy.

With the above rights, PIPEDA Canada can ensure that personal information is not distributed or disclosed to individuals who might put consumers at risk. By so doing, an individual is protected from identity theft and misuse of personal data.

PIPEDA has also stipulated the roles of organizations in safeguarding personal information. An organization is required to;

• obtain consent from consumers before collecting, using or disclosing their data;
• ensure that consumers have access to products or services even when they fail to disclose their personal information unless the information not needed in the transaction;
• only collect information through lawful means;
• create privacy policies with clarity, easy to understand and readily available.

Consumers Can Get Their Complaints Heard 

PIPEDA Act does not give consumers a right to sue for any violations from organizations. PIPEDA stipulates that complaints are taken to Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada from where the allegations will be investigated and a report produced after the investigation.
The report from the commissioner is not binding to any of the parties; it is more like a recommendation. Besides creating a report, the commissioner has no power to order compliance, levy penalties or award damages. The organization under investigation does not have to take the recommendations from the commissioner.

After the complainant gets the report, they can then take it to the Federal Court of Canada. The organization complained about is not allowed by PIPEDA to take the matter to court seeing that the report is not a decision.
Under section 14, PIPEDA provides that a complainant have the right to apply for a hearing at the Federal Court of Canada. After the hearing, the court has the power to award damages and order the organization to change its practices.

PIPEDA Importance

All organizations have privacy policies, but it is only through PIPEDA that organizations ensure that these privacy policies work. Without PIPEDA, organizations will just have privacy policies to ensure they get the personal information they need for business.

Organizations have adopted different options for data protection and encryption to ensure that personal information stays safe. Personal information includes name, age, ID numbers, income, ethnic origin, social status, blood type, credit records, loan records, medical records and employee files among others.

What would be the one thing better than getting your hands on the new hardware, software, or office furniture you’ve had your eye on? How about getting new technology as a tax write-off?

Awesome, right?

Especially since technology tends to be as expensive as it is necessary.

Register for our special on-demand training between now and the end of the year and get the inside scoop on what Section 179 is all about.

Click Here and what our training on demand.

Microsoft’s Office 365 for Educators has many tools that teachers can use to make their day easier and help their students learn more effectively. The program is also free for any educator and districts can also obtain a license for free Office 365 programs for faculty and student use.

Many of Office 365’s programs work cross-platform too, so students using tablets or Chromebooks can work together with students or a teacher or aide with a laptop or desktop computer.

How Will Office 365 Help Me Save Time as a Teacher?

Every year new standards and new curriculum makes planning lessons and fitting everything in the busy classroom day seem like almost impossible tasks. Office 365 has introduced some tools that help save time on paperwork and repetitive grading that can speed things up.

OneNote Class Notebook lets teachers put all of their lesson materials in one place, share them with the class when it’s time, grade homework, and set up group projects and timelines seamlessly.

• Grading is included in OneNote Notebook Creator
• Teachers control adding students, including new students joining the class.
• Teachers can team-teach and collaborate across classes
• Collaboration space includes student groups and assignment-based collaboration
• Students all have private notebook space for grades and individual work.

Best of all, OneNote Class Notebook is accessible from mobile devices and desktops. You can add lessons, grade, and respond to students while on the go.

How Can Office 365 Support Online Teaching?

Microsoft’s Sway is also part of Office 365 for educators. The intuitive program lets teachers design lessons or collaborate with experts to create hands-on demonstrations.

Sway is also perfect for course modules or units which include visual, audio, and interactive materials. Teachers, assistants, and students can all work on and edit projects in sway. Everyone can see everyone else working. Sway even works for cross-curriculum or cross-platform teams (tablets, phones, laptops, desktops).

How Does Office 365 Keep Curriculum and Content Safe?

The days of stacks of torn, rain-stained handouts and lost homework packets may finally end thanks to Office 365’s OneDrive. Teachers can save any documents, folders, and video content they need to OneDrive where they can be accessed at any time. Even if your computer crashes, OneDrive will have a copy of your materials. You can access files in OneDrive any time while on the go with the Office 365 Educator password.

Can Office 365 Support Distance Learning and Video Conferencing?

Skype for Educators is part of Office 365, with a global teaching community that stands ready to help educators make the transition to real-time video conferencing for education. Skype for educators even supports virtual field trips. Imagine a field trip where no one gets lost, and everyone can see and experience everything — and even language barriers can be overcome with Skype Translator.

Can Office 365 Support a Flipped Classroom?

Office 365’s extensive tools and online educator community support and training can help teachers design all the content and curriculum they need to flip their classrooms and strengthen student learning. Collaboration is natural and intuitive throughout all the tools that Office 365 provides.

The last thing teachers need is added work and more new computer programs. Office 365 for Educators takes familiar Microsoft programs that teachers know and combines them with simple new tools and online classroom areas to build a suite of tools and materials for easier, faster, more effective teaching and learning.

Each year, security experts sound off alarms about cyber attacks aimed at smartphones. Each year, the number of attacks levied at smartphones increases significantly. Therefore, if you provide your employees with smartphones to use on the job, it is essential that you take precautions to prevent cyber attacks.

Here are a few tips that will help protect your organization against cyber attacks on employee smartphones.

What Are The Mobile Security Risks?

By 2021, cyber attacks could cost businesses a total of $6 trillion in damages. The Harvard Business Review reported that mobile devices are the weakest links when it comes to corporate security by far. Executives are struggling to deal with how ubiquitous smartphones are and the difficulties of securing networks, protecting data, and encouraging employees to care about security.

A bring-your-own-device policy is especially dangerous because employers are not able to control the use of these devices when it comes to non-work purposes. It is often very difficult to detect malicious attacks as soon as they occur.

According to a report released by FireEye M-Trends, the average hacker has access to a smartphone for about three months before they are caught. Cyber attacks can lead to damages of up to $10 million per year for a single business.

Ways to Prevent an Employee Smartphone Cyber Attack

Here are a few tips that you should keep in mind to protect your organization from employee smartphone cyber attacks.

1. Get rid of your BYOD policy: If you currently have a BYOD policy, you should strive to end this policy promptly and provide your employees with smartphones. Employer-owned smartphones are better when it comes to preventing cyber attacks because you can maintain complete control over how the smartphones are used. On the other hand, with BYOD devices, you can’t control how these devices are used outside of work.

2. Set a passcode: Be sure to set a passcode on all employer-owned devices. That way, if a smartphone is lost or stolen, the data on the device will be more difficult to gain access to. Believe it or not, carelessness is one of the largest security risks. In many cases, when data is stolen from a device, it’s because the device wasn’t protected with a password.

3. Download from trusted sources: Only allow your employees to download apps from trusted sources on employer smartphones. In fact, if possible, don’t allow your employees to download apps on smartphones at all. Instead, you should have apps that you know your employees will need deployed to the smartphones remotely. You should take the time to conduct research about the legitimacy of an app before downloading it on employee smartphones.

4. Secure and backup data: You should have the data on all employee smartphones backed up on a regular basis. Data that should be backed up includes documents, photos, and contacts. You can have these files backed up on a computer, the Cloud, or a storage card. That way, if a phone is lost, stolen, or damaged, you will be able to restore useful information.

5. Understand app permissions: Before you download an app on employee smartphones, you should have a good understanding of the app permissions. If you don’t pay close attention, you may grant an app access to sensitive information on the phone. It’s also possible that you may grant the app permission to perform intrusive actions on your phone. Therefore, it is essential that you check the privacy settings of an app before installation.

6. Wipe data: Before you recycle, resell, or donate an old company phone, you should wipe the data completely. Not only should you erase all the data off the phone, you should restore the phone to its factory settings.

7. Download a security app: You should download a trusted mobile security app on all employee smartphones and change the settings so that scans are conducted at least once a week. A mobile security app will check all downloads for spyware and malware. There are also some mobile security apps that will provide you with the location of a stolen or lost phone. These security apps will also redirect you from unsafe websites.

As you can see, there are many steps that you can take to protect employee smartphones from cyber criminals. For more information about how to prevent cyber attacks on employee smartphones, don’t hesitate to contact us.

The controller plays an essential role when it comes to driving profitability and growth through enhanced financial visibility. Therefore, chief financial officers should strive to collaborate closely with controllers. Successful CFOs make it a priority to make sure their organization takes full advantage of the experience and knowledge of their controller.

Here are the top five questions to ask your controller to ensure they are operating at the highest level of accuracy and efficiency possible.

1. How Many Manual Journal Entries Are Made During the Closing Process?

Too many manual journal entries can extend the duration of a closing period significantly. A large number of manual journal entries made during the closing process is also often a sign of hidden issues. It can hide errors and anomalies that have roots that are broad and systematic. An excessive number of entries can also be an indicator of variable accounting processes.

2. Is There An Integrated System for Both Operating Metrics and Financial Information?

It is in the best interest of most organizations to have just one reporting system. If you have more than one reporting system, a significant amount of time will be spent dealing with conflicting definitions and reconciling differences. Therefore, a good question to ask your controller is if there is an integrated system for both operating metrics and financial information. If there is not an integrated system in place, you should inquire about what steps your organization should take to establish such a system. For cohesiveness and simplicity, it is well worth the effort to work towards having just one reporting system.

3. Why Are There So Many Reports?

If the financial department, for example, distributes dozens of reports on a periodic basis, it may be a good idea to ask your controller why there are so many reports. Your controller may find that many of the individuals who had requested the reports are no longer with the organization. It will save your organization a significant amount of time and resources to stop producing the reports that are no longer valuable or in use.

4. What Are We Doing in Excel?

Millions of people across the world use Excel due to its versatility and ease of use. However, while Excel certainly has its advantages, it also has its disadvantages. Excel is difficult for collaborative purposes, for example. Also, it is easy to make mistakes in Excel and these mistakes are often very difficult to find. Excel is ideal for prototyping new processes rapidly. Once a process has been stabilized, it’s best to move to an environment that is more automated, secure, and collaborative than Excel.

5. How Many Transactions Are There in Each Department?

Inquire about how many vendor payments and invoices there are. You should also ask about how many lines items for each are in existence. Ask about how quality is measured. You can use this information to focus on improving quality and efficiency in the long run as well as to plan staffing levels.

6. Who Has Access to the Accounting System?

Ideally, only one administrator should have access to the full functionality of the accounting system. There should be a documented approval process in place for the purpose of making changes to the system.

7. How Many Invoices and Sales Orders Have Been Re-Billed or Canceled?

Not only do you want to know how many sales orders and invoices have been canceled or re-billed, but you also want to find out the reason behind these cancellations. A high number of canceled or re-billed invoices and sales orders is an indication that your system needs to be redesigned.

8. Which Areas Should We Invest in First?

Your controller will know best which areas should be invested in first when it comes to your finance department. You want to focus on the biggest problem areas and redirect resources to the places that need them the most. Focus on adopting new technology to automate and simplify processes.

If you want to be a successful CFO, you should take advantage of the knowledge and experience of your controller. Pick your controller’s brain by asking them the eight questions discussed above.

It wasn’t long ago; most businesses believed outsourcing their IT was unnecessary. They could easily hire an individual, with some basic technical knowledge, to cover the day-to-day operations in-house. However, those chores have changed. With increased security threats, stiffer government regulations, ongoing technology training for employees, and the push towards augmented intelligence and machine learning, successful businesses started shifting away from that old model.

What are the Four Tech Chores You Can Delegate For Outsourcing?

Today IT outsourcing is no longer a chore, but rather an expected path most businesses automatically choose. With the recent advancements in information technology, over the past few years, startup business owners have avoided old-school IT chores and headaches by delegating the IT outsourcing. Their decision has reduced startup, labor and equipment costs.

Below we’ve listed the technologies you can easily delegate to an outsourced IT service provider, that will reduce business expenses, cut unnecessary labor costs, protect your information, and prevent unauthorized access to intruders.

1. Infrastructure

Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) — Let’s begin with outsourcing your equipment. You have the hardware, a network system, and servers. These are your physical assets on your premises. Were these assets ever inventoried? If any of your equipment went down, what’s the next step? Were there policies or SOPs created regarding the assets? How old are any of the assets?

These kinds of questions and chores you avoid when you shift over to outsourcing your infrastructure. But, without an infrastructure provider monitoring your IaaS, your company is exposed to unexpected downtime costs, plus the added labor costs with your in-house technician trying to determine the issue.

When you start constructing and maintaining your infrastructure, it’s neither easy or cheap. When you delegate the outsourcing of your IaaS, this is where your IT expenses drop. Just remember, the IaaS service provider will own and use their equipment. Instead of you, they are responsible and capable of running and troubleshooting the systems. What you pay for is either a monthly subscription or per-use.

2. Cloud Hosting

Cloud Hosting – allows your staff to access business information anywhere, at any time, using company assigned equipment or an employee’s personal laptop, tablet, or cell phone. When you host your cloud system, that becomes costly, plus the security risks are higher, especially if the technology is outdated.

When you delegate outsourcing to cloud technology, the days of having to maintain in-house cloud servers are over. As for moving forward you and your staff only use the cloud. Without the need for servers, that is equipment your company doesn’t have to purchase.

If you are new to Cloud Hosting, one more thing to know is that data and a network in the Cloud are slightly different, but share the same basic principles as other environments. The next item of importance is that because the Cloud runs in data centers, that are staffed by experts in Cloud services, information stored in the Cloud is more secure than stored on servers on your premises.

3. Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity – When it comes to cybersecurity, this is where it comes to complete and secure protection. But, here’s where some due diligence, on your part, takes place. There are a few things business owners may not know but need to be brought up to speed when outsourcing this crucial IT function.

1. Virus scans are not Cybersecurity
2. In-house cyber protection is limited
3. Some IT and MSP companies only offer cybersecurity as a vendor
4. Cybersecurity experts specialize in anticipating and mitigating threats

Remember IT vendors usually tell you that your data is safe, but cybersecurity experts know, IT networks get built with security, if any, as an afterthought. And they will advise you that no single company can guarantee 100% data safety and protection.

That doesn’t mean the IT vendor doesn’t have tight security measures in place, only that cybersecurity experts know the vulnerabilities, and can offer an extra layer of cyber protection, the vendor can’t, that will prevent disasters, quarantine the breach, and resolve security issues quickly.

4. Email Hosting Services

Email Hosting Services – All it takes is one accidental email reply to get your system hacked and loaded up with ransomware. Due to ongoing efforts from hackers and cybercriminals, delegating email services to get outsourced, not only reduces IT system risks but can spot the activity before it makes it to an unsuspecting employee’s inbox.

When you outsource your email chores, there are quite a few benefits an in-house technician cannot provide or combat.

• Email Migration—This is a service to simplify any correspondence. That would cover content conversion, email forwarding, and property mapping.
• Security—Your business relies heavily on email for data transmission and must remain secure. Proactive security management gets set in place to monitor any potential vulnerabilities.
• Filtering—Establishing inbound and outbound filtering criteria, eliminating spam from employee’s inboxes. Blocking sensitive emails and placed in the proper mailbox.
• Employee Training—Employees taught how to spot phishing attempts, masked Adware, identifying social engineering emails attempts, or replying with personal information.

Did you find this article informative? If you liked this one, check out our other content we think you’ll find interesting.

In late 2000, Kirk Lippold was the captain of the U.S.S. Cole, an Aegis-class guided-missile destroyer. The Cole was severely damaged by terrorists who pulled alongside in a ship disguised as a garbage barge and set off a massive explosion. The Cole had a 40’ by 60’ hole ripped in its side; 17 sailors died, and another 39 were injured. The crew, working together under the Captain’s direction, saved the ship and was able to stabilize it and get it towed to a repair facility. It is still in service.

What Are The Lessons?

In a presentation to the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), Captain Lippold presented some lessons from the Cole crisis. They are:

• It’s not a question of if, but when. You, as an executive, will face a crisis at some point.
• You have to lay the foundations in staff attitude and skills for dealing with a crisis.
• The first step is always to calm yourself. Everyone in the organization will be looking to you for direction and inspiration.
• Remember that there are multiple perspectives. Be open to what your staff is telling you.
• Not making a decision is not an option. Not to decide is to decide.
• Act in the now, but always ask, “What do I do next?”
• When the crisis is over, ask whether the situation just requires a reset or a whole new way of thinking.

When doing any of these things, brutal intellectual honesty is critical. Without it, you are not facing reality; you are merely crafting a fiction which will provide you with no resources when the next crisis hits.

Why Intellectual Honesty Is Critical

Part of intellectual honesty is not “buying” the organization’s vision of itself. This does not mean that real skills and dedication should not be recognized. It knows that every organization has blind spots. Facebook is a good example. So is Uber. Whatever their merits or demerits, their corporate culture led both management and employees to regard themselves as invincible.

From the other side of the coin, look at all the IT companies that had really superior products that vanished over the course of time. Consider DEC. Consider the AT&T personal computer line. If a company has excellent products but cannot market them effectively, those products will vanish from the marketplace.

It has been jokingly remarked that if AT&T’s marketing team were put in charge at KFC, the signs above the restaurants would read “Hot Dead Chicken!”

If a company has superior products but does not recognize what sets them apart from others in the market, their ads will not reflect that. At most, they will be mediocre.

Another part of intellectual honesty is recognizing just how severe a potential crisis can be. “It won’t be as bad as we think” is a first cousin to “it can’t happen here.” The intellectually honest answer is that “Yes, it can be that bad, and yes, it is going to happen here.” No organization is immune.

Captain Lippold emphasized that a leader in a crisis must be simultaneously in and out of the picture. He must be listening to subordinates, trusting them to convey what is really happening, yet at the same time recognizing that the staff is relying on him or her for leadership. He must also be thinking ahead to what is the next step. If all of that is not done, the executive in charge is deprived of accurate information and may well, by failing to think ahead, turn one big crisis into a cascade of smaller ones.

Communication Is Key

It does go without saying that for a spirit of teamwork, respect for executive authority, and professional commitment to existing, dialogue must have been frank and honest from the start. This is essential for building trust, and if trust is not present, all the authority in the world will not produce a good outcome in a crisis.

Does IT Have A Communications Problem?

One of the things to note about recent IT-related crises at Experian, Uber, Facebook, and now Google, is the tendency to not reveal problems, the issue information that minimizes them, then walk that back, and finally reveal the scope and the relevant details only after public pressure is applied.

One thing IT can learn from politics is that it’s not the crime, it’s the cover-up. In every case, the PR outcome for these companies would have been much better if everything had been revealed at once. As far as intellectual honesty is concerned, IT shops that have any interaction with the public need to view their responses from the general public’s angle and honestly ask them what their various possible responses would make them look like. This exercise could be quite revealing.

The Need To Anticipate The Worst

One reason the Cole is still in service is that the officers and crew had been relentlessly drilled in damage control. They had practice exercises in dealing with massive damage to the ship. They knew how to keep it in fighting condition even after an attack. When they had an actual crisis that could have sunk the ship, their training and the foresight showed. IT executives would be well advised to take the lesson to heart.

If you are experiencing problems with your Windows 10 Pro operating system, you are not alone. Thousands of users from the US, Japan, and South Korea flooded tech message boards late this week with complaints that their legitimately purchased software was deactivating itself.

What Exactly Happened?

Starting on November 8, comments began to appear online from several users expressing frustration over the pop-up messages they received from Microsoft after booting up their computers. These messages included the error codes: 0xC004C003 or 0xC004C003, and incorrectly implied that the users were trying to run illegal copies of the Windows 10 Pro edition on their computers. Those affected by the glitch were then prompted to install the Windows 10 Home edition or to purchase a genuine copy of the Pro edition from the Microsoft store. Anyone who received a deactivation warning was still able to operate the computer using the Windows 10 Pro edition, although distracting watermarks were plastered across the screen.

Microsoft acknowledged that the company was fully aware of the DMR issue within hours of the first messages showing up online. A statement released from the company said it was still trying to determine the reason behind the deactivations to provide a fix, but at the time the exact cause was unknown. Engineers from Microsoft suspected that “some unspecified issue with the Windows Authentication servers” was the cause behind the deactivations.

On Friday, a day after Microsoft first address the deactivations, the company released an update about the bug:

“A limited number of customers experienced an activation issue that our engineers have now addressed. Affected customers will see the resolution over the next 24 hours as the solution is applied automatically. In the meantime, they can continue to use Windows 10 Pro as usual.”

As of Saturday, some users online were still reporting problems with their operating system.

Will This Affect Me?

The good news is that the deactivation problem seems to be affecting only a small portion of the total number of Windows 10 Pro edition users. Of the licenses which were affected, the vast majority of them were digitally updated from an early version of Windows. If you have not already received the warning after restarting your system, there is a good chance that your copy of the operating system is not affected by this bug. But for those who hit with the glitch, you have several options.

What Can I Do About It?

First, don’t panic and assume that you need to repurchase a new license for the Windows 10 Pro edition if you are still receiving a warning as of today. As long as you are using a genuine version of the operating system, there is no need to buy another copy, as the fix will automatically take effect. The best thing to do is just to wait. But if you are unwilling to wait, you can attempt to correct the issue on your own by running the Troubleshoot app. You can access the Troubleshoot app by going to Settings then clicking on Update & Security followed by Activation, and finally to Troubleshoot. This should correct the issue immediately.

Every year, the United States Marine Corps Birthday is celebrated with a cake-cutting ceremony and a traditional ball on November 10th. This event celebrates the establishment of the Continental Marines on November 10th, 1775.

Many Marines have become to view November 10th, the birthday of the United States Marine Corps, as their second birthday. This tradition runs very deep. Marines often wish each other “Happy Birthday” on November 10th and attend Marine Corps Birthday Balls, which are held in many cities across the globe. On this day, the Commandant of the Corps reads a “Birthday Message” to the Marines. The purpose of the birthday message is to contemplate the legacy of the Corps and the responsibilities that all Marines must honor.

History

For about three thousand years, fighting men have served as infantry to secure harbors and land bases and as boarding parties to launch attacks on other ships. The Royal Marines was formed in 1664 as the Maritime Regiment of Foot.

About 100 years later, a Continental Congress committee in the American Colonies met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to create a resolution calling for two Marine battalions to fight on shore and at sea for independence. The U.S. Congress passed “An Act for Establishing and Organizing a Marine Corps” on July 11, 1778. The Congress approved the resolution on November 10, 1775.

Is Marine Corps Birthday a Public Holiday?

The Marine Corps Birthday is not considered a public holiday. This year, it falls on a Saturday and the vast majority of businesses in the United States will follow regular opening hours.

Internal Celebration

Personnel, veterans, and other people associated with the Marine Corps celebrate this day. Usually, this day is celebrated with a birthday cake, a formal dinner, and entertainment at a Marine Corps Birthday Ball. The very first Marine Corps Birthday Ball was held in 1925.

Revolutionary Result

On this day in 1775, the US Marine Corps began under the name of the Continental Marines when the Second Continental Congress ordered two Marine battalions to serve with the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War. Both the Continental Navy and the Marines were dismantled after the war. However, eventually, the Marine Corps was re-established formally due to increasing conflict with France.

US Marine Corps Today

The United States Marine Corps is the combined-arms task force on the air, on land, and at sea for the US Armed Forces. The US Marines Corps has more than 180,000 active duty personnel and 40,000 personnel in the Reserve for the Marine Corps. The Marine Corps Reserve is the biggest command in the U.S. Marine Corps.

Undoubtedly, the Marine Corps Birthday is a special day for hundreds of thousands of Marines across the globe. For more information about the United States Marine Corps Birthday and how this day is celebrated, don’t hesitate to contact us.