Did you know that improperly throwing away technology equipment pollutes landfills? With Earth Day just around the corner, think about what old and unused technology equipment you have laying around your house or office. Most likely that equipment is getting in your way and taking up space. As a service to the community, WingSwept and its supporting partners are holding the second annual Technology Spring Clean in a couple of weeks at 951 Heather Park Drive, Garner, NC 27529. It is a FREE drop-off recycling event occurring on April 17 from 10 am – 4 pm. It couldn’t get much easier! Get more details here: www.wingswept.com/recycle
Jay Strickland, WingSwept CEO and a valued asset to the local business community, was newly awarded Triangle Top 50 Entrepreneur Award by Business Leader Media and Citizen Choice Award for Business by The Garner Citizen. He was chosen for both based on his leadership skills and his overall impact as a citizen and professional.
Business Leader Media hosted the event on Friday, February 26, 2010 and gave recognition to 50 Triangle business owners who are successful risk-takers that transform businesses. Jay is viewed by his staff and peers as a strategic and innovative business leader. As the founder of the local IT company, many perceive WingSwept’s success as a tribute to Jay, but he does just the opposite.
“The people that make up WingSwept deserve praise for their ability to keep the company running smoothly. It is through the team’s expertise and interactions with the community and customers that promotes what WingSwept truly is about,” says Jay Strickland, award recipient. “These honors are only possible through their hard work.”
Along with the other Citizen Choice honorees, WingSwept president Jay Strickland was honored at the Garner Citizen breakfast on the morning of March 10. Citizen Choice Awards recognizes people and entities who exemplify what it means to be a Garner citizen by encouraging community growth and demonstrating a commitment to Garner by fostering community activism and pride through leadership, innovation, vision and citizenship.
Jay possesses leadership positions in multiple professional organizations, including the Garner Rotary Club and Garner Chamber of Commerce. Interacting with other professionals, whether in community organizations or peer groups, is one way Jay utilizes his time.
Without the WingSwept staff, Jay wouldn’t have the capacity to participate in the organizations that fuel his ingenuity. WingSwept continually delivers top of the line IT services to businesses that are in need minimal downtime and secure data, while also staying active in the community and local events.
“SonicWALL, Inc. , a leading secure network infrastructure company, has been recognized with SC Magazine’s 2010 Reader Trust Award as the company with the Best Policy Management Solution. … SonicWALL was also a finalist in five other categories including: Best Enterprise Firewall, Best Integrated Security Solution, Best Intrusion Detection/Prevention Solution, Best IPsec/SSL VPN, and the Best Enterprise Security Solution. The annual SC Awards highlight and showcase the best solutions, services and professionals while recognizing achievement and technical excellence in the information security industry.”
SonicWall is just one example of the cutting-edge technology that WingSwept leverages. View some more of our leading industry partners, here.
WingSwept is a local IT consulting company helping small to medium sized businesses leverage technology, minimize downtime, and secure business. WingSwept has been delivering peace of mind since 1995, and focuses on businesses in Garner, surrounding areas in North Carolina, and provides certain services nationwide.
If you want to be able to hit “send” but have the email stay in your outbox for a time, use the following rule. When it is in your outbox, you are able to re-open it and make changes without using the Recall feature!
- In Outlook, go to the Tools menu Rules and Alerts
- Click on New Rule
- Click Start From a Blank Rule
- Highlight Check Messages After Sending, then click Next
- Do not select any checkboxes showing, then click Next
- Answer Yes to dialog box asking if this applies to all messages
- Select the last checkbox – Defer delivery by X minutes
- Under Step 2 that now shows, click on minutes
- Edit number of minutes you would like the delay to last (suggested delay 2 minutes), Click OK and Next
- Decide if you want an exception – Some use “Importance” to have emails go immediately
- Name your rule and click Finish! You can now go grab and delete from out Outbox for 2 minutes if you realize you didn’t mean to send a certain email
It seems pretty ironic, but electricity, the very thing that powers your computer, can actually hurt it more than help it. WingSwept wanted to let you know that electricity can cause your computer network to go haywire in a couple different ways:
First there are transients, also known as surges or spikes in service usually caused by weather, animals, or even damage to a power pole caused by a vehicle accident. Transients can occur pretty regularly, up to several times per week. Having a surge protector does not guarantee your computer and data safe, however. According to experts, surge protectors become burned out after just a few months of fighting off transients.
At the opposite end of the transient scale is what’s called a sag. This is what happens when power drops below normal. Everyone has witnessed a sag as they may come in the form of flickering lights caused by when some piece of equipment turns on or comes out of power saver mode. Experts say offices can experience up to 30 sags a day.
Another issue is a blackout. The definition is just what it sounds like—sudden power loss. No matter how long a blackout lasts, it can cause major problems for your computer to include not even starting back up again.
How do you protect your computers and data? Get yourself an uninterruptible power supply, or UPS. These devices can sense electrical problems and adjusts accordingly to maintain normal power. Make sure to get a UPS that will support your computer. Contact WingSwept with any questions you have regarding UPS compatibility.
The Garner Citizen recognized Jay Strickland, WingSwept CEO, with a Citizen Choice award. The article speaks highly of his service and dedication to the community. When asked how he manages to find any spare time, he gives full credit to the WingSwept staff.
“I believe in the abilities of our staff,” Strickland said. “They are experts in their field and highly trained to do their jobs well. We have open communication in the office and work together to accomplish tasks.”
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“The WingSwept staff is made up of reliable and hardworking people that are well-equipped to keep WingSwept functioning,” he said. “I have found that everything I do myself denies someone else the opportunity to learn, so I spend a lot of time making sure that our folks have the resources to be successful. I am confident in their abilities to take care of our customers without me being directly involved in every project or task, which allows me more time for my family and community involvement.”
Read the article in its entirety: http://www.garnercitizen.com/2010/02/citizen-choice-awards-jay-strickland/
GARNER, NC – WingSwept, a locally based full-service information technology firm located in Garner, North Carolina, is organizing its second annual Technology Spring Clean in conjunction with the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day. This year’s event will take place on April 17, 2010 from 10:00 AM until 4:00 PM with a rain date of April 24, 2010. The event location is 951 Heather Park Drive, Garner, NC 27529 at the corner of Aversboro Road and Heather Park Drive.
At last year’s first ever Technology Spring Clean, WingSwept collected and recycled unwanted computer technology items from businesses and citizens that were eager to do some spring cleaning. Over 5,000 pounds of technology equipment was dropped off as last year’s Technology Spring Clean event and diverted away from landfills.
WingSwept knows how important it is to protect sensitive data when disposing of old computer equipment. To offer peace of mind in knowing your critical information will be secure, all hard drives will be removed from computers and securely shredded prior to recycling.
“Our Technology Spring Clean event was organized to make it easy and worry-free for area businesses and citizens to drop-off and recycle their old technology equipment,” said Jay Strickland, President of WingSwept. “The community’s enthusiasm and willingness to support the Earth Day cause served as inspiration for us to make the Technology Spring Clean an annual event.”
For more information on WingSwept’s second annual Technology Spring Clean, please go to http://www.wingswept.com/recycle.
ABOUT WINGSWEPT
WingSwept is a full-service information technology consulting company headquartered in Garner, NC. WingSwept’s services focus on helping client’s leverage technology in the areas of government services, network support, web application development and vertical marketing. The staff of more than 20 serves a diverse set of clients in all 50 states and around the world. For more information on WingSwept’s services, please visit our website at www.wingswept.com.
GARNER, NC (February 10, 2010) - WingSwept has added Kerri Moltzon and Marc Hall to its team of top-notch sales professionals in its Vertical Markets division. Repair Shop Websites (RSW) and Body Shop Websites (BSW), both part of the WingSwept’s Vertical Markets division, have experienced exponential growth even in difficult economic times.
RSW and BSW have been integral tools for automotive repair businesses as consumer demands continue to rise. With RSW and BSW, automotive shop owners are able to reach customers who need their services.
Moltzon joined WingSwept with more than 14 years of sales and research experience. She expresses excitement in finding a growing, progressive company such as WingSwept that provides a challenging, stimulating, and supportive environment for staff.
“I am very motivated to be part of the WingSwept team and have the opportunity to help improve shop owner’s businesses,” said Moltzon. “I was intrigued with the niche market of Repair Shop Websites and Body Shop Websites, and further impressed by their stability in the economy.”
Hall joined WingSwept with over 17 years of sales experience. He combines his sales know-how with his enjoyment of automobiles to assist shop owners in enhancing their businesses.
“I’m excited about providing a solid RSW product to the marketplace,” Hall said. “The Vertical Markets division has a unique approach to working with repair shops who take complete pride their overall appearance.”
The new members go through extensive training to ensure their preparedness for representing the RSW and BSW products. It is essential for all sales professionals in WingSwept’s Vertical Markets group to understand the automotive industry to maintain the integrity of RSW and BSW products offered to benefit repair shops and their customers.
ABOUT WINGSWEPT
WingSwept is a full-service information technology consulting company based in Garner, NC. WingSwept’s services focus on areas of government services, network support, web application development and vertical marketing. The staff of more than 20 serves a diverse set of clients in all 50 states and around the world. For more information on WingSwept’s services, please visit our Web site at www.wingswept.com.
The vertical market division currently has two brands that offer functional websites, which are search engines, optimized and can be customized for each dealer. WingSwept is experiencing overall growth due to the success of this division. The expansion of one vertical market brand led to development and launching of the other. WingSwept has invested heavily in the resources needed to offer a world-class product. To learn more about the two brands, go to www.repairshopwebsites.com and www.bodyshopwebsites.com.
With the pending storm, this is a good opportunity to remind everyone of some standard IT procedures. Before leaving the office for the weekend, we advise you power off desktops. All WingSwept client servers have been given peace of mind with preconfigured with battery backup and automated software to gracefully shut down in the event of a power outage. This is a good opportunity to review your server setup with your IT service provider. Please feel free to contact us with any questions/concerns.
WingSwept would like to warn you about the a identity theft scheme that is being accompanied by tax season. The newest scheme developed by identity thieves is to send an e-mail posing as the IRS. According to the Trend Micro Consumer Newsletter, there are different versions of scamming e-mails being sent.
One version of the scam IRS messages has victims receiving an e-mail advising they did not report all of their income to the IRS. The recipient is then asked to download an attachment which the scammer claims is a portion of their most recent tax return. When the attachment is downloaded, the victim’s computer has acquired a virus.
Another similar scam plays on a victim’s fear of being audited by the IRS. A bogus information form is sent to the victim by e-mail who is told they must complete and return it. If the victim does not complete the form, the scammer will then threaten them with levy penalties and interest.
In order to avoid the newest scam this tax season, it is important to remember one thing: The IRS uses the US Postal Service to contact taxpayers—they never use e-mail.