Shared Knowledge Technical Solutions

Morning, Wi******er. Storm season's here.

Three modems on one block last week — gone after a Tuesday afternoon storm. None had surge protection. All three calls came in Wednesday.

Sunday's blog walks the home-version playbook: what to unplug, what to leave running, why the $25 surge protector has an expiration date most people don't know about, and the order to turn things back on AFTER the power's back so you don't lose another hour to "why won't the WiFi work."

Bookmark it for the next storm:

👉 https://sharedknowledgets.com/summer-storms-home-what-to-unplug/

540.303.2410 if a storm catches you off guard.

Next week, the small-business side — the mid-year audit.

******erVA

Tech Talk Blog | Shared Knowledge Technical Solutions Plain-English tech advice from your Wi******er, VA neighbors. Tips, how-tos, and security alerts.

POLL, Wi******er. 📶

Where IS the WiFi password in your house?

🟢 Written on a sticky note on the router
🟡 On an index card in the kitchen drawer
🔵 In a password manager (look at you)
🔴 Honestly? Nobody knows. We just stay connected because nobody's logged out in 4 years.

No wrong answer. (Well. One of these is a wrong answer.)

If it's the red one and your guest network isn't set up — that's a 5-minute fix. 540.303.2410.

******erVA

Happy Flag Day, Wi******er.

249 years ago today the Stars and Stripes officially became ours. Whether yours flies on the porch, hangs off the firehouse, or just lives in your heart — it's a good day to notice it. And a good day to thank the folks who've carried it, sewn it, raised it, and brought it home folded.

Have a good Sunday with the people who matter.

******erVA

Hi — Jerry here.

If your church group, civic club, library friends, or HOA board has been wondering whether to bring in a speaker on scam awareness this summer — that's what I do. It's my favorite talk to give.

I show how the scams actually work. Real examples. Plain English. No fear-mongering. The goal is folks leaving with a short list of things they can do at the kitchen table that night to lock things down.

Format's flexible — usually conversational with Q&A. Happy to bring printed handouts if your group would find them useful.

If your group has a slot coming up, call me — 540.303.2410. Happy to talk through what would fit your folks.

— Jerry Hickman, Shared Knowledge Technical Solutions

******erVA

Skits here, Wi******er. PSA for the small businesses.

The scam runs the same way every summer:

Owner goes on vacation. Office manager gets an email that LOOKS like it's from the owner: "Hey, in a meeting all afternoon, can you grab three $500 Apple gift cards for client appreciation? I'll pay you back tomorrow. Send me the codes when you have them."

It's not the owner. It's a scammer who read the auto-reply. The codes go to a stranger. The money's gone.

Fix is one conversation BEFORE the vacation: "If you ever get an email from me asking for anything unusual — gift cards, wires, tax forms — you don't reply. You call my cell. Don't do it."

Send this to a small-biz owner you know who's heading out this summer. Could save them a real ugly afternoon.

540.303.2410.

******erVA

Morning, Wi******er small-biz owners.

You've earned a week off this summer. Question is — has your team earned the right to handle things while you're gone?

In 17 years of doing this we've seen the same July call over and over: "Jerry, the owner's in Bermuda, the credit-card terminal stopped, nobody knows the admin password." Preventable.

Sunday's blog walks the 4 handoffs every owner should test BEFORE they leave: the backup admin, the password manager, the restore test, and the OOO that doesn't hand a scammer the keys.

👉 https://sharedknowledgets.com/small-business-owner-out-of-office-handoffs/

540.303.2410 if you want a second set of eyes before you book the flight.

Next week — home edition. Summer storms.

******erVA

Tech Talk Blog | Shared Knowledge Technical Solutions Plain-English tech advice from your Wi******er, VA neighbors. Tips, how-tos, and security alerts.

Skits here, Wi******er.

The single most common tip folks skip from this week's checklist? The one you can take care of in 4 seconds: don't post the beach photo until you're home.

I know. The sunset's gorgeous, your friends will love it, and the trip is happening RIGHT NOW. Post it Tuesday when you're back. The vacation still happened.

"We're at the beach!" is the single most common porch-pirate cue there is. Your 400 Facebook friends include people who used to live in your neighborhood, friends of friends, and a couple of accounts you accepted years ago and never actually met.

Send this to the family member who's about to leave for vacation and is already drafting their first poolside post.

540.303.2410.

******erVA

Big Saturday at the MSV, Wi******er.

Two reasons to make the drive today:
• Pottery Show & Sale (today + tomorrow) — local potters, the kind of work that ends up on your shelf for 30 years
• National Trails Day on the gardens trails — bring good shoes

Either one's worth a morning. Both? That's the kind of Saturday Wi******er does best.

👉 https://themsv.org/calendar/

If you go, snap a photo. We'd love to see what you bring home.

******erVA

This or that, Wi******er.

You're heading out for a week of vacation. Do you:

A) Bring the laptop — "what if I need it?"
B) Leave it home — "the phone is enough"

Drop your answer in the comments. I'll bet money it's a 50/50 split.

(Bonus question for the comments: if you brought it, did you actually open it once?)

540.303.2410.

******erVA

National Small Business Day, Wi******er.

To every owner, every office manager, every two-person shop with a back office full of paperwork — you keep this town running. You take the calls on Saturday. You sign the payroll on Sunday night. You answer the phone when somebody calls about a problem you've never seen before.

We see you. Happy Small Business Day.

Feel free to share your business in the comments below.

******erVA