📅 Midwest PROTECH Tips & Tricks

 📅 Tips & Tricks – Monday Edition
                   Monday, December 8th, 2025
 

New Tips & Tricks added on Mondays and Fridays at 12:00 PM.

 Managing passwords has become one of the biggest frustrations for everyday users. Apps, shopping accounts, banking, medical portals—every site wants a login.

Here are simple and safe ways to avoid password chaos:

Password managers create strong passwords and remember them for you.
You only memorize one master password—everything else is stored securely.

Examples include:

• Bitwarden (popular free option)
   
• 1Password
   
• Dashlane
   
• NordPass
   

👉 This prevents reused passwords (the #1 cause of account breaches).

If someone gains access to your email, they gain access to everything saved inside it.
Email is NOT a secure vault.

Chrome / Edge / Safari saving passwords is helpful—until:

• You switch devices
   
• Reset your browser
   
• Your sync breaks
   
• Someone else logs into your profile.
   

A password manager works across all devices and platforms.

If your company shares accounts (quote portals, vendor sites, internal apps, etc.), you should use a password vault that tracks who accesses what.
It provides security, accountability, and compliance.

👉 And if you're on one of our Midwest PROTECH Service Plans — you already have this.
We provide a highly encrypted, professional-grade password management system (ITGlue) designed for secure storage, audit logs, and team-based password access. Your credentials are encrypted, tracked, and protected at all times.

 My password used to be “password123.”
Now it's “MidwestPROTECHHandlesThisForMe.” 😄🔐  

 Longer is stronger.
A 15-character passphrase (even simple words) is far more secure than a short random mix.

Examples:
Not good → P@ssw0rd!
Much better → BlueTractorDrivesSlowly2025

 🙏 A Big Thank You to Our Subscribers
I want to personally thank everyone who checked in, replied, and sent compliments about our Tips & Tricks series.
Your feedback means a great deal to us—and your support is why we keep delivering these.

 📣 If you’ve made it this far, 

Please keep the questions and topic ideas coming. Your feedback keeps this series alive 🔥 

Your referral and interaction are the highest compliments you can give us. Thank you for your continued support! 🙏 

📩 rod@midwestprotech.com

🌐 www.midwestprotech.com

Yours in tech,
–Rod                                       

       If you’re still running Windows 10, it’s time to take this seriously. Microsoft officially ended support on October 14, 2025, which means no further security updates, patches, or compatibility fixes will be provided.

• Security Risks: Without updates, your system becomes a prime target for cyberattacks, ransomware, and data theft. Hackers know which vulnerabilities exist — and they’ll exploit them.  

• Software Failures: Popular business applications, such as QuickBooks, Microsoft Office, payroll tools, and antivirus programs, are already phasing out support for Windows 10. Soon, updates and features will cease to function.  

• Compliance Issues:Businesses in regulated industries (like healthcare, finance, or retail) risk non-compliance if they continue using an unsupported operating system.  

• Hardware Limitations:Many older computers can’t run Windows 11 efficiently — meaning now is the time to plan for an upgrade or replacement.  

Midwest PROTECH recommends transitioning to Windows 11 Pro now to avoid downtime and security risks. We can handle the entire process — from hardware recommendations to setup, optimization, and data transfer — so you can focus on running your business. 

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