📅 Midwest PROTECH Tips & Tricks

                                📅 Tips & Tricks – Monday Edition 

                   🛠️🧠💻 Monday, February 9th, 2026 💻🧠🛠️ 

  As technology keeps changing, one thing stays the same —
most problems we see every day are preventable with a few smart habits.

So starting this week, we’re slowing things down a bit and focusing on quality over quantity. 

             🗓️ Tips & Tricks will now be posted once a week — every Monday.
                         One solid, practical tip you can use for the week. 👍 

 After years of supporting homes and small businesses, these three issues show up again and again.  👇

🔐 1. Assuming “It Won’t Happen to Me”

Most infections, scams, and data losses don’t happen to reckless users —
they happen to normal people on a normal day.

What helps:
• Strong passwords
• Two-factor authentication
• A healthy dose of skepticism with emails and links

☁️ 2. Thinking Cloud Sync = Backup

Services like OneDrive and Google Drive are great — but they are not full backups.

If a file is deleted or encrypted by ransomware, it often disappears everywhere.

What helps:
• A true backup solution
• Version history
• Offline or protected copies

💻 3. Waiting Until Something Breaks

Slow computers, odd pop-ups, and random glitches are usually warning signs — not sudden failures.

Waiting often means:
• More downtime
• More data loss
• Higher repair costs

What helps:
• Regular maintenance
• Updates done correctly
• Proactive monitoring

 💡 Extra Tip for Businesses

 Unplanned IT issues are one of the biggest hidden drains on productivity.

Predictable, proactive support almost always costs less than emergency fixes — and causes far less stress.

👉 This is exactly what our Midwest PROTECH Service Plans are designed to do.

👉 On a Midwest PROTECH Service Plan?
We help you maintain those standards automatically — no guessing, no surprises.

Have you tried turning it off and back on?
Yes — we’re still asking in 2026… because it still works. 😅💻      

• Reboot your computer at least once a week
• Install pending Windows or macOS updates
• Review your startup apps
• Back up anything you’d hate to lose 

📣 Have a Windows issue you want explained in plain English?
Send it my way — I’ll break it down. 

🚨🚨 If you are not on a service plan, take a look at them and reach out to me so we can talk about why this is so important.  🚨🚨 

👉   Service Plans

👉  YouTube    

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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