Tag: critical

4 Surefire Methods To Follow If A Household-Critical Appliance Fails

Most of us feel annoyance if certain tech issues happen with our smartphones, our laptops, our televisions, or our games consoles. It’s another thing entirely when an appliance that we rely on goes down. For example, if our oven breaks, our washing machine is throwing up error codes, or our smart boiler stops working, this can have a tangible impact on how you live from day to day, and that can be a problem. Sure, you could likely do a few days without hot water, but ultimately a fix needs to be found.

Now, it’s important to find professional help where you most need it. No one would suggest you repair a boiler from the inside out yourself unless you have qualifications in electrical work or plumbing, because the safety risk is too high. But if the issues are surface level or there may be common fixes, it’s worth considering a few steps you can take. If they work, great! If not, call in the professionals.

With that in mind, let’s consider four surefire methods to follow if a household-critical appliance goes down:

Assess The Issue’s Severity

It’s easy to go gung-ho into fix-everything mode, because fixing the appliances in your house is fun, and your consumer right. But before attempting any fixes, it’s wise to inspect the severity of the issue. If the appliance is giving off strange noises, producing smoke, or posing an immediate safety hazard (smells are a bad sign too), it’s best to avoid the urge to tamper with it. 

In these cases, you should absolutely unplug the appliance (turn off the fusebox if you’re worried), and seek professional assistance. However, if the problem seems minor, such as a display error or a temporary malfunction, you may be able to resolve it yourself.

Refer To The Manual

Most appliances will come with a user manual that offers helpful troubleshooting information. Not all information is there for every issue, but in general you can consult the manual for guidance on common issues and potential solutions. If you don’t have the physical manual, you may be able to find it online by searching for the appliance model and “user manual,” sometimes downloadable as a PDF. 

In this case, you may see a basic fix, or even identify an error on your part. Perhaps you accidentally placed an appliance under a too-heavy load (like cramming many super-hard vegetables in a blender and wearing out the motor), or maybe the fuse was overloaded and simply blew. Either way, the manual can help with basic issues, and also give you safety advice, like never removing a certain panel unless you’re a qualified electrician.

Check Certain Error Codes Online

If your appliance is displaying an error code and you can’t find particular help for it in the manual you can try searching for it online. Most manufacturers have online resources or forums where users share their experiences and solutions for specific error codes. Some common issues may even be carefully outlined by third parties, such as dealing with the common Samsung SUD error code for washing machines. 

Through this insight, you might find helpful tips or workarounds that could resolve the issue without the need for that annoying professional callout charge. That being said, stay cautious when following advice from unofficial sources, as improper fixes could potentially cause further damage. Check the site for their credentials, and if a vague forum post seems to assert something over the manual, it’s probably best not to try it.

Work On A Substitute For Now

While you’re fixing the issue or waiting for a professional repair, it’s wise to consider temporary substitutes to keep your life on track. For example, if your washing machine is out of order, you could head to the local laundromat, wear that pair of jeans once or twice more than you wanted to, or just hand wash the items (don’t worry, you’re hardly going to be the first). 

If your oven is malfunctioning, you can easily purchase a simple slow cooker, hot plate, microwave, or outdoor grill depending on your tastes or how long you expect the issue to last. This means that the annoyance of dealing with the issue is halved, because it’s not materially impacting your life. Then, the focus of the repair is mostly about getting the value out of the appliance you’ve purchased, or referring it back to a warranty and repair program for a full refund. That in itself can be a comfortable place to start.

WIth this advice, you’ll be certain to follow household-critical appliance maintenance care, while still living your life well despite this frustration. It will also refine your skills as a general homeowner, and there’s something positive to be said for that.

Irish firms urged to prioritise ‘critical trio’ of cybersecurity

Ransomware defence, employee awareness training and encrypted backup of mission-critical data are the ‘critical trio’ of areas that the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) is urging firms to address during European Cybersecurity Month.

Denis Ryan, who has global responsibility for information security management certification systems with NSAI and is a certified Lead Auditor, believes that businesses must become cyber-resilient. He said: “Firms often get caught out by threats they didn’t know existed – the unknown unknowns – so it’s important to stay informed and keep upskilling your IT team so it has the capabilities to cope with whatever threats arise. Regardless of the size of your business or the sector in which you operate, cybersecurity needs to be a priority.”

Ryan was speaking at the launch of NSAI’s free webinar series for organisations interested in certification to information security management systems. The new series, featuring Ryan and other subject matter experts, is called ‘Let’s talk about information security’ and the webinars take place on October 24th, November 1st, November 30th and December 6th.

Ryan recommends that firms look at implementing best practice, so they can evolve as needed to face down emerging threats: “For those unsure of where to start, the critical trio of areas to address are ransomware defence, employee awareness training (especially for non-IT staff) and encrypted backup of mission-critical data, as you can revert to this if you have a breach.”

He added: “Continuous awareness training is vital so that all employees understand that everyone has a role to play by being able to recognise phishing attempts and following security protocols. It’s also important to factor in cybersecurity to your change management protocol, for example. How will new tools or processes affect privacy, record control and other aspects of cyber-resilience for your business?”

Other areas to prioritise, according to Ryan, include vulnerability scanning, patching, having good authentication and password management, and being able to offer incident response plans, – meaning that if something untoward happens, the firm has a plan for handling it.

He said: “For Irish businesses, being smart about cybersecurity pays dividends on multiple fronts. First, when your cybersecurity is up to date, you prevent the financial loss that comes with any breach. Cybersecurity issues such as data theft or service disruption regularly cause companies to incur significant financial losses.”

He added: “It’s a good time to plan ahead and think strategically, as the European Union will be introducing multiple new cybersecurity directives as it focuses on a new cybersecurity certification framework.”

NSAI’s ‘Let’s talk about information security’ webinars are free to attend and bookings can be made at www.nsai.ie/27001.

BlackBerry partners with Samsung: joint offering optimised for first responders and front-line workers

Today, every organisation must be prepared to manage critical events, including operational disruptions, infrastructure outages, natural disasters, and pandemics. Organisations are not only challenged to maintain continuity of operations during such events, but also to ensure the care and safety of their employees. Those tasked with managing these events – or those whose job functions take them into dangerous settings – require tools that help them be prepared for all scenarios.

BlackBerry and Samsung, both veterans of keeping critical information flowing and secure, have partnered to address these needs by delivering the BlackBerry® comprehensive CEM (Critical Event Management) solution using rugged Samsung Galaxy® devices. The joint offering is optimised for first responders and front-line workers.

BlackBerry Alert and BlackBerry AtHoc will improve communications and productivity by utilising two programmable keys on the Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro. With a single click, front-line workers can easily access essential features critical to their job and safety. The platforms also leverage device management capabilities through Samsung Knox to allow IT managers to monitor and configure application features on behalf of front-line workers, simplifying deployment and support.

Paired with BlackBerry CEM, the Galaxy XCover Pro is an important new tool for protecting and empowering front-line workers, as well as those tasked with managing critical events in industries where employees are often placed in harm’s way.

Darren Spurgeon, business change manager for Greater Manchester Police, which currently uses BlackBerry’s AtHoc technologies, commented, “With BlackBerry AtHoc, the user experience of cascading reliable incident communications has been significantly improved. A single operator is now able to notify all key responders in less than 10 minutes, at the click of a button.  Collaborations such as this help us in getting time-critical information to the mobile devices carried by Officers, reliably and securely, further supporting the work of emergency response services.”

“For more than a decade, Samsung has provided enterprises with a military-grade device security and management platform, Samsung Knox, to protect secret and confidential information and enable productivity-driven frontline use cases through advanced hardware-level controls,” commented James Pak, Vice President and Head of B2B Partnerships at Mobile Communications Business, Samsung Electronics. “The XCover Pro’s ability to withstand the harshest conditions, coupled with the integration of BlackBerry Alert and AtHoc, ensures employee safety and provides a secure and reliable platform for critical incident management, making it the ideal device for frontline employees.”   

Strong partnership for optimised security

“Critical events are not rare, and unfortunately, it often takes a potentially dangerous incident to prompt an organisation to develop plans and processes that will lessen the impact of future events”, said Hans-Peter Bauer, Senior Vice President EMEA at BlackBerry”. “Progressive organisations proactively implement CEM processes for planning, responding, and recovering from incidents, as well as for ensuring employee wellness. Together, BlackBerry and Samsung have created a secure end-to-end platform for managing critical events and keeping workers safe, even in the most demanding environments.”