Primary Technology Ltd
After January 14th, 2020, Windows 7 will come to its End of Support and therefore no further security fixes or vulnerability patches will be made available for PCs running Windows 7, leaving systems and networks at risk.
As recommended by Microsoft themselves, schools who are still using Windows 7 should consider upgrading to Windows 10 – Microsoft’s latest, most powerful and secure operating system, which offers an array of features fit for all types of educational establishments.
The benefits of Windows 10:
Intelligent security – Protecting against threats and attacks.
Simplified updates – Monthly updates guarantees the latest features and protection.
Flexible management – On-premises or cloud-based device management.
Enhanced productivity – Modern tools and features to help with collaboration and efficiency.
Simplicity and familiarity – Reflecting the Windows 7 operating system people know and love.
Whether you are upgrading an existing device, buying a new one, or just after some advice, we have the help you need. Click here to get in touch!
Primary Technology will help you stay safe
A serious issue regarding Data Protection within a school recently made it through the Court system, As a consequence of this schools have been advised to ensure that devices that go off-site and contain confidential information are encrypted. At the Primary Technology Office the Engineers have researched the implementation of this within the school environment and we have different options available for moving forward. The decision making process for the school will be fully supported by Primary Technology.
BitLocker
The Microsoft offering which is available on the Enterprise version of Windows 7 and all Windows 8 versions. Schools with EES are eligible to use any of the versions which support encryption. BitLocker allows full encryption of laptops and memory sticks. To boot a laptop a USB key is required. BitLocker encrypted memory sticks are also usable on Microsoft Surface devices.
This is a centrally managed system, so schools can also have a master key locked away in the safe – so devices can be booted without a specific individuals key. It also means you have a backup of recovery passwords (long!) just in case the USB ports on a device fails or all copies of the USB keys break – unlikely.
Many schools only use Windows Professional, So a new image build may be required to set this method up,
TrueCrypt
An Open Source and free offering which allows a device per device basis of encryption. A backup of the key can be made onto a CD and kept safe, but otherwise it requires a long password to unlock a laptop. This is a good option for smaller establishments or people without EES licencing.
Hardware Encrypted Pen Drives
These are very expensive and we have also seen failures, where data recovery is totally impossible. Although as they normally use a pin code on the physical device they are independent of the device into which they are plugged and can be used on any system.
Software Encrypted Pen Drives
Restricted to full Windows operating systems, these are a cheap way to get started keeping your data safe. Each devices requires a small program to be ran to unencrypt the storage on the memory stick.
Finally..
We would never advise using memory sticks as permanent data storage. They are only a transport medium.
Primary Technology has been awarded the most prestigious quality assurance mark available for technical support providers in education. We are extremely proud of this achievement.
The Naace mark is provided by Naace and signifies Primary Technology’s commitment to the education sector. Through the Naace mark certain service changes have been made. We now constantly audit and monitor our progress and processes inside of schools.
More information on the naace mark is available at http://www.naace.org/
For more information on Primary Technology please visit http://www.primaryt.co.uk/
Various Bradford primary schools have requested a “Home Page” for their school which has educational resources on and uses the “Google safe search feature”. We believe this will also be a good avenue to communicate with schools.
This service is free for use and available at http://www.primaryt.co.uk/google
