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Newsletter
June
2026
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"We don't just fix computers — we educate."
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What's Happening
Vacation Tech, Storms & the
Mid-Year Reset
Summer's here, Winchester — and whether you run a business or just run a household, odds are there's a trip on the calendar. Here's what nobody plans for: the stuff that breaks while you're gone. The credit-card terminal that quits on a Wednesday with the owner unreachable in the Outer Banks. The lightning storm that takes out the office network — or the home WiFi the grandkids were counting on. The "quick gift-card favor" email a scammer fires off to your office manager the second your out-of-office reply goes live. Every one of them is preventable with the boring ten minutes before you head out the door.
 This month Skits is walking you through all of it — one topic per Sunday, alternating between home week and office week. Plus a brand-new free course at Skits' Classroom built for exactly the season. So grab a cold drink, find some shade, and let's get your tech squared away before the fun starts — that's the whole idea behind this month's lineup. A little planning now, a lot less scrambling later.
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Skits' June Lineup
Some of you wear both hats — office in the morning, home in the evening. Both columns are for you.
A fresh blog post every Sunday — click any card to read it (or to see what's coming).
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Week 1 · Jun 7 · For the Home
Before You Lock the House for Vacation →
The 10-minute Winchester homeowner's checklist — WiFi, the camera, and the "should I post this on Facebook?" question (spoiler: not yet).
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Week 2 · Jun 14 · For the Office
Owner Out of Office: The 4 Handoffs →
The "owner's in Bermuda, nobody knows the admin password" call — made preventable with four handoffs you test before you leave.
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Week 3 · Jun 21 · For the Home
Summer Storms: What to Unplug →
What to unplug, what to keep running, and the $25 surge protector with a joule rating that pays for itself in one storm.
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Week 4 · Jun 28 · For the Office
Mid-Year IT Audit: 7 Line Items →
Q2 closes Jun 30. Seven things every small business should close before Q3 — license cleanup, backup test, MFA, and more.
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Follow Along on the Blog →
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FROM
Jerry
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Two things worth heading off this summer.
First — the scareware pop-ups are back. The full-screen "CALL MICROSOFT IMMEDIATELY" ones with the loud noise. It's a recurring summer scam, and it's a tough one because it WORKS by panicking people. They're not Microsoft. Microsoft doesn't call you, and they don't put their phone number on a pop-up. Three tricks before you panic:
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1. Alt + F4 — hit those two keys together. Closes whatever window is on top. Most scareware dies right there.
2. Ctrl + Alt + Delete → Task Manager — find your browser (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari), highlight it, click "End task." Pop-up goes with it.
3. Last resort — press and hold the power button for at least 20 seconds (don't let go). Forces a clean restart.
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Reopen the browser fresh and you're fine. If it keeps coming back, THAT'S when you call me — not the number on the screen.
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Second — if you're an owner-operator finally taking a real week off this summer, please read the Jun 14 blog. The "owner's in Bermuda, nobody knows the admin password" call is the most preventable emergency in small-business IT. It takes a 30-minute walkthrough BEFORE you leave, not a panicked call FROM the airport.
That's it. Have a good June.
— Jerry
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⚡ Tips & Tricks from Skits
Four Things to Do Before You Leave Town
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Test Your Restore
Backups that actually work.
Five years of invoices or a decade of family photos — "we have backups" and "backups that actually work" are different sentences. Pull one file off your backup today and open it. Right version? You're covered.
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The Out-of-Office Trap
It bites two ways.
At a business, scammers read your auto-reply and email "you" asking the office manager for gift cards. At home, it quietly announces the house is empty. Keep it vague — no dates, no destination, no "back on the 22nd."
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Photo the Router
Back, cables & sticker.
Home office or main office — snap a phone photo of the back of the router and modem, label the cables, and grab the sticker too (admin login, default WiFi password). After a storm or a move, you're not guessing.
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Storm Season
Surge protector — or better, a UPS.
Your most important gear is the same everywhere: internet hardware, network gear, and computers. A $25 surge protector is the floor. Better is a UPS — a battery backup that rides out short outages so nothing drops mid-task or mid-sale.
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Got a tech question you'd like Skits to tackle? Tell him here.
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Summer Scam Alert
The CEO Gift-Card Play
Owner goes on vacation. Office manager gets an email that LOOKS like it's from the boss: "Grab three $500 gift cards for client appreciation, I'll pay you back tomorrow." It's not the boss — it's a scammer who read the auto-reply. The fix is one conversation BEFORE the trip: "If I ever email asking for gift cards, wires, or tax forms — don't reply. Call my cell."
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Got something suspicious? Ask Skits — he'll gut-check it with you. |
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⚡ Quick Win
Unplug Before the Storm
A direct lightning hit gets past even a good surge protector. Unplugged gear is unhittable.
Pull the computer, TV, and router when a storm rolls in.
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Free Interactive Training
From Skits' Classroom
Three picks for the season. Every course is free and takes about 10 minutes. Click to start.
✉ Out-of-Office Done Right NEW · launched Jun 1 |
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✈ Travel Safe — Avoid Scams Vacation-scam playbook |
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☁ Backing Up Your Data The 3-2-1 rule, plainly |
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Browse All 19 Courses →
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Service Spotlight
In-Person Training for Groups
Jerry comes to YOUR space — office, church basement, library meeting room, community center — and works with your people on the tech they actually use. Scam awareness, email & password basics, Microsoft 365, small-business cybersecurity, and cyber insurance basics (what carriers ask for now, and what counts as "having" multi-factor authentication).
Community groups, churches, non-profits, civic clubs, libraries, senior centers — just call. 540.303.2410.
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One neighbor-tip: if you've never had a real conversation about cyber insurance with your agent, you should. For mine I call Jamison Ford at TWG — he's been straight with me every time.
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In & Around Winchester
What's Happening in June
Fri Jun 5 — National Doughnut Day. A fine excuse to treat yourself.
Sat Jun 6 — Hop Blossom Craft Beer Festival. Old Town Walking Mall, noon to 6. And the MSV has its Pottery Show & National Trails Day the same Saturday — a big day in either direction.
Thu Jun 18 — Memories at the MSV. A program for visitors with memory loss and their care partners. If you know a family this would help, pass it along.
Tue Jun 30 — Lavender Weaving at the MSV. Slow craft you bring home and put on the entry table for a month.
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Follow Skits
on Facebook
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Tips all week long — quick fixes, scam alerts, polls, this-or-that questions, and the occasional Winchester moment.
Follow SKTS →
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Two Ways to Get Help Quick question or "is this a scam?" — Chat with Skits, his office is open 24/7.
Rather talk to a human? Call Jerry at 540.303.2410. |
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Shared Knowledge Technical Solutions
1521 Martinsburg Pike
Winchester, VA 22603
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📞 540.303.2410
jerry@sharedknowledgets.com
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