Frequently Asked Questions

We are here to help

GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) Statement

At ABCOM, we maintain the security, processing and integrity of all our data (both internal data and clients data) with best practices and guidelines from statutory bodies such as Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). Our internal audit maps the whereabouts of our data, how data is processed, transferred and stored.

To defend our data from external threats, we deploy Firewall defences between our local area network and external networks. We have also installed state of the art anti-virus and anti-malware defences against the threats such as computer virus, cryptolockers and trojans. All our computers are installed with the latest patches to lock down system vulnerabilities.

We enforce strong password when accessing internal and client systems, passwords are changed periodically, authorisation to access data and systems are only granted by the Directors at ABCOM. Only authorised support staff have access to client data and systems.

ABCOM backup its data and client data (subject to service contract) to GDPR compliant providers. All data are encrypted at AES-256 bit military-grade encryption during the transmission and in storage, typical backup strategy involves a full image backup with subsequent incremental backups, this aid the ease to restore the required data.

Our backup and BCP (business continuity plan) solutions help our client to comply with the new regulation’s requirements and to support their privacy policy. Article 32 of the GDPR requires data controllers and processors to implement technical and organisational measures that ensure a level of data security appropriate for the level of risk presented by processing personal data. Data security measures include restoring access to personal data in the event of a physical or technical security breach. Our offsite cloud solution help organizations protect and secure their data in order to meet their RTO (Recovery Time Objective) and RPO (Recovery Point Objective) in the event of a disaster, and thereby recover personal data.

Also, we are Cyberessentials + Accredited.

Yann Davies

Managing Director

Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is used to ensure that digital users are who they say they are by requiring that they provide at least two pieces of evidence to prove their identity. MFA secures the environment, the people in it, and the devices they're using without requiring cumbersome resets or complicated policies. Organizations can also make it easier for users by providing them with a variety of factors to choose from or by only requiring additional factors when necessary. Where possible we recommend implementing this across your whole network. MFA is an essential element to your digital security.

Creating a ticket with our IT Support Helpdesk.

There are a few ways of logging a ticket:

By emailing, help@abcom.co.uk
By telephone 01444 871200 option 1

Once you have reached out then one of our engineers will arrange to remotely connect to your computer.
As soon as you enable access we begin the troubleshooting process.

We will keep in touch with you whilst we correct the problem. Once we are happy and we’ve confirmed the fix then we will close the ticket.
If the problem recurs, just get in touch. We can easily reopen the ticket as it is already in the system for reference.

2. We have a client portal which we will enable in May and you will have the ability to add and review tickets/ projects etc.

3. We have some FAQs on our website which can be useful.

https://abcom.co.uk/faq/

4) In the background we generate reports which we can share with you.

Welcome on Board

PSTN -This is the traditional circuit-switched telephone network. Usually provided via the BT network. It underpins a broadband and/or a voip line.

Assured line – This is a dedicated broadband line just for hosted phones. Call quality is improved and the overall service is better.

Broadband line – This will be the main data line.

Hosted phone user – Based on a per user basis. Each user will have a monthly subscription with benefits as bundled call packages.

Porting numbers – When we take over form your previous supplier we look to port the number into our platform. This is a one off cost and is carried out with minimal disruption to your business.

Converged line – This will be a single line that can encompass data and voice. The voice segment is quality assured on the line.

FTTP – Fibre to the Premises. This is a new product delivering fast speeds across the UK.The billing for this item may be quarterly in advance.

In general , when raising a fault we then engage Openreach to attempt to have your fault fixed. Within 2 working days with the standard Care Level 2 option on lines.

This lead time is subject to change due to engineering availability in the area and the complexity of the fault.

If your fault is associated with a major service outage in your area, then lead times may be drastically extended depending on the work required to fix the issue. In these cases, associated Care Level times will not apply.

If you are concerned about the lead times associated with your business lines, then we can offer you enhanced Care Level options;

Care Level 3 – repair by End of Next Half Working Day (Inc Bank Holidays) Mon- Sun

Care Level 4 provides a target 6-hour fix; this is the actual repair time and not response time, so essentially the lines can be up and running within 6 hours.

This is applicable 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and includes all bank and public holidays. This is particularly good for companies that rely heavily on their phones or those that require out of office response times. Please speak to your ABCOM Account Manager to discuss the pricing on our enhanced options.

For Microsoft Office Outlook 2019, Outlook 2016, 2013, 2010 and Outlook for Office 365

Click the File tab, and then click the Info tab in the menu.
Click Automatic Replies (Out of Office)
In the Automatic Replies dialog box, select the Send Automatic Replies check box.
If you want to specify a set time and date range, select the Only send during this time range check box. Then set the Start time, and then set the End time.
In the Inside my organization tab, type the message that you want to send within your organization, and in the Outside my organization tab, type the message that you want to send outside your organization.
Click OK.
If you selected the “Only send during this time range” option in step 4, the Automatic Replies (Out of Office) feature will continue to run until the date and time set for the End Time in step 5 is reached.
Otherwise, the Automatic Replies (Out of Office) will continue to run until you repeat step 1 and select the “Do not send automatic replies” option.

Is the problem just you or are your collegues affected?

Have you added any new hardware for example , NAS drive or media player

or have you added any software such as Google Drive or any other services.

Are any machines on the network streaming or downloading large files, for example Netflix, Google Drive?

All these things can play havoc with bandwidth.

Rebooting your machine tends to fix many issues.

Checking the actual hardware specification may be an iissue, ann older machine will begin to struggle.

If the problem continues try running a speedtest and checking back, we should help you determiine what speeds you should be expecting.

Keeping a log on as to when the issues occur can help us.

http://www.speedtest.net/

Open settings and scroll down to mail

Open mail and then click accounts at the top

Click add account

Exchange

Password: (enter your password)

Email: (your email address)

Description: whatever you want so you know what account it is on your phone

Click next.

5 Green sliders show and you can use these to choose what you want to add.

Mail - leave ticked

Contacts - Untick if you don’t want your email contacts on your phone.

Calendars - Untick If you don’t want your work calendar on your phone.

Reminders - Untick if you don’t want work reminders about appointments in your calendar.

Notes - Untick

The account should now be configured and usable.

Tap Settings

Tap Accounts

Tap Add Account.

Tap Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync or Corporate.

Enter your Email address and Password.

If you see a Domain\Username field, enter your full email address.

Note: If Domain and Username are separate fields, enter your full email address in Username, and leave Domain blank.

If you see a Server field, enter outlook.office365.com.
Tap Next.
To complete auto configuration, tap Ok.
Select the Account options you want to use. Selecting a longer sync period will show you more calendar information and email, and require more memory.
Tap Next.
Tap Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync, to see the display name for your email account. You can change the display name, here.
Tap Next, and you will see your inbox.

Yes you can , you can even have dual screens side by side.

NOTE: On multiple monitors, continually pressing a keyboard shortcut combination below will have the active window snap to the side and scroll in the direction of the arrow key through multiple monitor screens.

( = Windows-key, RA = Right Arrow, LA = Left Arrow, UA = Up Arrow, DA = Down Arrow)

On a Single Display

+ LA = Snap the current active window to the left side of the screen, or unsnap a window that is snapped to the right side of the screen.
+ RA = Snap the current active window to the right side of the screen, or unsnap a window that is snapped to the left side of the screen.
+ UA = Maximize the current active window to full screen.
+ DA = Minimize the current active window to the taskbar.

On a Dual Display

Active window on right display:

+ RA = Snap to the right on the right display
+ LA = Snap to the left on the right display
+ LA + LA (LA two times) = Snap to the right on the left display (change display)

Active window on left display:

+ LA = Snap to the left on the left display
+ RA = Snap to the right o the left display
+ RA + RA (RA two times) = Snap to the left on the right display (change display)

Refer to this FAQ as a general starting point and maybe the resolution is already listed.

If not then please log a Ticket with our IT Support Helpdesk.

There are 3 simple, easy ways of logging a Ticket.

By emailing, help@abcom.co.uk
By telephone 01444 871200 option 1
By clicking on the support icon on your workstation.

Once you have reached out then one of our engineers will arrange to remotely connect to your computer. As soon as you enable access we begin the troubleshooting process.

We will keep in touch with you whilst we correct the problem. Once we are happy and we’ve confirmed the fix then we will close the ticket. If the problem recurs, just get in touch. We can easily reopen the ticket as it is already in the system for reference.

In today’s world, a computer virus is a piece of software, a program that has been intentionally created to cause a user hassle, or spread to other computers, or ultimately destroy the data on a computer. To help prevent a computer from becoming infected by a virus, developers have produced anti-virus programs that stay active on the computer, helping to protect it. It is important to realize that many computers do not come with these already installed and that if computers do come with these programs, the programs may expire within 90 days.

We recommend centrally managed Antivirus suites, regular backups and well informed staff to avoid serious impact to your data.

Talk to us for how to achieve this quickly and effectively.

Double-check that the power is on. If there is no power light (green, blue or orange light) seen on the monitor, then try pressing the power button until the display appears. If your computer monitor was on and you’ve stepped away from the computer for a while, and upon returning the screen is blank, it is likely that the computer is asleep.Try moving your mouse, clicking the mouse buttons, and/or pressing a key (space bar, arrow keys) on the keyboard to wake it up. Make sure that the monitor is connected properly to the back of the computer and all power is on.

If you have ever encountered an attachment that you couldn’t open, it was probably because you don’t have the software necessary to view the file.

If you don’t have Adobe Reader or another PDF-compatible program, you won’t be able to open that document.

The usual suspect is the .pdf file, for which you can download a free PDF reader. If your problem involves a different file format, a quick search on the attachment’s file extension (the three letters after the full stop in the filename) should tell you what type of program you need.

Contact the sender of the attachment, perhaps an alternate version or format of the attachment is available.

Let’s assume that your printer’s drivers are up-to-date and that it has enough paper and ink or toner to print. Try turning the printer off and on. Unplug the printer and plug it back in.

Check your printer’s print queue by looking for the printer icon in the system tray and double-clicking it. The print queue shows you the status of each job as well as the general status of your printer.

The print queue shows you the status of each job as well as the general status of your printer.

The print queue is your best bet for troubleshooting printer problems.

Ensure that ‘Use Printer Offline’ isn’t checked. Sometimes, printing (ie, sending jobs to the print queue) while your printer is turned off can cause Windows to set your printer to work offline, and that can stall jobs sent later.

Once you have tried these steps, try turning the printer off for 10 minutes and then switch it back on.

smudged/distorted pages?

When printing on untraditional paper your printer may experience smudges, un-even or crooked text, and/or text that runs off the edges of the paper. Your printer may be printing fuzzy, blurry, and/or other faint text because of dirty print heads. All modern printers have some type of printer cleaning, self-test, and/or diagnose mode that can be performed to check and clean the printers print heads and other internal equipment used to print.

paper jam?

Turn off the printer. Inspect the location or tray the printed paper ejects to. If the stuck paper is visible manually remove it. Remove all paper trays and any paper that may be stuck between the tray and the printer. If the stuck paper is visible manually remove it. Open the printer door that allows you access to the printer ink cartridges or toner and look for any stuck paper. If the stuck paper is visible manually remove it. Turn the printer back on.

If any/ all these steps fail please do give us a call or raise a support ticket.

Using interactive broadband tests is not perfect but helps in giving us an indication of general internet speeds.

Before testing speeds please be mindful of the following:

Downloading from the internet or adding more users will bottleneck the internet connection.
Wireless will never be quite as fast as a cabled connection.
Business broadband is designed differently from residential and may have certain restrictions (ie. skype , downloading and file sharing).

When ready please navigate to www.speedtest.net

Click on begin test

Once the test has completed, make a note of the Download and Upload speeds and let us know your results.

You will be able to access all voicemails from your desk phone.You can access any voicemail from any desk phone in the business, providing you know the Company Voice Portal number and the relevant phone’s hunt group’s voicemail passcode.

Firstly, you will need to know the number for your Company Voice Portal. If you don’t have this code, please contact the help desk.

If you want to access a different voicemail than your own, please press the Star Key (*) on your desk phone. Then it will prompt you for the ID of the hunt group or phone you want to access and once entered, press Hash (#). If you do not have a list of Hunt Group Extension numbers or phone extension numbers, we can supply this to you.

After you have entered the Extension number of the voicemail you want to access it will then prompt you for the passcode for that extension voicemail mailbox.

After you complete all of these steps successfully, you’re in! Follow the voice prompts to navigate through the voicemail system. If you are accessing a shared Phone or Hunt Group’s mailbox, please record and share the passcodes with relevant personnel to avoid unnecessary lockouts, resets and confusion.

If you get any further issues please contact the help desk at help@abcom.co.uk.