https://community.intuit.com/articles/1437462-configure-firewall-and-internet-security-settings-for-quickbooks-desktop​

Configure your 3rd Party AntiVirus/Firewall Programs

Note: Only perform this if configuring the Windows Firewall does not resolve the issue.

• Due to the vast number of firewall programs available and their ever changing versions, Intuit is unable to provide additional configuration steps. Refer to your software’s documentation or the software publisher’s web site for support.
• Intuit does not support or maintain steps on the various internet security programs on the market today. In most cases, you should be fine just adding the ports above to the Windows Firewall. If you still encounter errors opening a file over a network or multi-user problems, you may want to try adding the following executable/directories to your 3rd party virus program.

Add the following ports to your 3rd party Antivirus/Firewall:

Make sure TCP is selected and type in specific ports needed for your QuickBooks year version: (if you have multiple year versions of QuickBooks Desktop installed or will be using, you will need to add each year’s ports as well in this format: 8019, XXXXX, XXXXX, XXXXX, XXXXX).

• QuickBooks Desktop 2018: 8019, 56728, 55378-55382
• QuickBooks Desktop 2017: 8019, 56727, 55373-55377
• QuickBooks Desktop 2016: 8019, 56726, 55368-55372
• QuickBooks Desktop 2015: 8019, 56725, 55363-55367

Add the following executables to your 3rd party Antivirus/Firewall:

Note: If you see Program Files (x86), go there as that means you are on a 64-bit Operating system.

https://www.pcworld.com/article/2925173/debunked-your-ssd-wont-lose-data-if-left-unplugged-after-all.html

According to the article from PC World, SSD hard drives will not lose data if left unplugged for long periods of time. It seems that the original report on life span of SSDs was misquoted.

“The original presentation dates back to when Cox(the Seagate engineer who wrote the presentation) chaired a committee for JEDEC, the industry group that blesses memory specs. It was intended to help data center and enterprise customers understand what could happen to an SSD—but only after it had reached the end of its useful life span and was then stored at abnormal temperatures. It’s not intended to be applied to an SSD in the prime of its life in either an enterprise or a consumer setting.”

Google offers Chromebook OS updates for 5 years after the Chromebooks are manufactured, not 5 years from when you purchased them.

https://support.google.com/chrome/a/answer/6220366?hl=en

sunset

S.M.A.R.T stand for Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology;  is a monitoring system included in computer hard disk drives (HDDs) and solid-state drives (SSDs) that detects and reports on various indicators of drive reliability, with the intent of enabling the anticipation of hardware failures.

Currently Windows and Apple OS X don’t come with any software out of the box that reports to you the S.M.A.R.T status. Below is a list of software programs you can choose from that monitor and report to you the status of hard drive. But you should know that there is no definite set of rules on how to determine if your drive should be replaced based on the indicator that S.M.A.R.T. monitors. I am guessing that there is no definite way of determining which set of indicators should be weighed to determine if the hard drive should be replaced. There are definitely certain indicators that easily outweigh others, like Spin-Up-Time, which indicates that the motor is taking too long for it to spin up to the proper speed. If you notice that your computer is running sluggish, these pieces of software can help you determine if it’s time to replace your hard drive.

Comparison

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_S.M.A.R.T._tools

HD Sentinel

https://www.hdsentinel.com/

LSoft Active@ Hard Disk Monitor

http://www.disk-monitor.com/

Crystal Disk Info

https://crystalmark.info/software/CrystalDiskInfo/index-e.html

You can set CrystalDiskInfo to run at startup. It will notify you if the S.M.A.R.T. status of any drive changes. Open the “Function” menu and toggle both the “Resident” and “Startup” options on.

Passmark

https://www.passmark.com/products/diskcheckup.htm

Drive DX for Apple

https://binaryfruit.com/drivedx

SMART SSD