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January 28, 2012

Organize Your Downloads: Keeping Track of Your Software Purchases and Free Programs in 3 Easy Steps

Filed under: General,Tips,Windows — Tags: , , — admin @ 5:35 pm

Organizing your hard drive is just as important as organizing your cupboards.  By default, all downloads go into your Downloads folder. That would be like stuffing all your plates, spices, and canned goods into one cupboard.

Why is organization necessary? You want to keep your software and registration information in one place to make backup and subsequent reinstallation an easy task.  When you make a software purchase, sometimes the receipt has the serial number, but it is often sent in a separate e-mail.  Did you remember to print out both e-mails? Where did you put the hard copy?  What about that free Photoshop add-in? Even if it was free, do you remember where you got it so you can download it again?

Don’t panic, there is a way you can avoid looking for all those e-mails, or receipts and serial numbers you might have printed out when you made the purchase.

Step 1.  We recommend making a top level folder with a separate folder for each purchase or program.  You might call your download programs folder MyPrograms.  So, under MyPrograms you would have many folders, and the structure might look like this:

Put all your downloaded software into separate folders

Step 2. When you download a program you will get the prompt to Run, Save, or Cancel the download. Always select Save (unless the instructions specify that you click Run):

Always save your software to disk unless otherwise instructed

When you click Save, Windows Explorer will open to the location of your last download. Redirect it to your MyPrograms folder, create a new Folder for your latest download, then click Save again:

Save to a folder with a descriptive name

Step 3. Using Notepad, copy and paste the information from your registration e-mail into a text file and save it to the same folder as the program, like so:

Keep your registration info and program together

That’s it!

Now your downloaded program and registration information is in the same folder, speeding up the reinstallation process.  Even if some programs or add-ins are free, you still want them all in one place to make reinstallation easier.

Backup your MyPrograms folder regularly.

If you are preparing to wipe your system to do a fresh install, check your MyPrograms folder for all the programs and add-ins that you have downloaded, then go to the manufacturer site and download the latest versions* before you wipe your computer. Backup that folder, restore it to your freshly installed system, and reinstallation of your programs and utilities will be a breeze.

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*When preparing to wipe and reinstall your system, download the latest version for which you are licensed, or,  you may want to upgrade your license to get the latest version.

 How do you know what version you are licensed for? Check the Help->About section of your program for the version number.  If the leading digit of the latest version is a full number higher than yours, chances are you may need to purchase an upgrade. If the leading digit is the same, but the other numbers are higher, then chances are the upgrade is free. 

Example: You have version 4.876.1.0. The latest version is 5.211.1.0. The leading digit indicates you might need to buy an upgrade. If the latest version is 4.975.1.0, then the upgrade is probably free.  Some companies charge for a .5 revision, like 4.312 to 4.5. Always check with the manufacturer when in doubt.

January 23, 2012

When Clouds Have Nothing to Do With Weather

Filed under: General,Technology — admin @ 1:20 pm

We hear a lot of questions about “The Cloud,” let’s talk about it.

What is “the cloud?”  Simply put, it’s disk space. That disk space can be used for many purposes, including storage and applications. 

Where is “the cloud?”  Typically that disk space resides in specialized data centers. Those data centers have disk backups, power supply backups for the servers, more disk backups, and several generators in case of area power outages.  These are typically heavy-duty IT facilities. Gaining access to a professional data center can be more difficult than getting into NORAD. Some companies keep the exact location of their data centers a closely guarded secret.

How do I get to “the cloud?”  Via an Internet connection.

Cloud computing is when the data and/or application resides on remote servers instead of being installed to your local computer.  If you use Gmail, Hotmail, or Yahoo, you are using cloud computing. The programs and data reside on those companies’ servers; you access them via the Internet.  Google Docs, Spreadsheets, and Calendar are other examples of cloud computing.

Cloud storage is when you back up your data to a remote server using backup services like Mozy, Carbonite, or DropBox.

January 21, 2012

Anatomy of a Really Bad Day: First-hand Lesson in Cybersecurity

Filed under: Tips,Virus,Windows — admin @ 9:43 pm

We saw a recent article entitled If you think cybersecurity isn’t a big deal, guess again. The author tells of looking for images of a baseball player, clicking on one—and that’s when the adventure started:

“I started to get a bunch of official-looking pop-ups telling me that my computer was infected with all sorts of nasty viruses. They also told me that all I needed to do in order to mitigate the threat was to click on the button contained in the pop-up window and the anti-virus program — which had a very official-sounding name—would make the crisis disappear.”

“I knew enough not to do that. So what I did instead was close the pop-up. That was a big mistake, as clicking anywhere on the desktop is what actually unleashes the virus.

“This particular virus was particularly nasty, burrowing deep into my operating system and rendering my computer inoperable. It took the IT guy two days just to find where the virus was hiding in my system, and then several hours to get rid of it and fix the damage to my operating system. It was a total pain. “

What should he have done? Power off his computer immediately and call his IT people. Stat.

When infected, many people ask: “Why didn’t my antivirus software stop it?” No antivirus software is 100%; things can and will slip through. Unfortunately, whether you are an individual or a corporation, downtime is costly in terms of both repair and … being down.

Here is the $64,000 question: do you have current backups?  Many times it is a lot less costly just to wipe an infected computer and reinstall the system from scratch—reloading all your software and restoring your data.

But if your data backup is not current and we have to try to salvage the system instead of wiping it, it is not out of the realm of possibility to spend a couple of days trying to rid the system of the virus as described in the scenario above.

Got backup?

May 17, 2011

Outlook 2010: Organize by Color

Filed under: Microsoft,Tips — admin @ 9:00 pm

Make sure you don’t miss messages from important people (like your boss) in Outlook, with color coding.

In previous versions of Outlook it was very easy to color code messages from specific e-mail addresses by selecting “Organize”.  You can still color code messages from certain e-mail addresses in Outlook 2010, but there are a few more steps involved: 

  1. Go to the View tab
  2. Click View Settings
  3. Click the Conditional Formatting button
  4. Click the Add button
  5. For the Name of the rule, type in Mail received from [name of sender]
  6. Click the Condition button
  7. In the From field of the Filter box, type or paste the e-mail address, or select from your contacts list
  8. Click OK on the Filter box
  9. In the Conditional Formatting box, click the Font button.
  10. Select a color then click OK in the Font box.
  11. Click OK on the Conditional Formatting box
  12. Click OK in the Advanced View Settings: Messages box

March 23, 2011

Some HP Printers may not print black text

Filed under: General,Tips — Tags: , , — admin @ 1:22 am

… even with a brand new black ink print cartridge.  So, what’s the problem? It may require the color ink cartridges also have adequate ink levels.  Go figure.

May 11, 2010

Human Engineering Wins Sometimes

Filed under: Spam/Phishing,Tips,Virus — Tags: , , — admin @ 11:54 am

Watch out for those pop-ups and be very careful about the websites you visit.  Despite current patches and anti-virus software, one of our clients got hit with some nasty malware recently.  They did not fully explain, but it could have been accidentally clicking on a pop-up or visiting a website that delivered it unknowingly or deliberately.  Either way, we spent a good bit of time removing it.

The problem is that so many websites deliver ad content dynamically, including pop-ups, and sometimes the servers that deliver that content can be infected either unknowingly or deliberately.  Personally, I run a utility on my computer that blocks all server delivered ad content.  It not only protects me from the drive-by ad content and infection, I find it a lot more pleasurable to view a page with the small word “Advertisement” in place of a big flashing ad. 

The only drawback is that you sometimes receive an error when you click on a “sponsored” link.  That is easily enough bypassed with a management utility or simply copying and pasting the link.

If you are interested in learning more about protecting yourself, please contact us.

November 4, 2009

How easy is it to hack your computer or device?

Filed under: General,Spam/Phishing,Tips — Tags: , , — admin @ 9:54 am

Passwords are required for  many things in our daily lives: computers, phones, voice mail, bank accounts, and the list goes on.  How secure is your password?  A group of programmers who write password breaking software published a list of the top 500 worst passwords.

Are you guilty of keeping the default password that comes with your computer or device?  Many hackers take advantage of people who do not change default passwords; some demanding ransom.

Remember some of these basic password guidelines:

  1.  Select a password that you can remember, don’t keep written passwords in your wallet or desk drawer.
  2. Use at least 8 characters, mixing letters (upper and lower case), numbers, and characters such as $, #, %, and so on.
  3. Don’t use a word found in a dictionary, English or foreign.
  4. Don’t use passwords based on personal information such as: name, nickname, birth date, wife’s name, pet’s name, friends name, home town, phone number, social security number, and so on.
  5. Be creative.  Misspell words, string together phrases.  For instance, if you are a pet lover, you could turn “a tail and four paws” into “tayl4Paz”.

November 2, 2009

Windows 7

Filed under: General — Tags: — admin @ 12:37 pm

Windows 7 is out. As with all Microsoft operating systems, even though Microsoft provides an upgrade, they (and we) advise a clean install. From our reading, it appears a Windows 7 upgrade will set you on the path to instability and problems.

August 11, 2009

Phishing for a Laugh?

Filed under: Spam/Phishing — Tags: , — admin @ 11:53 am

I received this phishing e-mail which was so funny, I just had to share:

Dear Bank of America Account Holder,Due to multiple login attempt error while login in to your Bank of America Account , We have believed that someone other than you are trying to access your account.For security reasons,we have temporarily suspend your account and your access to login into your online banking Account. There by you are required to re-confirm your membership details.Confirm your Bank of America Account now to enjoy the benefits of online banking and finance and to avoid fraudulent activites on your account.To initiate the verification process: https://www.bankofamerica.com/Control.do?page=corp _bofacom If your membership details are not re-confirmed within 48 hours then your ability to access your account will become restricted.. Thank you. Sincerely, Bank of America Account Review Department. Bank of America, N.A. Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender © 2009 Bank of America Corporation. All rights reserved.

If you are going to try to scam people, you might try to find someone with a better grasp of the English language for starters.  And while I removed the actual link, the letters in blue are exactly the way I received the link.  Notice a problem?  If the sender was phishing for a laugh, mission accomplished!

July 31, 2009

Convert PDF to Word (free!)

Filed under: Microsoft,Tips,Websites — Tags: , , — admin @ 1:36 pm

A client recently had the need to convert a PDF document to a Microsoft Word document and enlisted our help.  Short of purchasing the full version of Acrobat, or purchasing a single-purpose conversion program (which can run anywhere from $29 to $99), the alternatives were pretty slim.  There are free conversion programs on the market, but the reviews were not overwhelmingly good.

Luckily, we discovered a free web-based conversion program that worked perfectly.  It is called PDF to Word (free!) and while it claims to be a beta program, we had no problems.  It preserved the formatting of everything, including placement of images and the formatting of a table.  You simply browse to the location on your computer where the PDF file is located, enter your e-mail address, and about 3-5 minutes later, you receive the Word document in your e-mail. 

Perfect for low-volume needs.

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