“No Virus Wednesdays” A Huge Hit!

More Than 900 Virus And Malware Infections Eradicated Thanks To Tech Experts’ Free In-Shop Scanning Service.

More than 900 virus and malware infections have been eradicated as a result of Monroe-based IT services company Tech Experts’ “No Virus Wednesdays” war on computer viruses, spyware and junk e-mail.
 
We are incredibly pleased with our results so far!
 
We’ve had more than a dozen PC users bring in their computers to be examined, and have successfully removed dangerous infections on all of the affected machines.
 
In July, Tech Experts announced its “No Virus Wednesdays” program, offering computer users basic spyware and virus removal services at no charge each Wednesday in July, August and September.
 
Since Wednesday tends to be our slowest day of the week, we decided it would be better for our techs to be destroying viruses and spyware instead of sitting around twiddling their thumbs. That’s why we decided to give away this valuable scanning and disinfecting service for FREE on Wednesdays.
 
It’s clear that PC infections are on the rise, and in many cases, computer users aren’t aware they’ve got a problem.
 
Several computers we repaired were infected with trojan-horse type malware, which was tracking the users activity on the Internet.
 
One machine alone had 493 distinct infected files!
 
Of the computers we have examined, half either did not have anti-virus software installed, or the anti-virus software was disabled or expired.
 
We’re obviously very concerned about how safe computer users are when they’re on the Internet which is why we’re extending our “No Virus Wednesdays” program through the end of the year.
 
The Tech Experts “No Virus Wednesdays” program works like this: Users who would like their computers checked and cleaned of spyware call Tech Experts’ special “No Virus Hotline” at 734-243-1500 and set up an appointment to drop off the computer late Tuesday afternoon, or first thing Wednesday morning.
 
The computer will be evaluated, disinfected, and available for pickup as soon as it is ready, usually late Wednesday afternoon or Thursday morning.
 
Computers will be checked for over 1000 types of spyware, thousands of different viruses, as well as Trojans and keyloggers.
 
Any malicious software that is discovered will be removed, and a complete report provided to the client.
 
By having users pre-schedule their appointments, the company can plan for this work and provide the service at no charge, while still maintaining its normal weekly workload.
 
FAIR WARNING: This free service is scheduled on a first-come, first-served basis and limited to Wednesday appointments only. Call right now for your appointment!

Survey: Success Tethered To IT Strategy

If you’re not a tech advocate, or realize the value of information technology (IT)  to your small business, it’s very likely your company will not expand as fast as you’d like or expect.
 
In fact a new survey of entrepreneurial mid-sized businesses, in which respondents shared insight on what moved their business ahead, notes that while recruitment, staff retention and meeting new regs are big business challenges, the top barrier is not understanding the importance of an IT strategy.
 
The “Business Rearview Mirror” survey ranks “managing IT to the best advantage” as the second key element in entrepreneurial success.
 
Small and medium sized businesses (SMB) and their tech leaders should integrate IT into the corporate strategy as early as possible. About 18 percent of respondents note that “not integrating technology into business strategy sooner” was the biggest mistake made.
 
And not only should SMB leaders endorse and support IT, but they should strive to be a techie and learn as much as they can—from what tech is available to what’s being used in the enterprise.
 
An SMB owner’s technology savvy seems to correlate directly to business success -73 percent of respondents who rate themselves as “total geeks” reported double-digit average annual growth in their businesses over the past five years.
 
Close to half (48 percent) of “total geeks” reported that their businesses reached the 100-employee milestone with in five years of launch, compared to just one-third of all survey respondents.
 
Seventy-four percent of respondents were “totally involved” in IT decision making during their companies’ early growth.
 
However, among the fastest growing firms (those reporting more than 20 percent average annual growth over the past five years) 49 percent reported they had a dedicated IT person or department on the payroll before they reached 100 employees in size, compared to just 24 percent for the entire survey population.
 
So by now can you guess the biggest business stumble SMBs make when it comes to IT?
 
The answer: “Not taking advantage of the technology acquired,” despite the fact that a majority ranked major technology applications for having the most significant impact to the bottom line.
 
That’s why it is so important for small and medium sized companies to have a trusted IT advisor, like Tech Experts.
 
(Special thanks to Judi Mottl of the Small Business Resource Blog, located at www.smallbizresource.com  for this article. )

Critical Bugs Plague Quickbooks Online Edition

The federal government’s cyberdefense arm has warned users of the popular QuickBooks small-business accounting software that they risk losing data and control of their PCs to hackers.
 
According to two advisories published by the U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT), the ActiveX control that enables Intuit Inc.’s QuickBooks

Online Edition contains flaws that attackers can exploit simply by getting users to view an HTML e-mail message or visit a malicious Web site.
 
Of the two bugs discovered and reported by US-CERT, the one spelled out here is the most dangerous. Not only could attackers seed a vulnerable Windows PC with malware, US-CERT, but “an attacker can also retrieve files from a victim’s PC.”
 
Copenhagen-based vulnerability tracker Secunia ApS ranked the vulnerabilities “highly critical,” its second-most serious threat rating.
 
QuickBooks Online Edition is a Web-based subset of the traditional on-disk software, and it uses a subscription pricing model that starts at $19.95 per month.
 
According to US-CERT, Version 9, and possibly those prior to that, contain the ActiveX vulnerabilities. US-CERT recommended that users update to Version 10 as soon as possible or, failing that, set the so-called “kill bit” to disable the control.
 
Doing that, however, means that users won’t be able to access QuickBooks Online through Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, the only browser supported by the service.
 
Intuit’s support site showed no mention of the bugs today. Ironically, one of the documents in the Online Edition’s support database, entitled “What is the ActiveX control for, and is it safe?” answers: “The short answer is yes, our control is safe.”
 
ActiveX vulnerabilities in non-Microsoft products are nothing new, of course. Just over a month ago, for example, a critical ActiveX flaw was spotted in Yahoo Widgets, a development platform that runs small, Web-based, gadget-like applications on Windows desktops.

Time Awasting? It Could Be Worse Than You Know

The ‘work’ day is supposed to be about 8.5 hours, with either a half or a full hour for lunch. That’s the expectation. With any small business every hour of that day is key to business.
 
So what would you do if you discovered your small staff or employees were whittling away at least an hour or two hours doing something other than work?
 
One to two hours a day equals five to 10 hours a week--with a small staff that could translate to a full week of workable hours down the drain.
 
Yet that’s what’s happening in business today. According to a recent InformationWeek article, workers are still spending too much time on other things such as:
 
Using the Internet for personal reasons, socializing with co-workers, conducting personal business and running errands on company time.
 
Software now exists which can monitor employee usage of the Internet, and report on activity such as browsing personal sites, downloading inappropriate content, and using email or instant messenger services for personal use.merg

Check Out Our New Online Client Portal

You may have noticed recently that our field work order format has changed. This is because we recently implented a new Professional Services Automation software system to manage our work flow and service contract processes more efficiently.
 
This new system also offers enhanced communication features, keeping you informed when work orders are opened, ticket statuses change, or orders are closed.
 
You can also initiate service requests through a special client portal, which also gives you access to historical ticket information, recent invoices, and the ability to update open tickets.