TechTidBit - Tips and advice for small business computing - Tech Experts™ - Monroe Michigan

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You won’t believe what they’re doing at work!

Survey Of Over 400 IT Managers Reveals What Employees Are Really Doing During Work Hours… And You Won’t Believe What They Discovered!

According to a survey conducted by 8e6 Technologies (www.8e6.com), employees are using company computers, Internet access, email, and other resources to conduct hours of non-work related activities.

Some of these activities simply waste time, like day trading and monitoring eBay bids.

However, many of the activities are downright malicious and threaten their employers’ existence and security.

Just look at some of these outrageous real-life stories collected from IT Managers polled:

  • One employee was caught running a gambling website and acting as a bookie for his coworkers.
  • To bypass the company’s web filter, one employee was caught using his desktop computer as an FTP server for the other employees. He had downloaded and saved over 300 GB of material.
  • One employee was busted for giving away confidential information such as price lists, contracts, and software code for application development.
  • Another employee was busted for having a side business stealing and selling company inventory on eBay.
  • One woman was caught running an online outcall service from her desk.
  • One employee was caught renting the corporate IP address to hacker friends to generate DOS (denial of service hacker) attacks.

While these scenarios seem outrageous, they are not uncommon. According to a survey outlined in the Seattle Times, of 294 U.S. firms with 1,000 or more employees, almost one-third of companies have fired an employee in the last 12 months for violating email policies, and 52 percent of companies said they have disciplined an employee for violating email rules in the past year.

As an employer, educating your employees as to what they can and cannot do through an acceptable use policy is simply not enough.

If the requirements are not enforced, employees will accidentally (or intentionally) violate your rules. That’s why every company should look at investing in a good email and web filtering system.

Just having it in place will act as a deterrent for such activities, and if something really is going on — like an employee leaking confidential information to a competitor or sending racial or sexist jokes through your company’s email —you’ll be able to nip it in the bud before it comes back and bites you in the form of a lawsuit.

Additionally, a good web filter will prevent employees from accessing inappropriate material online, wasting time on non-work related activities, downloading viruses and spyware, and using up company bandwidth to download photos and music.

Software such as Spectorsoft monitor employee Internet usage, accumulating statistics about how much time is spent on certain web pages, logging sites visited, and can block sites based on keywords, addresses, or time of day.

If you would like our help in choosing and setting up an acceptable use policy and a web filtering system for your company, call us at: (734) 457-5000 or send an email message to at info@expertsmi.com.

Microsoft Offers Financing For Small and Medium Sized Companies

Keeping your business running at peak productivity and efficiency has a lot to do with keeping your software, services, and hardware current. Now there’s a way to get everything you need more affordably with Microsoft® Financing.

Microsoft’s approach is unique in that they offer financing for software-centric solutions as well as for more comprehensive solutions that include software, services, and hardware.

Microsoft Financing makes your IT needs more affordable through predictable payments that are spread over the life of your IT investment.

You can now get the benefits of new technology while matching payments to use. In addition, Microsoft Financing helps you:

  • Own the hardware purchased outright.
  • Acquire all your IT needs cost-effectively.
  • Plan your long-term IT investments.
  • Streamline the financing process.
  • Conserve capital.
  • Preserve your financing credit lines.

It is important to note that this is true financing, not a lease, so you own the equipment.

Microsoft will finance a minimum purchase of $3,000, up to $100,000 or more.

For example: A new server, with five new workstation computers, Microsoft Small Business Server software, Microsoft Office, installation, training, and ongoing support can be financed for as low as $235 per month for 60 months.

Give us a call if you’re considering an upgrade – we can run numbers for you.

WowWee Robots Hit The Big Time!

The nice thing about WowWee’s scary RoboRaptor is that it’s slow. Like most toy robots that walk, it can barely outrun a snail. But the new PEA Bot uses Segway self-balancing technology and can book along at a few miles per hour. Fortunately, it has no snapping teeth.

The bot is about 18 inches high, and it’s the first non-Segway product to use Segway technology. Unlike the full-size Segway, with the PEA Bot, you can dial in varying levels of imbalance, to give the toy a more animated, or drunken, look. There’s also a flip-down cup holder on the bot, so you can use it to send refreshments to a friend across the room. Be sure to turn up the stability first.

Like WowWee’s RoboSapien, the PEA Bot can run either in remote control mode or in programmed semiautonomous mode. It will avoid walls and obstacles and can pick itself up if it falls. However, it has no cliff sensors, so it will drive itself right off a table or a flight of stairs.

The new bot should sell for about $200 when it ships later this year. Check them out on the web at www.wowwee.com.

You’ve Heard of Local Area Networks…. How About Body Area Networks?

Like everything else, implantable medical devices are going wireless. A new in-body antenna chip from Zarlink Semiconductor is in preproduction, and should appear in pacemakers and hearing implants this year.

By transmitting data to and receiving instructions from nearby base stations, body area network (BAN) chips can reprogram your heartbeat at your doctor’s office or make a diagnosis from a bedside wireless monitor at home.

Not only will we be surrounded by intelligent objects in the streets, but we’ll wear clothes made of nano-engineered smart fabrics that will use wearable technology that runs on body heat such as intelligent electronic contact lenses functioning as TV screens when we are in the subway.

Local Tanning Salon Enhances Customer Service and Decreases Costs with Service From Tech Experts

Dennis Asmar is a busy guy. Between running his two Electrik Beach Tanning Studios, managing his family’s rental properties, and building a new tanning salon, spare time is in short supply for Dennis. That’s why he trusts his company’s computer systems to Tech Experts.

“You wouldn’t think our business is all that complex,” said Asmar recently. “But, we have very high quality and safety standards. Before we networked our salons, a customer could tan at one salon, and then go to another of our salons and tan again. That’s just not safe.”

Asmar wanted to implement a system where all Electrik Beach Tanning Studios would talk to one another, and in January, 2005, he chose Tech Experts to implement the wide area network for his salons and home office.

Tech Experts installed Windows 2003 Servers at each location with several workstation computers. There is also a server at Asmar’s home office, with several workstations for reporting, bookkeeping and general office use. The servers link to a central database provided by Electrik Beach’s specialty software company.

Now, any Electrik Beach customer can tan at any Electrik Beach location.

“The benefits of having our systems networked are tremendous,” continued Asmar. “I don’t have to go to each salon to retrieve sales and revenue reports. All of my data is centralized in one location, and I can do all of the work to run my business from my home office.”

Customer data is vital for Electrik Beach – without it, they’re out of business. That’s why Tech Experts implemented a redundant backup system. Backup is performed by the software vendor in Georgia, and also at the local home office server in Monroe. The tape backup in Monroe is rotated daily, ensuring a good backup every time.

As Electrik Beach expands, Asmar finds he is spending more time at his home office or in the field on new salon projects, and not as much time in the salons as he’d like. For his home office staff and himself to continue to provide the necessary oversight of the salons, Tech Experts installed remote IP cameras at each location. This allows Asmar to visually see if his clerks are having trouble in the salons, or perhaps need help with the computers or customer service.

The cameras connect through the high-speed wide area network to Asmar’s home office, where he has a high-end workstation with dual monitors displaying camera data in real time, all the time. Surveillance data is also stored on the home office server, in case it is needed at a future time.It is an efficient, cost-effective solution for store security and monitoring.

“Before hiring Tech Experts, our network would sometimes go down, run slow, and we’d sometimes run into just weird problems we couldn’t figure out,” said Asmar. “Since signing  up on their network maintenance plan, we haven’t had any network problems. We also upgraded our systems to a wide area network, linking up all of our salons — we couldn’t have done that without Tech Experts help. I’m VERY glad we hired these guys to support our systems.”

Think Twice Before Posting Any Information Online

Whether it’s a chat group, forum, or even an email, take caution when giving out personal information or expressing your opinion about someone or something online.

Internet information is growing larger and more impossible to control every day. It’s not uncommon for people to lose their jobs because of what they wrote about their boss or their company, not realizing that it would remain as a permanent online record for the entire world.

One 22-year-old answered an Internet inquiry about whether anyone had ever had a bad drug trip. His reply was so interesting and colorful that years later it still ranks number seven out of a total of 92,600 Google hits that come up when you type in his name!

That’s why you should be very careful about what you post. Your boss or your future boss and head hunters can research your name online and pull up more information than you want them to have. They can also do continuous background checks on you, no disclosure required.

They not only can see what you’ve posted, they might be able to see your age, marital status, the value of your house, things you wrote as a teenager, liens, bankruptcies, and political affiliations.

Without the full story, a post or a question could be misinterpreted. For example, let’s suppose you are doing research for a friend or relative with a drug problem. If you post a question asking how to help someone beat a drug habit, others may assume the person with the habit is you.

To protect yourself, Business Week magazine gave the following recommendations:

  • Register with an online profile manager such as Ziggs or LinkedIn. They’re free.
  • If you must use MySpace, refrain from posting the risqué. Consider cloaking or using an avatar.
  • Order a background check from Zabasearch or Argali. Contact vendors if you find incorrect information.
  • Think before you blog. Anything personal that you post may come back to haunt you for years in the future.
  • Don’t send anything in an e-mail you would not want the world, and especially your mother, to read

As always, use common sense with the Internet. It is a very public place with a very long memory. It is fair to assume, Google never forgets anything.

Dell and Apple Recall Millions of Laptop Batteries That Could Suddenly Explode or Burst Into Flames

(Or, Why We Don’t Sell or Recommend Dell Computers for Our Clients)

Dell recently issued a recall of 4.1 million Sony-made laptop batteries sold between April 2004 and July 2006 because of a fire-hazard risk.

Following Dell’s announcement, Apple has also issued a recall for 1.8 million laptop batteries for the same reason: the batteries can overheat and cause the laptop to ignite.

If you own a Dell or a Mac laptop, check to see if your battery is on the recall list. If it is, remove the battery and run the laptop from an electrical outlet until you receive a free replacement.

How To Know If Your Laptop Battery Is At Risk
If you own a Dell laptop and want to see if it is affected, visit www.dellbatteryprogram.com. You will be prompted to enter the product number written on the inside of the battery.

If you own an Apple laptop, go to: www.apple.com and type “battery recall” in thesearch option.

This recall is for laptops with PowerPC chips. Newer Mac laptops with Intel chips are not affected by the recall.

Dell confirmed that it worked with Sony over the last few months to improve the battery manufacturing process.

However, Sony batteries are used by many different laptop manufacturers, which means the problem may be more widespread than Dell laptops.

Battery recalls are nothing new, but this recent recall is considered the largest in consumer electronics history.

Not Sure What To Do?
If you have a laptop and you’re concerned about the battery overheating, give us a call. We’ll be more than happy to investigate whether or not your battery needs to be replaced. Just don’t delay!

Tech Experts Earns Certified Partner Status In Microsoft’s Partner Program

TechExperts recently earned certified status in Microsoft’s Partner Program, which recognizes TechExperts’ expertise and impact in the technology marketplace.

As a Certified Partner, TechExperts has demonstrated expertise with Microsoft technologies and proven ability to meet customer needs.

Microsoft Certified Partners receive a rich set of benefits, including access, training and support that give them a competitive advantage in the marketplace.

“Only companies that have demonstrated high levels of customer service, proved their experience and attained advanced certification receive the designation of Microsoft Certified Partner,” said Allison Watson, vice president of the Worldwide Partner Sales and Marketing Group at Microsoft Corp. “Microsoft recognizes TechExperts for its skills and expertise in providing customer satisfaction with Microsoft products and technology.”

In addition to earning certified status, TechExperts has earned a Microsoft Competency.

Microsoft Competencies are designed to help differentiate a partner’s capabilities with specific Microsoft technologies to customers looking for a particular type of solution.

Each competency has a unique set of requirements and benefits, formulated to accurately represent the specific skills and services that partners bring to the technology industry.

Microsoft Certified Partners enrolled in the Networking Infrastructure Solutions Competency have proved their competency in implementing technology solutions based on the Microsoft Windows Server™ 2003 operating system, with a particular focus on Windows Small Business Server 2003.

These implementations may include solutions that connect Windows-based servers, PC locations and the Internet; installation of a server farm; or a small-business Windows Server stand-alone solution that includes file and print capabilities.

We are extremely pleased to have earned certified status in the Microsoft Partner Program. The certified status allows us to clearly promote our expertise and relationship with Microsoft to our customers.

The benefits provided through our certified membership and enhanced relationship with Microsoft will allow us to continue to expand the service and offerings that we provide our clients.