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

Brought to you by Tech Experts™

Is Your Computer Acting Scary? Try These Tips!

Has your computer been acting strange lately? Has it been popping up with funny messages, running slower than normal, missing buttons or cannot get on the Internet? All of these things can be caused by malware and can do so without the computer user even knowing that they are being targeted.

Most effects of malware are just annoying to the user but some can attack your PC and cause the computer to be unusable or even to lose data.

The use of the Internet has caused an increase in this type of infection. What exactly are viruses, spyware, Trojans, worms, and adware?

• Viruses are computer programs that can copy itself and infect files increasing memory usage and slowing down the system. Viruses can be opened by launching a file that has .exe on the end. Other people can be infected by contact to the file that was originally infected. The virus can do harm by attaching to an application, application file or by residing in the memory (RAM).

• Spyware collects information about the user’s Internet activity or changes the configuration of the computer. They can change the home page that opens up when you start Internet Explorer or add buttons to Explorer. Also called adware.

• Trojans are, many times, a form on a web site that misleads you in believing that a program is used for a helpful purpose but instead has a malicious intent. You can be downloading a paint program to make artwork but instead you are really being infected by a Trojan that may harm your computer .

• Worms are like a virus but spread through a network of computers without a user doing anything. These will corrupt files and cause the Internet to run slowly on your computer.

• Malware are any of the above types of infections.

Now that you know exactly what these pesky pieces of software are, it is time to modify your Internet habits. These are some tips to help avoid risky behavior on the Internet.

• Use a firewall. This will help block unwanted transmissions to your computer.

• Update your operating system when needed. Microsoft routinely releases updates for security fixes.

• Use an anti-virus software.

• Never open e-mail or attachments from anyone that you do not know.

If you have questions about computer viruses, or think you may have an infection, call the Tech Experts 24 Hour Computer Emergency Hotline at (734) 240-0200.

Halloween Holiday Trivia: Bet You Didn’t Know…

Orange and black are Halloween colors because orange is associated with the fall harvest and black is associated with darkness and death.

Jack o’ lanterns originated in Ireland where people placed candles in hollowed-out turnips to keep away spirits and ghosts on the Samhain holiday.

Pumpkins also come in white, blue and green. Great for unique monster carvings!

Halloween was brought to North America by immigrants from Europe who would celebrate the harvest around a bonfire, share ghost stories, sing, dance and tell fortunes.

The ancient Celts thought that spirits and ghosts roamed the countryside on Halloween night. They began wearing masks and costumes to avoid being recognized as human.

Halloween candy sales average about 2 billion dollars annually in the United States. Chocolate is #1.

Halloween is the 2nd most commercially successful holiday, with Christmas being the first.

Bobbing for apples is thought to have originated from the Roman harvest festival that honors Pomona, the goddess of fruit trees.

School is Back in Session

How to Keep Your Kids Safe Online

With school back in session, thousands of children will be surfing the Internet to conduct research, chat with their new classmates and complete homework assignments.

Although the Internet provides a tremendous learning tool for children, left unchecked it can also expose them to inappropriate material and unscrupulous individuals looking to exploit innocent children.

The Statistics of Online Abuse Towards Children Are Alarming

According to a survey conducted by NetAlert, nearly one child in every five has been approached online by a stranger, and 45% have been exposed to material that is pornographic, sexually explicit, violent, racist, or that encourages them to participate in dangerous or illegal activities.

One of the biggest threats are social networking sites like MySpace.com.

But MySpace isn’t the only threat.

According to Highlights of the Youth Internet Safety Survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice, one in five children received unwanted sexual solicitations online. There are a growing number of pedophiles using the Internet to gain a child’s confidence and arrange face-to-face meetings.

These cyber criminals are using everything from spam e-mails to online messaging, kid’s chat rooms, and misleading domain names to trap children. If your child uses the Internet, you must take measures to protect them from these dangers.

As part of our back-to-school newsletter edition, we’ve outlined 3 things you should be doing now to keep your kids safe online.

3 Things You Can Do Right Now To Protect Your Children Online

1. Install web and e-mail filtering software to prevent your children from viewing inappropriate material. We recommend using www.bsafeonline.com. Not only will this prevent your children from visiting inappropriate web sites, but it will also stop inappropriate spam.

2. Talk to your kids about online safety and proper Internet usage. Set limits and guidelines about when they can go online, what they can do, and how long they are allowed to be online. Explain why it is dangerous for them to “chat” with strangers online or download suspicious looking files.

3. Give your children specific online guidelines or rules to follow when using the Internet. It’s not enough to warn them about potential risks; pedophiles know how to cloak their identity and gain a child’s confidence to arrange face-to-face meetings.

Require Your Kids To Follow These Rules Online:

  • I will not give out personal information such as my address, telephone number, parents’ work addresses, or our e-mail address to anyone online.
  • I will tell my parents right away if I see a web site, e-mail, or message that makes me feel uncomfortable.
  • I will never send my picture to anyone online or upload my picture to any web site without my parent’s knowledge and permission.
  • I will never agree to meet someone face-to-face whom I met online without my parents’ knowledge and permission.
  • I will not respond to any messages that are mean or that make me feel uncomfortable in any way.
  • If I get a message like that, I will tell my parents right away so that they can contact the online service.
  • I will never give my parents’ financial information to anyone, especially their credit card information, bank account information, or social security number.

If you want more information on how to keep your children safe online or to report illegal, violent, or explicit acts towards children, go to www.cybertipline.com.

This site is run by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and is a great resource for parents, teachers, and guardians.

 

WARNING! Domain Scammers Are Out To Rip You Off!

We’ve received a number of calls from our clients over the past few weeks concerning domain renewal notices from companies such as Domain Registry of America and Liberty Names.

The renewal notices look like invoice, but in small print indicate they’re not. Be careful, because these notices are a scam to try and get you to switch your domain registration service to these companies, usually at much higher fees than are normal for domain registration.

One of our clients received two letters from them on the same day, urging them to transfer domains from my current registrar to their bogus service. If you receive one of their letters or emails, our advice is to throw it away – and let everyone that handles the mail at your company to throw them away as well.

If you read the notice VERY carefully, these companies are trying to convince you to transfer your domain to them by using threatening language and misleading information. If you use magnifying glass to read all the fine print on the back of their letters, the alarm bells will ring. Here’s an extract:

“You agree that you may not transfer your domain name registration to another domain name registrar during the first sixty (60) days from the effective date of your initial domain name registration with DRoA. You agree to provide written, signed authorization to DRoA for the transfer of the domain name to another registrar and agree to pay any and all fees that may be charged by DRoA to effect the transfer. Your request to transfer to another registrar may be denied in situations described in the Dispute Policy…”

“You agree, during the period of this Agreement, that we may (1) revise the terms and conditions of this Agreement; and (2) change the services provided under this Agreement. Any such revision or change will be binding and effective immediately on posting of the revised Agreement or change to the service(s) on DRoA’s web site, or on notification to you by e-mail or Canadian mail. You agree to review DRoA’s web site, including the Agreement, periodically to be aware of any such revisions.”

We interpret this to mean that if you mistakenly fall for their letter and sign up for their service, you are stuck with it for 60 days, must pay any transfer costs back to your own registrar and could end up paying for expensive services you didn’t agree to.

Domain Registry of America has been taken to court and rapped over the knuckles several times by the Federal Trade Commission for misleading consumers, but they’re still at it, trying to get people to switch their domain name registrar and usually pay a higher price in the process.

Our advice: If you haven’t already, move your domain registrations to our service. We charge a very reasonable $15/year per domain name, and as a courtesy, provide Domain Privacy Service to you at no charge. This means that domain scammers like Domain Registry of America and Liberty names won’t have access to your mailing and personal information.

That way, the only renewal notices you’ll receive for your domains will come directly from Tech Experts. For more information about our domain registration services, call (734) 457-5000.

What To Look For When Choosing Your Web Host

Anyone that has looked in to setting up a website knows that there is just more than saying, “I want a website.”

First, you must decide what type of website you want for your business. For instance, do you need a portal for customers to login and buy merchandise or check for new information regarding an invoice? That kind of website is called a dynamic website because the information keeps changing and usually requires lots of time from the webmaster to keep the website managed.

Then there are the websites that just act like a billboard to help promote your business to people. These sites will usually include a lot of the sales and marketing information from your company’s brochures.

The next step, after deciding what type of website your company needs, is choosing a domain name. This can be the trickiest part of putting your company online. Domain names are the “real estate” of the Internet – you can’t publish a website without a domain name. And, the reason I say it is tricky is that most of the good names are already registered.

Tech Experts can help you in choosing a good domain name, and register it for you as part of your hosting service. A tip, though: Make sure your domain name ends in “.com” – any of the other domain endings, like “.biz” and even “.net” are like the second class citizens of the Internet.

Here are some things to consider when you’re choosing a hosting company.

Reliability
Reliability is one of the most important factors in web hosting. If the hosting company doesn’t have great reliability you can find yourself losing lots of customers because of downtime. Most companies will advertise 99% uptime which is good but a better hosting company will offer a refund in time or in cash for downtime if they go under 99%.

Location
Location is another factor to consider. If your website is hosted in another country you will find that people will have a very slow response from the website due to the time it takes for the information to transfer to the destination. When choosing the location, try to stick with one in the same country as your target audience.

Data transfer speed
Data transfer speed refers to how quickly pages load and the rate at which other information on your Web site is accessed by visitors. Ask about data transfer statistics, and have the company show you how the speed they provide will be adequate for your needs.

Hard drive space
Hard drive space is something that is closely related to data transfer. Most businesses won’t need more than 10mb of storage space for their website, but be sure you have the option to increase space if needed. If you plan to store users and picture on the website you will need to plan in the future to have extra hard drive space. You’ll use more bandwidth as your visitor counts goes up.

The control panel
The control panel for a web site is where you go to make minor administrative changes to the site. For example, you would use the control panel to add new e-mail users to your service. Make sure the company you select has an easy to use control panel.

E-mail service
E-mail service is the next consideration. Some hosting companies provide email support and will allow you to create 1 or even unlimited amount of email accounts. Email accounts are usually always setup through the control panel you have chosen to use. You will want to make sure that the hosting company provides spam filtering services, too. The last thing you want to do is spend your time deleting hundreds of junk mails.

If you keep these things in mind, you’ll have an idea what you need and you will be able to start comparing web hosting providers. Here is my advice: Always remember, you get what you pay for. Do not expect a $5/month provider to have better support compared to a company like Tech Experts that charges a fair price and provides you with excellent service.

If you have questions about web hosting or having a web site set up for your company, please e-mail me at cbogedain@expertsmi.com.

 

Computer Slowing Down? Try A Memory Upgrade!

I just turned a little older, and as anyone my age can attest, the first thing to go is your “memory.”

It is no different with your computer. I recently upgraded our workstations here at Tech Experts, from 1gb of RAM to 2gb, and I could not believe the difference in the way our stations run. Programs that I use on a daily basis run unbelievably fast.

I’ve been asked over the years, “What exactly is RAM?” RAM (Random Access Memory) is the temporary working memory that the Windows operating system, programs such as Microsoft Word and Excel, and documents use when your computer is running.

Don’t confuse RAM with hard drive storage, which is where all your files are stashed. For years, processors and software have been growing increasingly RAM-hungry. Even just a year ago, 512mb was considered enough. We started out at 1gb, and upgraded to 2gb in our stations, which seems to be the “sweet spot” for Windows XP.

If you are working in Word, have a couple of websites open in Internet Explorer, and Outlook is open for your e-mail, inside your computer, each of your programs is competing for RAM. Windows is juggling which program gets priority at a given moment.

If you don’t have enough RAM, Windows will use the hard drive as virtual memory. The problem is, though, that swapping programs back and forth between RAM and your hard drive is much less efficient than keeping everything in RAM.

If your system seems sluggish and you notice lots of hard drive activity, chances are good that adding RAM memory will rev your system up. Programs that you run in a business environment need to process information RIGHT NOW. That’s why we’re recommending all of our clients upgrade to 2gb of RAM in their workstations. The speed improvement is incredible!

 

Raise IT Security Measures And Lower Your Stress

Updating Your Network Security Protects Your Valuable Data

Simplify. Prevent problems. Do it right, not over. These are just a few of the phrases among the most popular published in “Stress Reducing Tips” articles. But, how do you achieve these goals?

Take a look at your IT security measures first. Protecting your information systems from unauthorized use, disruption or destruction can help you reduce the number of stressful incidents that may arise as a result of a vulnerability. How can you decide what level of security is right for your organization?

Dive into a threat and risk analysis.
We can work with you to review the current security mechanisms and determine what needs to be protected. The level of security necessary for your business is largely reliant on the possible threats. If you have many employees, you may have a greater interest in user account changes versus a small dental practice whose chief concern is confidentiality.

Take advantage of our Free Network Audit and learn about the current options available for firewalls, controlled accessibility, anti-virus, spam filtering and much more.

Take time to develop a plan. Listen to employee feedback, analyze your current operations and review key points for development within your company in order to simplify business processes and protect your company data.

Think of the future.
Is your organization in growth mode or are you looking to stabilize your current position? Many clients come to us with only a few changes and end up with many things they would like completed to help increase security, increase efficiency, decrease operating costs or prepare for the future.

Prevent problems.
Security is everyone’s responsibility. According to Datapro Research, the most common causes of damage are: Terrorism, 3%; water, 10%; technical sabotage, 10%; dishonest people, 10%; fire, 15%; and, finally, human error, 52%. Unfortunately, 81% of this damage is caused by current employees.

You could install the most elaborate security and computer protection systems available, but if passwords are written on sticky notes and stuck to computer monitors in the office, or saved in Word documents, we cannot guarantee security.

New threats and vulnerabilities emerge everyday that can endanger your company. Take a preventive approach to managing your information systems with reliable security measures and proper staff training.

Firewalls and virus protection must be current. If you don’t know if these measures are in place, we can help you identify current software installed and enable or update them if necessary. A good anti-virus or firewall solution will automatically update itself as new updates are available.

Spam filtering is essential and can solve many e-mail problems that plague your inbox. Everyday spammers find new ways to get into e-mail inboxes. A lot of spam is simply unwanted advertising that is just annoying and takes up space. Some, though, are used to transmit viruses, adware or spyware that can eventually infect your entire network.

Eight Steps To Prepare For Business Disruptions

Summer Storms, Crazy Weather Highlight Need To Be Prepared

With the crazy weather we’ve been experiencing the past few weeks, now is the perfect time for your business to put together a basic disaster planning and recovery plan.

Here are some key points to consider:

1. Prevention costs less than recovery, and it’s faster.
When a disaster occurs, one of the first questions asked after the smoke clears (or the debris is cleared) is how it could have been avoided. That’s the prevention component – and the issue for most businesses is when they want to answer that question, and how much they are willing to spend to avoid a major disruption to their business.

2. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.
Our professional recommendation is to spread “vital” operations across more than one location if at all possible. Full backups should be performed every business day, and stored off site. The key thing here is, backups must be tested – this means you need to frequently pick random backup sets and attempt to restore from them.  In far too many cases, data that was thought to be securely backed up couldn’t be accessed when the chips were down.

3. When disaster strikes, the first thing to go haywire is the plan.
Your business should review the disaster plan for adequacy (are you covering all the bases) and currency (has the plan been updated to match your new technology?). Special attention should be paid to new systems and processes that weren’t in place in the business when the initial plan was developed.

4. When disaster strikes, your competitors will notice.
If your company doesn’t maintain market presence and reputation after a disaster, the absence can create a vacuum in the market place. This being the case, competitors will step up to fill that void.

5. Remember the four “P”s of disaster planning – People, property, priorities and planning!
Your company’s security plans should be up to date, including how to contact local fire, police and rescue departments. Some examples of questions to answer in your disaster document: Do you have a written crisis management plan? Has it been tested recently? Do you know when to call in authorities, and who has the authority to make the decision? How are visitors and vendors controlled in your building? Do your security procedures reflect what you really expect employees will do?

6. Tailor your business continuity spending to real threats and key priorities.
Recent events have made us think of terrorism as a major threat, but for small businesses like ours, there are more pressing and diverse threats. Things such as employee or non-employee workplace violence, cyber threats (including computer viruses and denial of service attacks), electrical disruptions, tornadoes or other storm related damages are, for most businesses, much more appropriate threats to invest in remediation efforts against.

7. Successful recovery is like a recipe – everything has to come together at the right time.
Your business should also consider asking critical vendors about their plans and capabilities to deal with emergencies. Relying on one or more critical vendors to keep your business going could be dangerous because a crisis that affects them could spill over to your company if they’re unable to provide goods or services.

8. Regional disasters have a way of mandating priorities you weren’t even aware of.
It is a good idea for your business to look at the immediate area surrounding your facility and perform a risk assessment. Are you near a river, stream, dam or lake?

Focusing on employee safety will pay off during a disaster, since knowledgeable employees are an important key to your company’s recovery plans.

Tips For Handling, Storing, & Disposing Of Confidential Documents

In the past 10 years, over 10,000 new regulations have been placed on the books by local, state and federal agencies pertaining to the handling, storage, and disposal of confidential client, patient, and employee documents.

A few examples are:

  • SEC Rule 17a-4 Electronic Storage of Broker Dealer Records Graham-Leach-Bliley Act
  • Financial Services Modernization Act
  • Sarbanes-Oxley Act
  • DOD 5015.2 Department of Defense
  • Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
  • Fair Labor Standards Act
  • Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Act
  • Payment Card Industry Data Security (PCI DSS)

No matter how small your business is, you are surely going to be affected by one or more of these new government regulations. Naturally some industries are more regulated, such as financial or medical, but all companies that hold information such as employee social security numbers, credit cards, financial statements (credit applications, bank statements, order forms) fall under these new regulations.

While we cannot cover every single aspect of protecting your company, here are a few tips that will go a long way in making sure you don’t end up fined, sued, or with a bad reputation for not securing your clients information:

Seek professional help. If you think you are holding confidential information that should be secured, ask a qualified attorney who specializes in data confidentiality in your industry about what you must do to meet new government regulations.

Shred all documents that contain confidential information. A good shredder should do a cross cut or diamond cut versus a simple strip shredder to make it more difficult for someone to piece together a shredded document.

If you have to keep a copy of contracts or other documents that contain confidential information, contact a high-security document storage facility like Iron Mountain (ironmountain.com) and they will store your documents in a high-security location.

Keep a fire-proof safe with a lock and key for employee documents you need to keep onsite.

Make sure your offsite backups have 32-bit encryption (ask your provider).

Also make sure the facility where the information is stored is under lock and key with security camera and access-controlled security.

Tired of Dumping Money Into Your Network?

Read On To Discover How You Can Make Those Darn Things Finally Pay Off!

If you ask most business owners why they invest in computers and technology, you will hear things like “to increase employee productivity,” or “to improve customer service” or even to lower operating costs, make information more accessible, and give them a competitive advantage.

But the question is, are the computers in your office actually contributing to your productivity, or do they act as a money-sucking stumbling block to your businesses success?

In this dog-eat-dog world, you cannot afford to have anything slowing you down or interfering with your day to day operations. Especially the tools you rely on in your computer network. If you want to learn how we can help you experience fewer interruptions, problems, and downtime, AND lower the overall costs associated with your computer network, then you’ll want to know about our “Experts Total Support” plan.

This program was designed specifically for small business owners that do not have a full time IT staff taking care of their computer network.

For a small, fixed monthly fee, we will monitor and maintain your computer network 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to make sure all systems are running at peak performance. We’ll also make sure critical network maintenance such as security and virus updates, backups, and system optimization happens when it should to avoid bigger, more expensive problems from happening.

Our Free 60 Minute “Technology Tune Up” May (Finally) Make Your Computers Pay Off

To introduce this new program to all of our clients and prospects, we are offering a free, 60-minute “Technology Tune Up” to the first five businesses that contact us this month.

In less than 1 hour, we can come in and examine your computer network, talk to your employees, and provide a very revealing analysis of all the under utilized or overlooked capabilities being wasted in your current computer system. We’ll also look for security loop holes, check your system back ups and virus protection, and look for other hidden problems lurking in the background, waiting to turn into bigger, more expensive disasters.

After doing this analysis, we can not only advise you on how to improve the speed. reliability, and security of  your computer network, but also on ways you can improve your overall office productivity.

Normally we charge $297 for this type of service but we are giving it away FREE as a special promotion this month to demonstrate our “Experts Total Support” plan. To secure your spot, simply call our offices at (734) 457-5000 or e-mail us at info@MyTechExperts.com and we’ll schedule a convenient time for us to come out and conduct this tune up.

No Risk, No Obligation, No Hassles

You will be under zero obligations to do or buy anything if you sign up for a FREE Technology Tune Up. This is just our way of introducing our new network maintenance program to you and we certainly don’t expect everyone to sign up.

So what are you waiting for? Call us right now while you’re thinking about it. Remember, we are only giving away five tune ups on a first come, first serve basis so call now while there are spots left!

This offer will expire as soon as we have five companies signed up, or on August 29th. Call today!