Is Your Wireless Secure

You have bought or received a new wireless router that will help you connect your laptop to the Internet wirelessly.  What is one thing that many people neglect in the set up of the wireless router that will affect their security?  Forgetting or neglecting to password protect the wireless router so others can not access your Internet connection!

A wireless router must be password protected to prevent others from accessing your Internet connection and your computer.  Read your router set up instructions and add a password for security.  This can happen in a home or business set up.  Make sure your wireless connection say "Secured Network" or something to that affect.  For more information, check with a computer tech or a friend who knows what they are doing.  This is to important an issue to leave undone.  Check your wireless connection today to make sure you are protected.

E-mail Subject Lines

I have been teaching an E-mail class this week. One of the things I have been teaching the students is how important the Subject Line is.  When the E-mail comes into the Inbox, you see the sender and the Subject Line of the message.

The receiver of the E-mail makes decisions on whether to open the E-mail right away partly based on the subject line.  If there is one subject line, I probably will delete the E-mail.  If the subject line does not indicate urgency or importance, the E-mail will probably be put on the back burner for later.  If you are sending the E-mail into a network environment, a spam filter may grab your E-mail based on the subject line.

So when you are sending E-mail, make your subject line a good one.  It should describe quickly what the E-mail is about.  You may even include your name in the subject line also.  All this helps the receiver of the E-mail make decisions about the incoming E-mail.

Here might be a good example: "Meeting canceled for Thursday - from Jeff Brown" or "October Report from Jeff Brown".  Short and sweet, and they tell the receiver what the E-mail is about.

Is Your Wireless Secure

I just finished reading an article a while ago about wireless security and I remembered that many people I have taught were not aware that a wireless router needs to be secured.  By secure, I mean that in order to access your Internet connection, you are required to enter a password to access it.  As a business, an unsecured wireless connection can be an entry point by others to your Internet as well as your network.  Imagine others accessing your customer information and then think of the Privacy Act.  Get the picture.

When a wireless router is setup, it needs to be password protected so that others can not gain access to that wireless network or your computer information.  When you want to access the wireless network, you have to use a password.  After that, if you want, you can save the settings so that you can automatically connect to the Internet next time. 

If others can use your network, you could be held accountable for what others do on your wireless network.  Information could also be accessed.  So if you are not sure if your wireless is secure or not, check with a computer tech and find out.  This is too important to put off.

Watch Out For Antivirus 2009

Masked as an antivirus, this malware (software with evil purposes) product installs Trojan viruses which are harmful to you.  Called Antivirus 2008, Antivirus 2009, Vista Antivirus 2009, XP Antivirus 2009 and such, this program really is a wolf in sheep's clothing.

A client's daughter installed it on her father's laptop trying to get out of a mess that she had created.  Things only went from bad to worse.  The client and I restored the computer to an earlier date (after checking for online solutions to this problem) and updated the antivirus for a complete system scan.  Antivirus 2009 is a hard program to get off your computer, so watch out and avoid it.

If you have been hit by Antivirus 2009 and you are not sure what to do, contact your local computer repair shop for expert help.  Make sure your antivirus is up to date.  Watch out for strange pop up screens, especially those telling you that your computer has been infected by a virus.

Click Happy: It Can Get You Into Trouble

Clicking on everything you see can get you in trouble.  You might start something that you wish you had never started. 

For example:

•  Those blue hyperlinks (hyperlinks are blue text in your E-mail that can be clicked on to perform an action or take you to another place) in your E-mail may be dangerous. You might launch a virus onto your computer or you may be directed to a fake web site that wants to steal your personal information. 
• If you are surfing the web and a pop up appears, you may launch a virus onto your computer by clicking the X button in the upper right part of the pop up box.

So before you start clicking on everything, make sure you think about what you are doing.  Don't be afraid to use your E-mail or surf the Net, but don't get click happy and click on everything you see.

Cold and Your Electronic Equipment

Transporting electronic equipment, such as a laptop, in the cold weather poses a risk of damage if you immediately turn it on when you get into a warm environment.  You should allow the equipment a few moments to warm up before turning it on.  Open up your equipment case and allow the warm are to bring the electronic equipment to room temperature.  Then turn it on.  Plan for this when the weather is cold.

IPod Touch For Christmas

My daughter received an IPod Touch for Christmas and it was an extreme hit. But when it came to setting it up, all eyes went my way.  It was the same way with the TomTom navigation device as well as the new video camera.  When you know something about electronics, you become the go to guy.  One of the key things for all these devices, especially the IPod Touch was to read the set up instructions.  It's not good to fly by the seat of your pants when it comes to electronics.

I had to set up the Internet access for the IPod Touch as well as the general set up.  After it was all completed, I must say that I was impressed with the IPod Touch.  My daughter went right to YouTube and she was Instant Messaging with all her friends.  My thought summarized for this section is: as much of a pain as it is to read the set up instructions/manual, you will save yourself a lot of grief by using them.

By the way, if you received a wireless router this season, make sure you password protect it so that others can not get onto your Internet connection.  Have a great break everyone.

Looking for more information, check out my web site at: http://www.alphacomputer.ca .

New Laptop Must

Once you turn on your new laptop and go through the set up screens and enter the required information, the next thing you should do is make your recovery CD's or DVD's.  This recovery disks give you a way to recovery your laptop to the original factory condition should something happen.  And chances are that this is only a matter on time.

To help you, there maybe an icon on the desktop screen to start the process. If there is not, consult your manual or material that came with the laptop to find out how to make your recovery disks.  The Recovery DVD's or CD's are important and making them should not be over looked.

For more computer training info, visit: http://www.alphacomputer.ca

Avoid Automatically Opening Your E-mails

If your Preview Pane or Reading Pane is opened in your E-mail program, you run the risk of automatically opening an E-mail with a virus.  You should shut that feature off in your computer based E-mail program.

You should have the choice of which E-mail you open or not.  Having the Preview Pane open always what ever E-mail is highlighted to automatically open.  If you want to view an E-mail, open it by double left clicking.  Don't play Russian Roulette with your E-mail.  Check your Help menu for instructions on shutting this feature off.

Here is a link to a video I put on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-iPxzyr5Wo&feature=channel_page

Laptop Battery Best Practices

Your laptop battery will work a lot like your cell phone battery.  Make sure you allow your laptop battery to be drained right down.  This allows you to get the most time out of your battery charge.

If you only keep letting the battery drain to 1/2 mark, when you use it on battery, guess how long your battery will last.  The 1/2 mark.  So make sure you allow your battery to drain right down.  You'll appreciate it next time you travel with your laptop.

Don't Leave Laptop Plugged In

Once your laptop is fully charged and you are no longer using it, unplug the laptop from the power supply.  Once the battery is fully charged, it's good to use.  Leaving your laptop plugged in after using it may hurt the battery over the long hall. 

Make sure, every now and then, that you run the laptop on battery power only so that the battery can be drained.  These steps will extend the life of the battery.

Laptop Power Plug-in Damage

One real weakness in a laptop is the power plug-in jack at the back.  If you twist the power plug-in part in the jack, you can damage it.  This is not a replaceable part that I am aware of.  Repairs probably will require soldering components inside.  This can be expensive.

Use care when unplugging the power plug-in from the jack so that you do not damage the jack.  Do not move your laptop since this can twist the power plug-in going into the jack at the back of the laptop.  Also place the power block unit either on the floor or safely beside the laptop so that it will not fall and twist out the power plug-in.