Wireless Survey Results

My walk down the main street of my town provided with interesting results which will be presented in the next month's Truro & District Chamber of Commerce magazine. Most businesses were running secure wireless connections. I was surprised at the number of wireless connections being used. I could tell that a wireless connection was a business because they named their router after their business name for the most part. Amazingly most of the unsecured routers were labeled as "linksys" for some reason.

 

I see two main problems:

1. Some businesses still are not securing their wireless connections yet, and
2. Businesses are naming their router connections after their business name.

 

Wireless connection, regardless of business or home use, need to be secured against outside users. Network names should no be named so that others can tell who are are reaching. In one blatant example, a family with an unsecured router even named their router connection after their family name. Talk about making it easier for others to take advantage of that connection.

 

So check out my article in the next month's article of the Truro & District Chamber of Commerce magazine and stay safe.

 

Alpha Computer

Checking Businesses for Unsecured Wireless Connections

The last little bit has been extremely busy with yours truly doing some home renovations. It's really different than working on a computer as you can well imagine. Last month I wrote an article for the Truro & District Chamber of Commerce and now, it is time to put together another article that will be of interest to business especially.

 

Today I am going in the main business area with my laptop and see how many business networks I can gain access to. When it comes to a wireless Internet connect, it has to be secure from outside intruders. If I can get onto your wireless network, I can probably access your network. I will let you know how I made out. Stay tuned to see if there are any businesses out there with an unsecured wireless router.

Alpha Computer

Computer Safety Thoughts

Computer Safety in the Workplace

As a business owner, one of the headaches you will face is your computer.  Now the computer is supposed to be a helpful tool for your business.  They said it would save you lots of money in reduced paper costs and make your employees more efficient.  What many business owners fail to realize is that their computer could be a real serious risk to their business, if not handled correctly.

 

Imagine this as a business owner.  You are surfing the web for information and all of a sudden your screen goes funny for a second.  There is now a screen on the computer that is telling you that your computer is infected.  You start clicking everywhere to get rid of that screen, but it’s a real problem.  You finally get the screens shut down and think it’s all over.  That was close. 

 

Then all of a sudden you get a call from a business friend telling you that your business is now advertising Viagra-like products.  You are apparently now the poster person for some enhancement product.  As a matter of fact, all your contacts on the computer have gotten a “great” E-mail from you, and some are not pleased at all to say the least.  Your computer has been hacked and used to send out E-mails that you were not even aware of.  Your contact list has been compromised.  What has happened?  How could this have been prevented?

 

While you were surfing the web, you stumbled upon a web page that contained malicious code that downloaded unwanted programs onto your computer.  You were infected by a virus.  That virus redirected your computer to other web sites to download more garbage.  Then the unknown E-mails started happening without your knowledge.  You just violated the Privacy Act by unknowingly sending out your customer E-mail addresses.  Now your computer is a cess pool of viruses and the only fix is to wipe the hard drive clean.  There goes all your data, if you did not back it up before all this happened.  Computer repair shops see this everyday.  It’s a big part of what they have to deal with.

 

So what can you do to avoid this problem in the first place?  Computer safety just does not happen; it’s planned.  Let’s look at some of the things that we should be doing:

 

• Update the Microsoft Windows Patches on a regular basis.  Hackers try to take advantage of security flaws that are not fixed on your computer.
• Use up to date anti-virus and anti-spyware programs.  Find a good program and keep it updated.  Updates should come automatically, but you should check every now and then to make sure they are working.
• Use a router with a built in physical firewall to keep things from going out of your business network.
• Back up your files on a regular basis.  It’s not a matter of if, but only a matter of when.
• Don’t be click happy and click on everything you see.  This especially applies to E-mail.  Those blue hyperlinks in the body of the E-mail might vary well launch a virus or some sort of malicious program.
• Your employees could be your greatest risk to your network.  Make sure they understand safe computer practices and that they are following them.  There is a reason why YouTube.com and other sites need to be blocked in a work environment.  The media that they are using might be bringing in a virus that will wipe your network out.

 

It would be a good idea to have one person in the workplace put in charge of looking after the computers to make sure they are safe.  Education of employees is another good thing to put in place.  Don’t allow ignorance to be responsible for taking your computer down and putting you out of business.

 

Alpha Computer Training

Adding Music to PowerPoint 2007

You can add music to PowerPoint to play across as many slides as you want. To do this do the following:

1. On the Insert tab, in the Media Clips group, click on the down arrow below the speaker and select Sound from File.
2. Locate the sound object you want and click on the Open button once you have clicked on the sound file.
3. Select Automatically or When Clicked button for how you want the sound to start.
4. Click on the Sound Tools contextual tab, go to the play sound button towards the left side and select Play across slides option.
5. Click the Hide During Show check box to hide speaker during the presentation.
6. Give your presentation a try. Tweaking may be required to make it run the way you want.

Alpha Computer

Adding an E-mail Signature to Your E-mail

E-mails that are send out customarily have a signature at the bottom. But did you know that you can add them automatically to your E-mail without have to type anything? Did you know that you can create an electronic business card with all your business information at the end of the E-mail?

 

Well how do you add a signature? I will explain how to do this in Outlook 2007. If you have a different E-mail program, the setup will be similar.

 

In the Menu Bar at the top of the Outlook program, select the word Tools. From the drop down list that results, select Options. From the Options dialogue box, select the Mail Format tab at the top. In the Signature section, select Signatures button. From the Signatures and Stationary dialogue box, select the New Button. Now type how you want your signature to appear in the blank box below. Select Save and click on OK. Select OK in the Options dialogue box. Now open up a new E-mail to send to someone and the signature will be there at the bottom.

 

There are more fancy things you can do, but try this and see how you do.

Alpha Computer

New Computer Training Lab For Alpha Computer

Starting this Monday, April 13th, Alpha Computer will be conducting computer training in the brand new "Gems Computers" lab located on Dominion Street in Truro, Nova Scotia. This will give me an opportunity to continue training Seniors, Businesses and those who need improved essential computer skills.

 

For those who are looking to improve or just to learn computer skills, you can check out what is currently being offered for training: Business Training and Personal Training. Get prepared for the future. Call today.

Be Careful What You Write - They Can Not See Your Face

With the Internet comes tremendous ability to quickly communicate with those around you, despite the distance. Unfortunately others can not see your face or catch your tone unless you are using video conferencing, for example. So you have to rely on text and how you put your words together to get your intended meaning across.

 

For example, all CAPITALS in an E-mail means you are screaming or upset. You could actually hit the CAPS lock on the keyboard and start typing in CAPITALS. You may say, what's the problem - I won't fix this, and send the message as is. Yet the receiver may think you are in a sour mood or worse, mad at them.

 

You have to be careful when you are joking so the the receiver knows that you are actually joking. Things like putting LOL (laugh out loud) or a smiley face :) can help the receiver know that this is meant to be funny.

 

So be careful how you type so that the receiver does not get the wrong idea.

http:www.alphacomputer.ca

General Anti-virus PopUp

I was going to a web page from my G-mail service when everything went crazy. Pop ups were telling me I am infected and that I need to install General Anti-virus to get out of this mess. Well General Anti-virus is malware. That's bad software that is harmful to your computer. So what did I do to get out of this mess?

 

Well I certainly did not click on any buttons in the pop up windows. No OK or Cancel buttons. I used the Task Manager to shut these pop ups down one at a time and it was a battle to close them. To open the Task Manager: right mouse click on the Task Bar at the bottom of the computer screen to select Task Manager. From there select the Applications Tab. I found the program(s) I needed to shut down, left clicked it and then clicked End Task. I had to do this several times to shut down all pop ups. Now I am scanning the laptop for what might be left over. Being click happy is not what was required at that moment.

 

If this happens to you, think before you click. Do not panic. And don't click on any buttons in the pop up windows. Under no circumstances download General Anti-virus.

 

I will post a follow up on what I found or did not find.

Latest Virus Threat, What Should I Do?

With April 1, 2009 comes the zero day for a possible bad virus. What should I be doing today? For me, I backed up all the files I could not live without on DVD's. Backing up files off of your computer should be a regular event. With this possible threat coming, it is important to be prepared.

 

So take some time and backup those files, just in case. Also make sure that all your Windows Updates are up to date. Check to make sure your anti-virus program is set for automatic updates and do a manual update to make sure things look good. Hopefully nothing happens, but you never know.

 

Have a great day and be safe.

Jeff at http://www.alphacomputer.ca

Common Key Board Short Cuts

Here are a few short cut keys that you should put to memory because they are commonly used everyday. These short cut keys can be found in the drop down menus found in the Menu Bar at the top of the computer program window. These short cut keys are the same from program to program. So instead of using your mouse, use these keys. They will save you time.

• Print: Ctrl + P
• Save file: Ctrl + S
• Open file: Ctrl + O
• Copy: Ctrl + C
• Cut: Ctrl + X
• Paste: Ctrl + V
• Select All: Ctrl + A
• New file: Ctrl + N

There are many more short cut keys. But just memorize the ones you commonly use. It's all about saving time.

http://www.alphacomputer.ca

This Makes My Blood Boil

My wife brought to my attention the insult that Greg Gutfeld made towards the Canadian soldiers serving in Afghan: http://news.sympatico.msn.ctv.ca/abc/home/contentposting.aspx?isfa=1&feedname=CTV-TOPSTORIES_V3&showbyline=True&date=true&newsitemid=CTVNews%2f20090323%2fmilitary_comments_090323.

This really got my blood boiling.  I normally don't blog about these things. But when this guy starts insulting soldiers, especially when 4 were returning home to be buried, enough is enough. Greg made a shallow apology at best. His original remarks were way out of line.  As a Canadian, I would never insult the fine service of our American counter-parts.  This US Fox TV guy has gone way to far.  Look what happened to Don Imus. Then think Greg Gutfeld.

The Cost of Disorganization

If there is one thing that can waste a lot of time, it is a disorganized file and folder system on a computer. If you have to spend a significant amount of time looking for a file, you need to get better organized.

 

Organization happens in the Windows Explorer file and folder system. You will need to set up folders to separate files from other files, so that you can find what you are looking for quickly. This means that you have to stay organized right from the start when you are building your electronic filing cabinet. If you are well into a mess, it can be fixed quite easily by creating folders to put those stray files into.

 

When saving that file, there are two important things to consider: (1) where are you going to put it and (2) what are you going to name the file. These two elements will help you stay organized and find files faster.

 

So by spending that extra amount of time by creating folders and storing your files correctly, you will get a return on your investment quite quickly. Find it quickly, use it and put it away. Then go about the rest of your day.

 

Have a great day, Jeff

www.alphacomputer.ca

Instant Information and French Fries With That

With the coming of Twitter and other applications like it, information is almost instantly available at your finger tips.  For business, information is critical.  Finding information can keep you ahead of the pack, especially when trends are coming forth.  Imagine asking a question and answers coming back to you from people in the know.

It's amazing what you can learn from your friends on the Internet.  I found out about Tweetdeck through someone I connected with on Twitter. Tweetdeck is a program that helps you manage all the Twitter information coming at you.

So next time you have a question, don't just ask Google. Throw it out into the Internet using Twitter or other applications like it.  You will be amazed by the quality and quantity of the answers.

Jeff

http://www.alphacomputer.ca

Heard of Twitter

I have been bumping into a lot of people who have not heard of Twitter. If you are one of them, Twitter is a cross between MSN Messenger and Google. Imagine getting information from people in the know about events, facts and real time information. It's like having Mr. Know-It-All with the answer right at your finger tips. It's social media meets information.

You type in what you are currently doing, post links to great information, search for people who have similar interest as you and much more. Twitter enables you to connect with great people all over the world.

For me, it's a great business tool. I get the information I need in real time. I get to see trends before they even happen. There is groups of people out there for any interest. So go over to Twitter.com and check it out.

Microsoft Excel Training Basics

I have been getting a lot of requests for Excel training lately for business. This program seems to be required more and more these days.

One of the fundamental things to do in Microsoft Excel is to use the "Shift" and "Tab" keys more, instead of mouse clicking when entering numbers. You really see that this is important when you are making formulas in Excel. You can create an error in a formula by mouse clicking.

Once you have created a good formula in a row and you have more rows to complete, considering copying the formula downward in each row. As you type the new numbers in each row, the formula results will be displayed automatically.

If you are new to Excel and you would like to see some videos on Excel, make sure you check out the Microsoft Excel videos in the Computer Software training section.

Have a great day, Jeff

Regarding E-Mail Attachments

Here is a great quote about E-mail attachments from Marc Handelman from Infosecurity.US..."If you didn’t ask for it, be very cautious about opening e-mail attachments. If you’re not sure whether someone you know meant to send you an attachment, reply back and check with the sender before deciding whether to download and open it."

When it comes to E-mail attachments, you can never be too careful.

Check out my Computer Safety pages at: http://www.alphacomputer.ca/Computer-Safety.htm

Have a great day, Jeff

Using Blind Courtesy to Forward E-mail

You get a forwarded joke from a friend and in the "To" of the E-mail you see all these E-mail addresses. Every address you see, you can send an E-mail to them. When you forward an E-mail with everyone's E-mail address in the "To" section, you are showing the world your friends E-mail addresses'. In the hands of the wrong person, these addresses could be used for spamming. So how do you forward a joke without revealing the E-mail addresses of your friends?

Use Blind Courtesy Copy, also known as BCC, to send those forwards along safely. Any E-mail addresses you add to BCC will not be seen by others. They get the E-mail you sent and your friends E-mail addresses are kept safe.

To use BCC, there is usually a button with "use CC or BCC" that you can click on. If not, click on the "To" button to the left of the address line and use BCC there. Remember, your friends don't like getting spammed. So help protect their E-mail addresses by using BCC to forward those jokes.

Have a great day, Jeff

www.alphacomputer.ca

Copy Text To Another Location Using Ctrl Key

Instead of using the Copy command from the Edit drop down menu located in the Menu Bar, you can use the Ctrl key on your keyboard. This is a faster way of copying text to another location.

Here is how it works:

1. Highlight the text you want to duplicate or copy somewhere else.
2. Position the mouse pointer in the highlighted text area.
3. Hold down the Ctrl key on the keyboard and press down and hold the left mouse button.
4. Drag the copy of the text to the location you want.
5. Release the left mouse button and then release the Ctrl key on the keyboard.
6. The text is copied to the new location.

Foe more info check out my web site at www.alphacomputer.ca .

Adding a Task To your Outlook 2007 Calendar

One of the coolest features of Outlook 2007 is the ability to drag a task from the Task Module and drop it onto the Calendar Module button so that you can add it to your Calendar easily.

Here is how it works: click on a task and hold down on the left mouse button. Drag the task to the left side of the Outlook Navigation Pane and drop in right onto the Calendar Module button. When you do this, an appointment screen will appear and you can set the date and time to see the task completed. This makes keeping track of tasks and finish times easy. Try it yourself.

For more info check out my web site at www.alphacomputer.ca .

Using E-mail Signatures

E-mail signatures are a great way of getting all the information someone needs to get a hold you you.  For example, say you send an E-mail off to someone and you want them to call you.  Why would not you include your phone number with your signature, especially if you are a business.

As a business, I do not want a client to have to go digging through a phone book to find my phone number.  In my signature, I include the following:

Jeff Brown

www.alphacomputer.ca (my web site address)

(902)555-2600 (my phone number - not real in this case)

info@alphacomputer.ca (my E-mail address 0 - never take it for granted)

Having all this information in front of someone helps them contact you faster. And when it comes to a busy day, I appreciate people that help me get things done faster.

So think about using a signature in your E-mail.  I have even put one on my Blackberry.  Make it professional looking.