10 Word Defaults You Can Customize

Jun 18, 2012 System Tech 0 Comment

Takeaway: Change a few key default settings in Word and you won’t have to make the same tweaks over and over.

Word does a good job of assuming how the average user works, but some of Word’s default settings can be annoying and inefficient. Some users don’t know they can permanently change these settings, so they continue to reset them for each new document or just struggle along. Users should consider resetting the following defaults to work more productively. Of course, there are more defaults to set.

1: Line spacing

The default line spacing setting in Word 2007 and 2010 is 1.15, not 1, as it is in 2003. Microsoft believes 1.15 is more readable online. If you’re not generating Web content, adjust the style(s) you use in Word’s template (Normal.dotx), as follows:

Click the Home tab.
Right-click Normal in the Styles Quick gallery and choose Modify.
Choose Paragraph from the Format list.
In the Spacing section, change the At setting from 1.15 to 1, as shown in Figure A.
Click OK.
Check the New Documents Based On This Template option.
Click OK.

Figure A

This change will adjust all Word styles based on Normal, so be sure that’s what you want.

2: Smart quotes

If you generate Web content or other published material, you probably have to undo Word’s smart quotes in favor of straight quotes. You can do so quickly enough by pressing [Ctrl]+Z, but that becomes tedious after a while and you might forget. If you use straight quotes more than smart quotes, disable smart quotes as follows:

Click the File menu and choose Options under Help. In Word 2007, click the Office button and click Word Options. In Word 2003, choose Auto Correct Options from the Tools menu and skip to step 4.
Choose Proofing in the left pane.
Click AutoCorrect Options in the AutoCorrect Options section.
Click the AutoFormat As You Type tab.
Deselect the Straight Quotes With Smart Quotes option in the Replace As You Type section, shown in Figure B.
Click OK.

Figure B

Disable smart quotes for all new documents.

3: Paste special

Word’s paste special feature retains the source formatting. If you’re pasting from foreign sources, you probably reformat it once it’s in your Word document. If you do this a lot, change the Paste Special default as follows:

Click the File tab and choose Options. In Word 2007, click the Office button and then click Word Options.
Select Advanced in the left pane.
In the Cut, Copy, and Paste section, choose Use Destination Styles from the Pasting Between Documents When Style Definitions Conflict drop-down.
Choose Keep Text Only from the Pasting From Other Programs drop-down, as shown in Figure C.
Click OK.

Figure C

Several paste settings make this a flexible feature; choose the setting that’s most efficient for you.

This feature is significantly different in Word 2003. From the Tools menu, choose Options, and click the Edit tab. In the Cut And Paste section, click the Settings button to display the options shown in Figure D.

Figure D

Word 2003 is more specific, but it allows some control.

4: File Location

Word saves your documents in My Documents. If you find yourself resetting the save location a lot, reset the default as follows:

Click the File tab and choose Options. In Word 2007, click the Office button and then click the Word Options button. In Word 2003, choose Options from the Tools menu.
Select Save in the left pane. In Word 2003, click the File Locations tab.
Specify the new folder in the Default File Location field shown in Figure E. Or click Browse and locate it that way. In Word 2003, highlight the Documents item and click Modify. Use the Modify Location dialog to specify the new folder and click OK.
Click OK.

Figure E

Word will save documents to the specified folder instead of My Documents.

5: Spacing between paragraphs

When you press [Enter], Word increases the line spacing to add a bit more white space between paragraphs. This extra space isn’t the same as a blank line, so you can’t delete it by pressing Backspace. To eliminate this extra spacing, do the following:

Click the Home tab. In Word 2003, select Paragraph from the Format menu.
Click the Paragraph group’s dialog launcher (the small arrow in the lower-right corner). In Word 2003, click the Indents And Spacing tab.
Check the Don’t Add Space Between Paragraphs Of The Same Style option.
Click Set As Default, as shown in Figure F. (Not available in Word 2003, but you can change this format for the current document.)
Click OK.

Figure F

Eliminate the additional white space between paragraphs.

6: Mini toolbar

When you select text, Word displays the mini toolbar, which hosts several formatting options. Even though it’s dimmed, it still annoys some users. You can press [Esc] to hide it or you can permanently disable it, as follows:

Click the File menu and choose Options. In Word 2007, click the Office button and then click Word Options.
Choose General in the left pane (if necessary).
In the User Interface Options section, uncheck the Show Mini Toolbar On Selection option, shown in Figure G.
Click OK.

Figure G

Uncheck this option to disable the mini toolbar.

7: Drawing canvas

Word’s drawing canvas is a distinct layer for drawing. Objects placed in a canvas have an absolute position and remain together as a group. Most users find the canvas layer difficult to work with and frankly, most users don’t need it. If you’re still using Word 2003, disable the canvas layer as follows:

From the Tools menu, choose Options.
Click the General tab.
Uncheck Automatically Create Drawing Canvas When Inserting AutoShapes in the General Options section.
Click OK.
Word 2007 and 2010 disables the canvas layer by default. If you happen to be working with the drawing canvas enabled, disable it as follows:
Click the File menu and then choose Options. In Word 2007, click the Office button and then click Word Options.
In the left pane, choose Advanced.
In the Editing section, uncheck the Automatically Create Drawing Canvas When Inserting AutoShapes option, shown in Figure H.
Click OK.

Figure H

The drawing canvas is annoying enough that Microsoft finally disabled it by default in the Ribbon versions.

8: Normal.dotx

Word bases new documents on Normal.dotx, but the template’s settings might not fit your needs. If you have just a few changes, customize Normal.dotx. A common customization is to change the font and size. To make the change at the template level, do the following:

Open a new document and click the Home tab.
Click the Font group’s dialog launcher (the arrow in the bottom-right corner). In Word 2003, choose Font from the Format menu.
Make the necessary font changes. For instance, you might choose Arial, 12.
Before closing the dialog, click the Set As Default button. In Word 2003, click Default.
In the resulting confirmation dialog, select the option to set the default for all documents based on the Normal template, as shown in Figure I.
Click OK twice.

Figure I

Make a font change at the template level.

Other template customizations you might want to make include margins and styles. Use a custom template, rather than Normal.dotx, to meet requirements that are more complex.

9: Word selection

When you select part of a word and then part of the next, Word selects the whole word for you — whether you meant to or not. To disable this selection option, do the following:

Click the File tab and choose Options. In Word 2007, click the Office button and then click Word Options. In Word 2003, choose Options from the Tools menu.
Choose Advanced in the left pane. In Word 2003, click the Edit tab.
In the Editing Options section, deselect the When Selecting, Automatically Select Entire Word option, as shown in Figure J.
Click OK.

Figure J

Ridding yourself of this annoying selection behavior is easy.

10: Spelling, grammar, and formatting

Word identifies misspelled words, grammatical errors, and formatting inconsistencies, as you type:

A red line indicates a word not found in the dictionary (possibly misspelled).
A green line indicates a possible grammatical error.
A wavy blue line indicates an inconsistent format.

I recommend that you get used to the display and not disable these features — they’re a helpful indication that something might be wrong. On the other hand, if you find them distracting, you candisable them. To disable the red and green lines, do the following:

Click the File tab and then choose Options. In Word 2007, click the Office button and then click Word Options. In Word 2003, choose Options from the Tools menu.
Select Proofing in the left pane. In Word 2003, click the Spelling & Grammar tab.
In the When Correcting Grammar and Spelling In Word section, uncheck the first three options: Check Spelling As You Type, Use Contextual Spelling, and Mark Grammar Errors As You Type, as shown in Figure K. (There’s no contextual spelling option in Word 2003.)
Click OK.

Figure K

You can disable Word’s spelling and grammar indicators.

To rid documents of the wavy blue line, do the following:

Click the File tab and then choose Options. In Word 2007, click the Office button and then click Word Options. In Word 2003, choose Options from the Tools menu.
Select Advanced in the left Pane. In Word 2003, click the Edit tab.
In the Editing Options section, uncheck the Mark Formatting Inconsistencies option under Keep Track Of Formatting. In Word 2003, deselect the Mark Formatting Inconsistencies check box in the Editing Options section.
Click OK

Even the most competent users make an occasional error and these features identify potential problems. Adjusting to them will probably serve most users better than turning them off.

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GoDaddy of The Domain Name And Hosting Industry

Jun 14, 2012 System Tech 0 Comment

GoDaddy, probably the world’s largest domain registrar was sold in 2011 for $2.25 billion dollars. This is a hell of a deal. I can not believe that an Internet company would cost that much. Internet is an intangible business and it is really hard to believe that anyone dot-com based company could cost billions.

Does GoDaddy Worth That Much?

It definitely does! It was reported that the company has a portfolio of 48 million domains and 9.3 million customers worldwide. 73% of those domain names are .com TLDs. GoDaddy nets about $2.95 from each .com registration. The average price of the .com domain registered with GoDaddy is $11.99 per year. Some TLD’s like .net and .org cost $14.99 while most of the other popular web addresses are priced between $12.99 and $19.99 per year. If we calculate the annual revenue the company makes form domain registration, it accounts at more than $500 million per year. However GoDaddy is not just a domain registrar. The company sells Shared Hosting services, VPS, dedicated servers as well as email hosting. Among other web services and products in the company’s portfolio are SSL certificates, DNS, Web design and website analeptics as well as SEO services. The Arizona based company has been cash-flow positive since 2001. That year it had $4.3 million in revenue. In 2004 GoDaddy’s revenue rose to $73 million. The next year – 2005 – the company lost $13.8 million on revenues of $139 million, according to its SEC (http://www.sec.gov/) filing. GoDaddy’s spending on marketing has exploded from $1.2 million in 2003 to more that$15 millions in 2005. The company planned to go public in 2005 and planed to raise $200 million through an IPO. However it has in 2006 GoDaddy decided not to attempt an initial public offering. In 2008 GoDaddy reported a revenue of $497.9 million, $750 million in 2009. The domain registrar has steadily grower its business within the last 5 years. It is also believed that the company has a strong sales team. The average online order which customers submit on GoDAddy’s website is $26.81, while the average one posted after a the new customers talked to a customer service representative was $65.00. Domain Name Wire reported that before the deal the GoDaddy’s CEO Bob Parsons “owned 78% of the company and employees owned 22% through stock options”. Mr. Parsons, who has got himself involved in a scandal earlier this year and sparked outrage by releasing a video of himself killing an elephant, will remain with GoDaddy as Executive Chairman of the Board. The company president Warren Adelman is the new CEO.

What Would Happen After The Sale? I do not have an inside information about what the new owners of GoDaddy would do with the company. However I’d project that GoDaddy would probably try to expand aggressively in the web hosting service market. The company would try to grow its portfolio of VPS and Dedicated server customers and to grab larger share in the server market. It could also try to become an important player on the market of Cloud hoisting services. Whatever the new owners decide to do GoDaddy could become even bigger within the next few years.

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Introducing RingCentral Cloud Touch

Jun 14, 2012 System Tech 0 Comment

I’m excited to announce the launch of our new RingCentral Cloud Touch platform, the first and only phone system that enables businesses to set up, manage and use their phone system from smartphones and tablets.

We’ve completely re-imagined the phone system, enabling businesses to turn any location into an office while giving employees the flexibility and freedom to access the system from any connected device. We help businesses, administrators and end users work the way they want to – from anywhere and on any device.

Our new platform includes three key components:
1. RingCentral Touch – Fully touch-powered platform for phone systems, enabling full management capabilities from any tablet or smartphone. Intuitive customizable settings for administrators and users provide unmatched flexibility and control.

2. RingCentral Presence – Presence is extended beyond desk phones, enabling users to see availability based on smart mobile devices. Enabled with simple controls, users can access from everywhere. Employees are better connected with presence that integrates mobile users.

3. RingCentral Connect – RingCentral integrates with Dropbox, Box and Google Docs, enabling customers to share documents and files in the cloud, providing enhanced productivity.

We’d love to hear how RingCentral Cloud Touch enables you to work from anywhere and manage your phone system with ease!

Telecommunication

Amerivest Realty Embraces Cloud Phone Systems

Jun 12, 2012 System Tech 0 Comment

Today’s guest post is written by Joe Ballarino, President and Co-Founder of Amerivest Realty, a full service real estate brokerage. Amerivest switched to RingCentral service last year to address business challenges and improve business operations. Here Joe shares his thoughts about why he made the switch and its positive effects on Amerivest Realty.

Challenges with Our Old Phone System

Previous to RingCentral, we hosted an on-premise phone system. The system often had technical issues which required costly consultants to repair. More importantly, these issues were often total outages which were not only inconvenient, but also adversely affected our business, potentially causing loss of revenue for the brokerage and our associates.

Additionally, system configuration was always challenging. As real estate professionals, most of our associates work outside of the office, relying on their cell phones to properly conduct business. Our system could forward calls to cell phones, but this was an insufficient and inelegant solution because we had no way to monitor or manage calls from our office.

At Amerivest Realty we pride ourselves on the service we provide to our associates and their customers, and strive for an efficient office and business practices, and we knew the on premise system was woefully inadequate to meet these goals.

Why We Moved to RingCentral

The timing was right to make a decision on a new platform because we were about to open an additional office in a new area code. We wanted a single system to accommodate all offices, but the cost of expanding the on-premise system was exorbitant. As we researched the market, we were impressed with RingCentral’s service offering.

In addition to solving issues with hardware and remote associates, RingCentral also let us combine phone and fax services into a single number. We have less to manage, our associate have less to manage, their customers have simpler communication channels, and we could retire the old fax server.

Are We Happy with RingCentral? Yes!

Our switch to RingCentral reduced our telecommunications costs by almost 30 percent, and RingCentral’s cloud-based phone services have exceeded our expectations.

Our IT expense savings were greater than anticipated because RingCentral is configurable by non-technical people. In fact, RingCentral is so easy to use that I mostly set up the system myself. I needed assistance with number porting, but RingCentral’s support team made that process painless.

We were able to set up over 150 extensions and port 200 phone numbers in just a few weeks. Now adding or removing extensions is simple and handled by our administrative staff.

As Amerivest Realty grows, we trust RingCentral to provide for our telecommunication needs. We have confidence in the system to provide for our needs and control costs. As we expand our business, we feel confident in RingCentral’s service growing with us.

Cloud Computing Telecommunication

Cloud Based Telecommunications

Jun 4, 2012 System Tech 0 Comment

The Genie in the Phone Cloud: Top 5 Small Biz Features

Entrepreneurship is at an all-time high and innovative small businesses are sprouting and flourishing. Personal service, attention to detail, and feeling good about supporting local and sustainable companies are some of the most popular reasons people choose the little guy over big, aggressive brands.
Maybe you sell delectable gluten-free scones out of a food truck, or are a general housing contractor with a small team of employees. Being great at your trade is one thing, but there’s also the matter of managing communications and connecting smoothly with your customers. With a cloud-based phone system from RingCentral, small businesses are able to walk (and talk) in big business shoes. You can become the wizard behind the curtain, orchestrating spectacular feats with ingenuity and some smart technology.

The Auto-Receptionist is always in and on

Your Auto-Receptionist is the personal assistant that never calls in sick! You or your administrator set the parameters so you can be reached anytime and everyplace. Define the routing criteria, and you’re connected to customers, vendors, and your cycling group, with calls forwarded to multiple numbers and devices, text-to-speech translation of messages, and department-specific messaging. Want someone with a crisp English accent orating your menus for callers? Greetings are customizable, and you can even source professional talent for your recordings. Your three-person organization can perform with the finesse and functionality of a traditionally larger and more established operation.

Unlimited Toll-Free, Local, and Vanity Numbers

Your phone number says a lot about you. Literally it could spell out a memorable word or two. A standard toll-free number, including the classic 1-800 number, tells your customers you’re well established and ensures that your customers can reach you at no cost to themselves. Choose a few local numbers for areas you want to service and instantly become a hot, new, neighborhood business.

Yes, that’s my Department

Getting dumped into a general voicemail box or simply not being able to reach someone in a timely manner is alienating for callers and can send potential customers searching for a more responsive and better-prepared business. Instead, create virtual departments with a group of extensions as a fantastic way to add real structure to your business and make it easy for your contacts to connect with you. For example, create the ‘Sales’ department and when the designated reps aren’t available, the system puts callers on hold until someone can take the call. Hold times can be customized as well, so your callers never feel lost or unimportant.

Get ahead with Call Forwarding

So what happened to the caller on hold for sales? Realizing every second counts and all’s fair in love and brand loyalty, you set Call Forwarding to reach you or another contact after, say, a 30-second hold time. The call instantly goes to your business partner’s mobile phone. If they’re also not available, the call finds the next contact and, as a last resort, it routes to the extension at your poolside cabana in Orlando. You can set specific parameters for After Hours as well and avoid the cost (and antiquated style) of an outside answering service.

The thrill of the (easy) chase

You want your business to be pursued and easily caught. FindMe-FollowMe is the cyber stalker you’re glad to have on your side. You control connectivity by directing incoming calls to any and all your phones, whenever you want. You can even set it to call multiple phones simultaneously, in a specific order and even by date, time, the caller’s Caller ID, or the number dialed.

You had the vision and grit to launch your business, and the progressive thinking to ditch the room full of obsolete and costly phone system hardware. Your contacts will be amazed at how you always seem to magically appear when they need you. Building a successful business starts with the basic steps like establishing a phone system, and being easily reachable by customers whenever they need to reach you.

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Create Your Own Website Tonight

May 31, 2012 System Tech 0 Comment

Finally, A website builder that is easy to use.

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Security Software Tips & Info Utilities Windows

10 Commandments of Windows Security

May 29, 2012 System Tech 0 Comment

With the introduction of Windows 7, many PC and notebook users may feel more secure than they did using older versions of the Microsoft operating system. Newer OSs have more security features, offer better out-of-the-box security settings and have closed many of the historical security holes. Windows 7, for example, has changed the default User Account Control level so that it’s harder for rogue programs to run without first explicitly gaining the user’s permission.

[Also read 3 steps to protect your personal data]

However, feeling too secure can be dangerous. With that in mind, here are 10 tips–commandments, if you will–for ensuring your desktop or notebook computer can be used productively as well as safely. Many of the recommended tools are free, and all are affordable–and certainly less expensive than the potential problems of an unsecured computer. Similarly, many will take you only a minute or two to perform–again, far less time than you’d spend recovering from a security problem.

Yes, Windows 8 is on the way; it’ll be many years before that version runs on a majority of the installed base. So these tips are focused at the computers you are actually using today–especially Windows 7 computers, though most of the advice also applies to Windows Vista or XP machines.

1st commandment: Start with new hardware

Today’s new hardware–motherboards, BIOS, CPUs, hard drives, and the system as a whole–includes more security “baked in,” even before the operating system is installed. Examples include Trusted Platform Modules (TPM), which embed cryptographic security directly into the hard drive or other component, Unified Extensible Hardware Interface (UEFI) firmware instead of the traditional BIOS, and Intel’s vPro security and management technologies. For example, machines with UEFI and TPM will, as part of each boot-up, check the computer’s firmware and boot-up binaries to confirm they have not been infected with malware.

If you are working with an existing machine, consider doing a fresh install of the operating system, after completing one (or several) full backup. Ideally, the operating system would be the newest version rather than what was previously installed. (Products like LapLink’s PC-Mover can reduce the effort of saving and migrating settings and even application software–although applications should be freshly installed if possible, as well.)

Even if you’re working with an existing machine, consider swapping in new hard drives that include built-in encryption. Drives that support the OPAL Storage Specification standard enable companies to manage encrypted drives from multiple vendors–and have also helped reduce the extra cost for an encrypted drive from $100 to nearly zero. After-market drives often include migration tools to speed and simplify a drive swap.

If a self-encrypted drive isn’t an option, look at using full-disk encryption software, such as Windows’ BitLocker (available only on Enterprise or Ultimate Windows Vista, 7 or 8 ) or a third-party tool.

2nd commandment: Use current OS versions and automatically get OS and application updates

If you aren’t using the most current commercial version of the operating system, it’s time to upgrade. Additionally, make sure you set the software to automatically apply updates (not just the OS, but all applications) and periodically turn off the computer, which is when many updates are auto-applied. An appalling number of security breaches occur because applications lack important security fixes that have been available for a year or more.

The computer vendor may also include helpful update tools. For example, Lenovo includes an update process that is designed to show all BIOS and driver updates available for that particular model. You can also manually start the update-check apps process. This may take several cycles, particularly for the first time around, if some updates require other updates.

“Third-party software is usually the vector that security intrusions come through, not the operating system,” says Ed Bott, a Windows expert and ZDNet blogger. Flash, Adobe Reader and Java are three of the biggest targets, Bott says. While many programs include their own automatic update checker, Bott urges using a tool like Ninite orSecunia Personal Software Inspector, which automate update checking for all the applications on your computer.

3rd commandment: Use Windows’ new security tools (and/or third party software)

Windows 7 includes a number of security controls and tools through its Actions Center (which replaces the Security Center), and other tools are available via the Control Panel, including:

Windows Firewall: With its basic settings, this wards off basic attacks, and you can use its advanced settings for more specific control. There are also third-party firewall programs available.
Microsoft’s Microsoft Security Essentials and Windows Defender. These tools secure your computer against viruses, spyware
and other malware.

Obviously another option is to invest in third-party security software, like individual anti-virus, anti-spam and other programs, or a security suite, such as Symantec’s.

4th commandment: Set up (or remove) user accounts

Historically in Windows, the default account had administrator privileges–meaning that programs capable of taking unwanted insecure actions wouldn’t have to first ask the user if they could run. Starting with Vista, Microsoft added User Account Control (UAC), which asked non-administrator users for permission to run certain programs or actions. With Windows 7, UAC still protects systems but less intrusively.

Even so, managing which user accounts are–and aren’t–available contributes to security in the following ways:

Establishes non-administrative user account(s) for each user.
Disables or removes user accounts that aren’t used or shouldn’t be there.
Disables the “guest” account, unless it’s needed. If it is needed, a password should be required for elevating privileges, to prevent unauthorized changes to the system.

Consider renaming the administrator account so that it’s not obvious to an intruder. Since this account can’t be “locked out,” password attacks can be performed indefinitely; changing the name makes the account less of a target.

5th commandment: Set passwords

Set the main Windows password, as well as the Power/Time to lock the system, with a screen saver, and require a password to resume activity.

Also, depending on the sensitivity of information on your system (did someone say “online banking”?), consider password alternatives, such as:

Smartcard reader (contact or contactless)
Biometric facial recognition
RSA software and external token
Password “gesture” (e.g., Android tablets)

Another option is two-factor authentication, such as requiring both a fingerprint and a password.

6th commandment: Add/activate anti-theft tools

Invest in, install and activate anti-theft tools that can either lock the system; conduct an IP trace; report, take and send pictures; and even wipe the computer when a lost or stolen computer reconnects to the Internet. An example is Absolute Software’s Lojack for Laptops.

Vendors like Lenovo are embedding Absolute’s CompuTrace Agent into the BIOS, so even if somebody erases or replaces the hard drive, the agent is automatically re-installed.

Computers that include Intel Anti-Theft technology in their hardware let you add additional security services, such as automatically locking the main board until it receives the “unlock” password, lock or wipe if a machine goes too long without connecting to the Internet or if a user fails the login process too many times. Intel Anti-Theft is typically part of third-party security products like CompuTrace, adding perhaps $3/year, and as the anti-theft option on WinMagic’s full disk encryption product.

7th commandment: Turn off sharing and other unneeded services

Windows allows you to share resources that are on your computer, like file-sharing (Shared Folders) and print sharing. Your computer’s Internet connection management utility (Windows includes one, but many systems have their own) lets you define each network as either Public, Home or Work. If you mis-set a connection, your Shared Folders will be visible to other computers on the network.

8th commandment: Secure your Web browser and other applications

Web browsers access Web sites that neither you nor your company control (and these sites, in turn, may have ads or link to other content that they don’t control). Any of these may try to inject malware onto your computer.

[Also read 10 ways to secure browsing in the enterprise]

Today’s browsers include more security, like “private browsing” session modes that prevent any personal information from being stored, or don’t save cookies or history for a session. However, this may interfere with productivity.

Check each browser’s security options and select the ones that look useful, like Firefox’s “Warn me when sites try to install add-ons” and “Block reported attack sites.”

Set Microsoft Internet Explorer to have the highest security setting you can tolerate (since higher security often means you have to click more often), suggests Tom Henderson, Managing Director of ExtremeLabs.com, an Indianapolis, Indiana technology testing lab.

Additionally, look for browser “extensions” and add-ons that increase your browser’s security, in a more per-tab, per-site or per-tab-session way. For example, the popular NoScript Firefox add-on allows JavaScript, Java, Flash and other plug-ins to be executed only by trusted Web sites of your choice.

PDF readers may also be vulnerable to JavaScript attacks within the documents they’re rendering. Make sure your PDF reader is secure; consider disabling JavaScript within it.

9th commandment: Rope in Autorun

AutoRun is a major threat vector for viruses and other malware in Windows XP and Windows Vista. [Editor’s note: Simson Garfinkel called Autorun an “OS design flaw” all the way back in 2006.] With this function, the operating systems automatically begins executing a program when it sees an autorun.inf file in the root directory of a new drive, such as a network drive, a CD or a flash drive. So, if you haven’t yet moved to Windows 7, make sure you’ve got all the security updates for the OS version you are running. (See MS Security Advisory: Update for Windows Autorun.

With Windows 7, all the security settings are “No Autorun.” When you attach external media like CDs, DVDs, SD cards and USB flash drives, they will give you a dialog box offering to run a program, but by default, nothing happens automatically.

10th commandment: Consider application whitelisting and other controls “Whitelisting” refers to a list of everything you allow on your computer, including e-mail addresses your mail program can accept, Web sites your browser is allowed to connect to and applications the operating system is allowed to run. Whitelisting may not be a match for e-mail or Web browsing, but for preventing unwanted applications from running–such as malware or zero-day attacks–it may be a good additional tool.

Windows 7 includes AppLocker, a whitelisting utility, or you can buy third-party white-listing products for either individual computers or groups of networked computers. For home users, Windows 7 has fairly robust parental controls that can restrict access by time-of-day or by site, and log Web access, Bott says.

Conclusion: It’s easy to become more secure

As you can see, there is a lot you can do affordably, even to existing Windows systems, to increase their security. It shouldn’t take a lot of time or money to do; however, it may take a lot of both if you don’t do anything and something avoidable goes wrong.

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BigBeagle.com Site Analytics Software Tips & Info

Increase Sales & More with Site Analytics

May 25, 2012 System Tech 0 Comment

Get the insight you need to succeed on the Web.

The key to any successful website is knowing your visitors. Site Analytics gives you the valuable, real-time data you need – information you can use to spotlight popular products, target new customers, track offer responses and much more. With over 30 detailed reports, you can find out where your visitors are coming from, what paths they take through your site, even where in the world they live.

Stats at-a-glance

Get the information you want – without having to click through countless screens – with our customizable dashboard view.

Real-time results

With Site Analytics’ real-time statistics, you don’t have to wait until tomorrow to find out if changes to your site are working. Plus, heat mapping and pinpoint functionality tell you which sections or links are getting the most attention.

In-depth reporting

Dig into the details and get a better understating of your customers with more than 30 reports. Find out who’s visiting, when they’re on your site, how they’re getting there and much more.

Choose your view

Site Analytics lets you decide how you want to view your data with three graphing options (Bar, Area and Line) as well as the ability to export to Microsoft Excel® or Adobe® PDF.

Powerful, easy-to-use features let you dig as deep as you want.

Everyone wants something different from their site statistics. Some people want a quick, birds-eye view; others want to get lost in the details. That’s the beauty of Site Analytics; it works for everyone. Our user-friendly interface and intuitive features put you in control so you can get exactly what you want.

See what’s happening

Get a quick overview of your site’s traffic and visitors with a selection of dashboard widgets.
Real-time statistics let you see, almost instantly, how changes to your site impact your traffic.
Improve your site’s structure and usability by seeing where people click and which links get the most attention with heat mapping.

Organize your data

Find the information you need with more than 30 reports in several categories: Visitor, Page, Referrer and Server.
Visualize the data the way you want with three different graphing options: Bar, Area and Line. Plus, set custom date ranges to target your results!
Share your data with co-workers and clients by exporting to Microsoft Excel® or Adobe® PDF. You can even create a schedule to email customized reports.
Get separate reports for each alias and subdomain — simply add them as separate Site Analytics accounts.

And much more

Easily collect stats on your WordPress® site with our free Site Analytics plugin.
Enable secure (SSL) mode to encrypt your data so it can’t be viewed by others during transmission.
Analyze long-term trends and improvements with up to 6 months of Log File data.
Use Site Analytics with any website, whether you host with us or a third party.

Call (888) 505-1532 to get started now or click here

Search Engines

Chrome Passes IE As Top Used Web Browser

May 25, 2012 System Tech 0 Comment

Google Chrome Just Passed Internet Explorer To Become The World’s Most Popular Web Browser

After months of chipping away at its lead, Google Chrome has finally overtaken Internet Explorer to become most popular web browser worldwide. Chrome’s share of the market rose to 32.8% in the week ending May 20, while Internet Explorer’s share of the market dropped to 31.9%, according to new data from StatCounter, via TheNextWeb. This marks the first full week that Chrome has beaten Explorer. Google’s browser had previously topped Explorer for a single day back in March. Mozilla’s Firefox is the third most popular browser with just more than a 25% of the market.

Google Chrome:

Google Chrome is a web browser developed by Google that uses the WebKit layout engine and application framework.

It was first released as a beta version for Microsoft Windows on 2 September 2008, and the public stable release was on 11 December 2008.

The name is derived from the graphical user interface frame, or “chrome”, of web browsers. As of October 2010, Chrome was the third most widely used browser, with 8.47% of worldwide usage share of web browsers, according to Net Applications.

In September 2008, Google released a large portion of Chrome’s source code, including its V8 JavaScript engine, as an open source project entitled Chromium. This move enabled third-party developers to study the underlying source code and help port the browser to Mac OS X and Linux.

A Google spokesperson also expressed hope that other browsers would adopt V8 to improve web applications performances. The Google-authored portion of Chromium is released under the permissive BSD license, which allows portions to be incorporated into both open source and closed-source software programs.

Other portions of the source code are subject to a variety of open-source licenses. Chromium implements the same feature set as Chrome, but lacks built in automatic updates and Google branding, and most notably has a blue-colored logo in place of the multicolored Google logo.

History For six years, Google’s Chief Executive Eric Schmidt was against the idea of building an independent web browser. He stated, “At the time, Google was a small company,” and he didn’t want to go through “bruising browser wars”.

However, after co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page hired several Firefox developers and built a demonstration of Chrome, Mr. Schmidt admitted that “It was so good that it essentially forced me to change my mind.”

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iPhone Smartphones Telecommunication Tips & Info

12 Tips to Save on Your Cell Phone Bill

May 23, 2012 System Tech 0 Comment

Why pay more than you have to every month? These tips, tricks, and services can help you SAVE plenty of money on that monster cell phone bill.

See that cell phone next to you? Unfortunately, you’re paying too much money for it–every month. If overpaying for what you need sounds like a bad idea to you, stop doing it. We’ve assembled 12 simple actions that you can take to reduce your cell phone bill, so that some of the cash you now spend for service–maybe even half of it–remains in your possession. So check out our tips, and use one or more of them to save big bucks on your bill.

Covering the Basics

1. Find the right plan for you: Carefully review how often and in what ways you use your phone. Ideally, you should do this before signing a cell phone contract, but of course it can be difficult to know exactly how you’ll use your phone until you spend time with it every day.

If you’re already using your phone, take a close look at your cell phone plan, examining the calling, messaging, and data plan options you’ve chosen. Then scrutinize your usage pattern. Check several months of phone bills to see whether you pay for more minutes and megabytes than you use, or whether you regularly exceed your usage limits.

How much can I save? Let’s use a Verizon Wireless plan as an example

Possible Savings on Monthly Cell Phone Voice Plan (One Example: Verizon Wireless)

USAGE LIMITS	Price per month	Overage fee (per minute)	Cost of using 750 minutes in one month	Savings	Advice
450 minutes per month	$39.99	$0.45	$135 over your $39.99 monthly fee	You don’t have any–and you’re paying much more than your monthly fee	Bump up the minutes on your voice plan if you consistently exceed your minutes limit.
900 minutes per month	$59.99	$0.45	$59.99	$135 versus the 450-minute plan with overage charges	Drop to a lower monthly rate if you would almost never exceed its lower minutes limit.

On the other hand, if where you exceed the 450-minutes-per-month maximum just once during the life of your two-year service plan–even if you exceed it by a lot that one time, you still come out ahead with the lower limit overall. Suppose that you incur $157.50 in overage fees one month but stay under the 450-minute limit during the other 23 months of the service contract. Then you’ve saved overall by opting for the $39.99-per-month contract instead of the $59.99-per-month contract, since paying $20 more each month for 24 months would cost you an extra $480. Suddenly, that one-time surcharge of $135 seems like a bargain.

2. Trim the fat: Examine your cell phone plan to see what services you’re paying for above and beyond your voice and data plan. Are you paying your carrier for mobile insurance? A GPS service? Roadside assistance? Visual voicemail? Then think about whether you need these extras. In the case of voicemail, for example, your call log shows you the name and number of incoming callers, anyway–and that’s free.

How much can I save? This time, let’s use AT&T as an example.

Monthly Costs of AT&T’s Extra Services

AT&T Navigator	$9.99
AT&T Family Map for iPhone	$9.99
AT&T Mobile Insurance	$6.99
Smart Limits for Wireless Parental Controls	$4.99
Enhanced Voicemail	$1.99
Detailed Billing	$1.99

Opting out of just half of these billing add-ons can save you anywhere from $7.97 to $26.97 each month.

Get the Details on Data

3. Go data-free: Kick it old-school style by dropping your data plan altogether. This option may not be available if you’ve purchased a smartphone that requires a data plan; but for some consumers it’s a sensible move.

And it is possible: When my iPhone 4 suffered a fatal fall recently, I went back to my elderly flip phone and relied on an iPod Touch for apps and Internet services. When I wanted to check email or browse the Web, it was Wi-Fi only.

My pockets were heavier, in part because I was carrying two devices around, but also because my pockets had more cash in them thanks to my lower monthly bill.

How much can I save? $15 to $50 a month, or more.

4. Go on a data plan diet: Not ready to opt out of a data plan completely? Try cutting back instead.
Opt for the lowest-tiered data plan that your carrier offers, and make sure that you stay within your limits. Visit WhatIsMyCap.org, a handy site that offers tips on avoiding overage charges, using your current data plan as an example.

Also, find out what apps are claiming most of your bandwidth; the culprits may be obvious ones like Pandora and Netflix, or sneaky ones like Google Maps that increase your data usage by serving up ads.

How much can I save? $15 to $35 a month, or more.

5. Compress, compress: Having trouble reducing your data usage? Check out Onavo’s free iPhone and Android app, called Onavo Extend, which claims to make your data usage up to five times more efficient.

How much can I save? $15 a month or more.

Shake Things Up

6. Switch carriers: AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon Wireless are the big four in cell phone service, but they’re hardly your only options.

Signing up with a smaller carrier, like Boost Mobile or US Cellular, can cut your monthly cost significantly

How much can I save? Boost Mobile offers an unlimited Android Plan for $55 per month, and an unlimited BlackBerry Plan for $60. (Both of these plans cover unlimited nationwide talk, text, Web access, 411 service, instant messaging, and email.)

In contrast, opting for a similar plan from Sprint, which is one of the only big carriers still offering an unlimited data plan option, will cost you $99.99 a month for unlimited voice, data, and messaging.

How much can I save? $40 to $45 per month.

7. Go contract free: It may seem counterintuitive, but one way to lower your monthly cell phone bill is to go contract-free. This isn’t the same as buying a prepaid cell phone (we’ll get to that next); here, you still pay your carrier month-to-month for cellular service, but you pay less. The trade-off is that you pay more for the phone itself up-front. But depending on the phone you choose, you could save big in the long run with this strategy.

How much can I save? You’ll pay T-Mobile $350 for its MyTouch Android phone, but you won’t sign a contract. A monthly service plan from T-Mobile with unlimited talk, text, and data costs $59.99 per month, so the cost of buying and using this phone (spread over two years) is about $1790.

That may sound like a lot, but consider this: It’s actually a savings of $180 over buying the phone with a two-year contract. In the latter case, T-Mobile subsidizes the cost of the phone, so the same myTouch device will cost you just $50, but the monthly service charge rises to $79.99 (or roughly $1920 over the life of the contract). So over two years, the total cost of the same phone and service comes to $1970–and you’re locked into a 24-month service contract.

8. Go prepaid: Paying for your phone service ahead of time is a sure-fire way to save money. After all, it guarantees that you pay only for minutes that you’ll use. And prepaid phones have come a long way in recent years, with carriers offering various cell phones and smartphones with prepaid plans.

How much can I save? With one of Virgin Mobile’s prepaid “PayLo” plans, you can spend as little as $20 per month for cell phone service. The lowest-cost plan includes 400 voice minutes.

charges messages (at 15 cents per message) and data (at $1.50 per megabyte of data used) on this plan against your $20 balance, and your credits are valid for 30 days. In one month, a light user could save as much as $40 off the price of a standard cell phone plan with messaging and data from a major carrier.

9. Dump the smartphone: Sure, your smartphone is cool. And you may think that you can’t live without it…but giving it up can be surprisingly easy. If you can’t bear to surrender access to the Web, email, and apps, try using a Wi-Fi-device, such as an iPod Touch, instead.

How much can I save? $15 to $50 a month–that’s how much you’re likely paying for the data plan on your smartphone.

Use the Web to Your Advantage

10. Go VoIP only: If you’re paying for a data plan on that smartphone, why not put it–and your phone’s Wi-Fi access–to good use?
Fring is one of a number of budget-friendly Voice-over-IP phone services.Dump your voice plan (if your contract permits you to, of course) and use a voice-over-IP service, such as Fring, Google Voice, or Skype, to make calls. A PCWorld writer took the plunge, and lived to tell the tale. Voice quality may not be perfect, but when was the last time your cell phone offered perfect voice quality?

How much can I save? $40 a month, or more–whatever the monthly cost of your voice plan is.

11. Get texting help: When it comes to texting, you probably think that you have to pay for a texting plan (at anywhere from $5 to $20 per month) or have to pay a per-message fee (of around 20 cents).

But you have a third alternative, and it’s free: Use an app to text at no charge. Free texting apps–which include Nimbuzz, WhatsApp,GroupMe, among many others–let you text and IM for free, using popular messaging networks such as Facebook and AIM.
You may have to get your friends or family to sign on in order to obtain completely free texting, but convincing them of the app’s merits is likely to be worth your while.

How much can I save? When you kiss your texting plan goodbye, you’ll be able to pocket an extra $5 to $20 per month.

12. Get outside help:Not sure which path will save you the most money? Get help at BillShrink.com. This very cool site analyzes your cell phone usage (you can grant it access to your account or enter the information manually), and points out plans that will save you money while meeting your needs.

How much can I save? BillShrink alerted me to a $30-per-month plan on T-Mobile that would save me about $50 per month.

And when I requested to keep using an iPhone, it alerted me to a $70-per-month plan on Sprint, which would save me $10 per month or more. (AT&T charges for data overages, while Sprint offers unlimited data.)

I think it’s time to make a change.

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