EduNotes (November, 2001 Edition)

EduCyber is pleased to deliver the November edition of EduNotes. Read on to learn about managing your email, adding memory, and technology overburden. A short list of web sites relating to the crisis in our country is also included.

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Viruses, Email, and the Post Office

A colleague of mine spent several furious days earlier this year battling the vicious virus known as nimda. His customers were understanding though as computers around the world were getting hit. And now, in addition to having their systems up and running again, new protections are in place to protect the systems from this and other viruses. While it was indeed a difficult predicament he and his customers faced, how many of us wouldn’t love to be able to go back to having such “easy” worries?

Now we must deal, not with computer viruses that destroy our data and disrupt our systems, but with real diseases that could potentially turn up in that next letter delivered by the post office and that could destroy life and disrupt our whole society. Ah for the good ole’ days when computer viruses seemed the scariest things around.

An inevitable result of this new menace will be an increased reliance on email by all – including the marketers who used to send you junk mail – from the mortgage company assuring you you can get a better rate than you currently have, to fundraisers seeking to raise money for charity / politics / special interest groups.

Rather than complain about the increase in spam, let’s take a look at ways to deal with all the information flowing into your cyber mailbox.

1. If you find yourself submitting an email address to various companies that you do business with online, consider creating a free address at yahoo or hotmail. A lot of the “junk mail” that is generated could go to that address rather than into your regular mailbox. You can then check this address on a regular basis but not have all the “junk” in your main mailbox.

2. If you get a regular stream of mail from the same sources – whether it’s advertisements or important correspondence – look in the help of your email program to find out how to create filters or rules. You can tell your email client (every major email program has this capability including Outlook, Netscape, Eudora, Outlook Express, and even some web based email like hotmail) to automatically move incoming messages from a certain address or containing certain words to be moved to special folders. This filtering allows you to put the important mail where it’s readily accessible.

3. NEVER under any circumstances open an attachment if you are not expecting it. Even if it comes from a friend or known source, do not open it unless the message is customized for you. In other words, the text “These pictures are for you” would not be considered customized for you.

4. Purchase and install, if you haven’t already, a good antivirus program. Make sure that you take it upon yourself to regularly (at least monthly if not weekly) update your virus definitions. Three of the last viruses that came into my mailbox were quickly detected by my updated antivirus program.

And of course, if you have difficulties with these, or would rather not have to do them yourself, give us a call at (720) 275-4646.

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Let’s see, what am I forgetting?

Feel like you’re losing your memory? Sorry, there’s not too much we can do about that. But if your computer is running slow, upgrading the memory might give it a boost. And this is a great time to be getting memory. For as little as $16 you can get 128 MB of memory and for less than $30 you can have 256 MB of memory (prices from www.buy.com).

Once you’ve got the memory, it’s not too difficult to install it. Make sure that you discharge any static electricity you may have before doing any of this. Then unplug the power from your computer and open the case (see your computer documentation if you’re not sure how to open it). Find the existing memory – it should look like the new one. If there’s an available slot, insert the new one and be sure to fasten it securely – usually you can accomplish this by pulling up the tabs at the end of the slot. If you are replacing the existing memory module with one that has more memory, you’ll need to carefully remove the old module; again this is usually accomplished by pushing down the tabs at the ends and then lifting it out. Once the memory is in place, close the computer case, plug in the computer again and you should be ready to go.

As with all hardware, if you’re unsure how to proceed, follow the instructions that came with your computer or give EduCyber a call at (720) 275-4646 to get the memory installed.

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Technology Overburden

We’ve probably all heard of technology overload but now it appears as though some public schools are promoting technology overburden. Or at least one school in California is. The AP reports that a school in Palo Alto is asking parents to buy $2000 laptops for their middle school students to use. One mother of twins wanted to know where she was supposed to come up with the $4000 so that both of her children would have the laptops.

The reason for such a request? So that the students can do their homework in a nearby park appears to be one of the reasons. The logic behind this request is even murkier. The AP story says that in a pilot program, nearly all the students “felt” the laptops were a benefit. I wonder how the laptop usage was monitored? Did they benefit from the class work or the increased ease with which they could play? Businesses large and small are dealing with the issue of keeping employees on task when they have such powerful toys at their disposal. Imagine trying to keep a class of kids on task when each has a laptop. Passing notes via instant messaging would be but one of many concerns the teacher would face.

But I digress. The reason I bring it up here is that implementing technology, whether in the classroom or in the office needs to be done carefully and with sufficient planning. What do you hope to accomplish by purchasing the particular technology? My son’s school placed a very powerful Apple computer in his classroom. The teacher (a very good teacher I might add) had received little to no training and had little desire to use it so it just sat there all year. Businesses can benefit a great deal by using technology but they can benefit even more by planning and evaluating their use of technology.

If you are thinking of buying or upgrading more than one computer, deciding to standardize on one model can save on support and on training. If you buy top of the line technology for yourself or for an employee but provide no training on the software, you’ll get far less out of your investment. Even a one or two hour training seminar could bring great dividends.

So don’t suffer from technology overburden. Plan your purchases and uses of technology and reap the benefits.

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Concerned about the attacks against America? The following is a short list of sites with more information.

American Red Cross
http://www.redcross.org/

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
http://www.cdc.gov/

Central Intelligence Agency & Director of Central Intelligence
http://www.cia.gov/

Official Web Site of the Department of Defense
http://www.defenselink.mil/

Federal Bureau of Investigation
http://www.fbi.gov/

FirstGov: The official site for the U.S. Government
http://firstgov.gov/

The White House
http://www.whitehouse.gov/

Federal Emergency Management Agency
http://www.fema.gov/

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© 2001 EduCyber, Inc. This newsletter is brought to you by EduCyber, the company to turn to for Internet and computer services. Permission is hereby granted to redistribute all or part of this newsletter as long as this copyright message is included. http://www.educyber.com

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For questions, or to be removed from this monthly newsletter distribution, email us at edunotes@educyber.com.