January 2003 EduNotes
 

January 2003 EduNotes

EduCyber is pleased to present the January 2003 Edition of EduNotes. In this issue find out about a great utility program for keeping others from spying on you, how to equip your business to keep the competitive edge in 2003, plans for keeping your computers virus-free, and how USB 2.0 might be for you. Enjoy and as always, send feedback to edunotes@educyber.com.
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Spyware Beware
Last month we told you about the first of the small utility programs that we recommend, pop up stopper. This month's recommendation is a nice little program called Ad-Aware from a company named LavaSoft.
If you spend any time at all on the Internet, Ad-Aware is a MUST have. The program examines your hard drive for any trace of spyware. Once found, you can then quickly tell it to delete all the components or pick certain ones that you know you want (haven't figured out why anyone would want them yet but it probably has something to do with cookies you may want to keep) and delete the rest.
Spyware can be any number of nasty things from cookies that are placed on your computer when you visit a web site that continue to follow your web-steps as you surf on, to programs that are installed when you install other "free" programs, to other obnoxious programs that you download, often unwittingly, while surfing the web.
Ad-Aware is configurable so you can have it run it every time you start your computer if you like - not a bad idea for power surfers and you can add existing files or directories to the Ignore List so that it won't keep finding the same files over and over. If you buy the plus version there are other features you can use as well but we like what the free version offers.
Ad-Aware can be downloaded from http://www.lavasoftusa.com/ and is less than 900 kb, making it a modem-friendly download as well. As spyware is an evolving phenomenon, you will need to revisit their site on a regular basis to ensure you have the most up-to-date version (I imagine the Plus version will either check for you or remind you to check regularly). To learn more about what spyware is and how it works, you can read the manual online or by clicking the Help button once the program is installed.
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Are you equipped for business for 2003?
Some things to consider for this year:

  • A tablet PC can give you the mobility of a notebook and the ease of a (pencil and paper) memo pad.
  • A web site with e-commerce: Whether you provide goods or services, you can take orders online and accept payment by credit card.
  • A dynamic web site: Use an interactive database to generate pages for your customers or web site visitors. Want to provide a client's order status, a picture or description of your goods and services, or allow site visitors to provide live feedback? A dynamic web site can do all these.
  • Operating systems: If you use Windows you should be running at least Windows 2000 and any new computers should have Windows XP Professional.
  • Hi-speed Internet Access. Whether you prefer DSL or cable or something faster, you need the fast access to get your email, do business on the web, and keep your software properly updated and patched.
  • Graphics or other company image that represents your company. Take a look at the graphics or logo your company uses. Is it fresh? Was it thrown together quickly so you could get your business cards printed?
  • Online Storage. If you're still doing most of your filing with paper and cabinets, you aren't taking advantage of the space and cost savings that comes with storing your information online. With a scanner and the right software, you can even get rid of your existing hard copy files, putting it all in digital storage and freeing up valuable physical space.
  • Fast Networking. If you're using a sneaker-net (running files from computer to computer with a floppy disk), or thin coax, or even 10 base T, you should be moving up to 100 base T and exploring whether wireless works for you.
  • A PDA. Whether you like Palm or Visor or RIM, a PDA can keep up-to-date while you're on the go. I use an aging Palm V that is still great for keeping all my contacts and schedule with me while I'm on the go. Similar technology can be had now for right around $100 and if you want color and a lot more features, that's available starting at $200.
  • Backing Up. I'm still having clients call me after they lose all their data and before they've done a backup. If you aren't backing up all your data regularly, you could be in trouble.
  • Security. If you have already, it's time to batten down the hatches with the right antivirus and security setup to ensure that your data stays protected and virus-free.

As always, if you need help with any of these, give EduCyber a call at (720) 275-4646. We can either help you get started or handle the whole project for you. Call during the month of January and get 10 hours of help for only $750, a savings of over $200 from our regular rates.
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Virus Update
This is just a reminder on the importance of updating your virus definitions regularly (AT LEAST once a week). Twice in the last few weeks I have had to rebuild client's computers that had been rendered inoperable by viruses.
If you are on a corporate LAN, make sure that someone (even if it's us you need to check with) is responsible for keeping the virus definitions up-to-date and that they really are up-to-date.
Also you should ensure that ALL incoming traffic (World Wide Web, email, removable disks, and other network connections) is scanned for viruses. The weakest link in your line of defense against viruses is usually the link that ends up getting attacked. Make sure you don't have any weak links.
We are often asked what we recommend for anti-virus programs. For individual or home use, there is no one program we recommend the most. The two most well-known and most used programs are Symantec's Norton Antivirus and McAfee's VirusScan. We've had a few customers complain about VirusScan and having problems with their computer after installing the retail version found in office stores. We've also had numerous problems with computers that have the complete Norton suite of products installed. Your best bet is to buy and install JUST the antivirus program of either of these.
We do have a preferred program for office users: the not nearly as well known but very dependable program called InoculateIT currently known as eTrust InoculateIT. Whether for workgroups or client-server installations, this program is easy to install and configure. If you have a bandwidth problem (ISDN or dial-up connection for several computers), you can configure the "server" (any computer can be the server) to download and distribute the updates to the other computers on the network. Another program that we use is TrendMicro's OfficeScan (large offices) or Pc-Cillin (for smaller offices).
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USB 2.0
Speed is all important in computers and things just keep getting faster. Processors now top out at over 3 Gigahertz, RAM continues to interact faster with the rest of your computer, networks have gone from Ethernet (10 Mbps) to Fast Ethernet (100 Mbps) and on to Gigabit Ethernet (1000 Mbps). Your serial bus interface has gone through a transformation as well.
A serial interface refers to transferring data one bit at a time (as opposed to parallel which transfers two or more bits at the same time). From ancient days (back when our four digit years started with a 1 instead of a 2), computers have had serial and parallel ports. Lots of stuff talks to computers through serial ports: cameras, mice, PDAs, modems and more.
But a faster transfer of data was desired as the stuff we wanted to plug in could handle a lot more data (our digital camera transfers pictures through a standard serial port and it is SLOWWWWWW). Along came USB (Universal Serial Bus) and a transfer rate of 12 Mbps. Suddenly all the new stuff was made to use USB: printers, PDAs, mice, keyboards, and yes, cameras. But we still wanted more speed.
Computers that support USB 2.0 began appearing last year. USB 2.0 supports transfer speeds up to 480 Mbps. Suddenly more stuff makes sense with a USB connection. For example, you can now buy, for less than $200, a 30 GB external USB hard drive. While the theoretical rate of 480 Mbps may not be reached, it still doesn't take long to back up your data. And with a USB connection, it's easy to take to your data to another computer - USB 2 is backwardly compatible with USB 1 so you *should* be able to use the data on any computer with a USB port. Hooking up your digital video camera to your camera becomes much less painful as well. This ever increasing data rate is making lots of things that weren't even considered a few years ago, very real possibilities today.
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© 2003 EduCyber, Inc. This newsletter is brought to you by EduCyber, Inc. EduNotes can be viewed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week online at http://www.educyber.com/edunotes/index.php. Visit us on the web at http://www.educyber.com or call us at (720) 275-4646. Permission is hereby granted to redistribute all or part of this newsletter as long as this entire copyright message is included.
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