Your leading outsourced IT services provider in Los Angeles County providing computer support services.
Category
It's Free!
Live
Mesh is an amazing service that
allows you to not only keep your files online, but sync the folders with
any computer you want. Select any folder on your computer or create a new
one and select "Add Folder to Live Mesh..." and watch that same
folder with it's contents magically appear on any other computer in the
world that is connected to the internet and running your Live Mesh account!
Any change to a folder from any computer you have synced will automatically
reflect in all other computers, and you can access the web copies of the
files when you are not at your own personal computer by simply logging
in.
The tool tray by your clock even allows you to view and manage all PCs
you currently have the service running on and even allows you to remote-control
every one of them if the simple check box is checked upon setup. During
the remote sessions, you can operate the machine as if you were sitting
in front of it and drag any file from the remote machine to your local
one! PCWorld Magazine recently declared Live Mesh one of the "Five
Under-appreciated Microsoft Web Services" and, after fully testing
it, I completely agree. Support for Macs and phones is coming soon, as
the service itself is still in open beta-testing.
Category
Money Savers
Have you ever been away from home and wanted
internet connectivity on your laptop without having to pay a daily fee
or hunt for free public Wi-Fi just for a couple hours (or even minutes)
of internet access? Luckily, after reading this article, you will probably
never have to worry about it again. "Tethering" is best described
as the process of connecting your phone to your computer via Bluetooth
or USB in order to make use of your wireless data connection. You will
never have to pay another $9.95 (or more) per day at a hotel and you don't
have to buy wireless cards or any other equipment you don't already carry
around with you! While the process is no walk in the park, it definitely
isn't rocket science. Spending a little time to step through the procedure
will lead the way for big savings in the long run.
Head over to Smart
Device Central and read their
Modem Tethering Guide that reiterates the benefits of tethering,
provides the guides to setting up each different cell carrier and lists
tether-compatible phones.
Category
Ask The Answer Guy
Brent - The convenience of online shopping
can't be beaten, but how can I make sure I am shopping safely?
With the convenience of online shopping comes the convenience of online
predators that find ways to capture your personal financial information.
There are plenty of ways to protect yourself from these people, but it
is also important to know what they are doing to put you at risk.
Three of the most common ways that attackers can take advantage of you
are vulnerable computers, insecure transactions and unaware users. A vulnerable
computer, or one without virus protection, is susceptible to all kinds
of viruses and malware that are capable of capturing and reporting your
credit card and social security information. In a similar manner, vendors
that do not use encryption on their website can actually allow an attacker
to intercept your payment information as it is being transmitted. The most
difficult threat to detect for the average home user is that of an entirely
false website where the attacker is posing as a legitimate transaction
medium. These websites are set up to either look like known retailer websites
or even as a donation site (very common after large-scale natural disasters
and around holidays).
Here's how you can protect yourself:
1) Use anti-virus and anti-spyware software. Regularly scanning your system
will allow you to spot and eliminate threats on your computer that could
compromise your information or trick you into giving it out unknowingly.
Keeping your virus definitions up-to-date will ensure that your computer
will be resistant toward all of the latest devised attacks.
2) Keep your software (your internet browser, primarily) up-to-date. If
your operating system supports automatic updates, you should enable it.
3) Only do business with reputable vendors. If there is any question in
your mind whether a company is legitimate, chances are they are not. Look
out for any email requesting sensitive information, as well. Most reputable
organizations will not ask you for this via email.
4) Make sure your information is being encrypted when you send it. SSL,
or secure sockets layer, is used to scramble information before it is sent
over the internet to prevent it from being legible to any outside parties.
If you look at the internet address of the site you are on and see "https://"
instead of "http://," know that the added "s" stands
for "secure." You will also see a closed padlock icon as well,
though the location varies depending on the browser. Look near the address
bar or at the bottom of the window.
5) Finally, check your bank statements carefully and report any unauthorized
activity immediately.
Having worked in IT support in
Los Angeles for as long as I have, I can speak from experience
when I say that even these simple steps can save you a ton of trouble.
Category
Cool Stuff
Wacom
has finally produced a tablet that brings their pen-and-pad technology
to business and home users for a great price. Bamboo
has been designed for making sketches, marking up digital documents, hand-writing
notes and signing your name directly on your computer. Fully compatibility
with both Mac and PC, Bamboo can be used to click through folders on your
computer, become a paintbrush in Photoshop or an all-around tool in programs
such as Mac Inkwell and Microsoft Office. Think about it: Nothing on a
computer is as natural as the fluid motion of your own hand with a pen.
Tons of programs you may already be using have aspects that are programmed
for use with a pen:
* Microsoft Office
* Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and Acrobat Pro.
* CorelDraw Graphics Suite
* Internet Explorer
* Windows Explorer
Take a look at the full
list of supported tablet-enhanced software
and unlock the features you are meant to have.
Category
It's Free!
Head over to boxee.tv
and get ready to streamline your world of digital media. Boxee is a free
program that provides a centralized place to access the slew of digital
media we all take in every day from both the internet and our personal
hard drives. Watch videos from CBS, ABC, NBC, YouTube, Hulu, Netflix etc
or listen to music from iTunes and the net while singing the lyrics that
Boxee finds for you.
With everything fully integrated, you will never have to go to another
place for your media entertainment needs. You can keep track of your friends
and see what they are watching, read instant reviews about anything you
see or hear and even tune in to the program your friend is watching at
that moment. Boxee - You are now free to be entertained. While the download
is currently available for Mac and Linux only, the Windows beta test is
well under way and it should be a matter of time.
Category
Coming Soon
Bluetooth has made its way back into the
news now that information is being shared about the upcoming 3.0 standard.
To anyone who uses the bluetooth technology, whether it be talking on a
cell phone headset, transferring files or any other type of synching, the
new revision should look quite promising. PC
World has published a few of the
newly-released specs:
-Data speed Transmissions up to 480Mbits/s
short range (up from 2.1 Mbits/s!).
-Improved power consumption (a.k.a.
better battery life).
-Enhanced Connectivity to reduce dropped
connections.
There is no information available as
to which devices will be 3.0 ready, but the Bluetooth Special Interest
Group will be providing a list of manufacturers on April 21st. Like
many others working in small business IT support,
I'm really looking forward to seeing what the new Bluetooth can do!
Category
Cool Stuff
On April 1st, Research In Motion made its
entrance into the mobile application store foray with its Blackberry App World.
It offers many of the same features as the other mobile app stores
for both the iPhone and Andriod phones. Installing the App World on your
device is really simple. Just point the browser on your Blackberry to http://www.blackberry.com/appworld
and click the Download Now link. Answer a couple of questions and, in a
few minutes, you're all set. The App World requires that you be using a
Blackberry with Device Software 4.2 or higher
and also have a trackball or SurePress touch screen (if you've purchased
your Blackberry in the last 2 years you are likely fine).. Apps are sorted
into categories including
- Entertainment
Games
Maps and Navigation
Music and Video
News and Weather
Personal Finance and Banking
Personal Health and Wellness
Productivity and Utilities
Professional and Business
Reference and eBooks
Social Networking and Sharing
Sports and Recreation
Travel
Users also have the opportunity to rate
and review the applications for other people's benefit. Pricing goes from
free on up with the base price for a payed app being $2.99. The store already
has thousands of applications in it including a free app from Bloomberg
to check stocks and news, one from the Weather Channel to see the weather,
all your favorite IM and social media sites and a whole lot more. From
the point of view of a company providing IT support in
Los Angeles, it's great to have all of these applications readily
available to those of our customers using Blackberry devices!
