5 Quick Brower Tips

1.       Take advantage of tabbed browsing - While reading any web page if you come across a link you may be interested in open that link in a new tab so it can be viewed later. A new tab can be opened by holding down the Ctrl key and clicking the link or if you have a mouse with a wheel click the link with the middle mouse button. 

2.       Enter a quick URL - You don't need the http:// portion of a web page - When typing an Internet address you do not need to type http:// or even www. in the address. For example, if you wanted to visit Lenovo’s website,  you can just type Lenovo and then press Ctrl + Enter to type out the full http://www.lenovo.com address. 

3.       Quickly move between the fields of a web page - If you're filling out an online form, e-mail, or other text field you can quickly move between each of the fields by pressing the Tab key or Shift + Tab to move back a field. For example, if you're filling out your name and the next field is your e-mail address you can press the Tab key to switch to the e-mail field. 

4.       Use Internet search engines to their full potential - If you're not finding what you want try surrounding the text in quotes. For example, if you were searching for Kelowna ‘computer repair' this actually searches for pages that contain both computer and repair and not necessarily pages that have computer and repair next to each other.  

5.       Know your Internet browser shortcuts - There are dozens of different shortcut keys that can be used with Internet browsers. Below are a few:  

·        Pressing Alt + D in any major Internet browser will move the cursor into the address bar. This is a great way to quickly enter an Internet address without having to click the mouse cursor in the address bar.

·        Press F5 to refresh or reload a web page.

·        Press F11 to make the Internet browser screen full screen. Press F11 again to return back to the normal view.

·        Press Ctrl + B to open your Internet bookmarks.

·        Press Ctrl + F to open the find box in the browser to search for text within the web page you're looking at.

Northern Computer - Your Trusted Partner
#1 - 495 Banks Road Kelowna, BC V1X 6A2
Phone: 250.762.7753 Fax: 250.861.1861 Toll-Free: 1.877.257.2896
Email: sales@northerncomputer.ca or service@northerncomputer.ca
Web: http://www.northerncomputer.ca

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Backing up to the 'cloud'

Online Backup systems have become increasingly popular in recent years and appear to be the answer to many common problems with traditional backup systems. Until recently, companies would utilize some sort of hardware solution, generally a tape drive for larger companies, and smaller companies often use portable drives. In both cases, backups needed to be transported offsite to provide effective protection. Online backup systems seem to have solved the biggest problem of traditional backup systems by storing backups in the cloud. Online backups also solve another major problem associated with traditional backup systems – hardware faults. Tape backup systems were notorious for having problems and many of my peers simply avoided tape backup systems altogether. The clouds have split apart (no pun intended), and a shaft of light is shining down - Our data backup concerns are over – or are they?

The largest cause of problems with data recovery has never been the systems used. There, I have said it. The cat is out of the bag. In the many years that I have been consulting and working with Information technology, I can honestly say that the largest cause of data loss has been ignorance. Data is not recovered because it was never there to recover. In some cases, users don’t communicate to management processes that are in place and what needs to be secured offsite. Management remains blissfully unaware of what users are doing beyond critical systems like email and accounting. Sometimes management decisions are made such as adding new software but backups are never adjusted to allow for this. Many businesses outsource their IT needs since it is much more cost effective than employing internal staff, but are reluctant to pay the time required to test and confirm that backup systems are running properly.

There is a new problem created by online backup solutions that many users are not fully aware of. Doing a ‘full backup’ of the system can take hours or even days for some companies. During the backup, your system is vulnerable. Daily processes that could be critical to a recovery are not being backed up. Because of this, and also to limit the use of available bandwidth, backup providers and IT professionals will only occasionally do a full backup, and rely on backing up changes to the system (often referred to as incremental backups). The theory behind this is that you have a full backup, and incremental changes and it makes it possible to recover data to a certain point in time. How much backup to store offsite has a cost, and a place where businesses feel they can cut back.

A lot of techs recommend 45 days. So, a full backup, 45 days of retention has become the standard. There are problems with this system. If your full backups are not every 45 days, then a gap between your last full backup and the retention period exists. Most programs like accounting systems store data in a number of files, and if you are unable to recover a file, recovery of the whole program can be compromised. A modified file, if it remains unmodified beyond the retention period, will not be recoverable, except from a much older full backup. Retention periods should mesh between full backups. Test your backups – create files and store them for a week or two, then delete them and ask for them to be recovered from backup.

- Mark Smed is a consultant and network Technician for Northern Computer Inc. in Kelowna, and also sits on the board of directors for the Network Professional Association (www.npa.org).

Northern Computer - Your Trusted Partner
#1 - 495 Banks Road Kelowna, BC V1X 6A2
Phone: 250.762.7753 Fax: 250.861.1861 Toll-Free: 1.877.257.2896
Email: sales@northerncomputer.ca or service@northerncomputer.ca
Web: http://www.northerncomputer.ca

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Three Things Every Business Owner Should Love About Cloud Computing

“Cloud computing” is a phrase that you may have heard, but what is it? And, more importantly, how can it help your company?

Chances are, you are already using an application in the cloud or storing files there. Are you using Gmail or Facebook? Have you ever uploaded anything to the internet? Do you have a website? The software and storage for your account exists on the service’s computer (the “cloud) rather than on your computer.

So how might cloud services help in your organization?  If you are responsible for making sure that all of your employees have the right hardware and software they need to do their jobs, you understand the headaches involved. Simply equipping everyone with a computer isn’t enough – you also have to purchase software and licenses. When you have a new hire, you have to buy more software or make sure your current software license allows another user. And then there’s the maintenance – making sure all your servers are functioning, loading software updates, trouble-shooting. The list is endless.

With cloud computing, instead of installing software and applications on each computer, you only load the software and applications once into your virtual cloud environment. Your employees log into a Web-based service which hosts all the programs the user would need for his or her job.

In a cloud computing system, local computers no longer have to do all the work of running applications. The network of computers that makes up the cloud handles them instead. Hardware and software demands on the user’s side decrease.

So, how can cloud computing help your company?

• Mobility. You don’t have to be confined to working from one physical location. You can work from any PC, anywhere and relocation is easy -there is less hardware to move.

• Cost Savings. Cloud computing helps you reduce the costs of a capital investment in servers and storage devices. There are also no ongoing costs for power and additionally, you can save money on IT support.

• Easy Implementation. Without the need to purchase hardware or software licenses, a company can get its cloud computing services off the ground quickly. You can also grow or shrink to match your demand, referred to as elastic. If you need more computing power, it is available instantly. There is no need to secure additional hardware or software that you may or may not need to use.

Find out more about Cloud Computing solutions available from Northern Computer here.

- Janet F, IT Consulting

Northern Computer - Your Trusted Partner
#1 - 495 Banks Road Kelowna, BC V1X 6A2
Phone: 250.762.7753 Fax: 250.861.1861 Toll-Free: 1.877.257.2896
Email: sales@northerncomputer.ca or service@northerncomputer.ca
Web: http://www.northerncomputer.ca

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