How to Protect Your PC

So you’re cruising around on the internet, minding your own business. A few clicks here, a few clicks there and before you know it, you’re computer is acting odd. You thought you were pretty safe, or thought that the box that had popped up was just another annoying pop up. Uh oh! Now you’re infected, but you might not even know it! Or maybe you have all sorts of pop ups showing up left, right and center. Or maybe there’s a new program showing up that you don’t recall installing lately. YIKES!

There are a lot of threats out there and more are developed every day. I could go into the details of network security, but then I might as well dedicate an entire website or book to that, because there is a lot of information to cover. If you do a little bit of searching, you will surely find someone out there that has been nice enough to have already gone through the trouble of gathering all the information in one convenient spot.

For those of you who are curious as to what some of these threats can do, here’s a basic overview from of just some of the threats out there, from less critical to most critical:

1. You click a link or open an email attachment and you get:

• Popups galore!
• Programs that mask themselves as legitimate programs, but actually are not. Sometimes they will say “hey! Your computer is at risk! You need me, but first you need to buy me. Give me your credit card number.”
• You try to go to a legitimate website, but get directed to some other website(s)

2. You download something off a website that you think was legitimate, but the download has been compromised and when you go to run it, in the background it installs a backdoor program to either:

• Sit in the background and collect every keystroke you make (including when you log into your bank account online!)
• Corrupt your files on your hard drive
• Wipe or physically wreck your hard drive
• Get remote access to your computer and do what they want
• Make your computer send out massive amounts of email
• Make your computer become part of a botnet (network of computers that carry out tasks that the hacker can instruct them to do)

You’re probably thinking, “Who has the time to be doing this? Who is doing this?” or “Why would they do this? What benefits would they see from it?” These people are usually referred to as hackers, but that’s such a loosely coined term and not correctly used. Depending on the intent of the attack, hackers will either do it for one of two major reasons, but not limited to: the shear challenge of the hack or to collect information about you and your financials.

At this point, you probably just want to disconnect your computer and never to look at it again, because let’s face it, it’s just easier to not deal with it, right? Don’t let all this scare you, because there are things you can do to be better protected while you surf the internet. The best thing is to just be well aware of the risks and what to watch out for. By searching the web, you can find a wealth of information to help educate yourself about these threats. This can help you be more aware before just clicking that link, or opening that weird email attachment. You can find some good pieces of information and whole websites that are dedicated to helping guide you in protecting your computer system. A good start is heading over to http://www.getsafeonline.org/nqcontent.cfm?a_id=1044
 or http://www.online-tech-tips.com/computer-tips/how-to-protect-your-computer-from-hackers-spyware-and-viruses/

There you will find articles that will better explain all the components that go into protecting you while you enjoy your web browsing experience. Nowadays, security is such an important part of everyone’s world. Many websites (banking institutions, webmail providers, etc) implement highly secured connections for when you go to enter your financial or sensitive information. They put in place security functions (like entering security questions, picture codes, etc) to ensure your information is not compromised. So feel a bit more at ease, but don’t rely solely on this to protect you. The more protection you can setup for yourself, the better.

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After doing some reading, the first thing you should do is build your protection system. Start with the basics and work your way up. A good place to start is getting a highly successful anti-virus and anti-malware software package. There are a lot to choose from out there and not all of them will guarantee 100% protection and some will do a better job than others. Some will catch what others won’t and some will miss what others can do better at. One of the best pieces of software protection for consumers is Malwarebytes. At Northern Computer, we recommend it to our clients as we’ve tested many software packages, and we’ve found the best success with the Malwarebytes’ software. So if you’re looking to get a start on protecting your computer, come on in and someone will be more than happy to help you with all your computer protection needs.

- Jeevan T, Network Support Technician

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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Tips and Tricks - How to Use the AutoComplete Function in Internet Explorer

The autocomplete function in Internet Explorer automatically remembers information that you've recently typed. It is a handy tool when you are frequently filling in fields in web forms, such as name and address or usernames and passwords. You can save time because you don't have to type in the full information, the AutoComplete function will fill in the information for you. To turn on this feature follow these steps:

1. Open Internet Explorer.

2. Click on the Tools button, and then click Internet Options.

3. Click the Content tab.

4. Under AutoComplete, click Settings.

5. Select the boxes for the Web addresses, Forms, User names and passwords on forms, and Prompt me to save passwords.

6. Click Ok, and then OK again.

- Janet F, Marketing Coordinator

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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Tips and Tricks - Send a Fax Over the Internet

Need to send a fax but don’t have a fax machine available or the fax needs to be sent in color? The next time your fax machine is broken down or your traveling on business and a fax machine is not available send your fax over the internet. This is also a good option if you don’t have a phone line or need to send a fax in color. The later was situation that has happened in our office. We needed to send a fax in color, but our multi-function printer (MFP) is black & white.

A great resource was found! www.faxzero.com will let you send a fax to any fax machine in the United States or Canada for free. The restrictions? Only 2 free faxes per day, each fax can be a maximum of 3 pages, the fax must be a word document (.doc) or a .pdf file and there is an ad on the cover page. There is an option to upgrade if you need to send more documents, more pages or do not want the ad on the cover page.

Sending the fax is very easy to use, just fill in the sender and receiver information, attach the file and enter the confirmation code. An email confirmation will then be sent to your inbox. After locating the email, click on the URL in that email message. After clicking on the link, you will be directed to a webpage where you can find out the status of the fax and you will also be sent an email confirming the final status.

- Janet F, Marketing Coordinator

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: mailto:sales@northerncomputer.caor service@northerncomputer.ca
Web: http://www.northerncomputer.ca/

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Kelowna Digital Signage

Capture - Communicate - Entertain - Promote

Digital signage is revolutionizing the way that we advertise and communicate information. Businesses are moving away from printed signs to more dynamic, flexible and customizable signs.

What is digital signage?

Digital Signage refers to an electronically controlled sign that you can update on-the-fly. The content it presents may guide visitors, provide critical information, and entertain customers to trigger certain purchasing decisions.

Introduction to Digital Signage

5 Reasons to Use Digital Signage

(1) Tailor the right Message to the right Audience

Dynamic content enables different messages to be delivered at different times of the day to reach the right demographics repeatedly, thus increase the ROI of your digital marketing. Over You can promote new products and services, local event participation, contributions to community, and more. Studies show that digital signs are viewed up to ten times more often than static signs.


(2) Shorten Perceived Wait Time

While customers are waiting, digital signs can serve as dynamic message board that presents a custom-tailored mix of informational and advertising content, including product promotions, timely news, and upcoming events. This can result in a reduction in perceived wait time.

(3) Lower the Cost of Creating and Distributing Print Ad Campaigns

By eliminating the need to print and distribute static signs every time you change your campaign, you substantially save on printing/distributing costs and processing time. Content changes are easily made and can be customized for various products or customers. Think about menu changes, in store promotions, emergency announcements, facility information.


(4) Cross Promotions and Partnerships

Digital Signage allows cross promotion among your products and services for up-selling and upgrades. Many businesses use digital signage as promotional channel to cross promote value-added product and service packages at a lower advertising cost.

You can also cross promote your products and brand by working in collaboration with alliances and partners to capture consumers’ attention and increase brand awareness. Some businesses use digital signage to increase product perceived value by rotating their ads with other high-end brands to leverage brand equity.

(5) Increase Point of Sale Purchases

Connect with your audience at the most crucial time, during the point of purchase. Over 75% of decisions are made in-store and digital signage can increase impulse purchasing. They grab a customers’ attention and influence their purchasing decision right at the point of purchase and can result in increased product sales.

How it Works

There are a few basic key components of an effective digital signage network. They include a media player, a display, software, a network to coordinate and control it all and your content.

Software:

The software is either installed on your desktop (Premise based) or it is available online (SaaS – Software as a Service)

Hardware:

Display – A variety of display technologies are compatible, including LCS Televisions, Plasma Televisions, LCD Monitors, Multi-Screen Video Walls, Kiosks and more

Media Player – Simply stated this is just another computer where your content will reside once it is pushed out. It has it’s own software to display the content that you’ve created. The player can be a desktop tower or a small form-factor computer (mini PC).

Mount – A variety of mounts are available, including stands, wall mounts, ceiling mounts

Wiring, Including Connectivity – Ensuring the content is delivered to the right place at the right time will require power cabling, internet cabling and audio video wiring

Content:

Not much needs to be said here. This is the material that you have created to view on your display.

Considerations

• Do you want to be able to work from anywhere that you have internet connection?
• Ease of Use – Will you be doing the content creation or contracting it out? Is the availability of templates important?
• Do you want the ability to display Live TV with your content?
• How many screens do you want to output to? Can you add more screens at a later time?
• Do you need sound?
• Where do you want to mount your display(s)?
• What kind of ongoing training and support is available?
• What types of media do you want to display? Video, Images, RSS Feeds, Live Weather, Clocks, Video Podcasts

Our Solutions

Whether you want a standalone unit or multi-location we can select digital signage equipment to suit your organization’s needs. We offer software, hardware and content creation. Support and training are also available. For a personalized consultation of services and creative solutions please contact us.

- Janet F, Digital Signage Consultant

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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Office Ergonomics - Monitor Setup & Usage

 

As previously discussed, setting up your work space properly is essential in creating a comfortable workstation and preventing injury. Just as choosing the right mouse can reduce ailments, positioning your monitor is also important. The correct setup and positioning can avoid neck pain, shoulder pain and even eye strain. The following guidelines can help to determine the ideal ergonomic position of your monitor.

Distance – Your monitor should be positioned directly in front of you and centered. It should also be arms’ length away or at least 20 inches away. Sitting too close can cause eye strain. You can adjust the size of your fonts if you are having trouble reading from a distance.

Height – The proper monitor height is important in preventing neck and upper back strain. As a general rule of thumb, your eyes should be level with the top of your screen. Eyes are most comfortable with a gaze angled 15 degrees below the horizon. This can be achieved by raising or lowering your monitor or chair.

Angle – Our peripheral vision works better if our monitors are tilted slightly upward. The top of the monitor should be farther back than the bottom. This is why we position a book the way that we do.

Glare/Lighting – Glare can cause discomfort, eyestrain and headaches. Repositioning you monitor to avoid any glare from lighting fixtures or windows is recommend. A great way to check for glare is to turn off your monitor and examine any reflections visible on it. If you aren’t able readjust your monitor position, consider a high quality anti-glare screen.

Settings – Altering the monitors’ resolution, contrast and brightness settings will allow characters and images to display clearly and prevent squinting and eyestrain. The brightness of your monitor should be approximately equal to the area directly behind it.

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Consider a Swivel Arm – A swivel arm enables users to maintain proper monitor location while in use and they can easily be swung out of the way when not needed. People who frequently interact with others across a desk may want to keep the monitor to the side so that it doesn’t interfere with their communication. They are also beneficial when multiple users are sharing a work station.

Healthy Monitor Usage – If you work on your computer for extended periods of time, follow the 20/20/20 rule. Take a 20 second break every 20 minutes and look at least 20 feet away. This will give your eyes a break from visual fatigue.

- Janet F, Marketing Coordinator

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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Kelowna System Backup - Strategies for Data Loss

Have you ever lost pictures, documents, downloaded music, or data? If so, you know all too well the frustration of data loss. To avoid this frustrating experience, one needs to consider a data backup strategy.

In June of 2006, the New York Times reported on a Microsoft research report stating that 9 out of 10 PC owners do not regularly back up their files. Statistically, it is not a matter of IF, but WHEN, your computer hard drive will fail. Therefore, unless losing your pictures, data, documents or music is of no consequence to you, computer backup is critical.

Imagine the overwhelming amount of time, effort and money it takes to recover a system from which files were destroyed by mechanical failure, a virus attack, or user error. Consider lost revenue simply because of downtime. When you commit to a backup, you avoid these unwelcome and frustrating expenses.

TYPES OF COMPUTER BACKUP

The traditional types of backup are as follows:

Full Backup‐ This form of backup will back up ALL the files on your hard drive and will mark each file as backed up.

Differential backup‐This form of backup will back up all the selected files that have changed since the most recent full or normal backup. If you DO frequently restore files to your system, a differential backup is the recommended option.

Incremental backup‐This form of backup will only backup files that have changed since your most recent backup. This is a much smaller and quicker backup than a full backup. For instance if you backup on a daily basis, a Wednesday backup will contain only those files that have changed since Tuesday.  Incremental backup is recommended if you do NOT frequently restore files to your system.

WHAT SHOULD I BACKUP?

Make your life simple! You most likely do not need to spend hours to back up your entire hard disk.

Most of what is on your hard drive may not need to be backed up anyway. Applications such as Windows, word processors, games and internet software can be reloaded from the original disks; so, there is no need to back them up! To truly make your life simple, why not store all your data in a common folder? I have one data folder with subdirectories for all of my documents, my wife's documents, my graphics files, emails and so on.

TYPES OF BACKUP

Backup to an external Hard Drive

One option is a backup to an external hard drive. External, portable USB 2.0 hard drives of 80 to 500 gigabytes or more are available. Some drives also come with Firewire connections for both PC and Macintosh to speed up data transfer. Portable drives can be quickly removed in an event of an emergency and can easily contain your entire business or home computing life.

For increased back up insurance, many users opt to keep a portable, external drive near the computer or server, and a second portable, external drive offsite. These portables drives can be rotated to keep them current. Market pricing for hard drives has drastically reduced to the point where owning two or even three external hard drives is affordable for most businesses and home computer owners.

At Northern Computer, we have a simple solution called “Click Free” that can do your backup to an external drive with the click of a mouse. Call or email us for more information.

Backup to DVD

Another option is to back up your hard drive to a DVD‐R/RW. Double layered DVD's can hold up to 8.5 gigabytes while single layer DVD can contain up to 4.7 gigabytes. For many small and home businesses, DVD‐RW's are all that is required, particularly when factoring in computer backup software compression.

To reiterate the benefit of the DVD option, one DVD‐R/RW may be able to back up everything on your hard drive for less than the cost of an external hard drive. DVD‐RW's can be marked for each day week (Monday, Tuesday and so forth) and rotated.

Offsite Backup Service

Is sending your data off to a company's hard drive backup service somewhere on the Internet a good option? Online backup solves the problem of offsite storage. Your data is safely stored elsewhere in the event that a fire, theft, flood, earthquake or other natural disaster should damage your office or home. Northern Computer offers an offsite service that starts as low as $25.00 a month.

BEST PRACTICES TO CONSIDER

A few things to consider when planning your backup include:

1. A copy of your important data/backups should be housed in at least in two separate geographical locations. The easiest way to minimize your risk is to create a full back up on an external USB hard disk and bring it to another place (e.g. your work/home, your parent’s house, a friend’s house…etc.).

2. Your data is only as safe as your latest backup. Perform backups frequently! It is recommended to use backup software to automate the backup process. The more convenient it is to create a backup, the more likely your backups will be up‐to‐date. Try to make the backup process as easy and painless as possible as the easier the process, the higher the probability that you will avoid the frustration of lost data.

3. Regularly check the integrity of your backup. When creating a backup for a longer time, be sure that the backups created can be restored. Don’t only create incremental backups. The more incremental steps you create, the higher the probability of compromising the integrity of the data. The recovery of an incremental backup needs every individual incremental step. If just one incremental file is damaged, the whole backup might be useless! A limited budget is no excuse for failing to back up your data; and when data loss occurs, you will wish you had at least used a USB drive as a minimum level of data safety.

I hope you find this article helpful when designing your individual backup strategy. Data safety always costs money. How much it costs, depends on your individual strategy and your tolerance for risk.

- Lauren G, Senior Account Manager

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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Kelowna System Cleanup - Computer Maintanence

Do you ever notice that as time goes on, your fast new computer tends to slow down? You begin to notice that it is directly affecting your productivity which can be very frustrating. Many people feel as though the only solution is to either reformat or buy a new computer. However, there are other ways to get the speed and performance back to what it was without having to resort to drastic measures.

Below is a checklist you can use to help maintain optimal system performance. It also lists some best practice tips and preventative maintenance that can be done to help keep your system running healthy.

Computer Maintenance Checklist

At system setup

1. Install a surge suppressor/emergency shutdown power strip (UPS)
2. Register your software products
3. Schedule automatic updates
4. Read the maintenance section of your manual
5. Set up your email to auto-archive older messages
6. Install anti-virus and anti-malware software
7. Put your software drivers and applications install CDs in a safe place

Weekly

1. Back up your files to a remote location
2. Empty your recycle bin
3. Delete your Internet files
4. Clear your browsing history
5. Delete your cookies
6. Update your virus definitions
7. Run a full virus/malware scan
8. Reboot your PC (if you choose to leave it on regularly)

Monthly

1. Run a disk scan to check for hard drive issues
2. Run a defragmentation program
3. Run a disk cleanup to delete unneeded files
4. Try to ensure that the hard drive has 15% free space for successful defragmentation
5. If you can’t free up 15% of disk space, at least ensure that there’s a few GB left free otherwise there will be a major performance impact on the system
6. Check for updates (Windows and other applications if not scheduled)
7. Uninstall unnecessary or unused programs

Quarterly

1. Clean your keyboard
2. Clean your monitor
3. Clean your peripherals
4. Rebuild your desktop
5. Change all your passwords

Yearly

1. Renew your software update and anti-virus/anti-malware subscriptions
2. Review hardware specifications to ensure that it meets the demands of the Operating System and installed software (more RAM, bigger Hard Drive, etc.)

If you are a bit more tech savvy, you can use Windows Task Scheduler to automate some of these tasks. Click the following link to find out more about automating Windows tasks and PC maintenance:

http://www.microsoft.com/athome/setup/maintenance.aspx

Give us a call at our office or email us to request remote support.

- Kerry B, Network Support Technologist

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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