Keeping computers switched on?

Our office is closed over the Christmas break – what should we do with our computers ?

The easy answer, is that if no-one needs them, then switch them off!

The advice used to be that important computers should be left on as turning computers on and off exposed them to an electrical phenomenon called thermal shock. Nowadays computer designs are much improved and the impact/risks associated with them being turned on and their components warming up to their operating temperature is much reduced.

We also now live in a more environmentally aware society and one where energy costs have increased dramatically and if your pcs and servers are sitting there idle but using power you are throwing money away.

Of course you never just turn computers off, especially servers. You shut them down using the operating system. If you are using UPSs then you need to hit the power button on the UPS to turn the UPSs off as well, once the equipment it is supplying has completed their shut down of course.

When powering up, generally you should switch on your network and internet equipment first. Then your servers, turning on any ancillary components like external tapes drives, robotic libraries or disk arrays first. Once your servers are up and running then you can power on your pcs.

Please note this is general advice! Check with your support company if in any doubt about your systems. For example, we can’t turn off some of our servers equipment, as part of our proactive support service we are continuously gathering performance and alert information from our clients systems, servers and firewalls.

Excel or Access?

I have a business application I want written, should I use Excel or Access ?

Good question – both Excel and Access are popular tools that businesses use and there are definitely situations where you should select one over the other.

In Excel the data and the ‘application’ is unstructured and open, anyone can add a new column, move things around, change calculations unless you spend some time ‘locking down’ your spreadsheet. It is great for ‘what-ifs’, doing data analysis but poor for real ‘applications’ where you need structure, conformity, validation and data quality. Many businesses have built processes around the completion and consolidation of Excel data – this needs care to work well and the potential for an administrative nightmare sorting out and/or consolidating the information is substantial. Only one person can work on an Excel spreadsheet at a time so sharing information can be a problem usually solved by again having multiple copies of the spreadsheet and consolidating.

Access is structured. Like any database it consists of tables of information with fixed columns. It has built in data entry forms, reports which are built by a developer and can easily be protected, if only because few users have the skills needed to access and modify them. It supports simple to highly complex programs to manipulate your information up to complete applications. Where the volume of data or number of users grows you can upsize the data storage and use MS SQL Server. Access supports multiple simultaneous users and manages conflicts where two people attempt to modify the same item of data at the same time. Access is ideal for small to medium scale custom business applications that do not need to be web based. If you build an application in Access you may not even have to buy Access for your users as there is a free ‘runtime’ version which will run Access applications but not let you build or modify the application itself.

To summarise – the choice depends on the following questions – how structured and fixed vs unstructured and fluid is your information, how many people need to access/edit this information, how much information will you be dealing with, does the data need extensive validation or do you need significant reports?

Speed of broadband

I want to know the speed of my broadband, how do I do this?

The website http://www.broadbandspeedchecker.co.uk/ will run a test for you and give you the results for download and upload speeds.

Instant Messaging

We want to use Instant Messaging to stay in touch with our customers - can you recommend a good IM package?

Well this is really down to trying out a few and picking one you like. You do get Windows Live Messenger bundled with Windows so this is a good place to start. If you use a firewall to protect your PC or network you may need to ‘open a port’ to allow the messenger messages to flow between you and your internet connected clients.

The free IP phone package Skype also includes an instant messenger service – and if you and your client have suitable hardware you can make free phone calls or even video calls as well.

Gadgets for Christmas

Any ideas for last minute gadgets as Christmas presents?

You could look at Firebox’s website www.firebox.com or The Gadget Show’s website at www.five.tv/thegadgetshow/

Some of our favourite gadgets include:

Pzizz – it’s a Power Nap gadget – like a hypnotherapist in a mp3 player that induces a state of deep relaxation so you can have 10-60 minute powernaps. It generates a unique program each time you use it. www.pzizz.com the site is being maintained but still works. New website is http://www.energyeveryday.com/

Classic boys toy – the leatherman wave http://www.amazon.co.uk/Leatherman-Wave-Multi-Tool-Leather-Pouch/dp/B000O54HSC/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=sports&qid=1229443866&sr=1-5

SatNav

Mobile phone

Digital camera

The power drill (for putting up shelves etc etc)

Hair straighteners

Jamie Oliver Shaker

Electronic corkscrew which takes all the effort from opening a bottle of wine and allows you to begin consuming the contents with the minimum delay!

Microsoft Outlook Calendar - Adding bank holidays automatically

Is there any easier way to add the bank holidays into my Outlook calendar other than manually?

For Microsoft Outlook 2003 choose Tools, Options, Calendar Options and then Add Holidays and choose a country.

This will add in all bank holidays to 2012.

Computer not booting

My computer won't boot - it has a message which reads c:\windows\system32\hal.dll is missing or corrupted - what do I do?

An essential operating file has been lost or corrupted so immediately I would suspect a problem with your hard disk drive or possibly a malicious virus. In either case your PC is not bootable so your focus is getting it to boot, then see if the cause of the failure reveals itself.

If your don’t have a backup, your backup is too old, you have critical or important data on the disk or you are unsure of your PC skills – get expert help and do nothing. Don’t even read past this point!

You then have a number of options including:

1. Booting off the operating system install CD and using its repair option if available.
2. Booting off the operating system install CD and reinstalling the operating system, all your programs, re-configuring it all.
3. Booting off the operating system install CD and installing a second copy of the operating system, boot using this second copy and use this to repair the original operating system.
4. Physically taking the hard disk out of your PC and adding it as an additional drive to a working PC. Use the working PC to either repair the damage to the failed hard disk if possible or simply to copy all your data off it.
5. Similar to 4 – purchase and install a new hard disk in the broken PC, add your old hard disk as an additional drive and attempt to repair/recover data.

The options have not been explained in detail – they all have pros and cons and provisos – if you don’t know what they are or are unsure of the approach - you should stop and ask for expert help. This is an area where a high level of skill and even the most experienced professional will take great care. Consider also how much effort you are going to put into this recovery and if you suspect the hard disk - perhaps this is a sensible time to invest in a new hard disk?

Internet Explorer and other browsers

I've just heard the news about Internet Explorer's security flaw - can you tell me what other browsers are available and how do I get them?

There are several other browsers available, we’ll give you a list of the most popular choices with links so you can find out more about them and download them. By the way they are all free!

This is a very topical question given today’s news about a new flaw in IE here and advice to use an alternative browser until the vulnerability is fixed. Incidentally this particular flaw is to do with the helpful feature in IE (and other browsers) where it will remember those pesky passwords for you.

So, what is a browser ? Basically it’s the computer program that allows you to browse and interact with web sites. Behind the scenes your browser is receiving pages from your website in a formatting language and converting it into the screen display you see. It translates your screen clicks and keyboard entries into commands which it sends to your selected site for action.

Internet Explorer (IE) browser is installed with Microsoft operating systems so it is almost assured the top spot as many PC users just won’t be interested in looking for an alternative. It’s a bit like deciding to upgrade the radio in your car, most people stick with the one that came with the vehicle.

Informed users will want to at least look at the alternatives and choose the browser that offers the combination of usability, speed and security that is important to them. A good question you can ask is; if IE is installed with Windows – why would people go to the effort of downloading another browser? What do these other browsers offer that the users feel is lacking in IE?

Mozilla Firefox is the most popular alternative browser (statistics here), indeed amongst those interested or working with web technologies where it seems set to overtake IE as the browser of choice (statistics here). If you want to find out more about Firefox and why it is the most popular non IE browser then follow this link Mozilla Firefox. Firefox is user-friendly; it had tabbed pages long before IE added them and is more secure. There are pages and pages of articles on the web on whether Mozilla is better than IE or not – read about it, try it and make up your own mind.

A relatively recent addition to the browser list is Google Chrome which offers a minimalist design with the aim of delivering a browser that makes web browsing faster, safer and easier. We have used Chrome recently and loved the clean uncluttered design, speed was comparable to either IE or Firefox perhaps a little faster. There is a nice video overview on the BBC website by Google’s Jessica Powell. This will be the browser to trial over the next month or so, it’s going to have to be pretty good to beat Firefox though!

Another choice, which is going to be of interest to people who use both Apple and PC, is Apple’s Safari, simply because its available for both Mac and PC – so you can use and get used to the same browser on both types of computer. Naturally being an Apple design you get that Mac feel to the program. More information on Safari is here.

There are a few other browsers such as Opera and some old soldiers such as Netscape and the original Mozilla – however these all rate less than 1% of the global usage share.

Defrag

What does defrag mean?

You PC is always trying to give you the best performance. This means that when you modify and save or delete files it will do this as quickly as possible and it won’t worry about keeping your hard disk neat and tidy. When you delete a file it will leave a gap where the file was and when it then saves files it will split the files into fragments to fit the available gaps.

The result of this is you can end up with bits of file all over your hard disk. Now of course your Windows or other operation system keeps careful track of where all the bits are and how to put them back together when you load the file. Behind the scenes all this assembling files and splitting files to fit the available gaps takes time and performance suffers when it becomes excessive as fragmentation increases.

The answer is to defragment or defrag your disk – which essentially tidies up all the files, joining the fragments together and reorganises the disk to combine all the unused space into nice large usable blocks. Many operating systems include a defrag tool; In Microsoft Vista it is under All Programs – Accessories – System Tools. There are also utilities you can buy which will automatically monitor and defrag your disk when it needs it.

Uninterruptable Power Supply

What is a UPS and do I need one ?

UPS (short for Uninterruptable Power Supply) is a very big battery with some clever electronics that you insert between your computer and its mains power supply. It has two functions

1. It smoothes out any ‘bumps’ in your power supply voltage – spikes and brief dips in the power
2. If there is a power cut, it keeps your computer running long enough to shut down cleanly

So it is a protection device to prevent damage to computer hardware, your systems and your data. Put plainly power spikes are bad for their power supplies and sudden power loss is very bad for your systems and data as this can cause corruption resulting in the need to recover data from backup or possibly data loss. Serious data loss can render your computer inoperable, unbootable.

Now if your computer is a desktop PC you probably only want to invest in a UPS if the cost of having to recover from an expected power problem makes it worthwhile for you. If your PC is essential – maybe you are a smaller business where everything is on your PC, then you should consider this. If your PC is a laptop – it already has a battery to keep it going !

Of course most businesses put their key systems and data onto more powerful central servers. In our opinion it is essential to protect your servers with a UPS. Even a medium size server can hold a lot of information – if you need to restore its data after a power failure has caused corruption then this could easily take hours just to get the data from the backup tape. This assumes the power problem did not physically damage anything. A serious power cut – even a self inflicted one caused by tripping a breaker eg putting the kettle on – can bring a business to a standstill.

Top Tip - put your servers and network equipment on a different power circuit, ideally on their own.

When you get your power back you want to be up and running and recovering from the outage as soon as possible – not spending hours repairing your servers or recovering your systems and/or data.

UPSs come in different ratings – the higher the rating the more power it can supply. You can get quite compact UPSs to protect a PC and larger tower or rack mounted units for protecting servers. When selecting a UPS you should get advice on rating the power requirement of your equipment and work out how long you want the UPS to run your equipment during a power cut in order to correctly specify the size of UPS you need.

UPSs have a data connection to the computers that it protects so it can tell them when the power goes off and if it needs them to shut down. When the power comes back on you can specify a delay to ensure that the power is stable before the UPS automatically restarts everything.

UPSs can be very sophisticated, constantly monitoring the quality of your power and taking intelligent decisions when there are problems. I can recall one situation at a large site where the UPS was so big it had its own little building, the power to the site kept failing due to a faulty breaker and in the middle of the chaos a van with two engineers from the UPS company arrived unexpectedly. Apparently the UPSs electronic brain had noted the problems and phoned them……

Password protecting USB sticks

Can I password protect my USB stick?

There are a number of utilities you can buy, or these are sometimes bundled (included) with your stick. Cryptainer is an example of encryption software.

These encrypt all the information on your stick and require you to enter a password before the data can be accessed. Your stick contains the encryption program and a big, sometimes hidden file which contains all your data.

When you plug the key into your PC it will appear as an additional drive, say the E: drive. You then run the encryption software on this drive and enter your password. If the password is correct then magically a new drive, say F: appears. You read and write your files as normal to this second drive. Take care though - if you forget the password then you have effectively lost all the data on the key!

Out of Office Assistant

Can I set up an automatic message to reply to emails sent to me over the Christmas period to let people know when I will be back in the office?

Yes, you can set the Out Of Office Assistant. If you are using Microsoft Outlook 2003, click on Tools, Out of Office Assistant and then type your message eg 'I am out of the office until Monday 5th January 2009. If your message is urgent, please telephone [enter telephone number]'.

This message will be automatically sent to anyone who sends an email to your email address.

Don't forget to turn it off when you get back into the office ....

Online ID Theft: employee awareness pack

Online ID Theft: employee awareness pack

MessageLabs has published an information pack for companies to give to their employees. It contains:

1 x downloadable handout about online ID theft
1 x downloadable poster
1 x PowerPoint presentation
1 x internal email template which includes a list of Does and Don'ts when emailing

Download it here at http://www.creativesql.co.uk/cw/mlabs/mlabs_theft_frm.htm

ICT Excellence Award

Coleshill company, Acutec Limited, celebrated its success at the coveted ICT Excellence Awards 2008.

The growing and successful IT Services company was highly commended for the Most Improved Business Award.

Acutec Limited has achieved a whole raft of technical standards this year, including partnerships with Cisco, Microsoft and Citrix, the UKita Quality Mark and both Network Design and Installation and Software Product Design and Development segments of the prestigious Accredit UK standard, which recognises the best technology suppliers in the country.

Chris Roche, Managing Director of Acutec Limited, said, “we're delighted to be honoured with this success and the wider recognition it brings for us within our industry. It's also a great motivation for the team to have their hard work acclaimed in this way. Finally, it's been fantastic taking part as the feedback from the judges has been invaluable to us.”

Mike Musson, ICT Cluster Manager, added: “This year we've seen the highest standard of award entries yet and competition has been incredibly tough. The judging process has been rigorous and the panel faced a major challenge in deciding the final winners due to the sheer quality, innovation and excellent service provided by all the finalists. The awards are testament to the quality and diversity among technology companies in the West Midlands region.”

The ICT Excellence Awards were presented at the evening Awards event following the Annual ICT Cluster Conference held at Birmingham Motorcycle Museum on 20 November 2008.

Opening Office 2007 documents in earlier versions

I've received a file in .docx format - how do I open it, i'm using Microsoft Office Word 2003?

The documents can be opened it but you will first need to download the Microsoft Compatibility pack for 2007 Office - you can download this at the following link http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word/HA100444731033.aspx

This will allow you to open other Office 2007 documents such as Excel and PowerPoint.

Changing passwords

How do I change the password to access my PC?

Hold down Ctrl, Alt and Del, choose Change Password - enter your current password and then your new password twice.

We mentioned in a previous post passwords should be changed at least every 120 days.

How do I prevent confidential data leaving our offices on USB sticks?

Administration settings on PCs can be changed to block the transfer of data to external storage devices such as downloading via USB or Bluetooth. Ask your administrator or IT support.

Backup Tapes

My backup tape won't eject what shall I do?

There are a number of reasons why this could happen:

1. The tape just needs some more time to rewind or complete what its doing
2. The tape is in use – possibly something has gone wrong with the backup and it is still running 3. The backup program or controlling software using the tape drive has failed and left the drive locked
4. The tape is damaged and has jammed
5. The drive is damaged and is jammed

I am going to assume that you have made a few attempts to eject the tape, and waiting for more than 10 minutes as the drive may need to rewind the tape before spitting it out. You should also check that your backup software isn’t running and has locked the tape as its using it. If your software is running try using the software to eject the tape.

At this point, if you have a warranty or support for your server you should call them. Most drives have an eject button on the front of the server and you can often get the drive to force the tape out by holding down the eject button. Some drives you need to do this whilst powering the drive up – hold down the eject button and then switch on the drive. Many drives are built into the server as you don’t have access to the drives power - in which case you will need to shutdown and power off the server to do this.

If all this fails – call your support people or the manufacturer of the drive – it is likely you have either a damaged tape (in which case you need an engineer to remove it without damaging the drive) – or you have a damaged drive in which case you need a replacement.

Phishing

What is Phishing?

Phishing is a way of luring email users into providing sensitive details eg bank details, passwords / PIN numbers either by replying to an email or asking recipients to click on a link and enter details into a form or website that has been replicated to look genuine, eg ebay or a bank.

The phishers will then use this information so do not enter your sensitive details and contact your bank if you are concerned.

Remote Assistance

What's remote assistance?

Remote assistance allows an IT support professional to remote control your PC via a secure link over the internet. They will be able to see your screen and control your PC as if they are sitting in front of it.

This has revolutionised IT support – you can now phone in with your support issue and the IT engineer can take control of your PC and fix the issue before your eyes and while you are still on the phone. It’s not just for fixing problems though as we also use this for training - ‘how do I change the layout of a table in Word 2007’ is very hard to describe over the phone but very easy to demonstrate.

So you get immediate support – no waiting for an engineer to arrive, no following complex instructions over the phone. The engineer likes it too – he/she doesn’t have to move out of his comfy seat to help you or try and work out what’s happening on your PC from your description (‘The pointer thingie disappeared after I clicked on the icon that looks like a chicken on a bicycle and now it is just sitting there making a funny clicking noise’).

To summarise you get a faster, better service and as this drastically reduces the need for an engineer to visit you in person it probably is going to cost you less too!

Monitor Resolution

How do I know what the correct resolution is for my monitor?

Most people nowadays use LCD displays and these have a ‘native resolution’ – basically the resolution the monitor is designed to display. If you pick a lower resolution your display will look fuzzy – because the image produced by your PC doesn’t line up with the dots that make up your display. If you pick too high a resolution your screen acts as a window scrolling around a bigger virtual desktop which is more than a little confusing!

You can find your native resolution from at least one of the following sources:

• Look on the back of the monitor
• Check the documentation that came with the monitor
• ‘Google’ the model of your monitor and get the information online

You set your resolution by right-click on the screen background and depending on your operating system select ‘Properties’ or ‘Personalise’ – look out for ‘Settings’ and use the slider to adjust the resolution up or down.

Lock your computer

How do I lock my computer?

Best practice is to lock your computer when you are away from your desk. This is quick and easy and prevents unauthorised users from logging into to your computer:

Hold down the Ctrl Alt and Del keys on your keyboard to bring up Task Manager and choose Lock This Computer. Or, if you have a Windows key on your keyboard you can hold this down and press L.

Lost laptops

We keep hearing about data loss in the media, our staff carry information on their laptops. What can we do to protect our company?

One of the major challenges with losing data or having items stolen is the bad publicity. That’s at the start and then clients start to lose confidence and cancel contracts. Protecting your company’s data is essential if you hold anything about people; names, dates of birth, addresses, other personal or company information. It’s essential to do more than carry a laptop around in a supermarket plastic bag – that was the advice given by one major firm some years ago to ensure staff didn’t look as if they were carrying any valuables.

Most thefts of laptops are opportunistic. There are steps you can take to minimise the risk:

1 - Protect the data

• Ensure data is password protected; ideally encrypted so if the laptop is stolen, no one can hack into it without considerable effort.
  

2 - Organise a security policy with staff

• Agree where laptops can be left and when, i.e. if in a car they must be in a locked boot and kept out of sight.
• How they should be transported, i.e. in laptop bags, briefcases, large handbags or man bags or indeed plastic carrier bags!

3 - Prepare a plan

• It is also useful to have a plan of what do if it does go wrong and the worst happens.
• Rehearse with your staff what to do if they are confronted by someone wishing to take the laptop by force, you also need to think about their safety.
• Have statements prepared that can be issued to the media, if necessary.
• Have back-up copies of all the information available so that the loss of the laptop does not mean a serious interruption to the business.

Mail Goggles

New Service from Google Labs

Google Labs has developed a new feature for Google Mail users called Mail Goggles.

The idea is to help prevent people from sending emails they may later regret and that may never have been sent had they been either more awake or .... erm ... sober!

Mail Goggles asks users to complete a mini maths test before being allowed to send emails. The maths test only pops up when you log on to Google Mail early in the mornings or whenever you have set it to pop up in your mail settings.

To enable Mail Goggles log in to your Gmail account, click Settings and then Labs, choose enable on the Mail Goggles and click Save Changes.

To change the times when Mail Goggles pops up, visit the General Tab and the settings can be changed here. Has anyone used this? Did it stop you from sending your email?

ICT Excellence award shortlist

We're really pleased that Acutec has been nominated for the ICT Excellence Award for Most Improved Business. We're on the shortlist and the winners will be announced on 20 November 2008.

The Annual ICT Excellence Awards sponsored by the West Midlands ICT Cluster was established in 2005 with the aims of:

· Growing recognition of the ICT Cluster and capabilities within ICT companies in the West Midlands, potential customers in the West Midlands, the national ICT media, and the ICT industry nationally
· Building a sense of self-identity in the Cluster
· Promoting, celebrating and show-casing best-practice, innovation and achievement

Web or Content filtering

I need to block access to some websites for most of the day but make them available between 12.45pm and 1.45pm - how do I do this?

Blocking internet access to some or all sites in known as ‘Web or Content filtering’.

Web filtering is achieved by the use of a device on the network or software on a server which checks network traffic from computers destined for the internet. The Web Filter checks the traffic against it’s database of allowed and denied times of the day and allowed and denied websites and ultimately allows or denies the traffic. The computer user is notified that a website has been blocked if necessary. It is important to understand exactly what is required by a business from a Web Filter, your IT support company will be able to recommend the best solution to apply your policy.

Floppy disks

I need to access an old file that's on a floppy disk but I have a laptop and no floppy disk drive - any ideas?

Well you are going to have to find a PC with a floppy drive and copy the data onto a USB key or writeable CD or email the data to yourself. If you can’t find one and the data is important or perhaps you have a lot of floppies to copy you can buy external floppy drives that plug into a USB port. A quick search on http://www.google.co.uk/ found drives for around the £20 mark. If you have an IT support company looking after your systems they should be able to help and copy the data for you.

Confidential Data

What's the best way to destroy confidential data on a CD?

There are numerous ways of doing this but broadly you can break it, irretrievably damage the surface or we securely destroy our CDs by putting them into our office shredder – which is designed for the job - make sure yours is too before you try this.

If you have a lot of CDs to destroy then contact your IT support company – they will be able to have the CDs destroyed by a specialist organisation that will both destroy your data and ensure that the CD remains are correctly disposed off.

Emailing large files

I want to email a file but it's too big to attach - what can I do?

It is possible to make a file smaller. In Windows right click on the file and select ‘Send To’ .... ‘Compressed (zipped) Folder’. Windows will make a compressed copy of your file – you will spot it either by the filename changing to something.zip or having a folder icon with a zip on it. This file will usually be a lot smaller than your original and possibly small enough to email. This doesn’t work well for some media files like MP3 music or video as the data in these is already compressed but other file types can shrink to a fraction of their initial size.

When the file gets to its recipient they simply double-click on it and this will reveal the contents.

Your second option is to use an email account that has a bigger size limit – perhaps Hotmail or GoogleMail (Gmail) which will go up to 20Mb. Bear in mind that your recipient’s mailbox may also have a size restriction!

Thirdly, you can use a service for emailing large files such as http://www.yousendit.com/. This gets round the email size limit by not actually emailing the file. The process is simple – you specify the file and the recipient, the file is uploaded to a secure server and your recipient is sent a small email telling them the file is there and giving them a link to download it. Bear in mind that if you are on an ADSL link that the upload speed is usually much slower than the download speed you get when browsing and downloading files. A large file may take a while to upload.

Frozen PC

My PC has 'frozen' - can I just turn it off?

Well if your PC has completely frozen there is not much else you can do. Simply switching off a PC is a risky thing to do – you will possibly lose data in any documents or files you have open and in the computer’s memory. There is also a risk of disk corruption so it is important to see if you can shut it down cleanly.

Often a Windows PC will spot that something has gone wrong and display the ‘Blue Screen of Death’. This basically tells you that the PC has had a problem, didn’t know what to do so it has just stopped [it also gives you some information on which program or part of Windows failed]. At this point you should note the name of the program on the screen and get some assistance. You will need to reboot – your PC has stopped so there is nothing else you can do. Some PCs are configured to do a ‘dump’ when this happens – copying the contents of the computer’s memory to a file which can later be interrogated so the fault can be diagnosed. You can’t recover any lost data from this file though.

So, if your PC is unresponsive try a few things. Firstly make sure your wireless keyboard or mouse hasn’t just gone flat!

Secondly just wait a while; your PC may just be tied up doing something intensive – usually something like looking for a network printer or server that is not longer there. It can take a minute or so to realise this and give you an error.

If this is not the case then really we are looking to be able to save our data and reboot the PC to clear the problem.

Check if the mouse moves or if you hit ‘Caps Lock’ on your keyboard does the ‘Caps Lock’ light change? If neither of these are true then your PC has effectively stopped anyway so you may as well just go ahead and turn it off. Any damage has already been done.

Next you can try hitting the following key combination Ctrl – Shift – Esc pressing the three keys together. This should bring up the task manager and you may be able to spot applications listed as ‘not responding’ and terminate them, allowing you to save data from other programs and reboot cleanly.

Lost in the post

This morning the UK news covered a story about a disk containing the names and addresses of over 11,000 teachers that has been lost in the post.

This is not an isolated incident. So many companies load large amounts of data onto disks, usb drives and then the information simply vanishes or is ‘misplaced’.

The good news is that this data was encrypted – this is probably the first case where it was protected. If you need to hand over large amounts of data it

• should be encrypted [this data was]
• sent securely [this data was sent using a tracking system]
• someone should be waiting to accept the data [the loss was identified when the tracking system showed it has missed the delivery spot]

All in all, Atos Origin, the company sending the data followed all the rules.

Restoring files from backup tapes

How do I retrieve a file from a backup tape?

This really depends on your backup solution, but broadly speaking backup software has a restore view which allows the selection of files and folders to restore to either the original location or to an alternate location on the network. Don't forget to load the correct tape for the date of the file which is being restored!

Bugs and Security Updates for Microsoft Software

How do I know if there are Microsoft Updates for my PC?

Microsoft Update is the way Microsoft tries to supply fixes for bugs and security updates for its desktop and server operating systems. How these can be accessed depends on your version of Windows.

For Vista click Start > All Programs > Microsoft Update

For Windows XP Pro go to http://update.microsoft.com/ and follow the prompts

Microsoft Update is the new name for Windows Update which now includes bug fixes and security updates for Microsoft products other than Windows, for example, Microsoft Office.

Green IT

How can we reduce our IT energy comsumption?

There are a number of ways to keep your IT green. Some tips are:

• Turn off screens at lunch or at meetings
• Check all your PCs; old ones are more power hungry than newer models
• Activate Power Saving Settings on your PCs to switch off monitors after 15 minutes and PCs after 100 minutes if not used (PCs will wake up when you move the mouse)
• Switch on printers when needed, not as soon as you get into the office
• Share printers between several people

Anti Virus Software

Why do we need to upgrade our anti virus software?

People often ask us why they need to update the software when they are already updating it every day by downloading and installing the latest virus definitions. We know that new viruses and new types of viruses emerge which may need different solutions which is why new versions of the software are needed. Additionally antivirus software manufacturers often make improvements to upgrades and make it faster and easier to use.

Passwords

How often should I change my password?

Best practice recommends that passwords must be changed every 120 days and they should not be reused. So how do you invent a password that meets this criteria and still remember it?

A pass phrase is a combination of a memorable word mixed with some numbers, for example, 1dIwtl&e - one day i'll win the lottery and escape.

Best practice is to create a password that has:

• at least 8 characters
• at least 1 lower case letter
• at least 1 upper case letter
• at least 1 number
• at least 1 special character (?, *, %, etc)

Passwords must not:

• be all or part of your account ID
• be all or part of your account name
• be blank
• contain dictionary words
• contain more than 2 repetitive characters (Mmmmmm1, Ab77777, etc)
• contain substituted numbers and symbols for letters (3 for E, $ for S, etc)

Internet Connection

I can't connect to the internet, what do I do?

For business users the normal practice would be to inspect the internet router in the first instance probably using the web interface to view line status. Additionally the LED lights on the router should indicate whether the internet line is live or not. A reboot of the router would normally be the next step depending on the results of the initial investigations. It’s sometimes quicker to do these checks prior to calling the internet provider as they will almost certainly ask for these to be done in any case.

Be very prepared!

Last week we mentioned that the IoD Birmingham had closed due to flooding - it gets worse and this is today's email:


Further to our previous email, the flood damage at IoD hub Birmingham is more serious than we had originally expected. This unfortunately means that the hub will remain closed until further notice. If you have planned to meet at the building you may use the Regus building at Brindley Place instead, address details below. Alternatively there are numerous coffee shops close to the building. Please refer to iod.com for updates on the situation. Apologies for any inconvenience this may cause.

What would you do if this was your business?

Be prepared!

We’ve just had an email from the Institute of Directors [IoD]

Due to unforeseen circumstances, the Directors' Room at IoD hub Birmingham is closed.
Unfortunately severe flooding has affected the whole building and we anticipate being able to reopen on Monday 8th September.

In case this ever happens to you – we’re holding an event on how to prepare:

Business Continuity/Disaster Recovery Seminar
Date: Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Time: 8:30am - 10:30am
Location: St Peters House
Street: Church Hill
Town: Coleshill, United Kingdom

What’s covered?
• How to recover data and systems
• Processes for frequent backup of systems and data
• Tests and drills of disaster procedures
• Tips to create your disaster recovery plan

What will I get from it?
• Expert advice!
• Knowledge - the seminar counts for 2 hours towards your Continuing Professional Development
• Catch up with the ACUTEC team and industry specialists
• A feel good factor – the small charge of £10 goes to our nominated charity


Visit our Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=22043669375 or our website http://www.acutec.co.uk/business-continuity-seminar for more details

Firewall

What is a SonicWALL firewall?

A SonicWALL firewall is what is known as a Unified Threat Management (UTM) device. The idea behind these devices is that they sit on the perimeter of a network and combine antivirus, antispyware, intrusion prevention and content filtering to manage the ingress of threats from the most common source - the internet. It allows only authorised access to your network and prevents unauthorised access. Authorised access if defined by access rules on the firewall by the system administrator.

External hard drives

Are external hard disk drives a good way to back up my data ?

Well yes and no!

Of course having any kind of backup is better than no backup at all. Unfortunately many, many people only realise this 1 minute after their data has been lost when their hard disk dies, or a virus wipes their data. We have a busy technical support helpdesk and about the worst news we ever have to give a client is that they have irretrievably lost their data, usually its off a laptop which is away from their corporate server and its automatic backup ability.

External hard drives are easy – you simply plug them in and regularly copy your data from your PC to the drive. Ideally you use some software to do this for you, making copies of your files automatically. Many drives such as the Western Digital MyBook range come with bundled software to do this or you can buy a utility, such as ‘Second Copy’ to ‘mirror’ your PC data to your drive.

This is all good but there is a serious flaw. Say you have a big file, it could be a Excel spreadsheet or an Access database perhaps. Something where you could delete some data out of the file, or have a data corruption and not notice it for a while. I’m talking about losing some content from inside the file – not losing the file itself. External hard drives tend to just make a copy of the data on your PC, and if you haven’t noticed that the file is corrupted or missing data then your last backup would have overwritten the previous, good copy of the file on your external drive with your corrupted file. Essentially it would have backed up rubbish. So now you have a corrupted file on both your PC and your backup and possibly no way of getting the data back.

You can solve this problem by keeping a history of the data on your PC. Here is how this can work, I’m going to assume we are backing up to tapes for this example. You take a backup each day Monday to Thursday onto separate tapes so by Friday you have a separate backup for each day of the week up to Friday. On Friday you do another separate backup onto a new tape and label it Week 1. Next Monday to Thursday you reuse and overwrite the previous Monday to Thursday backups, on the Friday you use a new tape and label in Week 2. And so on until the end of the month when the Friday backup is labelled Month 1.

So why do this? Say on the first day of the next month you find you have lost/corrupted a file ‘sometime’ recently. You have to now go back to the most recent backups for last week – you have the Friday backup (‘Month 1’) and then the usual Monday to Friday backups. If you don’t find a good copy of your file you can go back further – looking at the Week tapes Week 1,2,3,4,etc. until you find your file on the last backup prior to its loss or corruption.

Now I should say at this point that this is a theoretical example – don’t go implementing this unless you know what you are doing or have expert help!

So, when you have been running this for a while and built up a library of your 4 daily tapes, 5 weekly tape and however many monthly tapes you have decided to keep, you now literally have a data time machine and go back days, weeks, months or perhaps years to get previous versions of your data files. The technical term for this is a Grandfather – Father – Son regime by the way.

Now making sure your data is secure is a serious matter – many businesses would get a shock if they sat down and worked out the cost of replacing their company data if it was irretrievably lost. I did this in a previous life working for a blue chip PLC – and the answer was in tens of millions of pounds. Usually after the catastrophic data loss the very continued existence of a business can be in doubt. This is one area where it is important to get expert help if you are not totally sure of what you are doing and take the above theoretical example and turn it into something that will work for you or your organisation.

Spyware messages

My PC has a popup message saying I have spyware and need to install a cleaner – what should I do ?

I wrote a previous blog on Spyware which goes into much more detail but basically the answer is – don’t do it ! A lot of spyware and adware programs pretend to be your friend by telling you that your PC has been infected – but your PC has been infected by the very program displaying the message. When you say yes you will probably be adding a further and potentially more serious infection.

The answer is to get help and advice from a professional support company, and/or install a quality Anti-Virus package that also deals with threats of this nature.

Remember that programs like this are trying to trick you – be suspicious and if in doubt don’t do it.

If the message was a genuine message issued by your existing Anti Virus software – then it is probably just informing you that it has spotted – and dealt with the threat. Follow the instructions on screen. You should be able to tell if it is a genuine message as the message will refer to the AV software installed on your PC. Symantec for example. Remember to be suspicious, if you have Symantec installed and the error message is titled AVG (another anti virus software product) then suspect it’s a fake message.

Serious infections usually mean that your PC must be wiped and rebuilt – is all your data backed up ????

Microsoft Access Tips

Access seems quite easy to use, do you have any tips on the best approach when developing new software?


We do a lot of work with writing and supporting Microsoft Access based applications, either ones we write from scratch or mainly taking on applications written by others.

In the latter case the typical situation is that the application is ‘put together’ by an enthusiastic person who can get out of their depth when the application grows in complexity.

There are some golden rules for writing Access applications which we have learnt well over the many years we have been using it.

1. Understand exactly what you want the application to do. Don’t get seduced by the speed at which you can put together an Access application and assume you will be able to adjust it in the future when you work out what you really need. If there is uncertainty consider writing a mock up or prototype to demo and discuss in order to get the clarity you need.

2. Get the database design right. By this I mean the tables and the relationships. This is the very heart of the project – do a good job here and you are set for success. Get this wrong and you are building a rod for your back, it will never work well ! You can learn the fundamentals of database design in an hour – ideally from as a qualified DBA (Database Administrator) or just Google ‘Normalization’ – which is the simple process us database designers use. This is an area where it can take years of experience to get really good – but learning just a little about database design will mean that you do a much better job. (Tip – there are some very technical descriptions of Normalisation – skip them and find a simple one with pictures – this is a simple process, and stop after step 3 as that is far as you need to go.)

3. Sketch out the whole application. Decide what menus and forms it will need, what reports are essential? What will happen on each form, how will you navigate between the forms? Together with your database design this forms the design of your application.

4. Use other people's experience. If your don’t have an Access guru who can mentor you then use the online Access forums, ask questions. This can save you hours and hours.

5. Allocate time. If you are writing an Access application for your company and this isn’t your main job consider if you have time to do this. Even the professionals underestimate just how long it takes to write an Access application – and a pro will typically work 5-10 time faster than a novice (mainly because of point 4). People can make the mistake of visualising the first few forms, reports and how easily they can put them together with no clear vision of how much bigger the application will be, often assuming they can just ‘add those bits later when I’ve worked them out’. This is one of the main reasons for step 3 – get clear on the scale of what you are attempting.

Microsoft Access is an excellent tool for rapidly developing small database applications – follow the advice and don’t be afraid to get professional help to get you on the right track.

PCs or Macs or Linux

How do I decide if I should buy PCs or Macs or Linux for my business ?

Well, there is a question that will divide our readers. You will find people who are fans of each type of computer and will argue at length the reasons why their chosen camp is the one you must join.

Our opinion is for business then the PC is best. Ignoring the technical arguments the fact is if you are relying on complex technology to run your business then you are going to need skilled people to look after your technology. The availability of PC support skills, not to mention software, range of hardware suppliers is much better that for Macs or Linux.

Macs have traditionally, and for good reason in my opinion, been the choice of the artist, graphic designer and other creative people as their graphical ability and style operation is very suitable in these areas. PC and Linux users will argue, correctly, that their computers have done a lot to catch up or perhaps overtake in some areas but I suspect the Mac will still be used within its creative marketplace for many years to come. Help with Macs can be harder to get than with PCs simply because fewer people use them. Companies that use Macs often also use PCs for their more business users, running their accounts, stock control, project control and databases.

The attraction of Linux is that it is kind of a community project. Software is often free, developed by logical teams or volunteer developers spread around the globe. Many people seem to like Linux simply because it’s not Microsoft. Many big software companies have adapted Linux, of note is Netware whose original server operating system was largely wiped out by Microsoft Server products. Plus of course there are the original Unix (the commercial forerunner of Linux) such as Sun. Some companies including big organisations use Linux. We have a couple of Linux servers running our FTP Service (basically a secure filing cabinet for electronic files so our clients can access and download our software, updates etc) and our wonderful Wiki which we use for storing all sorts of unstructured information, like our internal phone list, support details of our network and servers. See Wikipedia for an example of a very big wiki. Like most Linux software the Wiki cost us nothing.

The downside with Linux, like the Mac but perhaps more so, is the availability of professional business support. Yes it is there, but it’s not as prevalent or varied as for the PC.

I think that the bottom line is that if you are a fan of the non PC technologies then you probably know enough about them to make a reasoned decision as to if and where you use non PC computers. If you don’t have this knowledge then you a probably best sticking with Microsoft and the PC. As always there are people out there in the marketplace to help you make the decision – just beware of evangelists and make sure you choose what is best for you or your organisation.

Microsoft updates

Should I use Microsoft Update on my PCs and servers or is it a case of 'if it isn’t broken don’t fix it’ ?

Microsoft Updates fix bugs and close ‘vulnerabilities’ exploitable by hackers, viruses and malware.

This is generally a good thing. It is not unknown for an update to cause a problem and if you are in a business network environment the downloading of updates onto multiple PCs can seriously clog up your internet connection!

We always turn on ‘automatic’ Microsoft Update as we believe the benefits greatly outweigh the potential problems. Another good reason is that if you ever get a problem with your systems or software the second thing the helpful support team will often ask you to do it run Microsoft Updates. If you haven’t kept your PCs up to date this can take hours to catch up with the latest fixes. By the way the first thing the support team usually ask (because I know you were wondering….) is have you tried turning it off and on again.

Of course if you do keep Microsoft Update switched on you may never see any benefit – because it is fixing future issues you would have had before you have them.

If you are on a network with a number of PCs you can have a problem as mentioned above. Say Microsoft release a chunky (i.e. Big) service pack, each of your PCs will pick this up in turn and start downloading it. This can clog up your network somewhat. We had a client whose network ground to a halt every Monday morning as all their 50 PCs downloaded hotfixes, service packs. This can be fixed by setting up Microsoft Update on your server – the principle is simple – your server downloads the updates then your PCs load them direct from your server. This does require some skill to set up so you are probably best leaving this for your support provider.

Spyware and adware?

What is spyware and adware?

Spyware consists of malicious programs that are designed to capture information from your pc and send this information back to the spyware creator.

This information can range from the relatively benign – like a history of what websites you use – to capturing everything you type on your keyboard in an effort to steal passwords, credit card details, email addresses, etc. They are often linked with AdWare which are irritating programs that either pop-up adverts (for Viagra, Porn Sites, MLM Marketing Schemes, Scams) or hijack your internet browser to redirect it to their website.

Collectively, SpyWare and AdWare are often referred to as MalWare.

Many of these invaders will pretend to be your friend and pop up a message or take you to a web page informing you that your pc is infected. They will suggest you download their ‘cleaning’ tool which is usually also malicious software of some sort. Don’t do it ! If infected then the impact ranges from the mildly irritation to a serious threat.

Luckily most modern Anti Virus solutions now also include anti-spyware and anti-adware, the message here is buy it from a reputable source, install it and importantly - make sure it's kept up to date.

Viruses or hype?

Are viruses really a threat to my business or is it just hype from Anti Virus vendors ?

I'm sure that Anti Virus companies are going to emphasise the threat because they want to sell you their software, but it definitely is a real threat. This week alone several of our clients have encountered a totally new virus.

We are exposed to viruses every time we connect to the internet, open an email, plug in a USB memory stick, CD or DVD. There are some very clever people who prove their skill and intelligence by infecting as many PCs as possible. There are also criminals and those with grudges who want to steal your passwords, credit card details or use your PC as an unwilling soldier in their attack against a specific web site.

Anti-virus [AV] software is a very necessary tool that should be on every PC. You need to install it and keep it up to date with regular updates as new viruses are being released every day. The good news is that most AV software packages make this easy – you buy a year's subscription, install it and forget it. The downside of AV software is that they do impact on the performance of your PC as they are checking files, internet traffic and emails as you work, and occasionally they are like the overzealous doorman and block something that is actually OK, like your scruffy brother in law who turns up on your doorstep at 1am!

If you have a network with a number of PCs you probably want to get some professional help and install a centrally managed AV solution. We use Symantec in the office on our PCs and servers and have done so for many years. We also have anti-virus capability in our Sonicwall firewall which stops nasties coming through our internet connection. Personally I also use F-Secure at home as I have a couple of PCs and a laptop and they offer a 3 PC licence deal.

Software problems

We’re a smaller business [12 PCs] and there was a good deal on some Microsoft Software which we bought. It looks just like ordinary software but we’re having problems with it and the company we bought it from don’t take our calls. What can we do?

This sounds like a case of fake software. A growing industry in this country and across Europe is the distribution of illegal software. It looks like the real thing until you need to do something and suddenly it stops working.

If you are buying any Microsoft operating system you should check your supplier as two Midlands companies have been fined for selling illegal office software. These were both national companies.

It’s really difficult to spot fakes. They look the same and seem to operate in the same way, it’s only when you need to download or update that everything starts to go wrong.

The only options open to you right now are to take legal advice, but the company may disappear before this time and contact your local Trading Standards office as there is a chance they may already be aware of this company or the people involved.


Checklist to avoid fake software

• Make sure companies selected for software purchases are recognised with Microsoft
• Find out how long the company has been trading
• Are they a Microsoft Gold Partner?
• What support options do they offer?
• Who are the directors and can you meet them?
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

I've lost my document! What can I do?

We had a power cut and something has happened to my PC. I've lost all my morning's work which was a report I was editing in Word. I work from home and don't use a server, what can I do?

Ouch! We've heard this sooo many times before! You mention that you don't have a back-up system, so in this case, it depends on how badly the PC was affected. Most programmes, like Microsoft Word do save as you are going along. What you can do is reboot and go back into Word and see if the files are there.

Some tips for the future:

When you go back into Word look at how long between saves and shorten the time.

For example in the latest version of Word go to

• Office button
• Word options [small box on right hand side at bottom of dialogue box]
• Save
• Save autorecover information - save every X minutes

In Word 2003

• Options
• Save
• Save AutoRecover information

In some cases all may have been lost and there isn't a solution other than re-doing your work which I know is painful.

Another idea is to create a back-up system. To do this some external storage is needed. This could be saving onto a memory stick, or CD or online.

Remote working

Can I access my work files from home / remote location?

You can access files from home or when you are away, for example, working in another office and the safest way to do this is to set up a Virtual Private Network (VPN).

A VPN establishes a secure communication link between your internet connection and your office connection. This means that data can be exchanged safely.

With a VPN set up on your desktop, you double click to open your connection, enter your usual login details [user name and password] and then you can see all the files on your server.

There are many types of VPN choices available. We use Sonicwall because it offers a solution for businesses of all sizes, with different configuration options.