IT Tips

Most people traveling abroad for vacation or even business can set up some password protection and simple encryption and rest easy knowing that their data is reasonably safe. Others, however, might be headed for more serious situations — for example, journalists or human rights workers traveling to overtly hostile countries. After all, you don’t have to be James Bond to worry about hacking threats abroad.

In these cases the potential consequences of exposing your data are considerably more serious than having to cancel some credit cards. If you’re headed somewhere beyond the ordinary world of holiday travel and want to make sure you don’t end up in some foreign gulag, you need to make sure that your data is encrypted and kept doubly safe from prying eyes.

Here’s our guide to making sure that your digital ass is covered while you travel to world’s darkest corners.

See more on this story by Clicking Here

Gadgets proved especially popular in my family this past holiday season, as I’m sure it did for many others. My brother got an Xbox 360, while my mom loved her new Kindle Fire. Meanwhile, friends of mine around the office unwrapped their new iPads, Android tablets, and smartphones.

Some folks may be looking to add some parental controls to these devices: you might be looking to block adult content on your iPad if you got one for your family this season. I’m happy to report that, no matter what new Internet-connected device you added to your network this season, OpenDNS can protect it. Best of all, there’s no additional software to install, and it’s completely free. If you can use the device to surf the web, we can protect it while it’s connected to your home’s wi-fi network.

Of course, you’ll get the other benefits of OpenDNS’s Free Parental Controls too, regardless of whether or not you choose to enable Web filtering: phishing protection, and an overall safer, faster, smarter and more reliable connection. While I don’t need to set up any parental controls on my mom’s new tablet, I’m sure she’ll appreciate the added phishing protection

Click Here for more on this artical.

Be it screensavers, desktop wallpapers or font type and sizes, visual customization at the OS level is usually important to all kinds of users. Recognizing this, Microsoft has made it easier than ever to apply and adjust individual themes with Windows 7. We looked at this last week showing you how to find hidden themes buried in your hard drive as well as sponsored ones available through Microsoft’s online Personalization Gallery.

This time around, we are going to show you how to customize the Windows 7 login screen. There are various methods to accomplish this, with and without third-party software. I understand many people might not want to rely on a third-party application, while others would appreciate a quicker, safer route. First up is the more hands-on approach, and then the utility.

Click Here to visit TechSpot’s “How to” section for more information.

Contact our IT support team to learn more about enhancing your Windows 7 experience.

There are many reasons why you’d want to check if an unauthorized party is using your wireless network. It may be that you’re experiencing a slower than normal Internet connection or you simply don’t want anyone getting a free ride while you pay the bill. Of course, there are also security implications if this person can somehow access files on your network, and even legal implications if he uses your connection for piracy or other illicit activities.

Whatever the case it’s better to stay on the safe side. Many of you may have already taken some basic precautions when setting up your wireless network and know your way around troubleshooting these issues. This brief guide is aimed mostly at novice users in need a hand to find out if, indeed, their Wi-Fi is being stolen.

Check the devices associated with your router
The first thing you need to do is login to your router’s administrative console by typing its IP address directly into the browser address bar — typically 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1 depending on which router you have. If you don’t know your router’s default address check out this guide or simply go to the command prompt (Start > Run/Search for cmd) and enter ipconfig. The address you need should be next to Default Gateway under your Local Area Connection.

Alternatively, if you are on a Mac, you can find the default address by going to Network under System Preferences. It should be listed right next to “Router:” if you are using Ethernet, or by clicking on “Advanced…” and heading to the “TCP/IP” tab if you are using Wi-Fi. Next, point your browser to that address and enter your login details — if you haven’t changed the default settings it should be a combination of “admin” and “password” or blank fields. Here’s a default username and password list (PDF) you might find useful, but we recommend you change this afterwards.

Once inside your router’s administrative console look for a section related to connected devices or wireless status. In my old DIR-655 from D-Link it’s available under Status > Wireless but you’ll find it as “Attached Devices” in Netgear routers, under DHCP Clients Table on Linksys routers, “Device List” if you are using the Tomato firmware, and so on.

For more on this artical Click Here

Worried your company may be giving someone a free ride on the internet? Contact the IT Consultants at Texas DNS.

Eliminate private documents permanently from your hard drive

When you stop and think about it, your home computer holds a lot of information about you— credit card numbers, bank account details, passwords, medical information, websites you’ve visited, and those deep, dark secrets you share with your best friend via email.

There naturally comes a time when you’re ready for an upgrade, whether it be a bigger hard drive or an entirely new PC. But what should you do with the old one? And what about the information on it? You need to remove this information whether you donate it, sell it, or trash it.

Imagine your hard drive— including all of your personal information—falling into the wrong hands. That’s what could happen if you don’t do a little damage control before you dispose of your hard drive.

Why “delete” isn’t enough
Many people think that clearing their history, deleting files and cookies, and emptying their computer’s recycle bin is enough. Not so, according to IT specialist Tony Lum. He says that’s like removing the table of contents in a book. The chapters (or your files, in this case) are still there, they’re just harder to find.

What you’ve actually done is remove a particular file from the disk’s index. The file itself still exists on your hard disk. For the average person it’s harder to recover, but an experienced programmer (or hacker) could easily locate the file. Previous or temporary versions of the file might also be saved under different names.

You need to go one step further and overwrite your data. Lum recommends you back up everything you want to keep on your hard drive and then run hard -drive wiping software, which will overwrite your information with random ones and zeros. He also recommends you use a program that overwrites your data more than once. The more it’s overwritten, the harder it is to recover.

For more on this topic Click Here

Visit our IT Services page to learn more about the services we provide.

Your “Geeky” Guide to Internet TV Watching broadcast television on your computer? Sure it sounds absolutely nerdy but while it saves you money that could easily amount to a monthly car payment, does the nerdiness really matter? This Tech Tip is all about examining the alternatives of traditional television and movie broadcasting and how you can save money and still stay up to date with (insert your favorite TV show here)!

The Basics

First, if you just want to catch your favorite TV show(s) on your computer and save a little money by cancelling your television cable (not Internet cable), you can usually find your favorites on their respective websites. For example, one of my favorite show franchises, CSI, CSI Miami, and CSI NY broadcast weekly on CBS.com for free (if you’re okay watching dinky 20 second allergy relief and cleaning product commercials between sections). Other popular TV show sources include ABC.com, NBC.com, History.com, TNT.TV and so forth. Hulu.com offers some of the same shows (most up-to-date episodes) for free but with ad-supported breaks in the episodes but has a comprehensive list of shows to choose from. If you want to enhance your computer TV show watching experience, you can upgrade to a better headset (noise cancelling), a quality speaker system (such as 5.1 channel), and/or pick up a bigger flat-panel LCD monitor with HD viewing.

TV and Computer Working Together

While you can watch your favorite TV shows on your computer it might get uncomfortable sitting in front of your desktop or laptop PC. If you want to up the ante and if your computer and TV both have an HDMI connection, you can pick up a simple HDMI cable, connect your computer and TV and watch your shows on your TV (from the computer). For a desktop computer without built-in HDMI, you can pick up a video graphics card with HDMI or if you want to keep it simple, buy a external video adapter. For a notebook without built-in HDMI, you can use the same USB to HDMI converter. As a side note, there are wireless display solutions available but for the sake of simplicity (and saving money), a simple HDMI cable will suffice for most users.

Premium Services

If you prefer to have Skynet….err I mean a machine record and save your favorite shows, you have a few options such as the following:

Apple TV – For $99 (while using your existing Internet connection), the Apple TV connects to your home Wi-Fi network and will play movies and TV shows along with video/photo/music management via iCloud so you can access anything at the touch of a button.

Roku – A direct competitor of the Apple TV, Roku is similar to Apple TV’s service and claims to have extra features such as free Internet radio streaming (Pandora, TuneIn) and built-in USB port for playing media files from a USB flash drive. TiVo – The long-time super cable box capable of DVR recording, this particular brand is only honorably mentioned because in order to use it, you would still have to keep your existing television cable service.

Google TV – Offering enhanced personalized services such as arranging your favorite TV shows, Google TV supports popular streamers like Netflix, HBO Go, and Amazon On Demand. Online Premium Services The following services provide a simple and centralized location where you can access everything online without having to buy significant hardware (like Roku or Apple TV box) and also connect it to your television (via HDMI).

Netflix.com – The super-popular streaming giant has no shortage of (old and new) TV shows available along with countless movies ready to be rented by mail or instantly-watched via streaming starting at $7.99 per month.

Hulu Plus – For $7.99 per month, you get the service of Hulu.com but with unlimited access to all current season episodes of shows, classic show seasons, and multiple device streaming options such as watching on your smartphone or Xbox 360.

The Achilles’ Heel

Unfortunately, the issue with canceling existing television programming might require you to pay more for other services if you bundled them originally. For example, Cox will significantly raise my Internet cable monthly rate if I decide to cancel my home telephone service and TV cable with them. (Since I have their combo bundle package price) The cheapest alternative, (if you’re willing to pay absolutely zero for TV programming), is to bring your laptop to your favorite Starbucks, McDonald’s, or other establishment that offers free Wi-Fi and catch your favorite shows with Hulu while sipping a latté.

For more on this story CLICK HERE

The benefits of telecommuting are significant, and many companies are now offering work from home options. The equipment and the software you use to work from home (also known as telecommuting or telework) vary according to your needs and preferences. This article provides tips and advice on the tools you might need, along with useful links to other tips for telecommuters.

Setting up your workspace
A typical telecommuter can have a much easier time focusing on work if he or she creates a private, dedicated space for a home office that’s free from distractions and has easy access to everything needed for the job.

Choose a computer
With so many choices out there, deciding what computer or computers to buy can be daunting. Will you need a laptop computer to take on the road or into the office? How should you prioritize your requirements—by price, size, power, or speed?

If you need some help assessing your needs, watch the videos How to choose a PC: Netbook, laptop, or all-in-one? and How to choose a laptop to help you narrow down the choices. And PC Scout, an interactive, online tool, can help by recommending a PC to meet your needs.

See what’s being offered at Microsoft Store.

Compare prices with the help of Bing Shopping.

Visit a trusted computer store, and ask for their advice.

Ask friends or colleagues who work at home to see which PCs they recommend.

For more on this story Click Here

How to back up files and recover data

Even computer novices know that file backups are important in case of hard drive crashes, but many people wonder exactly how to back up files and how to recover data. This article covers the Backup and Restore feature in Windows 7 and in Windows Vista, which can help save you a lot of time and trouble. It also focuses on how to back up Microsoft Outlook files and how to back up files in the cloud. All of these tools and processes can all help with data recovery in the event that something happens to your computer.

Why backups are important

Files can be lost from your computer in any number of ways—you might accidentally delete a file, or a virus might wipe one out. You can also have a complete hard drive failure. When a hard drive dies an untimely death, it’s kind of like having your house burn down. Important personal items are usually gone forever—family photos, significant documents, downloaded music, and more.

Thankfully it’s a really simple process these days to back up your content to a second, separate location. By doing so, your files can be protected against viruses or complete computer failure. This makes it easy to retrieve and place them on a new hard drive and get going again.

Today, there are many options for backing up your content. You don’t need any sophisticated equipment—you can use CDs, DVDs, external hard drives, flash drives, network drives, or even online storage like Windows Live SkyDrive. It might be a good idea to back up your data to multiple places. For example, you might choose to back up your content onto both an external hard drive and to an online storage site.

for more on this topic Click Here

Microsoft Outlook offers some great tools to fix that cluttered and unorganized mailbox of yours. Organize your messages into meaningful, easy-to-control ways to improve your efficiency and productivity. Whether you’re using Outlook 2010, Outlook 2007 or Outlook 2003, you’ll be better able to stay on top of your mail. Not using Outlook email at all? This article can still offer tricks to help shrink your Inbox and to make it easier to find the information you need. To read more, click here…