$2010 per month in 2010!

But what you should reasonably expect from an IT “partner” goes well beyond that. They should take a vested interest in your business, providing the benefits and guidance that are central to your company’s growth and success.

Here are seven things to expect from your IT partner:

1. Technical expertise — and strong communication skills. Of course, an IT partner should be well-versed in the ins and outs of technology. But that sort of knowledge can be of little more than academic value if your partner doesn’t have first-hand knowledge of how it applies to your business. “He should be first and foremost a businessperson who utilizes technology in a cost-effective manner to solve business problems,” says Michael Crowe, director of the technology consulting and solutions group at Chicago-based Plante & Moran. “He can bridge the technology and communications gap that often exists between IT and a CEO’s office.”

2. An awareness of your budget— and resources . IT partners are proving increasingly essential to a broad range of small to medium-sized businesses. But that sort of critical function shouldn’t necessarily come at a crippling expense. When looking for an IT partner, ask how fees are structured. A responsive IT partner certainly won’t be free, but should be sympathetic to those sorts of services that can bleed business coffers dry. “For instance, they can provide access to high-level skills when needed, while paying a reduced rate for services such as a help-desk and repair services,” says Dan Blumenthal, executive vice president of Miller Systems, a Boston-based technology concern. “Those are the costs that can consume the majority of an IT budget outside of project work.”

3. An advocate who cuts through product hype. No IT partner stays afloat long if a business doesn’t go along with his or her recommendations, be it a new software package or a plan to implement it. But truly effective partners go to bat for their client companies, identifying genuinely effective technical options. “An effective IT partner can bridge the gap between a vendor’s product hype and what is truly an effective business solution,” Crowe says. “He should also help determine if a company is using its current technology to its fullest capacity and show how to maximize the products it already owns.”

4. A long-term planner, implementer, and strategist. Even the most carefully thought out technology plan is of little use if it grows old on the drawing board. An involved IT partnership also means a handle on implementation, whether it’s suggesting a gradual introduction over time or a veritable technology lost weekend where everything is shut down and changed over. Be sure your IT partner knows the best way to put technology recommendations into place. “An IT partner should also help an organization implement an IT plan,” Crowe says. “A partner can help prioritize needs and plan an effective implementation strategy.”

5. An industry watcher who maps technology advances and developments to your needs. A proactive IT partner stands ready to pinpoint new technology needs and to suggest updates and changes accordingly. That means keeping close tabs on your business’s growth and development — as well as on developments in the world of technology might apply to your needs. “They should continually develop an understanding of the business at hand,” Blumenthal says. “Then, they can offer strategic insight into how new solutions and technologies can reduce cost and streamline the operation.”

6. A keen ability to troubleshoot and solve problems. It’s unrealistic to think that any element of technology, no matter how expensive or sophisticated, is totally immune to breakdowns. Rather than wallowing in that tech Never-Never Land, an effective IT partner should always be ready to address technical problems quickly. Even better, your IT partner should go a step further and be proactive about overseeing regular maintenance and other steps that can head off snafus. “They should provide fast, cost-effective emergency response when problems can’t be avoided,” Blumenthal says. “But they should also provide scheduled upkeep of networked systems, security policies, backup and virus protection systems so that problems can be prevented as well.”

7. An interest in handling all of your technology needs. Nothing can prove more annoying — not to mention wasteful — than you having to hop from consultant to consultant or business to business to address individual elements of your technology needs. One final element when shopping for an IT partner is knowing that all your technology needs will be met under one roof, no matter if it’s as involved as a completely new technology infrastructure or as elementary as a basic user’s question. Says Blumenthal: “They should act as a single point of accountability and contact for all technology issues.”

Of course if your provider falls short on any of these 7 expectations, give us a buzz! 800.515.1093

$2010 per month in 2010!

$2010 per month in 2010!

Spam

1. Stop posting your e-mail address on a public forum or website. It is estimated that 95% of all junk e-mail is caused by a person publicly disclosing his or her e-mail address. There are many robots and scripts that automatically scan websites for e-mail addresses. Also, sometimes humans actually grab e-mails off websites to use them for sign-up offers in order to get free stuff (iPods, Ringtones,Televisions, etc.). If you must provide contact information, try writing it out in creative ways such as Me ~at~ yahoo ~dotcom~. There are alternative ways of displaying your email address while making it hard for spambots to harvest it. Such methods include using image picture of your email address or using Javascript to dynamic construct the display of your email.

2. Avoid:
* Popular newsgroups – robots often scour these lists for addresses

* Software like BonzaiBuddy or similar programs – if these companies don’t immediately sell your information to a spam company, they are subsidiaries of spam companies themselves and the software is spyware

* Chat rooms like Yahoo Chat or IRC – spammers or spambots are actively mining in popular chat rooms like AOL and Yahoo chats, where e-mail addresses can be correctly guessed just by adding the proper@whatever.com to the username of a chat room visitor

3. Use spam blocking tools. Most webmail providers offer them, or you can download one.
* Use the “This is spam” button if your email provider has one. This submits the email to their spam-control people who can take care of business and improve their anti-spam filters.

* If you have a Yahoo! account you can use their discardable addresses method

* Use Spam Gourmet, or others like it, with any email account

* If you are using MS Outlook, try installing a spam filtering plugin, for example SpamAid

* Use the ‘Block’ list and add the spammer’s domain name only. (However, this may not be that effective, since spammers normally only use temporary addresses.)

* Limit incoming e-mails to those in your address book and have all others put into a “Junk” folder, which you can skim through quickly and clear regularly.

4. Report spam. Before you delete your spam, forward your spam to: spam@uce.gov as this is the Spam box for FTC (Federal Trade Commission). Mail sent to this box is investigated. If it is indeed spam, the original sender can be charge $500 per email. The more mail they get from different users but same spammer, the more it’s likely to be investigated.

5. Be crafty when filling out forms that ask for your e-mail address. Many web forms ask only for your name and email address. Put in a series of letters such as Swseqw for your name. Then set up a filter so emails from that newsletter or form will arrive in a separate folder if the email contains that fake name. If that e-mail turns out to be spam, set your mail program to delete all e-mails that come in with the fake name.

6. Use disposable addresses to identify and shake off sources of spam. Have one main account, and never, ever give this address to anyone, even your friends, who all they need to do is send you an innocent e-card to get you on a spam mailing list.
* Make a separate account for different purposes (one for friends, one for entertainment sites, one for your financial websites, etc.) If you use a lot, write down which is which so you don’t forget.

* Set all those addresses to forward the mail to your main account so that you don’t have to check multiple accounts.

* If you start receiving spam through one of your alternates, you can trace it to one of your disposable addresses and simply delete that account.

* Track which groups of recipients return the most spam and be more selective

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Watch this helpful video for more tips…

Facebook is a fun place to spend time on the Net. With all the games and gadgets, tweens could spend hours just playing around and having a good time. At the same time, they’re conversing with their friends and keeping up with the latest gossip.

We know these are not the only things that can happen on a website like Facebook. There are predators everywhere just waiting for naive tweens to introduce themselves. That’s why we need to find out the best ways to keep tweens safe while they have fun on Facebook.

Here are some Facebook safety settings that you can use to keep strangers away from tweens on Facebook. Before we can start changing Facebook privacy settings you’ll need to get to the right page.

At the top of your Facebook page you’ll see a link that says “Settings”. When you hold your mouse over that link a menu will pop up. Click on “Privacy Settings” from that menu.

Now we’re ready to change your Facebook privacy settings to keep your tweens safe.

1. Who Can See Your tween’s Profile Information?
It’s important to make sure that strangers (aka those not on the friend list) can’t see your tween’s profile information. This includes such things as photos, personal information, videos, their friend list, and anything else they may include on their profile.

To adjust your tween’s Facebook profile security settings start at the privacy settings page. Then click on the “Profile” link. From here you can change the privacy settings for your tween’s Facebook profile. For the safest setting choose the option to allow only friends to view all of the settings on the page.

2. Who Can See Your tween’s Photos?
Don’t let just anyone see the photos your tween puts up. tweens like to post photos of themselves and their friends, definitely something you don’t want a predator to see. This is a setting you’ll have to teach your tween to use, or go in occasionally and do yourself. Each photo has it’s own setting so every time a photo is added, the security setting will need to be changed.

To adjust individual photo settings on your tween’s Facebook profile start at the privacy settings page. Then, as before, click on the “Profile” link. Scroll down the page a bit and you’ll see a link that says “Edit Photo Albums Privacy Settings”, click on this link. Now choose “Only Friends” as the privacy setting for every photo to keep your tween safest.

3. Who Can See Your tween’s Personal Information?
These are things like your tween’s IM screen name, email address, website URL, address and phone number. There’s no way you want this information out there for all to see. Go in and change this Facebook privacy setting immediately.

From the Facebook privacy page again click on “Profile”. This time also click on the “Contact Information” tab to change these privacy settings. Change all the security settings on this page to “No One” for the most secure setting.

4. Who Can Find Your tween’s Profile?
As a default setting on Facebook, anyone can do a search and find anyone else using Facebook’s search tool. Keep people from finding your tween’s profile in the first place by changing this Facebook privacy setting.

Starting from Facebook’s privacy page click on “Search”. Where it says “Search Visibility” choose the options that says “Only Friends”. Then under where it says “Public Search Listing” make sure the box is unchecked. These settings will ensure that only people on your tween’s friend list will be able to find him in search.

5. How Can People Contact Your tween?
When someone comes across your tween’s profile they may want to contact them for some reason. Maybe to ask to be added to her friend list or maybe to ask her a question. You can control what that person can see on your tween’s profile while they’re there.

Starting from Facebook’s privacy page click on “Search”. Then scroll down to the bottom of the page. There you’ll see the “How Can People Contact You” section. Choose to disallow strangers from seeing your tween’s photo or their friend list. Then choose whether to allow or disallow people from adding your tween as a friend. Most importantly, you’ll need to decide whether you want strangers to be able to contact your tween at all.

$2010 per month in 2010!

Obviously, computers require electricity to run, so shutting down, sleeping, or hibernating your computer when you’re not using it conserves energy. Every modern operating system has its own settings for conserving power, so the first thing you should do—if you haven’t already—is open the power settings of your computer and set them for optimal energy use

Set your computer to put your monitor to sleep, spin down your hard drives, and put your computer to sleep when you’re not using it. Even better, since your computer uses less power when hibernating than when sleeping, set up your computer to hibernate rather than just go to sleep.

One of the biggest turn-offs (no pun intended) about shutting down or sleeping your computer is that you miss out on some of the finer things your computer provides even when you’re away. For example, if you’re downloading a large file, you may want the download to continue even when you’re away. Likewise, we’ve covered tons of ways to remotely access your computer, all of which no longer work if your computer’s turned off. Luckily you can continue using your computer during these times but still conserve power the rest of the time.

These are just a few of the many ways you might go about living the green life on your desktop. If you’ve got methods of your own, let’s hear about ‘em in the comments.

How long can the flu virus live on an object?
How long the flu virus remains on an object varies. But, in general, the flu virus can live outside of a body from between a few seconds to 48 hours. How long it lives on objects depends on the strain and the type of object it’s contaminated. The flu virus can survive on your hands for about one hour.

What types of objects does the flu virus like to hang out on?
The flu virus seems to live longer on nonporous objects, such as plastic, metal or wood. Wash objects made of these materials frequently. The virus does not seem to pass easily between fabrics or paper.

How can I get the flu virus off the objects in my home or office?
To prevent or remove a flu virus from living on an object, you must disinfect it frequently. If an object is used by multiple people, such as a phone or keyboard and mouse, regular cleaning can help prevent the spread of the flu virus. Generally, there are two methods of disinfecting your computer, a handheld UV light or disinfectant spray. LySol is one of the best disinfectants to keep close and it comes in pleasant scents. Remember to NEVER spray LySol directly on your computer, monitor, keyboard or mouse!! Spray it into a cloth and wipe the cloth on the computer

How can I prevent the Flu Virus Spreading?
After coming in contact with contaminated surfaces, the best way to avoid getting the flu is to wash your hands. Use soap and water or a hand sanitizer.

Warning on Infected People
An infected person can be contagious for about five days. Avoid contact with that person or objects they may have touched. If you have come in contact with contaminated objects, clean your hands and take measures to prevent the flu. Get plenty of rest, eat healthy foods, exercise and build up your immune system.

Follow the above steps and you will have a healthier working environment and computer!!

Using +, – and “ “ (quotes) to narrow your searches:

For example: you are looking up apples on Google.com. If you just type in “apples” you get 22 million returns a few more sites than you can check in an afternoon! Let’s say that what you’re really interested in is green apples. To see all the apple websites that also have the word “green” on them type this:

Now you will only see those apple sites that also have the word green on them. Unfortunately we are still getting almost 6 million returned websites:

To narrow the search even more, lets eliminate a word. For example, some of the websites are also about Apple Computers so lets get rid of them by typing this:

That reduced about 1 million of the returns but we still have about 5 million web pages to check out. A final way to narrow the search is to use quotes to narrow the search to an exact phrase. For example, if what we’re really interested in is granny smith apples we can add that to the search like this:

Now I will only see websites that have the words “granny smith” on them in that order spelled the way I spelled them. Using quotes is always a great way to narrow a search and in the example I was able to go from having 22 million web pages returned from my original search for “apples” to around 220,000.

By using these techniques, your searches will save you time and provide you with more effective results!!