We enjoyed leading the sessions and having a chance to visit with you and answer your questions about Email Marketing, Google Apps, Website Planning, Virus Safety and Wireless Internet. Thank you to MayeCreate Design and Personalized Computers for also leading/hosting the sessions. We hope we shed some light on these topics and you were able to get the answers you wanted. Maybe you made a few connections too. We hope so.

If you weren’t able to attend one of the sessions and would like more information and notifications about our sessions let us know and we’ll be sure to keep you in the loop about future events.

Thanks again for making our events a success!

Dear Tech Guy,

I purchased a new computer a several moths ago and my free anti-virus just expired. The anti-virus program was not bad but i do not know if i want to pay for it. Is there a good free anti-virus out there that you might recommend?

This is a very good question. Protecting your computer is always something to consider in this day in age. There are tons of free ant-virus software programs out there for you use.   Below are a few that we like and recommend.   Please keep in mind that these programs will not be able to catch everything that is out there but they do a pretty good job. A couple to consider are:

Virus Software

AVG Free – AVG Free is an anti-virus program that is free for individual use.  It is fully functional and works better than most subscription based programs.

Housecall – Housecall is an online scanner from Trendmicro.  It is free to use and usefull if you have a virus preventing you from installing AVG Free.

Kaspersky – Kaspersky is a downloadable virus program.  While not free it is one of the better ones out there.

Spyware Software

Spybot S & D – Spybot Search and Destory is a free spyware removal program.  Spyware is software that tracks and generates ads within your computer.

Ad-Aware – Ad-Aware is similar to Spybot, but with an emphasis on ad based spyware.  It is free for use or has a subsription based package.

Spyware Blaster – Spyware Blaster is also a free spyware removal program.

Check out our download page for other useful downloads that we like! As always, if you have a question or want to discuss different option please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Thanks Home PC Firewall Guide for a good article!

Wireless Router Guide

Choices — Wireless routers with Internet connection sharing, networking and firewall features are an alternative to Wired routers orNetworking Software. Wireless routers are actually wired routers with wireless access points built in so you can have wired and/or wireless at the same time. Another choice is a wireless router with a built-in DSL or cable modem. Finally, you can consider a hardware and software security combo box to connect and protect your home network, see ourBroadband Gateways page for more information.

Security – Wireless routers are not as secure as hard wired. If you want wireless and security, read the security articles on this page and be prepared to spend some time setting up the security features of your wireless network. To make this easier, look atgetting started and wireless utility software.

Testing – We recommend that you test the firewall features of a wireless router after installation and setup using an online service like Security Space.

Read the full article here

This article written by the Better Business Bureau has some good tips for not only small business but also can be applied to consumers as well. Thanks BBB!

Five Steps To Secure Online Banking

BBB Advises Small Businesses To Guard Against Hackers

Small business owners need to make sure their online bank accounts are secure to prevent hackers from gaining access to their accounts.

Visa Inc. says that 85 percent of data breaches occur at small businesses. Some owners are ill prepared to defend customer or employee information in the face of an attack. Symantic Corp., a maker of anti-virus software, estimates that a third of small businesses lack software to block viruses and malware.

“Small business owners might feel that they are flying under the radar of data thieves and hackers, but they are actually in the crosshairs,” said Michelle L. Corey, BBB president and CEO, “That’s why the BBB partnered with leading security experts to show small business owners that implementing a strong data security strategy doesn’t have to take a lot of time or resources.”

BBB and partners Symantec Corporation, Visa Inc., Kroll’s Fraud Solutions and NACHA – The Electronic Payments Association created Data Security–Made Simpler, an online resource to help small businesses implement key data security policies and practices.

Data Security-Made Simpler tackles key topics of small business data security. The initiative advises small business owners to take the following steps to ensure security of online banking transactions:

Initiate a dual-control payment process with your bank and employees. Allow payments to be initiated from bank accounts only after the authorization by two employees. One employee should authorize creation of the payment file, and a second employee should be responsible for authorizing release of the file. This process should be in place regardless of the type of payment being initiated, whether by checks, wire transfer, fund transfer, payroll file, ACH payment, etc.

Have dedicated workstations. Restrict online banking and payments to certain workstations and laptops, if possible, and prohibit Web browsing or social networking on those computers.

Use robust authentication methods and vendors. Make sure your financial service providers allow for “multi-factor authentication.” This means that you need more than just a user name and password to access your account.

Update virus protection and security software. Ensure that all anti-spyware, anti-malware, and security software and mechanisms are robust and up-to-date for all computer workstations and laptops used for online banking and payments. Implement a process to periodically confirm they remain up-to-date. Security patches are often available via automatic updates.

Reconcile accounts daily. Monitor credits and withdrawals. If you see any kind of unexpected activity on your account, notify your financial institution immediately.

Read the full article here…

Dear Tech Guy,

I recently purchase a new computer that’s running Windows 7 and can’t seem to find Outlook Express or Windows Mail.  I’m trying to setup my email account so that I can check my email.  Can you help?

Windows 7 doesn’t not come with a pre-installed email client anymore. “On October 29, 2008, it was announced at the Professional Developers Conference 2008 that Windows Live Installer would be renamed as Windows Live Essentials, and would be integrated into Windows 7 to allow users to download the included Windows Live applications. However, the Windows Live Essentials applications will not be “bundled” with the Windows 7 operating system. This should allow more frequent updates to the Windows Live Essentials applications outside of major operating system releases.”  Thanks Wikipedia for the clarification!

The good news is that you have more choices now.  You can try using a different email client such as Mozilla Thunderbird or you can try the new email program provided free by Microsoft called  Window Live Mail.  You can also choose to only install the e-mail program or if you want you can install the other programs in the Windows Live Essentials suite!

To learn more about Windows Live Mail please check out this article provide by Microsoft.  If you already have Windows Live Mail and need help configuring your Tranquility email account please visit our support center for a detailed step by step walk through.

So long Outlook Express!

Introducing Windows Live Mail

If you’re still using Outlook Express for your e‑mail, consider using Windows Live Mailinstead. Even if you are running Windows XP and have yet to upgrade to Windows Vista, you can still try Windows Live Mail.

To download Windows Live Mail, go to the Windows Live Mail website.

Windows Live Mail is similar to both Outlook Express and Windows Mail, but has these additional features:

• Free access to Windows Live Hotmail. To sign up for a Hotmail account, go to theHotmail website.
• Integration with Windows Live Messenger, Windows Live Spaces, and Windows Live Contacts.
• The ability to connect to popular e‑mail services such as Hotmail, Yahoo!, AOL, or Gmail, or to e‑mail from your Internet service provider (ISP).
• The ability to automatically configure many popular e‑mail services. All you need to do is enter your e‑mail address and Windows Live Mail will automatically enter the correct settings for the e‑mail servers used by that service.
  

  Windows Live Mail makes it easier to send photos and slide shows through e‑mail, and to check e‑mail from many popular e‑mail services such as Yahoo! and Hotmail

  Read the full Article here…

A company by the name of Domain Registry of America has been sending out these types of suspicious notices for years. The notice is portrayed to be a friendly reminder that you’re domain name is about to expire but little do you know it’s a solicitation to get your business so don’t be fooled.

Here’s a sample of what the solicitation looks like.  Thanks Scrappybusiness.com!

Also, special thanks to Nick Stamoulis for writing “Domain Registry of America: Don’t be scammed!” a few years back warning us about this scam that still continues to this day. The full article can be found here http://www.searchengineoptimizationjournal.com/2008/03/18/domain-registry/

If you ever have questions about your domain please don’t hesitate to call us!

Domain Registry of America: Don’t be scammed!

I just received an interesting notice in the mail from Domain Registry of America. It was real easy for me to identify these schmucks as scam artists, but the average consumer may not find it so easy.

In the top right corner of the mailing are the words “Domain Name Expiration Notice.” Then, below that, there is an 800 number and a web address (www.droa.com). It’s an official looking letter and arrives in an official looking envelope and a return envelope, addressed but not postage paid. The letter begins, “As a courtesy to domain name holders, we are sending you this notification of the domain name registrations that are due to expire in the next few months.”

Some people may not know when their domains expire, but I do. I also know who my domain registrars are and I have no interest in switching. The letter continues:

When you switch today to the Domain Registry of America, you can take advantage of our best savings.

Then the letter tells me when my domain names expire – several months away. But they want me to “Act today!”

First, if I did switch my domain registration to Domain Registry of America, I wouldn’t be saving any money. I’d be losing money; and that’s probably the case with anyone.

I currently pay $10 per year for domain name registration, the going rate. Some web hosts include this fee in their packages. Others offer registration for less than $10. In any case, I’d never pay more than $10. Domain Registry of America wants to charge me $30.00 for one year or $50.00 for two years. And in bright red letters next to the $50.00 price tag are the words “save $10.” Hmmm … by my calculations I’d be losing $15. Nice scam they have going there.

There are probably people who would fall for this. But I’d caution my readers to stay away from these people. After doing a little more research (like a Google search), I discovered that I was not the only person to have been solicited by these people.

Blog.Forret appears in Google as the No. 3 result for the company’s name. The No. 2 listing is the FTC (Federal Trade Commission). On the FTC website, I read:

The Federal Trade Commission has requested that a federal district court enjoin Domain Registry of America, Inc., an Internet domain name re-seller, from making misrepresentations in the marketing of its domain name registration services and require it to pay redress to consumers.

That was 2003. Evidently, these guys have been around a long time. There are 58,400 results on the Google SERP for this company’s name inside quotes. Most of them are negative reactions to DROAs aggressive marketing tactics and its penchant for misrepresentation. The company’s response? Theythreatened to sue a blogger whose blog posts ranked highly for their company name.

Read rest of the article at:  http://www.searchengineoptimizationjournal.com/2008/03/18/domain-registry/

Well now you can see what’s going on with our new bandwidth tracking software.  Use the tools the Tranquility “Tech Guys” use to check out your connection.  It’s quick, easy and provides a snap shot of your internet traffic.  Below is a sample screen shot of what the software can share.

If you’d like access to this software please just give us a call and one of our “Tech Guys” will set it up for you.  Also, no need to worry about any extra charges for this service because it’s FREE!

How to embed a YouTube channel into a webppage

1. login into your youtube account

2. go to the following url: http://www.youtube.com/custom_player

3. Follow the steps and complete the form

3. Then, copy the embed code and paste it into your website / blog. That’s it! Your channel should now be embedded in that page.

Mozilla Thunderbird released their 3rd version a few months ago and we had a chance to review the new features.  After several months of use we have come quite satisfied with them.  The two biggest are tabbed emails and advanced search.

The search feature is a little slow upon first use but that’s because it’s indexing all your mail.  After the indexing process has finished it becomes much faster and easier to find stuff!

If you want to give it a try simply click on the icon to your left to download it. Then if you need helping configuring your Tranquility settings please check out our new tutorial in support center.

Also, a special thanks goes out to Tracy Sjogreen for writing this quick and dirty press release highlighting the new features Thunderbird 3 brings to the table. The full press release can be found here:  http://www.mozillamessaging.com/en-US/about/press/archive/2009-12-08-01

Mozilla Launches Thunderbird 3

– Email Innovations That Put You In Charge

New Release Brings Simple, Fast, Powerful New Features to the Most Customizable Email Application

December 8, 2009

Mozilla Messaging, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mozilla dedicated to developing products that encourage choice, innovation, and opportunity in messaging on the Internet, today announced Thunderbird 3, the latest version of its free and open source email application.

Available in over 49 languages and works with Windows, Mac OS X and Linux, Thunderbird 3 has more than 2,000 improvements including new tabbed email, a radical new search engine, built-in message archiving and smart folders.

To start using Thunderbird 3 visit www.getthunderbird.com to download the application

Product Highlights

The new features in Thunderbird 3 help users work faster while providing the advanced flexibility and security they are accustomed to with all versions of Thunderbird.

Key new features in this release include:

• Tabbed Email: Provides the ability view individual emails and folders in tabs, and web pages via add-ons in tabs so users can quickly jump between them, just as one manages web pages in Mozilla’s Firefox. Folder tabs are remembered, so Thunderbird starts up pre-configured and personalized to each user.
• Filtered Search: Designed with search in mind, the new search interface in Thunderbird 3 contains filtering and timeline tools to help users quickly and accurately pin-point the exact email by word matches, correspondents or even attachment types at the moment they need it, all based on analysis of the user’s own emails.
• Message Archive: Archiving mail moves email from the inbox into the new archive folder system, de-cluttering the inbox while at the same time enabling users to find email months or years from now.
• One-click Address Book: A very quick and easy way to add people to an address book, by simply clicking on the star icon in the messages received from new correspondents.
• New Mail Account Setup Wizard: Getting started with Thunderbird 3 is faster than ever with the new account set-up wizard that requires simple information, like email addresses and passwords to get going instead of a user’s IMAP, SMTP, SSL/TLS settings.
• Smart Folders: Combines individual mailboxes to help manage multiple email accounts in one spot. For example, by selecting the Inbox, users can view all the incoming emails from all their different accounts without having to go to each email account separately.
• Add-ons Manager: The new add-ons manager can help users find, download, and install hundreds of add-ons enabling them to customize Thunderbird 3 and add functionality or change the appearance.
• Better Integration with Gmail: Now integrates with international versions of Gmail and Gmail’s special folders such as sent and trash.
• Better Integration with Windows and Mac OS X: Updated look and feel, improved import tools, search integration, and address book support for Windows 7, Vista and Mac OS X Snow Leopard.
• Gecko 1.9.1 Engine: The same Web page rendering engine and graphics infrastructure used in Firefox, provides the latest Web Standards support and security enhancements.
• Automated Updates: Thunderbird’s update system notifies users when a security update is available and automates the download and installation process to keep users safe.