Article From May Issue By Tim Cargill, EasyPC Ltd

What’s new in IT?

Microsoft Windows7 automatic diagnostic tools is now available for Windows XP and Vista. This tool is aimed at fixing annoying Windows bugs and small issues and is currently available in BETA testing format (use at your own risk!). It also has the ability to track hardware changes and catalogue software currently installed on your system. So God forbid you ever find yourself on the phone to Microsoft Tech support, you can simply send them a file, allowing them to fix your issue more efficiently! We’re not quite sure why they are bothering as it’s not Microsoft’s usual style of operation. “You want new features, buy our shinny new software.” However, market trends do indicate there is still a very large percentage of Windows XP users who just refuse to upgrade. T download the Beta tester click here: Fix It Center

iPhone 4G is on the way as yet another Apple product is set to launch in the next few months. The rumours the pictures (quite possibly fake, but no-one is willing to confirm) of the actual product are already flooding the internet. We can look forward to larger screens, more powerful processors and better connectivity; and, as with all new Apple products, a massively oversized price tag: www.apple.com

Nerd busters

This month’s nerd busters we take a look at FTP – what does it stand for and what does it do? FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol and is used to send and receive files from a desktop PC to a hosted web server. It allows for anyone to upload a webpage or website to the internet. There are many free FTP programs that are easy to configure and use; we recommend FileZilla, which can be download for free from: www.filezilla-project.org

Surfing the Web at work

Nearly everyone who works in an office has access to the internet either via the PC on their desktop or via a mobile phone. With social networking sites, a constant stream of unbeatable offers, or the lure of up to date sports news it very easy to pick up a web surfing habit. This causes a nightmare for businesses with people wasting hours online doing very little work. Employers now implement sophisticated logging software (upto 45% of employers monitored staff back in 2002, according to the BBC), putting in strict work place policies to restrict the use of the internet. For the users, this means their employer knows exactly what time they surfed over to Sky sports, downloaded several pages and pictures, updated their Facebook page or sent a quick tweet on Twitter. Nor can employees get away with surfing on their mobile phones, Facebook logs the times at which post are made and if the Facebook page is not secured, it’s easy to see what an employee has been up to all day! According to the BBC 1/3 of all employers in the UK have dismissed staff over internet misuses; so be careful you don’t join that statistic.

Malware

In the last few months we’ve removed a lot of Malware at EasyPC HQ (not the same as a virus) from customer’s systems (up to 300 infections on one PC). These infections manage to dodge a lot of well-known Anti-Virus products and can cause complete chaos on your system. XP Anti-Virus is particular nasty Malware software that can infect Windows systems (we’ve removed it from XP and Vista systems) through simply surfing to an infected website or clicking on a link in an infected email. It then installs some software that appears to be performing a virus scan and showing multiple infections on your system. The option then follows to download a FIX which is in fact a full-blown Trojan virus, or asks you to enter credit card details for a premium scanner to remove the virus (I hate to think what happens if you do).  To avoid falling foul of a viruses and malware, keep your system up to date, install Windows Updates, update your virus scanner and remember to keep a backup of all your important documents and pictures.

About Us:

EasyPC Ltd is an IT Support & Solution specialist based on Thorpe Road in Norwich. We supply, maintain and support computer systems and networks for small to medium sized businesses. We offer free advice and a friendly and pro active service throughout Norfolk that always goes one step further. We also offer a free no obligation system health check for all new business customers – simply give us a call.

Contact us:

For all your small to medium business IT needs please contacts us at EasyPC Ltd

We Supply:

Networking, Business Computer Systems, Software, Antivirus, Online Backup, Hosted File Servers & much more.

Telephone: 01603 670582 |Email: info@easypcltd.com |Twitter: www.twitter.com/easypcltd