What is the Cloud and Cloud Computing?

Image Credit: NetIQ’s Flickr

It has been a favorite buzzword of 2012 and all the rage lately, but do you really know what the Cloud is and how it works?

While it may seem like this mystical, far off place, the Cloud is basically the Internet. But it’s also more than the Internet – it’s Internet 2.0.

Traditionally, the Internet was a place to go to get information. Need to learn about something new? No problem, just get on the Internet and research it. After all, why do you think Google became so popular in the first place?

However, as time went on the Internet changed and evolved. No longer just a place to go for information, the Internet became social, and we started sharing information with one another on websites like Myspace and Facebook, instead of on our own personal webpages.

While all this was happening, other things were changing with the Internet too. Websites like Dropbox, Skydrive, and other websites emerged, giving us places to store our files, and later access them from anywhere, as long as we had an Internet connection.

Along the way, something new emerged – the Cloud, something that is still growing, and taking shape even today.

Currently, the Cloud is a hybrid of traditional computing and online storage. While you still load software and files on your computer, the Cloud gives you the ability to store your files online, so that you can access them from wherever you are as long as you have Internet access.

Today, many companies store their files in the Cloud, both as a way to access files from anywhere, and as a way to ensure files are protected off site and redundantly backed up.

In the future, we may never need to store anything on our computers ever again, including software. Think about tablet computers and smart phones, when you need something, you just go to the app store and download it. Computers will soon be like that. Instead of downloading software, we’ll just go online and access it.

In fact, in many ways, the benefits of the Cloud can be seen from current smart phones. What happens when you get a new smart phone? You enter your account information, and magically all of your contacts and other information are transferred to your new phone. Within minutes, you can begin using your new device, without spending time moving items, transferring data, and setting up your phone.

For computers, the Cloud may soon make this a reality. Instead of loading software on your computer, all you need is a basic operating system, and an Internet connection. Just boot up, hop online, and access your software, files, or more.

While the Cloud leaves us more dependent on the Internet and external servers, it allows us to be more independent with our hardware. We don’t have to be tethered to a particular machine, just one with Internet access. We don’t have to worry about equipment breaking, and not backing up items, because it’s already safe, in the Cloud.

While we all access and use the Cloud now, it’s important to remember that it’s still in its infancy, and may change as it grows and develops. However, as it’s shaping up now, the Cloud is poised to set us free from our computers, and allow for greater mobility with our technology.

4 Reasons to Hire an IT Company Instead of Having Your IT In-House

Image Credit: axa.arias

When your company was new, you probably only had one or two employees, a few computers, and little need for an office IT person. Maybe you even used the kid next door for your IT needs. (If you’re still doing this, don’t. Here’s why.)

As your company grew, you added employees, computers, a server or two, and maybe even some mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones. And suddenly, you had a need for an IT professional, like yesterday.

So what did you do? Did you hire an employee to be your in-house IT, or did you choose to go with an IT company, such as techQuility, for services? Or are you still deciding which direction you should take?

If you need IT support, and you don’t know whether you should partner with a technology company or hire an employee, here are 4 reasons why using an IT company is beneficial for your business.

1. Do You Possess the Knowledge to Hire an In-House IT Employee?

If you intend to hire an employee to support your IT needs in-house, do you know enough about computers, technology, and the specifics of your system to thoroughly interview the person to ensure that they really know their stuff?

Let’s face it, most business owners are experts at many things, but typically IT isn’t one of those areas of expertise. So unless you’re an IT whiz, and just don’t have time to take care of the system on your own, it can be difficult to ensure that you are asking the right questions to prove that the interviewee knows their stuff. Which means you could end up with someone who looks good on paper, but who can’t fix things properly in reality.

2. An IT Company can be More Cost Effective than an Employee

If you hire an employee, you are responsible for their salary 365 days a year, along with benefits, insurance, taxes, and more. You pay for that employee regardless of if they are actually working on your system or not. And then there’s the expense of providing an office space, equipment, additional computers, tools, and more.

However, when you hire an IT company, the costs are greatly reduced. For example, if you were to partner with techQuility, we typically get your computers on a maintenance plan, which costs a small monthly fee, and then if there are problems and work needs to be performed, you are charged hourly*. (*Fees and costs vary depending on the size of your network and the plan selected.)

Couple this with the fact that aside from the monthly fee, you are only being charged when work is actually being performed, and not for all the downtime too when things are stable. Which means, typically the fee is almost always cheaper than the cost of an on staff IT professional.

3. Up-to-Date Training

Because the IT world is always changing, there are always new things to learn about and stay trained on. But how do you ensure your in-house IT staff keeps up to date with their training?

Unless you are actively sending them to training, or unless they are a self-directed learner, the reality is that many IT in-house IT professionals aren’t up-to-date on the latest technology. Sure, they may be great at what they know, but how can they accurately forecast changes and company needs without staying abreast of technology changes?

Conversely, an IT company stays up to date on training by default. That’s because IT companies deal with a broad range of problems, equipment, operating systems, and more, and as such are more equipped to handle unique and weird problems when they come up. What’s more, they tend to be on top of tech trends, allowing for better technology recommendations that keep your big picture in mind.

4. A Wide Range of Tech Tools

When you keep your IT in-house, who pays for the tech tools that make troubleshooting easier? You do, and you may not always have the budget to pay for the latest software or tool, when the last one seems to be working for your purposes.

However, when you partner with an IT company, it is their responsibility to ensure they have everything they need to effectively do their job. And, just like with training, IT companies tend to have a wide range of tech tools available, because of the wide range of jobs they perform for various companies. This means that your company gets the benefit of some really great tech tools, without incurring the cost of those tools.

And these are just a few reasons why you should consider hiring an IT company rather than an employee. If you’re on the fence about what your next move should be with your company and technology, give us a call. We are always willing to help.

Computer Viruses: What You Can Do To Stay Protected

If you’ve ever had one, you know how frustrating virus can be. Not only do they take over your computer making it difficult to work, but they can do damage to files, send out spoof emails on your behalf, obtain critical personal information from your computer, and other scary stuff.

So how do you keep from getting viruses?

Keep Your Antivirus Software Updated

By running a trusted antivirus software for starters. Although it is simply not enough to just have the software loaded on your computer, you must also keep it updated.

Think of your antivirus software like a dictionary. When new words come out, do they automatically get added? No, instead a new edition is produced and distributed. (Okay, so this has changed a little a lot since the Internet, but you get the idea).

Similarly, when a new virus comes out, your virus software doesn’t necessarily know about them. Instead, it needs to be updated so that it knows that there is a new virus out there. Once it knows about the virus, it will know to look for it and will quarantine it if found so that it doesn’t impact your computer.

But, simply keeping your antivirus software up to date may not be enough. Sometimes you have to take extra steps to ensure you don’t get a virus.

Scan Files Individually Before Running Them

While it’s important to only download and run files from trusted sources, sometimes stuff happens and the person sharing doesn’t realize they have shared an infected file until it’s too late.

If you are unsure of a file, particularly if you downloaded that file from the web, an email attachment, or other source that could potentially be questionable, check the file before running it.

Sure, it may seem like an extra step, but typically viruses can’t get into your system until they are executed, such as by opening a file or installing software, so if you check your file before you even open it, you could be saving yourself a lot of work later. (*Note while executing is the typical way to “activate” most viruses there are many different types of viruses that operate differently from one another, so the actions taken to become infected may vary.)

Most of the time your files will probably be clean, but all it takes is one infected file to ruin everything. While you can use your existing virus scan software to scan individual files (most virus software has this option), sometimes you just don’t have the time to wait on software.

When this happens, there are other options, such as checking your files online, using an Internet virus scan built for scanning only files (as opposed to scanning your entire computer).

There are some great places online to scan files, but one site we like is VirSCAN.org. This free site allows you to upload as many files as you like, but there is a 20Mb limit per file. Simply upload the files you are concerned with, and scan them. VirSCAN will tell you whether or not they’re infected.

If the file is infected, DO NOT run it. Have your virus software quarantine and remove the virus. Or you can manually remove the virus if know how to view and delete system files, program files, and registry entries (potentially).

It’s important to keep in mind that while VirSCAN won’t replace your antivirus software, it is a good tool to use for spot checking files before you run them.

Using both an antivirus program and spot-scanning individual files, can be an effective strategy for ensuring your computer stays virus free.

Do you have a favorite antivirus software or website? Leave us a comment and tell us about it.

Outlook Could Be Losing Mail

Published January 28, 2013

Image Credit: Danny Sullivan

Did you know that not all versions of Microsoft Outlook were created equal, and that this inequality could be causing you to lose old emails?

Older versions of Outlook, particularly Outlook 97-2002, had a limit on the amount of data the Personal Storage Table (PST file) could hold. The PST is what controls how Outlook stores your information. In older versions of Outlook, the PST was built on ANSI, and could only hold up to 65,000 items per folder, with an overall PST size of 2 Gig.

In plain English, this means that older versions of Outlook would automatically over write old emails once the PST file became larger than 2 Gig, causing those emails to be permanently deleted.

Outlook 2003 fixed all this, by introducing what is known as Unicode PST, a file type that has no limit to the size of the PST or the number of items in each folder. However, Outlook 2003 and 2007 could still be impacted by ANSI PST, depending on how the software is setup. Additionally, newer versions of Outlook can get “stuck” in ANSI mode and overwrite emails despite being newer.

So how do you know if your Outlook is affected?

There are a few telltale signs. You may notice that your archived folders are now missing old emails. If your archives are too large, you may receive the message that your archive is at its maximum permissible size, yet you can’t delete old archived folders to reduce the size. Or you may get a message saying that you exceed the 2 Gig limit. These are just some of the common signs.

If this happens to you, know that you aren’t stuck. There are a few things that can be done to convert to the new Unicode PST file.

Update Outlook

If you’re running into this problem because you’re using an old version of Outlook it’s time to upgrade. Not only will you receive peace of mind knowing that your email is stored safely without the possibility of being overwritten, but you’ll also get your hands on some useful new tools and features. (The new versions of Office are loaded with great new tools that older versions never had before.)

Create a New PST

If you are running into this problem and you are using a newer version of Outlook, try creating a new data file, and then importing your items into the new file. Many users have reported this as a quick fix to their issue.

Take care when setting up your new PST file, to ensure you are selecting the proper format. Despite the change in file type, Microsoft will still let you create an old ANSI PST file, so pay attention when selecting which type of PST to setup.

Also, remember to backup any data prior to importing, just in case.

Use 3^rd Party Software

There are companies that have created software to solve this very problem. The software automatically converts your PST to the proper format, and also ensures your data isn’t corrupted in the process.

Please note however that software like this isn’t free. There are also mixed reports as to which software works best, although most users report success with SysInfoTools, which costs $39. (TechQuility does not endorse this product, and is merely providing it as information based upon forum user success stories. Your mileage may vary. TechQuility is not responsible for any data loss that may occur with the use of 3^rd party conversion products.)

If you are concerned about Outlook losing your email, give us a call today. We can look at your settings to ensure that your email is running correctly, optimally, and is backed up properly, so that you never lose another email again.

Spring Cleaning: How to Refresh Your Computer – Part Two B Digital Cleaning Continued

Image Credit: William Hook

Did you know that the official first day of Spring in 2013 is March 20? That date is quickly approaching. Get your computer ready for spring, and the rest of the year, with these helpful spring cleaning tips.

This article is part of a larger series. If you haven’t read Part I about physically cleaning the outside of your computer, please do so now. And, after you’ve done that, please readPart II A, which focuses on digital cleaning. This post is the second half of the digital cleaning portion of the series.

Okay, so by now the outside of your computer is sparkling, and your desktop and important folders look a lot cleaner. Now you’re ready to finish digitally cleaning your computer.

Run AntiVirus and Malware Scans

Once you’ve cleaned up all your main storage areas, it’s time to begin a deeper cleaning of the hard drive.

Open your antivirus program, and run a full scan (not a quick scan). Make sure to have the program check for malware too, if this is a separate option (many scanners do both).

If you don’t have an antivirus program, you could try a free one. AVG-Free is popular, or you could use a free online scanning program such as House Call.

Just remember to run one antivirus program at a time. In fact, if you have more than one installed on your system, uninstall the one you use less frequently. Having more than one antivirus installed can make each program think that the other is a virus, and can cause more harm than good. Some people believe that multiple virus programs mean better virus protection, but this is simply not the case.

If any malicious results are returned, quarantine and clean those items.

Free Up Disk Space

Once you have done all of this, it is time to free up some disk space. Over time, the file allocation system on a hard drive gets a little cluttered. Running a scan disk and defrag allows your computer to declutter and better organize the data on the drive, so that it can access information more quickly.

Note: You’ll want to perform these steps when you don’t need to use the computer, as this will require some downtime for the scans to run and correct any errors.

If you have a newer OS, such as Windows 7 or 8, click Start and type in Defrag. Click the item that appears.

To manually access these settings in Windows 7, XP, or Vista, go to Computer, then Right Click on your C: Drive. Click on Properties, and then click on the Tools tab.

Here you will see two buttons – Error-Checking Check Now, and Defragment Now. Run through the Error Checking first to check and correct system errors, bad sectors, and more.

Once that’s done, run the Disk Defragmenter. When prompted, select the C: drive, and choose Defragment Disk.

And that’s it. Once these scans are done, your computer should be running faster than before. And, as an added bonus, you should be able to find documents, pictures, and other items more easily because everything is now organized and in its place.

Stay tuned for the final portion of this series where we explore ways to clean up your hardware to get your computer running faster than ever before.

Spring Cleaning: How to Refresh Your Computer – Part Three Hardware Cleanup

Published March 8, 2013

Image Credit: eurleif

If you’ve been following along with our How to Refresh Your Computer series then your computer should be sparkly clean, be de-cluttered file-wise, and should be running a little bit faster.

If you haven’t been keeping up with this series, we recommend you read Part One, Part Two A, andPart Two B to catch up before continuing.

While this article may be the last in the series, it is no less important than other steps. Maintaining your hardware is a good way to ensure your computer’s longevity and may help you avoid costly repairs in the future.

Here are a few ways to clean up and maintain the physical hardware in your computer:

Clean Out Your Case

*Disclaimer: This procedure is for a desktop tower only. If you have a laptop you may not want to do this as laptops are more difficult to open, and much easier to drive dust into internal components where you don’t want dust to be.*

Have you ever looked at the back of a desktop computer that’s been in one spot for a while? What do you notice about it? For most people, it’s probably the pile of dust caked around the fan. But when you notice a pile of dust on the back of your computer, it means a larger problem is brewing– your computer is probably twice as dusty inside.

Computers aren’t air tight, they aren’t meant to be. Air needs to flow to allow hot air out, and cool air in. But, if air can get in, dust can too. And over time, this dust can build up and become a fire hazard.

Luckily it’s easy to clean out your case.

All you need is some canned air, and a nice sunny day. Turn off your computer. Once it’s completely shut down, unplug the power and all other cords. If your monitor(s) sit on top of your tower, remove them. Then, take your computer and your canned air outside.

Open up the case. Each case is slightly different, but typically there are screws on the back that hold the side panels on. Removing the screws should allow you to slide the panel off. You’ll want to slide off the one that gives you the best access to the case (as opposed to the side with all the components and cards against it).

Once the case is open, take your canned air and spray that sucker out. If it’s really dusty, you may want to stand back so you don’t inhale the dust. Spray out any place with dust, including fans, boards, holes in the case, and more.

When all the dust is gone, put the side panel(s) back on, attach the screws, bring it inside and plug it back in.

Assess Your Hardware Situation

While technically not “cleaning”, another thing you can do to clean up your computer is to consider getting updated hardware.

Assess Your Hard Drive Speed

If your computer is a little slower, or if you have a laptop, consider getting a solid state hard drive (SSD), which runs faster than traditional drives. You could even get a hybrid hard drive, which combines traditional drives with solid state drives, giving you the best of both worlds.

Please note however that SSDs are still new, and may not have the same storage capacity as its traditional counterparts.

Need More Memory?

If your computer runs noticeably slower, consider getting more memory. Most of the time, a little extra memory goes a long way in speeding up the computer.

To check how much memory you currently have, right click on Computer (or My Computer) and select Properties. The amount of installed memory will be listed toward the middle of the page.

Should you decide to upgrade your memory, you also need to check your computer specs to determine the maximum amount of memory your computer can handle. Not all computers can handle the same amount, and you don’t want to buy memory only to find out you’re already at your max, so check this first before purchasing anything.

One other quick tip about memory – it should be paired. So, if you may need to purchase two sticks of memory to ensure proper pairing. If you have one three gig stick installed, you shouldn’t just add one gig to the system. Instead, two 2-gig sticks of memory will give you better performance.

And that’s it. If you’ve followed our entire series, your computer should be sparkly clean, and faster than before. Remember to bookmark these tips so you re-visit the procedure at least twice a year.

Year End Wrap Up – Other Technology Related Posts

Image Credit: Stephanie D

In 2012, we’ve give you lots of information about office technology, to better ways to manage your employees, to Microsoft tips and tricks, and more. But, we’ve also talked about technology in general.

Missed a post throughout the year? This year end wrap up is designed to highlight some useful information you may have otherwise missed to help you ring in the New Year buzzing with information and new ideas to help make your business stronger.

Cell Phones

Android Tips – Access Applications Quickly: This article features a great way to quickly access applications on your Android phone (version 2.2 and up).

Creative Ways to Repurpose Your Old Smart Phone: Looking for uses for those old phones aside from just donating them? Here are some creative ways to make these old devices work for you.

Do You Feel Phantom Phone Vibrations: Do you know what phantom vibrations are, and more importantly, are you affected by them?

How to Boost Your Cell Phone Signal: Is your cell reception poor? Here are some great ways to boost your signal, both inside and outside the office.

How to Save a Wet Phone: If your phone gets wet, this handy trick may just save your device, allowing you to not only keep your important data, but saving you from the costly expense of buying a new phone.

Computers

Do Human Energy Fields Affect Computers?: Does your computer react when you’re upset? Sounds crazy, but your energy could be affecting your computer. This article explores why.

How to Create a Strong Password You’ll Remember: Worried about your password security? Try creating stronger passwords. This article not only focuses on how to create strong passwords, but why and how passwords work, helping you understand the process better.

How to Create One Secure Password you can use on any Site: Tired of remembering different passwords for each site? This article talks about a way to have only one password that you have to remember, that is also unique and different for each site.

How to Reuse or Recycle Your Old Computer: Not sure what to do with the old computers you have in the back room? Try reusing or recycling them.

Solid State vs. Regular Hard Drives: Do you know the difference between solid state drives and traditional hard drives? This article explores the difference to help you understand which is better for your needs.

The Benefits of Solid State Drives for Laptops vs. Desktops: Should your laptop have a solid state drive? What about your desktop? This article explores which options are best for solid state drives.

Fun & Useful Websites

Best Free Music Websites: Want to listen to music while you work? Check out one of these free, great music websites.

Find Free Computer Ebooks Online: Looking to brush up on your computer knowledge? Try reading an ebook. This article lists lots of sites where you can find free technology ebooks.

Google Announces Free Cloud Storage: Have you heard of Google Drive? This article focuses on what it is, how it works, and how it’s different from other free cloud storage services.

How to Share Your Screen for Free Using Join.me: A great free service, Join.me allows you to share your screen with anyone for free. This article explores the service, and how to use it.