I lost my laptop with all the company documents!!

I lost my laptop with all the company documents!!!

Brought to you by Niall Mulrine, Pc Clean.

Some of the reasons why we should use online backup can be emphasised by a few points on safety of mobile computers. We have heard the stories; we have encountered it at work, home and at school. More people are carrying their offices, theses and photo labs under their arm in a small electronic device. This small device, yet so powerful that it may contain so many documents, emails, passwords, photos and work files that we tend to forget just how “big” it can be. It could carry everything that is most important to them at any time. We take it for granted; we could never loose these items. But what happens if the laptop is stolen or lost? Laptops are not the only devices that are carried around in people’s personal belongings. Mobile phones, Smartphones, Tablets, and many more portable devices that store our vast amount of contacts details, phone numbers, text messages, private information, photos and much more.

Remember all the big stories in the past years of government officials, solicitors, business people and employees of semi-state bodies loosing USB drives, laptops and smart phones with all sensitive data in the wrong hands. These devices were not even locked down with a password. The biggest case in the news in Ireland was the 5 laptops that were lost by Department of Social and Family Affairs. But luck was on their side, no leaks were found regarding the private data. It was a wakeup call or was it? It has not changed the mind-sets of computer consumers. Basic protection such as access code or password for opening the devices is never activated. We seem to think that we will never lose our devices and all the data is safe. Is there a solution if our laptop or phone is stolen?

There are solutions to this issue in the realms of software preloaded on the devices and having an internet connection turned on. Some packages can trace the device to within a couple of feet to the correct GPS location.

One such free package called Prey got a lot of coverage from an unknown person in the US called Sean Power. His laptop was stolen in New York, but with the help of Twitter and Prey software, he was able to get back his laptop. The software took a picture of the user and sends it online to Sean’s account and the IP address located to within 200 metres proximity. With the help of Twitter posts, he was able to pinpoint the laptop to a bar owner in Manhattan. He rang the police with these details and they raided the bar and caught the suspect in possession of the laptop. This made an impossible situation possible again with the help of modern technology. What were the chances that he could have otherwise found his laptop in New York city via the old detective work!! The police would have bothered about a minor offence such as this, so the case would have been closed quickly.

Another software package called Druva, which is not free, but worth the money if you consider your laptop files to be sensitive and important is a great market leader for protecting data on stolen or lost laptops. What this can do differently to the previous example is, wipe the laptop hard drive clean of all data from anywhere online or by a method activated when the user inputs the password incorrectly beyond a predetermined limit. An American study carried out on the devastation caused by a lost or stolen business laptop can cause the company on average $49,241 per machine. Also, the survey reported that only 30% of machines were encrypted with a password and 46% of laptops had “sensitive data” stored on them. This is frightening how careless we are when it comes to security. Spend nearly a thousand euros on a great laptop with all the software to start your computing needs, but need skim on basic additions of security software or even encryption methods.

Even if we don’t go for the fancy software packages, at least we can protect our data with a good strong password.

To catch up on any missed articles written by Niall Mulrine of Pc Clean, go to www.PcClean.ie

Online Santa did not get on his sleigh in TIME OOPS!!

Online shoopers frustrated this Christmas. A recent survey carried out on a popular PC magazine website shows that1,622 visitors to the site, 30.9 percent of respondents said they were not satisfied by their online Christmas shopping experience, because the deliveries were late.

A separate poll of UK consumers by Econsultancy, however, found that only 26.2% of online shoppers received their deliveries late. The slightly higher figure in our poll may reflect the fact that dissatisfied customers are more inclined to have their say than the happy and silent majority.

Responding to the question 'Have you been satisfied with your Christmas shopping online?', just over half (51.8 percent) ticked the answer 'Yes, everything arrived on time'.

created by PCadvisor uploaded by Niall Mulrine, Pc Clean, Navenny, Ballybofey, Co. Donegal, Ireland
www.pcclean.ie
sales@pcclean.ie
086-2377033 
Pc Clean for Computer repairs, Laptop Repairs, Virus repair and removal service, callout services, network issues, printer problems in the Donegal Area.

Windows 7 Mobile Pros and Cons

In December 2010, Microsoft revealed that more than 1.5 million Windows Phone 7 units were sold in the first six weeks of being available. While those numbers sound promising for Microsoft, the iPhone and Android-based devices still have a significant lead over Windows Phone 7. I think most enterprises are waiting to see what Microsoft does to the system with the first couple of updates, especially since the initial release of the product has a consumer focus.
If your organization is planning its mobile device strategy and Windows Phone 7 is an option, here are some considerations you should take into account.

Pros

• Mobile Office apps. Microsoft produces an excellent productivity suite in the form of Microsoft Office. With Windows Phone 7, a mini version of that suite has made its way to mobile devices, and it looks really good. The operating system also provides access to SharePoint-based documents.
• Carrier choice. Although Windows Phone 7 has yet to release to the CDMA-based carriers ), the device still enjoys wider support than the iPhone when it comes to choosing a carrier. On the other hand, Android handily beats Windows Phone 7 and the iPhone in this case, since various vendors support all of the major wireless vendors in some way.

Cons

• Limited ActiveSync support. Windows Phone 7 doesn’t support the full range of Exchange ActiveSync policies. Check out Microsoft’s fantastic Exchange ActiveSync Client Comparison Table to see which ActiveSync features are supported by Windows Phone 7. (The table also features a number of mobile device platforms, including Windows Mobile 6.5, iOS 4.2, Android, Web OS, and more.) Also look at Microsoft’s Wiki entitled Exchange ActiveSync Considerations When Using Windows Phone 7 Clients, which provides more information about Windows 7 as it relates to ActiveSync.
• OS is consumer focused. Microsoft stated that Windows Phone 7 started life as a consumer product and that’s what was released as an initial version of the product. From an enterprise perspective, that’s not a good thing. I believe one reason why the iPhone and Android-based devices skyrocketed in popularity is because those devices can meet the needs of consumers and enterprises. The trend is to bring your own device to work, so I understand why Microsoft chose to focus on consumer features first, but they’ll need to make enterprise features a serious focus pretty soon.
• No on-device encryption. (Note: This won’t be a “con” for everyone.) From a security perspective, on-device encryption is pretty important and can make or break a device. If you require encryption, you’re out of luck with the current release of Windows Phone 7, as the system does not support data encryption yet, nor does it support removable storage. Lack of support for removable storage can actually be a security feature for some, though.

Neutral

• Multiple Exchange mailboxes. The ability to connect a mobile device to multiple Exchange mailboxes has become almost ubiquitous with recent releases of iOS and Android. Windows Phone 7 provides this ability, so it’s not really a pro or a con when compared to other platforms, but for organizations considering Windows Phone 7, it doesn’t hurt. Although the product supports multiple Exchange mailboxes, they are not presented as a unified inbox, but I can’t see where this would be either good or bad.

Conclusion

If Microsoft focuses more on enterprise features for Windows Phone 7, it will be interesting to see what happens in the mobile space. The consumer focus could work in Microsoft’s favor if the company can generate enough buzz over time and figure out a way to jump on the bring your own device bandwagon.

created by techrepublic uploaded by Niall Mulrine, Pc Clean, Navenny, Ballybofey, Co. Donegal, Ireland
www.pcclean.ie
sales@pcclean.ie
086-2377033 

How to manage your Android contacts?

How to manage your Android contacts?
Mobile devices have become lifelines for connecting to family, friends, business associates, and clients. With your contacts list growing exponentially, you need to know the best ways to manage this information. Here are some ways Android device owners can keep their contacts list under control.

Google is your friend

The best advice I can offer is to make sure every contact you create on your Android phone is a Google contact. Why is this so important? Because you can manage your Google contacts from within your Google account. This will save you from fumbling around on your mobile phone’s keyboard to try to arrange, categorize, create, edit, and delete those contacts.
If you want the non-Google contacts that are already on your Android phone to be migrated to Google contacts, there is no way to do this directly on the phone; instead, you have to do an export/import. You have to export the contacts to a CSV file to your SD card and then import that file into Google.
To export those contacts, you need to use the free app called UiA - Backup Contacts (it’s available on the Android Market). After you install the app, you’ll see it listed in your Application drawer labeled Backup Contacts. Tap that application, agree to the license, and you’ll see the main window (Figure A), where you can: Backup Now, View Your CSV Contact List, Upload To Dropbox, or Send To Email.
Figure A

When you export the contacts using Backup Contacts, that CSV file will be saved on the root of your SD card. The file that is saved to your CSV card will be named Backup.Contacts.TODAYS_DATE.csv; TODAYS_DATE is the date the contacts were saved. With that file on your SD card, you can mount the SD card, copy the file to your PC, and then import that file into your Google account contacts.
This method does not convert the contacts on your phone to Google contacts, so you might find some duplicate entries in your contacts. You can delete the contacts on your phone once you know they’re secured in your Google account.

Groups

Another tip for organizing your contacts is to use groups. Groups allow you to sort, search, and find your contacts much easier.
Note: All Google contacts will belong to their own group, “Google.” You cannot reassign those contacts or assign them to multiple groups. You can manage your Google contacts from within your Google account, but you will not be able to see those actions (such as adding Google contacts to groups within Google) on your Android phone.
For contacts that are on your phone, you can create groups by following these steps:
1. Open the Contacts application.
2. Tap the Groups tab (Figure B).
3. Tap the Menu button.
4. Tap the Create button.
5. Create your new group.
Figure B

The Groups tab also includes all social media accounts you have authenticated on your phone. Follow these steps to assign a contact to a group:
1. Tap the Groups tab.
2. Tap the Add Member button.
3. Select all contacts you want to join the group.
4. Tap the Add button.

Linked Contacts

A very nice feature of the Android contact system is Linked Contacts. A Linked Contact is a way to link one contact to a related contact. For instance, you might want to link all the employees of a specific department. To do this, open one of those contacts and scroll down to the bottom. Tap the section labeled Linked Contacts (Figure C) and then tap the Add Link Contact button. On the next screen, find the contact you want to link, and it will be linked. Repeat these steps to link more contacts. You are limited to five linked contacts.
Figure C

Samsung Captivate-specific tips

The next two features I’ll highlight — Directional Swiping and Speed Dialing — are unique to the Samsung Captivate line of phones.
Directional Swiping
From your Contacts application, the Directional Swiping feature allows you to quickly phone or message a contact depending upon which way you swipe that contact. If you swipe the target contact to the right, you place a phone call; if you swipe the target contact to the left, you send an SMS message. This feature is incredibly handy and should be made available to all Android phones.
Speed Dialing
To add a contact to speed dialing, follow these steps:
1. Open the Contacts application.
2. Tap the Menu button.
3. Tap the Speed Dial button.
4. Tap the number for which you want to add a contact.
5. Find and select the contact.
You can add eight total contacts (the first spot is dedicated to Voice Mail).
created by techrepublic uploaded by Niall Mulrine, Pc Clean, Navenny, Ballybofey, Co. Donegal, Ireland
www.pcclean.ie
sales@pcclean.ie
086-2377033