Tuesday, December 13, 2005

:Internet Battles

I was listening to a radio talk show today. ESPN news of all places. And the host was talking about "then" and "now" situations. The dicussion just struck me as interesting. Maybe this will be something to consider before you react next time.
I'm sure this originally had something to do with sports and he went on and ranted about the latest athlete who did something really stupid. And isn't that how things always seem when you look back on them? Aren't they all "stupid"?
Basically he was saying back "then" when someone made you mad, you got in your car, you drove home, you picked up the rotary-dial phone (before my time), and by the time you started talking you had at least 20 minutes to cool off.
"Now" when someone pisses you off, you just pick up your cell phone-blackberry-treo-palm-pocket pc-internet enabled-always online-always connected device and give 'em hell right then and there. You let them have it full blast. You yell through your cell phone right on the spot that they miffed you.
There is no cooling off period. There is no time to let your mind think things through. There is no time to consider the consequences.
Battles are taking place when really they shouldn't be. What ever happened to "pick your battles wisely?"
Keep in mind that most online communication does not convey emotions very well. What comes accross to you in an email may seem completely different than the frame of reference it was written in. Take a little extra time to re-read, digest and thoughtfully convey yourself so that you are not being mis-interpreted.
Take extra time for "heated" discussions. Give yourself that cooling off period. Run things by your peers, friends and family. You might be surprised to find yourself calmer and cooler.

Monday, December 12, 2005

:Windows NT...RIP

Will Windows NT ever die? Not if I'm nursing ancient PIII's with crashed hard drives back to life. Wow, what ancient civilization created Windows NT? And who is still using it? Thankfully there was no Internet access at this place. Spent the day re-installing Workstation to keep a client up and running for another 19 days? Gotta make it until 2006 on these systems, then they can cut over to the new-and-improved-latest-and-greatest. Not bad for a day's work.

Wednesday, December 07, 2005

:Trend Micro Client Server Messaging Security for SMB

CSM 3.0 is now available in the Trend Micro Update Center.
What's New
Security Server
Security Dashboard - A single centralized web management console that integrates the Security Server
Outbreak Events Notification via Live Status or Customized Email Notices
Automated Outbreak Defense
Client/Server Security Agent
64 bit Support
Personal Firewall
Vulnerability Assessment
Damage Cleanup Services
Messaging Security Agent
Phishing Detection and Prevention
End User Quarantine for Approved Senders List
Improved SMTP Scanning for Exchange Servers (2000/2003)
Intergrated Anti-spam and Content Filtering
Real-time Monitor Web Console
Keyword Search Matching
Configuration Replication

Monday, December 05, 2005

:Sharepoint Adobe Acrobat plugin

We use Microsoft Sharepoint for some of our clients. But when you upload an Adobe document you can't access it directly. Here is the official fix.

Thursday, December 01, 2005

:Xerox deja vu

Same problem, same fix, different customer. I feel like I've been here before.

Wednesday, November 30, 2005

:Xerox Phaser Slow to print

Are your users complaining about slow printing to a networked Xerox Phaser color printer? I just walked into a new customer and that was the biggest complaint. Users waiting up to 20 minutes for their print job to take. Here is the fix...
Login to the printer's web management console and disable all the DDNS and DNS settings. Printer screams now!

Monday, October 24, 2005

:Tech Support

Dear Tech Support:
Last year I upgraded from Girlfriend 7.0 to Wife 1.0 I soon noticed that the new program began unexpected child processing that took up a lot of space and valuable resources. In addition, Wife 1.0 installed itselfinto all other programs and now monitors all other system activity.Applications such as Poker Night 10.3, Football 5.0, Hunting and Fishing7.5, and Racing 3.6.I can't seem to keep Wife 1.0 in the background while attempting to runmy favorite applications. I'm thinking about going back to Girlfriend 7.0, but the uninstall doesn't work on Wife 1.0. Please help!Thanks,Troubled User..

REPLY:
Dear Troubled User:
This is a very common problem that men complain about.Many people upgrade from Girlfriend 7.0 to Wife 1.0, thinking that it isjust a Utilities and Entertainment program. Wife 1.0 is an OPERATINGSYSTEM and is designed by its Creator to run EVERYTHING!!! It is alsoimpossible to delete Wife 1.0 and to return to Girlfriend 7.0. It isimpossible to uninstall, or purge the program files from the system onceinstalled.You cannot go back to Girlfriend 7.0 because Wife 1.0 is designed to notallow this. Look in your Wife 1.0 manual under Warnings-Alimony-ChildSupport. I recommend that you keep Wife 1.0 and work on improving thesituation. I suggest installing the background application "Yes Dear" toalleviate software augmentation.The best course of action is to enter the command C:\APOLOGIZE becauseultimately you will have to give the APOLOGIZE command before the systemwill return to normal anyway.Wife 1.0 is a great program, but it tends to be very high maintenance.Wife 1.0 comes with several support programs, such as Clean and Sweep 3.0, Cook It 1.5 and Do Bills 4.2.However, be very careful how you use these programs. Improper use willcause the system to launch the program Nag Nag 9.5. Once this happens,the only way to improve the performance of Wife 1.0 is to purchaseadditional software. I recommend Flowers 2.1 and Diamonds 5.0 !WARNING!!! DO NOT, under any circumstances, install Secretary With ShortSkirt 3.3. This application is not supported by Wife 1.0 and will causeirreversible damage to the operating system.Best of luck,Tech SupportForwardSourceID:NT0001

Thursday, October 13, 2005

:Tabbed Browsing in IE

Microsoft recently announced the ability to use tabbed browsing in Internet Explorer. This is a feature of the new MSN toolbar available for free from
http://toolbar.msn.com/.
For about 2 years I have been using Maxthon.com's browser because of that very ability. Dennis has already downloaded it and says he likes it so far. I loaded it on my system and I just can't get used to it. I like the Maxthon way instead.

Friday, May 13, 2005

:Pharming the Internet

A recent article by Wired (and our local newspaper) discussed the latest Internet scam, pharming. Pharming is kind of like phishing, but the hack is actually done on ISP servers called DNS. It may be very technical to hack the DNS, but Windows PC's also use a HOSTS file. The HOSTS file can be altered on the users PC and redirect legitimate sites without their knowledge. Fortunately most Antivirus software alerts the user that this file has been changed, and may be able to block the change or restore it.

Friday, April 08, 2005

:New Website For IVRI

Virtual October, Inc., York PA, a local based Internet and technology services company is proud to announce a new website for IVRI at www.go-ivri.com. The website boasts multple pages of specific content to their industry, links to other vendors, and contact and feedback forms.

Monday, February 21, 2005

:Enhanced Internet Explorer

The latest version of Internet Explorer by Microsoft is coming soon. IE Version 7 is on the horizon.

Thursday, February 17, 2005

:Protecting your business

Chad Abel and Alan Feldman of Virtual October, Inc. recently attended a seminar "Protecting Your Business From Viruses and Malicious Code". The seminar was hosted by BalaVenkat, Sr. Product Marketing Manager, SMB Market, Trend Micro, Harry Brelsford, Founder, SMB Nation, and Marc Semadeni, Global Product Marketing Manager, HP.
The seminar went over the business impact from these problems and what to implement to help prevent them in the first place.
For more information on what your business can do to prevent viruses and malicious code, please contact us.

Tuesday, February 15, 2005

:StoreSense Security

Security upgrade scheduled for 2/18/05 for 12am

A maintenance window is being scheduled for the StoreSense servers on Friday 2/18/05 at 12am. All storefronts on our shared StoreSense servers will be inaccessible for approximately one hour while the servers are relocated and reconfigured for our enhanced security architecture.

This security upgrade is the part of an ongoing program by Virtual October Inc. and Kurant to exceed industry security standards like Visa’s CISP credit card processing requirements. Future enhancements will include the implementation of Intrusion Detection/Prevention Systems (IDS/IPS).

During this maintenance window, we will be adding a security layer to the databases where StoreSense keeps its storefront information. The database server will be moved to a private, secure network, and will only be accessible from the StoreSense servers.

Except for the necessary one-hour reconfiguration period, the changes should not affect storefront operation in any way. There is no action required on your part.

If you have questions, please feel free to contact the office at 717-755-0442.

Monday, February 14, 2005

:Networking Infrastructure Solutions

We have just completed the requirements for Networking Infrastructure Solutions. The Networking Infrastructure Solutions Competency is for Microsoft technology partners who have proven their proficiency in implementing solutions based on the Microsoft Windows 2000 Server or Windows Server 2003 Operating Systems, with a particular focus on Microsoft Small Business Server 2000 and Windows Small Business Server 2003.

Tuesday, January 25, 2005

:Online Store Award

StoreSense has won the Small Business Computing.com "Best Small Business Products of the Year" award for E-Commerce Store Front. For those of you who cast your vote for StoreSense, thank you!

Thursday, January 13, 2005

:Cure Your Computer

Microsoft has ready for download their first attempt at an antivirus product. It should begin rolling out to a computer near you. It is included in the automatic updates and will fix a variety of moderate to high risk viruses.

http://support.microsoft.com/Default.aspx?kbid=890830

Wednesday, January 12, 2005

:Spyware vs. Spyware

Microsoft released their beta spyware remover. I heard that it picks up some interesting things. Bonus is that it is a realtime scanner. Unlike the freebee from Lavasoft, Ad-aware only runs manually unless you upgrade to their professional version.

http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx