Posts Tagged ‘Computer’

New Security Options in Lenovo Notebooks

Thursday, December 11th, 2008

Due to a growing number of notebook theft cases both manufacturers and normal users are always looking for new ways to protect data on their hard drives. Notebook theft is not a joke especially if you keep on his hard drive personal or confidential business data. The thief can get access to virtually all the information needed for identity theft.

Many peoples to avoid these types of threats chose notebooks with built-in fingerprint readers and encrypts data on their computers. But the Lenovo company proposes completely new solution in notebooks security which intends to put on sale in the coming year. One sms message sent by the owner will be sufficient to disable stolen notebook computer.

Service “Lenovo Constant Secure Remote Disable Feature” will together with devices that support WWAN. The user sending simple text message such as “Lockdown PC” or “PC shut off” will be able to block his computer operation.

At the time of receipt of message your notebook will automatically shuts off and in the case that thief will try to start it again it will completely block your machine. Also there will be message sent to the owner of the notebook informing that his computer was successfully blocked. In the case when the owner will get back his notebook he will be able to unlock his machine via a previously set password.

Introducing this type of security significantly reduce the stress associated with the loss of the notebook and the data contained on his hard drive. And with connection with already existing security features such as fingerprint readers, hard drive encrypting or security chip’s Lenovo notebooks will have the most advanced security features available on the market - says Bob Galush from Lenovo

As for now however it is unknown whether the data contained on a computer’s hard drive will be secure after it will be dismounted from the computer.

Marcin Zielezny

Marcin is the writer for Go-GetIt.com blog reporting on the latest new gadgets and gizmos that you can buy in stores.

Data Recovery Tools - Prevention and the How-To of Restoring Lost Or Deleted Files

Thursday, December 11th, 2008

I can picture it now, you were sitting at your laptop pounding away on the keyboard trying to finish up that term paper that should have been written two weeks ago, then suddenly the power goes out and your files are lost. Your computer resets and your word processing software has lost all your progress. Or maybe you were babysitting and the kid jumped on the computer to fix up a quick homework assignment and deleted all your hard work. No matter the situation we are going to end up at the same place–we’ve lost some files on our personal computer and we want them back; however, the best option will always be prevention, so let’s start there.

If possible, always keep a “hard copy” of any printable file. A “hard copy” is a printed file which is the physical product of what is intended to be an electronic document. There are some cases where this may not be possible. For example, any website work or graphic design work may be nearly impossible to capture in another format, especially if you have any other hidden features that may be electronically stored within the image.

If you can’t keep a “hard copy” then the best thing that you can do is back the file up on any other possible storage media that will stand alone without the use of the personal computer that you initially intended to store the file on. I recommend using a second household computer, if you have one. If you don’t there are many other possible alternatives for storing files electronically. Another great storage resource is an email account, if the document is a relatively large document then the email account probably wouldn’t be a suitable option; however, you could always sign up for an online storage service.

Now that we have discussed possible ways to prevent the situation from happening–or happening again if you’re one of the unfortunate that this has already happened to (I am assuming you are, you are here after all)–it’s time we discuss ways of solving the problem.

Your first option probably would be to make a trip down to the local computer repair shop in your area and seeing if one of the “techies” there can help you out, and this is a common route many people will take. Another option would require searching through lists of data recovery companies and trying to select one company that looks reputable enough to go with.

Personally, I’m closer to being the local “techie” than most people and I do tend to catch the D.I.Y. bug quite often too, so I probably would take the last option which I’m going to spout out right now. I would go through looking for a piece of software that would allow me to do the job myself. In some situations this may be the very thing you need to do, especially if you’re working with sensitive documents. After all, many of us have a lot of information sitting around on a hard disk drive that we wouldn’t want just any data recovery company to be snooping through (Think: bank statements, email addresses, personal accounting files, general private messages, and in some cases for the public figure…internet history).

So, I would suggest backing up all your files first and then having your own set of data recovery tools. If you’re still interested in learning more then click this link and read more about it here!

Hope this helps!

Disposing of Your USB Memory Sticks

Friday, November 28th, 2008

USB memory sticks are a wonderful way to back up and transport a range of digital information, from music to video to documents to pictures. The only question is, when you are ready to retire your memory stick, how do you dispose of it? Before you think about just throwing away your USB memory stick, consider the myriad ways you can recycle or reuse it.

Before you find an outlet for your old memory sticks, make sure all the information you wrote onto the stick has been properly and completely deleted. While deleting the files yourself at home may appear to remove the information from the stick, the data may still be accessible to skilled hackers and certain spy programs. The best practice is to take the drive to your local computer store or maintenance location and have them professionally delete the information.

A great way to dispose of your memory stick is to donate it. For example, some companies collect unwanted and old USB sticks and recycles them for students and professionals in developing countries who do not have access to such technology. Some education trusts also accepts donated USB memory sticks in support of schools in Africa. If you prefer your donation to stay more local, then some local libraries distribute audio books to the blind on donated memory sticks.

If you do not like the idea of donating your USB memory stick, it is also possible to recycle your memory stick at home by finding alternative uses for them. Unwanted USB sticks can be used as key chain charms or plant labels. The circuit boards and interior wiring can be reconfigured and redesigned to make unique jewelry pieces, and an arrangement of USB parts could contribute to an art project. Some people grind up their old USB sticks and lay it around flower beds as moisture insulation and weed protection. All you need to recycle your memory stick at home is a little imagination!

A final resort for the disposal of unwanted USB memory sticks is throwing them away but make sure to heed the warning about deleting all information properly before choosing this disposal option!

Everything considered, the best disposal method is reuse. One of the best aspects of a USB memory stick is it can be rewritten again and again and continue to hold and transport your data in a small and efficient manner and with sales of these units in the hundreds of millions they are likely to be here for quite some time yet.

Choosing a Computer Network Training Provider

Wednesday, November 26th, 2008

When you are in a place where you are looking at the options that you need to get your workplace online, you will find that you are looking at something that can be greatly informed by your choice of network training provider. The truth of the matter is that no matter what industry you work in and what you are doing to make sure that you can get the results that you need, you are going to find that you are in a place where you need to make sure that you and your staff have a thorough understanding of the technologies and the networking that you are using. You can have the best system around and it will do you very little good unless you know how to use it! When you are looking to make sure that you are getting the most out of your network training, make sure that you consider a few points about your network training provider.

The first and most basic thing that your training provider should be able to accomplish is that they need to make sure that they can convey simply and clearly how the technology works to your staff. In the first place, think about how adept your staff is. Have they recently just come from one good networking system and now they are going to another, or are they in a place where this is all brand new to them? In either case, the training needs to be tailored to their needs and their comfort, so make sure that you can find a trainer who will do that.
Another point that you need to make sure of when you are looking towards hiring a good computer network training provider is that you need to think about how intimately they are familiar with the system that you are getting installed.

- What kind of experience do they have, and what can you do to make sure that you are in a good place where they get the information that they need to get across?
- In what ways are they preferable to an in house system and what do they offer when you are looking to get a certain amount of people competent on the material at hand?

You will find that the more information that you can get when you are classifying their work, the better off you are.

When you want to make sure that you are getting the best trained network engineers out there, you will find that you are in a place where training is crucial. Make sure that you invest in a training provider who will give your engineers the training that they need to thrive. Take some time and make sure that the people that you are looking to work with will give you the best results when it comes to getting your engineers the real life, hands on experience that they need.

Take some time to consider what you need out of your computer network training provider and make sure that you get it. Finding a trainer who suits you and who can help you achieve your goals will pay off in the long run.

Derek Rogers is a freelance writer who writes for a number of UK businesses. For information on Network Training, he recommends Prodec Networks, a leading provider of computer network training.

USB Flash Drive Operating Systems

Saturday, November 22nd, 2008

Did you know that you could get an entire operating system on a flash USB drive? Most firmware in modern PCs allows booting from these drives. That means that a bootable flash drive could allow you to launch an operating system, this is commonly called Live USB and applies mostly to Linux operating systems. However, there is a MS Windows version available and some versions of BSD are also available on flash USBs.

Live USBs are good special purpose or brief tasks like doing an operating system install or disk cloning operation across a network, loading a minimal kernel for embedded operations and maintenance tasks.

A properly configured Windows USB flash drive will allow you to install a version of Windows XP on a drive, with extra software if there’s space. To do this, a special utility is required, as well as a fairly large drive. You will end up with a portable, compact emergency version of your operating system.

Live USBs are more commonly used by Linux operating systems, and are closely related to the now-common live CDs. Like CDs, USBs can be used to help test a distribution, recover data and many other tasks. Live USBs have many of the same limitations and benefits of a live CD. It is, however, easier for a live USB’s data to be changed, since CDs are usually permanently written. That makes it easier to use a live USB as personal storage, allowing a user to carry their preferred applications, operating system and configuration. Sharing a single system between multiple users is much easier in this case.

Live USBs can also provide extra privacy, since the USB device is carried by the user and storage in a safe location is easy. However, the small size of these devices also means that they are easily lost and stolen; making backups and encryption more important for USB flash drive operating systems than normal desktop operating systems.

Since USB drives have no moving parts, they are able to have a faster seek time than optical media and hard drives, this means small programs start faster from USB flash drives than from a live CD or hard disk. However, the low data transfer speeds of some USB devices can make booting from them very slow. In addition, older computers may not have a BIOS that supports booting from USB devices. Booting an operating system from a USB drive may slightly reduce the life of the flash drive.

Carrying your own personal operating system in your pocket can be extremely useful for travellers or people using shared computers. Some sites offer tutorials on simplified flash drive installation for many different distributions of Linux (which is the most popular OS for this purpose). These tutorials mean it is much easier to install, boot and run your preferred distribution, with all your settings and files, from a very small drive. Just be sure you have a large enough drive and that you are using it in a computer capable of booting from the USB port.

Note: USB 2.0 capability greatly speeds things up, as well.

Derek Rogers is a freelance writer who writes for a number of UK businesses. For logo branded promotional flash drives, he recommends Flashbay.com.

What is a WAN Service and How Can it Help?

Saturday, November 1st, 2008

A WAN, or Wide Area Network is a computer network that covers a large area, such as those whose communications need cross metropolitan, regional or national boundaries. A WAN is used to connect local area networks, or LANs and other networks together; the linking of these computers allows users and computers in one area to communicate with users and computers in another location.

Most WANs are designed for a single organisation and are privately used. Those that are built by ISP, Internet Service Providers, provide connections from various organisation LANs, or local area networks, to connect to the Internet, in this way, communications can be delivered over national boundaries.

These types of communications include;

  • Instant messages
  • Emails
  • Real time auctions
  • Online ordering placing

This in turn can reduce costs for companies by eliminating the need for travel and expensive long distance phone calls.

The benefits of using a WAN are that you can connect computers that are located over a vast area together. A network that can exchange data between sights is efficient and effective. The WAN enables computers to communicate with each other, some at different times and others at the same time. Not only can data be shared, but video as well, WANs are used for video conferencing and web casting. When communication is being shared between computers, each operator can access the same information at the same time.

When using a WAN, major corporations can reduce the branch office in house costs by enabling a centralised data centre to handle backup and storage resources. The use of a WAN also improves employee productivity by increasing and accelerating work applications as well as reducing replication across the WAN.

The use of private WANs have significant benefits also; the network is safe, secure and as it states, private. This type of network can reduce support and maintenance costs. There is an increased speed of the data that can be transmitted between sites because no other users are on the network. There is the ability to quickly access data that might be stored at different locations. This is also a great way for a company to provide training to their employees without the expense of airline tickets, hotels and providing meals for them.

As you can see, the benefits of having a WAN are vast. Whether you are using a private network to utilise quickness and efficiency between your satellite offices, or whether you are using a public WAN such as the Internet to purchase an item, communication between geographic areas is an important role in our society. Many people have used the Internet to gain knowledge by attending on-line college classes, or just have some fun playing an on-line interactive game; all of these activities were accessed using a WAN. The use of WANs offers opportunities never before possible for businesses as well as the everyday consumer.

Derek Rogers is a freelance writer who writes for a number of UK businesses. For Business Internet Services and WAN Services, he recommends Iconnyx.

A Kid Friendly Home Computer Business

Tuesday, October 21st, 2008

Using your home computer, make it your business to capitalize on the fact that parents LOVE pictures of their kids; and everything they write, or say, or do.

Your business can print photos on nearly anything with the help of your home computer.

I’m the mom of three children; a 17 year old boy, whose been in every sport that uses a ball since he was four years old, and six and seven year old girls who are junior divas. If you are a parent you know it is true; if you aren’t a parent, trust me when I say that I have spent literally thousands of dollars on photos of my children. Oh,if I had only known that I could be the one benefiting financially from that motherly need to see her children on T-shirts, tote bags, buttons and nearly anything else you can find.

You will need special software and a high quality printer for this endeavor, but if you already have the children, or you know where to find several of them, chances are you have all of the contacts you need for a healthy home business. Your computer does most of the work for you.

Your business can make personalized books with the help of your home computer.

There are several programs for this endeavor. Some require a hefty start up fee but offer a high quality hard backed book. If this is the business you choose I offer an alternative idea with less of a financial investment required. Create a generic children’s story that will work in most situations, and take orders to personalize it. Using your color printer, create a small paper backed book, or even one with a spiral binding if you choose. If you’re really creative; offer, for a fee of course, to use digital photos of the child instead of generic illustrations to further personalize it.

Parents just love this stuff, at least this one did. Three times.

Your home business can offer personalized certificates made on your computer.

Okay, most people have their own home computer and can print their own personalized certificates if they have the software. However, if the parent has more than two children, isn’t crafty or works full time, the probability is that they might use your services because it is a more efficient use of their time. Your goal is to make them realize how much they need it.

If you have children of your own you have the perfect marketing tools. Display little Johnny’s face on everything you might want to produce for the other parents. Give the soccer coach on of the personalized certificate of appreciation that you offer. Have your darling little Mary take her own personalized book for “show and tell, then be ready for the orders to come in, because they will.

Your business can make use of the home computer to create and send the marketing materials, the samples, the finished product and the billing and that is an effective use of your time.
– Andora Henson