Spend More for Speed and Capacity

As we demand more performance from our IT systems, our choices can come down to balancing the speed to write files and the cost of storage media. You can have the best of both worlds if you combine planning and foresight.

A number of so-called “power users” have fallen in love with SSD (solid state) drives, which are totally electronic. They contain no moving parts and they can write data to memory with lightning speed. But they have their downsides, such as cost per gigabyte of storage and the lifetime of the data in flash memory. Data recovery is a much more complicated and labor-intensive process than if you have mechanical drives.

As a result, we think they’re better suited for users with higher levels of technical knowledge and corporations that have the technical capability to support the drives and their users. Most users and small businesses can get great system performance by buying the right drives for computers and servers and planning to replace systems after five years.

We find some basics have held true over our 20 years of IT service.

For individual computers, we recommend SATA drives. They are more than adequate in terms of storage size and speed and provide good cost value. Today’s desktop and laptop computers are available with hard drives having 1 terabyte or more of storage. Some bargain hunters think they’re saving money by buying a smaller 500 GB hard drive, but file sizes are growing larger, and they can eat up free space very quickly. If you’re planning to keep your computer five years – or even longer – you’ll likely exhaust the capacity sooner than you planned, and you’ll need to replace the hard drive (and restore files) or buy a larger external hard drive. As we’ve noted before, once you approach 60% to 75% of your hard drive’s capacity, you make it more difficult for your computer to write files to the drive, and that can severely limit performance. It’s much more cost-effective to buy a large-capacity drive with the computer, which is already set up with the right RAM (random access memory) capacity and motherboard to optimize performance.In addition to size, get a hard drive with enough speed. In general, SATA drives range up to 7200 RPM. When you combine the larger size and RAM with the higher speed, you’ll get better performance for a longer time, and that will keep you happier with your investment.

If you do find you need a new hard drive for your desktop, we may be able to walk you through the process of installing your new drive and recovering your data from an online backup site or an external drive.

For a server, we’ve found SAS drives running at 10,000 to 15,000 RPM offer the best performance. Again, your needs will grow as your business grows, and you’ll want to be able to add upgraded application software, more file storage capacity and more users without sacrificing performance. Whatever you save in buying under-performing technology can be eaten up very quickly in reduced production and unnecessary, unplanned downtime.

For us, the bottom line is getting our clients to think proactively about planning for a cost-effective technology purchase today and budgeting for the next purchase. Everyone has different needs and budget constraints, but everyone has the opportunity to take a smart approach. Call us – 973-433-6676 – or email us to discuss your hard-drive and system needs for your computers and servers. Making the right decision today can save you money and give you peace of mind.

Foiling Fouled Autofill Addresses

It’s one of those really annoying email problems. You send a message to a group of people, and you get back a message that reads: “Delivery has failed to these recipients or groups:” It’s followed by: “The email address you entered couldn’t be found or is invalid.” It may be due to a bad entry in your Outlook or Outlook Web App recipient AutoComplete cache.

Use the steps below to clear the entry from the cache:

  1. Click New E-mail.
  2. In the To field, start typing the recipient’s name or email address until the recipient appears in the drop-down list.
  3. Use the DOWN ARROW and UP ARROW keys to select the recipient, and then press the DELETE key.
  4. Delete and retype the recipient’s address, then try sending it again.

Autofill is one of those conveniences that we all love when it works right. But with many people changing email servers, outdated email addresses can pile up in your cache. For example, we’ve changed our main contact email from info@sterlingrosellc.com to info@sterlingrose.com. Deleting our old address from Autofill would be a good first step in making sure you’re following the steps correctly.

If you have any questions about clearing your email address cache or any other software applications, we’re more than happy to walk you through the steps. Just call – 973-433-6676 – or email us for help.

Avoiding the Virtual-Drive Hiding Place

One of our clients knew – without a doubt – she hit “save” for a downloaded file. But, she couldn’t find it where it was supposed to be. There’s a place where those files go, and it takes some detailed knowledge to find them.

The problem usually results when you download a file from an email or a website. Unless you specify a path – a specific folder in your Documents or Pictures libraries, for example – the file is stored in a protected temporary location. It’s located in another Documents file that’s accessed through your C:\Users series of directories and files. It’s a protected area designed to protect your computer against malware invasions, and it’s not well documented.

The location leads to an additional problem. When you run any automatic or manual backup program, files in that location are not backed up. If your hard drive fails or you change computers and don’t know where to find them, you could lose them.

When our client told us of the problem, we knew where to look, and we found lots of files. She was very happy, to say the least.

But it’s easier to avoid the problem.

If you’re downloading files from an email, make sure you file them in the appropriate folder when you save them. Sometimes, it just takes that extra second thought when you’re really busy, but if you make it a habit, you’ll save a lot of time and probably a lot more aggravation.

If you’re downloading from the Internet, do the same thing. Store it in an appropriate file folder right away, and make it a habit. If you regularly download files from specific websites, you can add them to your Trusted Files, and that will help you download them to your designated directories.

You can browse the protected temporary location, and we can show you how to do it without losing files that are critical to your computer’s operation. Call us – 973-433-6676 – or email us to set up an appointment. We’ll be able to guide you through the process and provide you with instructions for finding files in the future.

Software: A Cost of Doing Business

A common question from a number of our smaller clients is:” Does that computer price include (Microsoft) Office?” Our answer is always “no,” and it’s followed by the comment: “Well, our previous guy included Office.” That inclusion may have been questionable at best and didn’t do the client any favors.

The issue typically arises when we go to set up a computer system we ordered for a client. They may have been running a copy of Office but have no master disks or a product key, which indicates they don’t have a licensed copy. That makes it impossible to install the software.

We are not the software police, and we’re not making any accusations. It’s entirely possible you had a legal copy to use if the person who installed the software had a license to do so. Our tipoff is when we see a small business running the enterprise version of Office. No small business would ever buy this version of Office, and Microsoft doesn’t sell single copies. If you happen to be running it, only the person who installed it would be able to reinstall it – if he still has the license.

But as with everything else in life, nothing is really free. If you have “free” use or reduced-cost use of software such as Office but can’t reinstall it and continue your operations seamlessly, what have you saved?

What other costs might you incur? The cheaper cost is simply buying the software. The more expensive cost is any business interruption that results from losing your application software unexpectedly.

What are your options?

First, you can buy a single copy for one-time use on one computer. Shop online. The cost should be somewhere around $220.

If you have more than one computer, you can buy a subscription to Office 365, which provides your Microsoft Office suite and Outlook. It costs $150 per year to cover up to five computers, and you can find plans to cover more computers if needed. With Office 365, you will access your application and data files over the Internet – through the cloud – and you can store a data file, such as a Word document or Excel spreadsheet, on your computer’s hard drive.

You can also buy multiple-computer licenses from Microsoft, and that might be beneficial for small businesses still using Office 2007 or 2010. You’ll need to buy Office 2013, but you’ll have “downgrade” rights to license the software and get the media and product keys you’ll need for reinstallations.

We can help you select the right software purchase plan for your business or home based on the number of computers you have and the versions that make sense for continuity and consistency. Give us a call – 973-433-6676 – or send us an email to set up an appointment. Software has a cost, but not having licensed software usually carries a higher cost.

Steps to Take – Mitigate Fallout from Russian Hacking Incident

If you haven’t seen or heard the news, a Russian group has hacked user names and passwords for some 1.2 Billion accounts worldwide.

We urge you to run a virus scan and malware scan as quickly as possible on all of your computers to determine if your system has been infected. This post from The New York Times, which first reported the incident, covers some basic steps you can take. We’ve discussed them before, and they are now very much worth repeating. If you want to learn more, you can read reports from PC Magazine and The New York Times.

 

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, contact us immediately by phone (973-433-6676) or email.

Mail Services Make a Difference

Some people stay with their email out of loyalty or inertia. For some home-based users, we can find a few good reasons why you should switch. For businesses, we can’t find one why you should stay.

First, here’s a little history. Back in the early days, we accessed the Internet through dial-up modems, and some of you may remember CompuServe, which preceded AOL. They tried to have enough local phone numbers to handle traffic and differences in users’ modem speeds. A number of local ISPs (Internet Service Providers) sprang up to meet the demand. Some, such as Mindspring, became regional or national providers.

All of them offered email services under their own domains. You’re still likely to see addresses with AOL and Mindspring. You’re also like to see some small providers still servicing email accounts. Together, there are some problems, especially when you look at the capabilities of telephone carriers, cable companies, Internet-based providers such as Gmail and services such as Microsoft Exchange.

Let’s look at the smaller providers. Email is a 24/7/365 necessity today. Along with texting, it’s a huge communications tool that we use to conduct business and even find meeting places on a weekend day. This raises a critical question: What happens when email service goes down from, say, 7 p.m. Friday until 9 a.m. Monday?

A small provider may not have the capability to respond to outages in a timely fashion, either by having someone to fix a problem or the network to route traffic around a trouble spot. If you are a business, you simply cannot afford to stay with an email service that can’t recover quickly. If you are a home user who does not have a smartphone with email capability, you should still switch, but it may not be critical for you.

Everyone, especially business users, should be looking at their providers and their platforms. AOL and Mindspring, from what we’ve seen, are not upgrading their email-handling systems as fast as others, such as Gmail. We’ve seen AOL users couldn’t open files because their systems could support their needs. They had to save files and then open them outside of AOL.

We realize change is hard for many people, especially those attached to their AOL systems. However, email services from your ISP, Gmail or Microsoft Exchange are much more robust and give you better access from Internet and cellular connections. Keeping an AOL browser can be expensive as well as slow. You still pay monthly access fees for connections that others provide as part of their service. You can still access AOL email from Internet Explorer or Firefox, for example.

We can help you find the email service that’s right for you. Just send us an email or give us a call – 973-433-6676 to start the conversation and develop an action plan.

Pass on Provider-Provided Gateways

Whether you get your Internet and VOIP telephone service from your local phone carrier or cable company, you likely use their “gateway” as a router. They’ll tell you it’s free, but it’s not. You pay a monthly rental fee, for one thing, and you may be bound by the strings attached – later if not now.

You have choices when it comes to choosing and setting up the equipment and configuration of your communications and network systems. For starters, you can have your service provider configure your gateway, which can bring in your TV, Internet and phone service, to be just the modem. That way, you can use your own router for your Wi-Fi network.

Using your own router has its pros and cons.

  • You can use your existing network configuration or, if you get a new router, set up your configuration to match the needs of your office or home.
  • You can control the bandwidth going to computers, printers, TVs, devices, etc. on your network and to any applications that run over your network.
  • You – or anyone you hire – can make changes to fine-tune your network as needed. Your provider’s tech support may not cover everything you want to do, regardless of whether they give you support by phone or send a technician.
  • You control all access to your network.
  • Depending on the provider’s set-up, you may lose some features they provide, such as remote controls or caller ID on your TV screens. In some cases, you can work around those issues.

However, the aspect of provider-provided gateways that we dislike more than anything is that your provider can use your gateway – the device they put in your home or office – to create a public hotspot. While it won’t give outsiders access to your network, we see it as a way to use your service fees to expand their networks when they should be spending money on infrastructure. In some ways, it also makes you dependent on their customer base to provide your service in an urban or more densely populated area.

Once they create that network of hotspots, it becomes easier for the provider to control the bandwidth and affect how you use your network.

Personally, I think that’s just wrong.

If you have any questions about gateway and router technology or need advice or assistance in setting up or optimizing your network, we’re ready to help. We can service any technology system that comes into your house or business and make sure it meets your needs – not your provider’s. Send us an email or call us at 973-433-6676 to discuss your needs or make an appointment.

New Devices and the Texting Blues

We’re starting to see a lot of texting problems for customers who have switched from iPhones to Android devices. They’re not receiving text messages. One of the most common problems is other people’s phones not realizing that their new devices are not on the Apple network – even though they see “blue” while texting.

The reason is that Apple’s network isn’t as smart as the phones that use them. If you switch to an Android or Windows phone, it can take up to 45 days for Apple to remove your phone number from its network. So, when friends with an iPhone or Apple device want to send you a text, they pull your cell phone number out of their directory and send you a message – just like they’ve always done.

And, just as always, they see the blue that indicates they’re sending the text across the Apple network – which, by the way, is why there is no texting charge from your carrier. However, if your new phone is not an Apple, it’s not on the Apple network, so you don’t get the message

If you still have your old iPhone, here’s what you need to do.

Go to “Settings” and then “Messages” and turn off the “Instant Messaging” or “IM.” That will take your old phone off the cellular – or data – network. If you want to hang on to your old iPhone, you can use it like an iPod without telephone capability. Simply go to “Settings” and turn off “Cellular Data.” That will limit emails, web browsing and push notifications to Wi-Fi only.

If you are traveling internationally with an iPhone this summer, you can take similar steps to reduce your cellular roaming charges. You’ll have Internet capability at Wi-Fi hotspots, and you’ll be able to talk to people by using apps such as Skype or Viber as long as you have an Internet connection.

You can read more about the uses of Airplane Mode from Apple. If you need help with your settings, we can walk you through the process. Just call us at 973-433-6676 –not from the phone you want to reset. We can also answer your questions by email.

The Apple of Our ‘i’

With Apple’s announcements of new operating systems and products, the summer of anticipation begins. The word we like to sum up some of the new possibilities is “continuity.” Here’s why.

One of the new capabilities you’ll have with the new iOS 8 operating system for the iPhone is the ability to start writing an email on your iPhone and continue writing it on your Mac, which may be able to run OSX 10.10 – to be known as Yosemite. In many ways, it’s Apple’s attempt to succeed where Microsoft hasn’t in enabling users to work across multiple platforms.

Apple is also offering the capability to send text or instant messages to contacts with non-Apple devices. It will end a major headache for many who have contacts with Android devices (see New Devices and the Texting Blues). Apple also announced several new apps for the new OS.

Naturally, Apple will want you to use that capability on their new iPhone 6, due to hit the market in September. The new iOS 8 will run on the iPhone 4S and all iPhone 5 devices, and it will work with iPad 2 and later.

A lot will be happening this summer as developers start working with the new operating systems. You can read more about Apple’s new features on the company’s iOS 8 Preview page. We’ll keep you posted as news unfolds.

Keep Your Guard Up

Email hacking seems to be picking up, putting you and your computer’s security and well-being at greater risk. To continue our “look before you click” message from last month, here are a few protective reminders.

Above all, use common sense and trust your gut feelings. If something doesn’t seem right, it’s probably not right.

  • We’ve seen a lot of reports about messages sent through AOL. They come from hacked email address books and contain either a link or attachment. There is a tipoff: The sender’s address doesn’t look like a normal AOL address. It usually has a double “aol.com” in there.
  • Whoever is trying to attack your computer through any email address usually has a subject line such as “hey there check this out” or something similar. Does the person who is supposed to be the sender usually send you something with that kind of subject line?
  • Does the person who’s supposed to be the sender normally send you email, or is it from someone you haven’t heard from in a while – quite a long while?
  • Are you really expecting something to be delivered by UPS or FedEx? When was the last time the freight carrier – not the merchant – sent you tracking information?

If you click on a website address, open an attachment or even reply to one of these bogus messages, you can open up your computer to malware, a Trojan horse or some other attack that can be an inconvenience at best or a major problem at worst, such as a keystroke logger that can steal your passwords for financial-related sites.

You may not be able to protect yourself against everything out there, but a little common sense can go a long way:

  • Look before you click
  • Keep your anti-virus and malware/spyware up to date
  • Use strong passwords with combinations of upper and lower case letters, numbers and special characters

If you suspect you have a virus problem, call us – 973-433-6676 – right away. Don’t email us and don’t try to reboot your machine. Just call us, and we’ll take it from there.