Now, you don’t need a docking station at all. On your desk can sit a single USB cable. When you return to your desk, all you need to do is plug that single USB cable into your laptop computer. All of your other devices will spring to life.

The way this happens is that your single USB cable connects your laptop to a powered USB hub. You can plug one or more monitors into that hub using USB graphics adapters. If you run out of USB ports on the first hub, just cascade to another hub by connecting a USB port on the first hub to a second hub. You can connect all kinds of USB devices including full size keyboards, vertical mice, USB external hard drives, USB DVD drives, USB microphones, USB speakers, printers, scanners, a USB Ethernet or Wi-Fi dongles, a USB connection to your smartphone and tablet, and so on.

Save your money—you don’t ever need a docking station again.

The post Docking Stations are Dead appeared first on Foster Institute.

• He complains that the unwanted software includes everything from a “Yahoo Toolbar” that some other download installed for him, to other software that is causing popups on his main computer screen suggesting that he allow strangers view his screen.
• He also wants to upgrade to Windows 8 and wants to keep his same Windows 7 machine rather than buying a new computer.
• The only applications he uses on this home computer are:
  • Microsoft Office 2010
  • QuickBooks (and he uses GoToMyPC for his accountant to access his information)

Here is what I told him about starting with a clean slate:

• Consider moving to QuickBooks online.
  • Your accountant can go there to see your information – you can even give them their own account separate from yours.
  • Some of the features and reports are different, so research before you make the whole move (or try a 30 day evaluation).
• Based on your situation, reformatting your computer from scratch might be a good idea.
  • Unless you’ve done this before and found it a “breeze,” then I suggest you find some help with this.
  • I’ve not used them, but I hear good things about: Norton Live Services us.norton.com/nortonlive/ for $4.99/mo
  • The following set of instructions is only a high-level overview and is far from complete.
  • I’m not going to go into all of the security risks and concerns—just the basics since there is nothing confidential on the machine anyway.
• Basic Steps
  • Backup all of your data to one or more external USB drives (using copy of the files – and being able to go back and test that you can indeed open the files from the USB drive to be sure they work)
    • Your Word, Excel, PowerPoint files will be the easiest to copy
    • QuickBooks is more complicated—follow their online instructions (this is another reason to move to QuickBooks online)
  • You may even want to subscribe to CrashPlan, Mozy, or Carbonite for online backup
    • All of them also offer some form of “backup to your local USB drive” too
  • Realize you will lose all of the programs and data on your computer when you perform the next step
  • Reformat your computer to “factory fresh” based on instructions from your hardware vendor
  • Run Microsoft Update over, and over, and over until there are no more important updates
  • You might upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 8 at this point.
    • The interface is different, but not “too different” once you go into the “Desktop” icon on your Windows 8 screen
    • Before Upgrading to Windows 8, consider running the Microsoft Windows 8 Upgrade assistant since it will test your machine to see if it is ready for Microsoft Windows 8. For more information see http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/upgrade-to-windows-8
  • Run Microsoft Update over, and over, and over until there are no more important updates
  • Set up a new “standard user” account for you to use. Stop using your exiting account that has “administrator” privileges
  • Now install your favorite anti-virus / anti-spyware / end point protection / client side firewall option such as “Norton Internet Security” or “MacAfee total protection” or any number of tools from other vendors that feature all of these functions and more
  • Now reinstall MS Office
  • Run Microsoft Update over, and over, and over until there are no more important updates
  • Now you can copy your MS Office files back from one of the USB drives
  • Now reinstall CrashPlan, Mozy or Carbonite
  • Now reinstall any other applications you really need to use such as Adobe Flash, Adobe Reader, Firefox, Chrome, etc. Be sure to uncheck all the checkboxes that say, “also install” some program you don’t want
  • Put shortcuts on your task bar—including Microsoft Accessories you like
• As a result, your computer will likely run much faster, you didn’t need to buy a new computer, and you can be much more confident that unwanted software is installed on your computer.

Here is a video explaining this information: http://youtu.be/YKw6MnTomIg

The post Revitalize an Old or Configure a New PC appeared first on Foster Institute.

If you want to get other work done, forget about using Microsoft Office for the Mac. It is bad.

You could use Apple’s boot camp. It goes like this: When you turn on the Mac, your Mac will ask if you want to run Windows or Mac OS. You choose. The advantage is that your Mac basically “becomes a Windows Machine” when you want it to—and can still be a Mac the rest of the time.

Maybe the best solution is to use Fusion or Parallels. It goes like this: You boot the Mac as usual. Now, you can run Windows programs inside the Mac OS. The Microsoft Office you are used to runs fine right next to your Apple programs on the same screen. Cool.

Frankly, IT probably gave up trying to control what you do with your personal computer years ago. Ask IT to use Fusion Unity or Parallels Coherence on your Mac. Now you can “be cool” with your Mac and run all of your Windows programs, too. (With Windows 8, Microsoft may become “cool” too. Eventually.)

Please share this with your fellow executives—you may help them increase their ability to express their inner coolness, too!

The post Executives Express Their Coolness in Spite of Windows appeared first on Foster Institute.

Executives often want to know what steps to take when they purchase a new computer.

1. You may want to have a qualified IT professional help you reinstall the Windows 7 operating system without all the extra programs that come installed with the computer these days. Often, those programs are only for a 30 day free trial and the extra bloat just bogs down your whole computer. I like having a clean computer from the beginning.
2. Install a quality anti-virus program. If you are going to connect to the office, let a qualified IT professional from the office set up your client to the enterprise anti-virus / anti-malware / software firewall package they use.

   If the machine is strictly for your own personal use, you may choose to use Kaspersky, McAfee, Symantec, Trend Micro, or whatever your qualified IT professional is most familiar with using.

   Caution—there are many “download” programs on the internet that are really viruses so purchasing the boxed copy if often your best bet.

   Additionally, get the whole suite including the software firewall—not just anti-virus. Be sure to choose “update” before installing when prompted during the installation process since the CD will be older than the current version.

   You may need to edit settings for specific programs you “know are ok” if the firewall marks them as suspicious and restricts their activity. Just make sure you don’t accidentally enable a “bad” program to damage your computer.Schedule automatic full system scans daily—or at least weekly. They can happen during the night if you don’t want the scan to slow your computer down.

   Keep an eye on the automatic updates to be sure they are being applied as soon as they are released.

3. Backup. If you take time to understand it, image backup is the “way to go” for primary backups. Be sure to apply the updates regularly. Products include Ghost, True Image from www.acronis.com and ShadowProtect Desktop.

   As with any backup software, it is important to enable encryption of the media. That way, if anyone ever gets your backup drive, they won’t be able to read any of the private information without your password.

   After installing your image backup software on your new computer, always perform a backup and restore. This is “less dangerous to test” on a new computer since you do not have lots of your important data on the machine yet.

   I like the “Lights out Restore” option that works with many computers so you don’t need the product CD to boot if your computer crashes as long as the primary part of the hard drive still functions. Be sure to test Lights Out Restore before you actually need it since this feature does not always work with every computer.

   You may have at least 2 backup drives and alternate using them each time you backup.

   Additionally, you may also choose to augment your image backups to your USB drives with an online service such as www.sosonlinebackup.com in case you lose your laptop and your backup drives.

4. If you plan to give away your old computer, you will want to erase all of your data from the hard drive. It is best for a qualified IT professional to do this for you. Please read these helpful tips if you would rather do it yourself.
5. I also strongly encourage you to enable the full disk encryption on the laptop—hopefully it comes with that capability—Most computers do these days. You may want the help of a qualified IT professional to help you configure this option.
6. Regularly apply your Microsoft Patches—just be sure to use the “Check for Updates” option in Windows 7 instead of ever responding to an e-mail telling you to “get this update.” The e-mail is bogus and the “update” it refers to is most likely a virus.

   Microsoft normally releases patches on the second Tuesday of every month—and sometimes during the middle of the month. Note that the “automatic updates” setting is not always reliable—so checking manually is a good idea.

   Always have a good image backup before installing patches You always have a good backup anyway—right?

7. Computer manufacturers offer a way to get updates to their utilities and drivers too. The main computer manufacturer patches to get are the ones that say they are a “critical security update.”
   Be sure to make backups before installing the patches – I’ve had manufacturer patches mess up my computer but was always able to restore back to where I was before. Applications need to be up to date as well.

The care and feeding of a new computer these days can be involved, and the more solid a foundation you start with, the longer your computer will serve you well.

Please post your comments on this blog.

The post Follow these 7 steps when you buy a new computer appeared first on Foster Institute.

Will viruses and other malware contribute to injuries and deaths? Imagine diagnostic imaging machines, like X-rays and CAT Scanners, exposing patients to too much radiation due to a virus. Traffic lights not functioning properly, especially on a highway with high speed limits, could lead to a horrible crash.  Emergency services may already be delayed in their response due to computer malfunctions. The airline industry has plenty to worry about. What if trains fail to stop and crash into another train or the end of the line?

Apparently the Spanair diagnostic computer does not connect to the Internet so the infection likely came from an infected USB device, CD-ROM, or some other form of removable media.

Just last month, control systems manufacturer Siemens, who manufactures control systems, warned that malware called Stuxnet is spreading through infected USB devices to penetrate industrial control systems. I wonder if there are any control systems at nuclear power plants infected yet.

More and more regulations and laws are forcing organizations to wake up to the fact that IT security is very important.

Business executives and IT professionals alike must realize:Viruses and other malware do not necessarily make themselves obvious for the simple reason that, if you know a computer is infected, you are likely to have a qualified IT professional fix the problem.

• Anti-virus programs do not always catch all viruses
• Firewalls are not perfect either
• End users can, accidentally or on purpose, bypass some of the best security you set up

How many more people will need to die, how much more money will be lost, before people become aware of the importance of IT security?

Please post your comments on this blog.

The post A virus possibly contributed to a fatal passenger jet crash appeared first on Foster Institute.

The main idea behind many of the technologies today has two parts:

First, users can have icons on their desktop, click on an icon, and the user is able to work.

Second, it is irrelevant to that user whether that program they launched is:

• Installed on their own PC
• Being pushed down to their PC from a server
• Running on a server on their corporate network
• Being provided by a different company over the Internet.

It is up to the IT professionals to handle the details—the users just have the information and tools they need to take care of your clients and their needs.

Running applications in the cloud normally refers to applications that run through the Internet. Executives sometimes call their internal servers their own personal cloud, and who am I to argue? This especially makes sense to them when their servers are at a data center in a different location than the offices where the users work.

Read more about the pros and cons of computing in the cloud. Please post your comments on this blog.

The post Just what is cloud computing? appeared first on Foster Institute.

It is beneficial, every year or so, to have someone in your organization shop around for data service rates for your business.

Most of my clients report findings such as, “We now have twice the data rate for one half the price!”

If you have not shopped around lately, now is a great time to do so! Remember to call telephone companies, cable services, fiber providers, and even fixed wireless if it is available in your area.

If you have multiple locations, you may even find that an MPLS solution, where the telephone company handles much of the traffic routing between locations, is a good option for your organization.

After you save money at the office, have your users check their homes as well. I just upgraded our home to a new provider for half the price that is providing two thirds of a T3’s speed for downstream data—speeds I’d only dreamed of before. The Internet is a whole new experience at these speeds! Remember too that commercial service to your business will cost more than residential service to homes, as well as often provide much faster upstream connections than residential services.

Please post your findings on the blog.

The post Capitalize on data services price drops appeared first on Foster Institute.

First of all, read this short blog post about full disk encryption:
https://fosterinstitute.com/blog//laptop-data.html.

Next, if you haven’t already, notify at least one of these agencies:

• Equifax www.equifax.com 1-800-685-1111
• Experian www.experian.com 1-888-397-3742
• TransUnion www.transunion.com 1-800-916-8800

I’d suggest you consider signing up with one of them for their monitoring service such as Equifax ID Patrol or Experian ProtectMyID.

The other main step I would take is to log into your banking sites and set up “alerts” that send you a text message or e-mail you DAILY a message of all charges and other activity on the account. Some banks even allow alerts in real time as the activity occurs. That way you can keep a really close eye on things and, if anything looks out of the ordinary, call your bank ASAP.

If you are protecting any of your accounts with a “mother’s maiden name” as a secret word for when you phone in, change that code too—it is too easy to figure out.

The FTC offers even more detailed advice here:
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/idtheft/idt07.shtm.

The post What to do if someone steals your identity appeared first on Foster Institute.

To keep your Mac and still get support for your Windows at work, get VMware Fusion http://www.vmware.com/products/fusion/ (what I use), Parallels http://www.parallels.com/, or Boot Camp http://www.apple.com/support/bootcamp/ , and run Windows at the office. Then your IT professionals can support your “Windows” laptop (even though you have a Mac) and you can enjoy running Apple OS X for everything else.  Then you can “have the best of both worlds.”  This solution works for many people.

Please be sure to remember to run Windows anti-virus and all your patches and updates on both Microsoft and Apple operating systems, and all of your applications on both operating systems as well. This includes all your adobe reader updates, flash updates, iTunes patches, Office patches, Java patches if you install Java, browser patches like Firefox, Safari, and Internet Explorer, etc.

Find information about:

Mac updates: https://fosterinstitute.com/blog//update-your-mac.html

Windows updates: https://fosterinstitute.com/blog//update-your-pc.html

Application updates: https://fosterinstitute.com/blog//useful-utility.html

The post How to buy a Mac and use it at work with Windows appeared first on Foster Institute.

As inexpensive as monitors are these days, consider treating yourself and your most productive employees to dual monitor systems. Even if you just try a few users first for a trial, you may find why many organizations swear they will never go back to single monitors for their users again.

The post Still using just one monitor? appeared first on Foster Institute.