September 2006                    

BIOS

(Basic Input/Output System; pr. "by-oss") A program built into every PC for setting up very basic things, like how many hard and floppy disks you have and what type they are; the first thing that loads when you start your PC. You usually only need to access the BIOS if you are upgrading your hardware, eg adding more RAM or an extra disk drive, or setting a power-on password. BIOS settings are stored in a special type of memory called CMOS.




Latest Virus Threats
Click below for descriptions!

Trojan.Wesber
W32.Areses.Q@mm
Downloader.Dowdec.B
W32.Areses.Q!vbs
VirusBurst
Trojan.Schoeberl.D
Downloader.Dowdec
W32.Mobler.A
W32.Bacalid
For daily virus threats visit www.symantec.com



Experience Server Virtualization - FREE!!

Read the data sheet for more information or download the free VMware Server and try it for yourself.

WE CAN DREAM YOU KNOW!!!

ASUS'S NEW WL-700gE WIRELESS ROUTER

 You only use BitTorrent for legal downloads, right? Of course you do, but don't you hate having to leave your computer on overnight in order to get your hands on some of those larger files out there? After all, you're exposing it to a world filled with hackers, viruses, and worms.

Asus has got you covered. They have just announced the WL-700gE wireless router, which packs in a 160GB hard drive and an integrated iTunes/BitTorrent client, so you can keep your downloads going, but turn your computer off.

That's right. It can handle up to seven BitTorrent streams automatically (in addition to 10 FTP or web streams), with your computer happily napping away in the other room. The files are stored on the on-board hard drive for later retrieval, as the WL-700gE doubles as a network storage device.

Other stuff you should know: it rocks five Ethernet ports, 64/128 bit WEP, and can take on a "RAID configuration with another drive." We're still waiting on pricing and availability deets... quite anxiously, I might add.

Serving You Better!

VODA Computer Systems is improving our Managed Services by partnering up with N-Able Technologies. VODA is constantly striving to provide the best services to you our valued customer.

Our Eyes will be on your Network – Don’t spend hours waiting for a network issue to be fixed! In today’s competitive environment, businesses can’t afford downtime – it is just to costly. VODA can give you peace of mind knowing that your systems are constantly monitored and proactively solve any issues, quickly and efficiently.

VODA’s Managed Services will reduce downtime by dramatically shortening the time from failure to resolution with 24/7 monitoring. At VODA, we monitor the availability of your critical services through our managed services program. At the first sign of trouble, will immediately inform you of the issue or our technicians will automatically begin the remediation process and you will never know there was a failure because it was resolved.

Benefits of Managed Services:

  • Reduced mean time to resolution
  • Save money on costly downtime
  • Priority call for contractual customers
  • Lower hourly rate on break/fix
  • Even faster time to resolution due to immediate remediation effort
  • Monitoring the critical health status of devices and applications
  • Remotely diagnosing problems before they occur

About N-able
Founded in March 2000, N-able Technologies® is the market leader in delivering technology and training that transforms service organizations into managed service providers (MSPs). N-able's combination of products, people and processes help service providers develop, sell and deliver highly profitable managed services to the small and medium-sized business (SMB) market. N-able provides complete solutions to monitor, manage and optimize information technology and security from a business perspective, deliver business-value reports and drive effective and efficient service delivery.

For more information on setting up a Managed Services plan for your business please give VODA Computer Systems a call today at 374-8002.
 


Did you use Microsoft Binder in an older version of Office, 97, 2000, or OfficeXP? If you have saved binder files in an old version, and have recently upgraded to Office 2003, you can still open your old binder files and extract the contents into individual files.

In order to do this procedure, the Unbind tool must be installed.

 

    1. In Windows XP Control Panel, open Add or Remove Programs.

In Windows 2000 Control Panel, double-click the Add/Remove Programs icon.

    1. In the list of currently installed programs, click Office 2003 or your Office program, and then click Change.
    2. Select the Add or Remove Features option.
    3. Select the Choose advanced customization of applications check box.
    4. Click the expand indicator (+) next to Office Tools.
    5. Click the Microsoft Office Binder Support icon, and then choose the installation option you want.
In the Microsoft Windows Windows Explorer or My Computer, locate and double-click the Binder file that contains the information you want to use. The Binder files use the .obd or .obt extension.

The Unbind program starts.

  1. In the Unbind dialog box, select the folder you want to save the files in.

Click OK.



A WINDOWS PERFORMANCE BOOST

Disabling Windows Services.

When you start your computer, Windows services start along with it; some of these services run in the background to control crucial systems functions while others aren't quite as necessary and can negatively impact your computers performance. If you are a home user and not on a network I recommend disabling or at least setting the service to manual start via executing services.msc. Be sure to write down which service you are resetting in the event you run into problems as a result of resetting. You can always go back and change the setting if required.

Clipbook, Computer Browser, DHCP Client, Distributed Transaction Coordinator, DNS Client, Error Reporting Service, Indexing Service Mess, MS Software Shadow Copy, Net Logon, Net Meeting Remote Desktop Sharing, Network DDE, Network DDE DSDM, Portable Media Serial Number Service, QoS RSVP, Remote Desktop Help Session Manager, Remote Registry, Server, Task Scheduler, Telnet, Volume Shadow Copy

You will notice a performance boost in your PC's processing power.







If there is a topic that you would like to see covered in a Voda newsletter please email us at
newsletter@vodagroup.com



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Protecting your Privacy

by Richard Rogers

Understand the risk to your privacy from information stored on your computer and some simple tips to boost the protection of your privacy.

When you browse the web information is continuously collected by the websites you visit and by your own computer. For example, websites at a minimum collect information about the web browser you use the operating system of your computer and the geography you reside from. However, what surprises most users is the amount of information that is collected on your computer from your surfing habits and daily use.

Your web browser stores a lot of different types of information which is designed to improve your internet surfing experience but nevertheless poses a privacy risk. The sites or URLs which you visit are stored in the browser’s “history.” Search results are saved when you enter a search term into a search engine like Google. Web content and images are stored in the “temp” folder. Files that you download are stored in the download manager.

Websites also place “Cookies” onto your hard drive. A cookie is a small text file and is used by websites to offer advanced features. Some of the information that cookies store include shopping basket items or log-in information for a membership site. Cookies can also store information about when you visited the site including date and time.

Given all this information being collected above you can easily see why this could become a privacy risk. It would not take someone who knew what they were doing too long to figure out what websites you visit, what you have bought online and what search terms you are looking for. This is unfortunately not the end of it.

If you are a user of instant messenger or chat programs like AIM, MSN Instant Messenger or even Skype then it is important to be aware that the programs saves your chat history. Most programs allow you turn this feature off.

There are number of other places besides your web browser where information is stored on your computer. This data can allow people to figure out what you have been doing on your computer. Media players like RealPlayer and Microsoft Media Play store audio and video playing history. Microsoft Office like Excel and PowerPoint applications store information about the most recently accessed files.

Another important thing to remember is that when you delete a file it is not necessarily permanently erased and can be recovered with the right software. When you first hit delete the file is moved to the Recycle Bin. Even when you empty the Recycle Bin the file still exists on your hard drive until Windows overwrites it.

Here are two things you can do to help reduce the privacy risks from your computer.

- Use a free software tool called “CCleaner” (http://www.ccleaner.com/) to clear information collected by your web browser and Windows’s Temp Folder. This software automates the manual process of using your browser options menu to clean out cookies, URL history etc. Try to run this tool once a week or more frequently if you are a heavy internet user.
- If you work with sensitive data files on your computer then you may want to consider investing in secure file “shredder” software. This type of software actually overwrites or “bleaches” the file you want to delete which means that it cannot be restored.



"Our software vendor has sent us updates for our main database program. We have talked to some of the other companies on how the upgrade went and a few have had major problems with the upgrade and have had to restore everything from backup.Is there a way of testing the upgrade without actually committing the changes to the database?"

 

With the constant evolution of virtualization, there are numerous programs available that will allow you to set up an environment for testing for what you have asked.

What is virtualization? Virtualization is a way of running numerous similar or dissimilar operating systems in one physical machine. For example, on one Windows 2003 server,
you can also run 2 other Windows 2003 servers, plus 3 Windows 2000 Servers, plus Exchange,  and throw in a couple of Windows XP Pro workstations.
Yes, all on one machine and yes all at the same time.

You can replicate your present environment and test new software or as you asked, test
the updates for your present programs without effecting your present server.
           
VMware and Microsoft are two companies that provide virtualization software. Presently both companies are offering free virtualiztion software.

VMWare has a product called VMware Server. VMware Server runs on Windows or Linux servers.

http://www.vmware.com/download/server/

Microsoft has also provided for free their software, Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2.
           
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserversystem/virtualserver/software/default.mspx

For more information on virtualization, visit the following sites.
           
http://www.vmware.com/products/server/faqs.html

http://technet2.microsoft.com/WindowsServer/en/library/bcc5e200-88af-4a64-963b-55f1efb251d11033.mspx?mfr=true

 

If you have a technical question you would like answered please email newsletter@vodagroup.com and our VODA Experts will do their best to respond! You might just see it answered in an upcoming newsletter!

MISSION Statement: Voda is committed to achieving the highest levels of customer satisfaction. We ensure that we make available a highly trained and skilled team of professionals. Our people in combination with our commitment to excellence provide optimal Technology Solutions to our customers' organizations.

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