Should you be using a professional (Paid) antivirus and internet security suite for your business? The answer is of course, different for everyone. At present, ESET would be our preferred recommendation and as a trade partner, we’re readily available to supply pricing across the various product ranges. That being said, there are several free* versions of antivirus software out there that certainly punch above their weight. In no particular order, here are 3 different antivirus software solutions (tried, tested, and recommended by PCtechnix) which regularly top the free download lists;

1.

2.

3.

*Firewall generally not included in the free versions of these downloads. Each provider has their own paid alternative with provides the complete internet security solution.

Internet Explorer, Firefox, Google Chrome & Safari

Removes temporary files, history, cookies, auto complete form history, index.dat, etc

Windows

Empties the recycle bin, clears recent documents, empties the temporary files and log files folders, etc

Registry Cleaner

Advanced features to remove unused and old registry entries.

Start-up Manager

Enables you to dynamically choose which programs to start up with windows.

And much more..

Why not prevent this at source? You can simply enable web filtering at the broadband level and remove access to specific sites instantly. You can choose from a range of categories such as ‘Gambling , ‘Social Networking’, or ‘Violence’, etc and block all such sites at once. If a website has been included by mistake, you can specify that it never be blocked. Say Goodbye to IrishJobs.ie or Daft.ie and setup Web Filtering today! No Server required, we only need to change your internet settings on the company router, setup your account and implement your criteria for future web browsing in the workplace.

Sending large file attachments over e-mail is usually an issue for businesses who generally use software such as Autocad for technical drawings or large PDF documents for marketing campaigns or even movie files, music files and high resolution images in day-to-day activities. Most email systems simply don’t cope very well when transmitting such files. They are usually not configured properly, have necessary limits in place (as they should) or their broadband package simply can’t meet these demands.

Thankfully, there are now 3rd party websites which can send large files on your behalf. One of these companies, Dropsend allow you to send files up to a massive 1GB to your intended recipient. You Send It is another alternative. 

Note: We usually recommend not to send any attachments to colleagues internally. Instead, you should be copying the files to your shared folders and hyperlinking as required.

For servers that are, let’s say ‘maturing in age’, business owners & management are often faced with the task of having to free up disk space and very often don’t know where to begin. 

Understandably, most people faced with his prospect usually begin with a gentle email reminding staff that the shared drive is for office use only.

Initially, this will reduce space to a small degree and it may remind employee’s that the server is not a dumping ground for mp3 files, photographs, movies and various other space hungry file formats. This is good practice but it very rarely yields any dramatic reductions in space. Instead, a simple program like Tree Size Free or the professional version will enable you to scan your disk drive or folder and inform you instantly where the bulk of the disk space is being used. The professional version for example, will not only give you excellent reports and graphs but it will tell you the last time certain files were even accessed, thereby giving you some insight into whether the file(s) are actually in use.

A lack of active data management not only leads to disk capacity issues, but it will almost always affect your backups and their ability to run reliably.

Helpdesk: Good afternoon, how may I help you?
Customer: Hi, why is my computer is running so slow ?!?

During the course of this type of conversation, the agent is fully aware that this question usually results in an even slower process of finding the root cause of why the pc is not working to the customer’s satisfaction. The use of this unintentional oxymoron to describe their problem, is quite common but the answer to the question, however, is not. 

In general, most computer repair technicians would be fairly confident that they can resolve the matter without too much difficulty. The real choice though is whether to; 

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Microsoft often releases patches and hotfixes but todays press release regarding a major security flaw in their Internet browser was more vocal than their usual ”Apply this update”. Earlier today, they released an offical response to fears regarding security concerns on Internet Explorer and has provided advice to its customers so as to minimise security risks when accessing the internet.

The statement reads:

“Microsoft is investigating new public reports of attacks against a new vulnerability in Internet Explorer. Our initial investigation has shown these limited attacks are targeting customers using Internet Explorer 7, however the vulnerability affects all currently supported versions of Internet Explorer.

“We are actively investigating this vulnerability and upon completion of this investigation, Microsoft will take the appropriate action to protect our customers, which may include providing a solution through our monthly security update release process, or an out-of-cycle security update, depending on customer needs.

“Microsoft continues to encourage customers to follow the “Protect Your Computer” guidance of enabling a firewall, applying all software updates and installing anti-virus and anti-spyware software. Additional information can be found at Security at home.

1. Good practice is to always keep your anti-virus software up to date
2. Run IE 7 in protected mode (this is a by default in Vista but not in XP)
3. Set your internet zone security on high
4. Set Windows Update to default.”

Alternatively, you might consider alternative browsers until the update is available for download….

Firefox – Download Here
Safari – Download Here
Chrome – Download Here
Opera – Download Here

Like most, when I heard the next version of internet explorer (IE8) was around the corner, I thought northing of trying out the beta version. Especially since it was in Beta 2! The new version of IE has a host of new & interesting features.

They consist of;
 

InPrivate Browsing

Internet Explorer 8 can disable adding any of the websites you visit to your Browsing History, should you choose to enable this option..

Accelerators

Accelerators allow you to complete your everyday browsing activities more quickly and even discover new services. You can start mapping, translating, emailing, and more in just a few mouse clicks.   Read the rest of this entry »

I made a rare phone call today!!I actually phoned my Hosting Providers to ask why there was a VAST reduction in spam! We had received calls from clients asking us why they were receiving less mails than usual.

The fact is, that the majority of users out there know that their mail server is working fine, when they can check their junk mail folder to find that they received a spam mail in the last 10 minutes. Believe it or not, it can be useful!

So I called the data centre and stated “I’m not complaining, but did you do anything to our Server?”, They responded with an honest “No” and unless a Spotty, 17 year-old King-of-Spam was suddenly arrested somewhere in Arkansas, there doesn’t seem to be any explanation as to why this has occurred.

I’m not asking Google or browsing the web to see if anything has happened ‘out there’ as It may only backup my hunch that this is only a short-term vacation from spam.

And I am certainly not phoning the Hosting Company again only to find out that they had mistakenly given free anti-spam protection and will turn it off straight away!

In this situation, perhaps ignorance is spam bliss..