CST News
I hope calving and lambing has gone well for those of you for whom this is important. The weather has been pretty good and if my lawns are any indication, grass growth has been good too. I trust your season will continue to be good and that you will gets lots of grass put away for the winter.
Life at CST continues to tick along with the usual ups and downs. Sue has been especially busy since we have a staff member away in Dunedin. The techies, Blake and Dave, have had the usual supply of repairs though lately we seem to have been travelling more and more.
We can do lots of repairs remotely these days – simply phone in and talk to one of the guys and they will make a time to get back to you and connect to your computer to do the repairs. This does not work for every repair but is an option for some repairs. Failing that, if you are from out of town, call a day or two ahead and we can book your job in and try to get it completed while you do some shopping in town or visit friends. This hopefully cuts down on the trips you need to make to town. It is a bit dependent on not needing parts and some other technical issues, but we will certainly try our best for you.
I have been getting a few responses from newsletter recipients after each mailout lately. This is really good – we would love to get more feedback. Do not hesitate to contact me (sales@computersolutions.co.nz) with ideas or comments or website links. Any help greatly appreciated.
A little over 2 months now till Christmas. Time to start thinking about Christmas presents and plans. I will let our customers know the CST plans in the next newsletter.
Photo of the Month
I thought this was an amazing picture – not so much for any technical reason but because the view is not one we are used to.
Send a reply to sales@computersolutions.co.nz to tell me where the picture is. I will draw a name from the hat and arrange a small gift for the winner.
Windows Versions
Thanks to Dave for this view of the various versions of Windows.
Security Mistakes That Are Easy To Avoid
Using Poorly Chosen Passwords
We have mentioned this lots of times in the past in the newsletter. Do not use obvious things like birthdays, middle names etc.
- Substitute ! for 1
- Substitute & for 8
- Turn words backwards
- Drop in a capital or two in unusual places
You can test the strength of a password at this site.
Never Changing Passwords
This is easy to tell people but harder to do.
Not Installing Antivirus/anti-malware
This is a given. If you are not running a good, robust antivirus software, you are asking for trouble.
Not Using A Firewall
A firewall stops people outside your computer letting themselves into your system. For business, you should consider a hardware firewall – that is a separate box for this job. At home, the software firewall included as part of Windows is the minimum. Ensure it is turned on.
Never Patching Machines
Let people like Adobe and Microsoft apply patches to your system if they ask. Better still, turn on automatic updates and let the system look after itself.
Updates are provided for a reason – to fix a security flaw or add new features. It seems silly not to take advantage of these.
Choosing Poor or No WiFi Security
Ensure that your wireless network at home is protected to stop
- People getting to your data
- People stealing your internet bandwidth
Use the same password security rules we mentioned above.
Mobile Device Security
The same rules for your PC should apply to any mobile devices today. They often have lots of sensitive data in a form that can be easily hacked or is simply available if the device is lost.
Never Testing Backups
Ensure firstly that you do back up important data. We see so many computers in at the workshop with failed hard drives where the data is either not easily retrievable or not retrievable at all. We have had instances where data has cost over $1000 to get back.
There is no excuse for not having backups today with storage media so cheap.
Then after you have done your backups, test them to ensure the backup is there and that you can read them. No use having backups if they do not work!!
Data Backup
We have just mentioned backing up your data and then ensuring that the backup is working. There are a couple of easy options. The first is a USB Flash Drive
These can be bought in a variety of sizes – just ask at the shop.
We have 4GB drives for about $10 or $12 and 8 GB drives for about $15 or $20. Because these store limited amounts of stuff, they are really only useful for backing up
A better option is a portable hard drive. These store lots more stuff and so are more useful for storing music or movies or photos
A 500 GB portable hard drive is $125.95 and a 1 TB (= 1000 GB) drive is $173.00. These have a 3 year warranty and are ideal for storing heaps of stuff and storing off site – ie away from your computer.
A Stupid Yarn
Stupid but somehow appeals to my twisted sense of humour.
An employee goes to his boss to discuss his appraisal. Boss starts asking questions:
Boss – There are 50 bricks on an airplane. If u drop 1 outside. How many are left?
Employee – That’s easy. There are 49 left.
Boss – How would you put an elephant into a fridge?
Employee – Open the fridge. Put the elephant in. Then close the fridge.
Boss – How would you put a deer into the fridge?
Employee – Open the fridge. Take the elephant out. Put the deer in. Then close the fridge.
Boss – It’s the lion’s birthday. All animals are at the party except one. Who is missing & why?
Employee – Deer is missing because it is in the fridge.
Boss – An old woman wants to cross a swamp filled with crocodiles. How will she do it?
Employee – She just has to cross from 1 side to the other because all the crocodiles are at the lion’s birthday party.
Boss – Last question. The old lady still died why crossing the swamp. How?
Employee – Err… I guess she drowned?
Boss – No! She was hit by the brick that fell from the airplane.
Flexirent
Just a reminder that you do not need to go to Dunedin to get your technology on Flexirent. We also offer Flexirent here at CST. And our rates are cheaper than those offered in the big smoke (except where they are offering interest free deals).
Have a look at the Flexirent page to see the advantages of using Flexirent. Then let us help you get the best equipment for your business using a Flexirent Operating Lease.
Similarly we can get you into a Flexirent Lease-To-Own for personal use if that is your preference. Talk to us to work out which is best for you.
Signs To Make You Think Twice
A Great Local Christmas Present Idea
We are selling Richard Schofield calendars at present for Richard. What a magnificent idea for Christmas presents for overseas friends and family. These are stunning local scenes taken by a local photographer and show the advantage of residing locally – he knows where all the best views are and the right time to take them.
Look at his websites here and here and on Facebook here.
