CST News

Sue and I had an incredible long weekend in Te Anau around Otago Anniversary weekend. My son Ian and his wife also turned up with Bethany, our youngest granddaughter. The weather was mostly kind and it was a real delight to spend quality time with the family. Then to make sure we are as fair and equal as possible, we had the older granddaughter Charlotte to stay for a couple of nights over Easter. Once again, good weather helps and Charlotte was happy loading stuff in the trailer and taking it to a friend’s place for disposal. The friend also had a couple of pigs, chickens and ducks to make it a more exciting trip. Then on the way home we had to stop at the playground by New World to try out the mousewheel again.

For those who have not seen this addition to the playground, it is worth a look. We certainly did not have exciting activities like this when I was a youngster – I know: in those days wheels were made from stones!!

Blake has been busy in the workshop and we have a young bloke Reece helping us from time to time. If you finish up working with Reece, I am sure you will be impressed by his skills. He is an incredible capable young man.

Cryptolocker Ransomware

This is a nasty piece of ransomware which has been around since September last year. We have just seen our third case of it here. It is propagated via infected email attachments so the usual comments about only opening attachments you know about hold true here.

What this does is encrypts all your photos, documents, spreadsheets etc and demands a ransom for the key to unencrypt the files. You have about three days to pay the fee. If you do not pay the fee the data will remain encrypted. Even incredibly clever guys like Blake and Dave and Brendon cannot work around the encryption. In a nutshell, this means your data is lost.

What can you do to protect yourself?
Firstly, do NOT open attachments you are not sure about or not expecting, even if they appear to be from a trusted source.
Secondly, ensure you have all your important data backed up.
Thirdly, keep reputable antivirus software such as NOD installed and up to date.
Fourthly, use anti ransomware software such as this.

If you need help with organising a reliable backup system, ring us on 418 1600 and make a time with Blake to discuss your needs and get Blake to set up a foolproof system for you. A portable hard drive is about $100 and the software is free. Allow 20 minutes or so for Blake to set it up and explain how it works and you are cooking with gas!

Similarly we can easily install NOD and for only $76.50 for the standard version of NOD or about $85 for the deluxe version with all the whistles and bells, you cannot get better protection.

This reminds me that NOD Smart Security (the deluxe version of NOD) has a tracking option in it for use in laptops if and when they are stolen – maybe an added feature worth considering.

For those who are interested, here is an easy to read article about cryptolocker which explains in a little more detail what happens.

Lenovo Laptop

What a price!!
There are only a couple of these available and when they are gone, they are gone.

Lenovo B50-30 $595.00 inc GST
• Celeron N2830 1.86 GHz
• 500 GB Hard Drive
• 4 GB RAM
• DVDRW
• Wireless
• Webcam
• HDMI
• Windows 8.1
• 1 year warranty
• Clamshell bag

Driving The Family Car

A teenage boy had just passed his driving test and inquired of his father as to when they could discuss his use of the car.
His father said he’d make a deal with his son: ‘You bring your grades up from a C to a B average, study your Bible a little, and get your hair cut. Then we’ll talk about the car.’
The boy thought about that for a moment, decided he’d settle for the offer, and they agreed on it.
After about six weeks his father said, ‘Son, you’ve brought your grades up and I’ve observed that you have been studying your Bible, but I’m disappointed you haven’t had your hair cut.
The boy said, ‘You know, Dad, I’ve been thinking about that, and I’ve noticed in my studies of the Bible that Samson had long hair, John the Baptist had long hair, Moses had long hair…and there’s even strong evidence that Jesus had long hair.’

You’re going to love the Dad’s reply:

To this his father replied,
‘Did you also notice they walked everywhere they went’?

Ten Ways To Kill Your Smartphone

A simple, easy to read article on easy steps we can all take to improve the life of our expensive phones.

A Few Amazing Photos

Apparently taken by amateur photographers – these are still amazingly cool though.

Recycling IT Gear

We have reinforced a company policy to recycle as much waste as we can. This includes plastic and paper and as much as we possibly can of old PCs and IT gear. We do struggle with polystyrene – no-one seems to want it or recycle it. But pretty much everything else we can recycle.

So we will get rid of your old IT gear for you if you wish. Because there is a cost for us, we will charge on that cost but will do the transport for nothing. For those who want to do it themselves, we use the recycling centre at the Green Island Dump. The gear we drop off is recycled by the Cargill Trust.

However, we will recycle old PCs for no charge and will guarantee that any data on the hard drives is not recoverable.

Inkjet and Laser Cartridge Recycling

Cartridge recycling by the numbers:

• It takes 80% less energy to remanufacture cartridges from recycled cartridge plastic.

• The manufacturing process for new each new cartridge requires almost a gallon of oil.

• Recycled cartridges cost up to 80 percent less than new cartridges.

• Cartridge components will spend anywhere from 450 – 1,000 years decomposing in landfills.

• More than 13 cartridges are thrown away each second in the U.S. alone.

• Printer cartridges can be refilled up to 15 times.

• 97% of the materials used to make cartridges can be reused and recycled.

We are only too pleased to accept your inkjet and toner cartridges and get them recycled. At the same time, pick up new cartridges to replace the old ones.

Alternatively, drop your cartridges off in the recycle station at the New World supermarket. I am sure you will feel better having done your little bit to save the world.

China Pics

China is a place I would like to visit sometime. I have heard so many stories as I guess we all have. However after seeing these pictures, I am not so sure.

Late Item

I have just found this link to 25 of the top photos so far this year. I thought it a bit appropriate given the sudden cold snap we have just had. Summer seems a distant memory already.