Daily Notes, Musings and Thoughts Online

8 Tips for a Healthier Laptop

Mashable, in conjunction with GeekSugar.com, unveiled 8 tips for keeping your laptop computer in tip-top shape. Show your computer some love this Valentine’s Day with these simple fixes!

Your LinkedIn or eHarmony Passwords May Be Hacked!

A Russian hacker has recently stolen up to 8 Million passwords from the popular LinkedIn and eHarmony websites. Was your password one of them? Find out here.

Datacenter Highlights

SureTech.com partners exclusively with US Based Tier 4 datacenters.    Minimum requirements for any customer data location are listed below - most of our services currently run exclusively in Azure or AWS east.   Reliable Seven dedicated electrical feeds Powered by five different substations Connected to multiple transfer ...

Is My Email Hacked or Is it "Phishing"?

Email Hacking     We are seeing an increase in the number of incidents where criminals are specifically targetting the Finance or HR departments at companies to gain funds or personal data.  What to look out for:   You receive an email that appears to be from someone senior at your ...

How do I Protect from Ransomware

Ransome Ware We are seeing an increase in the number of incidents where:   ·         You receive an email asking you to click on a link or open attachment.  NEVER DO THIS UNLESS YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY SURE WHO THE SENDER IS AND YOU ARE EXPECTING THE EMAIL. ·         The message ...

Why Centralized Management of AntiVirus

Is Your Anti Virus Protecting You?    Data security, access and redundancy are our number one priroty for our customers.  No AntiVirus is full proof, but having SureTech centrally manage the antivirus for our customers adds a layer of protection that truly pays off.   For example, ...

Windows 10 is Here..What Should I Do?

Windows 10 is Here..What Should I Do?    Windows 10 is Here  You've probably heard about the new version of Windows about to be released by Microsoft, Windows 10.  And you may have even seen a little icon displayed at the bottom right of your screen which allows you to “Get Windows 10”.   SureTech ...

Meme Musings

Meme Musings Evidence from the U. S. Post Office that even one of the literary greats know how important our dispatcher Zac is to Suretech.

Fragmented vs Unified Communications Channels and Data Buckets

Fragmented vs Unified Communications Channels and Data BucketsThanks to SNL's Norm McDonald's Twitter stream and dozen's of our customers use cases I've given up on a unified platform for messaging and for file storage. Theoretically this is both annoying and heartbreaking becuase the ideal of all your messages and all your data in once place is not just ...

Sending Big Files - Best Practice Tips

SureMail™ User Guide SureMail™ Tips and Tricks Worms - Big Files - Email Chains - SPAM Tips - Using Outlook   Safe Internet Use Tips   A client recently went to a meeting where he assumed an email he sent had arrived at his client's inbox. When he learned ...

Email Chain Viruses - Best Practice Tips

SureMail™ User Guide SureMail™ Tips and Tricks Worms - Big Files - Email Chains - SPAM Tips - Using Outlook   Warning Chain Mails   A client recently sent us a copy of an email that warned her in capital letters of a terrible virus that is going around ...

Don't let your email let your business down

With all of the work you do to establish your company and attract new customers, don't let a little thing like an email address distract your potential customers. Here are a few reasons why an email address with your domain name is important and what you should expect from your ...

Happy Holidays 2014

May you have a wonderful holiday season and a prosperous 2015!  

I.T. Guideposts for 2015

I.T. Guideposts for 2015I.T. GUIDEPOSTS FOR 2015  The Cloud is here to stay. ☞ If a single combine to harvest Corn now costs $500k with satellite linked thermal and moisture sensors – you can bet that technology and automation are changing your industry. ☞ Your question is not if you will need ...

VOIP Protections in Lieu of Hacking

Voice Over IP (aka VOIP) is a great way to run phone systems.  There are some security needs to be aware of in using these sytems - VOIP Phone system hacking concerns hit the front page of the NY Times.   To ensure your company is protected, SureTech recommends several ...

Apple iOS 8 Upgrade issues with MS Exchange

There has been a lot of buzz (mostly great) about Apple’s latest upgrades.  Unfortunately it also appears that the new iOS 8 upgrade has certain connectivity problems that could cause MS Exchange email to not function correctly on upgraded iPhones or iPads.  The latest iOS 8.2 update ...

Internet Explorer Flaw - Latest Web Browser Security Hole

INTERNET EXPLORER FLAW - LATEST WEB BROWSER SECURITY HOLE   IF YOU HAVE TO EXPLORE, ALWAYS USE PROTECTION   Background Microsoft’s Internet Explorer browser has been exploited by the “Operation Clandestine Fox” attack starting on April 26, 2014 - See Business Week article for more details.   This is just ...

Happy Holidays 2008 from TopazGroup

Love, Peace, Joy and all best wishes to you from Topaz Group.

Happy Holidays 2010 from SureTech.com

2010 Happy Holidays Happy Holidays from SureTech!

Happy Holidays 2009 from SureTech.com and Topaz Group

Love, Peace, Joy and all best wishes to you from SureTech.com and Topaz.

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Holidays 2012

May you have a wonderful holiday season and a prosperous 2013!

Happy Holidays 2011 from Topaz

May you have a wonderful holiday season and a prosperous 2012!   -          Your SureTech.com Solutions Team

Happy Holidays 2010 From Massmind Studio

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

SureTech sponsors ArtJam

SureTech sponsors ArtJamSureTech is proud to support ArtJam 2013.  A fun pop up art gallery for the holidays with proceeds supporting HomeFront.  The pop up gallery is happening in the soon to be new head quarters of SureTech at 190 Witherspoon Street in Princeton.  ArtJam opening is on November ...

Mac Flashback Virus - What To Do if You're Infected

Russian antivirus company Dr. Web recently reported that 600,000 Mac's are now infected with the "Flashback" trojan virus. Read on to see if your machine is infected and what you can do to remove the virus and make sure it doesn't come back.

IT Department As A Service

IT Department As A ServiceHere's the big idea: You don't care about the technology ingredients - you want your business to function.  We work with you to identify the results you want, and we are accountable for delivering those results with the full range of technologies and resources available to a $1mm IT shop. ...

Planning for Windows XP End of Life April 2014

Microsoft has finally confirmed the official end of life for Windows XP.  They will no longer be putting out any security patch updates as of April 2014 which means that any XP machines will not be security protected.  Any support needed for XP machines will no longer be ...

Tips and Tricks to Keep your Password Strong, Memorable, and Safe

Creating a strong password is one of the most important (and overlooked) security measures you can take to ensure cyber security. Luckily there are easy ways to generate passwords that are strong AND easy to remember. Read on for useful password creation tips, what to avoid when crafting a password, and helpful alternatives for password storage.

Are You Really Prepared

Are You Really Prepared Super Storm Sandy, which hit our area pretty hard about the end of October, gave a lot of people a wake-up call on their preparedness. I know of at least two businesses we work with who had issues with their systems because of the extended power outages and flooding ...

OneNote and SkyDrive Fail

OneNote and SkyDrive Fail As amazing as software power and features have become, we are sometimes amazed in the wrong way.   We recently spent more than 20 hours troubleshooting OneNote on our SureDesk™ in an attempt to address crashes and notebook corruptions. We used several different repositories for the OneNote files including, ...

How to Become an Outlook Power User

Some people are fine with simply receiving and sending e-mail through Microsoft Outlook, however these tips are for the ones who like to customize, dig deep, and get their hands dirty. If you're the type who wants to streamline their Outlook experience, you'll find more than enough info here. 

Top 8 iPad Productivity Apps

If you're looking to boost your productivity, there's no better device than the iPad. It's portable, powerful, and extremely easy to use. These 8 apps were designed to help you work smarter on the iPad, not harder. 

Cybercriminals Now Making House Calls

The old "phony call from Microsoft" scam is back, reports Daniel Wesemann of Internet Storm Center. By impersonating Windows Tech Department, cybercrooks are gaining access to unsuspecting computers and causing boatloads of no-goodness. Read on for more info on their tactics and how to report them.

Business Continuity

Business Continuity With the increasing frequency of heavy storms in the Northeast, we want to ensure our customers have some good steps for Business Continuity in face of storms.     In preparation for power loss we recommend that you: - Power down all workstations, printers, scanners, etc. - Unplug any ...

No Power? No Problem!

A customer recently experienced a power outage. While this may send some businesses running for the hills, they welcomed this disruption with open arms. Allow me to explain…

Email for Kids

Email for KidsKids are using email at an earlier age than ever before. And it can be a really useful thing to let them communicate with grandparents and other relatives that are spread around the world. But, how do we keep kids safe when using email. There are a number of ways ...

Simple Email Advice

Simple Email Advice A few recent email messages that came to my inbox made me think that we could all use some reminders to help us avoid simple (but potentially embarrassing) mistakes. Pause for a moment before sharing the email addresses of friends. Every few weeks I get an email from someone with ...

Help! My Laptop Crashed

Ok, not really, but I had to send my laptop off for a repair recently and so I used the opportunity to test my disaster preparedness. Backups don't count if you haven't tested them, so I did a separate full backup of my laptop (just in case my regular backup ...

Beef Up Your Facebook Business Page in 7 Easy Steps

There's no doubt that Facebook has become a cultural phenomenon; spawning movies, custom apps, books, and even a phone with a built-in Facebook share button. While there have been plenty of blog posts written about how and why people use Facebook, I’m more interested in how businesses – especially those on a shoestring budget - can use the service.

Domain Names, Name Servers, and DNS Records Explained

You would think something as critical as finding which server your website is located on or where to deliver email for your domain would be well understood and straight forward. Well, like a lot of things it is and it isn’t. When you set it up the first time, everything...

10 Ways to Embrace Flexible Work

By 2013, an overwhelming 93% of organizations will offer a flexible work policy. Help your organization adapt to the modern flexible work environment by checking out the Citrix Brief found below.

Windows 8 Install Chart

Windows 8, the tablet-based operating system from Microsoft, is currently available for demo. "This flowchart details the biggest changes and new features in Windows 8, alerts you to potential problems, and guides you through the array of critical decisions you'll need to make for a successful installation and deployment."

SureTech near top in $3M Chase Grants

Hello friends - thanks to you we're nearly winning Chase's "Mission Small Business" and are currently #171 nationwide out of 45,000+ applicants. Your support could bring us a $250,000 grant to turn our Private Cloud SureOffice™ into a self service website that would revolutionize IT for small businesses everywhere.

6 Ways to Boost Sales With Tech

Small businesses that are smart about leveraging technology can start to see impressive sales improvements and achieve great things. Check out this article for some easy ways to make tech work for you.

FBI Won't Save Hacked PCs After July 9, 2012

Some of you may have heard about "Malware Monday" in the news, but what does it mean? Well, if you're computer is one of the infected, it could mean the end of the internet. When you follow this link, the DNS Changer tool will scan your machine and see if you are infected. If it shows green you are all set. If red, the DNS Changer site also offers a tool to disinfect and fix the problem for you. We are here to help, so if you have any questions please feel free to reply to this e-mail.

Chase Small Business Challenge

SureTech is proud to support local small business and to be in the running for a $250k grant to help us Kick IT to the Cloud. Show your support for us and for local business by visiting MissionSmallBusiness.com, searching for "suretech" (leaving city and state blank), and clicking vote!

Vote to bring $250K for Small Biz to Princeton

Vote to bring $250K for Small Biz to PrincetonThere are currently eight Princeton businesses competing for the Chase Bank “Mission Small Business” $250,000 grant and we want someone in Princeton to win! To support Princeton small business and our vibrant local community please take a few minutes to read about each company and cast your vote for ...

5 Gadgets We've Loved and Lost

After Kodak's untimely tap-out, C-Net decided take a look at other products and brands that went from being the “biggest thing” to almost obsolete in the age of digital media. Check out some of our favorite gadgets throughout the years and see what’s made them extinct. Here’s a hint – it’s probably a smart phone.

Even Faster Web Sites by Steve Souders

This is a really nice book outlining some important Web performance keys. The only downside is that by being almost three years old, it’s already dated. But some of the core concepts are not going to change because they are key to having a web page display and work properly.
 

Ad-Supported Apps Suck Major Battery Power

I'm willing to bet that every smartphone user has at least one ad-run application on their phone. A new study now suggests that those addicting game and news apps end up hitting you where it hurts - your battery.

 

New Mac Trojan Swipes Usernames and Passwords

The latest version of an infamous Mac virus has reared its ugly head once again. Known as ‘Flashback’, this Trojan injects malicious code into web browsers while scanning for usernames and password information.  Find out how SureTech can protect you from this "particularly insidious" virus here.

Hey Google, Get Your Hands Off My Data!

March 1st ushers in a new Google privacy policy. What this means is that all of your prior search data will be used by the company to gather even more information from you without your knowledge. Check out these links for step-by-step instructions on how to clear your history fast.

Steve Jobs Remembered in Cartoons

Steve Jobs may have left us a while ago, but little reminders of his legacy can be seen everyday.  Check out these cartoons celebrating his life, work ethic, and quirks that made him so unique.

Kids and Computers - Introduction

Kids and Computers - IntroductionA few weeks ago at a “Boxing Day” party, I was asked for the second time in as many months about protecting kids using computers. I shouldn’t find this surprising since my daughter and her friends are tweens and starting to use computers and other devices that connect to the ...

Give Your Excel Knowledge a Kick in the Pants

Everyone uses Excel, but not everyone uses it to its fullest capacity. These Microsoft videos will have you spreading like a pro in no time. Learn formulas to make your life easier and graphs to make your ideas come to life. Read more here.

Zend and the Art of WebApp Development

Zend and the Art of WebApp DevelopmentI’ve worked on several web applications recently and I’ve been using pieces of the Zend Framework for them. A while back I reviewed a number of PHP libraries and decided that for our needs, the Zend Framework was ideal. Now that I’ve used it for a few applications, I’m convinced ...

New Year's Resolutions - Take Back Your Workday Tips

Still struggling to stay productive in the age of distraction? Tony Wong recently sat down and discussed the top 7 ways in which your organization can keep productivity and focus while still staying connected.

Dining by Design a Hit!

On November 5th, SureTech took part in the Princeton Arts Councils Dining by Deisgn event.  Check out some highlights from the night, including a slideshow video of the amazing art created by many of the programs participants.

There is a lot of buzz around DropBox and box.net - both area great services for sharing files with another person. This buzz is a boon to our business too since our SureFiles™ offers a better business solution than DropBox and Box.net because it is integrated with Active Directory ...

If you just bought the new iPhone 4s, Apple's latest update to iOS 5 may fix your battery-draining problems - or it may make them worse.  iPhone users across the country are split down the middle; some claiming "my battery life is awesome!" and some, well, aren't so lucky.

Google Android Almost Always Out of Date

With a multitude of developers and smart phone manufacturers pumping out newer phones, it is becoming harder to update older versions. We explore the wonderful world of Android Fragmentation.  Myth? Legend? Horror story told to junior software developers? Check out our post and see how these smartphones match up to one another, and more importantly with Apple's iPhone.

Smartphone Apps - Like Dates, Good to Know Where They've Been

The new HTC Droid security flaw proves that when you download an open-source app, you're inviting the developers into your home, taking off their shoes, and giving them a foot massage (so to speak.) 
 

10 Immutable Laws of Mistakes

Mistakes are inevitable but we strive to learn from them, making them a point of growth and not a set-back.  Below is an article illustrating principles and an attitude we at SureTech.com stand behind and work to emmulate.

http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/10things/10-immutable-laws-of-mistakes/2633?tag=nl.e099

Defense in Depth

Today I want to talk about the benefits of defense in depth. The term “defense in depth” is used in a variety of ways. I like to think of it as a general term to describe any system where you have multiple layers of protection. If one layer fails, another ...

Jim Farrell made new Director of Solutions Operations

We are pleased to announce that we have officially promoted Jim Farrell to Director of Solutions Operations. We are proud to have him in this important role and privileged to have his leadership as we continue to grow our operations.  

Beware Hack Attack in Disguise as Payment Processing

The latest hack attacks we are seeing are links within a payment style email.  Always check the from address on any email that asks you to click on a link.  You can see here the from is not at all the same.    From: This email address is hidden from email harvesters via JavaScript [mailto: This email address is hidden from email harvesters via JavaScript

Performance

I am giving a talk in about a week at Pace University on improving performance of applications (where I’m using the term “application” to mean anything that interacts with a user – a program running on an iPhone or Windows computer, a web site, etc.). To help prepare for ...

Armstrong Industrial Hose Launches New Garden Hose Line

We created an ecommerce website for Amstrong Industrial Hose's new garden hose line.  Fun colors of hose and great durable product.    

 

This is Success?! New Viruses on Macs

This is Success?!  New Viruses on MacsThe days where Macs are the one impenetrable place for viruses unfortunately seem to be over.  New malware attacks are popping up more frequently on Macs these days.  We now recommend AntiVirus for your Mac as well.   via ZDnet.com What a Mac malware attack looks like   By ...

Don't Ever Do A Startup - Gospel

Why NOT To Do a Startup. View more presentations from Dave McClure

Hack Attacks Through Osama Photos

Hackers love to take advantage of big news sensations to introduce new viruses.  Stay away from any Osama photo links or video links.  There are major hack attacks happening particularly through facebook.com posts right now encouraging friends to click on death videos!  Read more below via http://wnyt.com Beware ...

Bin Laden Facebook Hack Attack

Beware Criminals Using Bin Laden for Email, Facebook Hack Attack For getting attention, the only thing more reliable than a train reck is a historic international train wreck like the killing of Osama Bin Laden. Looking at the bloody pictures is so natural, impuslive and reliable that criminals have a ...

First Introduction of the Book

New systems can frustrate any user.

We like to think no user question is too small for a quality and calm answer from our HelpDesk!

Virtual Office can Save Time even in Customs Checks

 I read with interest the NY Times article "Can You Frisk a Hard Drive" (The New York Times, by David Shipler, February 19, 2011) about how actual computers are subject to searches when traveling now.  This is yet another way our SureDesk™ service and having a virtual office can help ...

Pinning Down the Cloud

Pinning Down the Cloud   Potential customers say to us all the time as we describe our services "So THAT'S what cloud computing means."  Cloud computing can really mean lots of different things to people, but most basically it is a hosted solution to a technology need that traditinally resided on a local ...

Digital Nativity

Digital AnnunciationThe tools don't make the soul. Merry Christmas :)

The Future Is Here

One of these days I'd love someone to tell me the story of how Minority Report got ahold of the UI for the iPhone 5 years before the iPhone was released...

Embedding CSS in a Post

Add CSS inline html: <style type='text/css'> sytle from .css </style> Or like this within a div: style="border: 1px; " An example: class .intro ‘Rather than a mass customer base, advertising on these blogs gives lobbyists unbridled access to an extremely valuable audience: Britain’s political elite’ <font style="margin:0px; margin-bottom: 9px; padding:0px; ...

Performance Talk Slides

The slides for my talk on Performance at Pace can be found here - http://imgdr.massmind.com/uploads/suretech/file/Pace Performance talk.pdf

AdKeeper Duh - Of course I needed that

Where was that ad again? I always hate ads that distract from good content - except when it's that one thing I'm interested in.  But that's not when I want to look at it! In the old days when we only had to keep track of 7 things a week, ...

Avoiding Great Service but Bad Value

Avoiding Great Service but Bad Value13 Hours and $1,400.00 To upgrade my Hard Drive?!?   We’ve always said that Managed Services for IT is usually a flawed business model.  Pretty much the better job you do the less you make.  Kinda like lawyers, I guess, except at least we talk about ...

What is the True Cost of my IT?

What is the True Cost of my IT?Our goal is to eliminate break/fix to the greatest extent possible. Complexity and Onsite Maintenance are EXPENSIVE The vast majority of IT costs for the typical organization are related to emergency repairs and the labor, equipment and primarily, lost productiviyt costs associated with a system not functioning optimially. Proper maintenance ...

Antoine Amrani Chocolates Launches New Shopping Cart

We just helped Antoine Amrani Chocolates launch a new shopping cart so check it out and enjoy!  

As chocolate lovers, we could not be happier to support a client that makes the most exquisite and delectable chocolate we've ever had.

Doing What You Can to Finish

Tuesday of last week I spent much of my day painting walls for a house that our local Habitat for Humanity chapter. It was a lot different than my usual work and it gave me time to think about the parallels between working on the house and shipping software. First, ...

Hiding .svn Folders through .htaccess

One way many people use to keep their website updated is through a source control tool such as SVN. We've found it a useful tool to keep track of changes, allow developers or designers to work on files and to make sure the right files end up on the web server ...

Great Leadership

I try to keep my non-business interests (such as college basketball and my favorite team winning a national championship) out of this blog but the passing of John Wooden last weekend is something I think trancends sports. John Wooden was not just an amazing college basketball coach (having won twice as ...

Data is Infinite

Data is InfiniteDo You feel Overwhelmed by Data, Information and Emails? You're right, you are overwhelmed. Essentially infinitely overwhelmed, in fact. The cost of diseminating information is nearly zero, so information you could never have imagined 20 years ago now finds its way to you.  Storing information is very cheap, so ...

Apple Aluminum Wireless Keyboard 2.0

Small Is Beautiful

I tend to like to write on my keyboard on my lap or on a lap bench... 

What do I get for my IT Budget?

What do I get for my IT Budget?Most IT Budgets just maintain your status quo In this age of constant change why do most budgets contain very little room for improving efficiency and communications? Because most IT budgets are maintaining 90% of what they don't need to get the 10% the actually use. SureTech.com's mission is ...

Running To Fight River Blindness

May 1st was the May Day 5K Race to support the United Front Against River Blindness.  This is a mosquito born blinding disease affecting millions in the Congo and at the same time easy to cure.  One pill every year for 10 years stops the disease.  Each runner funded treatment ...

Tombola 2010

We were delighted to be part of the Arts Council of Princeton's Pinot to Picasso - Vintage 2010 fund-raiser this year. 

Experts predict 65% of financial organizations will be using cloud financials by year-end.

Experts predict 65% of financial organizations will be using cloud financials by year-end. CPE Conferences Publications Web Events Member Benefits Business Solutions FREE Research Paper: Cloud Financials Come of Age Experts predict 65% of financial organizations will be using cloud financials by year-end. Learn why – Download our FREE Research Paper: Cloud Financials Come of Age Cloud computing. Cloud financials. Web-based on-demand applications. Software ...

Seven Deadly Sins

Operating a successful business in todays economic times is difficult, even for a well-managed company.  Now, add the complexity of the worst recession since the Great Depression.  It is no surprise that commercial bankruptcies, among the nation's more than 25 million small businesses, have increased by approximately 44% from the third quarter of 2008 to the third quarter of 2009, according to Equifax Inc.  So what is a business owner to do?  Avoid these SEVEN DEADLY SINS!

Sum Ergo Sum

Sum Ergo SumI just picked up “Love is the Killer App” at a café wherein Tim Sanders describes love as the ultimate competitive weapon in business. I have a friend who’s making a go for the fourth year working at home with her husband so they can be close to the kids. ...

SureMail Outage - 12-28-09

 Don't worry when you are not recognized, but strive to be worthy of recognition.       -Abraham Lincoln What a bright guy, that honest Abe...  Sadly, sometimes here at SureTech.com we get the most recognition when a system has trouble.  Especially business critical system, like email.  So, when ...

Some Attention to The Infrastructure

The NY Times magazine goes so far as to call datacenters, the cloud, which is a slightly different focus than the napkin network diagram I like to draw...  

What is the Cloud Anyway?

Cloud Buzz

WhatIsCloudEverybody's heard the buzz, but most people I talk to are confused about how to understand "The Cloud." Even for many that understand the buzz or work with Cloud computers, explaining The Cloud can be daunting.


Cloud Explanations and Illustrations

I usually explain it using a napkin network diagram of the internet which is ...

Tombola 2009

In April we helped with the Arts Council of Princeton's Tombola 2009 fund-raiser. We had a fun time creating a rotating display using Flash of all the art work that played while the attendees were milling around and a Tombola countdown for the auction portion of the event to show ...

We're Popular, I guess

We had a problem Saturday morning (4/4/09) with all of our websites that use any of our databases. It appears that someone attempted to hack into our site by trying various standard attacks and while, to the best of our knowledge, none of those attacks worked, the number of requests overwhelmed ...

Why Too Many Choices Can Be Bad

Why Too Many Choices Can Be BadMy cell phone provider lost a sale yesterday because they gave me too many choices (and not enough information at their store). Luckily for them, I’m not about to switch cell phone providers, but it is an example of how providing your customers choices without information about why they’d choose ...

Einstein Imagined SureTech.com

Who are we to argue with Genius?  Einstein was ahead of us on the internet AND SureTech.com! - View Comments

Backups, Backups, Backups

  I’ve been thinking a lot about backups recently for a variety of reasons. First, I’ve been involved in setting up a fund to honor the high school teacher who first taught me the importance of good backups. He hired me to help with the high school mini-computers and one ...

Running Windows Update on Windows Server Core

We're running Windows Server 2008 core on our backup domain controller. I'm not completely convinced this is a good idea yet (even though I'm the one who suggested it). The lack of a UI seems to really hobble some functionality. Today I wanted to run windows update on that machine ...

What's your job?

This may seem like a silly question to some, but I think it's often easy for us to forget what our job really is. I'm going to write this from the perspective of a Software Developer, but it applies equally well to all job functions. As programmers, we have often ...

Windows Authentication and IIS - Seems Counterintuitive to Me

I'm working on my first ASP.NET application in Visual Studio 2008 running on a 2008 Server. It's a simple thing, just designed to get some information from our users. I did need them to authenticate themselves against Active Directory prior to visiting the webpage. I turned on Windows Authentication ...

Xobni for Outlook is awesome except it doesn't work.

Xobni which is inbox spelled backwards is an absolutely terrific plug in for Microsoft Outlook except for the small fact that it doesn't work... - view comments

 

Apple Scores on Service

American based, for american customers - and email.

That's pretty much the price of excellent service these days.  If you outsource your service to a place that doesn't care about your customers ...  - view comments

How does my web browser connect to a website?

When you type in somedomain.com your internet service sends a message to a machine called a name server owned by your internet service and asks this machine “hey, where do I find the website for somedomain.com?” - view comments

That's NOT What I Meant By "Cleaning Up the Audio"

My church records it's Sunday morning services so we can put the sermon on our website for people to listen to who miss a Sunday. I'm in charge of getting the CompactFlash card out of the recorder, bringing it home, editing the audio down to the sermon, and placing it ...

But I am an Administrator

It's annoying when the things designed to protect us just get in our way. Today I was doing some work on our file server and wanted to check out some ways to see how much disk space was being used by certain clients without having access to their folders (I'm ...

Google Message Filtering and StartLogic

One of our consulting clients has a huge problem with spam (mostly because their previous website displayed their email addresses for all to see in plain text which made life easy for email harvesters). The other problem is that some of their email addresses are very common and thus also ...

Book Review: Network Warrior

We've been having some interesting network issues that I've been tracking down and we've been trying to figure out how to set up our clients with our datacenter in Miami. I came across a book whose title looked interesting - Network Warrior by Gary A. Donahue. It is an O'Reilly ...