I’ve worked in the computer world for several years. Whether it has been with a company or on my own; I’ve come across a large number of infections that can render a computer useless. Recently, the creators of these viruses have become more clever in disguising their viruses to the user; particularly, in the naming scheme. Names like Anti-Virus 2011 or Windows Anti-Virus 2012 can trick people into thinking they’re real programs, when in fact, they are viruses themselves.

A big topic right now in the personal and business world is phones. Several years ago there were only a few options to choose from, but today, anyone can pretty much pick what best suits them. So, what is the best choice? Which one runs the quickest? Which one works the best with my infrastructure? There are a lot of aspects to look at while searching for perfect phone.

The first question to ask would be ‘Does my company support it?’ If the phone is for personal use then this question is pretty much void, but not all businesses support all phones. For example, Blackberry has completely separate server software your business can run to make it easier for them to manage emails, contacts, and even instant messaging.

The smart phones of today can do pretty much anything! They can access the internet, receive email, perform navigation functions, and run various applications. The Apple iPhone has the largest App Store with roughly 500,000 third party applications available. Of those half a million, 25% are free to install (Wikipedia, 2012). As of July 2011, the Android Market had 250,000 available Applications with about 57% of them being free (Wikipedia, 2012). Blackberry and Windows phones also have some variation of an App store, however they are significantly smaller. If applications are important then either an iPhone or an Android phone would be the choice to make.

Personally, I carry an Android phone. I had one of the first to come out and it’s still running strong. However, there are plenty of iPhones, Blackberrys, and Windows Phones that last just as long. Updates are provided regularly to each type of phone and support is not lacking. Android, Apple iOS, Blackberry, and Windows Phone all support exchange so everyone can rest assured that they can access their work email on the go. While Windows Phone and Blackberry may have a little better integration, iOS and Android both support it just fine.

In the end, it’s all about what the employer supports and personal preference. Windows Phone is small, but working its way into the market, while Blackberry started out as the largest business orientated phone, but is quickly dropping due to more options. Take the time and do the research, and a great phone can be in hand soon!

I was conversing with a coworker of mine today when the subject of virtual machines and cloud computing came up.  He had recently been to a VMware training session that spoke of the upcoming enhancements and upgrades to VMware products. The list of advances within VMware are astounding in themselves, however the point I want to touch on is more specific. It has to do with Cloud computing, but on a different level than just storing your files on a computer outside your home or business. I’m talking running programs and applications from anywhere, anytime and not needing to have it installed locally on your computer. That kind of Cloud computing.

Say you’re on the road with only your tablet. Your boss calls and needs you to update a document with information only you have. Only problem is, you don’t have Microsoft Word installed on your tablet! No problem, the technology will allow you to run only that program right from your tablet without installing anything! Changes carried out will be saved to a server in the Cloud where it can be accessed at any time. This makes working with different computers and tablets a lot easier for many people. How do you feel about Cloud computing?  Are you or your business in the Cloud?

Photos found here and here.

Screencasting is a simple way to record your computer screen, then share the video with others. Its a great way to train employees, or teach clients how to make changes on their own computer systems. Because the screencast records your every move, its easy to show others exactly what you’re doing.

Before we discovered an all-in-one software solution we used to talk each customer through everything. Don’t get me wrong, we are always more than happy to help out each and every customer, but creating a video that they could watch, actually made THEIR lives easier because they could watch the video any time of day or night. 

Our search for the perfect way to record our screens required us to find software that would allow us to record our voice at the same time so we could explain what was happening. To date, the best software we have come across is Jing. Jing allows you to take screenshots, record video of onscreen actions and instantly share them via the web, email and more. Oh, and did I mention there is a free version for both Mac and Windows? Score.

To see an example of Jing in action, click below.

As the holiday season rolls around, more online purchases are being made. Shipping gifts and sending items through the mail can be quite convenient and easy; however this opens up opportunities for online scammers, including phishing.

Phishing is the act of ‘fishing’ for personal information through the World Wide Web. Many of these attempts come through email, which is precisely what a particular UPS phishing scam is doing. According to antispam vendor Cloudmark, this phishing scam has been floating around since the beginning of November. As the holiday fast approaches, the reports are greatly increasing. Unfortunately, this kind of scam doesn’t go away, and it increases in cleverness as technology moves forward.

How phishing works: Under normal circumstances, when a product is ordered online, a shipping confirmation is sent to the user’s email once the product has been sent out for shipping. In this phishing case, a fake email is sent to the user that appears to be sent from UPS. The ‘From’ address looks like a UPS employee’s email and the email may have UPS branding throughout. However, attached with the email, is a .zip file that contains a virus which can harm your computer. There may also be a ‘Track Your Shipment’ link which is similar to what may be seen in a real UPS email. This link in the fake email will just bring you to an infected webpage which can harm your computer. These kinds of attempts are found all over and impersonate several different companies, not just UPS.

Fortunately, most antispam and antivirus programs pick up on this and warn the user before they may make the mistake. As the holiday approaches and progresses, take conservative steps when making purchases online. If something seems suspicious before, during, or after the purchase, it’s best to stop what you’re doing and call someone with the company you are working with to get confirmation.