Computer Software

The Motorola Dext offers up the Google Android OS, with Motorola’s Blur software to make things look all swanky. This could be your ideal social networking mobile. Manufacturer website: www.motorola.com Sponsor: www.proporta.com Check out more great reviews on my YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com Or on the website: www.geekanoids.co.uk

The computer networking business is very competitive and is very dependent upon promotion. You need to implement promotional strategies that will distinguish you from the competition, including word of mouth, advertising, publicity and networking.

Word Of Mouth And Networking

Successful networking is all about creating relationships. If you find businesses in your network and figure out ways you can help them, these same businesses will probably want to help you in the future. Organizations such as the Chamber of Commerce and the Rotary Club are great for networking, as are your child’s school, church, your alma mater, relatives and friends. These groups can all give you good word-of-mouth for your community and help build your business in the future.

Advertise!

A computer networking business will probably have to depend on things beyond referrals, which is a great time to use advertising. Internet and e-mail advertising provide great opportunities for business. E-mails should be sent to prospects that have given you permission to send mail to them, and can be a great outreach plan because it is entirely free.

You should also think about using the yellow pages, newspapers, radio and television. If these mediums are overwhelming, you may want to consider hiring an advertising agency to help you. This type of advertising is useful because it reaches a very specific market, but it can be expensive.

Publicity As Free Advertising

Publicity is a great free tool for a computer networking business. Send articles to the local newspaper on computer networking, or press releases to a newspaper or magazine editor when a computer networking business opens for business, hires a new important position or launches a new product. People trust information provided by the media much more than a straight advertisement.

Consider all types of promotion when starting an advertising and networking campaign. Networking, advertising and publicity will all tell people about your company in the community and generate business.

Copyright MMI-MMVII, Computer Consulting 101 Blog. All Worldwide Rights Reserved. {Attention Publishers: Live hyperlink in author resource box required for copyright compliance}

If you experience any trouble with your wireless network, please read and follow these instructions. Many times following this advice can solve your problems:

Problem: Cannot access network/internet from any computer on the network?
Solution: Power down all computers on the network. Unplug both the cable modem and router. Wait a few minutes. Plug in the cable modem. Wait until the lights on the cable modem stop flashing. This could take up to a minute. After the lights stop flashing on the cable modem, plug the router back in. Again, wait until the lights stop flashing on the router. Power on any computer
on the network. This is known as power cycling your modem and this can often restore connectivity.

Problem: Cannot access network from one computer when all other computers work fine?
Solution: Try shutting down the computer and restarting. If the computer is a Laptop try moving it closer to the Access Point. If this solves the problem you are having signal interference, which can be caused, by many things including leaded glass and metal reinforced concrete walls or
floors or simply your computer is to far away from the Access Point.

Problem: How do I boost my wireless signal to a weak area of the house?
Solution: Buy a wireless repeater. These devices allow you to extend the wireless networking signal much farther from the original base station. Best Buy sells them for less than $100.

Problem: I have a 2.4 GHz wireless telephone; will it interfere with my wireless system?
Solution: 2 .4 GHz wireless phones can cause interference, with your wireless network. Normally symptoms will be sudden loss of wireless connectivity when the phone is in use or drastically reduced speeds. If any of these things occur you can try changing the channel on your phone.

Hang up the phone and pick it up again. This will usually force the phone to use a different
channel. Some phones have a “CHANNEL” button near the keypad, allowing you to reset the
channel used by the phone

Reports show that wireless networking is one of the hottest technologies on the market today. Whether you need to check your email from your backyard while watching and enjoying the day. Or just to share an internet connection with your home base computer upstairs, you’ll be happy to know that setting up a wireless network isn’t as confusing as you might think. A typical wireless network consist of desktop PCs, laptops, wireless adapters, a router and a cable modem.

Gathering your equipment together
To start building your wireless network, you first need to head to your local retail store and purchases a few things. Table A: shows a list of components and their functions in your network. We are assuming you already have a broadband connection to the internet (if you don’t, you’ll need to set one up). Also, keep in mind that most new laptops come with wireless network adapters, so check yours out before making your shopping list.

Hardware/Description
Wireless router A device that broadcasts your high-speed ISP wireless throughout your home or office.

Wireless network adapter/card
The means through which your computers connect to the router. They come in PCI format (for desktops), PCMCIA format (for laptops) and USB. You need one for each computer you wish to connect to the router.

Although a wireless transmitter is limited in its range, wireless extension points can be installed to boost its signal and make the range of the network much larger. These wireless extension points are commonly known as repeaters.

Several companies have started to manufacture wireless repeaters, despite the fact that these devices are not part of the wireless standard. Wireless repeaters are designed to resolve certain problems with wireless coverage. The further away you are from where the wireless signal originates, the weaker the signal becomes. Eventually, you can’t receive the signal at all, regardless of what equipment you have. The problem is sometimes addressed by running wires out as far as the network coverage is desired, and then have it ‘break out’ into wireless every now and then using a wireless access point. This is generally more trouble that it is worth, since the idea behind a wireless network is to avoid installing wires! Wireless repeaters resolve the problem in a much better way.

Wireless repeaters work as a relay, taking existing wireless signals and making them stronger. This makes the range of a signal bigger each time. If the repeaters are placed correctly, you can move computers a considerable distance from the wired portion of the network, the router or access point, for example, without failure. The single requirement of this arrangement is that the extension points must overlap; a repeater can’t repeat signals that it doesn’t receive. Since wireless networking signals are essentially radio signals, repeaters take all the radio signals they receive on a specific frequency and use their power to amplify the signals and rebroadcast them. The signal is not degraded in this process, so it can be repeated as many time as required.

Theoretically, wireless repeaters could be placed in a line for several miles, extending the network out that far, and because these extension points don’t need complicated computer technology to operate, they are much cheaper than routers or access points. Some companies combine repeaters and direction antennas to link to LANs that are several miles apart. This is a cheaper method than worrying about connecting over the Internet or installing their own underground lines. In the future, repeater technology could create wireless networks that cover entire cities.

As a consumer, you are currently limited to getting your repeater from large manufacturing firms such as Linksys and D-Link. These companies call their repeaters by different names, including Linksys’ Range Expander and D-Link’s Range Extender. There are several issues to consider when buying a wireless extension point. The most important is to make sure that it is compatible with the equipment you have. Because there is no standard for wireless extension points, you’re better off staying with the same company that makes the rest of your equipment or at least investigate whether any new equipment will work with your system. You should also find out whether an extension point has any Ethernet ports. While it isn’t necessary that this is included, it is useful if you want to connect the extension to a wired network. This issue arises basically if you want to connect two LANs in a wireless manner.

Network support contracts are most commonly provided in the workplace to help maximize the efficiency of daily operations and also help professionals best keep their technology up and running. But students and others not using laptops for business purposes also need to be assured that their networking capabilities are insured. For these people, it may only take a few simple steps to get the peace of mind of a network support contract.

Keep Computers Running Under All Circumstances

A well-plotted and stable network will keep you connected at all times. The purpose of network support contracts is to keep your network running all the time, uninterrupted. If you have a reliable network infrastructure, you will be able to get to files you left at work off-site, any day and at any time. Using professional consultants as part of network support contracts allows companies to give employees access from anywhere. Having these consultants accessible to not only implement but also monitor these networking capabilities will help promote business growth and peace of mind.

Personal Networks

People using their computers at home often want to set up personalized networking options, but find themselves feeling alone sometimes when it comes to the network support contracts they find to help them. No matter how skilled you are at navigating the process of not only setting up but maintaining these at-home networks, you have probably found yourself in need of the extra support provided by a high quality network support contract.

Looking For Online Support

Those in academic and government arenas will typically get free network support contracts that help them connect to offices across the campus or between departments. Other people trying to set up networking capabilities can do speedy searches for network support contracts that will help them find Internet resources to trouble shoot when they need immediate or simple help. Online support contracts can provide a wonderful way to get personalized help particularly when balanced with in-person guidance.

Copyright MMI-MMVII, Computer Consulting 101 Blog. All Worldwide Rights Reserved. {Attention Publishers: Live hyperlink in author resource box required for copyright compliance}

Copyright 2006 Chris Kaminski

Connecting your home and office computers with a wireless network sure makes things convenient …BUT the very feature that makes them so popular is also their biggest weakness! Anyone with the knowledge can intercept your signal and gain access to your network if it is not secure. The technicians at computerguyslive.com offer the following six easy steps to wireless security for your home or office

1. Change the System ID: Devices come with a default system ID called the SSID (Service Set Identifier) or ESSID (Extended Service Set Identifier). It is easy for a hacker to find out what the default identifier is for each manufacturer of wireless equipment so you need to change this to something else. Use something unique- not your name or something easily guessed.

2. Disable Identifier Broadcasting: Announcing that you have a wireless connection to the world is an invitation for hackers. You already know you have one so you don’t need to broadcast it. Check the manual for your hardware and figure out how to disable broadcasting.

3. Enable WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy): WEP encrypts your data so that only the intended recipient is supposed to be able to read it. As with all security measures there are ways around it, but by using encryption you will keep the novice hackers out of your systems. It is best to use 128bit rather than 40bit encryption (it is exponentially harder to crack).

4. Restrict Unnecessary Traffic: Many wired and wireless routers have built-in firewalls. They are not the most technically advanced firewalls, but they help create one more line of defense. Read the manual for your hardware and learn how to configure your router to only allow incoming or outgoing traffic that you have approved.

5. Change the Default Administrator Password: This is just good practice for ALL hardware and software. The default passwords are easily obtained and because so many people don’t bother to take the simple step of changing them they are usually what hackers try first. Make sure you change the default password on your wireless router / access point to something that is not easily guessed like your last name.

6. Patch and Protect Your PC’s: As a last line of defense you should have personal firewall software such as Zone Alarm Pro and anti-virus software installed on your computer. As important as installing the anti-virus software, you must keep it up to date. New viruses are discovered daily and anti-virus software vendors generally release updates at least once a week. You also must keep up to date with patches for known security vulnerabilities. For Microsoft operating systems you can use Windows Update to try and help keep your computer current with patches.

Following these steps will insure that hackers and hitchhikers don’t surf on your wireless network, or more importantly, these steps help block unwanted access into your computer network, and your valuable data.

A recent government survey of over 500 small businesses covering London and Surrey regions revealed that 58% of company owners expect a security breach in their IT system in the next year. 24% of those surveyed had already been subjected to a security breach and this is worrying as there are many IT support & network solutions available in the marketplace for peace-of-mind, without having to break budgets.

Disaster Recovery and IT security are crucial factors for any business and with proper precautions, IT support and systems you can be safe in the knowledge that you, your business and your data are covered for any security, virus and spam threats.

Businesses in London, Surrey and indeed the rest of the world can have a complete corporate-class system with full IT support, a disaster recovery solution, worldwide remote access, encrypted logins, PDA and Blackberry mobile support, multiple virus and spam filters, daily backups and the power of Microsoft Exchange Server. All of this is available for a low, monthly fee, per user, so your IT costs are scaleable, manageable and it removes the headache from the whole IT & network side of your business.

Never again have to pay vast sums of money for servers, Microsoft Office licenses, expensive PCs or notebooks, as your entire IT system is supported and maintained in-house in highly-secure data centres with Tier 1 broadband connections. Traditional IT Support could soon be a thing of the past with remote support being so quick, easy and globally available.

The main IT concerns amongst businesses are viruses, system failure, unauthorised access and inappropriate usage by staff. All of these fears and concerns can be resolved with an IT system that utilises the latest technology to deliver a corporate-class infrastructure at a price suitable for SME’s, individuals and multi-site companies.

Blackberry devices are a proven choice for the professional business and you can have all the benefits of the enterprise version, without having to purchase separate servers or Blackberry software. Simply “plug in” your device and the communication between you and your business will be at it’s optimum level. No matter whether you use Vodafone, O2 or T Mobile, your business will never be the same again.

Your communication, data and business could not be in safer hands and you will have the power to work from any location around the world with ease, putting you in control of your life and business. Whether you are on holiday, ill or travelling globally, you can stay in touch with your staff and data using any internet connected computer, giving you the edge over your competitors.

A-1 Websitedesign is a leading edge technology and IT consulting firm focused on delivering the best and most cost-effective solutions to our clients in areas such as e-finance, e-business, mobile solutions, telecom, data networking, etc.

A-1 also provides offshore software development and maintenance services (“off sourcing”) for companies ranging from the Global 2000 to promising startups. A-1 Technology provides the best and the most cost effective solutions to its clients.A-1 promise a compelling experience that will generate new and greater revenue opportunities. “A-1 Technology is a leading New York software company focused on delivering the best and most cost-effective solutions to our clients in areas such as e-finance, e-business, mobile solutions, telecom, data networking, etc. We also provides offshore software development and maintenance services
As effective outsourcing demands true partnership and better Quality, our global outsourcing services have become the foundation for the many long-term, mutually rewarding relationships and Excellence in our work and approach and hard work always are our values which are the true reasons for our success. The company makes no warranties of any kind, expressed or implied for services we provide unless explicitly stated in the proposal/contract. We disclaim any warranty or merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. All software services performed by A-1 Websitedesign are non-refundable and are at clients own risk. The company reserves the right to revise its policies at any time.
We deliver remote development services from our global network of outsourcing centers. We use a combination of on-site and remote resources (near shore and offshore), with on-site focused on the business requirements and knowledge transfer, and the remote resources performing technical specifications and development coding. As effective outsourcing demands true partnership, our global outsourcing services have become the foundation for the many long-term, mutually rewarding relationships we enjoy with our clients. Using every component within our professional services capabilities, we can help you offload all elements of your business. A-1 Websitedesign IT solutions cover clients’ computing needs, from full mainframe information processing centers, to desktops, and everything in between. We currently operate several large mainframe and midrange data centers, manage numerous networks, and administer desktops across the globe.
A-1 Websitedesign is a place where a broker conducts his business. We offer the ideal solution for the brokerages to manage their investments with Online Trading Software, Stocks, mutual funds, money market accounts, options, and more. We also provide online securities brokerage services.

More and more stock investors are bringing their brokerage business to us because we offer proven solutions that fully meet their expectations. With unique solutions created expressly for brokerage firms, our effective target marketing tools will help you identify profitable prospective customers with invest able assets.

There are many ways to get any of the large number of network certifications now available. There’s not only software certification like those offered from Oracle, Java, Microsoft, etc. but there’s also direct network hardware certifications from strong companies like Cisco and then there’s the server administration, hardware repair, security and several sub category type certifications. All are available but the question is if these have any real value in the marketplace.

The answer, unfortunately is not simple. This is because while many companies demand a certain certification, they will also bend the requirement and allow you to get certified once you have the job. There’s also people in the marketplace who are strong proponents of certification or another. The reason for this is usually because they have that certification and by requiring it, they somehow believe it validates their decision to obtain the training and pass the tests.

The reality is that like a good resume and education pedigree, certifications help get you in the door. Think about it for a moment. If you were hiring a network administrator, you would probably ask for the usually experience and basic education and some type of networking certification. If 100 people claiming the same skills and experiences levels all apply and all have at least the single required certification while 10 have not only the network cert but also maybe several MS and a security certificate, which candidates applying would probably get scheduled for interviews? Right! It would be the ones with the better paper qualifications.

So the value of a certification can be measured by it’s recognition as important by employers, and the relative value they place on such training. If you’re applying in network shops that value certifications, then they will naturally place a premium on the fact that your have that training and will probably reflect that in an increased earnings range.

The real key however is to recognize that employers are NOT employing you because you have a certification. You must have the skills necessary to do the job and meet the requirements of the position. No amount of certifications can make up for a strong work ethic and solid experience. With today’s study materials, almost anyone can learn enough to pass the required tests and become certified. This however does not make anyone competent to work on a network anymore than walking into a garage makes one a mechanic. It’s skills, talent and knowledge that are truly desired.

Microsoft Certifications are one of the most widely pursued and acclaimed professional certifications in the IT industry. Preparing MS certification tests, however, is a significant undertaking whether you’re just out of college or have been in IT field for years. IT professionals are continuously demanded to acquire new knowledge in order to perform well on their jobs as new technology in the IT industry emerged at a pace that has never been seen before. Regardless what certifications (Microsoft Certified Professional or MCP, Microsoft Certified System Administrator or MCSA, Microsoft Certified System Engineer or MCSE ) you are pursuing, a thorough planning will increase the chance of success.

The importance of hands-on Experience, no matter if it’s your own little network at home or at your job, experience matters! Being able to apply the knowledge gained by the study necessary to obtain your certification is just as important as the exam itself.

When preparing for any certification test, have a network available to physically learn the principles being taught. You network might only be a couple of old PC’s and a switch but it’s enough to understand the principles and basic information. You gain valuable skills that cannot be obtained any other way except through hands on work.

Finally, consider using CBT’s or computer based training as part of your test preparation. These tools are a great way to take your level of understanding to a new level. This is also true of practice exams.

If you develop the skills necessary to support the certifications, all your training, costs and effort will pay off handsomely. With your knowledge and training, you can expect to be have an easier time getting considered for positions, moving up in a company, and enjoying a solid work career.