9 easy steps to solving most hardware problems

Should your equipment fail to turn on, be recognised by your system, or function properly, follow these 9 easy steps to address some of the most common hardware issues:

1. Determine that equipment has been assembled correctly, by consulting your product manual or referencing the manufacturer's Web site.
2. Confirm that your device is securely plugged in and receiving power. For equipment that relies on an A/C (wall outlet plug) power adapter, you can double-check that the outlet is functioning correctly by plugging in another device and checking if it starts up or begins charging.
3. Check to see whether equipment is properly connected to your PC by making sure all cables are properly plugged into the correct ports.
4. Verify that hardware is turned on.
5. Look for error messages displayed on either the equipment itself or on your desktop. Solutions for many of these can be found in your product manual or by searching on Google.
6. Install or reinstall drivers for the device. Windows automatically searches for drivers when new devices are connected and notifies you of any available updates. It may be necessary to manually install them yourself, if these files are contained directly on the device, on a CD/DVD sold with the equipment, or on the manufacturer's Web site. To activate setup, just double-click on the driver installation program. You may need advice, if the installation program fails to run.
7. Confirm that you're using the latest drivers for your hardware. Manufacturers routinely issue patches to correct errors and inconsistencies that users encounter. To do so, simply check the Download or Support section of the manufacturer's Web site.
8. Reboot your system and test the device again.
9. If all else fails, contact the hardware manufacturer's customer support department.

Remember, the team at B Technologies is only a phone call away.

Find out the speed of your internet in seconds

Have you ever wondered what speed your internet connection was at any time?

There is a free online tool that can help you find out the speed of your internet in seconds.

You simply go to http://speedtest.net

DO NOT click on the top bar which mentions 'free scans' and 'turbo-charge your internet performance'. This wants to provide you with something that you do not need.

In the middle of your screen there is a map, and on the top of the map there is a small rectangle with the words 'Start Test To Recommended Server ...' Click this box and the speed test will happen automatically in about 30 seconds.

The test will provide you with an upload and a download speed.

How to tell if a website is truly secure or not

Someone sent me an email with some very useful information that I wanted to share with you all about the difference between http:// and https://

This is one of the ways that you can check whether a website that you are about to enter your credit card details into for example, is secure or not! So it’s this simple:

The main difference between http:// and https:// is it’s all about keeping you secure

HTTP stands for Hypertext Transport Protocol, which is just a fancy way of saying it's a protocol (a language, in a manner of speaking) for information to be passed back and forth between web servers and clients.

The important thing is the letter S which makes the difference between HTTP and HTTPS.
The S stands for "Secure".

If you visit a website or webpage, and look at the address in the web browser, it will likely begin with the following: http://

This means that the website is talking to your browser using the regular 'unsecured language. In other words, it is possible for someone to "eavesdrop" on your computer's conversation with the website. If you fill out a form on the website, someone might see the information you send to that site.

This is why you never ever enter your credit card number in an http website!

But if the web address begins with https:// that basically means your computer is talking to the website in a secure code that no one can eavesdrop on.

If a website ever asks you to enter your credit card information, you should automatically look to see if the web address begins with https://

If it doesn't, do not enter sensitive information like a credit card number.

You can also see the Wikipedia article on the subject

Protect your emails - backing them up is simple but if you lose them they are gone forever!

Following on from our last blog post, we have been asked by several clients about how to backup their email. There is a different answer for those using Mac, Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express and Vista but I will start with the most common; Outlook 2007/2003/2002.

First you need to download a backup tool from the official Microsoft website. This is a small file and will take less than a minute to download. To install the file:

1. Turn off Outlook
2. Save the file to your computer
3. Run the program

To back up your emails you can find the instructions on the Microsoft website or follow these instructions:
1. Start Outlook
2. Under the 'file' menu you now have a 'backup' option, select it
3. In the new window select 'options'
4. here you have 3 selections to make:
1 - if you want an automatic reminder to help you backup regularly, check the box under the 'reminder heading, and select the number of days.
2 - under 'backup files' select which email folders you want to backup.
3 - Under 'file location' select the location where you want your emails backed up to. When you are done press 'OK'.

It’s that simple. Now the key is that when your computer has done a backup, you need to save the backup file onto a CD, DVD, USB, external hard drive or another computer to make sure it is safe in case something happens to your data.

BACK UP YOUR DATA REGULARLY!

P.S. To backup your files on Vista you can follow the instructions via this link.

The importance of data backups!!

If you lost all of your business information, would you be able to continue serving your customers? Would you lose money? Could your staff continue working? What about if someone stole your laptop and your personal photos from the last 10 years were on it, could you replace them?

The importance of backing up your data can not be overestimated. This is a key message that we at B Technologies continue to remind our clients about but still we are sometimes faced with the difficult task of trying to recover data after a laptop is lost or stolen, or a virus or a power surge destroys PCs or a server.

There are many ways to lose or damage your data and the impacts can vary greatly. Often our clients have contractual obligations about their own customer's information so losing this information can have legal ramifications.

The message of this blog entry is this:
- If you do not already have data back up for your business or home, you must talk to a professional to organise some level of protection. We can tell you what you need to protect yourself against and what options you have available to you. There are many back up options available, some cost as little as a few hundred dollars but they are worth their weight in gold.
- Do not wait until it happens to you and its too late. Believe us when we say that backing up your date is one of the most important things you can do. Too often we work with clients who try to pick up the pieces once it’s too late. Even if recovering lost data is possible, it some cases it can end up costing thousands of dollars.
- Make sure you ensure that the back up procedures are followed. Some businesses have great back up systems in place but the back up is left at work, so if a fire destroyed the building, the data AND the back up is lost. Whatever back up procedure you finally decide to go with, stick to it. Often your business represents your livelihood.

If you haven’t got protection in place to protect your data or if you would like us to review your current arrangements and assess whether they provide an adequate level of protection, contact us now on 1300 885 200 or email us at info@btechnologies.com

P.S. We also have an article on our website that goes into much further detail on this topic

Email Tip - Have you ever sent an email to the wrong email address?

When you start typing into the 'TO' field of an email, usually the email program you are using will give try to complete the email address that you are typing.

So if I start typing 'D' for example, I am given the opportunity to select from all the email addresses that I have used before, that start with 'D'.

But what happens if someone has changed their email address? Sometimes we end up selecting the wrong email address and send to a person's old email or work email.

There are two things you can do to avoid this:

1. If the person you are writing to is an actual 'contact' of yours, edit their details and remove any email addresses that are no longer used. You can do this by searching your address book and finding their name, or by double clicking on their email address in the 'TO' field (which will also take you to their contact card).

2.You can remove any old email addresses in the 'TO' field of a new email, by typing in the first letter of the email address, scrolling down to the email address using your up or down arrows, and pressing 'delete' when you have the email address selected that you want to get rid of.

Remember, sometimes even our email addresses need a spring (or summer) clean.

To contact us visit our website or email us at info@btechnologies.com

What are the differences between CDs and DVDs?

There is a link on Dr Marc Dussault's blog about what is the difference between CDs and DVDs. This link is to the BigPong Help Centre where there is a full explanation about:

- What the main differences are between the two
- How much information and what kind of information various CDs and DVDs can hold
- What do all those names such as CD-R, CR-ROM, DVD+RW mean

So if you ever wondered about CDs and DVDs and all their differences, check out this link.

To contact us visit our website or email us at info@btechnologies.com

Protect your customers' privacy

If you are sending out emails to multiple recipients at any one time, you will probably want to enter their email addresses' not into the 'To' field of your email but in the 'Bcc' field. This means that none of the recipients of the email will see each other's email addresses.

This has many benefits:
- It protects the privacy of your clients by not providing their email addresses to others - seeing your email address being sent to a hundred people can make people very upset
- It ensures that your email is seen as more personal (rather than being one of a hundred recipients)
- It protects your valuable client list and doesn't expose it to other businesses who may now sell to them before you get to do so

Common Internet Error Messages Explained

Sometimes you can find great information to everyday questions in the FAQ section or customer support section of major service providers.

If you’re not a BigPond subscriber, you might not have seen this list of common error messages explained - click on the hyperlink below for a list you’ll want to keep handy the next time something’s not quite working the way it should!

Some common error messaged explained include:

Error 404: Page not found. This is a very common error message – and it simply means that the site or page you’re trying to visit doesn’t exist. This may be because:
• The web address has been typed incorrectly (that may not be your fault).
• The webpage may have moved to a different place on the website.
• The webpage no longer exists. You may be able to get around the error by:
• Checking the web address and entering it again.
• Going to the site’s home page and then navigate from there to the area you want. If you can’t find the home page, try using a search engine like Sensis.com.au to find what you’re looking for.

501 Internal Server Error: The site or page you are trying to visit is currently experiencing problems. Usually, just trying again later will resolve the problem.

For the full list go to:
Common Error Messages Explained

Thanks Dr Marc Dussault's for some more great information.

Protect Yourself From Dangerous Viruses

Several of our clients have found that their computers were infected by a nasty 'antivirus software' virus. Read this article to learn how to spot the virus and for tips on how to prevent infection of your systems!

Based on initial analysis, this virus arrives mainly via spammed email messages that contain a link to bogus offers, and we have also received reports that the said link is circulating in instant messaging applications and private messages in social networking Web sites, too.

Once the said URL link is clicked, the Web threat infection chain begins and ultimately leads to the download of a Trojan. This Trojan is a 'rogue anti-virus' that displays very convincing messages that are meant to scare and confuse the user, ultimately tricking the user into revealing their credit card details. The message is perceived to be from a trusted Microsoft source. The messages come in a wide variety such as the following:







The trojan tells the user that since they are only using the “trial version" the users should get the full version so that they are always supposedly protected. The messages can look like this:




So ultimately if users find any of these or similar messages, they should contact B Technologies straight away as the trojan / virus has to be removed from the computer effectively.

To protect your computer against viruses users should do the following:

• Run effective anti-virus software. Look for anti-virus software from major vendors like McAfee or Symantec.

• Keep your anti-virus software updated. Remember that new viruses come out all the time and anti-virus software can only protect you if the software has been updated to know about the newest threats. You should update your virus definitions at least once per week if not more often.

• Don't open attached files via e-mail. Whatever e-mail program you use, don't open any attached files, even from people you know, unless you were explicitly expecting that particular file. Many viruses try to convince you that a file attachment containing the virus is something you really want to read. Be sceptical and careful!

• Keep your computer up-to-date with the latest patches. New security holes in operating systems are found on a regular basis. Use Windows Update to make sure your computer always has the latest fixes and patches for security holes.

• Use a firewall. Viruses and other threats can come over networks in methods other than e-mail. Many malicious programs 'probe' your computer looking for known security holes or open services. A port scan of your system can take seconds and can find innumerable vulnerabilities. A firewall blocks outsiders from probing or connecting to your computer unless you initiate the connection via a Web browser or other program. ZoneAlarm is a popular free Windows firewall application and may be a good option for many users. If you have a cable modem or DSL connection at home, consider a dedicated hardware firewall/router from manufacturers like Linksys, SMC, or Netgear.

• Never enter your credit card details into any program or website unless you are absolutely sure that it is trustworthy.

This is a topic that we at B Technologies take very seriously, if you have any concerns about the security of your computer or network, contact us so we can ensure your assets are appropriately protected.