Rick – Page 11

September 11, 2012September 12, 2012

Crashplan Offsite Backups

We frequently have clients who come to us after their computers break or are infected with a virus. Usually we are able to recover the computer files. But sometimes we can’t and all is lost if they don’t have backups. It’s a heartbreaking but frequent occurrence. And of course, some people lose their files due to theft or natural disaster.

That’s why we recommend offsite backups in addition to a local backup. There are many good services, but we use Crashplan which is free for a year for today at: https://www.crashplan.com/carboniteswitcher/

September 4, 2012

Windows RT Preview

The Verge has a preview of the final version of Windows RT which will run on the ARM-based tablets that will be priced to compete with the iPad.

Microsoft is betting big on this, but you can still see the rough edges. Small touch targets and traditional mouse-optimized apps on a touch tablet are terrible when everyone is familiar with the easy-to-use iPad. Microsoft is trying to have it both ways, leveraging existing apps while building new apps at the same time. But if users need to spend any time in desktop mode, they’ll be disappointed. And it’s not powerful enough to please traditional desktop users. Hopefully this is just a short-term transition phase which will be remedied soon by lots of native touch-optimized apps.

August 26, 2012

Mac OS X Hidden Settings

This is a great site that catalogs all the Mac OS X secret settings that you can change if you’re daring. You can make the changes manually through the terminal or by downloading the PrefPane app from here:
http://secrets.blacktree.com/

August 23, 2012

Print from iOS to Windows connected printer

While there is a free solution for printing from iOS using a printer connected to a Mac, Windows has a good paid solution from Collobos called FingerPrint 2. If you’re looking to print from your iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch, this is a simple solution that costs $19.95.

August 4, 2012August 4, 2012

Turn Off WPS

Most current routers have a feature enabled called WPS, which stands for WiFi Protected Setup. The purpose of WPS is to make it easy to associate devices with your WiFi network. It has two main methods, the push-button method and the PIN method.

Unfortunately, the PIN method is easily cracked, for example with a tool such as Reaver, part of Backtrack 5 as we described.

Therefore you should turn off the WPS Pin in your router. This is usually under “Advanced Router Settings” in your router configuration. This will protect you from a WPS attack allowing someone to get onto your network.

You would check off the box above for “Disable Router’s PIN”.