RECENT TWEETS

5 Ways To Stay Productive During March Madness At Work


Saturday, March 19th, 2011 No Comments »

Here are 5 ways to stay productive:

1. Don’t get benched. Before checking scores online or participating in game-related activities at work, review company policies so you know what’s acceptable and what’s not.

2. Take the occasional time out. If your firm allows it, enjoy quick breaks to discuss tournament highlights with coworkers, but don’t let these talks sideline you from other responsibilities. If you’re a die-hard fan, consider requesting time off to watch the playoffs.

3. Set up a game plan. If you want to take a day off to enjoy a sporting event, ask your supervisor as far in advance as possible so workloads can be managed. There may be many others with the same idea.

4. Don’t step out of bounds. Review your company’s policy and find out ahead of time if your employer is okay with decorating your workspaces to support your favorite colleges.

5. Be a good sport. Regardless of team allegiances, show proper sportsmanship in the office. Leave your overly competitive streak at home.


Computer Keyboard Shortcuts & Tips


Saturday, November 13th, 2010 No Comments »

Here are some basic computer keyboard shortcut keys that you can try while working away in your software applications.

“In addition to the shortcuts listed on this page, users can find the shortcut keys to their most popular program by looking for underlined letters in their menus. For example, in the picture to the right you’ll can notice that the “F” in File has been underlined. You will then know that you can press the Alt key and F to access the File menu (Note: Some programs require the user press and hold ALT to see the underlined characters). Finally, as can also be seen some of the common features such as Open (Ctrl+O) and Save (Ctrl+S) have shortcut keys assigned to them.

Shortcut keys ABCs

Shortcut keys help provide an easier and usually quicker method of navigating and using computer software programs. Shortcut keys are commonly accessed by using the Alt (on IBM compatible computers), command key (on Apple computers), Ctrl, and/or Shift in conjunction with a single letter. The de facto standard for listing a shortcut is listing the modifier key, a plus symbol, and the single character. Or in other words, “ALT+S” is telling you to press the Alt key and while continuing to hold the Alt key, press the S key to perform the shortcut.”

For more information on the ABC’s of keyboard shortcuts you can inquire with me today and I will be happy to help.


Good Suggestions Before Opening Up Suspicious Emails


Saturday, November 6th, 2010 No Comments »

Here are some things to consider before opening up suspicious emails that you may have received.

Take a look at the suggestions below:

“It’s common these days for virus’s to spread through e-mail.

And it’s important to be careful with e-mails even if you know the person who sent it.

Computer experts at Springfield College suggest “googling” the subject line of an e-mail before opening it, if it looks suspicious.

“If you do open it, the potential is that some of the malware will read through your address book and send out huge e-mail blasts to everyone in your address book,” Trish Dalessio of Springfield College’s ‘Technology Solutions.’

Another good way to check e-mails before you open them, is using the preview option that many programs have.”

For more information and more tips on how to prevent virus’ from coming into your computer system,

contact me today to discuss.


Strong Passwords Do The Trick For Security


Sunday, October 24th, 2010 No Comments »

Strong passwords are important protections to help you have safer online transactions.

Keys to password strength: length and complexity

An ideal password is long and has letters, punctuation, symbols, and numbers.

  • Whenever possible, use at least 14 characters or more.
  • The greater the variety of characters in your password, the better.
  • Use the entire keyboard, not just the letters and characters you use or see most often.

For more information on passwords and security, feel free to contact me today!


Some Good Tips For Parents When Monitoring Their Kids Internet Use


Saturday, October 16th, 2010 No Comments »

Remind your child that whatever they post will be there forever for college admissions and potential employers to see.
· There is no private life in cyber space.
· Technology is wonderful but it can also be harmful, therefore understand where your child is online and who they are talking to.
· Google your child’s name to see what information is out there
· Check out their social networking accounts
· Do not allow your child to get their own email address

For more information on tips and security software that is available to help you with securing your home environment, contact me today.


Geoff’s IT Products Sneak Preview On Its On-Line Store


Saturday, October 9th, 2010 No Comments »

Geoff’s IT Products just recently activated the on-line store portion of its website. Take a look and feel free to give me your opinion and comments on the website.


5 Reasons To Choose A Laptop Over A Desktop Computer


Monday, October 4th, 2010 Comments Off

Here are some reasons for choosing a laptop over a desktop computer when trying to decide which one to choose:

1. Mobility – Laptops are more mobile than desktop computers.

2. Best Poster – quality of the screens are getting better in the laptops.

3. Lighter Weight – laptops are lighter than desktops.

4. Computer & Better Battery – Laptops tend to be a higher end quality computer and have a longer life battery.

5. Other Features – Laptops tend to have more integrated features – such as webcams, wireless cards, audio and USB features.

For more information on this topic refer to the link below.


Some Good General Antivirus Best Practice Tips


Thursday, September 30th, 2010 2 Comments »

Here are some good ways to protect yourself agains virus’ and suspecious emails:

1. Do not install more than one anti-virus software.  More than one antivirus will slow down your system.

2. Do not open any email attachements that you don’t recognize.  Just delete them as suspecious emails will more than likely be virus’.

3. Do not download anything that is free which pops up on your screen.  It is a very good possibility that these downloads  are a form of spyware.

4. Do not trust any emails that look like they are coming from your local banks.  Banks do not send generalized emails to their clients.

5. Avoid pop up ads that try to help or resolve an error or virus that it claims it found.  It is more than likely a hoax and it will install more spyware or virus’ onto your system.

For more information or best practices – contact me today.


Tips On Setting Up Your Linksys Router


Friday, September 24th, 2010 No Comments »

Here are some helpful tips that will help you when setting up a Linksys Router. Please see some of the info below:

“If you are experiencing problems setting up your Linksys router we have some useful information for you which may help you get started, especially if you need to know the default IP address, username and password.

To log into and configure your router there are a few things you must do, firstly power on the router and connect it to your computer via an Ethernet cable, usually a Windows-based PC will acknowledge some sort of connection in the notification area by the clock, you must then log into your router.

To log into your router you need the router’s IP address, username and password, as standard most Linksys routers have an IP address of 192.168.1.1, the default username is admin and the default password is admin. However sometimes the IP address is 192.168.2.1 the username is blank and the password is admin.”

For more information or assistance on setting up your Linksys Router, feel free to contact me today!


Things To Think About When Purchasing A Computer Desk


Monday, September 20th, 2010 No Comments »

Here are some good tips and things to think about when purchasing a computer desk:

1. Size of the desk – you don’t want a desk that is too big for the space you have. Think about everything you are going to put on the desk.
- printer?
- scanner?
- fax machine?
- Is it a LCD flat screen monitor?
- Does it have speakers?
- Storage?

2. Another important tip – where will the wires and cables go? Does the desk have cut-outs in the back for wires?

3. Price – make sure you get good value for the desk you purchase. Maximize the space, shelves, drawers of the desk.

4. Comfort – make sure the desk is spacious and all the shelves have convenient access. Is it adjustable?

5. Assembly required – who will be assembling it? Does it come apart easily if you need to move it or relocate it?

These are all good tips when thinking about purchasing a computer desk. See the tag below for more information.