2009 November | Navigating the I.T. Minefield

Archive for November, 2009

My Laptop Has been Stolen!

Tuesday, November 24th, 2009

A savvy young executive left her laptop in the room at a hotel she stays at regularly while traveling. It was always safe in the room. She knew the housekeeping crew by name and they knew her (so did hotel management). The laptop was sitting on the desk in plain sight while the housekeeping cleaned the room. The door was open. A man, who apparently was walking up and down the hall looking into rooms, pretended to be her associate. He walked into the room, picked up the laptop and walked out.

Gone. Without a trace.

Laptop theft is more prevalent than you might realize, particularly doing the holiday period. All you (or an employee) have to do is turn your back for a few seconds and a backpack or briefcase will disappear. Sometimes after you’ve done everything right to secure your laptop it will still be stolen. Your data (company/personal financial information, sensitive communications, client communications, and intellectual property) are now exposed to the world. What can you do to protect yourself?

1) Set passwords for accessing the computer. Make it hard for the thief to access the accounts on your computer. Some laptops come equipped with a finger print scanner…consider using it.

2) Set passwords for accessing documents with sensitive information. In Office 2007, you can do this by selecting the Prepare Option, Encrypt Document.

3) Encrypt your data. You can purchase a separate program that will encrypt data on your hard drive, separate and apart from what is available in MSOffice.

4) Backup company data to a remote site. If the only copy is on a laptop, you’re in trouble.

5) Install a program such as Laptop Lojack. There’s a chance you might be able to get your laptop back.

If your laptop is stolen and you didn’t take any preventive measures, then invest in LifeLock or one of the other identity theft protection products.

All it takes is a few minutes and a little forethought to save yourself a lot of future pain.

If you have questions, contact your favorite IT service provider or feel free to DM me @ITMinefield on Twitter.

Wishing you safe passage through the IT Minefield!

___________________________________

This topic is discussed in greater detail in Navigating the I.T. Minefield: Straight Talk for the Small Enterprise. To purchase your copy, please visit http://bit.ly/SNL4W.

Leslie Knight is a small business consultant with over 20 years of experience in Information Technology management in Fortune 500 companies. She applies her experience in Corporate America (saving them millions) to smaller entrepreneurial enterprises. She is also the author of Navigating the I.T. Minefield- Straight Talk for the Small Enterprise.

Tags: Disaster Planning, Information Technology, IT, Security, small business
Posted in Business, Information Technology, disaster recovery, small business | 6 Comments »

The Kids are Coming Over…Hide the Computer!

Monday, November 23rd, 2009

It’s that time of year again. Time to gather for family, fellowship, food and fun! You may be fortunate enough to have younger children or teenagers running around who are pretty tech savvy. It won’t take long for them to find your computer and start to work amusing themselves. If it gets really quiet you should go check on them.

When you get back to work on Friday (or Monday) you will find that your computer isn’t working as well as it did on Wednesday. You call your relatives to see if you can figure out what happened. You will soon discover that you were visited by the invisible Family Circus gremlins “Not me” and “Ida Know”.

If you can’t lock up your computer or easily hide it, then here are three easy tips to protect yourself and your computer during the holiday gathering.

1) Be sure your anti-virus software is up-to-date. Those kids will take your computer places you never thought about and download “innocent” software. Unfortunately, in their innocence, they will expose your business lifeline to spyware, adware or worse a virus or Trojan. Five minutes could save you a lot of pain or a trip to the computer doctor to eradicate the virus.

2) Create a System Restore Point and note the date and time you did it. How? On many computers, click Start -> Help & Support -> Undo Changes to Your Computer with System Restore. Then click the button Create Restore Point. IF something really ugly happens, you can then restore your system settings to a point in time when you know things were running well.

3) Go to your local office supply store and buy a mini-notebook. It sounds expensive, but if the kids limit their activities to the mini, you’ve spared yourself a lot of pain. If the mini is attacked by a virus, you can easily wipe the hard drive and start over.

Enjoy your time with family and friends this Thanksgiving season.

Leslie

By the way…if you don’t want your Start Task Bar to move (it is frustrating to put it back in place), right click somewhere in the blue area, be sure “Lock the Task Bar” is checked.

___________________________________

Posted in Business, Information Technology, disaster recovery, small business | 5 Comments »

Motivating Your Employees – Listen to Them!

Friday, November 20th, 2009

Many leaders are considering how to motivate their employees in the current economic conditions. Bonuses, additional benefits and pay raises are out of the question for most small businesses…not because they lack the desire, but they simply can’t sustain the cost for a prolonged period. Increases in the cost structure today may result in lost jobs tomorrow.

It is time to look for opportunities to motivate that don’t add to a business’ fixed costs. Economic downturns are the perfect time to listen closely to our employees, to thoughtfully consider their input and take action. Your employees know where efficiencies can be obtained and money can be saved.

When was the last time your employees brought suggestions to you about cutting costs? You can’t remember? Hmmm. That tends to happen when we:

1) Listen from a context of “whiner” or “complainer”. Most cost savings are couched in employee “complaints” about conditions or circumstances that hinder their ability to perform to their best ability. These complaints are really expressing a commitment to you but you hear a “whiner” talking. Change the context from which you listen from “whiner” to that of an employee committed to your success.

2) Prepare our “We can’t do that because” list while they are talking to us. Be focused on what they are saying, not how you are going to respond. You job is not to say “No”, but “How can I help.”

3) Fail to act on their suggestions. Why should they be committed to you (help you drive down costs) when you are not committed to them (fail to act)? After a few failures to act on your part, they simply quit bringing the ideas. Be committed!

You can reduce costs and improve morale if you will follow this simple process:

1) Ask your employees: “How can we become more cost efficient?” or “How can we reduce the cost of ____________________?”

2) Provide “constraints” for their solutions (e.g. We have to use existing equipment. The total cost can’t be more than $x”. Whatever is appropriate to your circumstances.)

3) Commit to implementing their solution if it meets the constraints.

4) Get out of their way and let them be creative in designing the solution.

5) Implement the solution.

6) Celebrate their success.

In this way, you have acknowledged them by expressing Trust (in their judgment), Respect (for their expertise), Appreciation (for their contributions), Interest (in their thoughts) and Listened with an intent to act.

Best wishes for your success!

Leslie

_________________________

TRAIL (Trust, Respect, Appreciation, Interest, Listening) is a concept developed by Scott Degraffenreid in Blazing a TRAIL to Success – The New Art & Science of Acknowledgment which is available through www.NecessaryMeasures.com.

Leslie Knight is a trusted advisor to small businesses. She has over 20 years of experience in Corporate America which she applies to smaller entrepreneurial enterprises. She is also the author of Navigating the I.T. Minefield – Straight Talk for the Small Enterprise. To purchase your copy, please visit http://bit.ly/SNL4W.

Tags: Business, leadership, small business, Teams
Posted in Business, Team, leadership, small business | 2 Comments »

Holiday Computer Deals – Are They Really a Good Deal?

Thursday, November 19th, 2009

It’s that time of year again. Halloween is over. Thanksgiving is just around the corner and so is Black Friday, the Friday after Thanksgiving where most retailers make up for flagging sales during the year. Pretty soon, the computer manufacturers will be coming out with their deals of a lifetime (or at least the year). Many computers are also coming off lease and will be available on eBay and through other re-sellers.

Are those deals really good deals? Many of them have some” gotchas” you should consider:

1) Re-sellers provide the computer to you “as is”. If it comes with Windows XP it may not be a good deal if the recipient of your gift expects Windows 7. By the time they add in the additional cost for Windows 7 ($299 – $319), additional memory, and software upgrades they could spend as much as you did for the gift. If the computer cannot be upgraded with additional memory, you gave a gift with a short lifespan. Do your homework first!

2) Netbooks (mini-notebooks) are the latest rage, designed to provide the user with mobile access to the internet. They are small, great for someone who is on the go and doesn’t want to carry a lot of extra weight, and relatively inexpensive. The downside: they are not really designed for much else.

Memory is limited to 1GB (gigabyte), the minimum required for Windows 7. After a few service pack or anti-virus upgrades, they could see performance degrade and the recipient of your gift will be looking for a new computer.
Most netbooks come with limited software. You may need to purchase an external CD/DVD drive for additional software installs (particularly if downloading software over the internet takes too long). Keep in mind the more software you install, the more memory you will wish you had.

The message is simple. Before you purchase a computer as a gift, understand the recipient’s needs and usage expectations. You don’t want your gift to become the “white elephant” used as door stop or paper weight.

If you have questions, contact your favorite IT service provider or feel free to DM me @ITMinefield on Twitter.

Wishing you safe passage through the IT Minefield!

___________________________________

This topic is discussed in greater detail in Navigating the I.T. Minefield: Straight Talk for the Small Enterprise. To purchase your copy, please visit http://bit.ly/SNL4W.

Tags: Computer, Hardware, Information Technology, IT, small business
Posted in Business, Information Technology, small business | 2 Comments »

My Last Upgrade was in 2000. Am I OK?

Wednesday, November 18th, 2009

OK. Time for all you small business owners and non-profits to fess up: How many of you have an application that is old? I mean really old, say 1999 or older. I know there are more of you out there than the few I visited this year. One client was upgrading 1999 QuickBooks to 2009. We had to send the database to the vendor for help.

All right, I’ll start. I have a desktop that still runs Windows ME with Quicken 2004, Office 2000 and a few other older applications. Norton is out of date, so I don’t connect it to the internet. This computer serves one purpose only…it balances my check book. It also has a couple of other programs that are no longer available. My travelling laptop does not contain financial or sensitive data.

As you can see, I’m not necessarily an advocate of upgrading just because an upgrade is available, but I understand the consequences of my choice. I know that if something really ugly happens to Windows ME or the hard drive I could continue to conduct business.

Every business owner needs to be aware of the ramifications of their choices. I generally don’t recommend ten years between upgrades for anyone. Here are three questions to consider:

1) Is the application stable? If yes, you may choose not to upgrade. It is not impacting your ability to conduct business. However, understand that most vendors only support the two most current versions of an application. If it breaks, they will not feel obligated to provide a fix. You will be forced to upgrade and it may not be as easy as buying the new version and installing it.

2) Is there a special feature in the application that simplifies the tasks performed by my employees or provides us with a competitive advantage? If yes, then upgrade and enjoy.

3) Is the application part of a “mission critical” business process (a process without which your business cannot function)? If yes, then staying current is important for disaster planning purposes. You want critical processes back up and running as quickly as possible.

Often the reason for delaying an upgrade is financial. That’s OK. Just be aware of how your choices impact your ability to do business.

If you have questions, contact your favorite IT service provider or feel free to DM me @ITMinefield on Twitter.

Wishing you safe passage through the IT Minefield!

___________________________________

This topic is discussed in greater detail in Navigating the I.T. Minefield: Straight Talk for the Small Enterprise. To purchase your copy, please visit http://bit.ly/SNL4W.

Tags: Application Upgrade, Disaster Planning, Information Technology, IT, small business, Software, Upgrade
Posted in Business, Information Technology, Upgrade, disaster recovery, small business | 3 Comments »

Guidelines for Buying a PC from eBay in Light of Windows 7

Friday, November 13th, 2009

I’ve had a few different folks ask about purchasing a “new” laptop or desktop from eBay. One of the questions also included, “How do I know the software I am getting from a computer from eBay is legal (not pirated)?” So, let’s explore those questions.

Most of the laptops I’m finding from used dealers come with XP installed. If you are going to purchase a laptop or desktop through eBay or some other reseller, you will need to verify that the computer can support Windows7. Otherwise, you’re throwing good money away.

Here’s an actual eBay entry:

DELL LATITUDE D610 LAPTOP+1024+DVD+WiFi+XP-2….

This laptop comes with 1G (gigabyte) of memory and Windows XP with Service Pack2 installed. How can you find out if it will support Windows7? You will need to ask the reseller two questions:

1) What is the maximum amount of memory the device will support?

Windows 7 requires a minimum of 1G. You will probably want to expand to at least 2G to avoid performance degradation.

2) How large is the hard drive?

At a minimum, you need a large enough drive to accommodate what you already have stored plus 16GB.

If the reseller can’t tell you, go to the manufacturer’s website and search for the model name (“Latitude D610 Specifications”). In this case, the maximum memory is 2GB and the maximum internal hard drive appears to be 160GB (could be more).

Personally, I would not choose this device for a client because it potentially does not have a long useful life. My post on purchasing hardware (http://bit.ly/1Wn0NI) recommends 4GB memory with the ability to expand further to extend the useful life of a device. However, if you are a basic user (e.g. email, surfing the web, basic application use, not application development) a device that expands only to 2GB or 4GB might be perfect for you.

Most used devices, purchased from a reseller, will only come with the Windows operating system installed. The reseller should provide you with the original installation disks and license information for Windows. However, if one comes with other software installed, the reseller needs to furnish the original disks and license information as well. If using eBay, only purchase from a “Top-rated seller”. These sellers have a good reputation in the eBay community.

Keep in mind, you’re still going to have to upgrade to Windows 7 sometime.

If you have questions, contact your favorite IT service provider or feel free to DM me @ITMinefield on Twitter.

Wishing you safe passage through the IT Minefield!

___________________________________

Purchasing hardware is discussed in greater detail in Navigating the I.T. Minefield: Straight Talk for the Small Enterprise. To purchase your copy, please visit http://bit.ly/SNL4W.

Tags: eBay, Hardware, Information Technology, IT, small business, Windows 7
Posted in Business, IT, Information Technology, Upgrade, Windows, small business | 5 Comments »

Help! I Need New Hardware for Windows 7!

Friday, November 13th, 2009

The posts about Windows 7 have generated some interesting questions on purchasing new hardware: Which manufacturer? How much memory and hard drive? What about eBay? etc. I’ll try to address those questions here.

If you read the “Short Rant on Hardware Manufacturers” (http://bit.ly/1RSmoo ), you know I’m not particularly fond of any of them. Very little differentiates one computer from another. So, get the best price you can that meets your requirements.

When determining which desktop, laptop or server to purchase, ask:

1) How long do I expect to keep the hardware before upgrading again?

2) How long has it been since my last hardware upgrade?

3) How much hard drive am I using now compared to when I first bought the device?

These are the questions I ask as I develop migration plans for my clients and friends.

The goal of every small business owner is to extend the useful life of hardware as much as possible. I have one client who has hardware that was purchased with Windows ME and then upgraded to XP. The hardware is around 9 years old. They have extended the useful life of their computers and server as far as possible.

Since my clients tend to not upgrade often, my advice is to purchase hardware that will allow you to add RAM (memory) over time. How much memory? I am advising clients to purchase 4GB (gigabytes) initially. Why? Windows 7 requires a minimum of 1GB…that’s just for Windows 7. By the time you add the other software you have been using, you probably need 2GB. The cost difference between 2GB and 4GB is less than $100 in most cases…cheaper than a service call to order more memory and install it.

I am also advising them to consider hardware that has a maximum expansion capacity greater than 4 gigabytes. Why? Once again, to extend the useful life of the computer. If they purchase 4GB initially and that is the maximum a unit can support, they have to replace the unit once the memory is exhausted. The difference between a desktop model that has a maximum capacity of 4GB and one that can expand to 8GB or 16GB is often less than $400. That cost is substantially less than buying a new unit.

All of the major computer manufacturers will provide the hardware specifications online at their sites. They will also allow you to compare the features of their device models such as maximum memory and hard drive supported.

What about eBay? The same principles apply. You will need to do a little more homework to discover how much memory the desktop or laptop will support. If the seller can’t tell you, go to the manufacturer’s website and search for the device model.

If you have any questions ask your favorite IT service provider or feel free to DM @ITMinefield on Twitter.

Wishing you safe passage through the IT Minefield!

___________________________________

Purchasing hardware is discussed in greater detail in Navigating the I.T. Minefield: Straight Talk for the Small Enterprise. To purchase your copy, please visit http://bit.ly/SNL4W.

Tags: Hardware, Information Technology, IT, small business, Windows 7
Posted in Business, IT, Information Technology, Upgrade, Windows, small business | 2 Comments »

Windows 7 is a Perfect Opportunity?

Thursday, November 12th, 2009

Windows 7 is a Perfect Opportunity?

I’m afraid I have to agree with some of my friends. Windows 7 is Microsoft’s revenge on those of us who thumbed our noses at Vista and said we’ll wait. Windows 7 is available and Microsoft went out of their way to make the upgrade difficult for those who did not upgrade to Vista. Oh well, that’s life.

On the other hand, Windows 7 is a perfect opportunity to get your I.T. house in order. If you have never created a hardware and software asset inventory, now is the time. You (or your service provider) already have to visit each computer. You may as well “write” down the information and store it somewhere (your IT manual, hard drive). You will need this information in the future. It isn’t a question of “if” but “when”.

A basic hardware asset inventory is a list of each desktop, laptop, server, network appliance, printer, uninterruptable power supply and any other device connected to a computer or your network. You need to collect the following information about each device:

Vendor (e.g. Dell)	Function (desktop, laptop, server, firewall)
Model (e.g. Vostro 430)	Date in service
Serial Number	Device user
Hard drive size/Free space	RAM

While you’re at the computer, make a list of all of the installed software. Now, I’m not talking about .Net or those other programs that come with the computer. You need to look for all the software that was added to the computer. You need to collect the following information for the software asset inventory:

Vendor	Application & Version	License Key	Computer Installed On	User Assigned
Sage	Timeslips v10	<locate the original disk or you can find it in “Help About”	Serial Number	Who uses that computer?

As you look at the list for each computer, notice which software is obsolete. Those applications you won’t need to reinstall. Now, go find the installation discs for the rest of the software. If you find only one copy of WordPerfect X4 and it is installed on 10 computers and you didn’t purchase a multi-user license, your company is guilty of software piracy. This is the perfect time to remedy that situation.

The friend or employee who installed the software may have tried to save you money, but piracy could cost you dearly (http://bit.ly/bhmoC).

So, look on the bright side. The upgrade to Windows 7 won’t be a walk in the park, but it is the perfect opportunity to:

1) Create a software asset inventory.

2) Create a hardware asset inventory.

3) Clean out old software you don’t need.

4) Discover unauthorized software and get legal.

Wishing you safe passage through the IT Minefield!

___________________________________

These topics are discussed in greater detail in Navigating the I.T. Minefield: Straight Talk for the Small Enterprise. To purchase your copy, please visit http://bit.ly/SNL4W.

Tags: Information Technology, IT, small business, Windows 7, Windows7
Posted in Business, IT, Information Technology, Upgrade, Windows, small business | 2 Comments »

From XP to Windows 7 – Not for the Faint of Heart!

Tuesday, November 10th, 2009

The good news, Windows 7 is available! It is supposed to be less painful than Vista (personally I’m waiting for the first service pack to come out). The bad news? If you are still running XP, the upgrade isn’t necessarily painless. You must:

1) Backup your data.

2) Wipe the hard drive.

3) Install Windows 7.

4) Reinstall all of your old programs (hope you have those install disks somewhere).

5) Restore your data files.

This process is not for the faint of heart! If you have any doubts, contact your favorite local IT service provider.

For those small business owners who don’t have in-house IT support or a regular service provider, here’s a basic plan. A service provider will go through these same steps.

1) Determine if your computers can support Windows 7. It requires a minimum of 1G (gigabyte) of memory and 16G’s of free hard drive space. If it has been a while since you last upgraded hardware (not unusual for a small business), your desktops and servers might not be able to support Windows 7.

Go to each computer and access My Computer.
- Note the hard drive size and free space. If it is less than 16G you’ll need a new hard drive.
- Click “View System Information” on the left. Note the amount of RAM.
Some older hardware will only support up to 1G of memory. If you expect the hardware to last longer than a couple of years, you will want to invest in more than just 1G.
- How do you know if you can add more memory? Most of the major computer manufacturers track this information. Go to their web site and look for the memory upgrade section. It will guide you through the process.
NOTE: If you find yourself buying more memory and a larger hard drive it will probably be easier and less expensive in the long run to buy a new computer.

2) Determine whether your old applications will run on Windows 7.

Go to each computer and access Control Panel (Start -> Settings -> Control Panel) or consult your Software Asset Inventory.
Select Add or Remove Programs.
- This will give you a list of most of the programs installed.
Contact the application vendor (website or phone).
- Most vendors support the current version and the previous version. If your software is older, you are probably on your own.
- You can try to install these programs on Windows 7, but the results may be unpredictable. The vendor will not feel any obligation to fix the old program to make it work on Windows 7.
Be sure you have the old software installation disks. If you don’t have them, you’ll need to buy the new version.
NOTE: If you customized the application (forms, queries, screens, etc.) or paid for customization, it will need to be repeated for the new version. Plan accordingly.
FYI. If you have an application that allows you to deposit checks from your desktop, be sure to include the bank in your plans. For one of my clients, the bank will have to reinstall their software.

3) Create your migration plan.

Which computers require a hardware upgrade?
Which ones must be replaced?
Which software must be upgraded or replaced?

Armed with this information, you can determine the costs and a timetable for your company’s migration to Windows 7. The good news: You have until 2014 to convert your computers to Windows 7! Microsoft will continue to support security patches for XP until then. You don’t have to spend several thousand dollars in 2010 to get it done.

Wishing you safe passage through the IT Minefield!

________________________________________

Asset inventories, backup and other topics are discussed in greater detail in Navigating the I.T. Minefield: Straight Talk for the Small Enterprise. To purchase your copy, please visit http://bit.ly/SNL4W.

If you have questions, feel free to ask @ITMinefield on Twitter.

Tags: Information Technology, IT, small business, Windows 7, Windows XP
Posted in Business, Information Technology, Upgrade, Windows, small business | 2 Comments »

Archive for November, 2009

My Laptop Has been Stolen!

The Kids are Coming Over…Hide the Computer!

Motivating Your Employees – Listen to Them!

Holiday Computer Deals – Are They Really a Good Deal?

My Last Upgrade was in 2000. Am I OK?

Guidelines for Buying a PC from eBay in Light of Windows 7

Help! I Need New Hardware for Windows 7!

Windows 7 is a Perfect Opportunity?

From XP to Windows 7 – Not for the Faint of Heart!

Author Bio

Archives

Categories