Technology Blog, Web Design and SEO http://crystalcoasttech.com/blog Latest Technology Information plus SEO and Web Design News Tue, 06 May 2008 21:25:18 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.2.2 en How to change your email Send/Receive settings http://crystalcoasttech.com/blog/how-to-change-your-email-sendreceive-settings http://crystalcoasttech.com/blog/how-to-change-your-email-sendreceive-settings#comments Tue, 06 May 2008 21:07:06 +0000 Jaredd emailMicrosoft Office Outlooksend receive http://crystalcoasttech.com/blog/how-to-change-your-email-sendreceive-settings Many times you may wonder why you have to click on the Send/Receive button to get your email. Shouldn’t it be automatic? Yes, it should be, but by default it is not. Here is how to have Microsoft Office Outlook automatically check for your email every 5 minutes.

1. Open Microsoft Office Outlook Outlook

2. Click Tools –> Send/Receive –> Send/Receive Settings –> Define Send/Receive Groups

3. You will see a box that looks like this:

SendandReceive

Click the checkbox next to “Schedule an Automatic Send/Receive every “5″ minutes.”

4. Click Close

All done!

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]]> http://crystalcoasttech.com/blog/how-to-change-your-email-sendreceive-settings/feed Getting “E-Mauled” by E-Mail http://crystalcoasttech.com/blog/getting-e-mauled-by-e-mail http://crystalcoasttech.com/blog/getting-e-mauled-by-e-mail#comments Thu, 01 May 2008 11:06:53 +0000 Anthony botnete mail securityemail spoofingspam e mailspam volumespammertemporary email address http://crystalcoasttech.com/blog/getting-e-mauled-by-e-mail Back when e-mail was in its infancy, users used to have to pay around $20 a month for an account. I remember when having an email account was viewed as a status symbol, even if none of your friends had one and therefore did not communicate with you that way.

Fast forward 15 years and almost EVERYONE has an email account. The only holdouts are usually the elderly, infants or separatists living in one-room cabins in Wyoming. Most people even have multiple email accounts since they are available for free these days. But, of course the Spammers know that fact also and one of the biggest complaints, if not THE biggest, these days is the amount of SPAM that the average user receives daily (the FTC even has a lengthly form you can fill out to file a formal complaint). Some estimates say that as much as 90-percent of all email is SPAM, although I think that figure could be really inflated. Add to the sheer volume of spam the ever-more-sophisticated phishing attacks unleashed on unsuspecting users and it is obvious that the email method of communication is under serious attack.

One can no longer just rely on Blacklisting or blocking certain email addresses. E-mail address spoofing has rendered that technique all but useless. Blocking emails containing certain “words” is another technique that is so ’90s. Spammers are just rewriting these words so that filters c@n’t bl()ck them.

The bad guys go to these lengths because SPAM is far too lucrative a business for it to just go away. The average spammer sends 100 million messages at one time. Let’s say that only 1% get past the spam filters. That is 1 million messages that are actually delivered. Now take it a step further and let’s say that 1% of those messages are actually answered - that is 10,000 SPAM emails that are actually answered in some way by the recipient. There is not another advertising method available that provides that kind of success rate and all the spammer has to do is create an email and push the “send” button.

Make no mistake, spammers are in the lead in this race. They are hiring professional software developers to create more and more effective programs. They are also using botnets to avoid detection by ISPs and to send the emails from multiple nodes, making it harder and harder for security vendors to stop or even slow the flow.

So the next time you see spam in your inbox, try to remember what the web hosting company is up against. It requires constant effort and even that sometimes is not enough. You, however, can make things a little easier by protecting your email addresses. For example, if a website requires you to enter a valid email address in order to sign up for something, try using a temporary email address service. One that we have mentioned before is Guerrilla Mail. A service like that will keep your personal email address from ending up in some spammer’s database.

Also, if you receive an unsolicited email from someone you don’t know, don’t click the little link that sometimes appears at the bottom of the email saying “Click here to be removed from our mailing list.” Usually, clicking that link will just notify the spammer that he/she has actually discovered a valid email address.

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]]> http://crystalcoasttech.com/blog/getting-e-mauled-by-e-mail/feed Morehead City To Jacksonville: Computer Repair and Tech Support http://crystalcoasttech.com/blog/morehead-city-to-jacksonville-computer-repair-and-tech-support http://crystalcoasttech.com/blog/morehead-city-to-jacksonville-computer-repair-and-tech-support#comments Thu, 01 May 2008 02:19:41 +0000 Anthony jacksonville nc computer network setupjacksonville nc computer repairmorehead city computer repair http://crystalcoasttech.com/blog/morehead-city-to-jacksonville-computer-repair-and-tech-support During the process of creating a web design for a client, we are almost always asked if we do computer repairs or computer network troubleshooting or virus removal or something along those lines. Although we know a little about handling those types of requests and we always try to help our clients with their problems, those fields are certainly not within our area of expertise.

So, in an effort to provide our clients with enhanced, comprehensive technical service, I have been looking around for just the right person to handle everything from network administration and computer repair to installation of printers and virus removal.

I am proud to announce that Jaredd Bell will make a perfect fit for this position. He and I have been working together on several projects for the past month or so and he has certainly impressed me with his abilities but most importantly with his attention to detail and superior customer service.

Our clients can rest assured that they will receive the same level of professionalism and quality that they have come to expect from Crystal Coast Technologies, Inc. In fact, here is a testimonial from one of our first clients that have taken advantage of our new service.

“The Town was glad to see CCT expand their services. We were extremely satisfied with the development of the Town’s website and fully expect to use them for future needs”
Christopher Seaberg, Town Administrator, Town of Cedar Point

In the past, Jaredd served as Network Administrator for Marine Federal Credit Union in Jacksonville NC and IT Administrator for Atex Technologies in Pinehurst NC.

We are going to offer on-site computer tech support, including things like PC cleanup, computer hardware installation, network troubleshooting, and data backup solutions from New Bern to Emerald Isle and Morehead City to Jacksonville, NC. If you are out of that area, please contact us because we may still be able to travel to your location or, we are setup with the ability to access your computer remotely and can fix many issues that way. See our price list (opens in PDF) for a complete breakdown of what we offer and the costs.

If you want more details or to setup and appointment, contact us for all the details.

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]]> http://crystalcoasttech.com/blog/morehead-city-to-jacksonville-computer-repair-and-tech-support/feed Top 10 Security Tips For Your Small Business Part 2 http://crystalcoasttech.com/blog/top-10-security-tips-for-your-small-business-part-2 http://crystalcoasttech.com/blog/top-10-security-tips-for-your-small-business-part-2#comments Thu, 01 May 2008 02:02:23 +0000 Jaredd Anti Virusemail attachmentssecurity tipssmall businesswindows updates http://crystalcoasttech.com/blog/top-10-security-tips-for-your-small-business-part-2 To continue our Top 10 list of simple (and mostly free) security tips for your small business.

7. Watch out for email attachments

Email attachments can be a wonderful thing. They allow people from all across the world to send pictures to family and friends, businesses to send documents to clients, and sometimes the occasional Powerpoint presentation that somehow didn’t make the trip can be sent directly to you in a matter of seconds. Though, for all of these wonderful things, email attachments can also be very harmful. Many of the most common and harmful viruses are spread through email. These will infect your machine as soon as you open the attachment. The main ways to avoid these nasty viruses are:
Never open an email attachment from someone you do not know. Only open an attachment if it is from someone you know and you were expecting it. If you are sending an attachment to someone else, let them know ahead of time. And last, but certainly not least, have an Anti-Virus program, such as Norton Anti-Virus (updated daily) that will scan incoming and outgoing emails for viruses.

6. Anti-Virus Software

Having a properly updated Anti-Virus program on your PC is crucial these days. Most Anti-Virus programs such as Norton Anti-Virus, Trend Micro, McAfee, and AVG all do updates daily in the background, so you don’t have to worry about it. Without an Anti-Virus program, accidentally opening the wrong attachment, or clicking on the wrong pop-up on a website, may open the door for spyware, adware, malware, and viruses to take over your PC.

5. Windows Updates and patches

I was just working on a PC yesterday and noticed that we are up to 93 Windows Updates AFTER the Windows XP SP2 update. That’s quite a few updates! Most of these updates are actually security patches for either Windows or the programs that are running with Windows, such as Microsoft Office, Windows Media Player, etc… These updates are important because they help to close “backdoors” that hackers have found that allow them to compromise your data and your privacy. Having some type of firewall, an anti-virus program and not opening strange email attachments will protect against most of your common threats. Though, to take it one step further and keep your data safe, set your Windows Updates to automatic and let it do it’s thing. There can be exceptions to this rule, though not commonly. Feel free to ask me any questions if you are having any troubles with your Windows Updates.

 Click here to see tips 8 through 10 and stay tuned until next time for the Top 4 security tips!

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]]> http://crystalcoasttech.com/blog/top-10-security-tips-for-your-small-business-part-2/feed What exactly is Adware http://crystalcoasttech.com/blog/what-exactly-is-adware http://crystalcoasttech.com/blog/what-exactly-is-adware#comments Thu, 01 May 2008 02:02:14 +0000 Jaredd Ad AwareAdwarepcpop upsSpyware http://crystalcoasttech.com/blog/what-exactly-is-adware To continue our journey into the land of annoying pop-ups and information stealing software, let’s talk about Adware.

Adware is in the same group as spyware (privacy-invasive software) in that Adware may be used to allow Spyware into your PC. If the program you are using has Adware built-in, it may display or download advertisements to your PC at any time. (Ever had pop-ups out of nowhere? Even while not on the internet? That’s one example of Adware) Most software developers may use this as a means to offer free software or software at a reduced cost (since they are being paid by whomever they are advertising for). Though as I stated above these adware programs basically leave the door open for spyware programs.

To keep your PC ad free, I recommend running a program called Ad-Aware on your PC(s) at least once per month. This will scout out those nasty Adware registry files and program files. It also deletes them for you, how great is that!

Check out part 1 of What exactly are Spyware, Adware, Malware, and Viruses to find out more information on Spyware.

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]]> http://crystalcoasttech.com/blog/what-exactly-is-adware/feed New Computer Networking and PC Repair Specialist http://crystalcoasttech.com/blog/new-computer-networking-and-pc-repair-specialist http://crystalcoasttech.com/blog/new-computer-networking-and-pc-repair-specialist#comments Thu, 01 May 2008 02:02:02 +0000 Jaredd jacksonville nc pc repairMicrosoft CertifiedNetwork SetupPC repair http://crystalcoasttech.com/blog/new-computer-networking-and-pc-repair-specialist My name is Jaredd Bell. I’m a local guy from right here on the Crystal Coast of North Carolina. I specialize in network setup and maintenance as well as PC repair. When I’m not working on PCs you can usually find me out surfing when we have some good waves.

For the past 5 years I have worked with Marine Federal Credit Union right here in Jacksonville, N.C. as a Senior Network Technician of 20 branches and over 400 PCs. I then moved out to beautiful Southern Pines, N.C. to work with Atex Technologies as a Network Administrator of over 30 PCs. Though, I soon found that I couldn’t stay away from the beach for too long. I have been involved with everything from handling day to day network issues (both on-site and remotely) to leading a full in-house Microsoft Exchange 2003 email migration.

I am a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer, a Cisco Certified Networking Associate, as well as an A+ Hardware and Software Certified Associate. I am happy to be working with Anthony at Crystal Coast Technologies to provide a full range of technological support services to our clients.

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]]> http://crystalcoasttech.com/blog/new-computer-networking-and-pc-repair-specialist/feed The Importance of Data Backups http://crystalcoasttech.com/blog/the-importance-of-data-backups http://crystalcoasttech.com/blog/the-importance-of-data-backups#comments Thu, 01 May 2008 02:01:44 +0000 Jaredd crystal coast technologiesdata lossdisaster recoveryencryptedoff siteonline backupspcsecured http://crystalcoasttech.com/blog/the-importance-of-data-backups These days almost any business large or small has some type of important electronic data that they rely on. Whether it be email, financial, or basic documentation this data can be crucial to keeping your business running smoothly and efficiently. However, a simple PC crash can cause many hours of hard work to be lost instantly. Even worse, having some sort of natural disaster, be it a hurricane, flooding, fire, etc… can cause you to lose thousands of dollars in data loss. Hardware can be covered and replaced by your insurance company, data on the other hand, once lost, is gone forever (or at least until someone goes through the lucrative task of trying to rebuild years of data in a few weeks.) Here are two simple words that could be your saving grace from any of these horrible events: Disaster Recovery

Having a Disaster Recovery plan in place will give you the peace of mind to concentrate on the other areas of your business instead of having to worry about data loss. Crystal Coast Technologies offers a Disaster Recovery plan that will fit your business needs through something called Online Backups. These online backups will back up your important data off-site and have it available to be restored 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Before your data is sent off-site, it will be encrypted and completely secured so that your data stays completely safe. With Crystal Coast Technologies your data is going to be safe and there for you when you need it.

Click here to learn more about our Online Backup Solutions.

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]]> http://crystalcoasttech.com/blog/the-importance-of-data-backups/feed Setting up your PC to Allow for Remote Tech Support http://crystalcoasttech.com/blog/setting-up-your-pc-to-allow-for-remote-tech-support http://crystalcoasttech.com/blog/setting-up-your-pc-to-allow-for-remote-tech-support#comments Thu, 01 May 2008 02:00:58 +0000 Jaredd crossloopPC supportremote tech support http://crystalcoasttech.com/blog/setting-up-your-pc-to-allow-for-remote-tech-support Many times we will be able to fix a software problem you may be having from right here in the office. Using a program called Crossloop, with your permission we can actually see any errors on your machine, exactly as you are seeing them. This software has to be installed on your PC. Here are the steps to install:

1. Go to Crossloop Download

2. Click Download -> Click Run

3. During install use all defaults (click Next all the way through)

That’s it for the install of the Crossloop software!

If you are having trouble with your PC and would like our help. Here are the steps to allow us to connect to your PC:

1. Click Start -> Click Programs -> Click on Crossloop folder -> Click on Crossloop

2. X out of the Create an Account screen

3. You should see this screen pop-up

Crossloop

3. Make sure you have the Share tab selected and we will ask you for your code # (ex. 55555555)

4. Click Connect

If you have any questions about the install or are having any issues, send us an email at tech@crystalcoasttech.com and we will do our best to help you.

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]]> http://crystalcoasttech.com/blog/setting-up-your-pc-to-allow-for-remote-tech-support/feed Hackers Infiltrate Power Grid http://crystalcoasttech.com/blog/hackers-infiltrate-power-grid http://crystalcoasttech.com/blog/hackers-infiltrate-power-grid#comments Tue, 22 Apr 2008 15:08:59 +0000 Anthony hackersira winklerpower grid hacksocial engineering http://crystalcoasttech.com/blog/hackers-infiltrate-power-grid Well, at least they were white-hat hackers. BetaNews reported that an anonymous power company hired Internet Security hacker Ira Winkler to attempt to hack into and take over a power grid. The results were somewhat disturbing.

Ira and his team hacked the power grid in a matter of hours by using browser exploits and old-fashioned social engineering.

In order to get the power company employees to reveal sensitive access details, the hackers sent employees a fictitious email explaining that the power company was planning to cut their benefits. The email contained a link to an exploited website where employees could get “more information” - which they naturally did. After clicking the link, they were hacked.

Thereafter, the hackers had all necessary access to do whatever they wanted, including the self-destruction of power generators. According to Winkler, many of these software exploits were successful because the companies had not applied software upgrades and patches because doing so would result in system downtime.

So, should companies schedule downtime on their own schedule or wait until they are hacked and let the bad guys schedule the downtime for them? Hmm… According to Winkler, he stopped the hack within a few hours because it was painfully obvious that it was completely successful.

In June of 1998, Wired published an article called Hacking the Power Grid and here is an excerpt:

With deregulation, there is an increasing interest in energy futures trades at the commodities exchange on Wall Street. [IBM senior consultant Nick] Simicich said hackers might use social engineering techniques to obtain passwords to computers with access to the networks containing sensitive information from these sources.

It looks like little has changed… Social Engineering works because there is no patch for human stupidity.

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]]> http://crystalcoasttech.com/blog/hackers-infiltrate-power-grid/feed HP Desktop and Laptop Deals http://crystalcoasttech.com/blog/hp-desktop-and-laptop-deals http://crystalcoasttech.com/blog/hp-desktop-and-laptop-deals#comments Mon, 21 Apr 2008 17:55:25 +0000 Anthony hp desktop computershp laptop dealshp notebookshp printer deals http://crystalcoasttech.com/blog/hp-desktop-and-laptop-deals HP puts out great products that cover almost any application you need, from the Home User, to Small Office all the way up to Enterprise applications. Here are some weekly specials on HP Desktops, HP Laptops, Printers and even cameras:

HP Laptop Deals:

HP Pavilion dv9700zSave up to $364 on the HP Pavilion dv9700z Notebook PC
Includes:

  • $150 instant savings
  • FREE upgrade to 2GB memory from 1GB ($50 value)
  • FREE webcam and fingerprint reader ($50 value)
  • FREE LightScribe ($15 value)
  • 4 year LoJack for the price of 3 year ($20 value)
  • $30 off Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo X2 ($30 value)
  • FREE shipping ($49 value)
  • PLUS, get a FREE printer with Mail In Rebate ($70 value)

HP Pavilion tx2000zSave $369 on the HP Pavilion tx2000z Customizable Notebook
Includes:

  • $150 instant savings
  • FREE upgrade to 2GB memory from 1GB ($50 value)
  • FREE upgrade to Bluetooth ($20 value)
  • FREE webcam and fingerprint reader ($50 value)
  • 4 year LoJack for the price of 3 year ($20 value)
  • $30 off Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo X2 ($30 value)
  • FREE shipping ($49 value)
  • PLUS, get a FREE printer with Mail In Rebate ($70 value)

HP Pavilion dv9700zSave $414 on the HP Pavilion dv9700t Customizable Notebook
Includes:

  • $150 instant savings
  • FREE upgrade to 3GB memory from 2GB ($50 value)
  • 50% off discrete graphics ($50 value)
  • FREE webcam and Fingerprint reader ($50 value)
  • FREE LightScribe ($15 value)
  • 4 year LoJack for the price of 3 year ($20 value)
  • $30 off Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo X2 ($30 value)
  • FREE shipping ($49 value)
  • PLUS, get a FREE printer with Mail In Rebate ($70 value)

HP Desktop and Printer Deals:

HP-S3400z Desktop computerSave up to $179 on an HP Pavilion s3400z Desktop PC

Includes:

  • $50 instant savings
  • FREE upgrade from 2GB to 3GB of memory ($50 value)
  • FREE hard drive upgrade to 500GB from 320GB ($50 value)
  • FREE shipping ($29 value). PLUS get a FREE printer after mail in rebate ($70 value)

Save up to $300 instantly on select HP Laserjet Printers, plus get FREE shipping

Save 40% off select HP Digital Cameras

We are also tracking some Dell Laptop specials and will have them for you soon.

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