The Best IT Tips and Tricks for Small Business

50+ short and simple 'How To' videos on basic computer skills

2011-01-05T16:58:00.000-08:00

Google has done a fantastic job at creating 50+ simple and short videos to teach parents or those less tech savvy, how to do things like:
- use Google as a calculator
- copy and paste
- share photos
- crop photos
- check the weather
- track a flight's status

... and much more

This is very impressive and VERY helpful

Check it out at http://www.teachparentstech.org/watch

But Macs don't get viruses ... or do they?

2010-11-04T20:09:00.000-07:00

Today 1 in 5 consumer PCs is a Mac so they are a tasty target for hackers, spammers and criminals.

See these two brief videos for more info: Do Macs get viruses?

and this: What does a Mac threat look like?

Free Anti virus protection for Macs

2010-11-03T16:27:00.000-07:00

Introducing Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac Home Edition

Sophos has released their latest free tool - Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac Home Edition. This is their first consumer anti-malware product designed to provide Mac home users with up–to-the-hour protection that is simple to use and FREE!

Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac Home Edition features:
• Full protection from viruses, Trojans and worms— both Mac and Windows threats
• Anti-virus technology that stops all threats in their tracks, even if it’s something new
• Quarantine and cleanup of threats it finds
• Business-quality anti-virus, backed by SophosLabs
• Protection that is light on resources and easy to use - it installs quickly and doesn’t get in your way
• And yes, it’s 100%, totally, absolutely, completely free

Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac Home Edition is available for Mac OSX 10.4 (Tiger), 10.5 (Leopard) or 10.6 (Snow Leopard), and supports all Apple Mac hardware including the new MacBook Air.

To downlad it free, go to www.sophos.com/products/free-tools/free-mac-anti-virus/

B Technologies is a Gold partner of Sophos so far any security needs, write to us at info@btechnologies.com and we will get back to you promptly.

World Cup 2010 - be aware of the scams!

2010-06-10T18:18:00.000-07:00

Our close friends at Sophos - the IT security experts sent us this link to important information regarding scams that appear around World Cup 2010 time that you or someone you know may be exposed to.

People who usually have little or no interest in soccer may turn into soccer fiends when the world Cup starts.

And if you can change your behaviour -- quite innocently -- in "real life" because the World Cup is on, you run the risk of changing your behaviour online -- to your own risk -- at the same time.

Clicking dodgy links, running to five different little-known websites to compare odds, checking who's playing whom and when, trying to find crowd-shot video of dodgy refereeing decisions, looking up historical data to prove England really are rubbish, and more.

If you want to be prepared, read this:
http://www.sophos.com/blogs/duck/g/2010/06/10/world-cup-2010-scam-odds

Do you need to know your internet IP address?

2010-06-01T17:36:00.000-07:00

There are a number of reasons why you might need to find your internet IP address and it only takes a few seconds to do.

Go to:
http://www.whatsmyip.org/

and when you arrive on the site your IP address will be prominently displayed on the top of the page.

Simple as that.

5 tips to help keep your passwords secret

2010-06-01T00:02:00.000-07:00

Treat your passwords with as much care as you treat the information that they protect.

Use strong passwords to log on to your computer and to any site where you enter your credit card number, or any financial or personal information—including social networking sites.

1. Never provide your password over e-mail or in response to an e-mail request.
2. Internet "phishing" scams use fraudulent e-mail messages to entice you to reveal your user names and passwords, steal your identity, and more.
3. Do not type passwords on computers that you do not control
• Computers such as those in Internet cafes, computer labs, kiosk systems, conferences, and airport lounges should be considered unsafe for any personal use other than anonymous Internet browsing.
• Cyber criminals can purchase keystroke logging devices which gather information typed on a computer, including passwords.
4. Don't reveal passwords to others
• Keep your passwords hidden from friends or family members (especially children) who could pass them on to other, less trustworthy individuals.
5. Protect any recorded passwords
• Don't store passwords on a file in your computer, because criminals will look there first.
• Keep your record of the passwords you use in a safe, secure place.
6. Use more than one password
• Use different passwords for different Web sites and services.

How strong is YOUR password?

2010-05-31T23:59:00.000-07:00

Test your password with a password checker

Are you wondering if the password you created is good enough?

A password checker evaluates your password's strength automatically.

Click on the following link if you want to check your password's strength:

https://www.microsoft.com/protect/fraud/passwords/checker.aspx?WT.mc_id=Site_Link

How to Create Strong Passwords

2010-05-31T23:35:00.000-07:00

Strong passwords are an important protection to help you protect your data.

Keys to password strength: length and complexity

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

• Whenever possible, use at least 8 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.

Create a strong password you can remember

There are many ways to create a long, complex password. Here is one way that may make remembering it easier:

Start with a sentence or two (about 10 words total). Think of something meaningful to you.
For example take he following sentence:
"Long and complex passwords are safest. I keep mine secret." (10 words)
Turn this sentences into a row of letters. Use the first letter of each word.
= lacpasikms (10 characters)
Add complexity. Make only the letters in the first half of the alphabet uppercase.
= lACpAsIKMs (10 characters)
Add length with numbers. Put two numbers that are meaningful to you between the two sentences.
= lACpAs56IKMs (12 characters)
Add length with punctuation. Put a punctuation mark at the beginning.
= ?lACpAs56IKMs (13 characters)
Add length with symbols. Put a symbol at the end.
= ?lACpAs56IKMs" (14 characters)

Common password pitfalls to avoid

Cyber criminals use sophisticated tools that can rapidly decipher passwords.
Avoid creating passwords using:
• Dictionary words in any language.
Words in all languages are vulnerable.
• Words spelled backwards, common misspellings, and abbreviations.
• Sequences or repeated characters.
Examples: 12345678, 222222, abcdefg, or adjacent letters on your keyboard (qwerty).
• Personal information.
Your name, birthday, driver's license, passport number, or similar information.
Protect your passwords from prying eyes
The easiest way to "remember" passwords is to write them down.
It is okay to write passwords down, but keep them secure.

Make long URL addresses usable!

2010-03-01T18:33:00.000-08:00

Have you ever sent someone a huge url (address) to a website and wished it didn't look quiet as complicated?

Here is a fantastic tool called Tiny URL which is available free of charge to anybody and is very easy to use, that turns big urls into short ones. Here is an example of how it works:

You can turn this URL:

http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?t
ype=3&campid=5336224516&toolid=10001&customid=tiny-
hp&ext=unicycle&satitle=unicycle

into this tinyURL:

http://tinyurl.com/unicycles

Which one would you rather cut and paste into your browser? That's the power of TinyURL!

SCAMS - Learn All About Them

2010-03-01T18:28:00.000-08:00

Too many businesses become victims of online and offline scams. There is a handy booklet published by the government that you are able to download for free and learn more about the scams, how they work and how you can defend against them.

The link is as follows:
http://www.accc.gov.au/content/index.phtml/tag/TheLittleBlackBookOfScams08

This is what the website says about the booklet:
The little black book of scams highlights a variety of popular scams that regularly target Australian consumers and small business in areas such as fake lotteries, internet shopping, mobile phones, online banking, employment and investment opportunities. It also offers consumers tips on how to protect themselves from scams, what they can do to minimise damage if they do get scammed and how they can report a scam.

Open any image format with ease

2010-02-04T16:16:00.000-08:00

In our last post we told you about 2 great programs to use to open any video formats but we had a number of enquiries about viewing (and editing) some obscure image files images.

Go to http://www.download.com/ and download a free product called "Irfan View".

This small program will open / edit images in any file format that you throw at it.

This product has been downloaded a staggering 47 million times so you know it works!

It has other impressive editing function that you can explore yourself.

Play any video file with ease

2010-02-04T15:38:00.000-08:00

Have you ever struggled to play a video file?

You now have two perfect options to solve this problem.

Go to http://www.download.com/ and download either one of these free products. Once you have installed them they will play 98% of any video formats you may have.

They are:
- GOM Media Player
- VLC Media Player

GOM for example plays formats including DAT, MPEG, DivX, XviD, WMV, ASF, AVI, and MOV, and common codecs like FLV1, AC3, OGG, MP4, and H263.

If you need confirmation that these products are trustworthy, you will see that both of them have been downloaded a staggering 20 million times!

They have some other impressive functions but you can explore them yourself.

As always, if you need any help or advice, just contact us on 1300 885 200 or at support@btechnologies.com

Information technology progresses faster than you think

2010-02-01T19:51:00.000-08:00

This is a video follow up of the YouTube hit 'Shift Happens' with some fascinatings facts about the progression of information technology.

How to get rid of a common and current vicious virus

2010-01-20T14:35:00.000-08:00

We are getting a lot of calls about a vicious virus that is getting through most of the popular anti virus programs.

As always, we have the answer so the way to deal with this is as follows:

1. Go to http://www.download.com/
2. In the search box on this site type Malwarebytes and click Search
3. In the list of search results, find Malwarebytes Anti-Malware (probably the first in the list)

4. Click on Download now
5. In the following screen if the file download doesn’t automatically pop up, click on click here to try again

6. Click Save and save the file to your Desktop (or somewhere where you can find it later)

7. Once downloaded, go to your Desktop (or wherever you saved the file) and double-click mbam-setup.exe
8. Follow the prompts to install the software
9. Once installed, the software will place an icon on your Desktop, double-click this to start Malwarebytes Anti-Malware

10. Click on the Update tab and update the software
11. Once the software has been updated, restart your computer in Safe Mode. To do this, follow the steps below:
a. Restart your computer
b. When the screen goes black, and then your computer comes to life again, start slowly tapping on the F8 key – do not hold the key down, just tap tap tap on it until you see a menu appear with some startup options
c. Use the arrow keys on your keyboard to select Safe Mode and then press Enter. You may also then be asked which operating system to start. Generally, there is only one but if not, choose the one with the problem from the list and press Enter
d. If you have a login screen, login to your computer as normal (you may have to log on as the Administrator user)
e. When you see a warning for safe mode, click Yes
12. Double-click the icon on the desktop for Malwarebytes Anti-Malware
13. Click the button to perform a Full Scan
14. When the scan is complete, remove all threats found
15. Exit Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and perform a full scan using your up-to-date anti-virus software. If you don’t have an up-to-date anti-virus software, you should get one as soon as possible to prevent any further viruses.
16. Restart your computer in normal mode and hopefully the threat has been removed.

For tips on how to avoid viruses, see our earlier post here: http://btechnologies.blogspot.com/2009/02/protect-yourself-from-dangerous-virus.html

Who is LINKING to my website?

2009-09-24T00:49:00.000-07:00

One of the essential methods to help your website rank well in search engines results - that is improving your SEO or Search Engine Optimisation - is to have sites linking back to yours.

There is plenty of information on the web about how you can do this but here is a very simple tool that you can use to find out who is currently linking back to your website.

Go to Yahoo's website and enter the following into the search field:

"link:http://www.yourcompanyname.com"

so for example we would enter: "link:http://www.btechnologies.com"

You will then see all of the websites that are linking to yours. You can also play around a little bit further by using the drop down boxes and selecting different options on the results page.

The perfect weapon against SPAM!

2009-06-14T20:15:00.000-07:00

We at B Technologies have a brand new service to combat the ever growing threat of SPAM to small businesses.

SPAM messages waste time, disrupt work and often carry malicious attachments or links that threaten your systems.

We have recently launched a SPAM filtering solution which uses technology which ensures that your emails are filtered of SPAM before they get to you, using the latest anti-spam technology with 5 layers of filtering, thereby producing a number of benefits.
- The load (or pressure) on your server to process all the SPAM emails is decreased, therefore you may see an increase in system speed.
- The filtering screens Email for malicious software - such as computer viruses and spyware, and phishing (fraud based emails).
- The service is relatively fast to set up and can be activated in 1 or 2 days with the results starting to take effect within 2 working days.
- The SPAM filtering process uses the latest technology (IronPort Mail Security)and is highly successful, ensuring that approximately 95% (or more) of your SPAM will be rejected or captured. As SPAM continues to grow as a business challenge this service evolves to combat the increasing new threats.

Kind of feedback we have been receiving sound like this:
“Daniel this is working like a dream – thanks heaps. The boys are only getting one or two spam a day if any.”
“The spam is a LOT better, thanks very much. We only received 2 in the last 2 days they both said spam in front of them.”
“I had only 1 spam email today, and it went directly into my junk email folder. I have asked around and everyone is getting the same”

Personally we at B Technologies have also been using this service and have reduced our daily intake of SPAM from several hundred to only a couple.

Contact us now to eliminate SPAM from your business - 1300 885 200.

Who owns a particular domain address?

2009-06-14T20:13:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wondered who owns a particulra domain address? go to www.who.is and you can find out in less then a minute.

For example if you like the domain name www.bigbusiness.com and want to find out who owns it so you can make an offer to purchase it, this is the site to tell you what you need to know.

Also recently a couple of clients of ours stopped receiving their emails. We checked on who.is to see that their domain name registration has expired and we were able to pay for the renewal by checking the registration details which tell us which company the name is registered with.

This is a tool you will not need often but you will love it when you need it.

Where has all the space gone on your computer?

2009-05-28T01:34:00.000-07:00

You want to find out how much space your music collection is taking up?
You want to find out why you can no longer fit downloaded movies onto your harddrive?
Here is the answer...

You laptop or PC has a certain amount of hard disk space which you can store files on. In a standard computer you can find out how much that is by clicking on 'my computer' and right clicking' on the 'C' drive. Select 'properties', and you should now see the size of your hard disk and also how much free space you have available.

But if you want to find out where the space has actually gone on the computer, which files and folders are what site... then you need "TreeSize Free 2.3" This is a small program that's free to download and easy to use.

Once you have downloaded and installed it, you run the program and it will start to give you the size of each folder. Each folder can be expanded in Explorer-like style to see the size of its subfolders.

Something to note: You will not be able to open files from this program, and the program doesn't remember the data it collected so you have to run it from scratch every time you want to see the size of your folders but this is no big deal as I don't expect that this is something that you would need to do often, the process doesn’t take long and it can run in the background whilst you do other things.

How to get this program:
1. Go to http://download.cnet.com/
2. Enter "TreeSize Free 2.3" and scroll down to find it amongst the results
3. Press 'download'
4. Save it somewhere and run it to install it

Protect your data in 3 simple ways

2009-05-24T17:53:00.000-07:00

Here are three simple steps to ensure that when you walk away from your computer, people will not be able to see what you are working on.

1. Set up a password so you have to log on everytime you start the computer. This is the most basic protection you really should have in place - and most workplaces already have this.

You can password protect individual files, folders or the whole computer.
Create strong passwords that:
- Are at least 6 characters
- Include upper and lowercase letters
- Contain at least 1 special character (@$*>?) and/or numbers

To set up a password there are a number of ways but an easy one is to press these 3 buttons at the same time; 'Ctrl' 'Alt' and 'Delete' and click on 'Change password'

2. Set up a screensaver with password protection - this means that when you walk away from your computer a screensaver will automatically start after a preset number of minutes and when you are ready to start work again, you will have to enter in your password to be able to access your work.

To turn on your screensaver with password protection, go to the ‘Control Panel’ and look under ‘Display’. Go to the ‘Screensaver’ tab, where you will see the available options. Set the amount of minutes the system should wait before it start the screensaver when the computer is not being used. Tick the box for password protection.

3. Finally before you walk away from your computer at work or in a public place, press these 3 buttons at the same time; 'Ctrl' 'Alt' and 'Delete' and select 'Lock Computer'. In this setting all your files remain exactly as they are, but noone will be able to see them or access them while you walk away. When you come back you simply enter your password and you can continue working as before.

These are just 3 simple techniques you can use to protect your data!

Let us know if you have any other handy tips like this. Remember the team at B Technologies is here to help.

Keeping Microsoft Windows updated is easy, free and important

2009-05-13T22:37:00.000-07:00

For Windows users, you should regularly install Microsoft suggested critical updates!

If you have a Windows operating system installed on your computer you should ensure that it is set to receive automatic updates as they are released. These updates are released as security and performance issues are identified on a regular basis, so receiving the updates is a very important process.

To ensure you have the latest updates RIGHT NOW, you can go to http://update.microsoft.com/. You will first be asked if you want to do an express or custome installation of any critical updates. I usually select 'custom' so I can review all of the available updates. By reading their descriptions I can decide whether I need them or not.

Once you have selected one of the buttons a scan of you system will start automatically which will identify all available updates to your system. You should install any critical updates and sort through the optional updates to see whether you really need them or not.

The same concept applies to any other programs THAT YOU TRUST. If you know that the program is safe, it is advisable to now and again check for any updates as these are usually released by the developers to fix any issues that have been identified or to add new features.

Remember this is all free.

9 easy steps to solving most hardware problems

2009-05-03T21:43:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-13T16:59:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-07T17:59:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-03-10T21:16:00.000-07:00

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!!

2009-03-03T16:14:00.000-08:00

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?

2009-02-17T16:05:00.000-08:00

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?

2009-02-12T18:39:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-12T16:26:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-02T16:29:00.001-08:00

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

2009-02-02T16:26:00.001-08:00

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.

A recent testimonial we received

2009-01-29T16:59:00.001-08:00

We have just received a testimonial from our friends at Excel HP which goes like this:

"We have found B Technologies to be a one-stop shop for all of our IT requirements. As a small business, we do not have the time or money to support in-house services and have decided to outsource.

In doing so, B Technologies were able to configure all of our IT and introduce effective systems. We have found their Team to be extremely helpful and resourceful - particularly when it came to dealing with our Macs.

We have no hesitation in recommending B Technologies to others. "

A big thank you to Trish and the team at Excel HP, and to read some other testimonials from satisfied customers click here

IT humour

2009-01-27T21:20:00.000-08:00

Here are a few examples of genuine help desk calls that are sent around on the Internet.

Customer: Hi, good afternoon, I can't print. Every time I try, it says 'Can't find printer'. I've even lifted the printer and placed it in front of the monitor, but the computer still says he can't find it...

Tech support: What's on your monitor now, ma'am?
Customer: A teddy bear my boyfriend bought for me at Woolies.

Customer: I can't get on the Internet.
Tech support: Are you sure you used the right password?
Customer: Yes, I'm sure. I saw my colleague do it.
Tech support: Can you tell me what the password was?
Customer: Five stars (*****)

Tech support: How may I help you?
Customer: I'm writing my first e-mail.
Tech support: OK, and what seems to be the problem?
Customer: Well, I have the letter 'a' in the address, but how do I get the circle around it?

A woman customer called the Canon help desk with a problem with her printer.
Tech support: Are you running it under windows?
Customer: "No, my desk is next to the door, but that is a good point. The man sitting in the cubicle next to me is under a window, and his printer is working fine."

AND

A horrendous truck roll-over on F3 today!

The "WaybackMachine" - archived images of all web pages from 1996 to the present

2009-01-27T18:42:00.000-08:00

There is a website that allows you to browse through 85 billion web pages archived from 1996 to a few months ago. That means that you can see what websites looked like historically.

To use the WaybackMachine, type in the web address of a site or page which you want to see, and press enter. Then you can select from the archived dates available to see what the website looked like on those dates.

How fast does your website load onto a customer's screen?

2009-01-23T14:19:00.000-08:00

Would you like to know how fast your website loads onto a customer's computer screen? Your could be losing customers if your site load speed is slow!!!

There is some great advice from here at Blogger.com, who suggest that you use "The StopWatch" program which will measure the time for you.

Simply go to their page and enter the URL to be measured and watch the top of the window that opens.

The StopWatch can only measure websites that can be displayed in a frame. Some websites use javascript to break out of frames. This is not a StopWatch bug.

Information from their own website:
Tip: to reload a page and bypass the cache of your browser:
Internet Explorer: Hold the Control key and click the Refresh button on the toolbar.
Mozilla, Firefox, Netscape Navigator: Hold down the Shift key and click the Reload button on the navigation toolbar.
Safari: Hold down the Shift key and click the Reload toolbar button.

How does it work?
The StopWatch is a small Javascript that runs on your computer (not the Numion server). It measures the time between the moment your browser starts to load the URL and when the browser signals that it has finished ("Done" in the status bar). The measurement therefore includes fetching and interpreting all HTML (including frames), images, and Javascripts. It does not include content that is handled by plugins. If the page is in the cache then the stopwatch will measure the faster loading time (see tip above). The accuracy is the accuracy of the Javascript timer, on most systems 10 milliseconds.

Clearing Your Cache and Cookies to Improve PC Security and Performance

2009-01-23T14:11:00.001-08:00

Most browsers hold a saved copy of visited webpages. Clearing your browser's cache and/or cookies can resolve a number of problems you may be experiencing while using sites on the web. Problems that can be solved include reduced speed, security issues such as viruses or spyware and other strange behaviour of your computer. Of course it increases your privacy as well, deleting the record of what sites you have visited.

Google provides some simple instructions for clearing your cache and cookies. Remember these are different for each browser type, so to clear your cache and cookies, you can follow the steps below:

For MS Internet Explorer:
Click Tools at the top of your browser window.
Select Internet Options from the menu.
Select the General tab, if it's not already selected.
Locate the Browsing history section and click Delete.
In the Temporary Internet Files section, click Delete files If a pop-up window appears, click Yes.
In the Cookies section, click Delete cookies If a pop-up window appears, click Yes.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For Mozilla Firefox:
Click Tools at the top of your browser window.
Click Options.
In the Private Data section, click the Settings button.
Ensure that Cache and Cookies are checked.
Click OK.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For Safari:
Click Safari in the upper left corner of your display.
Select Reset Safari from the menu.
A pop-up box will appear. Click Reset.
Click Safari again.
Select Empty Cache from the menu.
A pop-up box will appear. Click Empty.

The global number of internet users has surpassed one billion

2009-01-23T14:03:00.000-08:00

In a recent Nine MSN story it was reported that the global number of internet users has surpassed one billion with China accounting for the largest population of web surfers.

The actual number of web surfers is probably higher than that these figures were based only on the number of internet users aged 15 and above working from home or work computers and did not take into account traffic from public computers such as internet cafes or access from mobile phones or personal digital assistants.

The Asia-Pacific region accounted for 41 per cent of the one billion global internet users, followed by Europe (28 per cent), North America (18 per cent), Latin America (seven per cent) and the Middle East and Africa (five per cent).

China had the largest population of internet users with nearly 180 million people going online, followed by the US with 163 million, Japan with 60 million, Germany and Britain with nearly 37 million each and France with 34 million.
India was next with 32 million internet users followed by Russia (29 million), Brazil (28 million), South Korea (27 million), Canada (22 million) and Italy (21 million).

Google was the most frequently visited web property in December with 777.9 million unique visitors, followed by Microsoft sites (647.9 million visitors), Yahoo! (562.6 million visitors), AOL (273 million) and Wikimedia (273 million).

Facebook.com had grown by 127 per cent in the past year and welcomed 222 million visitors in December, making it the top social networking site worldwide.

The head of the group responsible for th research stated: "It is a monument to the increasingly unified global community in which we live and reminds us that the world truly is becoming more flat"

Convert Images Into Formats You Can View With Ease

2009-01-08T16:29:00.000-08:00

Today's post is simple but very useful.

Have you ever struggled with an image file that’s in the wrong format? Maybe you could open it or couldn't view it with the programs you have.

Using this FREE online Image Conversion Utility, it’s no longer a problem! VERY simple to use so I'll let you figure it out for yourself, but as always, if you have any questions feel free to ask.

From the Team at B Technologies

Read This If You Send YouTube Video Links To Clients

2008-12-18T16:34:00.000-08:00

Here is another interesting blog entry from our friend Dr Marc Dussault.

Have you ever worried about sending someone to a YouTube video and wishing you could get them to start viewing it at a pre-set point so they get the message you want them to get right off the bat and not have to ‘wait’ for it?

Well guess what? You can do just that with this little-known YouTube Tip.

You can specify the minutes and seconds of the start time like this:
add #t=3m03s to the end of the URL to start at 3 minutes and 3 seconds into it, so the entire URL will look like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5705zVMSEqEI#t=3m03s

Another example: add #t=5m58s to the end of the video URL to start playback at 5 minutes 58 seconds:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5705zVMSEqE#t=5m58s

How simple is that?
People’s attention spans are getting shorter and shorter - people will appreciate it if you queue up your YouTube videos for them in advance… Especially if they’ve never seen that before!

If you haven't visited Marc's blog yet, click here to do so.

3 steps to making your life easier with Windows shortcuts

2008-11-26T17:57:00.001-08:00

It is a fact that we spend hours in front of our computer screens everyday, often typing emails, writing word documents and working on excel spreadsheets. These programs are much more user friendly than we think but we often have no idea of the sort of things they can do.

If you want to be make your work easier and save lot of time, I encourage you to follow these 3 simple steps for fast results:
1. google "word shortcuts" or "excel shortcuts" or whatever it is you are looking for and spend a few minutes actually reading some of the results
2. write down on a post it note some of those shortcuts that you know will save you a lot of time in your everyday work
3. place the post it note on your computer screen for a week

After a week of using that shortcut you will learn it and you can throw the post it note away but your productivity and speed in preparing documents will improve

Here are a few useful shortcuts that you may not been aware of:

Get back to where you were
If you are like me and often change between several word documents that you are working on and you don’t remember where exactly you left off, the Shift+F5 combination will save you quite a bit of time. Hit both keys at the same time and Word will automatically place your cursor to where you last left off.

Use the built-in thesaurus
The Shift+F7 combination will look up a highlighted word in the thesaurus sidebar in Microsoft Word.

Insert the Date, Page or Time
The Alt+Shift+D combination will enter the date quickly into a document, and the same applies for entering Page numbers (Alt+Shift+P) and entering the Time (Alt+Shift+T)

Copy, Cut and Paste
If you are copying, cutting and pasting manually you will love to know that simply by using Ctrl+C (to copy), Ctrl+X (to cut) and Ctrl+P (to paste), you will make this action very fast and very easy. This shortcut for example, is a must!

We often provide our clients with shortcuts for the use of all their staff - to increase productivity and as a form of staff development. Contact us if you would like to get your hands on shortcuts for the product you are using.

What should I expect from my IT provider?

2008-11-12T22:00:00.000-08:00

What should I expect from my IT provider? That's a great question that someone asked us recently so we thought we'd briefly answer it here.

Your IT provider should make your life easier in two ways.

Firstly we must be able to solve your day to day issues - so when you call us with something that is frustrating you, like something is not working for example, we must be able to get you up and running, as 'down-time' is often 'no money time'. We must care about your business as we do about ours, so when a call comes in it is to be dealt with as a matter of priority to reduce an impact to your business.

Secondly we must plan for your future. Your business is not static; hopefully it is growing and evolving month by month. This means that the IT system you have in place today has to be able to support your business in the future, or become a pivotal part in the development of your business. We have grown with over 100 small businesses and are experts at planning for your future.

Of course there are numerous other characteristics you expect from all your suppliers such as Trust, Experience, Service, a strong Relationship and Timely and Responsive Support.

The benefits you gain by dealing with a reputable and professional IT company like B Technologies include:
- Increased productivity
- Reduced downtime
- Increased information security
- Reduced hardware and software costs
- Benefits of our expertise and experience in solving problems
- Increased customer satisfaction
- Access to specialised skills

Our website contains information on our truly complete range of services for your business or home.

Click here to read testimonials from some of our satisfied customers that really understand what a professional IT service means to their business.

How to send large files over the internet Part 2

2008-11-12T15:23:00.000-08:00

A colleague has sent us another link to send large files over the internet, where using the free feature, you can upload 500mb files with ease to share with others. (Read Part 1 of this post to get the details of how useful this tool really is.)

The site is www.megaupload.com and we have already tested it and it works great.

So a great big thanks to Sam Kritsotakis from Eskae Jewellery for sending us his link. You can find out more about his fantastic jewellery range and related services by visiting his website www.EskaeJeweller.com

We invite you to visit our website at www.BTechnologies.com

A very entertaining video of the 1st ever help desk

2008-11-05T22:35:00.000-08:00

This video is well worth your 2.5 minutes. It is very funny and we all need a good laugh now and again, so check it out.

We invite you to visit our website at www.BTechnologies.com

Free Anti-Virus and Spyware protection for Home use

2008-11-05T18:07:00.000-08:00

In this day and age with all the threats posed by connecting your PC or laptop to the Internet, you can not afford not to have up to date Anti-Virus and Spyware protection.

There are many products available on the market but a great free tool that offers the basic level of protection that you are looking for for a home setting is AVG's free product which you can download from their own site.

In their own words this product has more than 2 million active users in Australia and over 80 million users worldwide, making AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition the best and most popular FREE protection currently available.

If you decide to download and use this product for your home use, make sure you regularly download the updates that are available or set the program to download them automatically for you, and also you should run a full system scan with the AVG program at least once a month, but if you are doing a lot of internet searches, you will probably want to perform the scan more frequently.

We invite you to visit our website at www.BTechnologies.com

How to send large files over the internet

2008-10-21T17:56:00.000-07:00

As a very active IT company we come across many great links to fantastic online services that you probably want to store somewhere for when you need it in the future.

Today's website is http://www.yousendit.com/ and the service they provide is free and very handy. Let’s say you want to send a video to a colleague or friend but it’s 100 MB (BIG!) you can’t send it in an email but you can easily get it to them via this service. You can also send up to 2 GBs worth of data with the paid service.

All you have to do is sign up for a free account (with a 100 MB upload limit) which take a few minutes and then you can upload the video to their server. Once this is done you set up log in details for your colleague or friend so they will be able to access the file, and simply email these to them. Once they have received these details they can log in and download the file straight from the web.

This is a great service that we recommend to our clients all the time, if you have any questions about it, feel free to ask. For bigger files another solution is explained below.

Also if you know of any great services like this on the internet, let us know and when I post it on here, I will happily mention you and your website as the contributor.

For a completely free solution up to 1GB:

1. Create a free gmail account (google mail account)

2. You can't send big files but you can store up to 1GB worth of stuff

3. Compose a message and attach the big file (up to 1GB), but DON'T SEND IT

4. Send the Gmail log in details to whoever you want to be able to access the file. They can log in to Gmail with the account details you send them, and they can access the email with the attachment that you prepared so they are able to download the file for themselves

We invite you to visit our website at http://www.BTechnologies.com/

B Technologies on Dr Marc Dussault's blog

2008-10-20T20:34:00.000-07:00

Recently B Technologies got a mention on the blog of Dr Marc Dussault, THE exponential marketing strategist in Australia.

Click on the link below to visit his blog and to find out more about Marc who we consider as one the best things to happen to our business.

But that's not all, you may learn something AND be entertained and amazed by a great 3 minute video.

P.S. you will also find a reference to B Technologies on this blog entry !

http://www.empowernetinternetmastery.com.au/blog/youtube-the-best-free-tool-to-decrease-your-sales-cycle/

We invite you to visit our website at www.BTechnologies.com

Top 20 sites on the Internet

2008-10-20T04:50:00.000-07:00

Here is a very interesting list of the Top 20 sites used by all internet users in 2008. Just think about what this could mean for your business? What do they offer that attracts such large number of users? And how do they keep them coming back? - Answers we can help you with.

So here they are as of July 2008:

No. 20 Craigslist
Unique Visitors: 30,210,000Average Time Per Visit: 1:13:21Rank in July 2005: No. 131
No. 19 Real Network
Unique Visitors: 32,034,000Average Time Per Visit: 0:34:01Rank in July 2005: No. 9
No. 18 Glam Media
Unique Visitors: 32,573,000Average Time Per Visit: 0:14:15Rank in July 2005: N/A
No. 17 CNN Digital Network
Unique Visitors: 32,977,000Average Time Per Visit: 0:37:32Rank in July 2005: No. 13
No. 16 Facebook
Unique Visitors: 34,362,000Average Time Per Visit: 1:29:39Rank in July 2005: No. 236
No. 15 Weather Channel
Unique Visitors: 35,949,000Average Time Per Visit: 0:35:16Rank in July 2005: No. 10
No. 14 About.com
Unique Visitors: 38,477,000Average Time Per Visit: 0:04:58Rank in July 2005: No. 14
No. 13 Ask Search Network
Unique Visitors: 40,182,000Average Time Per Visit: 0:19:19Rank in July 2005: N/A
No. 12 Blogger
Unique Visitors: 40,825,000Average Time Per Visit: 0:11:56Rank in July 2005: No. 35
No. 11 Amazon
Unique Visitors: 45,144,000Average Time Per Visit: 0:25:49Rank in July 2005: No. 8
No. 10 Apple
Unique Visitors: 50,694,000Average Time Per Visit: 1:12:10Rank in July 2005: No. 11
No. 9 Wikipedia
Unique Visitors: 51,786,000Average Time Per Visit: 0:20:49Rank in July 2005: No. 57
No. 8 eBay
Unique Visitors: 56,111,000Average Time Per Visit: 1:49:30Rank in July 2005: No. 6
No. 7 Fox Interactive Media
Unique Visitors: 70,103,000Average Time Per Visit: 2:06:53Rank in July 2005: N/A
No. 6 YouTube
Unique Visitors: 74,809,000Average Time Per Visit: 1:02:57Rank in July 2005: N/A
No. 5 AOL Media Network
Unique Visitors: 91,776,000Average Time Per Visit: 3:40:40Rank in July 2005: No. 5
No. 4 Microsoft
Unique Visitors: 92,318,000Average Time Per Visit: 0:38:01Rank in July 2005: No. 2
No. 3 MSN/Windows
Unique Visitors: 99,512,000Average Time Per Visit: 2:12:36Rank in July 2005: No. 3
No. 2 Yahoo!
Unique Visitors: 116,178,000Average Time Per Visit: 3:33:00Rank in July 2005: No. 1
No. 1 Google
Unique Visitors: 123,161,000Average Time Per Visit: 1:18:24Rank in July 2005: No. 4

We invite you to visit our website at www.BTechnologies.com

Domain Name Registration Tips - What You Should Know

2008-10-07T23:53:00.000-07:00

Three things you should know about domain name registrations.

#1
if you have good ideas in your head i.e. an internet business – you should think about good domain names and register them. you can go to
http://www.melbourneit.com.au/
this is the site we use to look up if a domain name is available. You should always look at getting the .com but can ALSO get the .com.au (see below).

There are a lot of versions of domain names available now and .net and .biz will work too but really .com is obviously the best to choose. If you really wanted to you could get makemoremoneyonline.net and as long as people are directed to your website via links but .com and .com.au in Australia are preferred.

Once you have found what you want, you go to http://www.godaddy.com/ and register it for around $10/yr. You can register for one year initially as they always have deals where they will let you know when they have specials such as domain renewals at 20% off, so and you can go and extend it then. (They are amazing at trying to get more money out of you – you don’t need any of their special registrations, protection etc).

If you want to register an Australian domain name (.com.au), you can't do that on GoDaddy so for that you should go to http://www.crazydomains.com.au/

#2
You should all own your own name! i.e. http://www.johnsmith.com/ you never know when you will need it, you certainly don’t want someone else having it.

Let us know if you need some help, contact us through our website

Welcome

2008-10-03T00:20:00.000-07:00

Welcome to our the official B Technologies log!

Come back often as we will make sure to keep providing you with useful and entertaining items. We also welcome your feedback so feel free to drop us a line.

Daniel
B Technologies
www.BTechnologies.com