Monday, August 1, 2016 at 9:19AM Feeling under appreciated, needing a little help? Want to get a little something for talking about your favorite issue?
Here is good way to compensate. Find a little humor with the Sysadmin foolproof flowchart guide on fixing any computer problem. After you stop laughing send in one of your many experiences and get a free IT Survival Kit.
Monday, August 1, 2016 at 9:06AM There is a little loophole that I am sure that Microsoft will close up quickly that still allows users that need to use assistive technologies to still receive the Windows Upgrade for free.
According to a tucked-away page on Microsoft’s site, users who need accessibility features can still choose to upgrade for free for an undetermined amount of time. To sign up for the free upgrade, you simply have to check a box that says you use assistive technologies, and Microsoft doesn’t seem to be verifying the claim at all so it may work even for typical users who missed the deadline.
Microsoft may rescind or modify the offer at any time, so if you want to upgrade to Windows 10 and don’t want to pay, you should probably check this out as soon as possible. To get started, head to the source link below and click Upgrade Now.
Windows 10 free upgrade for customers who use assistive technologies
Thanks Matt for this little insight.
Sunday, July 31, 2016 at 9:34AM 
Sophos SafeGuard – encryption that won’t slow you down
Looking for the answer to your encryption needs? Sophos SafeGuard provides the most complete data protection solution on the market today.
It keeps your data secure as it moves from laptop, to mobile, to cloud, to Mac; as well as making it easy to manage native encryption such as BitLocker and FileVault 2.
But don’t just take our word for it. Here’s what the experts are saying:
Learn more and get a no-obligation quote.
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3 Van de Graaff Drive, Burlington, MA 01803.
Saturday, July 30, 2016 at 9:03AM Sophos SafeGuard encrypts content as soon as it’s created. And with the encryption always on, you can enjoy seamless secure collaboration. Synchronized Encryption proactively protects your data by continuously validating the user, application, and security integrity of a device before allowing access to encrypted data.
If you’re considering a new encryption solution we highly recommend you take a look at Sophos. Their solution is easy to deploy, manage and use. Sophos has been named as ‘The Breakout Star’ in Forrester Encryption Wave 2015 and recognized as a Leader in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Mobile Data Protection. Find out more [link to https://www.sophos.com/en-us/lp/encryption-dance.aspx#encryption-made-simple]
Get the free whitepaper from Sophos and bust 6 common encryption myths including system performance and key management. Download now [link to https://secure2.sophos.com/en-us/security-news-trends/whitepapers/gated-wp/deciphering-the-code.aspx]
See how a hacker can strike through unsecured Wi-Fi and gain access to your login details and sensitive files. Then watch the same scenario with Sophos SafeGuard encryption in place and see the same sensitive files become unreadable and unusable to the hacker. Watch now [link to https://www.sophos.com/en-us/lp/encryption-dance.aspx#encryption-isnt-complicated]
Thursday, July 28, 2016 at 9:20AM I get a lot of good insightful information from the Supersite for Windows and I have pointed you to articles from there that I think are interesting or important from time to time. With the advent of the soon to be released Anniversary edition of Window 10, I am looking forward to seeing what Paul and his group of writers have to tell us about this update. In this article Richard Ray presents five of his favorite apps that are in Store. Take a look here.
Thursday, July 28, 2016 at 8:14AM It seems to never fail that as soon as you think that something is a great solution someone puts a kink into it. However, the good news is that the issue was fixed in a day. Thanks LastPass!
Password managers are tools that help you keep track of the numerous accounts that a modern digital lifestyle needs.
These days, it’s not just passwords for your mainstream online accounts such as webmail, Facebook and Twitter.
Even activities that you probably don’t associate with online life – renting an apartment, for example, registering to pay tax, or applying for a visa – often end up at a web page that requires you to create an account before you can go any further.
Wednesday, July 27, 2016 at 11:05AM I spend a lot of time on this site discussing security issues and pointing to articles that describe good methods of securing your personal and work data. I am a big fan of the Naked Security blog not only because it comes from one of most important security partners, Sophos, but also because of the in depth an timely information that they bring to the table. Again, I am going to point you to another article that talks about using LastPass to organize and control the passwords that you use for internet sites. This is a program that most of us internally have been using for a long time to secure our access and we think that using this program to generate better passwords and giving you better control over access to your important websites is extremely important. This along with 2-factor authentication are great steps in securing yourself.
Tuesday, July 26, 2016 at 7:07AM Do you trust Facebook? Their providing end to end encrypted messaging that they don’t keep a record of just seems like something that wouldn’t fly with the government, and aren’t they already in bed with them providing all of the data flowing through their servers?
Monday, July 25, 2016 at 9:00AM Matt Soseman posted an overview on how to configure Toll-Free Numbers for Dial-In Conferencing in Office365.
What is Cloud PSTN Conferencing?
Cloud PSTN Conferencing is a feature in Office365 E5 offering the capability to join a Skype for Business meeting using a traditional dial-in telephone number as an alternative to using the Skype for Business client on a PC or smartphone. This will allow the meeting attendee to participate in the audio only portion of the meeting.
This can also be used independently of Skype for Business as a traditional conference bridge, a useful scenario when the full client experience is not desired or inaccessible.
What’s Required?
To enable, you must have:
Assign the user the full Office365 Enterprise E5 license, or the Skype for Business PSTN Conferencing license.
For access to more information check it out here:
Sunday, July 24, 2016 at 8:21AM techcrunch posts a report that is initially a little deceptive. Of course, I am the one that assumed that the sharing was of Wi-Fi access not information of where there is Wi-Fi access. But still this is an interesting data source for finding hot-spots that you can use. The Instabridge app allows you to share details of any Wi-Fi hotspots shared by everyone else in the community.
This has enabled it to build a crowdsourced database of Wi-Fi hotspots, in addition to a list of known public venues that have free Wi-Fi, such as McDonald’s or Starbucks.
Saturday, July 23, 2016 at 9:09AM Microsoft introduced a free browser based Skype Meetings.
We’re pleased to introduce free Skype Meetings—a new online meetings tool that provides small businesses with real-time audio and HD video conferencing. Skype Meetings includes collaboration features like the ability to share screens and content during meetings.
Watch this video to see Skype Meetings in action:
With Skype Meetings, you can quickly set up meetings and share a personalized URL that participants click to join the meeting. During the meeting, participants can IM, share their screen or PowerPoint presentation or use the laser pointer and whiteboard features to make it more engaging and productive. The meeting organizer also gets professional meeting controls such as the ability to mute the audience in order to be heard.
Anyone in the U.S. with a business email address and whose organization doesn’t already have Office 365 can sign up for free Skype Meetings at www.skype.com/meetings. Once you sign up, you can set up meetings for up to 10 people for the first 60 days and up to 3 people thereafter. All you need is a device with an Internet browser, a microphone, speaker and camera, which are included on many devices.
If you have an Office 365 business subscription that includes Skype for Business, then you already have richer online meetings capabilities, such as the ability to conduct large group meetings for up to 250 people and the ability to IM anyone in your organization at any time—not just during meetings. In addition, Skype for Business is integrated with other Office 365 apps to enable you to do things like schedule a Skype meeting from your Outlook calendar, see your colleagues’ presence, and initiate an IM or start an audio or video conversation within apps like Outlook, Word and PowerPoint.
Start a free meeting today at go.skype.com/meetings.
—Andrew Sinclair, general manager for Skype for Business
What I was really hoping from this was gaining the PSTN conference calling and that is not what we have here. This is Microsoft providing the product to entice users to jump onto one of the Office 365 subscriptions that provide Skype for Business as part of the App group that you get.
Friday, July 22, 2016 at 8:57AM Samsung has just launched an EVO 850 4 TB drive SSD which has just become the largest consumer grade SSD on the market.
Built with Samsung's renowned V-NAND technology, the 4TB 850 EVO SSD melds the reliability and endurance of the 850 EVO series with high-end performance. Set in a slim and compact 2.5-inch form factor, the Samsung 850 EVO 4TB model sports all the trimmings and optimizations of the 850 EVO line with blistering-fast 540 MB/s read and 520 MB/s write speeds with TurboWrite.
Four terabytes is quite a staggering amount of data, especially for an SSD; for reference the 4TB 850 EVO can hold up to 1,000 two-hour 1080p movies with compression--that's more than two or three movie libraries on a single 2-inch SSD. The colossal SSD also features a 1.5 million hour MTBF rate, and uses the SATA 6Gb/s interface for speedy transfers.
Samsung's 4TB 850 EVO SSD retails for a staggering $1,499 and comes with a five-year limited warranty, with availability across over 50 regions like the United States, Korea, China and Europe. Drop by the product page for more information.
Thursday, July 21, 2016 at 8:48AM Ransomware isn’t a laughing matter, especially if you’re the victim.
Even if you don’t lose any data in the attack, it’s a bit like getting mugged by crooks who end up running off without your wallet.
If ransomeware by itself wasn’t scary enough!
Wednesday, July 20, 2016 at 8:42AM We already know that people are willing to hand over their firstborns for free Wi-Fi.
Or, at least, they’re more willing to accidentally sign over perpetual ownership of their tots than they are to read lengthy terms and conditions. We know this thanks to a security firm that set up an open Wi-Fi network in a busy public area in London and then presented people with lengthy terms and conditions to sign up and – buh-bye, now! – inadvertently sign kids away in blissful ignorance.
Now, thanks to new research, we know that the same goes for signing up for a new social media platform.
Sorry, kids: you’ve once again been put on the bargaining table by researchers out to prove the point that this is the biggest lie on the internet:
I have read and agree with the terms and conditions.
The study comes from Jonathan Obar, who teaches communication technology at York University, and Anne Oeldorf-Hirsch, a University of Connecticut communications assistant professor.
read more
https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2016/07/15/users-sign-away-their-firstborns-on-fake-social-network/
Tuesday, July 19, 2016 at 8:36AM Naked Security reports: Card fraud now hits nearly one third of consumers worldwide
Imagine folded, chopped, and mutilated plastic up to the sky: that’s the pile being generated by cardholder fraud these days.
I’ll let ACI Worldwide and Aite Group quantify the pile just a bit:
Of all cardholders – debit, credit, and prepaid – 30% have experienced card fraud in the past five years.
That’s the #1 takeaway from their latest biennial survey of cardholders in 20 countries worldwide.
If that topline figure isn’t bad enough, 17% of debit and credit card holders say they’ve fallen victim multiple times over that period – up from 13% in the 2014 survey.
Many of the costs to individuals and institutions are pretty obvious: reimbursements of fraudulent transactions, potentially damaged credit ratings, card replacement and security costs. Unsurprisingly, card fraud also contributes to costly customer churn: worldwide, one-fifth of consumers “changed financial institutions due to dissatisfaction after experiencing fraud.”
But, as the survey’s authors note, financial institutions face an additional cost that might not be obvious to the casual observer: worldwide, 40% of consumers use the compromised account less frequently after the fraud.
Monday, July 18, 2016 at 9:09AM It has been a long time since I have written anything about photography equipment which is funny since I still consider photography as one of my main hobbies. Today I ran into an article posted in the Verge describing a USB Tethering system to boost signal strength between your computer and your camera. You can add additional lengths of cable for a total of 65 feet. Other additional support products include a battery and power injector to increase the signal strength even more making a much more reliable connection especially at the longer cable lengths.
TetherTools is a great place to purchase or learn more about this product and the options they suggest. In fact they have a whole line of products to support your camera to computer tethering needs. You can purchase product individually but they have a great kit with:
All for just $379.00, not to bad. You will need to add your own tripods though.
Sunday, July 17, 2016 at 12:09PM I don’t understand its popularity but there is no denying that it is taking the world by storm. With a world that is already so full of wonder why do we need this? Well, the bad guys are taking advantage of it of course!
Take a look at this article on NakedSecurity that describes not only the program but also some very scary security issues.
Saturday, July 16, 2016 at 11:52AM A printer bug that has not been fixed for XP systems. YOU NEED TO UPGRADE to a new operating system and in most cases a new machine! See full article here.
Friday, July 15, 2016 at 11:45AM Engadget’s article reminding us that Microsoft’s free 10gb upgrade to handle your photos is being rolled back. If you didn’t take advantage of opting out of losing the storage space you will need to find an alternate source.
There are lots of other sources but if you want more space in many cases you will need to take out your wallet to get it.
