Don't be a bandwidth hog

Last week, I met up with a client who was working onsite at one of their client's networks.   Halfway through my visit, the IT Admin of the network popped his head into the conference room we were using to ask us if we were uploading large amounts of data.   Their normally high-speed internet connection was running extremely slowly.

We had been downloading data, but not aware of any uploading.   After taking a closer look at my client's computer, I noticed that it was running Carbonite, an in-the-cloud backup service.  The Carbonite software was set to continuously backup the data on her computer.  In this case, after we were finished downloading the large files we were working with, Carbonite was busy uploading them for safe keeping.  All the time, it was using quite a substantial bit of the bandwidth, which made for one unhappy IT Guy.

Later that week, I was at a client's network that has very limited bandwidth to begin with.   They are in a location that is only serviced by T1 lines and they max out at 6 Mbps.   They were holding an annual conference and using some video conferencing technology to allow a few remote people to attend their conference.   The remote users could not get the video portion of the conference to work and were left with audio only.   I took a look at the bandwidth and half of it was being used up by something unknown.   After trekking around the building, I stumbled upon a guest on the network that was streaming Pandora Radio on their laptop.  I kindly asked them to turn off the Pandora and when they did the bandwidth was restored and the remote conference users were able to get their video connection to display.

At most networks, there is never enough bandwidth.  If you are a guest on a network, you might want to make sure to turn off your applications that use up a lot of bandwidth to avoid being a bandwidth hog.  Especially, if you don't need to be using them while on-site.   Basically, any program that streams music, video, uploads or downloads files will use bandwidth and create a grumpier than usual IT Guy.   You don't want that.

How to automatically dial an extension with a smartphone

[Nerd Scale: 1 out of 5 pocket protectors]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you are like me, you make frequent calls to companies that have phone switchboards or auto-attendants that require an extension number in order to get connected to the correct person or department.  Did you know that you can program a contact's extension on your smartphone so it will automatically dial it when you place a call?

 

There are two ways of accomplishing this.

 

The Pause Option:

Most switch-boards or auto-attendants allow you to skip the pre-recorded greeting and dial the extension whenever you want.   The PAUSE option on a smartphone will allow you to append the extension to the number stored for the contact by adding a comma followed by the extension.

 

For example, if you are dialing the number 303-555-1234 ext 100, using the Pause option, you would enter the number in your phone as 3035551234,100.   When dialed, your phone will call 303-555-1234, pause until it detects the auto-attendant has answered and then dial the extension.

 

Most smartphones will have a ?#+ or +*# key that appears on the number pad when entering phone numbers for a contact.   If you press this key, you will see more input options.   Some phones will have a key named PAUSE and some will have a comma key.   Press the appropriate key and then type in the extension number.

 

 

 

The Wait Option:

 

Some switch-boards or auto-attendants do not allow you to skip the greeting and require you to wait for it to end before entering the extension.   In these situations, the WAIT key is what you need.   The Wait option is entered similarly to the Pause options, but instead of using a comma, you will use the semi-colon.

 

For example, if you are dialing the number 303-555-1234 ext 100, using the Wait option, you would enter the number in your phone as 3035551234;100.  When dialed, your phone will call 303-555-1234 and present you with a message that reads something similar to

 

"Send the following tones?100" 

 

and will wait until you press the SEND key that appears on your smartphone before it dials the extension.

 

For those of you on the go, the PAUSE option is a great way to truly be hands-free when calling contacts that require extensions.  Give it a try and let us know what you think.

 

 

Protect your compute's performance by looking out for packaged software.

There are many things that can negatively effect the performance of a computer: age, faulty hardware, faulty software, viruses or malicious software.

This week it has seemed as if all the systems I serviced had slowness caused by the McAfee Security Scan.  Over the past week, I have encountered this issue so many times that I am in danger of misdiagnosing the next slow computer I encounter simply because I am on auto-pilot.

Now, there is nothing inherently wrong with this McAfee software.   The problem I am seeing is McAfee Security Scan is getting installed on computers that already have anti-virus software installed on them.   A computer becomes slower after any anti-virus software is installed.   That's the nature of anti-virus software and it is a necessary evil we tolerate to protect our systems.   But when you install multiple anti-virus software solutions on the same system it can become extremely non-responsive.

The question is: "How is it getting installed?"  It is common practice for software vendors to include other software installations within their install programs.  I like to refer to this as Packaged Software. 

Awhile back, the McAfee Security Scan was packaged with the Adobe Reader install.   Today, if you download the Adobe Reader, it will come packaged with Google Chrome and the Google Toolbar. 

You will notice in the image above, Adobe offers you the option to not include the Google software prior to downloading the Adobe Reader.   Most software installs that contain packaged software will give you the option to refuse the install of the packaged software during the install or prior to downloading.

Like everything security related with computers, vigilance is the key.  Make sure when you are installing software that you are taking the time to ensure other software is not being installed on your system. 

If you find packaged software that you think is slowing the performance of your computer but you are not quite sure if you should uninstall it, give as a call at Binkley IT Consulting and we will help.

Happy 4th of July

 

 

 

 

 

“All the great things are simple, and many can be expressed in a single word: freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope”. ~Winston Churchill

 

“Liberty is the breath of life to nations” ~ Bernard Shaw

 

 

Here is a list of fireworks shows in Colorado.  Have a fun and safe celebration:

 

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/list-of-2013-july-4th-firework-shows-throughout-colorado