Creating calm out of chaos using a Wall Mount Rack Enclosure

[Nerd Scale: 2 out of 5 pocket protectors]

 

I love the feel of a server room.   The hum of running servers and the cool air of a climate controlled

room puts me at ease.  Add some passive noise cancelling technology and I have my own personal nerdy zen garden.

 

"Om"

 

But nothing can ruin the peace and tranquility faster than the clutter of patch cables.   It so easy for patch cables to become tangled and messy; destroying my inner calm.   This week, I had a client who was experiencing the same problem.   Their server room, or to be more precise, their server closet was visible for all to see and was cluttered.   Many of the employees were complaining, but more importantly, the office manager was not happy.  Our solution was to install a Tripp Lite SRW12U 12U wall mounted rack enclosure that would provide some needed cable organization, extra security and hardware concealment.

 

Here is a picture of the rat's nest of cables before:

 

 

 

And here is a picture of the cables after using cable organizers:

 

 

 

It is a small thing, but something that has a positive psychological effect on the people who have to see it everyday.

 

Now with the clutter minimized, I understand this client will be holding Tai Chi classes in their server room for their staff on Friday mornings.

 

If you need help creating calm out of the chaos, contact Binkley IT Consulting.  We can help.

 

 

 

 

How to create custom greetings on Google Voice

[Nerd Scale: 2 out of 5 pocket protectors]

 

Are you using Google Voice?  Many of my small business clients are and I have

to tell you I am a big fan.   There are so many incredible features that Google Voice offers, including email/text notifications of missed calls or voice mails.  It is amazing that a free service exists that gives a small business many features that larger companies enjoy from their high-priced phone systems.

One of the features I enjoy the most from Google Voice is the ability to create customized voicemail greetings.  I am fond of the idea of creating customized greetings for each client you may have as a way of personalizing the voicemail experience.  Sure, it's not necessary, but kind of cool.

 

It's a bit tricky out of the box trying to figure out how to do this, so this week's blog will show you the steps:

 

(1) Log into Google Voice at https://www.google.com/voice

 

(2) Create a contact for the intended recipient of the customized greeting to your Google Contacts by choosing Google Contacts | New Contact | add new contact info

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(3) Record a customized greeting by going to the GEAR icon | Settings | Voicemail & Texts | Record New Greeting

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(4) Add the customized greeting to the contact by searching for the contact's name in the search bar and applying the appropriate greeting to their contact:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, every time the client calls you from the numbers listed in their contact information and reaches voicemail, they will receive the customized voicemail greeting.   That could make the voicemail experience for you client just a bit more pleasant.

The hidden costs of higher speed internet

[Nerd Scale: 2 out of 5 pocket protectors]

 

 

Who doesn't like faster internet?  For me, installing a super fast internet connection for a client is a little like Christmas morning. It is nerdily exciting.

It is common now, especially in home offices, to be able to get speeds up to 50Mbps.  With that kind of bandwidth, files download in a blink of an eye, streaming Netflix displays in higher definition and viruses can infect your computer at a much faster rate than ever before.  It is all very efficient.

Or is it?  There are hidden costs associated with upgrading our internet service to faster speeds that most of us don't think about.   And it all has to do with wireless.   Wireless technology has made our computing lives easier, or at least more aesthetically pleasing.   We don't have to be tethered to a single location in our office or have unsightly wires strewn across our workspaces. 

It is important to understand when upgrading your internet speeds that a lot of the wireless technology that we have been using can't actually support the new high speeds.   This is not to say if you purchase a 50Mbps service that your wireless will stop working.  It means that your wireless may not be able to provide you access to all the bandwidth.

Most of us are probably using 802.11g or 802.11n wireless routers on our networks.  I don't intend to delve into the nuts and bolts of these technologies, or really discuss the theoretical vs actual performance of these technologies.  Using 802.11g, you will probably max out your connection at 20Mbps.  802.11n is supposed to be able to support these higher speeds, but I have seen plenty of 802.11n devices max out at 24Mbps.  This is usually due to using an early, or draft, version of the 802.11n hardware that really wasn't certified for the 802.11n protocol.   I have encountered more 802.11n hardware that doesn't support higher speeds than those that do.  

What you will need is an upgrade to the newer 802.11ac hardware.  The 802.11ac protocols have been out for awhile, but are still new enough that they are kind of pricey.  You may need to purchase an 802.11 AC router.  Most of the 802.11ac routers that I would suggest run in the $150-$200 range.   I have been really impressed by Apple's new Airport Extreme and some of the Linksys' AC line.

As well as the router purchase, you may need to purchase a wireless network adapter for each computer that needs access to the full bandwidth.   The costs range anywhere between $40-$100 for the wireless network adapter.   Apple has added 802.11ac to all their new laptops already, but the PC world has been a bit late in adopting the technology.   If you are purchasing a new laptop in the near future, you might want to think about upgrading the wireless network adapter to an AC version.

Most 802.11ac routers have dual-band technology that will allow the older 802.11g and 802.11n devices to connect, they just will have limited bandwidth (again, some 802.11n wireless network adapters will support higher speeds and some will not).  You won't have to upgrade every computer, just the ones that need faster internet.

At the very least, you would probably have to spend about $200 to fully take advantage of your new internet speeds.  So keep that in mind when you are calculating the cost of upgrading your internet speeds.

And if you need help installing the new hardware or deciding what you should purchase, please contact Binkley IT Consulting.  We can help.

Protecting your computer against viruses and malware

If you own a computer, chances are someday

it will get infected with a virus or malware.  Even with a corporate style anti-virus software running on your system, you are not protected against all threats, because those threats are always changing.   However, there are some things you can do to help lessen  the chance of getting infected or help recover quickly from an attack.

(1) Make sure you are running an anti-virus software and that you update it regularly.   I have never found one anti-virus software that protects against all threats, so it is hard to recommend which one would be the best.   On my personal laptop, I am using Microsoft's Security Essentials, mainly because it is free but also because it does do a really good job of protecting my system.  I have also had some great success with Kaspersky recently.   Regardless of which anti-virus software you use, you must make sure that the virus definitions are up to date.   Most anti-virus software allows you customize how often the software searches for updated virus definitions.   Back in the day, we use to set it to update once a day.  However, today the threats emerge so quickly that I have taken to running the updates every hour on some networks.   You have to be careful to understand your bandwidth limitations and how performing frequent updates could have an adverse effect on your network.  Referring to our last blog: Don't be a bandwidth hog.   But keep your system protected.

(2) Make sure to disable auto-run on USB drives.  Many viruses get spread by infecting a memory stick or usb hard drive.  If your computer is set to enable auto-run for these devices, the infection can easily get transferred to your computer.  To learn more about the auto-run function and how to disable it, take a look at this article by Microsoft:  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/967715

(3) Make sure to be careful to interrogate hyperlinks in websites and emails.  It used to be common that viruses were distributed in email attachments.  And although this method of delivery still occurs, it is much less common than it use to be, mainly because anti-virus software has become really good at protecting against that kind of attack.  What is more common today is to get an email with a hyperlink that takes you to a location that contains the malicious software.  Usually, clicking on the hyperlink will allow the site to install the payload on your system.   Here is an example of how to interrogate a hyperlink.   Take a look at this link:  http://www.google.com

If you hover over this link without clicking, your browser should report to you where this link is being directed.   Although the text the link display says it is going to www.google.com, if you hover over it you will see that it is actually going to direct you to www.binkleyit.com.   Now, our website won't infect your computer with a virus, but if we were up to no good we could be redirecting you to a location that could install a virus or malware onto your system.

 

(4) Get in the habit of closing pop up windows using the "red X".   A common method of tricking a user into installing malicious software on their system is by displaying a pop-up window that appears to be a dialog box containing OK / CANCEL buttons.   In reality, these pop-ups are usually just a picture of dialog box that has an action mapped to it that installs the malicious software when the image is clicked.   Instead of clicking on the image's CANCEL button, close the entire window by clicking on the window's close icon, usually depicted as a red X.

 

(5) Make sure your software is up to date.   Most attacks occur because an exploit in the operating system or a specific software package has been found.  Software companies will frequently release updates to fix these exploits.   Make sure that you have updates enabled and are frequently verifying that the updates are being applied.

(6) Be aware of what is going on with your computer.   It is rare to be infected with a virus or malware without it showing some sort of sign that you are infected.    These signs could be a slowing of the system, extra icons on the desktop or new toolbars in your browser windows.   Pay attention to these changes and don't dismiss them.   They are usually a sign that someone other than you has installed software on your system.   The quicker you can detect the infection, the easier it usually is to recover.

(7) Make sure that your system restore software is enabled.   This won't protect you from getting viruses or malware, but it can be a useful tool for recovering from an infection.  In a lot of cases, if the infection is detected quickly enough, you can run a system restore from the previous day and have the system restore to a point before getting infected.

(8) Make sure that you are backing up all your data frequently.   Again, this won't protect you from getting a virus or malware, but it will ensure that if you are ever attacked by a serious infection, your data will not be at risk because you have copies of it somewhere else.  Programs such as Mozy and Carbonite make it very easy to ensure that your data is safe.  Both OSX and Windows have built in backup utilities that make backing up to external hard drives very simple.   There should be no reason to not have reliable backups.

 

As always, if you need any help learning more about protecting yourself from viruses and malware, or if you need help recovering from an attack, contact Binkley IT Consulting and we can help.