General Computer Protection Strategies to Employ

In addition to buying software for anti-hacking and anti-virus protection, there are a number of additional strategies that you can employ on your computer and as you operate your computer to help protect it against intrusion and to protect your information wherever you may choose to let it reside. Here's a list of some tips that will help you.

• Turn off or logout of your computer when not using it - the less time your computer is online, the less it is being seen by externals that may mean you harm.


• If you have more than one person in your household using your computer, set up separate "firewalled" accounts for each of them - don't let people onto your system through your own login and password.


• Keep your anti-virus software as current as you can. Update it regularly so that you are protected against the newer viruses that have been identified and have been guarded against by your anti-virus software provider.


• Increase the privacy settings on your computer. In an upcoming lecture, I show you how to update these settings if you are using Windows 10. Watch that video as well and also be looking to update your privacy settings on older versions of Windows if that is what you are running on your computer.


• Be careful opening PDF files you receive from external sources. Hackers and software virus creators have in recent times found this to be an effective platform for sending out their damage causing payloads.


• Regarding e-mails, don't be curious. If you don't know where an e-mail came from, don't open it. If you do open an e-mail from someone you don't know and/or that you received in an unsolicited manner, do not click on any links found within the e-mail. Executable viruses are sometimes attached to what you think is just a link to another site.


• If you are concerned about the authenticity of an e-mail address when you have received an e-mail, check it out by looking at the "Details" dropdown you can click next to the e-mail name. I have sometimes even taken this one step further by checking out their e-mail domain address using a domain provider to do a "Who Is" search when I am really wondering about where something came from.


• Be careful of all downloads to your computer. Be sure you know the source is safe and you are on a real webpage belonging to that source when you download the content. Hackers are now setting up "Fake" webpages that look like real businesses to lure you in so that they can access you through downloads from their sites.


• Using the "Cloud" for storage is risky - even places like Google Drive, Dropbox, etc. can be hacked. Cloud storage locations seem to be prime targets for hackers. These are convenient storage and data backup locations for many so if you want to use them, here are a few tips that could save the privacy of your content there.

o The simplest protection method is to only send encrypted or Zipped content up there for storage. If you are using zip files, use the Zip password feature before sending. This helps to protect your content even if that site gets hacked.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9457987

Hire A Data Recovery Service For Your Data Recovery

No matter whether you use your computer for day-to-day purpose or work, you can't afford to lose your important data. Losing official data can cause you to lose a good deal of money making a negative impact on your business. If you happen to have a data loss problem, you may want to look for a hard disk recovery service.
Experience
Mostly, companies store data on computer hard drives, and these devices are delicate. With a little mishandling, hard drives may fail. In some cases, they fail to the point that it is impossible to recover them. But mostly, the data stored on these drives can be recovered with special data recovery apps. But only experienced companies should be hired to handle the data recovery work as you may not want to hire someone who will further damage your hard drive. Experienced companies can give you a free service contact if contacted.
Expertise
The service you are going to choose should be able to restore data lost accidentally. Recovering data is more difficult when the RAID controllers are involved. RAID controller fail when there is a problem with the hardware. If you think that you can't access the raid system, you have a technical problem to deal with, and you should go to a specialist for data recovery as your data may at a high risk.
Degree of damage
With the passage time and regular usage, computer and the relevant peripherals tend to go through wear and tear. Moreover, careless handling can even cause severe damage to the component, especially component that are in use most of the time. Even if your hard drives seem to be severely damaged, the data may not be lost for good. A hard drive doesn't work properly and gives strange sounds when the motors is not working properly or the read/write heads is stuck. In this case, the data can be recovered easily by taking apart the storage media.
In many cases, the storage media gets damaged due to spills. For instance, when the system comes into contact with water, problems occur. The hard disks don't work and product strange noises. Most data recovery companies get orders where the storage media is exposed to water or other types of liquid, such as soda or coffee. In this case, the data can be recovered if you get the services of an expert service provider.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9446106

General Computer Protection Strategies to Employ

In addition to buying software for anti-hacking and anti-virus protection, there are a number of additional strategies that you can employ on your computer and as you operate your computer to help protect it against intrusion and to protect your information wherever you may choose to let it reside. Here's a list of some tips that will help you.

• Turn off or logout of your computer when not using it - the less time your computer is online, the less it is being seen by externals that may mean you harm.


• If you have more than one person in your household using your computer, set up separate "firewalled" accounts for each of them - don't let people onto your system through your own login and password.


• Keep your anti-virus software as current as you can. Update it regularly so that you are protected against the newer viruses that have been identified and have been guarded against by your anti-virus software provider.


• Increase the privacy settings on your computer. In an upcoming lecture, I show you how to update these settings if you are using Windows 10. Watch that video as well and also be looking to update your privacy settings on older versions of Windows if that is what you are running on your computer.


• Be careful opening PDF files you receive from external sources. Hackers and software virus creators have in recent times found this to be an effective platform for sending out their damage causing payloads.


• Regarding e-mails, don't be curious. If you don't know where an e-mail came from, don't open it. If you do open an e-mail from someone you don't know and/or that you received in an unsolicited manner, do not click on any links found within the e-mail. Executable viruses are sometimes attached to what you think is just a link to another site.


• If you are concerned about the authenticity of an e-mail address when you have received an e-mail, check it out by looking at the "Details" dropdown you can click next to the e-mail name. I have sometimes even taken this one step further by checking out their e-mail domain address using a domain provider to do a "Who Is" search when I am really wondering about where something came from.


• Be careful of all downloads to your computer. Be sure you know the source is safe and you are on a real webpage belonging to that source when you download the content. Hackers are now setting up "Fake" webpages that look like real businesses to lure you in so that they can access you through downloads from their sites.


• Using the "Cloud" for storage is risky - even places like Google Drive, Dropbox, etc. can be hacked. Cloud storage locations seem to be prime targets for hackers. These are convenient storage and data backup locations for many so if you want to use them, here are a few tips that could save the privacy of your content there.

o The simplest protection method is to only send encrypted or Zipped content up there for storage. If you are using zip files, use the Zip password feature before sending. This helps to protect your content even if that site gets hacked.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9457987

3 Ways That Can Help You to Remove Malware

Malware, spyware and viruses have one particular thing in common. They very easily slow down your computer, steal important information and corrupt vital files. There are many other unsuitable and inappropriate things that they are capable of doing. It is a well- known fact that not all the malwares are created in an equal manner and there are some items that are harder to remove when compared to the others. There are three ways that you can use to get rid of malware. These have been explained as follows.
1. Scanning
There are thousands and millions of different programs that are out there in the virus/spyware removal category. Also most of these programs are free which a good thing is. Different programs will give you different results and thus it depends on what exactly you wish to get from these programs. Hence the best thing that you can do when your computer is infected with multiple viruses is to run multiple programs. In order to get around this thing, you can either scan the system or you can enter the safe mode on your Windows system.
2. Rescue disks
In addition to entering the safe mode, you can also scan your computer before your Windows has a chance of getting booted up. This can be done by utilizing an offline virus scanner and sometimes a pre- boot scanner. The way that this works is that you will have to use another computer to properly download a file for ISO image from any anti- virus company.
3. Clean install
A clean install is not meant to be the most fun thing to do. However, it is a method that can guarantee you to get rid of all the viruses, malware as well as spyware. It is also pretty straight forward, when you are able to do a clean install. You will be able to delete everything on your hard disk and therefore there will not be any viruses. There will also be times, when a virus will not be able to infect items like text documents, pictures, MP3 files and videos. Here, a good thing to do is to scan all your personal data and even then if there are no viruses to be found, you can copy it to your external drive.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9454575

Best Laptops for Business in 2016

Reliability, security, and performance are almost synonyms with the business environment.
Affordability might be an important aspect as well. But you should think about the laptop you're getting for work as an investment.
Business laptops need to provide an added layer of security and with high performance. High durability is also a desirable feature. You'll be carrying this thing around with you, so it makes sense that it should be durable.
Instead of running through the specs such a laptop should carry, we'll take a look at a few laptop models.
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga
The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga is one of the best business laptops out there. It's a hybrid design that you can fold and use either as a laptop or a tablet. It also features an above average battery life of up to 9 hours on a single charge.
Weighing in at just 2.8 lbs, it's not the lightest laptop in existence. But that doesn't mean it's not portable.
Lenovo also mentioned it's built to withstand accidental liquid spills, drops, and dust particles.
Dell XPS 13
This laptop has become quite a sensation in the last months. It's portable and it offers an extended battery life. It also comes equipped with the latest hardware. The XPS 13 is not under-priced, nor is it underpowered. It offers the latest generation Intel processor. It comes in a light 2.7 lbs package.
Yet it somehow manages to integrate a large 13-inch screen in a body found on 11-inch laptop models. The 12-hour battery life is not something you can overlook. This can last on even the longest commutes. It's no wonder that people call it the "MacBook Air killer".
Surface Pro 4
The Microsoft hybrid is fast. It's also powerful and portable. With the keyboard attached, it weighs just 2.3 lbs, which makes it ultraportable. It's quite like no other hybrid in the market today. The Surface Pro 4 represents the perfect mixture of power, portability, and versatility. It comes with a stylus pen. This can simplify tablet interaction when a mouse or keyboard is not present. But it's also powerful.
The small Microsoft hybrid integrates a 6th generation Intel Core processor. The beautiful 2736x1824 pixel resolution screen is something you should also check out. It looks gorgeous!
Toshiba Chromebook 2
This one's for people looking for work laptops that are lightweight and affordable. The Toshiba Chromebook 2 might be the perfect for you. You need to make sure that you're always connected to the internet. Like most Chromebooks, it doesn't provide an impressive storage space. Chromebooks usually come with an added bonus of free massive cloud storage space. It's got a 13-inch screen and boasts 8 hours of battery life. Several tests indicated that it's faster than most budget laptops you'll run into.
Lenovo ThinkPad X260
The last one on you short list is another Lenovo. Why did it make it on this list? Well, for a 12-inch notebook, it's got a massive battery life of up to 17 hours on a single charge. Sure, it's bulkier, but with such a high battery life, do you even care?

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9457897

How You Should Pick The Best Data Recovery Software

Computers can be just as painful devices as they are useful. Despite great technological advancements there are some problems that remain common with computers. Power failures, power fluctuations, spills, jerks etc. can make your computer become useless. Your hard drives might start acting up after such events and the next thing you know your precious data disappears somewhere. Even if you go for a hard drive repair you will mostly end up losing the data if there is something wrong with the media. Of course, putting your sensitive data in the hands of a stranger is also not something you would want to do.
That's when the data recovery software come in the picture. These are the software that help you recover your data when you have lost it for some reason. It keeps you from letting strangers go into your personal data. The best part about these software is that they come to your rescue when things have already gone wrong. Most people have methods in place to prevent their data from getting lost but they can't do much after they have already lost the data unless they have data recovery software. If you want to have a data recovery software on your computer, here are the most important things to check:
Free Trial/Demo
The first thing you would want in any data recovery software is the ability to see how good it is. It would be a surprise if some data recovery software company does not offer a demo or trial on its product. With demo or trial version you are able to check how good the software is and how compatible it is with your computer. You want to make sure that the software is now slow and that it does not make the recovery process too hard to execute. Furthermore, you get to know the value of the product against its price through a demo or trial version.
Versatile Recovery
Your data recovery software should be designed to perform recovery for files that have been deleted in different ways. If your software only recovers the files that you had deleted accidentally, what would happen to those that got deleted due to some damaged partition? You can lose your files in many different ways and a company designing a data recovery software should have all those things in mind. Make sure your software offers versatile data recovery options.
Ease Of Recovery
There are many things that fall within this category. First, there should be easy steps on how you will recover your files. These three steps should be scanning, selection and recovery. The good best data recovery software usually come with have the recovery wizard that helps you recover your data without you doing much. It will ask you simple questions and based on your answers it will specifically look for the files and data you want to recover. Another option that makes data recovery easy is preview of your files i.e. you should be able to preview your files before you recover them.
Selective Recovery
This option might not look like the most important but it can make a huge difference in your data recovery experience. What if you had to recover a file in a folder you knew you had last seen it in? Will you scan the whole computer and spend half an hour before your software even starts scanning the folder where the file was last located? Your software should allow you to choose the location from where you need to recover the file. It should also allow you to pick the files you want to recover and not just force you to recover all the found files.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9454956