Back To Basics

I was reminded today that old school often has its benefits.  Like most of us, I have my phone set to automatically backup photos to the cloud.  I send everything to OneDrive because that's where I keep all my business records.  My phone is an Android so I also send copies to Google Drive as a second backup.  This afternoon, I discovered how many thousands of pictures I've taken in the past few years!

I was searching for a photo in Drive and was startled at how long the machine churned just to display the file list. Duh! In OneDrive, I routinely move recent photos out of the "root" Photos folder down into directories and subdirectories based on customer, year, and month.  It's just easier to sort through recent photos that way. I haven't been doing that in Drive because I don't access those files on a regular basis.  I never realized how bloated the Pictures folder was becoming.

So... cell phones have made it easy to amass thousands of digital images and sophisticated search functions have helped us forget about basic good housekeeping habits that date all the way back to DOS and beyond.  The maxim remains that a rational root/branch directory structure pays off, and the same principle holds true with email... rational root/branch labeling can sometimes find an email where multiple searches have failed.

Telecom Equipment & Consulting:

Personal Productivity Applications:
A new page on the TEC website with some applications that can make you more productive, online and in the real world.

'via Blog this'

Bits from Bill: Dangerous Downloads on Legitimate Websites & Search Engines

Bits from Bill: Dangerous Downloads on Legitimate Websites & Search Engines:

'via Blog this'

I've often recommended using CNet's Download.Com site as a safe source for downloads but this points out a subtle but important caveat to that recommendation. When searching Download.Com, the first several listings on the search results page will invariably be "sponsored" matches, which means they're paid ads and following those links may lead you to the a malware or "scareware" site that will infect your system. One obvious solution is to skip over these "sponsored" matches, even if they look legitimate. Another technique is to use the 'SORT BY' option to re-order the screen. This usually dumps the paid ads and gets you to the real sources.

Good luck,

Harry

(FAQ) Mitel SX200 Why isn't my call accounting receiving call records?

This is a common issue and I wrote this FAQ for the Mitel Forum on the My Phone Techs
for anyone troubleshooting this problem.


(FAQ) Mitel SX200 Why isn't my call accounting receiving call records?: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"

Scareware and Ransomware

Oh for the old days when we only had to guard our computers from viruses! Then came adware, spyware, malware, and botware. Now we have scareware and even ransomware. I've had to do some pretty extensive work recently for several clients, just to remove this stuff.

Scareware is a fake anti-virus program often picked up through spam or even by a seemingly harmless download. These programs copy a few files onto your disk which are then targeted by a fake anti-virus popup warning that "Your system has been infected with a virus. Click here to remove the infection". The popup window isn't easy to close or minimize, and will reappear when you restart your computer. It's made to look like one of the recognized antivirus programs, or even a Microsoft product, so this ploy often works. Once you've clicked the link, the "anti-virus program" removes the fake virus and loads new ones for next time. Eventually, you're convinced you have a serious problem and agree to upgrade to the paid version. Now you've handed over your credit info card and enough other stuff to make you vulnerable to identity theft. The process often continues until your computer becomes practically useless.

Unlike scareware, which Ransomware begins in much the same way but cuts to the chase, making a demand for money so you can regain use of your computer. They use proxy servers and botnets to hide their identity so your options are to pay up or scrap your machine.

So, what's the answer? Same as always, be careful what you do, where you go, and what you click. Have a good backup routine and some emergency software that can help you regain control of your machine. More on that later...

Good luck,

Harry

Free security program downloads

DECT telephones

DECT telephones

DECT is an acronym for Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications. Like most acronyms, it's a way of making a simple concept sound more technical and more marketable.

Approved in 2005 by the FCC for use in the US, DECT is a new standard for cordless phones and headsets, using the 1.9GHz frequency range to connect the base and handset. It provides superior sound quality and improved range, compared to the 2.4GHz and 5.8 GHz technology which it has largely replaced.

It's primary benefits of DECT 6.0 (the current DECT version) are:

• DECT devices have up to 2-3 times the range of 5.8GHz phones.
• Significant improvement in sound quality
• Because they operate on a different frequency range, there is no interference with wireless network devices, a major problem with 2.4GHz and 5.8GHz phones.
• DECT devices are more resistant to interference from many sources of static and noise, such as microwaves, flourescent lights, and copiers.
• because of the separation of frequencies. rejection of interference and static from other wireless devices.
• Extended battery life and talk time due to DECT's improved efficiency
  

Remote Telnet & FTP

OK, I admit it, I'm old... but I'm not so old that I can't learn new tricks.

Instead of being dragged kicking and screaming into the new era of telecom, I'm busily scratching and clawing my way up to the next level. That includes such things as domain name resolution, gateways, subnets, and port redirection and the obligatory new alphabet soup of DHCP, TCP/IP, VLAN, and DNS.

Anyway, I'm feeling self-satisfied right now because I've just set up one of my Mitel SX200 ICP systems for both remote Telnet maintenance and remote FTP backup/restore to online storage. I'm sure that sounds absurdly basic to young techs who cut their teeth on TCP/IP. But, then again, I confuse the heck out of most of them when I talk about serial ports pinouts, ASCII characters, and ACK/NAK flow control... and I gave up on explaining the telco color code because their eyes glaze over if I go past White/Brown.

So as you read this, lift your glass to my dogged determination. And if you pass me somewhere on the Information Superhighway and notice my left-turn signal blinking, be kind enough to Text me a gentle reminder.

Harry