We help organizations improve and grow by more effectively using technology.
Use the “from” and “subject” fields to sort Emails while you are cleaning up your inbox. You should find it easier to get through your back log of messages by addressing issues with certain individual(s)… or certain subjects all at once. Quite often the most recent Email of a certain subject contains all the prior information and the older ones can be deleted.
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There are few things more frustrating than very slow computer performance. You are typing away, or trying to anyway and the text is not even displaying properly on the screen it’s skipping and catching up like an inchworm. You immediately start to wonder, did I get a virus? So you do the universal solution, you reboot your computer only after a short while it comes back again. This story has played out in many a local Peet’s Coffee, an office, living room or dorm room. One common culprit is indexing software that was installed as a part of an update. To quickly find files on a computer the system needs a database or index that tells it where to find the files. This prevents the search function from having to check every directory, sub folder and file and quickly directs you to the location of the files. The unfortunate thing is, the solution is sometimes worse than the problem.
For years we have found machines that customers were very unhappy with the performance. “My computer was running fine this morning but now it’s slow as heck and I can’t get my work done.” The story often continues “I rebooted it and that helped for a little while but now it’s slow again”. The issue will often go away and come back, a so called “Intermittent” problem that is much more difficult to diagnose. Eventually when you connect with your IT person or learn how to use Task Manager yourself, you find that Searchfilterhost.exe is using a lot of your cpu and your hard drive or even your servers hard drives are working harder than they should be. Your computer is indexing all the content under the umbrella that you operate in including network drives and for one reason or another it has made your machine difficult to operate. There are plenty of things you can do, settings you can change folders you can exempt from this process but in reality in most cases you are better off removing the software and using the old style search utility. In this example we demonstrated what Microsoft Desktop Search does in some cases. In our experience Google Desktop and other indexing utilities have a similar impact on performance and can sometimes cause significant disruptions in performance. This leaves the operator with the choice of trying to ride it out or living with a search function that might take longer.
There is definitely need here and vendors are trying to fill it, but sometimes the solution is more of a problem than the original problem. I am confident both Google and Microsoft will have answers to this question that are optimistic and confident, but the reality is the indexing programs still have a ways to go. There are many things that can go wrong and often do with this role.
What if I really need to find my files more quickly?
I would suggest that you leave your computer on and logged in over a weekend after installing the program. The first indexing performed by these applications takes a lot longer than the maintenance runs. I would also suggest you make sure to only use one indexing program and disable/remove the others. This may not be easy for the average user so professional help could be involved. You could also try different programs if one of them does not seem to work well with your machine. Be advised there could be underlying reasons why your particular computer doesn’t handle these programs well, that would need to be addressed by a professional most likely.
Some additional tips for more effective/faster searches
Feedback requested – what file indexing solution do you use? What do you like about it?
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Success in 2009 (From your IT guy’s perspective)
It is now the year 2009 and businesses are feeling a squeeze. Many of us have to adjust the way we do business. I have some suggestions for business people to consider for 2009. Now more than ever it is important that we avert costly problems and make adjustments to grow and diversify our businesses. There is pressure on our profit margins, the job market is shrinking, un-employment is growing and subsequently the pool of potential wrong doers and desperate competitors is growing. This information is somewhat IT centered but much of it is universal or could be adapted to most industries and trades. My background does not make me an expert on everything in this article but I feel compelled to share it with you. If you somehow benefit from this I will consider it a success. My business philosophy is the premise that the path to success is to make other people successful by allowing them to do what they do best and not worry about their IT needs. The inspiration and content of this article comes largely from my customers who I am also fortunate enough to call friends. I hope that they will continue to share their wisdom and experience with me in the future.
Spend your IT dollars wisely:
Prevention should be your top priority
• Data Protection
• Network/Desktop Security
• Preventative maintenance
• Pro-active monitoring/issue mitigation
• Theft/disaster recovery
Think of it in terms of a problem prevented usually costs a fraction of the cost to recover from a failure. A simple example of this is a 2 Year antivirus license for a typical business costs less than the damage and loss of revenue from one virus infection. Another area that is often overlooked is the impact one negative event can have on the reputation and future revenue of a business. Our customers want to feel safe and feel that we are investing our profits wisely – namely protecting their privacy and availability of our goods and services. A good recent example of this is when a friend told me their computer had been infected with a virus while accessing their online banking account. After advising them on how I felt would be best to handle the situation, I couldn’t help but think about the real costs of that lapse for that bank. I will never look at them credibly again, and the lawsuits that are sure to follow are likely to put them out of business. This is an extreme example but relevant as well.
Things that make you more productive, competitive and profitable
• Investments that will give very fast return on investment (ROI)
• Security software and services
• Labor saving/productivity solutions
• Things that differentiate you and make your company more attractive to the now more critical customer
Let’s face it, it takes courage to invest when everyone else is cutting back. That’s exactly what some of the most successful people do. Warren Buffet is a great example of this, he has scored massive gains from investments he made when most investors were heading for the hills. The deals are better, the service (should!) be better and the benefits are the same. If you have been putting off an investment or project due to the cost now is a great time to get it quoted again. Keep an eye out for bargains, one of my customers was recently offered engineering software at close to a 50% discount.
What about other cost reductions?
• Verify that you have a protocol for when to call your IT vendor and when not to call, management oversight will be important. Many help desk calls can be avoided by simply rebooting a computer or waiting a few minutes to see if a connectivity problem resolves itself. Depending on the nature of your business this may or may not be acceptable.
• Ask your IT vendor to teach you to fish. There are likely to be many things that you call your IT vendor for assistance with that could be handled internally with a little guidance or training. If you notice repetitive tasks that you seem to be calling about, suggest to the vendor that they teach you to deal with it yourself. It may cost slightly more today but in the long term your savings are likely to be significant. This is a two way street, IT vendors can also make these suggestions but it is best to voice a desire for them to do so.
• Evaluate your current arrangement and make sure it is adequate for your needs. Encourage creativity in keeping costs down.
Now a little on topic but not specifically IT related – What about improving my business and those of my valued business partners and friends?
• Find out more about what your preferred vendors, customers, friends and families businesses do and refer people to them when you have an opportunity to do so.
• Verify that your customers are happy with your service; involve them in decisions that are made about changes in policies, etc. Use their feedback to improve the quality of solution you offer. Businesses are built and improve every day by providing solutions to problems.
• Be flexible and prepared to adjust the way you do business.
• Plan for growth not survival, in spite of the conditions we are facing this is still a great place to perform commerce. Since many businesses can almost count on shrinking sales to attrition the growth requirements are going to be more substantial.
You hear a lot of people saying that in down economic times there are some of the best opportunities. I believe this is true for a number of reasons. Foremost is the huge bump that the companies that do well navigating through these downturns will experience during the more prosperous times that will inevitably follow. As the demand for your goods or service rise and there is a lack of adequate suppliers to meet those needs.
What am I doing to try to ensure the success of my clients, friends, family and business partners?
• I will share any ideas that I have that might help make them be more successful.
• I am increasing my networking activity to improve my existing contacts and to make new ones.
• I will be promoting my business when it is appropriate and tasteful to do so but more importantly I will be promoting good businesses that I know.
• I am reaching out to people and trying to provide them with leads, contacts and support.
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A Zero Day Exploit is an exploit that is circulating before the software vendor has learned of it. They can linger around as un-patched vulnerabilities if the vendor is slow or unable to respond to them.
Security software with lots of bells and whistles tends to encourage end users to feel more secure. They have firewalls, Antivirus protection, all sorts of resident programs and pretty icons. Something pops up now and then asking for their input; again insuring them it is working hard to protect them. They pay good money for this software, so it must give them some reason to rest easier at night. The sad fact is that even the best network protection scheme short of not having a network, is never safe. Let’s take a look at the situation today, and let’s talk about what we know. As of the writing of this article there are 3 un-patched vulnerabilities affecting Microsoft Word that have been known for over one month. That means that in spite of your efforts to protect yourself it is possible that a user at your company could receive an email containing an attached word document with an exploit designed to compromise your systems and your user would be the only line of defense. You’ve done everything you can do to layer your defenses, keep your systems up to date, and protect them pro-actively with other security software but there still is a chance that it could come down to the actions of that end user. That is why you should not overlook the human element in your security apparatus. Building a security aware culture is an important step in any IT security strategy. Teaching end users to get confirmation from third parties when they receive a message containing a suspicious attachment for example; can go a long way in preventing exploitation of your valuable resources. Scheduling regular training sessions where current issues are addressed can pay large dividends if even one compromise of your security apparatus is avoided. Educated users are safer users.
At Managed Solutions we advocate quarterly training sessions for existing employees and orientation for new users of our clients systems. By keeping the humans up to date with the latest information, our customers can substantially lower the chances of experiencing costly cleanup operations, loss of reputation and most importantly lost customers. What does your company do to educate its users? Perhaps it is time for you to consider a shift towards a more educated end user base. A security aware culture is the main protection we have against zero day exploits.
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Any company, government, or group of individuals utilizing computers to complete tasks is a form of enterprise. This is not the typical view in the IT world. If you ask most people what “enterprise computing” is, they will tell you a large systems and network infrastructure belonging to a large government agency or company. We believe that any group of computers used by an organization of any size represents an “enterprise”. The needs don’t change on the basis of size alone. Any infrastructure should be designed and managed for ease of use, maximum return on investment, high availability, and secure from hackers, viruses and other threats.
Many enterprises take steps to secure their physical presence through locks on doors, security guards, perhaps even video cameras. However, the modern marketplace has become increasingly reliant upon their networks as a means of doing business, storing their intellectual property, client contacts, human resource data, and other critical information. The security measures taken to protect an enterprise’s digital assets often pale in comparison to the ‘brick and mortar’ approach.
The biggest difference between the security approaches of a smaller business and a large company or entity is commonly the amount of risk taken and the perceived impact of the risk. Many small to mid sized business have a greater tolerance for risks because they perceive that the cost of protection outweighs the impact or likelihood of the risk occurring. Larger entities tend to be risk-averse, as they view the likelihood and impact of a security risk to be higher, based on their assets, professional reputation, and other factors.
The Managed Solutions “Secure Enterprise” model is a comprehensive set of products, services, and practices that assist you in protecting your business from existing and emerging security threats, hardware failures, system abuse, data loss and most importantly downtime. By utilizing our experience with the small to mid sized IT customers we can better assist you in finding the best balance of stability, performance, reliability and security while minimizing your total costs over the long term. Any solution this comprehensive is always changing and adapting to the changes in the computing environment and to take advantage of new products and practices. Without this commitment to improvement a system of this nature would become obsolete very quickly leaving your business and your reputation vulnerable.
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Simplicity and convenience have made Email the primary communication tool for many businesses. According to studies performed in recent years poorly worded emails could generate negative feelings by co-workers, customers or even your boss. Poorly organized Email communications can also cause delays or even hurt business relationships. Respondents in some of these studies acknowledged that confrontations with co-workers had taken place due to Email misunderstandings. To fully take advantage of Email in a business environment we suggest the following:
1. Organize Your Message
Not all email recipients have large desktop resolutions to view poorly organized emails. Organize your message by separating paragraphs and when applicable use bullet points or numbering to organize the main issues logically. This will help keep your readers from being discouraged by your message.
2. Get to the Point
It is a lot easier to misunderstand intentions in a written message. Face to face or phone based communications have many factors that influence how a message is perceived such as body language or tone. Written messages should be clear and direct. Be sure to proof read messages you author and re-read messages received to make sure you’re not misinterpreting the words.
3. Stick to One Subject
By lumping more than one issue in a message it makes it more difficult for the recipient to respond in an orderly fashion. By staying to one subject you make it easier for the respondent to communicate back effectively. Send multiple messages as necessary.
4. Meaningful Subjects
By utilizing subjects that summarize the focus of the message all parties in an Email correspondence will be able to more effectively identify and organize their messages. For example when responding to a faxed Request for Quote numbered RFQ1234 instead of saying “Proposal” try being specific “Proposal for new Gizmo RFQ#1234 6/20/2005″ using customer identity #’s whenever provided. Don’t hesitate to modify the subject if multiple responses lead to a change of the subject matter discussed in the message. By making it easier for your recipient you are more likely to get a favorable or prompt response.
5. Response Options
When responding to a message there are several methods to keep the message flowing logically. Sometimes “threading” or responding to specific points in line such as bullet points is highly effective. If for example you are given 8 numbered or bulleted questions about products your company offers, responding to each point in your reply underneath the original bullet or numbered question will likely be easier to understand by the reader. When appropriate you can also remove some or all of the text of the original message.
6. Carbon Copy Field
Only include recipients in the CC field that need to know about the topic. When an email with multiple recipients becomes a two way conversation do not cc all the original recipients. Use the TO field for recipients that may respond and use CC for people who are not active participants in the message.
7. Formality
Avoid use of slang, abbreviations and smileys 
or other emoticons.
8. Priority
Only tag truly urgent messages as high priority. Your respondents will be much more likely to treat your truly critical and appropriately tagged messages with much more urgency this way.
9. Slow Down to Speed Up
Take extra time reading, proofing and re-reading messages. The time saved from misunderstandings or confusion will be well worth the extra minutes spent on prevention.
10. Choose the Appropriate Medium
We have numerous electronic ways to communicate with one another but sometimes a phone call or a face to face meeting is more appropriate. Consider all mediums before deciding which is most effective for the issue at hand.
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The last few years many of us have worked hard to convince others of the merits of internet connectivity and the tools associated with it such as Email. The productivity benefits of the net and the associated communication and collaboration tools are desirable to any business. We even heard the fed chairman Alan Greenspan mention “productivity” as a factor in the prospering economy, perhaps largely due to these tools. Perhaps the time has come for us to reflect on the negative elements and potential pitfalls associated with access to this wonder of modern technology. A great place to start would be, well, productivity. Today I was briefly distracted by a neat flash soccer game a colleague had shared with me. Or what about that temptation to send those joke e-mails to hundreds of your closest friends and co-workers? Certainly some of the good with the bad is ok, right? How about those viruses? You know the ones that disguise themselves as one of those joke e-mails that your buddy in accounting always sends you. Or maybe like the one your cousin in the Midwest sent you yesterday. Another threat you could face is having someone shut your computer down if you happen to be running the wrong browser and visit the wrong site, or worse yet hitting the wrong site with the latest exploit that no patch exists for. Let me get on with my real point here. The internet and email are not toys; they are tools, at least for business purposes. Risks taken by a home user are acceptable to the degree that they are willing, but out of respect for your profession it is becoming more and more apparent to me that you should treat your work systems as a the valuable tool that it is. Even if you have expert IT professionals setting up and maintaining these systems, you can still be at risk. Why take the chance?
Now let’s break down what an IT professional or qualified organization like Managed Solutions can do to help you protect your business:
1. Implement antivirus systems and policies, particularly at the entry points such as email and internet gateways.
2. Increase security policies for web browsers and mail clients.
3. Lock down routers, firewalls, and machines to necessary and mission critical services only.
4. Implement an Acceptable Usage Policy or AUP that would hold employees accountable for placing the systems at risk, simple guidelines that are easy to understand are most effective.
5. Become “in tune” to the security issues that arise on a daily basis and dynamically adjust the approach to securing systems from these risks starting with the most significant threats and working down from there, working diligently to close any potential security hole that may exist.
6. Stay ahead of the curve by seeking the next problem and solution, it is a moving target most of the time.
Now let’s take a look at what the end user can do to help protect their employer and their productivity:
1. Follow any guidelines or AUP that your organization provides to their employees.
2. Avoid using business mail systems for personal use, if necessary use a web mail service like hotmail or one provided by your home ISP and avoid opening any attachments on your work system.
3. Verify the authenticity of any email you receive with attachments, particularly if they claim to contain patches or anti-virus solutions in them. Most IT professionals would limit such correspondences to warnings but avoid sending files.
4. Never intentionally disable or circumvent security or protective measures in place, when you do you are opening yourself and your companies systems to a plethora of threats.
5. Do not install any software on your work machine, unless explicitly advised to do so by an individual with the authorization to do so. Many innocuous programs can harbor Trojan horse viruses or spy ware.
6. Remind yourself that thing on your desk is a tool, it is intended to help you and your employer be successful. Don’t take risks with your livelihood.
I am not using Email or Internet access in my business but would like to, what should I do?
1. Get the advice of a respected IT professional in your area, be sure to ask for references and check them out before proceeding.
2. Focus initially on what you want to accomplish and why. Make sure that your expectations and needs are well presented.
3. Get a second opinion if you’re not comfortable with the provider you consult initially.
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