In this week's newsletter we outlined a few simple strategies for protecting your business critical systems during the stormy summer season.

These simple strategies can save you time and money (best case), or perhaps even save your business (worst case).

Inevitably, we will receive a phone call from a client whose surge protecter just wasn't enough to save their PC. They meant to write up a DLP, but just never got around to it. They are missing half of their software, and the most current backup they have is from 6 months ago. This happens more times than not, unfortunately.

We realize that you just don't have time to deal with this stuff. That's where CTC comes into the picture! We can assist you with:

• Writing up your Disaster Recovery Plan
• Documenting your hardware and software
• Documenting your configurations
• Making sure you have a good backup (check out our Online Backup Solutions)
• Doing a thorough assessment of your network and make recommendations on how you can secure it
• Come in once a month for general maintenance (contact us for special, unpublished rates for our Maintenance Plans - we can work within any budget!)
• "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." - Benjamin Franklin

Tags: DRP, Disaster Recovery Plans, Online Backup, business

Can't wait for the "holiday season" of Microsoft Windows 7? Why not try it out today?

Click here and follow the download instructions.

We'd love to hear your feedback! Contact Us and tell us what you think about Microsoft 7!

Tags: Microsoft 7, software, Products

Even the most basic documentation of your systems can save you time and money. We covered some examples in our recent eNewsletter, and discussed the importance of keeping a basic documentation of your network and systems. Some items you should document include:

-Make and model of the machine you are documenting.

-Name of the user assigned to that machine.

-User's login and password information.

-IP address

-Any configurations for routers (ask your IT professional for this information)

You can click here for a very basic documentation form to get you started.

For complete documentation of your network, you can contact us to visit on site and produce a documentation binder for you.

Tags: Documentation, Disaster Recovery Plans

1. Buy a good anti-virus software program. We recommend Trend Micro products, but any good anti-virus program is better than no protection at all.

2. Keep your anti-virus software up-to-date on virus definitions.

3. Keep your anti-virus software running every time your computer is on. An anti-virus program that isn't running, is powerless.

4. Update your computer with any new service packs or packages. Often, operating systems release patches that close security holes or fix known issues.

5. Always scan portable mediums (USB drives, External Hard Drives, Floppy Disks, CD/DVDs) prior to opening files. This is especially important for those who transport work from home to the office and vice versa.

6. Never open email you aren't expecting, or from people you aren't familiar with.

7. Use text email. HTML emails can carry viruses, so if you only use text email format, you are only vulnerable if you open any attachments. However, eNewsletters from CTC are virus-free should you choose to view it in the HTML format.

8. Only download internet software/documents from reputable sources.

9. Use caution when using an Instant Messenger program. Don't accept invitations from people you don't know, and don't click on any links they may send you.

10. Back up your data regularly.

Tags: viruses

You may have noticed that we have added an additional service for our clients - online backups.

As we did our annual review of CTC's DRP (disaster recovery plan) we decided that now was the time to start backing up online. Previously, online backups were too expensive for our small business. We simply couldn't afford to backup ALL of our data. However, as the market has grown more competitive, so has the pricing structures of online backups. So with that in mind, we came up with four key criteria for choosing an online backup solution:

1.  Security
2.  Ease of Use
3.  Platform and File Support
4.  Affordable

When we decided to go with MozyPro, we knew this would be a service that would benefit our client base, and decided to become an Authorized Reseller of their product. CTC doesn't just partner up with any company! They have to meet our standards of high customer service, high customer value, and affordability. MozyPro is not only met our criteria, but they went 'above and beyond' in their communications with us.

By using state-of-the-art secure technologies, a user-friendly control panel, platform and file support at a very affordable price, we felt MozyPro was the way to go.

If backing up your data online is an option you would like more information on, please contact us. We'll be more than happy to discuss the benefits with you!

Tags: Disaster Recovery Plans, DRP, Online Backup

This week's newsletter focused on why Disaster Recovery Plans (DRP) are so important for your business. We discussed some of the more common reasons on why and how your data is lost, however, as Southwest Florida learned on Tuesday, employee sabotage is becoming more of a threat for business owners as well.

From NBC-2's website:

"A Golden Gate Estates woman is accused of living out what many fired workers only fantasize about.

Naples police say she deleted dozens of computer files - everything from documents to spreadsheets to internal memos - costing the company thousands of dollars."

For many businesses, DRPs are one of those items that you know you need to do, but who has the time to actually do it? Don't think of DRPs as another item on your 'To Do' list...think of them as security for your business. It is imperative that you protect your data from the many forms of sabotage that exists in today's marketplace.

CTC can assist you in coming up with a basic DRP that will protect your data. Contact us today for a free one-hour consultation.

Tags: DRP, Disaster Recovery Plans, Lost Data

Why Is My PC So Slow?!

There are two main reasons that a PC loses its optimum performance capability: heat and clutter on the hard drive.

Heat - As PCs have become more powerful, they naturally generate more heat. The manufacturers have made every attempt to implement cooling systems into the PC in order to minimize the ill-effects of heat. Aluminum heat sinks attached to the CPU chip dissipate the heat, then fans blow the heat out of the case. Air circulating through the case is a very important part of the cooling system.

Unfortunately, in addition to air, the fans also pull dust through the case. This dust clogs up the fans of the heat sink and also reduces the amount of air flowing through the case. This reduces the efficiency of the cooling system, and therefore reduces performance.

Hard drive clutter - The hard drive has always been the slowest component of a PC. Although there have been many improvements in recent years to make hard drives faster, they still don't compare with the speeds of modern CPUs and RAM.

The limitation is based on how a hard drive works. Data is stored on platters that spin on a motor and a series of read/write heads have to move in and out locating that data and putting it in the correct sequence to make sense of it.

Clutter on your hard drive makes this process even slower because there is more junk to sort through in order to get to the useful data. This will drastically affect the performance of your PC.

Click here for 'before' and 'after' pictures.

Tags: pc running slow, Cleaning a PC, PC overheating