Our trade show table at the Rochester Security Summit held at the Strathallen Hotel on October 20-21, 2010. Sonicwall and CAPSTONE teamed up to feature the latest in firewall security products and services.

     While this “virtualization” model has been around for a while, many businesses are moving towards it with their regular office applications for a number of reasons:

You’ll save a surprising amount of money on IT support, software and hardware without sacrificing speed or performance. An average 10-user client of ours can expect to save $6,141 to as much as $36,846 over a 1 year and 3 year period.

It instantly enables you and your employees to work from home or on the road just as if you were sitting at your desk in the office.

You’ll gain INSTANT disaster recovery protection to guarantee  your business could be back up and running FAST after a hurricane, fire, flood – or even a building or city evacuation.

You’ll save thousands of dollars in taxes thanks to the way Microsoft Office licenses, upgrades and support are billed – and it’s perfectly legal and ethical.

It’s green! Cloud computing lets you use computational power and storage space from a third-party service provider, thus lowering demand for addition of more servers in your data center.

     Want to know if your business should transition to the cloud? Then call us for a free consultation to help you determine if cloud computing is right for you: 585-546-4120 or www.RochesterComputerSupport.com

Because, if you are actively working on a document when the power goes out, 1 of 3 things could happen.

#1 – Your document could be gone forever. The auto-save feature in Windows often stops working when the computer is unexpectedly shut off. Unless you manually saved the document multiple times while working on it, it’s not likely to be there after a power outage.

#2 – The file is there, but it’s useless. A power outage can corrupt any open files, even if you’ve saved them. The document opens back up on start-up, but its garbled characters make it look like a really long ransom note. To get it back, you have to re-create it all over again.

#3 – You get really, really, lucky. The average business will experience 15 power outages a year. If you are fortunate enough to recover your document after a power outage, count your lucky stars; you probably won’t be so lucky next time.

While many home PCs or non-critical workstations can live without a UPS, a server cannot. Servers run 24-7 providing files and services to a number of other machines. A sudden shutdown can corrupt files on the server causing more widespread damage.

We recommend all our clients get a UPS device for the servers in their office at a minimum and,
for additional protection, for all the workstations.

For more information, visit www.RochesterComputerSupport.com or call 585-546-4120

DO – Find out if all your software programs will be compatible.
Anytime Microsoft creates a new operating system, software companies often scramble to make their package work properly with it so there are no errors, glitches, or data corruption (a.k.a “your information deleted”). Some software companies are faster and better at this than others, so be sure to check with your software manufacturer to make sure you won’t end up with more problems than when you started.

DON’T – Hold back from getting the new computers you need.
Maybe you want to wait until Windows 7 gets the bugs out. Or, maybe it’s because you’re worried about buying a computer now that will be considered “old” when Windows 7 is officially released. The good news is you don’t have to wait. For a limited time when you buy from Microsoft-approved vendors, your new computer purchase will come with the ability to upgrade to Windows 7 for free, giving you the flexibility to have the upgrade option now and install it when you choose. Also, if you participate in Microsoft’s “Software
Assurance” program for your operating system, you’ll be entitled to the new version for free as well.

DO – Know how to “shake” it.
Have you ever had a bunch of windows open on your computer and felt like it was out of control and you couldn’t find anything? Then Windows 7 might be for you. It is designed to save time for people who work on multiple documents, spreadsheets, and web pages at once by allowing you to simply shake your mouse vigorously and make all those open Windows drop to the bottom of the screen and clear up your workspace. In addition to the “shake” feature, Windows 7 also makes it easier to view and use two programs side-by-side with just one click.

DON’T – Expect miracles.
Windows 7 does truly make using your computer faster since many of the features Microsoft has rolled out to help business owners and their teams work on multiple projects at once easier to use than ever before. Initial studies are showing that it might add one to two hours of productivity to your week over previous versions. But, if you expect Windows 7 to actually do the work for you, you may be disappointed. Windows 7 does truly make using your computer faster since many of the features Microsoft has rolled out to help business owners and their teams work on multiple projects at once easier to use than ever before.

Still not sure if Windows 7 is for you? We’ll also throw in our Windows 7 Compatibility Audit ($397 Value). At no cost to you, we’ll come on-site and put your network through a battery of tests to check its health, security, speed, and performance to make sure that Windows 7 is a good match for your business.
Call us at 585-546-4120 X105 or visit us at www.RochesterComputerSupport.com

Call Or Go Online Today For A FREE Month Of Network Monitoring For Your ENTIRE Office! www.Capstoneitinc.com

With the “dog days” of summer upon us, many business owners are looking for ways to keep their company’s sales and profits HOT, while keeping their Computer IT expenses COOL. But if proper attention is not given to your server and network equipment during the summer, all that heat outside can actually cause serious damage to your server, causing your system to crash and burn – literally!

Excess heat IS a big problem for all computer equipment including laptops and PCs. But since your server is carrying the load, overheating will cost you more in electric bills and problems. And once a server gets too hot and blows out, it weakens components so that they are more susceptible to failure forever afterward, not just during the particular moment they overheated.

“9 Steps Every Business Owner Must Know To Prevent a Server Crash”

Here are a few things simply things you can do to prevent your server and network equipment from overheating and crashing this summer:

• Tidy up the server room; a neater room will increase air flow.

• If you have more than one server, arrange them in a row so that the cold air comes from the front and is expelled out the back.

• Keep the doors to the server room closed and seal off the space to prevent dust buildup which can
contribute to electronic equipment overheating.

• Make sure cold air reaches all the equipment.

• Have a redundant A/C that is specifically designed for computers.

• Buy a rack enclosure where the cooling is built in to the bottom of the rack.

• Keep the temperature at no more than 77 degrees.

• Use blanking panels over any empty spaces on your server rack.

• Consider virtualization so you are generating a lower amount of heat in the first place.

During the month of August, Protect Your Server and Computer Equipment From Frying!
Just as our way of saying “Thanks for giving us a try,” we’ll come on site and put your server, computers and network through a battery of tests to check their health, security, speed, and performance and to make sure they won’t overheat. For more info, go to http://www.RochesterComputerSupport.com/audit.html

We’ve all heard the saying that the best things in life are free, but I’m not sure they were referring to software. Freeware (free software, not to be confused with open source software) such as the AVG anti-virus free edition, Spybot, and Ad-Aware are all programs you can download for the ultimate discount: free. However, you get what you pay for.

While these programs may work just fine for someone’s home computer, they are not business-class tools and should not be trusted to completely protect your computer or network from viruses, spyware, hackers, and other problems. Every month we receive calls from clients who are infected with a nasty virus or boatload of spyware who had these programs installed and running, and were under the false assumption that they were protected.

Why Freeware Doesn’t Protect Your Computer
In most cases, freeware is a light version of a software program that you purchase. Take the AVG free edition for example. AVG offers a free edition of their for-fee software as a way of introducing you to their fully-featured product. However, this software does not come with any online, e-mail, or phone support. It is also illegal to use it on multiple machines or in a commercial, non-profit, or educational environment (single-home users only).

You’re On Your Own
As you might expect, freeware comes with zero guarantees or promises to function correctly, to be
compatible with your system, or to safeguard you from threats. You’re not a paying customer so you’re
on your own to resolve any technical problems you encounter, and you certainly won’t get support if your computer gets infected. Since many free applications are plagued with bugs and incompatibilities, you may end up with a mess on your hands and no one to blame but yourself. Additionally, freeware programs are not always current with the most up-to-date protection, and don’t always update themselves automatically or perform scans and tasks on a regular schedule.

Bottom line: You get what you pay for. If the files and functionality of your computer or network are of high-importance, then investing in a trusted, industrial-strength software program is a smart and worthwhile investment.