Friday, August 14, 2009

How to Substitute Expensive Software for Freeware and Still Keep Productivity.

Just about any Windows Application has at least one alternative that is free. And unless you require very specific "advanced" options, most of the time they offer about the same capabilities.


These applications are worth trying. It might take you a little time to get used to some of them. But most of the functions you use are there. They may be in a different menu, or they might have a different name, but you will soon notice that you can quickly find them. If you are expanding your business and need to buy more licenses, have your employees try these applications. See what they think. And home users can definitely benefit from these free programs. And save a few hundreds of dollars in the process.

We are not including the operating system itself. Windows is not free. And even though there are several free substitutes for Windows, the learning curve might be a bit steep for most users.


These are my (personal) favorites. Some of them are completely free, others might require a small fee if used for business. You should check the Terms and Conditions for each before you install them.


Office Bundles: Almost everybody that uses Windows uses Microsoft Office. But there are several alternatives to this Suite. My personal favorite is Open Office. Open Office includes Writer: a very complete alternative to Word. Calc: a substitute for Excel. Impress: which offers all of the capabilities of Power Point. And Base: an excellent Database that works just like Access. All these applications can read and write files from/to their MS-Office counterparts. Other free Office applications include KOffice or IBM Lotus Symphony and several others.


Accounting: There is much to be said about the features in accounting packages like Quickbooks or Peachtree. But some businesses are taking a look at the freeware alternative FreeAccounting. This integrated accounting package is strong in reporting, and includes Invoicing, Payroll, Inventory, A/R, A/P and General Ledger. But what sets FreeAccounting apart from others is the fact that it's a feature-filled Business Management System Delta60 might be an interesting alternative if they are looking to save money on Software.


Email: One application not included in Open Office is "Outlook". However, there are several excellent substitutes. Windows itself includes a free replacement. Outlook Express in Windows XP and older versions, and Windows Mail which comes with Vista and Windows 7. But there are other options. Mozilla Thunderbird is fully featured, secure and a very efficient Email Client. Or Pegasus Mail which has been around for quite some time, and is especially attractive to those who use Novell as their network environment.


Antivirus/Antispyware: Now here we need to start writing caveats. First of all, these are usually free for Home use only. But they are very affordable for Business use. Second, most of the vendors of these free products offer a payed version that is usually more convenient, and offer additional protection capabilities such as bundled Antivirus and Antispyware, firewalls, anti-phishing, and other bonuses. However, the free versions are usually adequate for most home users. If you keep sensitive information in your PC, you might want to take a look at the "pay" versions. My own personal "free" favorites are the following: In the Anti-virus category, AVG Antivirus, which is probably the most popular anti-virus application out there. With AVAST and BitDefender following closely. As for free Anti-Spyware, I have personally found SuperAntiSpyware to be the most effective, and AdAware as a good alternative.


Photo Editing: There is little doubt that PhotoShop is a well developed, seasoned program that is essential for professionals. But there are alternatives that come very near to providing the same capabilities. A completely free, open source alternative is GIMP. And it can be downloaded and used free of charge by Home and Business use. Photobie is another alternative worth looking into.

Diagrams: For quite some time now, Visio has been the standard for diagrams, and technical charts. Now there is Dia. Even though Dia doesn't have all of the capabilities of Visio, what it does provide might be enough for many. Dia can helps you design flowcharts, network diagrams, electrical circuits, DIN style electrical control schematics, 3D Directional Maps, and many other types of diagrams. It's worth a look. After all, it is free!

File Compression: WinZip is the "top dog" among compression utilities. But free compression utilities are not far behind. Several of them are very efficient and user-friendly. Because of the number of compression formats that it handles, 7-Zip is my personal favorite.


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Fast Teks can help you set up and configure freeware applications for a fraction of the cost of most commercial applications. And provide training at your home or Small Business in Seminole County and West Volusia County, Florida. To request more information click here. ______________________________________________

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Top Ten Computer Security Tips for Small Business Owners

Not too long ago large businesses learned the hard way about the consequences of poor IT Security. But Small Business owners have been slow to follow suit. A very dangerous attitude, considering that a data loss, or a break in that meant a big blow to big company, would be fatal to many smaller companies.

This list contains the "easy" and less expensive precaustions that all Small Business owners should address. We are not including more expensive precautions such as DMZs, Hardware Firewalls, and others that require an investment or more technical knowledge.

1- Backup, Backup, Backup: We can't stress this one enough. It's something many small business owners don't think about, until they have lost important documents or, even worse, all their data. A hard disk is a disaster waiting to happen. The question is not what to do if your Hard Drive will fail... it's what to do when it fails. All Hard Drives have a limited life. So think of what you will loose if yours suddenly goes bad. Ideally you should have a Data Recovery Plan. But an on-site and an off-site backup of your most relevant data is the minimum data recovery precaution.

2- Home Computer Vs Business Computer: Keep in mind that your business computer is not, and should not be, your home computer. This is especially important for Home-business owners. You can probably afford a Virus or Spyware on your home computer. But not on your buisness computer. Doing casual web-surfing using your business computer might mean, even with all the precaustions, that you could end up with a Trojan Horse that steals all your customer's data, including Credit Card information, and get you into big trouble.

3- Keep your Software Patched and updated: Make sure your Windows automatic update is turned on (go to Start->Help and Support->Keep your Computer up to Date). Keep the setting on "automatic" There is no reason why a regular user would not want their Windows updated every time a patch is released.

4- Check for Viruses and Spyware often: There are very effective anti-virus and anti-spyware applications out there. Some of them are free for personal use, or are free for a limited period for business use In a future blog, we will discuss our personal favorites. But for now, some of the best anti-virus solutions do a fine work: AVG, Kaspersky, or Avira. And some Anti-Sypware applications include Super AntiSpyware and AdAware, The "Pro" version of all these applications offer great advantages such as better protection, or bundled Virus and Spyware Scanners, and many include a software firewall.

5- Use a Battery Backup (UPS): A UPS or Uninterruptible Power Source, will not only provide electrical power to your computer in case of an outage, but it will also guard it against electrical surges and "brown-outs". Over-voltage and Under-voltage are one of the main causes of data loss and even hard-disk failure. So a UPS is always a good idea especially for business owners.

6- Be wary of "free": There are some great free resources online. But there are also a great number of traps disguised as "free". A "Free Cruise on the Caribbean" might sound like a great offer, but its more likely to be something else. In the best of cases, it will just be an e-mail trap: A ploy to catch email addresses that will later be used for spamming. In the worst of cases it could even be a way to install malicious software in your computer, that could capture your personal information, and the personal information of your customers. There is no "deposed former President of Kenya" willing to share millions of dollars with you. Nor will you ever win the Lottery of Spain without buying a ticket. Delete those emails immediately without opening them.

7- Clean Temporary Files: Whatever browser you use to "surf" the Internet, chances are you will have accumulated a large number of "Temporary Files" that are never deleted. These files bog down your system, and may cause many other problems. It's easy to dispose of them. If you are using Internet Explorer, go to Tools->Internet Options and under "Browsing History" check the box and click "delete". If you use FireFox go to Tools->Options->Advance and under "Offline Storage" click "Clear Now". If you use another browser: Safari, Netscape, Opera, etc, check the "Help" section for instructions on how to remove temporary or cached files.

8- Keep your passwords safe: Not just "don't tell your password to anybody". There are many ways in which a malicious person might try to get a hold of your password. They might be in the form of an email that appears to be from your bank sending you a link through which you are instructed to log in because somebody tried to access your account. If you receive one of these messages, don't use the link in the message. Enter the URL directly, or use your stored "Favorite" to go to the website. The link in the message will probably send you to a page that "looks" like it's your bank, but it's actually a spoofed version. And never write down your password. Better to use something that you remember. But not your birthday, or your maiden name, or your son's name. Always use letters, numbers and special characters (such as !, ?, =, etc)

9- Laptops pose special security problems: Not just because they can be stolen, but because they can be hacked, if you access the Internet from a public place offering "Free Wi-Fi". Make sure that the Wi-Fi you are accessing is the one offered by the establishment. It has been reported (especially in Airports) that malicious hackers install temporary "hot-spots" that travelers use to connect to the Internet but, at the same time, are used to store any username or password that you use. A more secure way of "web-surfing" when you travel is to use an "air card" such as those offered by most cell phone providers. You will also need to have your data encrypted. TrueCrypt is a free open-source encryption software that you should definitely install on your laptop. Encrypt your whole drive and keep your encryption key secure.

10- Have a Disaster Recovery Plan: A professional IT Consulting Company can perform a Risk Analysis and help your business implement a Disaster Recovery Plan designed specifically for you. But there are also things you can do on your own. As mentioned before, proper backups are the first line of defense. Make a list of the information you would need to keep your business running in case of a complete system crash, and keep an extra backup of those files. You also need to establish how secure your information, and your client's information is. So you will need to keep it encrypted. Specially, as mentioned before, if you carry it with you on a laptop. These tasks are not so difficult to implement if you own a Home Business, or a micro-business with 5 computers or less. But if your company includes several departments, you will need to get together, identify the ways in which key data could be lost or compromised, analyze the impact of a disastrous data loss, or of a hacker breaking into your network; and make plan on how to deal with it, if that ever happened in your organization..

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Fast Teks offers a Free IT Vulnerability Assesment for your Home or Small Business in Seminole County and West Volusia County, Florida.

To take advantage of this offer click here.
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