“As a business owner, I know you don’t have time to waste on technical and

operational issues. That’s where we shine! Call us and put an end to your IT problems finally and forever!”

- Michael Mellott, XPERTECHS

Volume II, Issue 2 February, 2009

Inside This Issue...How Secure Is Your Laptop? Read This And Surf Safely .......................... Page 1

Longer Lasting Laptops .. Page 2

Beat This Trivia Question And You Could Win Free Movie Tickets! ....................... Page 2

How Secure Is Your Data? Four Simple Things You Should Do NOW .......... Page 3

If You Don’t WIKI Yet, Maybe You Should. Find Out How .............. Page 4

If Only Life Were More Like A Computer! ........ Page 4

perText“Insider Tips To Make Your Business Run

Faster, Easier, And More Profitably”

How To Keep Your Laptop Secure When Using Public Wi-Fi Hotspots

Theyareeverywherethesedays.Wi-Fihotspotsforcheckinge-mailandhoppingontheInternetcanbefoundinairports,coffeeshops,bookstores,andevenmostfastfoodjoints.Fortheuninitiated,Wi-FihotspotsareareaswhereyoucanuseyourwirelesslaptoptosurftheWebandchecke-mail.Buthaveyoueverwondered,justhowsafeisittoconnect?Withtheproliferationofhackers,virusesandidentitytheftatanalltimehigh,youaresmarttobeconcerned.Unfortunately,itiseasyforahackertosetupaWi-Fispottoaccessyourlaptop,calledan“eviltwin.”Aneviltwinisawirelesshot-spotthatisusedtolurepeoplefromanear-by,legitimatehotspot.Forexample,whenlogginginatyourfavoritecoffeeshop,youmayhaveinadvertentlyloggedintoaneviltwinInternetconnectionsetupbythepersonworkingonalaptopatthenexttable.Justlikelegitimatesites,eviltwinsallowyouaccesstotheInternet,butintheback-groundtheyrecordevery-thingyouaretyping.Logontoyouremail,investmentwebsite,bankaccount,orbuysomethingonline,andtheyarerecordingyourkeystrokes.

Youmaybeasking,“HowdoIprotectmyselfatWi-Fihotspots?”Firstyouneedtomakesurethehotspotislegitimate.YoucandothisbyaskingsomeonewhoworksattheWi-Filocation;infactsomebusinesseswillgiveyouprintedinstructionsthatincludethehotspotname.Evenhereyouneedtobecareful.Manytimes,inanattempttomakeyoufeelcomfortable,thehackerwilluseaneviltwinnamethatmimicsthelegitimatehotspotand,onsomeoccasions,thefakesitemayevenshowupatthetopofyournet-worklistbyhavingastrongersignalthanthelegitimatesite.

Thebestprotectionyoucanhaveisconnectingviayourcompany’sVPN(virtualprivatenetwork).AVPNprotectsyouronlineinformationbyencryptingyourdataandactivityevenifyou’reconnectedthroughaneviltwin.Ifyoudon’thaveaVPN,thebestprotectionistosurfthenet,butnevertypeinpassword,creditcard,socialsecurity,bankaccount,orothersensitiveinforma-tionwhenconnectedtoapublicWi-Fihotspot.

Get More Free Tips, Tools, and Services At My Web Site:www.xpercare.com

Tip: Do you want an easy way to securely access your network and the Internet from anywhere? Call us today at (410) 884-0225 about setting up a VPN for your office!

“I am sure you’ll appreciate our new policy”

Get More Free Tips, Tools, and Services At My Web Site:www.xpercare.com

Better Batteries For Your Laptop

One President ShortBarackObamaisthe44thPresidentoftheUnitedStates,buthowisitthatonly43menhaveoccupiedtheoffice?GroverClevelandwaselectedfortwonon-consecutivetermsandiscountedtwice,asour22ndand24thPresident.

Foreign Born PresidentsEightPresidentswerebornBritishsubjects:Washington,J.Adams,Jefferson,Madison,Monroe,J.Q.Adams,Jackson,andW.Harrison.Anexceptionto“naturalborn”sta-tuswasincludedinArticle2oftheconstitution.

Born In The USAJohnTylerwasthefirstPresidentbornafterratificationoftheconsti-tution(1790).

No CollegeNinePresidentsneverattendedcollege:Washington,Jackson,VanBuren,Taylor,Fillmore,Lincoln,A.Johnson,Cleveland,andTruman.ReligionThemostcommonreligiousaffiliationamongPresidentshasbeenEpiscopalian,followedbyPresbyterian.

Presidential AgeTheoldestPresidentinauguratedwasReagan(age69);theyoungestwasKennedy(age43).TheodoreRoosevelt,however,wastheyoung-estmantobecomePresident(42)whenhesucceededMcKinley,whohadbeenassassinated.

Presidential FactsFor President's Day

February 20th

“Who Wants Four FREE Movie Tickets?”Take my monthly Trivia Challenge and you could win too!

TheGrandPrizeWinneroflastmonth’sTriviaChallengeQuizis…drumrollplease:HarrySantucci!Hewasthefirstpersontocorrectlyanswermyquizquestion…

Which State has more tornadoes per square mile than any other?

a)Kansas b)Arkansas c)Florida d)TexasThe Answer was "C", Florida

Congratulations,Harry!Now…let’smoveontothismonth’striviaquestionfor 4 Movie Tickets…

How many children did U.S. President John Tyler father?

a)Eight b)Eleven c)Fifteen d)Seventeen

Callmerightnowwithyouranswer!(410)884-0225ORgotoourwebsite!www.xpercare.com/Trivia

HewlettPackardrecentlyannouncedthereleaseofaunique,fast-charginglaptopbatterythatwilllastatleastthreeyearswithoutanydegradationinperformance.ThebatteryisnowofferedasanoptionwithselectHPlaptopsandwillbeofferedasaretro-fitduringthesecondhalfof2009.

Thebatterywasdevelopedbyalong-time,originalequipmentmanufacturer,Boston-Power,andwillbeofferedbyHPunderthe“Enviro”nameplate.

Thebatterycanbechargedto80percentofcapacityin30minutes,whichcouldbeusefulforthosewhoonlyhavealimitedamountoftimenearanelectricaloutlet,andwillgo1,000chargesbeforethebattery’scapacitybeginsdegrading.Fortherecord,that’sachargeadayforthreeyears,soitshouldlasttheaveragelifeofabusinesslaptop.

Mostcurrentlaptopbatteriesdegradeafter300chargeslastingonaveragejust2years.Longerlifemeansmoreproductivityandlessbatterylandfillwaste.

The“Enviro”batterytechnologyisalsosaferthanconventionalbatteriesofferedtoday;areliefgivenrecent“firehazard”batteryrecallsfromothermajorlaptopmanufacturers.

Ifyou’relookingtotakeadvantageofthenewestofferingsinequipment,contactusfirst.Bycalling(410) 884-0225,wecanprovideyouwithgreatadviceonproductivitytoolsandmakesureyoudon’tspendmorethanabsolutelynecessary!

Get More Free Tips, Tools, and Services At My Web Site:www.xpercare.com

Client Spotlight: OakLawn LandscapingThismonthwewelcomeGeoffJacksonofOakLawnLandscapingtoourlonglistofcli-ents.OakLawnisafull-servicelandscapingcompanywithofficesinNewWindsorandHighland,MD.Theyoffercompletecommercialandresidentialservicesincluding:fullgroundmaintenance;design/installation;constructionservices;grading/excavating;bulkmulchandfirewood.Give Geoff a call @ 410-635-8480foranylandscapingneedsandtellhimIsentyou.

Storm Season Is Just Around the Corner…Are You Protected?

EventhoughthefirstdayofSpringisnotuntilthe20thofnextmonth,it’snevertooearlytoprepareforthosepop-upstormsthatoccurrandomlyatthistimeofyearoftenresultingineverythingfromicedamagetolighteningfires.Duringthistimeofyearthethreatoffire,flood,severestorms,waterdamagefromofficesprinklers,andeventheftisveryreal.

Oneofthemostvaluableassetsforanycompanyisitsdata.Hardwareandsoftwarecaneasilybereplaced,butacompany’sdatacannot!

Asaremindertoallofourclients,herearesomesimplethingsyoushoulddotomakesureyourcompanyisreadyforanynaturaldisaster.

1. Back Up Your Data Remotely!Everyoneknowsthatdatashouldbebackeduponadailybasis,butmanypeoplestillusein-housetapedrivesthatwillgetdamagedinanaturaldisasterorfire,andcaneasilybestolen.Werecommendbackingupalldatatoanoff-sitelocation,andweofferthisasaservicetoourclients.

2. Use a Quality Surge Protector With Uninterruptible Power Supply Battery.Ahighqualitysurgeprotectorcombinedwithanuninterruptiblepowersupplybatterybackupwillgoalongwayinprotectingsensitiveelectronicequipmentfromsurgesandotherelectronicirregularitiesthatcandestroyyourcomputer’scircuitry.

3. Make Sure Your Servers Are Off The Floor.Ifyourofficegetsflooded,havingyourequipmentoffthefloorwillpreventitfrombeingcompletelydestroyed.Serverrackscanbepurchasedandinstalledveryinexpensively.

4. Have A Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Plan.Everybusinessshouldhavesometypeofplaninplaceforcontinuedoperationafteradisaster.Wouldpeopleknowwheretogo?Whotocall?Howtologinandaccessdataremotely?Hopefullyyou’llneverneedit,buthavingasimpleplanwillmakeyousleepaloteasi-eratnightknowingyouhaveawaytocontinuetooperatewhendisasterstrikes.

Ifyouneedhelpinanyoftheseareas,giveusacall!Wecannotonlygetyouprepared,butalsobackupandrunningfastintheeventofadisaster.

• Ifyoumessedupyourlife,youcouldpress“Ctrl,Alt,Delete”andstartallover!

• Togetyourdailyexercise,justclickon“run!”

• Ifyouneededabreakfromlife,clickon“suspend.”Hitanykeytocontinuelifewhenready.

• Togetevenwiththeneighbors,turnupthesoundcard.

• To“add/remove”someoneinyourlife,clicksettingsandcontrolpanel.

• Toimproveyourappearance,justadjustthedisplaysettings.

• Iflifegetstoonoisy,turnoffthespeakers.

• Whenyouloseyourcarkeys,click“find.”

• “Help”withthechoresisjustaclickaway.

• Youwouldn’tneedautoinsurance,you’duseyourbootdiskettetorecoverfromacrash.

• Youcouldclickon“send”andthekidswouldgotobedimmediately.

• Tofeellikeanewperson,clickon“refresh.”

• Toundoamistake,clickon“back.”

• Isyourwardrobegettingold?Click“update”.

• Ifyoudon’tlikecleaningthelitterbox,clickon“delete.”

If Only LifeCould Be Like A

Computer!

Get More Free Tips, Tools, and Services At My Web Site:www.xpercare.com

Do You Wiki?WIKIisaHawaiianwordforfast,butinInternetspeakhasbecomea“backronym”for“WhatIKnowIs”.Certainlywe’reallfamiliarwithoneoftheworld’smostpro-lificwikisites,Wikipedia,withmorethan10millionentriesand684millionvisitorseachyear.Butwhyisitsopopularandwhyshouldyoucare? Firstofall,whatisawikianyway?Awikiisapageorcollectionofwebpagesdesignedtoenableanyonewithaccessprivilegestocontributeormodifycontent,usingasimpli-fiedmarkuplanguage.

Wikisareoftenusedtocreatecollaborativewebsitesandtopowercommunitywebsites.Wikipediahasbeenabletomaintainthelatestandbestknowledgebyallowingmillionsofpeoplewithspecificknowledgetocontributetoitsdatabasewithoutlosingcontrol.

Sowhatdoesthishavetodowithyou?Mostbusinessesmaintaininformationaboutcustomersorprojectsinvarioussoftwareformatsinmultipleplaces,makingcollabora-tionnearlyimpossible.Wikisarebeingused

insmallbusinessestoprovideInternetandknowledgemanagementsystems. Wikisprovideacentralrepositorywithacommonlanguageallowingyouandyouremployeestoeasilycontributeto,oraccess,thelatestinformationfromphonenumberstokeysalesstrategiesandeverythinginbetween.

Eventhoughwikisaregenerallycollab-orative,youdon’thavetoshareaccess.Youdon’tevenhavetohaveitontheInternet,andifyoukeepyourwikitoasinglefileyoucaneasilyemailit,putitonawebserver,orshareitviaaUSBthumbdrive.

Thereareseveralprovidersthatofferwikisiteswithvaryingserviceoptionsrangingfromfreetoverylowcostandareeasytousesuchastiddlybackpack.com,jotspot.com,sitground.com,andcourseforum.com.Mostservicesoffervideotutorialsandshouldhaveyouupandrunningquickly.

Byhavingawiki,you’llbemoreefficientbyhavingacentralized,up-to-date,andeasilyaccessibleinformationpoint.

Did You Ever Want To Have Lunch With An IT Specialist? What would you ask? What would you share?

Now’syourchance!Findoutaboutthelatesttools,ideas,productsandguidelines!Askexpertsyourbestquestionsandfindoutabouttheirbestpractices.

XPERTECHSishostinga“LunchandLearn”sessiononFebruary12th.Therearenoformalpresentations,noPowerPointslides,nolaserpointers.ItwilljustbeMichael,Slade,Thomas,andselectedguestsfacilitatingdiscussionsandsharingtheirknowledgeonthetopicsyouselectedasthemostpressing.

Topic: Backup and Disaster Recovery – Are You Protected? When: Thursday, February 12th 11:45 am – 1:15 pmWhere: Greystone Grill – Ellicott City, MD - Complimentary Lunch

SPACE IS LIMITED to the first 12 people who sign up. NO EXCEPTIONS!

Call: (410) 884-0225 or Email: mmellott@xpertechs.com

Not ElectedFor2yearsthenationwasrunbyaPresidentandaVicePresidentwhowerenotelectedbythepeo-ple.AfterVicePresidentSpiroT.Agnewresignedin1973,PresidentNixonappointedGeraldFordasVicePresident.Nixonresignedthefollowingyear,whichleftFordasPresident,andFord’sappointedVicePresident,NelsonRockefeller,assecondinline.

HeightThetallestPresidentwasLincolnat6’4”;at5’4”,Madisonwastheshortest.

1849Theyeartheterm“FirstLady”wasfirstused.

SingleJamesBuchananwastheonlyPresidentnevertomarry.

Died In OfficeEightPresidentsdiedinoffice:W.Harrison(afterhavingservedonlyonemonth),Taylor,Lincoln,Garfield,McKinley,Harding,F.Roosevelt,andKennedy.

Runner UpVicePresidentswereoriginallythepresidentialcandidatesreceivingthesecond-largestnumberofelec-toralvotes.Thiswasthepracticeuntiladoptionofthe12thamend-ment(1804).

More Presidential Facts

Doyouhaveanideatomakethisnewsletterbetter?Wouldyouliketosubmitastory,article,ortrivia?We’dlovetohearfromyou!

Kathy Mellott, XPERTECHS

Phone: (410) 884-0225

E-mail: kmellott@xpertechs.com

WE WANT YOUR INPUT!