The Isolated Entrepreneur

Boy, it is amazing what people will do to undermine our sense of security.

Most of us are pretty Internet savvy and know the rules for being safe when reading email or surfing the Internet.  The people who write viruses, hoaxes, and other malicious code are always looking at new ways to infect your computer.

The latest is called “infectious web pages.”  You go to a website and read through the web pages.  As you are reading the web pages, a virus or spyware is installed on your computer without your permission.

The best prevention is up-to-date firewall, anti-virus, and anti-spyware software.  It also helps to have the latest browsers installed.  These software programs are already working to combat this latest threat.

Read “New Net threat: Infectious Web Pages” (MSN.com, Bob Sullivan, May 8, 2007) for more information and great links.

How to be safe on the Internet 

Here is a checklist of how to stay Internet safe.

• Have anti-virus and anti-spyware software on our computers and keep it up-to-date to avoid the growing threats.
• Have a firewall installed and keep it up-and-running.
• When using a public Internet access, be cautious about working with financial, corporate intellectual property or other sensitive information.
• Don’t click on email links that look like they come from credible financial institutions such as Paypal, eBay, or your bank.  Instead open your browser and go to your bank website manually.
• Don’t give out sensitive information such as your social security number, account numbers or passwords over the phone to someone that says they are from your bank.  Banks would never ask this information over the phone.  It is best to call them at the number on your bank statement if you think it is valid.
• Don’t click on links in unsolicited spam mail (prescription drugs, stock tips, etc).
• Don’t open emails or attachments if you don’t know who they are coming from.
• Don’t download and install software from peer-to-peer networks such as Limewire.  You never know if the source has been altered by a programmer to contain malicious code.
• Keep up-to-date on the latest bug fixes for your Mac and/or Windows computer.  Both operating systems have programs that automatically run and install updates.
• Don’t post confidential information (and make sure your kids don’t either) such as your address, personal description, photos of family and kids in your public website or profiles for instant messengers.

SCORE has a great web page full of articles and tutorials about using computers, software, and other electronics in your business.

Some articles include:

• building a wireless LAN
• securing your laptop
• is e-commerce easy?

Ric Bohy of StartupNation reviewed Windows Vista in “Vista Business - A Regular Guy’s Review“.  For the most part, it is best to wait for a brand new computer before trying the Vista out.  For the existing computer, especially if it is older than a year, the problem are the drivers.  Many manufacturers are not going back and creating drivers for old printers, scanners, and internal computer hardware for Vista.

One of the best features in Ric’s opinion is the instant search of contacts and all your files.

Are you looking for a better way of backing up your system?  Listen to the podcast, “Back It Up” by Startup Nation.   The accompanying podcast also includes a list of the better known online backup services.

Some of the unlimited storage services are great for photo backups and your less confidential files.  I am very wary about putting any financial or other files that people can use for identity theft on online storage although some have great security in place.

Be prepared for the first backup to take a significant time (maybe even days) depending on how much data/pictures you have.

How do I backup?

I use my web hosting package (which has a large amount of storage available that I don’t use) to store less confidential files - for the most part my pictures.  I do this through a backup program, Genie, that I own and an FTP server.  My husband has access to this server as well so he can edit or send photos to the family.

I also use a secure connection on my hosting package to store the files for the geneology of my family.   Other family members, located throughout the US and Europe, have a password and id to get to it.

I also own two external hard drives.  One is kept in my safety deposit box at the bank.  I backup my computer once a week.  Every other month (which is enough for me), I swap the hard drive in my safety deposit box with the one I keep at home.

This system works for me.  I have my files at home (in case my computer crashes) and off location in case there is a house fire.  Finally, my pictures and geneology files are shared with family members so we can collaborate on them.

K. Mandla’s posting, “Ten things you can do to keep an old computer useful,” has some great tips on how to maintain the computer so it goes as fast as it can.

My old computer was given to my parents who use it for surfing, reading email and a Word document now and then.  It is six years old, but works great - mind you it was loaded because I did graphics and programming at the time.

One of the tips that I have repeated to others myself is - get rid of the stuff you don’t use.  I reinstall Windows with the bare minimum and add programs that make sense.  K. Mandla goes one step further in mentioning that you should turn off services that are not necessary.

Did you know that many of the computer companies will accept your old computers for free?  Many of the companies have environmental stewardship programs and will take back old computers, batteries, and other products.

Recycling Links

• Apple
• Compaq (see HP)
• Dell
• Gateway
• HP
• Toshiba
  

For other computers, go to the company website and search for “recycling”.

It is not limited to computers, check your scanner or printer manufacturer to see what their policies are.

A Microsoft Vista upgrade is more expensive than you think because you may need to upgrade other software such as Paperport and Quickbooks. Add to that a computer that is much slower, you might find that you would rather go back to XP.

For anyone who has purchased Vista and wants to return it, you can do so within 45 days of purchase to Microsoft (See link).

If you are planning on purchasing Windows Vista or Quickbooks 2007, you might want to take a look at Costcos.  They have some great prices and in this week’s Costco mailer, you can clip a coupon for an additional $30 off Quickbooks.

Mind you, I am not recommending you upgrade to Vista.  The upgrade takes a good chunk out of your wallet because you will need to purchase the latest versions of other software packages like Quickbooks, Adobe, and Paperport.

I haven’t been blogging recently because my precious baby - my PC computer got sick. The display and keyboard go beserk. So now my computer is in the shop - gotta love Best Buy’s extended warranty - NOT. I had just enough time to make a mirror image of my hard drive and remove confidential information from my computer.

Under this warranty, I should hopefully (please please please) have my computer back in 2-3 weeks. This is not good for someone who needs a computer to do over 95% of her work.

Luckily there is another computer in the house for me to use. Unluckily, it is a Mac. Well, I thought it was an unlucky thing until I found out how easy it was to make the transition thanks to these features.
- Ability to read an external hard drive made by a PC.
- Microsoft Office can read/write documents & spreadsheets that are viewable by a Mac or PC.

One of the biggest things I miss is my Palm Sync Software. On the Mac, it will only save one address with the built in Palm Sync. I purchased “The Missing Sync” software so that it would save and sync all my addresses and contact information.

GoToMyPC also stinks. It runs from a browser and depending on the computer you are access the screen can be so small you can’t make out the text.