As a result of this we decided that a product was needed to help ensure that should the worst happen and your laptop is started back up then your data is deleted from the drive and, where possible, the location is traced so the police can recover it. We decided on Laptop Cop which met all of the criteria that we set out plus much more. For those of you out there who love the “cool” stuff then you will love some of the features that Laptop Cop has. For example once your laptop is stolen or lost then you log on to a web portal and put the unit in “Stolen” mode. In this state you will be asked what you want to do about your data, either recover then delete or delete only. At all times, even when not in stolen mode, the Laptop is on and connected to the Internet the location is being broadcast back to the portal so that you know where it is. What also happens when in stolen mode is the tables are turned on the thief and everything that they do is recorded, all keystrokes are recorded and if there is a webcam built in to the laptop then this is used to capture evidence about the thief.

When you combine this is our encryption & backup solutions you the perfect solutions to mobile computer security.  If you want to know more about our laptop security solutions or require a demonstration then contact our sales team for more information.

Fundamentally Windows 7 is built on the foundation that was used to build Windows Vista but with some significant improvements, the most obvious one is performance. The initial release of Windows Vista was, to say the least, unpopular. Much of this was down to poor performance and compatibility with many of the hardware devices that were in current circulation as well as new devices. As time went by support for the hardware improved as did performance with the release of Service pack 1 last year.  Windows 7 out of the box is a vast improvement on both hardware support as well as the overall performance. Microsoft are committed on making Windows 7 capable of running on as many of the netbooks that are currently on the market such as the Asus Eee PC 901 as well as many others. One of the main reasons for this I believe is due to the fact that the inability of many netbooks to run Windows Vista is still keeping the Windows XP market alive as this is that choice of manufacturers as it runs so quickly on their equipment.

Another significant change to Windows 7 is the introduction of the new taskbar.  The traditional taskbar which has now been with us since the introduction of Windows 95 has finally had and overhaul which at first seems to be hard to get used to it is in actual fact a great improvement. What Microsoft have done with the new taskbar is instead of minimizing your applications down to a bar they have minimized them down to icons on the taskbar which is a much needed improvement where desktop real estate is concerned. Another improvement on the taskbar is the “fly out’s” that happen when using the Aero interface.  In the image shown I have two tabs open within Internet Explorer both of which are minimized, however when I move the mouse over these I see the two tabs pop up and I can click on with one of them to restore them back to their original state.

There is also support for multi touch surfaces as touch computing has become an upcoming trend with the technology becoming more affordable. Multi-touch support effectively allows the user to touch multiple locations on the device, typically a tablet, and the system will recognise the contact and act accordingly.  An excellent example of this is both the Apple iTouch and Apple iPhone both of which have support for multi touch on the devices.

Another introduction for the latest Windows 7 Release Candidate was XP Mode. What this allows the user to do is virtualize applications on the desktop, eh? Let me explain. Essentially speaking virtualisation is where an operating system is run within another operating system in a fashion that is similar to running it as a normal application.  What it does however is appear as a real computer from a networking perspective as well as from the user perspective. In the same way your desktop needs to run Windows Updates, so does the virtual machine.  Now XP mode takes this to the next level through the support of hardware virtualisation what it allows you to do is to install an application on the Virtual PC, which may only work in Windows XP, and actually run it on your Windows 7 computer as if it were installed but it is in actual fact running on the Virtual PC in the background. This has great advantages for businesses that would like to upgrade to Windows 7 but are unable to due to legacy application support being poor or in some cases non-existent.

But don’t just take our word for it, the Windows 7 Release Candidate is open to anyone who wants to download and try it. The release candidate will work until 1st June 2010, and will shut down every 2 hours from 1st April 2010 so there is plenty of time to try it out and see if your software will work.  If you would like to discuss any aspect of Windows 7 then please free to contact us and we’ll be happy to discuss it further.

- Rob

One of our fellow BNI members has put together a 2 day Strategic Marketing Masterclass which is perfect for small businesses. The masterclass will cover a variety of topics such as tools and techniques for analysing their business environment, objective setting, evaluation of different marketing tools, implementation planning and measuring key performance indicators. The course is suitable for any team member that wants to have a structured approach to business growth or who may be relatively new to marketing. Upon completion of the course each learner will have an accurate and relevant marketing plan to implement within their business. The marketing plan will be an action plan to ensure their commercial objectives are met for 2009. By attending this course, businesses have a much more cost effective method of obtaining strategic focus than hiring in a 3rd party which can cost thousands of pounds in consultancy fees. There will be options for post-masterclass
support to ensure that the newly produced marketing plan is being implemented and remains relevant to their business. Masterclasses will be held across April, May and June 2009. The course will be delivered in a Nottingham training facility where refreshments and lunch will be served on both days. Specific details of location, times etc will be issued in the learner packs sent to you. All learning material will be provided. The course is priced at £650 per learner (excluding VAT) with the option of group discounts. If you have 2-249 employees and have not had previous Leaders First Training you might be eligible for Business Link support. If you are eligible for funding you will receive a £575 contribution towards the cost of the course. Kirsty will arrange for Business Link to call you and allocate the funding. If you are eligible for funding you will be reimbursed by Business Link for the amount that you are entitled to. You will be asked to pay the full amount up front then you will receive the £575 reimbursement from Business Link.

The means that if you are eligible the course will cost just £75 + VAT, if you would like to know more then please contact rob.franklin@jpt-solutions.co.uk.

So what does cloud computing bring that was not there before?
What cloud computing brings is the ability for small businesses to run applications which typically can only be afforded by larger businesses.  This is made possible by having low start-up costs.  For example we have started providing hosted Microsoft Exchange 2007 which gives 10GB of storage, ExchangeDefender spam filtering, Microsoft Sharepoint, Microsoft Forefront which costs £10 per mailbox per month.  For a small business of 3 users this would mean a monthly cost of £30, giving an annual cost of £360 for the three users.  If you compare this with the cost of a typical Microsoft Small Business server entry level cost of approx £1,000 plus installation of around £750 then hosted applications make more sense.

What other benefits are there?
With hosted application you are able to access your application regardless of location which means that any of the users can work so long as they have an internet connection, given the rapid growth of communications this means users can work from almost anywhere.  Also with hosted application the provider typically will take care of backups so it is no longer your worry.
Whether it is suitable for your business is an individual decision based on your needs.  If you would like to discuss this further please feel free to contact us for a free consultation.

The problem is that typically when you ask these users what security they have enabled or purchased for these devices the answer is either “nothing” or “no idea”.  The fact is that the information contained on these devices is typically just as sensitive and confidential as the information contained on the company network so why are these devices being treated differently?  The directors, managers or any one else using these devices need to understand that they are no longer carrying a phone anymore and that these devices are in actual fact a part of the business network and they need to ensure that the proper precautions are taken to ensure that the data contained on them is kept safe.
One simple question to ask is does your device have a password or PIN set on it to prevent unauthorised
access to the device?

Another consideration is what is your procedure in the event of the loss of one of these handsets?  Do you have the facility to remotely wipe the handheld device or indeed do you know how to do this?  The fact is that this can be achieved with Corporate Blackberry handsets, also with Apple iPhone 3G units using ActiveSync for Exchange as well as Windows Mobile devices that are using ActiveSync for Exchange.
If you would like to know more about mobile security solutions or would like to know what can be done to secure your existing devices please contact us by emailing sales@jpt-solutions.co.uk

It is believed that the identified flaw could allow criminals to take control of people’s computers and steal their password.

We recommend that any users who are concerned about this issue should download and use Firefox until such time as an update has been release by Microsoft.

See also:  http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7784908.stm

UPDATE: Microsoft have now release an update to resolve this issue, please see here.

But with all of this technology available to ensure that you are never out of contact whether it be voice calls, SMS or even email the question remains; Do you need it? This is something we have been asked many times and the answer is always the same; “Do you need it? Only you can decide”. What is clear is that it’s now more affordable than ever for anyone to have this technology at their fingertips. No longer is it the reserve of the large corporate environments it’s something that the Owner/Manager’s and Small Businesses can enjoy which in turn can help them to become more streamlined and agile in a fragile marketplace where an instant response can make all the difference. If you would like to know more about mobile email solutions please contact our team for more information.

The first issue is one of performance; that is as more and more files and shortcuts are added to a users desktop then in time this will inevitably slow the PC down.  The reason for this is as that as the user minimises and maximises applications the screen must be re-drawn, now the fact is that the more information stored on the desktop the more memory will be used which in turn will steal that memory from genuine applications.  It will also slow down the process of re-drawing the screen as there is much more information to render to the screen.  The second issue is one of security; simply put the data on the desktop will stay on the desktop.  Unless the user specifically copies the data from the desktop to the server then this information is only contained in one location and is not backed up with the rest of the server data.  Now the question should be asked at this point ”Is this information important?”.  The simple answer is “Of course it is” otherwise why would you have the information in the first place.  In that case get it off the desktop and onto the server, once there leave it there and just work on it from the server.

Alternatively, if you are using Microsoft Small Business Server and have your “My Documents” folder redirected to the server then could move this information to the “My Documents” folder and it will be copied to the server during the “Log Off” process.  This is a simple practise that could save you hours or even days of work in the event of a failed workstation.  If you are still not sure how to do this then contact our team and they will be happy to help you.