Google Chrome Helps Block Flash Ads

Internet, , ,
05
Aug 2015

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Wouldn’t it be great if you could block Flash ads which drain your PC’s resources? New features in Google Chrome disable flash ads automatically.

The Problem with Flash Ads

There is nothing more irritating than loading up a webpage and beginning to devour the content on offer when, out of the blue, a noisy Flash advert pops up and takes over your speakers.

It jars your concentration and means you lose focus on that amazing article about Malware you were enjoying.

Yep, we’ve all been there and we’ve all rolled our eyes and tutted aloud!

Unfortunately, for users of Chrome, the only choice they’ve had in these situations is to take a heavy handed approach to Flash plugins (tiny pieces of software embedded in a webpage). The choice has been to either allow all Flash plugins or disable all Flash plugins.

Now, with the dynamic nature of the web these days it’s impossible to disable all Flash plugins or you’ll find that you miss out on key information e.g. some older website still use flash to deliver the content you want.

Taking on the Ads

adobe-and-google-logos

Google, as we all know, are pretty much the guardians of the internet these days. They protect us from dangerous websites, offer us incredibly personalised search results and even find us the best price for a pair of jeans.

It’s this dedication to customer service which has inspired them to go that little bit further and make our web experience smoother than ever.

This is why Google has teamed up with Adobe (creators of Flash) to tackle this advertising nightmare through the Google Chrome browser.

Hitting the Pause Button

By utilising intelligent software, Google and Adobe have managed to program the latest beta version of Chrome to give context to content on a web page.

Say, for example, you’re on a website which features IT tutorials and you want to view their video on how to setup printers. If there’s a series of Flash adverts trying to sell you holidays to Brazil then Chrome will be able to determine which one to silence.

And, believe me, you won’t be hearing about holidays to Rio de Janeiro for long!

No piece of software, of course, is 100% fool proof so, yes, there’s a chance that Chrome could accidentally pause your video tutorial on printers. But the key word here is “pause”. No content will ever be blocked and it will all be readily available at the click of a button.

Thumbs up for Chrome

Google is cooking up something special with this latest advancement in browser software and we can only applaud them for it. We wouldn’t stand for an advert popping up unannounced in the middle of a TV show, so why would we tolerate it online?

The feature is currently only available in the Chrome desktop Beta version, but all the signs are pointing to it becoming a permanent Chrome feature in the near future, so keep your eyes peeled.

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

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Practical Steps to Reduce Printer Usage in the Workplace

Uncategorized
03
Aug 2015

controlling-office-waste-printing2

Do you want to reduce printer usage in the workplace? Read our tips on how to save on printing resources, which can help reduce expenses and waste.

Many administrators in charge of purchasing, planning and implementing printers face the daunting task of justifying their purchases for office supplies. For instance, purchasing X amount of toner cartridges and paper for a department or for the entire business. Nearly all authentic brand name printer toners come at a premium price compared to the non-branded cheaper alternatives. Non-branded print toner and supplies may not be readily supported by the printer vendors when it comes to fixing print issue involving the equipment. This is why many businesses avoid purchasing cheap toner cartridges altogether.

It’s not just about purchasing enough toner for each printer; it also involves purchasing back up toner cartridges to replace empty ones.  Eventually, all this adds up and it eats into the office budget. Paper, on the other hand, is cheaper to purchase than toners. Despite this, paper can be wasted quite easily, further adding to the costs. Wasting paper is also not very eco-friendly for the trees.

With the above examples highlighting the common problems we frequently hear of from businesses, we’ve outlined a list to help save on printer usage and resources. These practical steps will ultimately help to lower costs.

Practical steps to reduce printer usage!BOTHSID

  • Print double sided– This helps save paper, and would just about half the usual amount printed in a given period of time.
  • Digitize and share documents– By digitizing and sharing documents over the network, this will help save on paper. Digital documents are easy to update and maintain, saving more on paper.
  • Non important documents– These should be printed in 300dpi rather than 600dpi and helps use less toner.  Also use “draft quality” rather than “regular” or “high”.
  • Text print setting– The “text” print setting is advised over “graphics” for text documents. It’ll make a small difference, but with many users using the office printer, it all adds up to being resourceful.
  • Limit printer usage policy– Office reminders in team meetings and via email are a good way to communicate to staff about not using office printers to print personal stuff.
  • Default to print in black– It’s a good idea to configure color printers to printing in black by default unless the option “print in color” is made. The most common print jobs are actually fine being printed in just plain black text. If a color printer is not required by the office, then replacing a color printer for one that just prints in black will be enough. This helps to reduce or eliminate the need for expensive color toners.
  • Secure print solution– There are printers that support the need to authenticate users in order to use the printer. This has been known to help deter wasted print jobs.

Some, if not most of these can be applied via a Group Policy over a Windows network, others my need to be configured trough the print server or a third party software solution.

Since each office will have different requirements, adopt the tips which most suit your office environment. If what is needed is a way to track printer usage, then a specialized print management solution such as Papercut would be ideal.

For more ideas to be resourceful with IT equipment, contact your local IT professionals.

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Windows 10 to Scrap Optional Updates

Uncategorized
31
Jul 2015

Windows-10-alla-enheter-1

Windows 10 plans to push mandatory updates. Learn how it affects Windows 10 systems by understanding options available for different versions of the OS.

Any networks that run Windows 10 will find their systems subject to mandatory updates. This means that most versions of Windows 10 will lose control to delay or disable such updates when needed.

Most versions of Windows 10 will have security and feature updates thrown in together as well instead of being released separately.  Therefore, if a company were to disable automatic updates within a network, they’ll be risk disabling all updates completely.

How-to-upgrade-from-Windows-7-or-8-to-Windows-10-via-Windows-Update

The flip side is that this will ensure that no Windows 10 system will miss any updates, which is good in an ideal way. Despite the positives, not every business is keen to apply automatic updates without realizing what it covers, or even if it’ll disrupt their systems. Despite the latter, it’s possible to overcome this; however it would come at a premium with Windows 10 Enterprise.

Windows 10 Home

Windows 10 home users will have no choice but to receive updates from the Current branch from Microsoft. Therefore, whenever Microsoft pushes an update they’ll immediately go out to Windows 10 home users. Bear in mind, Microsoft states they tests all updates before being sent out. The downside is that Microsoft users will not have any option to delay or defer updates. This is not such a bad idea, as most home users will benefit from staying updated and secure.

Windows 10 Pro

Systems running Windows 10 Pro can choose between receiving updates directly from the Current Branch, through the Current Business Branch or via Windows Server Update Services (WSUS). With Current Branch, feature and security updates will be issued automatically similar to Windows 10 Home systems.

The Current Branch for Business method and WSUS allow for more flexibility for users to select when to issue the fixes, new features and security patch updates. Despite this flexibility, such updates are not intended to be deferred indefinitely and will eventually need to be pushed out within a set window of time.

Windows 10 Enterprise

The only version to offer fully configurable updates will be Windows 10 Enterprise, which is not included as part of the free upgrade from Windows 7 and 8. This version is the most expensive of them all and is available exclusively to volume licensees. It’s no surprise that it gets the most choices.

This version can choose to push out updates to any number of machines through the Current Branch, Windows Updates or WSUS. Such update methods and can also be configured to be delayed for an unspecified amount of time.

Updates for new features can also be separated from security updates, thus allowing further choices for Windows 10 Enterprise. This is all possible with access to the Long Term Servicing Branch. 

Windows 10 Education

The Windows 10 Education version will offer the same features as Windows 10 Enterprise offered to teachers and students. They’ll also have the same options as Windows 10 Pro. Windows 10 Education users will be able to choose when to adopt updates for new features, fixes and so forth via Windows updates. When using the Current Branch for Business method to update, they are able to slightly defer receiving new features.

For more ways to stay updated, contact your local IT professionals.

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8 Misconceptions About the Cloud

Internet,
29
Jul 2015

Futuristic Cloud Computer

With plenty of claims floating around about “the Cloud”, it’s no wonder many people find it somewhat confusing. Here are 8 misconceptions about the cloud.

The Cloud; a buzzword that has been tossed around for many years into the vocabulary of  businesses and individuals alike. We’ve written this article to address some myths regarding cloud computing.  According to Wikipedia, the Cloud is a “metaphor” for the Internet.  One could say that the Cloud is a modern way to describe how the Internet is used to store and access data files in large data centers. Like any other physical system, data centers run physical disks to store data that and could be thought of as the Cloud. Despite the latter, the files accessed by cloud users appear as “virtual” when accessed from their systems or devices.

 

Typical_Data_Center

How confusing can all this be?

Applications_in_the_Cloud

According to many circles of IT professionals and businesses alike, the cloud concept has deviated from being a solution for accessing files on the Internet, to many other outrageous things we hear about.  Here are some examples of popular misconceptions:

“The cloud will solve all of your organization’s problems”

The Cloud still isn’t entirely secure and there are other aspects to running a business that the cloud has not yet reached, there’s still a way to go for this.

“Is always available with no down time”

The Cloud solution of choice is just as susceptible to downtime as any other system on earth. This ranges from a genuine outage to scheduled maintenance. Anyone and everyone’s files on the cloud are stored virtually on a company’s physical disk. This means that the Cloud Company is also susceptible to down-time like any other business.

“Needs no backups or disaster recovery plans as the data cannot be lost, deleted, or is never down”

Even files on the Cloud should be backup up (ideally offline ). The Cloud is not 100% guaranteed to hold your files. Cloud servers could go down or even ransom-ware could reach file shares to encrypt or wipe them altogether. For instance Dropbox has been known to be susceptible to ransom-ware attacks.

“I’ve never used the cloud”

Many claim to have never used the cloud despite having used the internet before, a lack of understanding perhaps?  If you’ve accessed email online, social media sites, online banking, shopped online, you’ve definitely accessed the cloud.

“The Cloud gets affected by the weather”

Many believe the literal meaning of the word “cloud”, and associate it with the “fluffy white thing” that is seen over the skies.  Of course, we know that this is complete nonsense!

Cloud Smile

“It’s a backup”

The Cloud is not a backup; however third party services over the cloud like Amazon AWS can be used as a service to form part of a backup strategy.

“With cloud computing you’ll never need to buy hardware again”

Not true. You still need to purchase systems and devices to access the cloud.

“Our Virtual machine environment at our business is the Cloud”

Not entirely wrong. Virtual machines will form the company’s private Cloud which is different to a public cloud.

To help clear up the mental fog about the broad use of the term “Cloud” for many individuals or businesses, it’s best to understand the difference. In reality, the cloud can mean many different things to different people. In essence, the difference for many businesses will mean choosing between an in-house solution or the “cloud” solution “. Of course, they can have both if they wanted to.

For more ways to safeguard your data, contact your local IT professionals.

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3 new security features for Windows 10

Security,
21
Jul 2015

Win10-security

With the release of Windows 10 just around the corner, learn about three new security features in Windows 10 being introduced in the operating system.

Microsoft has been branding Windows 10 as a system that will include security upgrades like biometric authentication and app-vetting.

Learning from past mistakes, Microsoft took note from the after the disappearance of the start menu in Windows 8. In fact, many users found it a challenge to navigate through Windows 8 because of the heavy tile-like set up. Windows 10 will bring the start menu back along with Cortana – a personal assistant and new browser called Edge. It is said that Microsoft is trying to emulate the Smartphone experience for a PC or a laptop with Windows 10.

Here are three interesting security features coming to Windows 10:

Device Guard

Device guard is a feature that will automatically block applications that lack an authentic vendor signature. Lenovo, Acer, HP are teaming up with Microsoft to utilize device guard on all their devices using Windows based services.

This feature will protect users from malware. When a user executes an app, Windows will run a credential check and notify the user about whether or not to trust the app. Device guard is unique because it can make these analytical decisions outside of window’s OS – which is known to be susceptible to hackers and malware.

Device guard is different from antivirus software as it is immune (for now) to stealth attacks and tampering. However it will guide your antivirus by flagging questionable apps. It will be functional even if Windows Kernel is not.

Windows Hello

windows-hello

Imagine your fingerprints, iris or your face being the key to access to your computer. Biometrics makes it all possible without the need to worry about passwords. Windows Hello attempts to make users immune to password hacking attacks as it lets them carry out their every-day online activities without having to key in a password or store one on your device or a network server. Your device will need a sensor to register such biometric information. So unless you are planning to buy a new device capable of Windows Hello, you won’t be able to experience it.

Passport

Windows-Passport

Microsoft is streamlining passwords by introducing Passport. Passport will allow you to access apps and services online without entering a password. This will be done by using a ‘pin’ or Microsoft hello. Before authenticating, Microsoft will be able to verify if you are in possession of your device. Passport will use Microsoft’s Azure Active Directory Services to accomplish this task.

For more ways to stay informed with new technologies, contact your local IT professionals.

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