Tech Tools Yield Tech Skills for Small Business Owners

On this Non-Techie Tuesday, I pose two questions to you:
Are you intimidated by your computer, non-techie small business owner?
Do you use a cell phone resembling any of these?
I'll bet that you do. Now think back a few years... Would you have pictured yourself using anything that "complex" before you actually tried it? My guess is: probably not. Yet, you do it everyday!

Why then, are so many people still intimidated by their computers? - a colleague posted the cutest picture of her dogs on Facebook. She took it with her cell phone and uploaded it. Here it is. (If you are not a Facebook user, and you can't get there from here, my apologies). A couple of clicks and it was all done. I challenge you to acknowledge that your desktop or laptop computer can be tamed just as easily.

Start by recognizing that you control it, not the other way around. A bit of planning ahead to see to its care and feeding is all you need.

This article is about memory maintenance.
To better understand why that's important, envision this scenario:
You have just come back from grocery shopping for your family. Your children help to carry the bags into the kitchen. They sit them anywhere there is an empty space. That is fast and convenient -- at that time. You could leave the bags where they sit, but odds are you won't. You could still find everything, BUT IT WOULD TAKE LONGER. (Not to mention the fact that the perishables would spoil)!

Windows works in kind of the same way. (Sorry Mac users. I haven't used one for a long time).
Your files get stored wherever it's "convenient" for Windows to "sit" them, when you click SAVE. After a while, though, finding the files gets harder and harder. Some of them have even been split up and stored in two different "kitchen cabinets." The end result: Your computer gets slower and slower.

The solution is simple. Windows comes with a tool called "Disk Defragmenter" or Defrag, for short. Depending upon how often you save files, and how big they are, you may need to run Defrag every week. Defrag should be run at least once per month, in any case.

To get you started, here are links to the Microsoft site for how to run the Defrag utility.

• Vista users click here. The instructions are written in an easy to understand manner (unlike the XP version linked below).
  
• XP users click here. Fair warning: the article is a be "tech-speaky," but the steps can be followed.
  

If you have never run Defrag on your computer, the process could take hours. My advice: wait until your workday is over, then start it. Everything should work faster when it's done, unless you have other problems...

Happy Computing!

E-mail us with your questions, or leave Comments below, about how to reach your business goals.

© 2010 DMMI Associates LLC – All rights reserved

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Can Your Password Pass a Security Test?

Are your passwords easy to remember?
More importantly: Are your passwords easy for someone else to figure out?
Good news: You can have the best of both worlds. Here are a few suggestions as to how.

Begin with a mnemonic - a memory aid that is unique to you. This can be a word, letter or number pattern that permits you to remember and use password patterns multiple times, but keeps others clueless.

Then add an algorithm - a systematic approach for applying your mnemonic pattern to each new password need.

Here's an example:
Jodi likes music. She selects an orchestra section -- "brass" let's say -- that she can stick with for a while as a password base. She also can remember her fondness of fruit and a 3-digit number. Combine these, with a way to identify the site or program the password is for. The first two letters could work.
RESULT: Jodi's Facebook password could be "brass233berryFa" This combination meets the must haves for a strong password:

• at least 6 characters.
  
• contains a number.
  
• upper and lowercase.
  
• less than 16 characters (some sites restrict length)
  

Voila! Something that Jodi can remember, that is tough for others to discern, using a pattern that can be reused.
This works, of course, as long as Jodi has a memory that serves her well most of the time.

You don't have to rely solely upon your memory though, even if your mnemonic works perfectly for you.
You can store your passwords online. The founder of Noobie, Patric Welch wrote in a recent article about the challenges surrounding where to store passwords. He offers several suggestions for safely storing passwords on the internet "in the cloud."

"Is your head in the cloud about passwords?" aptly details the mostly upside of keeping your secret password sauce in the internet cloud, along with some additional safeguards to consider.

The next time you have trouble coming up with yet another password, you may wish to try this process.

E-mail us with your questions, or leave Comments below, about how to reach your business goals.

© 2010 DMMI Associates LLC – All rights reserved

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