Switch to Side by Side for your Desktop
Do you ever find yourself with too many windows minimized in your taskbar? Its frustrating searching through the muddled mess especially when I have to look at two items at once! Minimize, maximize, adjust the size, etc! It gets really monotonous!
Some people are fortunate enough to have two monitors to streamline this process, but what about a tidbit for all the single-screeners out there?
If you are using Windows 7:
1.Drag the title bar of a window to the left or right side of the screen until an outline of the expanded window appears.
2.Release the mouse to expand the window.
3.Repeat steps 1 and 2 with another window to arrange the windows side by side.
To return the window to its original size, drag the title bar away from the top of the desktop and then release.
Tip
To snap an active window to the side of the desktop using the keyboard, press either Windows logo key +Left Arrow or Windows logo key +Right Arrow.
For those using older versions of Windows, hold Ctrl and Left-click a couple of windows on your taskbar. This should select both of them. Now, Right-click and choose either Show Windows Stacked or Show Windows Side by Side.
The windows you have selected should pop up; size adjusted and ready for your viewing! Now its time to put it to the test and chose what works best for you, side by side or stacked.
Desktop Virtualization
Last months issue of The Hoot, we explored the possibilities of Virtualization, now lets look at reality. If your business is still using that five year old exchange server that you forget to back up every day, the one in the back closet with all the other stuff piled on top of it, thats the one. Now, how would you like to be worry free of those backups and have an Up Time of 99.9%? Over 3 million businesses today are using Virtualization for their business. If you have worked in any corporate environment, most likely you were using a Microsoft Exchange powered e-mail solution. That technology is used in the vast majority of businesses today, and many of these servers are administered and maintained by the company IT department. With Kotori Technologies and Our IT Department, Hosted Exchange is an option for these companies that want to have the power of an Exchange server but dont want to pay for an IT Tech or a full server license and buy the appropriate hardware and deal with the maintenance. Much like a web hosting solution where a company bundles many customers on a single web server, Hosted Exchange is a cost-effective option for business today. With the Virtual hosted Exchange service we bundle many customer mailboxes on a single Exchange server for a low monthly fee. The list goes on and on for the benefits of going Virtual. We at Kotori Technologies are a Microsoft Direct Partner, so you can contact us for your IT needs. If going Virtual is right for you, dont waste another day with your head in the Cloud; be in The Cloud.
For Sales Contact Sal Rigoroso at 843-553-8800 Ext.710
Workstation Security
These days, you hear a lot about data security and maybe dont think there is much you can do as an everyday user. But, there are a few very important things that can be done on the workstations to help your computer network consultant. Here are a couple of quick tips to safeguard your desktop from hackers, or even the nosy coworker.
Passwords
Passwords are most often the first line of protection for companies. But a weak password means weak protection. Hackers will try different attacks that either try to guess the password, or will try a series of successive characters with the hopes of finding the right combination that will equal the password. An example of a weak password is any single word or compound word written in plain English such as airplane or your childs name or pets name. Those are easy to guess and easy to randomize. A strong password contains the following characteristics:
* It is at least 6 characters long
* It does not contain any part of the users ID
* It contains at least 3 of the 5 properties listed below:
1. Lowercase letters
2. Uppercase letters
3. Numbers
4. Special characters such as !, $, #, etc.
5. Unicode characters
Some people say, Ill never remember a password like that. Thats why security-savvy users rely on acronyms. Heres an example.
Start with a phrase
Its Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas
Change that to its initials
IBTLALLC
Change some of the letters to symbols that look like letters, then mix upper case and lower case
1B2l@LlC
Now that is a strong password. You have 8 characters, lowercase, uppercase, numbers, and a special character (the at sign). That will be hard to guess, nearly impossible for a dictionary attack, and to help you remember, your acronym is Its Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas.
Business owners can enforce this policy by enabling a group policy object across the domain. That means that you need to have a server and the policy gets set on the server. At that point, everyone that logs on to the domain will be required to have a password that fits the requirements.
Locking the Workstation
This is a simple security measure, but an effective one, and one that is often overlooked. When the workstation (or laptop) is locked, it means that the screen saver comes up and the user will need to hit Ctrl+Alt+Del to get back to the desktop. There are three important points to enforce regarding this practice.
Each time you leave your workstation for more than a minute, lock the workstation. This includes taking breaks, walking upstairs, going to lunch, etc. To lock the workstation, press the Windows key on your keyboard and the L key simultaneously.
Make sure a password is required to unlock the screen saver, otherwise someone can come behind you, hit Ctrl+Alt+Del and get access to your computer.
Make sure that the setting is configured to automatically go to screen saver after 10 minutes of inactivity. That way if you walk away from your desk and forget to lock the workstation, it will automatically be done for you.
After reading the last item, some users will be tempted to think, Well I will just set it to automatically lock after 10 minutes, then I wont have to worry about remembering to do it myself. However, that is an unsafe practice to get into. If you know that you are getting up to go to lunch or go into a meeting, dont leave your computer unprotected for 10 minutes until it locks automatically. Go ahead and lock the workstation before you get up.
This can also be put into a domain policy on the server.
If you are unsure about how to set the domain policies, please contact Kotori Technologies, we can help you secure your workstations.