#LeapIntoIT Kindle Fire Giveaway
It’s that time again! Time for us to have some fun, and help one of our Upstate, SC friends get something cool to play with.
We’ve given away stuff before, like Trend Micro anti-virus, a wireless IP security camera, a Cisco Flip Mino HD video camera, Microsoft Office 2010, and even a Microsoft X-BOX 360, but this is likely the most exciting thing yet, or at least the 2nd most exciting!
We decided that since it is a Leap Year, we will help one person leap into the tablet computer revolution by giving them one of the hottest little tablets out… The Amazon Kindle Fire! It is far more than just an eBook Reader, it’s a smokin’ hot tablet too! So hot, it’s on FIRE! =)
Let’s call it the “Leap Into IT” giveaway! #LeapIntoIT
Who is eligible?
Anyone who can walk into the Homeland Secure IT office at 104 Mauldin Rd, STE E in Greenville, SC to retrieve the tablet in person. We will NOT SHIP IT. Also, you must not be prohibited by law from participating in any giveaway, and all that legal mumbo-jumbo. Let’s put an age restriction on it too. You must not be older than, no wait, you must be at least 18 to participate.
Employees of Homeland Secure IT cannot play this silly game because they would never get any work done.
Past winners of Homeland Secure IT giveaways ARE eligible (Andrea, James, Hal, etc)
How do you get involved in this?
There is NO purchase necessary, but there are some things that you will want to do…
- Pass through our initiation process – This is where you tattoo your forehead with the Homeland Secure IT logo. Okay, this is optional.
- Sign up to this blog by hitting the SUBSCRIBE BUTTON over in the right-hand column. You can receive the daily blog posts in email first thing in the morning this way. And you can opt out later (after the contest is over) when you get tired of my yammering…
- Sign up for our SUPER LOW traffic mailing lists HERE … We rarely send anything out, so you won’t be too annoyed. You can unsubscribe from either or both at anytime, AFTER the contest end date.
- Go to our home page at www.HomelandSecureIT.com and hit the Google +1 button & Facebook “like” while you are there.
- Go to our Google business places page and leave a review and rating (hopefully a good one)
- Go to Merchant Circle and leave a review/rating
- Go to Yelp and leave a review/rating
- Go to Yahoo! and leave a review/rating
- LIKE us on facebook HERE … Follow us on Twitter HERE …
Here is a list of ways to connect:
http://www.homelandsecureit.com/connect.html
If you connect in a different manner and you feel it is important, email me, or tag me in a post so I can see what you have done and count that as well!
In review, it is up to you to determine how much, or how little you wish to get involved. The more ways you connect, the more chances to get this darn Kindle Fire!
How is the selection made?
Good question! We lay out a grid, with your each name written in it in the parking lot, and we then shoot a gerbil straight into the air, and in whatever grid the gerbil falls into, that’s our winner.
Okay, (maybe) it isn’t like that at all. No, in fact it is not.
On February 29th, 2012, I’ll take every name/email address from our mailing lists, all the names of those who have reviewed us on Yelp, Google Places, Yahoo! & Merchant Circle, all the mentions on Facebook, Twitter, Linked-In, all the Likes and Follows on Twitter, Facebook, Linked-In, all the Google Plus +1s, and dump them into a spread sheet. Next I go to www.Random.Org and put the number of lines in my spreadsheet as the max number and generate a random number.
Whoever matches that number in the spreadsheet is contacted.
If they are out of the area and cannot get it in person, another number will be selected and the process repeated until we have a winner!
So, with that said… Let’s do this! Leap Into IT!!!!
‘Twas The Night Before Christmas – Computer Version
I first read this story on a University of Arkansas computer system sometime before 1985 and promptly typed it up and put it on my BBS (Non-Prophet BBS) for people to read. I have sent it in email, and “snail mail” for the last 25 years or so… I still get a kick out of it. If anyone knows the author, please contact me so I can give credit and thank them. – John M. Hoyt
‘Twas The Night Before Christmas – Computer Version
‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the shop,
The computers were whirring; they never do stop.
The power was on and the temperature right,
In hopes that the input would feed back that night.
The system was ready, the program was coded,
And memory drums had been carefully loaded;
While adding a Christmasy glow to the scene,
The lights on the console, flashed red, white and green.
When out in the hall there arose such a clatter,
The programmer ran to see what was the matter.
Away to the hallway he flew like a flash,
Forgetting his key in his curious dash.
He stood in the hallway and looked all about,
When the door slammed behind him, and he was locked out.
Then, in the computer room what should appear,
But a miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer;
And a little old man, who with scarcely a pause,
Chuckled: “My name is Santa…the last name is Claus.”
The computer was startled, confused by the name,
Then it buzzed as it heard the old fellow exclaim:
“This is Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen,
And Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen.”
With all these odd names, it was puzzled anew;
It hummed and it clanked, and a main circuit blew.
It searched in its memory core, trying to “think”;
Then the multi-line printer went out on the blink.
Unable to do its electronic job,
It said in a voice that was almost a sob:
“Your eyes – how they twinkle – your dimples so merry,
Your cheeks so like roses, your nose like a cherry,
Your smile – all these things, I’ve been programmed to know,
And at data-recall, I am more than so-so;
But your name and your address (computers can’t lie),
Are things that I just cannot identify.
You’ve a jolly old face and a little round belly,
That shakes when you laugh like a bowl full of jelly;
My scanners can see you, but still I insist,
Since you’re not in my program, you cannot exist!”
Old Santa just chuckled a merry “ho, ho”,
And sat down to type out a quick word or so.
The keyboard clack-clattered, its sound sharp and clean,
As Santa fed this “data” into the machine:
“Kids everywhere know me; I come every year;
The presents I bring add to everyone’s cheer;
But you won’t get anything – that’s plain to see;
Too bad your programmers forgot about me.”
Then he faced the machine and said with a shrug,
“Merry Christmas to All,” as he pulled out its plug,
“And to all, a good night!”
Merry Christmas everyone!!!!
We believe Trend Micro’s Titanium Internet Security 2012 is the best anti-virus, anti-spyware & anti-spam package at any price, however one lucky person is going to get it from us at absolutely no cost this month!
Titanium Internet Security 2012 includes everything you would expect in an anti-virus package with a few extras…
- Blocks email and image spam
- Blocks and finds malicious links in emails and IMs
- Blocks downloads and access to malicious websites
- Fake AV cleaner – eliminates malware posing as antivirus software
- Protects from viruses, spyware, worms, trojans, botnets and rootkits
- Utilizes the Trend Micro Smart Protection Network to proactively stop threats before they reach you
- Prevents unauthorized changes to your applications
- Skinable interface (allows customizing Trend with a favorite photo or image)
- Windows Firewall Booster
- Protect your children – restrict internet content and set access schedule for your kids with Parental Controls
- Maximize your PC’s performance – System Tuner improves PC performance by cleaning up browser history, cookies, temporary files, registries and more
- Protect and defend your data from loss and theft with Data Theft Prevention to keep information like credit card numbers and passwords safe
- Secure Erase – shreds computer files with sensitive information to keep it from being easily recovered
- Includes SafeSync – secure online backup with sync, sharing and mobile access (2 GB cloud backup)
- Includes a copy of Trend Micro Smart Surfing for Mac
So how can you score such great anti-virus for yourself or your business? Homeland Secure IT is a partner with Trend Micro and recommends this product as well as sells it and installs it. The suggested retail price is only 49.99 for the first year, with renewals generally costing less. You can call us at 864.990.4748 or email info@homelandsecureit.com for more information.
However, since this is the Thanksgiving season, and we want to give you our thanks for supporting us this year, we are going to give away one copy of this software, and maybe a couple copies if the interest is high enough.
We will draw on December 1st and announce the winner on our blog, Twitter, Facebook and Linked In.
You enter by subscribing to our mailing lists HERE, subscribe to this blog, LIKE us or link us on Facebook, Mention us on Twitter, or give us a Google Review, or otherwise connecting with us.
Here’s a list of how you can connect with us!
For every way you reach out to us, we count that as an entry. So if you join our mailing list, leave a review on Google, post a link on twitter and like us on Facebook, that is FOUR entries ! If you have already connected because you love us, or because you wanted to win something like the X-Box we gaveaway, don’t worry, you are STILL in our list and need do nothing.
The winner who is selected must be able to come pick up the item at our office in Greenville, SC. We will not ship it to you. If you do not want it, or you do not claim it within 7 days, we will pick another winner!
Good luck!
Oh how we live for a vacation! Every year John and I plan a pilgrimage back to Charleston to celebrate our anniversary. We’ve even managed to incorporate a convention into our trip but we go at least two nights early to have some celebration time for ourselves. This past Saturday we rushed down to get checked into our hotel and dress for our dinner reservations at Grill 225. We arrived early enough to watch the sunset on the rooftop of the Market Pavilion and enjoy a drink. The wind was a bit much and with the sunset the temperature dropped so we found our way to the bar downstairs and ordered a drink. The Nitrotini is the signature drink of the Market Pavilion and Grill 225. They arrive at the table complete with celebratory smoke drifting off the drink! I had the cucumber nitrotini and it was delicious! John started with a dessert martini swirled with chocolate. One of the thrills of being an adult… starting with dessert!
We were seated right at 7pm and met our waiter, Jess, who took very good care of us. As every year, John and I enjoy a filet cooked to perfection with a crispy seasoned outside along with a three pound lobster prepared classic tableside. We also enjoyed a new side dish of Cauliflower fritters that were very tasty and much more than the two of us could finish. The dinner was finished off with the baklava purse created by the pastry chef complete with “Happy 5th Anniversary” scrolled in chocolate =) What great attention to detail! We both left the restaurant smiling and stuffed … until next year when we anticipate another great night of reflection over the prior year and make future plans and goals to enjoy together!
Pamela Hoyt – Homeland Secure IT
@PamelaHoyt – http://www.facebook.com/PamelaMHoyt
Homeland Secure IT Alert
Homeland Secure IT Alert for Friday, September 30, 2011
An update to Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) and Microsoft Forefront Endpoint Protection was causing grief for many users today as it incorrectly flagged the Google Chrome browser as malware.
The typical behavior was for an alert to be displayed stating that “PWS:Win32/Zbot” was found and that it needs to be removed. What is really removed is the Chrome.exe, so you are left without your favorite browser.
Attempts to reinstall Chrome fail with additional warnings.
Microsoft has stated that a faulty virus definition update was the cause. and by 10AM Pacific time, an additional update was released to correct that behavior.
If this has happened to you, a manual update of the MSE or FEP should fix you up! Of course, you will still have to reinstall Google Chrome.
Homeland Secure IT Alert
Whoa, I bet you clicked on the link to come here because you thought Homeland was having some awesome sale??? EVERY DAY is an awesome sale when you compare our prices to the prices in the following post:
http://www.iheartchaos.com/post/10489506835/best-buy-ads-from-1996-look-like-they-might-as-well
You likely buying your computers at half the cost of those listed in the ad.
Remember when RAM was that expensive? What about CRTs, or whole computer systems? It’s been ages since we sold a notebook with the same price tag on it as in the Best Buy ad from 1996.
Have a great weekend, and be glad you don’t have to put one of those big flip phones up to your head still!
One of our phones has a contract that is up and I could upgrade to the Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch that was released just today on Sprint.
Only one problem… Nobody that I called in the Greenville area has one! One person told me only 200 of the top stores got them today and those 200 stores only received 2 each.
So I will wait a while, or I could buy it online at sprint.com.
Why do I want it? Last year about this time, we replaced our aging Blackberry phones with Samsung Galaxy S Epic 4G phones and have loved them! BUT, that was this, this is now. The new phone does not have a keyboard built-in, so it is much thinner, and it also has a much larger display. The battery life is improved to boot.
As far as speed, the new phone has a 1.2Ghz DUAL CORE processor, compared to the 1Ghz single core we currently have.
The OS is upgraded, the camera is 8 megapixels. What’s not to like?
Apparently the size. Some people don’t like that bigger 4.5″ screen, compared to the 4.3″ screen in our current phones.
We’ll see… Maybe by next week I can find one?
Thoughts? OH, and don’t make it about carriers. Sprint has done a great job of keeping us happy. Verizon would be our 1st choice, but we’re locked in for a little while longer with 3 of our phones.
Have a great weekend!
Narcissus loves himself all through the intermission
Wow, what a busy weekend! We managed to pack so much into 48 hours this past weekend and had a great time doing so. Our daughter that is a freshman at Converse College called this past Wednesday to ask if we could go see the production of Metamorphoses at the Warehouse Theatre. We were fortunate to attend all of last season’s plays and so enjoyed every one of them. I think she needed a family time event to look forward to while encountering her busy schedule at school. I immediately called our friend, Paul Savas, and purchased four of the last remaining tickets for the final show! Yay!
Later in the week, Brett informed me that I had forgotten he would be going to the Clemson game on Saturday. Geesh, it is difficult being the family entertainment coordinator and keeping everyone happy! I told him not to worry and have a good time, we would find someone else to gladly take his ticket… and we did!
Our evening started with a delicious dinner at Saskatoon’s with Jay Handler, John, Megan, and me. Megan and I were able to try new dishes that we otherwise would not dream of tasting… very good! We shared many laughs and deep discussion and lost track of time before we dashed off to try to make the curtain call. Megan and I dashed through the front door as John and Jay filled the parking meters and Shannon Robert (the plays director) ushered us to “the best seats in the house but a little difficult to get to!” I envisioned a dark narrow stairway, but quickly knew what she was referring to when Shannon whispered, “Give me your shoes!” We climbed a ladder in the dark to the balcony where the audio and lighting technicians work their magic, and indeed found “the best seats in the house”! I was tickled but felt slightly guilty since WE were the people that we always scorned running in at the last second.
What a great performance to have balcony seats for “Metamorphoses”. Shannon Robert did such an excellent job of directing Ovid’s classic that was created by Mary Zimmerman in 2002. She even created the ominous feel of the Greek Mythological past in the poolside setting complete with over 3,400 gallons of water! The play is actually a culmination of stories from Greek mythology which I love. Several of the skits were interpreted in modern day with a twist of comedy or a glimpse of shock to leave us wanting more in the next story.
Although “Metamorphoses” was a fabulous opening show for the Warehouse Theatre’s new season, this makes me even more excited about what’s yet to come! I would be amiss not to encourage my friends and colleagues to consider making time for each and every one of these productions. We have always enjoyed and looked forward to our family fun nights of visiting the Warehouse Theatre! Please take a look for yourself and mark your calendar now for these wonderful upcoming events so you don’t miss out. I will certainly make a point of being early for the seating for the “The Elephant Man”, I hear the lead actor is wonderful! http://www.warehousetheatre.com/season
Pamela Hoyt – Homeland Secure IT
@PamelaHoyt – http://www.facebook.com/PamelaMHoyt
Come check out The Dockside Band tomorrow night at the BB&T Main Street Fridays event! @DocksideBand
The Dockside Band provides fun music for the Upstate!
Tomorrow night, Friday the 12th, The Dockside Band from The Upstate of SC will be performing at the BB&T Main Street Fridays in front of the Hyatt on, you guessed it, Main Street!
You’ll hear a wide variety of music from country to beach to rock, with a little something for everyone. You might call our style “Fun Summertime Music”… Something you might want to kick back at the beach, lake or poolside and listen to…
This is a public gig for the entire family, so we’ve even toned it down a bit and we will not be biting the head off a bat or performing a live human sacrifice this time.
Be sure to bring your beach or lawn chair, or at least a blanket, unless you plan on dancing all night.
We start at 5:45pm and will wrap up about 9:15pm.
Can’t make it tomorrow? That’s okay, we’re at The Hide-Out in Easley on Saturday, and on Sept 2nd, we’re at Ford’s Oyster House in Greenville.
Please “like” us on Facebook at http://facebook.com/DocksideBand
If you would like more information about us, or would like to book a great band for your club, bar or event, please call or email! 864.979.1224 or johnh@thedocksideband.com
Watch out for these on your Android smartphone
Here’s an ugly one… A piece of malware could be installed on your Android that records your phone conversations and saves it to your memory card.
A blog post over on the CA community site states that you could have a trojan spying on your conversations. While the author goes into detail about the functionality of the trojan, little is said about the distribution method.
We’re left to believe it came from the marketplace, distributed with a supposedly legitimate application, but who’s to say you could not be brought to the app by your browser or an email link.
I think the bottom line here is to be careful when installing any apps on your Android phone, pay attention to which Android resources applications may be requesting access to. Why would a game need access to phone calls for instance? A little common sense can go a long way.
The author does correctly state that this is the year of mobile malware…. Be careful out there!
