Those of you who are lucky enough to live in the Great State of South Carolina can look forward to August 6th as that starts the Sales Tax Holiday!
That’s right, starting at 12:01AM on Friday, August 6th and ending at 12:00PM on Sunday, August 8th is your chance to buy items for student use without the 6% SC State sales tax.
The catch is – the items you purchase must fit into two categories – #1 it must be for school use, and #2 it must fit the long list of appropriate products, which can be found at www.sctax.org.
Technology-wise, if you are attending a university, a technical college, or have a child in school, you can purchase an entire computer, notebook / laptop, printers, and software and get this savings. You can’t buy computer parts, such as a monitor, UNLESS you purchase that monitor at the time you purchase the computer.
This could be an awesome opportunity to save some money… Imagine if you were planning on buying a top-of-the-line computer, with a big LCD monitor, Microsoft Office 2010 and Trend Micro anti-virus, not having to pay tax could save you enough to upgrade to an even BIGGER LCD monitor for the same price as you would pay if you purchased this system today. Or, optionally, if you are like my family with two children, and you have to buy two similar systems – waiting until the SC Tax Holiday could save enough money in taxes to buy my wife dinner at Ruth’s Chris or Pomegranate which would go a long way towards calming her down over such a large expenditure.
If you are a computer / network / technology student, learning to perform computer service, network support, etc, I believe this would cover your purchase of Microsoft Windows Server, Microsoft Exchange, Cisco firewalls and security equipment as well, but please do read the information at the www.sctax.org site to make sure. It will surely cover expensive software such as Adobe suites which students can already get a discount for the academic version, but a further 6% sure helps!
Homeland Secure IT is an authorized reseller for many outstanding computer / notebook companies such as Lenovo, HP, Toshiba, Nexlink and Dell, as well as Cisco, WatchGuard, SonicWall & Microsoft partners, so if we can help you with that next computer purchase or upgrade, let us know! We serve Greenville and the Upstate of SC…
Happy shopping!
Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2010
Do you have a blog and tire of entering your entries through the WordPress web interface? Sure, some people post using Outlook and email their blog entries, but using Word to publish is another great weapon in your arsenal.
Using Microsoft Office 2010, you can simplify your life a little by composing the posting in the familiar Word editor and then publish to your WordPress blog!
How do you do this? Easy as pie…
Step 1: Get a blog! Oh wait, you already have one or you wouldn’t be reading this.
Step 2: Get Microsoft Office 2010 (or 2007).
Step 3: Write your blog entry in Word and when ready to publish, select “File” from the pull down, then “Save & Send” and finally “Publish as Blog Post”
Step 4: The first time you do this, you will be prompted to “Register a Blog Account”… Select “Register Now”
Step 5: Select the type of blog you have, such as WordPress, Blogger, Windows Live Spaces, SharePoint blog, etc… I’ll go with WP from here on….
Step 6: You need to enter the path to your xmlrpc.php, such as: http://www.yourblog.com/wordpress/xmlrpc.php
Step 7: Enter the user name and password you use to log into your blog and select “OK” (Select “Remember Password” if you trust nobody is going to use your computer and enter silly blog posts for you)
Step 8: Profit… Uhmm okay, maybe not… Let’s try that again… Step 8: Post something interesting to the blogospher for the rest of us to read!
If you have not tried out Microsoft Office 2010 yet, you can download a free trial, or you can purchase from your favorite Microsoft Partner, like US! Call us at 864-990-4748 or email info@homelandsecureit.com for additional information.
Homeland Secure IT Alert
These are from CERT and affect Microsoft & Oracle. There are patches available.
Microsoft Releases July Security Bulletin
added July 13, 2010 at 01:25 pm
Microsoft has released updates to address vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows and Office as part of the Microsoft Security Bulletin Summary for July 2010. These vulnerabilities may allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code.
US-CERT encourages users and administrators to review the bulletins and follow best-practice security policies to determine which updates should be applied.
NOTE: To summarize, these updates Microsoft Windows desktop and server OS, and Microsoft Office – Please apply updates ASAP.
Oracle Releases Critical Patch Update for July 2010
added July 13, 2010 at 04:03 pm
Oracle has released its Critical Patch Update for July 2010 to address 59 vulnerabilities across multiple products. This update contains the following security fixes:
- 6 for Oracle Database Server
- 2 for TimesTen In-Memory Database
- 5 for Oracle Secure Backup
- 7 for Oracle Fusion Middleware
- 1 for Oracle Enterprise Manager
- 7 for Oracle E-Business Suite
- 2 for Oracle Supply Chain Products Suite
- 8 for Oracle PeopleSoft and JDEdwards Suite
- 21 for Oracle Sun Products Suite
US-CERT encourages users and administrators to review the July 2010 Critical Patch Update and apply any necessary updates to help mitigate the risks.
If you require assistance applying these patches / updates, please do not hesitate to call us at 864-990-4748 or email info@HomelandSecureIT.com
Homeland Secure IT Alert - Contact Info
Stop the spam with Trend Micro Worry Free Business Security Advanced
Businesses using Microsoft Exchange 2007 and 2010 have many opportunities to stop spam dead in its tracks!
Microsoft expanded spam filtering with the release of Exchange 2007 over the previous Exchange 2k3 release and it does an admirable job once configured correctly and a few RBLs (Real-time Block Lists) are setup, but don’t stop there for sure. By using Trend Micro Worry Free Business Security Advanced, or Trend Micro Scan Mail on your Exchange server, the flow of spam can turn to a trickle!
Trend Micro’s anti-spam products are amazing. Our clients enjoy near spam-free inboxes without purchasing costly Barracuda or other anti-spam appliances. Viruses, trojans, worms, spyware, malware, spam are all stopped before they reach your inbox… You can also block content, such as profanity, certain phrases, and even the transmission of social security numbers, and other important data. Stop chain-mail. Block attachments and more…
Now if only the Old Spice Guy would make a commercial for us.. “John M. Hoyt & Homeland Secure IT can install Trend Micro Worry Free Business Security and stop your spam problems, while I stand here and look good”…
Call us at 864-990-4748 or email info@homelandsecureit.com for more information about Trend Micro products! We offer national sales. Service & installation is available to Upstate / Greenville businesses and individuals.
iPhone Switchvox app lets you take your office phone with you!
How many times have you left your office while waiting for an important call to come in? What did you do? Set a special voice mail greeting? Forward all calls to your cell phone?
That’s what most people have done, until now. If you are lucky enough to have a VoIP phone system such as a Digium Switchvox solution and an iPhone or Blackberry, you can literally take your office phone with you now.
Your VoIP system is configured to allow mobile API, the firewall is configured to allow the proper ports through to your VoIP system and your phone gets the app loaded and configured. That’s it, you now have full access to your phone system. You can make and receive calls on your phone either from the cellular provider phone line, or via your VoIP system at your office.
You can call extensions, change your voice mail greetings, and any other function that you could from your desk phone. You would never miss an incoming call, and possibly more important to some, calls made from your cell phone while in the field, via the VoIP system, would never reveal your private cell phone number.
Another added benefit is that using the VoIP system will let you use your phone calling plan from your office, and bypass the phone plan on your cell phone entirely. This could save you hundreds per year!
Official apps are available for the iPhone and Blackberry, and some unofficial apps are available for Android phones.
If you would like more information about or would like to purchase a VoIP phone system, we are partners with Digium, Cisco and work with all Asterisk based systems in the Greenville & Upstate area. Please call us at 864.990-4748 or email info@homelandsecureit.com with questions!
Sure Homeland Secure IT is based in Greenville, SC, but we service the entire UPSTATE of SC.
Our service area includes: Greenville, Easley, Anderson, Simpsonville, Duncan, Greer, Taylors, Travelers Rest, Spartanburg, Piedmont, Pendleton, Clemson, Pelzer, Six Mile, The Cliffs area, Fountain Inn, Welcome community, Seneca, and the entire Upstate of South Carolina.
If you require computer repair, service or support and live in any of these great cities, call us! Services performed in our office, your office or your home. Everything from simple virus removal and cleanup, to system installations, software / application installations, Microsoft Windows & Server updates.
864-990-4748 or info@homelandsecureit.com – http://www.HomelandSecureIT.com/
Servosity - Now with continuous data protection goodness!
I’ve heard every excuse in the book for not backing up data. Too much trouble, too expensive, too time consuming, slows the computer down while the backup is running, etc. Until today.
I actually had a discussion in which the individual told me that backups were useless because they were not real-time, and that using a backup program like Symantec’s Backup Exec or even an online backup solution like Servosity was a scheduled backup and data had potential to be lost between the time you saved it, and the time it was backed up to the media or remote server.
Then, I dropped the bombshell… There is such a thing as “Continuous Backup Protection”. Symantec offers it of course, but this person was totally against a hardware solution that was on premise, so I told him about Servosity’s offering. Where you can have a regular backup taking place after hours, but for critical data, you could have that backup immediately when you save it! And, if you wanted, you could set it up to backup the entire system in near real-time! Kind of a mirror of your data, on a remote, secure server where each file that is saved or modified is synced with the remote system.
This is where cloud computing, or Software as a Service (SaaS) really shines! If you backup instantly, to a remote location, and a horrific incident occurs, say a tornado, fire, flood, or even theft of your equipment, you have access to it over the internet! A perfect solution for business continuity plans.
Servosity can protect a single workstation or a thousand, a fleet of mobile computers, your Mac OS X, Windows Servers, Exchange, SQL, Linux, and so much more!
If you would like more information about Servosity or other Continuous Backup solutions, please call us at 864-990-4748 or email info@homelandsecureit.com
Apple iPad being used more and more for business
My initial reaction to the iPad was that it was cute little toy, but then immediately after its release it became apparent that people wanted to use them for business as well as pleasure. First was the use of Remote Desktop (Terminal Services), which I wrote about and has been finding extreme popularity, then of course was Microsoft Exchange integration to get corporate mail and with that came ways to get connectivity without buying the 3G version of the iPad, using a MiFi from Verizon, and ultimately, hacking the iPad itself and putting a MiFi inside the iPad.
Now that some time has passed since the release of the iPad, we see that many companies and even government organizations have adopted them for real business use. Case in point, the Ontario, CA City Council has begun using the tablet computers and that alone shows how a new technology is changing the way we do business.
I’m seeing more and more interest in these highly portable devices from business users and as more manufacturers develop and release their products, we may see a tablet computing revolution, where the day planners, notebooks, notepads, and even post-it notes go in the trash in favor of this digital ink. And the SaaS (Software as a Service) model will make a lot of providers wealthy.
Businesses who want to get in on this phenomenon should talk to their IT provider to see how easily this technology can be integrated into their networks. Your computer service provider can help you get your pad /tablet computer linked to your corporate Microsoft Exchange mail, setup clients that allow you to remote to your Microsoft Server and much more!
If we can be of any assistance in the Greenville / Upstate area, please call us at 864-990-4748 or email info@homelandsecureit.com
The Android Wars Are Coming
The tablet computer wars are coming… The awesome little Apple iPad will soon have serious competition from some big names in desktop, laptop and notebook computers….
Cisco, Lenovo, Toshiba, HP and LG, to name a few have either made plans to release pad / tablet computers, or have actually got a product to offer. And that is just the tip of the iceberg.
No longer will you have to choose an Apple iPad, you will be able to select tablets based on the Google Android operating system, which will instantly provide you with tons of apps from the Android scene, and when HP gets their WebOS based system out, which was really part of the Palm lineup, that will be yet another platform for the tablet market. We shouldn’t forget about Microsoft (which some of you would love to), as they have an OS that is working on tablets also.
So how will you decide which is the best solution for you? It may come down to dollars and cents for some, while others may select based upon devices they already own. I was sure that most Mac and iPhone users would opt for an iPad out of owner loyalty to the brand, but the Android offering seems to be getting a lot of attention among the current Apple owners, enough so that they are holding out for the Android pads to hit the market!
Only time will tell who will come out on top, but my money is on the consumer in the end, as they are going to get many choices and the competition between brands and platforms will help bring the prices down!
There may be a few of you who want to be early adopters of the Android tablet and purchase an imported product. Buyer beware here – they may not support the new Android OS due out later this year…
Homeland Secure IT offers tablet computers built on the proven Windows platform currently, and as soon as HP releases their WebOS based product, we will offer that as well as any other products which are suited to business use mainly, like the Android Powered Cisco Cius tablet. Please contact us at 864-990-4748 or email info@homelandsecureit.com for more information
Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2010
One of the features of the latest version of Microsoft Office, Professional Plus 2010, is the ability share your information for collaboration / co-authoring without the need for a SharePoint server. Of course SharePoint is the king of collaboration, but for smaller organizations, the Microsoft Office Backstage can offer you a quick way to store and share your documents online.
Everyone in your group can review the files from virtually anywhere. You can even co-author a document and make edits with a colleague to make sure everyone’s ideas are expressed.
The Microsoft Office Word Backstage view offers a quick way to do just that! With SharePoint, you click on the File tab in the upper left hand corner to open Backstage view, then select Save & Send and Save to SharePoint…. Now everyone you have shared the file with has access via the SharePoint library.
But what if you don’t have SharePoint? That’s okay! Click the File tab in the upper left hand corner, then go to “Save & Send” and select “Save to Web”. This uses Microsoft’s FREE service called SkyDrive, and you can access it with your Windows Live account. No Windows Live account? You are given the option to create one!
Having this integrated into the new Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2010 is more handy than one might think at first. The ability to save a document to the SkyDrive, then allow others to have access to is nice, but you also have access to it from ANYWHERE. So you can save a document at work to the the web, access it at home, make changes and then access it again at work the next day in the modified form. No confusion of having multiple copies emailed back and forth.
If you would like to purchase Microsoft Office 2010 for your Home or Business, please contact us. We provide single copies, and Microsoft Open Licensing for those needing more than 5 copies. No order is too big or too small for us. We can even license your pre-installed starter version that came with your new notebook or computer system.
Call us today at 864-990-4748 or email info@homelandsecureit.com
