Archive for October, 2011


Changing the Default Apps on your Android Device

Posted on: October 31st, 2011

If you, for example, install multiple media player applications on your Android device, you’ll find that Android will give you the choice of which application to launch by default when you open a media file or document. However, you may later want to change this default setting.

To do so, go to Settings > Applications > Manage applications and then press the “All” tab. Choose the application that you previously selected as default, and scroll to the section “Launch by default” and press the “Clear defaults” button. Next time you open that particular type of file in the future, Android will prompt you again to choose a new default app.

Dial Phone Numbers in Safari on an iPhone

Posted on: October 28th, 2011

Ever surfed for the number of a pizza place on your iPhone and just wanted to dial the phone number straight from the webpage? If you are using the default browser on your iPhone, which is Safari, that’s no problem at all.

Safari automatically converts numbers that look like phone numbers into links. If you press those links, a popup window will appear giving you the option to call the number from there or cancel. No need to write down or even copy and paste the numbers.

Disable Tab Previews of Internet Explorer in Windows 7

Posted on: October 14th, 2011

If you are using Internet Explorer and Windows 7, you may have noticed that when you mouse over an IE browser window, a preview of the open tabs in the browser is shown. While this is useful to give you an idea of the sites you have open, it can get annoying if you have multiple tabs open at the same time. If you would prefer to disable this feature, you can.

Just go to Tools > Internet Options (in the upper right-hand corner of the browser) and then click on the “Settings” button in the window that pops up. In the list of Tabbed Browsing Settings, uncheck “Show previews for individual tabs in the taskbar.” Click on OK and you should be good to go.

Change the AutoRecover Interval in Microsoft Office 2007/2010

Posted on: October 7th, 2011

AutoRecoverA very useful feature in Microsoft Office is called “AutoRecover”, which automatically saves your document at specified time intervals so that in case of an application or system crash, Office can recover its latest version.

By default this is set to 10 minutes, but you can change this easily by clicking on the Office button within the application, and then clicking on the “Word Options” or “Excel Options” (or other application) button in the lower right hand side of the window. Go to the “Save” section and look for “Save AutoRecover information every…” and change the settings there. Be sure to click “OK” to save your preference. A word of caution: setting the interval at very short timespans such as every 1 minute can slow down your computer with frequent writes to the hard disk. Try a number between 5 minutes to 10 minutes first.

Small Companies Make Bigger Targets

Posted on: October 3rd, 2011

Studies and news reports are showing a marked increase in the number of small and medium-sized businesses that are being targeted by hackers. One major reason for this is their general lack of security systems, making them very vulnerable to theft.

In physics, there’s a concept called ‘the path of least resistance’. The meaning is plain enough – objects that move in a system take the path where they will encounter the least challenges and hurdles in order to quickly move to wherever they are going.

Apparently, the same principle applies to hackers nowadays. Instead of targeting larger firms for that big ‘score’, hackers are now considering it more feasible and much easier to victimize smaller firms and companies, even for a much smaller amount of money.

Why is that? First, smaller companies generally have much more vulnerable IT systems. Security is minimal or average at best, and the hackers don’t get as much heat or attention when compared to trying to breach the much more complicated, state-of-the-art security systems of bigger firms and businesses. Take a small newsstand business in Chicago: cyberthieves were able to install a Trojan in the cash registers which sent swiped credit card numbers to Russia. When the jig was discovered, Mastercard subsequently demanded an investigation – at the expense of the business owner – and the proprietor had to shell out a hefty $22,000.(i)

A survey in the United States reveals that more than half of small or medium-sized businesses believed that they ran no risk of being victimized by hackers, and less than half of the respondents had security systems in place.(ii) That looks like a path of least resistance, as far as hackers are concerned.

The loss of a few thousand bucks may not be much for a big business, but it can make a significant dent on the profits and sustainability of smaller organizations. And in the case of implanted viruses that steal credit card information, your reputation can also take a big hit. So if you want your business to stay truly safe before it’s too late, please contact us so we can discuss options and blueprints to make your business secure.

References: (i) and (ii)