May 21, 2012

Posts Comments

Realtors Can Now View MLS on Mac. Here’s How!!!

December 15, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Finally, what realtors have been waiting for!!!  MLS on Mac.

1.  Go to this Website  http://www.tinyurl.com/sefmls.

2. Wait for the page to load, and MLS Login page will appear.

3.  If you cannot see the Login ID or Password fields, look towards the bottom of the page.  and click where it says click here to get flash.

4.  Flash will install, and then login with your credentials

That’s all,  Enjoy it.

If you find this article useful, like it,  Share it with your Friends and subscribe to my website at

http://www.sunshineonsite.com for future FREE technical advise.

 

 

 

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: , , , , , ,

The 10 Commandments of Technical Support

December 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The 10 Commandments of Technical Support

 

 

  1. You first have to know who’s the boss. You are in business to service customer needs, and you can only do that if you know what it is your customer want. When you truly listen to your customers, they let you know what they need and how you can provide superior service. Never forget that the customer pays our salary and makes your job possible.
  2.  Be a good listener. Take the time to identify customer needs by asking questions and concentrating on what the customer is really saying. Smile, show respect, listen to their tone of voice, words, body language, and most importantly, how they feel. Do not make assumptions thinking you intuitively know what the customer wants. Do you know what three things are most important to your customer? Effective listening and undivided attention are particularly important on the show floor where there is a great danger of preoccupation – looking around to see to whom else we could be selling to.
  3.  Identify and anticipate needs. Customers do not buy products or services. They buy good feelings and solutions to technical issues. Most customer needs are emotional rather than logical. The more you know your customers and understand their business infrastructure, the better you become at anticipating their needs. Communicate regularly so that you are aware of problems or upcoming needs.
  4.  Make customers feel appreciated and important. Always use their name and find different ways to compliment them, but be genuine about it. People value sincerity. It creates good feeling and trust. Think of ways to achieve positive feelings about doing business with you. Customers are very sensitive and know whether or not you really care about them. Always thank the customer as need it, keep good posture your body language conveys sincerity. Your words and actions should be congruent.
  5.  Brief your clients understand the way your business works and which is the most effective way in which you can help them. Your organization may have the world’s best ways for getting things done, but if your customers don’t understand them, they will have the tendency to feel confused, impatient and possibly to lose a business opportunity or lead. Always take all the time you need to explain what is exactly what you do and how your organization can simplify positive future solutions.
  6.  Always be positive “Yes”. Always find unmistakable means to enhance business for your clients through means of technology. When a request arises, if reasonable indeed, tell them that you can do it, be realistic and honest about it. Figure out how afterwards. Look for ways to make doing business with you pleasant. Never lie, keep your word, if you said you were going to do something for them, get it done asap, and don’t procrastinate.
  7.  Understanding when to apologize. When something goes wrong, apologize and always offer compensation of some sort. The customer may not always be right, but at the end is your customer and they are always right. Deal with issues immediately and advise customers what you have done to resolve it. Make it simple and accessible for customers to complain. Value their complaints. As much as we dislike it, it gives us a chance to improve our methods. Always go out of you way to make the customer feel comfortable.
  8.  Provide more than expected. The bottom line lies in keeping customers happy, think of ways to levitate your self above the competition. Here are some options to consider:

◦                      Give the customers what they cannot get elsewhere

◦                      Always follow up, and be thankful.

◦                      Be on top of their technical needs, and always provide

◦                      new merging ideas for future solutions.

◦                      Use the proactive and not reactive methods for their solutions,

◦                      remember that downtime in this business is not an option.

9.  Always acquire regular feedback. Encourage and welcome suggestions as to how you can improve your level of service. There are vast varieties of ways in  which you can find out what customers think and feel about your services.

◦                      Always listen .

◦                      Follow up often times.

◦                      Provide an approach that invites constructive criticism, comments, and suggestions.

10.   Treat employees respectfully and courteous. If you treat employees as if they make a difference, they will make a difference. If you don’t treat and  respect your employees well, they won’t take your business serious.  Employees are your internal customers and need a regular dose of merit, appreciation, and incentive. Treat your employees with respect and chances are they will have a higher regard for your customers. At last, employees are the heart of the company, they are in the front line, dealing with the customer on a day to day basis. Treat them well and you’re more likely to have a successful Organization.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: , , , , , ,

The 20 most useful Android smartphone apps of 2011

November 28, 2011 By Leave a Comment

1. Google Voice

Google Voice is a service that is so useful I consider it one of the top benefits of Android itself. The service gives you a phone number that can ring to multiple places or devices and it allows you to access all of your voicemail and text messages from the Web. The Android app integrates even deeper. It can make outgoing calls look like they’re coming from your Google Voice number so that you can keep your real mobile number private.

2. Advanced Task Killer

One of the realities of having a multitasking mobile OS is that you have to manage your apps so that they don’t hurt performance or battery life. Advanced Task Killer (ATK) is my favorite on Android. It even comes with a widget that you can tap once to kill all open apps and you can also set up ATK to kill all apps at periodic intervals. Some people will argue that task managers are irrelevant and unneeded in Android, but I still prefer to use ATK.

3. Dropbox

Dropbox is a great cloud service that automatically syncs a folder of files between multiple computers (Windows, Mac, or Linux). This app extends Dropbox to Android and interacts with other apps (such as Documents To Go) to open the files. It allows you to access PDFs, image files, and business documents by simply dragging them to a folder on your computer and then you immediately have access to them from your mobile phone, once you have this app installed.

4. Evernote

Once you get used to typing on a virtual keyboard (and it honestly took me over a year to do it), then these devices are great for note-taking, and Evernote is a great note-taking app. It is similar to Dropbox in that it saves data locally but syncs it across all your machines and devices.

5. Taskos

There are plenty of to-do apps to choose from on Android but I now prefer Taskos because of the clean, easy, Android-friendly user experience. It also has a few extras that give it an advantage over apps. The biggest one is voice recognition, which lets you speak a task that the app turns into a to-do item (you might have to correct a word or two).

6. DroidAnalytics

For some reason Google doesn’t have an official app for Google Analytics (for either Android or iPhone). The best one I’ve found on Android is DroidAnalytics. Another good one is mAnalytics.

7. Documents To Go

The free version of Documents To Go offers a great little reader for Microsof Word and Excel files. You can upgrade to the full version (for $15) if you want to be able to create and edit files and add PowerPoint files to the mix. If you do want editing capability, I’d also recommend taking a look at QuickOffice.

8. Google Docs

If you mostly work with Google Docs (including uploading Microsoft Office files to your Google Docs repository) then the only app you’ll really need is the Google Docs app. It’s a nice mobile implementation of document management, although the one annoyance is that always open up files in a web browser rather than within the app itself, which would be a little smoother.

9. Tripit

I dig Tripit. It is by far the best app I’ve found for keeping track of all my travel itineraries. It runs on some great backend systems. You simply forward your confirmation emails for your flights, hotels, rental cars, and more to Tripit and it automatically organizes them into trips with all your details and confirmation numbers. Or, if you use Gmail, you can even use a plugin to automatically catch confirmation emails and turn them into Tripit trips.

10. Google Places

This is an awesome app for finding shops and services near your current location. From restaurants to medical facilities to taxis, this app is very accurate and takes advantage of the business information from Google Local. This app is better than the info you get from a GPS unit (or app) and better than any of the similar apps available on the iPhone. It’s also integrated into Google Maps.

11. Astro File Manager

Another one of the great things about Android (if you’re a geek or a tinkerer) is that you have lower-level access to the system itself. Astro is an app that lets you navigate the Android file system, which is mostly just interesting, but can be handy once in a while.

12. Speed Test

I’m obsessed with running speed tests to check my bandwidth in various places, both to see 3G/4G fluctuations and to check the quality of Wi-Fi. There are a number of really good speed test apps, but my favorite is the Speedtest.net app. It’s generally consistent and it has some of the best graphics and options.

13. Amazon Kindle

I’ve never completely warmed up to the Amazon Kindle e-reader, but I’m a big fan of the Kindle mobile app. Since it was released I’ve read a lot more books simply because my smartphone is always with me and I can pull it out and read a few pages anytime I’ve got a couple minutes free.

14. Google+

I’ve written a lot about Google+ since it launched in July and I’m pretty active over there (+Jason Hiner). One of the great things that Google did was to release a Google+ Android app at the same time it launched the service as a beta. And, surprisingly, the app was actually pretty good and has been improved since. It immediately became one of my most used mobile apps and definitely stole some of my time away from Android’s Twitter app, mostly because Google+ is a little more interactive.

15. TED Air

The TED conference features a meeting of the minds of some of society’s most influential thinkers. You’ll disagree with some of them since there’s a large diversity of viewpoints, but many talks are worth listening to in order to catch the latest creative thinking on society’s biggest challenges. The cool thing is that they’ve taken the videos from the conference and made them freely available on the Web. The TED Air app provides a great way to access the videos on a mobile device. I hope more conferences follow TED’s lead on this.

16. Google Goggles

This is a fun app that is a little bit ahead of its time. It does visual searches. You can take pictures of things and then the app tries to tell you what they are. It’s limited in its scope but it is pretty cool, and it’s definitely a peek into the future. One of the coolest features is the ability to take pictures of text in a foreign language and let the app translate it for you. In a foreign country, this can help you read street signs and avoid going into the wrong bathroom. :-) On a more practical level, Goggles is a QR code reader and you can also use it to scan bar codes on products to look them up online.

17. Photoshop Express

Photoshop is, of course, the best known photo editor in the world and its mobile app doesn’t do anything to hurt that reputation. But while the desktop version is known for having a zillion features, the mobile app is distinguished by its simplicity. It’s the best Android (and iPhone) photo editing app for simple crops, brightness adjustments, and sharpens, for example.

18. Audible

As much as I like the Kindle ebooks, I actually consume more books as audiobooks via Audible. With the Audible app you can connect to your Audible library and download over the air. The app also gives you a self-contained player optimized for audiobooks, with a skip-back-30-seconds button and the opportunity to make notes and bookmarks (although I wish the app would store these online so that they could be accessed from the Audible site).

19. Shazam

If you want to impress your friends with a mobile app, show them Shazam. Ever hear a song being played at a store or on the radio and ask yourself, “Oh, what song is that?” That’s where Shazam comes in. Just hit the button and let it listen for 15 seconds, query its database, and then return the name of artist and the song. It has about an 80% success rate. This one isn’t particularly productive, but it is really cool. (You have to live a little, every once in a while.)

20. Google Finance

This is a great little app that regularly gets overlooked. It connects to your Google Finance account, where you can set up a list of stocks and companies to follow and sort them into groups (portfolios). The app provides three simple tabs — a look at the market, a look at your portfolios, and the latest market news. It even does real-time updates when you have the app open.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: , , , , , ,

What Are the Benefits of Registry Cleaners

August 11, 2011 By Leave a Comment

If your computer is extremely slow, tedious and unstable, this is down to Windows clutter. Windows clutter is developed through the installation of software packages; temporary data, incomplete uninstalls, and number of other similar problems. All the information regarding the stored programs and softwares is stored in section of the computer called the computer registry.

When the registry becomes damaged due to overloading of unneeded or outdated data and information, empty and corrupted files, the computer becomes slow and starts developing numerous errors. After sometime these errors increase and ultimately the system crashed. Because registry is an important section of the computer system, one should make sure the proper functioning of the directory and can avoid the system crashing. And the perfect technique to do so is the use Windows registry cleaner.

Windows registry cleaner is a simple software utility program that removes unwanted configuration files from the system. The software scans the registry directory and tries to identify empty, useless and corrupted files and removes them from the computer. As the software cleans the registry directory, we can clearly observe the change in the performance of the computer.

Windows registry cleaner can give us the following advantages:

These registry cleaning softwares have a user friendly interface that makes them very easy to use and understand. You don’t require any sort of expertise for using these softwares.

These softwares can increase the efficiency of the computer by cleaning the unwanted files from the registry. The cleaning is performed very quickly, keeping you away from manual registry cleaning.

They also clears registry errors like DLL errors, runtime error, driver errors and com/active x errors can also be cleared. They can reduce the startup time of the system, because all the unwanted files and errors are removed from the registry of the system.

Registry cleaning software also clears up the vacant spaces and also regenerates the indexes of the varied folders and files.

Click here to read more about it.

Filed Under: Blog, Viruses-Malware

Feel You Have a Computer Virus (You Will Thank Me Forever)

April 15, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Hi Gang,

I see many computer issues on a day to day basis.  I can tell you that 99% of them are Virus Related.

Here’s what many of your techs supporting your systems,  don’t want you to know..

1.  Free Anti viruses don’t work, and this is why!!!.  Many of these free Anti viruses programs used to work about 2 years ago. They no longer work. They will protect you up to a certain level of malware, and viruses, but the worse, which are trojans the ones that causes the most harm,  none of them are able to offered the proper protection. Many techs out there will offer the free Antivirus protection, only to come back 1 to 2 months after to process another charge to your account.

2.  Based on my experience these are the only two Internet securities I will acquired for any of my clients.

a:  Trend Micro Internet Security

b:  Karspesky Internet Security

Gang,,,,, Forget Norton, CA or anything else.  These are by farrrrrrr the best of the best, you will have to purchase them year to year, but they will save you a lot of money and head aches on the long run.

But if you currently have being infected this is what you should  do!!!!   AND YOU  WILL THANK ME FOR EVER!!!!!

Go to http://www.filehippo.com

do a search for malwarebytes

Malwarebytes is a free and an excellent virus scanner that will pretty much remove every trojan, malware, root kit, and Virus from your system.

Only after that,,,,, your system registry have being so corrupted  that you need to run a registry cleaner…….

The one that I use is the best and FREEEEE,     On the same website given above, do a search for ccleaner.   download it, and run it.

Please read the instructions prior to running this software if you are not sure then contact me by email or call me.

Enjoy  one of my best kept secrets.

http://www.sunshineonsite.com

Filed Under: Blog, Viruses-Malware

Different Types of Computer Repair Services

April 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Our dependency towards technology is increasing day by day. Even a minor problem in the operating system disrupts our life and hampers our work. With the development of new technology, there also comes many technical problems such as virus infections, spyware attacks on the operating system, networks issues, and hardware failures. Therefore, fast and efficient troubleshooters are always needed to fix all your technical problems without disrupting your work.

With the indispensable use of computers in our daily lives, we can not imagine encountering an issue that will leave us without our personal computers thus; we seek to have the computer service immediately. But due to the busyness of life, it is not possible for us to go to a computer service centers every time and get the system repaired leaving you days without a computer. Seeing today’s need, there are many efficient and fast troubleshooters available online that will solve your problem in a fraction of time. Many of us don’t understand need for professional computer repair services and try to solve the system related problem by themselves. Before going to any of the computer repair service sites, it is very important to be aware of the various types of services that are offered by the computer repair service centers:

1. IT services like network installation and configuration (LAN/WAN setup).

2. Virus & spyware removal. Installation of anti-virus software for a proactive approach to external attacks.

3. Hardware repair: Laptop/Mac/PC, printer, scanner, motherboard; CD/DVD ROM installation etc.

4. Problems related to Website development and presentation, graphic designing

5. Firewall and email security setup.

6. Windows OS installation and troubleshooting

7. Data backup and recovery

8. Tutorials to employees for solving small problems in-house

So, These are some of the services offered by the service providers. Before hiring any of the online computer repair services, it is very important to check the various types of services offered by them. So that you do not need to switch to different computer repair services sites for different services. It is also very important to check that there is a team of expert technicians for solving computer related problems individually, as this will help in solving the problem fast and efficiently. It is better to switch to such online computer repair services that avail you with the guarantee of fixing the problem fast else money back. As such, promises will pressurize the technicians to work efficiently and fix the problem quickly.
Great Article.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6136743

Filed Under: Blog, Viruses-Malware

The Basics of Data Security

March 22, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Whether on a home computer or a business server, data security is an issue of vital importance in today’s digital world. Simply put, data security involves protecting the various forms of data that are stored on the hard drives found on laptops, desktops and on servers around the world. With the internet allowing unprecedented access to the computers of others, data security has become more important than ever before.

Data Encryption

There are a few basic methods of keeping your data secure. The most basic and common is the use of encryption technology. In layman’s terms, encryption is like sending a letter in code. The data is scrambled into a form that is unreadable by anyone who does not have access to the key in order to decode it. There are various types of encryption technology. Disc encryption, a system that encrypts all of the data on a hard drive, can be performed either via disc encryption software or disc encryption hardware, both of which perform the task of making data on your computer unreadable to those without the proper access key to decode it.

Read full article here   http://EzineArticles.com/?The-Basics-of-Data-Security&id=6078212

Disc encryption is a good, common form of protecting your data, but it still has potential flaws. Although the data is unreadable to others, it could still be accessed and damaged, rendering it useless to you. Protecting your data, whether encrypted or not, from being accessed in the first place is an important part of data security for both home users and businesses alike. The most basic way to make your data inaccessible to others is by strong user authentication procedures.

User Authentication

User authentication is a very simple concept. Every time you boot up your computer and enter a password, you are providing user authentication; the password tells the computer that you are an authorized user and should be allowed access to the files within. User authentication procedures are only as strong as the passwords and protocols used with them. The most common and preventable error in data security is use of a weak password. Your password should never use commonly accessible information that could be used to access your computer files. Don’t use birth dates, family member’s or pet’s names or other similar information. While it might make your password easy to remember, it will also make it easy for someone else to figure out. Instead, choose a password that is not a real word, uses a combination of numbers and letters and also a combination of upper case and lower case letters.

Beyond the Basics

Beyond the basics, there are a wide variety of advanced data security solutions that are hardware and software based and can protect your data from within the computer. Think of data security as a multi-step process. The first line of defense is to keep people out of your data in the first place. This means securing your data not just from people who could log in from your workstation, but from people who might access your data through the internet as well.

The second line of defense is having a good encryption program that will prevent anyone who does access your data from using it in a malicious manner, leaving them only the option of destroying the data or corrupting it. If this happens, you need to fall back on the third and final line of defense: back-ups.

Data Back Ups

Backing up your data is a vital part of protecting it. If all of your other security measures fail and your data is corrupted and rendered unreadable or unusable, all will not be lost as long as you have a back-up. Set up a good back-up system and use it regularly to ensure that the information you have on your back-up file is as recent as possible, allowing you to restore corrupted files to where they were prior to the invasion of your computer. If you fail to have a recent back up of your files, your best bet is to contact a local Data recovery Firm to have the files recovered, and hopefully repaired.

Filed Under: Blog

Cloud Computing For The Small Business.

March 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment

If you think that Cloud Computing is just for large organizations or companies with lots of servers and PCs then think again. In fact, small businesses are the ones who can actually benefit the most from moving their infrastructure and software to the Cloud.

Take for example a small business with 5 employees who are currently running POP3 mailboxes and are sharing files between PCs. They would like the ability of shared calendars, push email and a central location to store all their files. Historically, the most common solution to this would have been Microsoft Small Business Server, with a typical server and Microsoft SBS coming in at around 1000GBP. Before you have it installed and configured it can be a significant investment for any small business. Add in addition monthly maintenance, backup, hardware depreciation, SBS Client Access Licenses only available in packs of 5, for many this is not a financially pleasant road to go down.

Enter Cloud Computing and hosted services, there are many Internet Service Providers (ISP)s out there today offering Hosted Exchange with prices varying from 5.99GBP upwards per month. This might be acceptable for one or two mailboxes but is a significant monthly spend when you require 5 or more. Microsoft Business Productivity Online Services (BPOS) provides hosted exchange, Office Communicator, Live Meeting and SharePoint in a bundle currently under circa 6GBP, there is a minimum initial order of 5 however above this number individual users can be added.

Businesses wishing only for hosted exchange functionality save even more! Centrally storing your files for anywhere access can be achieved with SharePoint and synchronising the folders within Outlook. Add to this the resilience and robustness of the Cloud Services offered by Microsoft, many businesses find their IT risk exposure significantly reduced in comparison to running in-house IT infrastructure.

Moving your business has never been easier or ore cost effective and if you partner with a Microsoft BPOS specialist then the transition can be planned, controlled and seamless to your business.

Layer 7 IT Solutions invites you to partner with us today and have piece of mind that your business is maximising it’s IT resources in relation to financial outgoings http://layer-7.co.uk

Layer 7 IT Solutions thank you for taking the time to read this article, if you would like to find out more please contact us,

info@layer-7.co.uk

01670 528 455

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Search Engine “Registration” Scams on the Rise

February 14, 2011 By Leave a Comment

"registration scams"Beware of a new online swindle circulating the net these days – a notice or invoice sent to would-be victims indicating a need to pay a registration fee to be seen on a search engine. As more and more people are becoming increasingly conscious about online scams, it’s expected that scammers and fraudsters need to step up their game and look for better ways to fool people into falling for their swindles.

One new tactic these unscrupulous people have employed involves a notice or invoice sent to would-be victims indicating a need to pay a registration fee to be seen on a search engine. The price isn’t very high, less than $100, for a year’s “registration”. The notice claims that without the registration your website will be significantly more difficult to locate through search engines. It also sends you a deadline date indicating that the offer expires soon.

The fact is, there is no such thing as an online “registration” for your website to be viewable in search engines. It’s still plain old SEO that gets you listed and seen, and no registration, much less a registration fee, is needed to be included in search engine search results. Cases have been filed against several companies caught sending such invoices.

If you want your website to be marketed correctly, it’s best to consult legitimate internet marketing and SEO companies. They’ll give you all the right advice and they’ll have the tools and skills to market your website properly. As for these “offers”, the best thing is to delete them on sight. Don’t click on the links, as these also flag your email as a target for more spam and scams to be sent your way.

If you are looking to increase your website’s online visibility, please don’t hesitate to contact us and we’ll be happy to discuss a detailed and customized program SEO program that works for you.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

Filed Under: Viruses-Malware Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Majority of Malware Attacks are Triggered by USB Enabled Drives

February 12, 2011 By Leave a Comment

"usb driven malware"It looks like gone are the days when employees can safely transfer files using the ever reliable USB device. According to various reports, there is an increasing number of malware attacks targeting USB devices. Small businesses should be very wary of using USB drives, without considering security parameters to prevent these malware threats.

A USB device is indeed a useful, economical way to transfer data. In fact, according to Gartner IT research and advisory company, there were roughly 222 million USB devices shipped in 2009. However, a recent study shows that though USB devices are a convenient means of transferring information, they can also serve as channels to transmit potential threats. In fact, 25% of malware these days is built to spread via USB devices.

Most small businesses particularly are utilizing USB drives for the convenience they bring. But as consumers become more technically savvy about malicious attacks via email and other modes, cyber offenders are now shifting to USB devices to spread malware. Moreover, they want an easier and faster way of hacking into secured computers, making malware distribution via USB devices a viable option.

Being a small to medium-sized business, your company might also be at risk for the following reasons:

  • Outdated operating systems. Newer versions of operating systems like Windows Vista and Windows 7 definitely provide more security against malware-infected USB devices. If you’re still running on Windows XP, contact us immediately and we will update your operating system to avoid unwillingly sharing your confidential business information to servers across the globe. We will ensure that you have the latest version of Windows, Macintosh, or whatever OS your company uses.
  • Insufficient security knowledge. Not all employees are familiar with malware attacks via USB devices. Some may even plug a misplaced flash drive into their work PC, hoping to find its rightful owner—without knowing that it contains a script that can search sales record and or contact list. As your IT service provider, we will help you implement security guidelines against unsafe USB use to prevent potential malware attacks that can ultimately harm your business operations.
  • No other options to share information. Most small businesses solely rely on USB devices to share data with their employees. While it is convenient, using them on a daily basis can be unreliable and risky. Talk to us about cloud-based solutions and other better and more secure methods to share and store files.

We believe that USB-spread malware is even more perilous than email and other means of transmitting malware.  That’s why companies, no matter how big or small, should take this alarming issue seriously. Contact us soon and let us help you protect your business from any would-be malware attacks.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.
Filed Under: Viruses-Malware Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
« Older Posts
Newer Posts »