Comparison in Cloud Storage Chatter

A lot of internet users like to share and store photos, documents and videos using a remote Internet file hosting service, also known as cloud storage. As a result, the need for email attachments and flash drives are eliminated.

This even works well for anyone who has either a slow computer or connection; for they don’t have to wait for a file to download.

Also in regards to cloud storage, everyone is focused on the security it provides. This is important with so many computers being compromised.

Thus, given the overall popularity of cloud storage, I conducted some technical research on four cloud storage options: SpiderOak, Google Drive, Dropbox, and SugarSync.

Here was my finding for SpiderOak, the first cloud storage tested:

SpiderOak: Although it’s reported as one of the most secure online backup tools, I wasn’t entirely impressed with this application. This is because I found it to be fairly unstable. What made it worst for me was the fact that I found my data often wasn’t in sync. This is basically a technical app and the user interface lacked any mastery design.

Aside from this experiment, I don’t use SpiderOak anymore.

Instead the three applications I use are Google Drive, Dropbox, and SugarSync – all three which I tested.

Monitoring Traffic

As part of my experiment, I monitored the traffic of these applications while nothing was happening. It’s normal for these applications to phone home on a regular basis to see if anything is syncing.

In my opinion, having this occur more than once a minute is just too much occurrence. It would be better instead to have advance settings around this type of activity.

To prove my point of opinion consider this: if you’re primarily using cloud storage to have a second copy of your data instead of syncing it, then there’s really no need to keep the connection alive. In actuality, based on how many computers you sync, the software should be able to adjust automatically.

Since my laptop has 3G, I used it for testing as well as over Wi-Fi to see if there’s any difference in syncing. There was no difference found.

Here are my other findings in regards to these three cloud storage applications:

Google Drive : I do not hesitate to state that Google Drive is the worst for keeping a connection alive. It’s unclear as to why it needs to phone home so frequently when nothing is happening. All of its requests are sent securely over SSL.

Dropbox: This is the second chattiest cloud storage option. On the good side, however, it was only sending about one a minute. This seems more respectable and they’re sent as clear text over http. There’s nothing secretive about what Dropbox sends, so overall it makes sense to save an additional overhead of SSL. It does, however, use SSL while sending any of the important data.

SugarSync: This cloud storage is similar to Dropbox yet appears to phone home less often. These calls are made over SSL like Google Drive.

Memory Required to Run when Not Busy

At 35Mb, SugarSync used the least memory while Google Drive followed a close second with 37Mb. Dropbox required the most memory for running: 50Mb.

Uploading an 8Kb File

Of the three web-based file hosting services, Dropbox sent the fastest and the most traffic. Google Drive sent the slowest and least amount of data. While slow is oftentimes acquainted as being bad in the technology world, in this case, it’s not. Instead it simply means it’s less likely to cause complications with other applications competing with bandwidth. Nevertheless, it would be nice for it to have better quality of service and when there’s no competition against it, go as fast as possible.

Pausing Syncing

For those times when you’re either busy or changing several files multiple times, being capable of pausing syncing for bandwidth reduction is extremely useful. I like the fact that Google Drive doesn’t phone home if you pause it. Dropbox, on the other hand, continues to phone home, which I think isn’t necessary. I was unable to find an easy way to pause SugarSync, which in my opinion, is a shame.

Summary

In conclusion of my experiment, I still prefer Dropbox. However, I’d like to see some more smarts to minimize the footprint on my computer and connection. If you’re interested in integrating with their other offerings, then Google and Microsoft’s cloud storage makes sense. If, however, you’re an iPad or iPhone user, then Dropbox is by far the best option at this time in technology. I think it is important to note that I would not use any of these services for backup and there are better solutions that focus much better on online backup.

Microsoft’s Greatest Application: The Invention of the Snipping Tool

Microsoft deserves an award for their best application invention to date, the Snipping Tool. It’s very useful in helping capture a screenshot or image intended for later use.

What is the Snipping Tool?
The Snipping Tool is an application that works as a screen capture tool. It allows computer users to take screenshots (commonly known as snips).

The Snipping Tool was originally released in November, 2002 as a power toy for the Tablet PC. Since then, it has been installed in Windows Vista, Windows 7, and the Experience Pack for Windows XP Tablet PC 2005 Edition.

The following snips can be taken:

• Open window: Choose either a window or dialog box that you want to capture a screenshot of.
• A free-form: Draw a free-form shape around any object.
• Rectangular: Form a rectangle shape by dragging the cursor around an object.
• An entire screen: Take a screenshot of an entire screen.

Besides the types of snips you can take, there are several other advantages to using the Snipping Tool.
For instance, after your snip is taken, it’s copied into the clipboard so you can then paste it straight into an email or document. Our clients often use it to show problems they are experiencing on their computer to make support easier for us to provide.

In addition, you have the option of saving, annotating, or sharing your snippet with others via an email. You can also either remove or change the outline’s ink color that was used in capturing the snip.
Snips can be saved in the following formats: PNG, GIF, JPEG, MHT

Overall, the Snipping Tool is a basic screen capture application that is actually very simple to use and I find a use for it on most days. While it may not impressively meet the features required by professional technology writers, your average, computer user will find very handy.

Online Crisis: How to Avoid Email Exposure

I’m sure by now everyone has either heard or read about the online crisis that recently affected 1,000 New Zealanders: their personal and business email addresses were exposed – twice. This occurred when the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) notified online account holders about their failed credit cards.

The complete story is here.

This nightmarish situation is an avoidable one. If NZTA had taken the proper steps in preventing this entire crisis, 1,000 New Zealanders would have no reason for concern regarding their email addresses falling into deceitful hands.

The effort here is to avoid this online crisis from occurring again by explaining how to avoid online email exposure. We’re all entitled to our privacy and the following advice will help us maintain it.
For starters, businesses should make sure their staff has the proper training to use the BCC function in their company’s email program.

For anyone unfamiliar with “BCC” it stands for blind carbon copy. With BCC, you can send one message to multiple recipients without each recipient knowing who else received the same message. Here’s what each line in an email message represents:

To: List the address of the primary recipient here

Cc: This is the carbon copy to the secondary recipients. With CC, the recipients’ e-mail addresses are visible to everyone receiving the message.

Bcc: Blind carbon copy is mostly used when addressing a long list of recipients. This field is used to hide recipients’ email addresses from one another while receiving the same message.

NZTA failed to address their email messages properly.

This is so commonly done that it’s downright shameful. Not only is this a breach of privacy; it’s also a gateway for spammers and various markets to attack email addresses.

Instead of NZTA sending out these emails themselves, they should’ve used a proper bulk mailing service. Mailchimp is a recommended choice for handling mass emails. Their email marketing business is designed for this. Using their service would have made this situation less likely to occur.

Another huge mistake on NZTA’s part involved credit cards. It is important train staff to never request nor send credit card information via email. There are too many internet hackers just waiting for such easy access and this makes it easy for them to get it.

Despite the advancement of the internet, there are still several companies who lack a payment system on their website. As a result, they ask their clients to send their credit card information through an email.
Big mistake! I state this because emails are not secure in any way.

I know this firsthand after experiencing this exact situation from a travel agency while traveling overseas. Time difference made it difficult to contact me, so this was their solution regarding payment.
Rather than suggest clients submit their payments via emails, it’s much simpler and safer for a company to add a payment gateway with a secure page onto their website. Afterwards they simply add PayPal or DPS.

While this incident is a headache for 1,000 New Zealanders, it can also be a lesson to both companies and customers on how to secure their privacy. In the end, this can be a lesson well learned for all of us.

NZCS Reigns High as Cloud Consultants to Businesses

No matter what type of business you run, you should consider reducing your infrastructure usage and backup costs. This is easily done by converting to a simpler solution: cloud software. As New Zealand’s leading cloud consultants, New Zealand Computing Solutions can guide you with this conversion.

Cloud software operates on the internet instead of your computer. This type of operation eliminates your usage of expensive infrastructure resources such as servers. Cloud software also abolishes your dependency for backups.

This may sound a bit confusing to you, especially if you are not a technical person. This is perfectly fine. Our team of cloud consultants has the experience to advise you on what cloud solution is best for you to run your business on.

For instance, our cloud consultants may advise you to use SaaS (Software as a Service) to run your business operations. The cloud solutions can be beneficial to your business’ daily operations because of the following functionalities that it performs:

• Provides CRM (customer relationship management)
• Accounts rendered
• Accounts payable
• Email marketing

New Zealand Computing Solutions can develop a SaaS solution to benefit your business’ operational needs for a very low upfront cost. Afterwards you will pay a monthly fee based on the number of users. NZCS can have your business up and running in no time. While you can purchase various SaaS products online, it is helpful if you are not a technical person to get a consultant to provide you with a solution that is a closer fit to how you run your business.

NZCS cloud consultants are available to help you avoid technical dilemmas. We work with you exclusively to design the right cloud solutions. So contact us today and begin a new era with your business in cloud software.

Eleven Ways NOT to Waste Your IT Investments

It’s insane to waste business money, especially when it concerns your Company’s IT investments. Stop this madness by following these 11 tips:

1. Do not put your company’s server room in the restroom. This sounds outrageous; however, there are companies that actually do this. My own eyes have witnessed one in the toilet. Please use your restrooms for bodily function purposes only – not IT department purposes. 
2. Do not settle for cheap Information Technology options. Keep in mind the firm saying “you get what you pay for” because this is true. So, cheap isn’t better when it comes to IT investments. 
3. Don’t off and run to retailers like Disk Smith Electronics or Harvey Norman to buy a new printer without consulting your IT department first. Just as you’re always advised to consult your doctor before starting a new diet, the same advice goes for your Information Technology. Yes, it’s just that important! 
4. Do not wait until you hire a new person to call the IT department and request a new computer, network jack and cell phone. As a business, you should always be step ahead of the plan, so have all this in place beforehand. 
5. Don’t plan for your servers to last 5 or more years. As anybody knows, life has a lot of unexpected moments. This goes for business as well. So never assume you can have a server for five years or else you may be disappointed that it last only three years. 
6. Do not take your IT department for granted by considering them a distraction from your profits. In actuality, they empower you to increase your productivity as well as generate more revenue. 
7. Do not wait until your IT equipment breaks down in order to fix it. Keep in mind when your business slows down, so does your money. Avoid this scenario by monitoring, maintaining and replacing your IT on a regular basis. 
8. Don’t build something and think that people will come. This mentality is similar to thinking a puppy will come because you order to do so – people aren’t animals taught to obey their masters! Therefore, don’t bother wasting your money on installing a system for a nonexistent problem. 
9. Do not consider a little business downtime as a golden opportunity to take a break. Wrong! This can hurt your business big time; particularly in monetary means. Be well prepared for business continuity as well as disaster recovery. 
10. Do not neglect providing your IT department with ongoing technical training. Granted, they should already be skilled in Information Technology; however, this is an evolving business. So for the sake of your business’ success, keep them up to date on what’s going on in the IT world. 
11. Do not fail to budget for equipment replacement and IT support. Everything wears out. If you’re going to run a smooth business, you best to be prepared for it. So include it in your budget and it will save you from hitting the wall with a mad fist because you didn’t. 

Do any of these situations sound familiar? If so, then you have issues that luckily can be solved. Your solution is New Zealand Computing Solutions. Turn your IT business situations around by moving to a managed solution. Your IT work is an important asset to your company. That’s why at NZCS, your IT needs are our number one priorities. Call us now.

Company name as text on your web site

Just a quick web design tip for your business today. I find a lot of web sites that have logos and images to represent their company name but trying to find the name as text on the web site can be a real challenge. Images and logos are great but have the business name somewhere on your contact page as text. Why is this important?

• If you deal with the company - be it as a lead, client or supplier there are times you want the company name. It could be to fill out a form or setting up a new client in our database or adding a contact to outlook. When I want this information I find your web site and go to your contact page and copy and paste it. That way I know there are no spelling mistakes (well hopefully anyway :) If you only have images it make it difficult. You want to make your site useful of people that deal with you.
• It is much better than images for your search engine optimisation because text is much easier to index

Upgrading your iPhone to iOS5

iOS5 is latest operating system for your iphone, ipad or ipod from Apple which has more that 200 new features.

Upgrading your operating system from XP to Windows 7 is something you might normally get your IT provider to do but iOS5 has been designed to be simple enough for anyone to do. There are a few issue that can occur but I have not seen anything to dramatic. Before you start make sure you have a spare couple of hours because it is not a 5 minute process.

1. Upgrade to the latest version of iTunes
2. When it asks to upgrade to iOS5 say no. 
3. Delete any apps in iTunes you do not use any more and have a bit of a tidy up.
4. Do a sync of your iDevice. 
5. At this point it is a good idea to turn off your Anti-Virus. I had a problem with this when backing up the phone and good a 5000 error. Turning off the Anti-Virus and doing it again it worked correctly.
6. Go to your iDevice and to the version panel and commence the upgrade. This will start by downloading the new OS which will take about 30minutes.
7. Next it will backing everything up and load the new operating system.
8. It will then restore the apps. It might appear to hang at this point but it is because it is waiting for you to run through a wizard on the phone. 
9. Run through the wizard and it will continue to restore the apps.