A Shortcut To Lock Your Computer

It is always a good security practice to lock your computer screen when you walk away from it.  The most typical screen saver time out is 20 minutes but that is plenty of time for someone to sit down at your computer and view information.  In this tech tip I will show you how to create a shortcut which you can double click to lock your computer.

 

1. Right click on your desktop and click "new shortcut" on the context menu.

 

2. In the shortcut's target box type the following without the surrounding quotes  "%windir%\System32\rundll32.exe user32.dll, LockWorkStation"

 

3. Now close the shortcut properties window and double click on the icon.  It should lock your computer.

 

4. If you want to change the icon to make it more meaningful, right click on the new shortcut and select properties from the context menu.  Next, click the button that says "Change Icon."

 

5. In the box that says "Look for icons in this file" enter the follow without the surrounding quotes "%SystemRoot%\system32\SHELL32.dll" and hit the enter key.

 

6. You should now see many icon options from which you can choose.

 

7. After you have created the shortcut and selected a meaningful icon, my last suggestion is to drag the icon to your quick launch bar (the icons beside the start menu on the task bar).  This will make the icon more accessible.

 

OR, if you have a Windows keyboard you can just hold down the "Windows" key (located in the lower left of the keyboard) and press the "L" button.  But that is not nearly as cool as having an icon do the job.

 

Ryan Williams

 

Twitter:  http://www.twitter.com/ryanwill

LinkedIn:  http://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanwill

Website:  http://www.techbetter.com

Blog:  http://blog.techbetter.com

 

Network Security Scare Tactics

Did you know that every day 20,000 new distinct malicious software samples are discovered?  That bears repeating.  That was 20,000 new malicious software samples every single day.  That is a lot of ill intended software floating around.  Recently the Downadup worm infected 1 million computers in less than 24 hours.  I have seen estimates that the worm has probably infected over 20 million computers by now.  (To protect yourself make sure all your Microsoft patches are up to date.)

 

Network security is serious business.  Not only do you have to worry about malicious software but also malicious people.  We have seen businesses hacked by people in other countries.  The hackers don't have to live on your street.  Please make sure your antivirus is up-to-date, your Microsoft patches are up-to-date, your internet connect is secure and your wireless access point is encrypted.  Don't wait until you are hacked or infected to begin thinking about security.  If you have been guilty of not taking network security seriously, perhaps the statistics above will help motivate you to action.

 

Ryan Williams

 

Twitter:  http://www.twitter.com/ryanwill

LinkedIn:  http://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanwill

Website:  http://www.techbetter.com

Blog:  http://blog.techbetter.com

 

Disney's Customer Service

Last Thursday I attended a leadership conference.  One of the speakers at the conference was Lee Cockerell.  Mr. Cockerell was a Vice President at Disney for 10 years and was in charge of all Disney theme parks among other things.  He said several things that stuck with me but the most memorable was the sign he said Disney has posted in all employee areas.  He said the sign reads "Be so nice to the guests they can't believe it."  Every business preaches customer service. I know we at Nexxtep talk about it all the time, but that sentence is a tough standard.  It's one thing to be nice, but to be so unexpectedly nice that you leave someone astonished?  Imagine if every business had that sentence as their goal.  I might not hate shopping so much. 

 

Well, needless to say, I was inspired and that sentence has become my goal.

 

Ryan Williams

 

Twitter:  http://www.twitter.com/ryanwill

LinkedIn:  http://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanwill

Website:  http://www.techbetter.com

Blog:  http://blog.techbetter.com

 

How Fluid Is Your Office?

A 2007 study commissioned by AT&T and conducted by Forrester Consulting found that, "today more than 50 percent of enterprise employees find themselves in circumstances in which they need to work in a fluid and dynamic fashion. For instance, they need to access email, voicemail, and faxed messages when not at their desks."  This can be accomplished with the aid of the internet, mobile devices, and various software programs.  Below I composed a list of questions to help you determine how fluid your office environment is.  See how you stack up.

 

Can your employees sit down at any computer in the office to check their email?

 

When someone is not at their desk, does your phone system find them via their cell phone?

 

Can your employees check their email on their cell phones?

 

Better yet, can they update their calendars from their cell phones?

 

Can they access their computer files from any computer with an Internet connection?

 

Even better, can they access their computer files from their cell phones?

 

If your employees have laptops, can they still remote back to the office to access your "line of business" applications when traveling?

 

Do your employees receive their voicemails via their email inbox so they can easily listen to their office voicemails from anywhere, including their cell phones?

 

Do you have an Intranet to serve as a centralized repository for company information so employees can find the information they need regardless of their location?

 

These are just a few questions worth considering.  How well did you score?

 

- Ryan Williams

 

Twitter:  http://www.twitter.com/ryanwill

LinkedIn:  http://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanwill

Website:  http://www.techbetter.com

Blog:  http://blog.techbetter.com

 

Google Street View

Google has been very busy over the past few years.  Covertly, they have sent cars all over the United States imaging everything they can see from the road.  It is really mind blowing.  You can look up your home or business address in Google Maps (maps.google.com) then click the Street View icon to see a street level image of the location.  Visit this URL to see an example of how it works:  http://tinyurl.com/9h9ekr

 

Ryan Williams

 

Twitter:  http://www.twitter.com/ryanwill

LinkedIn:  http://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanwill

Website:  http://www.techbetter.com

Blog:  http://blog.techbetter.com