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Confused
About the Cloud?
Cloud
computing seems to be the new industry buzz-word in the IT field and it
tends to be a bit over-used and under-defined. Interestingly the
'cloud' is not a new term in IT as it has been used for quite some time
to define the 'public Internet'. While the IT world seems all a-buzz
about this new technology, as with any new product despite what the
hype says, it isn't ideal for everyone.
If we focus in on the external or public cloud (Cloud Computing is a
very broad topic - beyond the scope of this short article), then we can
define one type of Cloud Computing as a method of delivering on-demand
access to computer resources providing information or services via the
Internet. I simplified things here. The best definition is probably at
NIST (see here). Typically these
services include Software as a Service
(SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Infrastructure as a Service
(IaaS) models. Many of these services are delivered on a pay-as-you-go
price model.
An example of a familiar "Cloud Computing" application is Web-based
email (Yahoo Mail, Gmail or Hotmail). You didn't have to setup a
network, server, provide storage or install any email software on your
computer to utilize the product. You just login and away you go from
any Internet connected computer. All hardware and software updates,
spam filtering, virus protection and IT support are taken care of for
you by the service provider (and in this case the price is unbeatable).
The product's required computer infrastructure is setup at a remote
location (data centre) and the service is delivered over the Internet.
Almost all computer related resources are the responsibility of the
Cloud Service provider (Servers, Software, updates, data protection,
security, backup etc.) so you have nothing to worry about anymore... or
so the sales pitch goes.
Read the full article at FITS website here.
Send me an email (DMielke@FileBankIT.com) or
contact FITS at (416) 640-2874 if you want to discuss Cloud Computing
in further detail.
A Picture Worth A
Thousand Viruses?
If
it wasn't bad enough that you had to be careful what pages you look at
while surfing the web, a recent rash of infections while using Google
image search should have us wary of what pictures we view.
 Exploiting
a (hopefully temporary) weakness in Google's Image Search, thieves have
been directing users to websites producing malicious software (malware)
such as fake-virus warnings and other 'scareware' designed to trick you
into doing something you really shouldn't.
While Google seems to have made progress with the tough job
of
removing or
warning of links leading to malware in normal searches, Google’s
image
search is a whole new problem
area. In
the mean-time, Google is
actively working on a solution, so stand-by, or conuct yourself
accordingly, or switch your image search engine or start blocking
scripts or something.
As a lot of malware relies on scripts to perform their dastardly
duties, programs that block scripts (E.g. the No-Script add-on for
Firefox) will let you decide which sites should be allowed to
run these
special programs. (Before you get too excited over this simple solution
you should know there are many good scripts as well as bad ones... so
you will have some decisions to make running with this filter, which is
why this solution isn't dead easy).
Contact David at FITS if you do run into a virus that seems
to have taken over or slowed your computer - dmielke@FileBankIT.comor
(416) 640-2874.
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Specialty
Search Engines
You
probably use Google as your default search engine, however Google isn’t
the only game in town when it comes to searching the world for
information. Various search engines will produce slightly different
information for you, depending upon what you are looking for and your
search parameters.
Typical search engines (Google, Bing, Yahoo etc.) list webpages and
certain other files that are
linked to them. The search engine databases, providing this
information to you, are created by data "robots" or "spiders" that
automatically map websites by following links and charting the
ever-growing ocean of available information.
Read
the full article on Search engines and discover how you can find
yourself in greater depth.
Feel free
to contact me with your questions at DMielke@FileBankIT.com or (416) 640-2874
Keyboard Shortcuts
While
troubleshooting an item on a friend’s computer, I put to use a few
standard keyboard shortcuts to navigate my way around at which point he
chimed in with a startled, "hey, how did you do that?"
We all tend to gravitate to using what we know to make our computer do
what we want it to (and at times the computer even co-operates with us
by doing just that) so we forget that there are usually several
different ways of making things happen. If you are not a
keyboard
shortcut user then you may want to try some of these out, if you do use
them, we still may be able to introduce you to a few you may not know
about.
If you are a novice computer user, I highly recommend the F1 key which
opens up the help menu of the program you are in, or general help if
you haven’t yet opened a program.
A lot of us are familiar with the Ctrl + C keys to copy and the Ctrl +
V keys to paste selected items.
The key combination that caught my friend’s attention was the Windows +
D
which, in one bold stroke, minimizes all open programs and shows you
the desktop.
Read the full article on
keyboard shortcuts here.
As always, contact me if you have any questions. (DMielke@FileBankIT.com or 416
640-2874) |
