When it launched, millions of us grabbed free Gmail addresses, and associated Calendar, Docs, Voice, and other apps followed. But personal domains are cheap, and claiming an @yourname.com address to use with Google Apps is easier than ever. Here’s why you should.

Future-Proof Email Address that You Control

Read More: http://lifehacker.com/5708219/why-you-should-use-google-apps-with-your-personal-domain-for-your-google-life

iPhone: Apple’s got a great app that rings or tracks your lost iPhone using its location data, but you can only use it if you’ve shelled out $99/year for Apple’s lame-duck MobileMe service. TekTrak does the same thing for $5.

Read More: http://lifehacker.com/5680692/tektrak-tracks-your-lost-iphone-without-the-99-mobileme-tax

Laptops are lighter and more powerful than ever; they’re also easier to steal. Luckily, a genuinely versatile and powerful track-and-recover application is also free. Here’s how Prey works, and how it could save you a month’s rent in new laptop cost.

Read More: http://lifehacker.com/5643460/how-to-track-and-potentially-recover-your-stolen-laptop-or-android-with-prey

Prey is a lightweight application that will help you track and find your laptop if it ever gets stolen. It works in all operating systems and not only is it Open Source but also completely free.

http://preyproject.com/

When preparing for a hurricane it is important to take some precautionary steps beforehand to help prevent damage to equipment, and ensure that your business can be up and running again as soon as power, and other services are restored.
Here is a basic checklist of things to do to prepare your network for a storm:
1.) BACKUP: Ensure that you have a backup of your most important data. Think about what information
you would need to operate if your server/computers/network were completely destroyed. You will want to
take this backup OFF SITE, and treat it as if it were the only copy. If possible make 2 copies to take off
site.
2.) UNPLUG: Turning off equipment and having them plugged into surge protectors is not enough. To
protect against direct lightening strikes and strange line activity that can occur during extended power
outages, it is important to UNPLUG power cables, and network/phone lines. If possible locate and
unplug internet equipment, such as cable and DSL modems and routers. Electrical surges can
come in on those lines as well.
3.) GENERATOR POWER & BATTERY BACKUPS: If power is not restored in a timely manner, and you
are forced to run off of a generator, please take some precautions. You will want let the generator run for
some time to let it even out the power that it generates. Even after that, you do not want to run
sophisticated equipment, such as computers, directly off of that generated power, as it tend to have
voltage spike and dips that can damage it. Use a UPS, or battery backup unit, as this will regulate the
power (you actually run off of the battery, and the battery is charged by the “dirty” power”. A surge
protector is not enough.
4.) BACKUP: This is such an important step I have included it twice. Equipment can be replaced, data
cannot.
If you or your business need any help with preparations, or getting back up and running, please give us a call.

Windows only: Freeware utility Automatic Printer Switcher maps different default printers to different programs, so you can skip the step of switching to the printer you want every time you print from a different application.

Read More: http://lifehacker.com/5549275/automatic-printer-switcher-changes-default-printer-for-different-programs

Just how much personal information are you releasing when you useFacebook? Facebook may be giving third-party advertisers your personal information without you realising.

The social networking site has come under fire recently for its privacy policyand concerns have been raised about what information is being used by third-party Web sites. This doesn’t bode well for Facebook’s 400 million users, half of whom log on to the Web site everyday, according to Internet security company AVG.

Read More: http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/article/347395/avg_puts_spotlight_facebook/

Anyone can sit down at a Windows PC and get along fine, but with the right tips and tricks, you can get around much faster. Here’s a handful of clever tricks to boost your Windows skills (and show off to friends).

Read More: http://lifehacker.com/5543354/the-cleverest-geeky-windows-tricks-everyone-should-know

That’s a great question! We’ve toured Microsoft Office 2010 in videos and screenshots, highlighted its killer features, and explained how to get the lowest price on the productivity suite. But between all the solid free alternatives and previous versions of Office, is it worth upgrading?

Read More: http://lifehacker.com/5537569/should-i-upgrade-to-office-2010

Read the article below on how easy it is for someone to hack into your Wireless network if you are not using the latest WPA2 encryption method. IF you don’t know if your network is protected, give us a call for a free evaluation.

Read More: http://www.networkworld.com/news/2010/050510-wi-fi-key-cracking-kits-sold-in.html?source=nww_rss