Top 5 Network Security Mistakes

Posted on January 20, 2012 by admin

Network security is an essential aspect of computing in today’s world, even in the home environment. Try to avoid the common mistakes of setting up your security by learning about some basic pitfalls. And don’t hesitate to call us at 856-727-9363 with any questions or concerns you may have regarding your network security. We are here to help.

Weak Passwords—Everyone should know by now that you need to use strong passwords for computer use, especially when it comes to the security of your network. Believe it or not, “password” is still the first choice of most users! The optimum password should be at least 8 characters in length and use characters (in both lowercase and uppercase formats), numbers, and symbols. Get creative when thinking of a password and avoid the obvious, such as using your own name, a pet name, or name of a family member.

Trying To Do It Yourself—Setting up a network can be tricky and quite involved. Selecting the appropriate equipment, installation of software, and setting up the proper security measures should be left in the hands of knowledgeable and experienced IT professionals. It is well worth the initial cost and helps avoid costly problems in the long run.

Plug In & Go—Computers are not designed to be ready to go out of the box. Security needs to be configured prior to use. Before you set up phone lines, ethernet cables, or wireless connections, you need security. At the very least this includes virus protection and a firewall.

Lack of Education—A lot of viruses and spyware are unknowingly invited in by the user. To prevent viruses and hackers from getting into your network, keep alert for any known viruses and scams circulating the internet. And be wary of clicking on anything that alerts you to upgrade your security without first checking to see if it is a legitimate alert or upgrade.

Lack of Maintenance—Since no software is perfect, security loopholes will be found and exploited by hackers. Make sure you keep your security patches up-to-date. And if you don’t have automatic virus and malware scanning software, make sure you scan for infections frequently.

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Look Back & Into the Future

Posted on January 20, 2012 by admin

In the spirit of the two-faced Roman god Janus, it’s traditional to take some time in January to look back on the year past and forward to the next.

In the world of technology, 2011 was notable for quite a few things, both great and small, and many will impact the coming year. It was the year of the tablet, a boom in smartphone sales, major flooding in Thailand, the passing of Steve Jobs, and the failed merger of AT&T and T-Mobile.

Tablet sales boomed, especially the iPad. Android tablets have taken some time to catch up due to various operating system version issues (more on that below). HP and Blackberry tablets, with their own OS issues, tanked. HP had two fire sales of existing stock and washed its hands of WebOS. Blackberry held on, however, and may have a winner with the imminent version 2.0 of its Playbook OS. Blackberry has made it possible to run slightly tweaked Android apps natively on the Playbook 2.0. That, along with Blackberry’s close ties with business users, may position the Playbook to lead in the business tablet category.

The booming smartphone market also made 2011 the year in which wireless carriers realized they had shot themselves in the foot by pushing the hot hardware. Data loads on their networks grew faster than predicted, so we saw the end of many unlimited data plans. Which begs the question: Is it really “data” when a smartphone is used mostly to play games and watch videos? Do more than 6 million downloads (!) of Angry Birds on Christmas day really count as “data”? Maybe we need a new term for it. Carriers predict they will be out of bandwidth in 2014, so the FCC is working to clear unused spectrum as quickly as possible. Look for more expensive data plans and lower limits in the near future.

Major flooding in Thailand crippled hard drive production and prices soared. Supplies of disk-based hard drives will be tight at least through the first half of 2012. The shortage may, however, push greater production of solid state drives, especially in the laptop market. They are the drive of the future and this may hasten their spread.

The passing of Steve Jobs sadly marked the end of an era in technology design. Time will tell whether or not his vision and sense of innovation will continue within the Apple organization and in the technology world in general.

The AT&T purchase of T-Mobile was, in the parlance of the web, a major fail. They handed $4 billion in cash and network access to Deutsche Telekom to call the whole thing off after the merger was denied by the government in a big victory for consumers.

Coming up in 2012, OLED TVs may be hitting the market later this year. As with any new technology, early adopters will pay a premium, but Organic Light Emitting Diode screens have so many advantages that they will gain popularity at a rapid rate as costs come down. They are already used on the hottest smartphones and getting rave reviews for their clarity, contrast, and vibrant colors. OLEDs emit light themselves rather than use a backlight, so like CRTs and plasma TVs they look great from a wide angle. They use very little electricity, can be extremely thin and can be printed on glass or plastic using a method not unlike an inkjet printer. When printed on plastic they are flexible and their resolution can be much higher than LCDs or plasma.

Intel is now making CPUs with a 22 nanometer process, down from 32nm. What that means for you is more processing power with less electricity used. Laptops will now have better performance without sacrificing battery life.

Still the world’s largest mobile phone manufacturer, Nokia has had a very low profile in the U.S. for the last few years. Their Symbian operating system could not compete with Android, Blackberry, and iPhone. In 2012 they should come roaring back with their Windows phones. Their re-launch also follows on the heels of a major upgrade of the Windows Phone OS to version 7.5 (Mango), which adds new capabilities, including front and rear facing camera controls. The new Nokia Lumia phones have been well reviewed, and the top-of-the-line model 900 should be available in the first quarter of the year.

In addition, look for the Windows Phone OS to appear on many less expensive phones. It was designed to be fast and efficient and runs well on phones that have a single-core CPU.

There will probably be a flood of new Android tablets, all running the new Android 4.0 operating system (named Ice Cream Sandwich in Google’s dessert-themed alphabetical march toward Zabaglione—Cupcake, Donut, Éclair, Froyo, Gingerbread, Honeycomb, ICS… and Jelly Roll?…). Android tablets have been hampered by an OS that was originally designed for smartphones, which fragmented the feature set, limited screen resolution, and compromised some access to the Android Marketplace. Android 4.0 will offer a higher resolution tablet experience and be Google’s first real shot across the bow of the iPad.

On the computing front, there will be a shrinking market for netbooks, as standard laptops with full-feature CPUs and larger screens drop in price. The new, hot form factor is the ultrabook. Intel has set a cluster of minimum specifications for these ultrabooks that define the category. In 2012 we enter the second phase of the specs. Ultrabooks are less than 0.8” thick, have battery life of at least 5 hours, weigh a maximum of 3.1 pounds, boot up from deepest sleep mode in less than 7 seconds, have hardware security features, and use second-generation low-voltage, Intel Core processors. Will that leave AMD-based laptops behind? Probably not. While they won’t be able to use the term ultrabook, they can still aim for many of the targets that are set in the specs.

Of course, if the Mayans were right, much of the above will be moot.

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5 Tips for Safe Online Shopping

Posted on December 16, 2011 by admin

Online shopping can be a great way to take care of many items on your holiday gift list, but before you go rushing off to find those great holiday bargains make sure you are being safe and smart about your online purchases with these 5 easy tips…

Protect Your PC–first and foremost you need to make sure your antivirus and antispyware protection is current and up-to-date. If you don’t have any protection, get it before you begin shopping or you are just asking for trouble. In addition, make sure your operating system and browser are both current with patches and updates as well.

Don’t Click Email Links–avoid following links in enticing emails unless you are absolutely sure they are from known and trusted sites you already use. A common and frequent trick from spammers is a link to a fake eBay or PayPal log-in page. Instead, type the URL for the site directly into your browser and look for the advertised specials that way. If you can’t find them, then it is probably a scam.

Fake Holiday Bargains–if it seems too good to be true, then it probably is. While many legitimate retailers offer honest bargains and discounts, beware of scams that focus on deep discounts for popular and hard-to-find items that target the desperate shopper. If you don’t recognize a company, don’t order from them until you know they are real. Do some research before buying.

Use Secure Sites—make sure you purchase from secure sites that use SSL (secure sockets layer) security. Check the URL to see that the page begins with “https:// and not “http//”. The “s” indicates you are on a secure site and that your transaction is encrypted. Some browsers also show a lock icon in the lower right corner of the browser window to indicate a secure site.

Use Credit Cards Only—make your purchases with a credit card and avoid alternative methods such as wire transfer or other “non-plastic” means. Many card companies offer a “zero liability” policy, which lets you off the hook if someone gets a hold of your card. Federal law also allows you to dispute a charge on your bill if you don’t receive your purchase. You can also use a temporary card for the season with a finite limit to be extra secure.

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Donate Your Computer’s Time to Science

Posted on December 16, 2011 by admin

The world’s fastest computer, the K Computer, is located in Kobe, Japan, and it can do calculations at a rate of 10.51 Petaflops per second. That’s 10.51 quadrillion calculations (10,510,000,000,000,000) per second! If you need a really quick answer, go to Kobe.

The U.S. has more than half of the 500 fastest computers in the world, with our current speed demon being the Department of Energy’s Cray Jaguar at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The Jaguar currently processes 1.75 quadrillion calculations per second. It’s getting an overhaul right now, and early next year, after adding a few hundred 12-core AMD CPUs and thousands of graphics processors, it should be double the speed of the K Computer. Amazon.com owns the world’s fastest non-research computer, ranking number 42, at about one-sixth the current speed of the Jaguar.

Time on many of these supercomputers is available to outside agencies and companies to run simulations and do research, but the cost is high. So, what if you had a lot of numbers to crunch, but not a lot of money and you’re not in a big hurry?

The answer to your needs is distributed computing–lots of smaller computers doing little bits of the work independently. And that’s where you come in; you can help right at home or in your office.

Your computer is probably loafing along as you work, and it may not be doing anything at all for significant portions of the day. Even when you are working, most of your applications only use one processor core at a time. In a dual- or quad-core computer, you have the equivalent of another computer (or three) sitting there twiddling its thumbs. Instead of sitting idle, your computer could be doing productive and meaningful work for science or medicine.

The first such popular effort at distributed computing was SETI@home, the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence. Users installed a small program that ran as a screensaver. Your computer downloaded a file from the SETI server, analyzed it, sent the results back, and grabbed another file.

The files are recordings from the Arecibo Observatory radio telescope in Puerto Rico. While astronomers do their work with the telescope, SETI piggybacks on it and records other radio signals from outer space. What it hears is random static, just like you hear when tuning to a radio frequency on which there is no broadcast station. Your computer’s job is to analyze all the bits of information in a file and see if any of them have a discernible pattern—the signature of a coherent wave—a radio signal, produced by an extra-terrestrial intelligence.

Will we find an E.T. version of I Love Lucy? Probably not. Leaving aside the diminishing strength of electromagnetic radiation over great distances, if we hear anything, it will probably be a simple “Hey! We’re over here!” carrier frequency of some sort designed just to signal their presence.

Since the early days of SETI, in 1999, a new distributed computing software platform called BOINC (Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing ) has been developed to run this kind of analysis, and it’s become the standard for a growing industry.

If you want to help advance the fields of science and medicine from the comfort of your own home or office and searching for signals from E.T. seems a little frivolous for you, you might want to help with these other projects:

Folding@home: a Stanford University project that analyzes protein folding and its implications in Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, some cancers, Cystic Fibrosis, and numerous other diseases.

Influenza Antiviral Drug Search: analyzes drugs that can stop the spread of flu strains that are drug resistant.

Climateprediction.net: which tries to improve the accuracy of climate models.

Einstein@Home: searches for gravitational waves that Einstein predicted in his General Theory of Relativity.

MilkyWay@home: creating an increasingly accurate 3D model of our galaxy from data collected by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey.

The Clean Energy Project: searches for the best molecules for solar cells and the best way to assemble them.

TheSkyNet: analyzes data for radio astronomers around the world.

Dozens of projects are in need of help and they vary widely in scope. Links and summaries can be found on numerous sites, especially http://boinc.berkeley.edu, www.distributedcomputing.info, and www.hyper.net/dc-howto.html. You could help advance research in Malaria, HIV, Dengue fever, geology, or particle physics. Your choice.

And all those little computers all over the world, owned by people who volunteer their time in the interest of science or medicine, are processing data at a rate of 4.8 Petaflops per hour—twice the speed of the second fastest computer in the world. That’s the power of distributed computing.

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Abstract Art or a New Way to Connect?

Posted on November 18, 2011 by admin

Those little quirky black & white grid boxes are popping up everywhere it seems. They may look like abstract art, but they are beginning to have quite an impact in today’s business and retail world. What exactly are they and what is their purpose?

These little grids are actually barcodes and are called quick response codes, or QR codes, for short. Each one is a specific matrix barcode readable by dedicated QR barcode readers and camera phones with QR reader apps. The encoded information can be used to display simple text, to open a URL, compose a text or email message, or access other data, such as a vCard or phone number. It is an instant way to get more information about a product or service, even while flipping through a magazine. You can find them in newspaper and magazine ads, on product displays and price tags, and even on plane tickets.

Retailers and other companies are using QR codes to connect with customers faster than ever before. It ‘s a direct method that connects people with your business faster, driving sales and increasing revenue. Advertisers and marketing departments love QRs because they are fun, inexpensive, easy to deploy, and can be printed most anywhere.

Demand is now so high for these useful tools that more than 2 million each month are being generated as demand continues to increase. Users can create a QR code by visiting one of the free QR code sites and following simple instructions to make their own unique QR code. So, go ahead and create your own QR code and connect even faster with your customers.

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Data Destruction: A Few Good Whacks

Posted on November 18, 2011 by admin

One of the problems with getting rid of old computer equipment is what to do with the data that has accumulated on it. And what do you do with all those old backup CDs and floppies that clutter your closets and your life?

Your personal computer obviously has your own data on it. Business computers, however, may have other people’s data on them and may be covered by various federal laws (such as HIPAA, Sarbanes-Oxley Act, etc.), as well as any pertinent state laws. No matter what you intend to do with an old business computer, you really must ensure that the data on it has been thoroughly destroyed before it leaves your hands. You could be legally culpable if your clients’ data fell into the wrong hands.

It is important to know and understand that deleting files doesn’t destroy them. Reformatting the drive doesn’t destroy them. Repartitioning the drive doesn’t destroy them. At all.

When you “delete” a file on your hard drive, the computer simply marks the sectors on the disk, which were used by that file, as being available for re-use. It does not erase them. Your deleted file can be recovered months after you delete it, as long as it has not been overwritten. Common, free software programs (undelete utilities) can reconstitute those files easily, possibly saving your bacon in an emergency, but allowing others to snoop freely if they have access to your drive.

Emptying the Recycle Bin doesn’t destroy your files either. The Recycle Bin is simply a folder full of compressed copies of files you have deleted. Remember—the original file is still sitting on a sector of your hard drive that hasn’t been overwritten. Deleting a file while bypassing the Recycle Bin (shift + delete) also does no good; the file is still there. And, if your computer has crashed, copies of what you were working on may be left as orphan sectors that were in use by the virtual memory/swap file at the time of the crash. They may be orphaned, but they are still readable.

Your task is to make it impossible for data to be read off the drive. Obviously, the best way is to simply physically destroy the drive. A few good whacks with a sledgehammer will do the trick. But then you have to buy a new drive and reinstall the operating system. You did save a copy of your operating system disc, right?

The safest way to destroy the data is to overwrite the sectors more than once. The Department of Defense specifies seven times to fend off the most sophisticated recovery methods. Free delete software utility programs make this process easy. Search the web for hard disk scrubber or hard disk wipe.

Most hard drive scrubbers run off a bootable CD or USB drive, which the software will help you create. Once you start the software, be prepared for a long wait. Writing data to the entire drive and then rewriting it a few more times can take days—literally. This is a long, tedious process, but all you have to do is start it and walk away. Most of these programs wipe an entire drive or drive partition. A few, including Wipe Drive and Iolo’s Drive Scrubber, have the ability to wipe out everything on the drive, while leaving the operating system intact. That’s a nice feature if you’re going to be handing the computer off to someone else to use. And Drive Scrubber operates from within Windows, so it’s not as scary for the casual user.

Now, what do you do with all of the backup discs you have squirreled away? Anyone who’s ever tried to break a CD or DVD knows the shrapnel that can fly. Two easy ways to prevent a disk from being read are by drilling a hole through the innermost data circle (that’s where the disc’s table of contents is) or by blistering the disc with heat. Make sure you apply heat to the label side, since the data layer is closer to that side. Once you see bubbling, the disc is ruined. A candle flame will do the trick. Some heavy duty paper shredders will chomp CDs into sparkly little bits, but it is slow going.

And floppies? They’re tough. One solution that won’t work—trust us—is drilling. Oh, it will destroy the discs, but unlike CDs/DVDs, the plastic in a floppy melts and gums up your drill bit. Try tin snips instead and save yourself a hassle.

If your business is covered by laws that deal with data security, contact your industry trade association to see what tools and means they recommend to control and limit your liability. You might also consider encrypting your hard drives. Some versions of Windows have encryption options. Without an encryption key, data is unreadable even if someone finds it on the drive. And, of course, any drive (laptops, CD/DVD, USB flash drive, etc.) that leaves your premises should be encrypted. To not do so is just asking for trouble.

Keeping your data safe from prying eyes isn’t hard; it just takes a little planning.

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3 Easy Ways to Spot an Email Hoax

Posted on October 25, 2011 by admin

There’s no doubt that at some point you will receive an email hoax. And while some are harmless, many can lead to virus infections, identity theft, or worse. Some of the most common themes to watch for include: supposed free giveaways in exchange for forwarding emails; bogus virus alerts; pointless petitions that lead nowhere and accomplish nothing; dire warnings about products, companies, government policies or coming events; and even false appeals to help sick children.

1) Probably the most common indicator that an email is a hoax is the “send this email to everyone in your address book” request. Hoax writers want their material to be spread as far as possible, so almost every hoax email will have this request built into the message. In some cases, email hoaxes will even designate a specific number of people that need to be emailed in order to collect a prize or to get something for free.

2) Another surefire indicator of an email hoax is they don’t provide verifiable references to back up their claims. Genuine competitions, promotions, giveaways, or charity drives, will almost always provide a link to a legitimate company website or publication. Real virus warnings only come from your installed anti-virus software. Emails containing government or company policy information are likely to include verifiable references, such as news articles, websites, or other legitimate publications.

3) A third indicator of a hoax is often the use of the actual language. Email hoaxes have a tendency to use emotive, “over-the-top” style of words and phrases, such as “Urgent,” “Dire,” “Worse Virus Ever,” and so on. ALL CAPITAL LETTERS are often used for added emphasis.

Whenever in doubt, do not forward the dubious message or take the action requested. Doing nothing with those questionable emails will save you a great deal of aggravation.

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Forecast: Cloudy?

Posted on October 25, 2011 by admin

Cloud computing, if you believe the current hype, is the wave of the future. Is it? And if so, is it for you? The term cloud, generally speaking, is simply a metaphor for the internet. Cloud computing is a loosely applied term covering a multitude of concepts using the internet as a storage, network, and/or program service source.

In your office you have computers with installed programs and stored data on said computers or on a server. In the broadest interpretation of cloud computing, your computer would serve as a “dumb” terminal, using only a browser to connect to a service that hosts not only your data, but also the programs that run it. Since all of the computational power is handled by a central server you can use computers with very low technical specs.

Some benefits of cloud computing include, access from any location with an internet connection; online collaboration & sharing with staff in other locations; no upfront software costs—just use whatever the service provides, and automatic data storage and backup.

Some of the disadvantages of cloud computing include, the need for high-quality, business-class internet access with a service level agreement; possibly slow wireless access for remote staff; limited features in cloud software; security of files stored remotely; difficulty in transferring to another provider; business continuity in the control of the service provider; monthly per-user fees.

Computer software companies love the idea of cloud computing. Since the applications run on their servers they don’t have to worry about piracy, they can easily roll out upgrades, tech support is a snap (they control all the hardware and software except for your browser), and there is a steady revenue stream from subscribers.

You, on the other hand, are in a less favorable position. You will need a fast and very high quality internet connection (you’ll pay a premium for access that includes a service level agreement), and you are at the mercy of the provider’s ability to keep things running smoothly. Amazon provides servers to about 60% of the web’s cloud services, and their huge crash in April crippled those providers for nearly a week. Can you handle that downtime? If there is no good backup, can you risk the loss of your data?

You will also have to live within the strictures of software features that the cloud host provides. None of the online services, for example, currently offer software that compares in scope to your local copy of Microsoft Office—not even Microsoft’s own Office Live or Office 365—so advanced features of those programs still require the use of a local copy of Office. You can think of online apps as a sort of lite version of the apps with which you are familiar.

Cloud computing is more than just an online version of your Office apps, though, and it may be that you can use a hybrid solution—use installed versions of Office, but do your accounting online, for example.

One of the great benefits of cloud computing, according to the providers, is that you can access your files from anywhere—anywhere that has a good internet connection, that is. In reality, you should treat your files as you do now. Download and save them on a USB drive and take them with you if you go on the road. Otherwise, if you have to give a presentation and can’t connect to the internet, you’re dead in the water. The internet, especially wireless internet, is just not dependable in all locations.

The current ultimate cloud-dependent computing hardware is the Google Chromebook ($349-$499), which is basically a laptop built and optimized for the web. Not only is it designed to work only with cloud resources, but it is also useless without them. Everything happens through the Chrome browser. While a simpler and more secure experience than an ordinary computer, the Chromebook has no ethernet connector for a hard-wired network, it can’t connect directly to a printer, it can’t run any browser other than Chrome, and all your data is stored in the cloud. Can you live with those limitations? Should you?

At this point, given current internet technology, it might be too early to rely exclusively on the cloud, especially for features that are time-critical. For back-office solutions, however, it just might be a great fit, as long as you can deal with possible interruptions that are out of your hands.

As computing in the cloud continues to evolve, we will keep you posted as to the positive and negative aspects of this emerging technology.

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Avoid a Common Mistake in Computer Care

Posted on September 29, 2011 by admin

A big glob of dust was recently discovered hanging off the back vent of a customer’s computer after one of our techs opened the case. Yuck.

Most of us don’t really think about the condition of our computer case interior, but we should. A clean case, both inside and out, helps keep your computer in good working condition. The most imperative and immediate threat to a dirty computer is poor or nonexistent ventilation. Lack of airflow will lead to overheating and this will cause damage to the internal parts of your computer.

Although it is relatively safe to use a vacuum cleaner to suck up the dust, dirt, and hair on the OUTSIDE of your computer (if you are careful), it is never a good idea to use a household vacuum to clean the INSIDE of your computer. Besides the possibility of banging into or dislodging a critical component, a vacuum will generate static electricity, which can harm your computer’s internal parts. In addition, avoid the use of any liquid cleaning solutions anywhere near or in your computer. The only exception is water and then only if used on a damp cloth to wipe down the exterior of the case or other external components. There is no need to use chemical cleaning solutions.

So, what should you do if you’re not supposed to clean your computer on your own and you still want to make sure it is in optimal condition? The answer is easy. Bring it to us and we will clean it for you. Our techs are able to safely and thoroughly clean the inside of your computer, using our specialized equipment, clearing it of dust and debris, leaving it in ideal working condition.

At a nominal cost of only $30, our Preventative Maintenance & Cleaning “while-you-wait” service will help to insure your desktop is in top-notch shape. Or take advantage of our $25 discounted rate if you are already having other service done on your computer.

Give us a call at 856-727-9363 for more information or to set up a time to bring your desktop to our facility for a super cleaning.

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Exist Happily with Free Software

Posted on September 29, 2011 by admin

Can you and your computer exist happily using free software? Yes. Sort of.

For many categories of software, and for many uses, free programs are every bit as capable as the paid variety. Most companies who offer free software also offer paid versions, and they wouldn’t get many people upgrading if the quality wasn’t good in their free offerings. Is there any risk? No, not if you stay with the class-leaders. You may miss some options, and tech support may be different, but the quality is absolutely solid.

Let’s start with security software. AVG, Avast, Bit Defender, and Microsoft, all offer completely capable products that protect against viruses, Trojans, rootkits, and more. They have automatic updating, run invisibly in the background, and even monitor the websites you visit. AVG is arguably the king of this hill, with a long track record, extensive user base, and top rankings from the testing agencies. But, like Avast, the free version is licensed only for home use, not business. How can they tell? Good question. Can they? If you are concerned, Microsoft’s Security Essentials is a good alternative (and still free option) for individuals and businesses with up to 10 computers.

What do you get in a paid version that a free version doesn’t have? Parental controls, free tech support, firewall, centralized network management for your business, lots of things—and things you may not need. The core features of each are different; some free versions (AVG) scan your incoming and outgoing e-mail for problems. Some don’t. The lists of features are easy to browse online. Basically, however, if you behave yourself and don’t go cruising the dark underbelly of the Web, or swap illegal media files, then a free version is perfect. Have kids who might be less careful or who are IM-ing friends with infected computers? Check the features carefully.

Productivity software is where you’ll spend most of your hands-on time with your computer. Microsoft Office 2010 is undeniably the big fish in this pond. If your needs are flexible, however, there are plenty of free options, including an ad-supported version of Office available only on a new computer and with few advanced features in Word and Excel.

IBM’s Lotus Symphony is a surprise in this list. IBM? Free? Yup. Also on the list is OpenOffice and it’s slightly more developed offshoot, LibreOffice. All have at least a word processor, spreadsheet, and presentation program. None of them have an equivalent to Outlook for e-mail. Lotus is based on the OpenOffice.org source code, but has been tweaked by IBM to make it much more slick and polished. Where LibreOffice reveals its OpenOffice roots, Symphony hides them in a slicker interface with additional features.

All of these suites can import Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents. They can’t, however, handle some of the advanced Office functionality. So while you may be able to read a Word file, you wouldn’t be able to participate in a project that uses Word’s automatic Tracking and Commenting process. You can open Excel files, but only Excel has the incredibly useful and powerful PivotTable feature. The big benefit of the presentation software in these suites is that they produce presentations that don’t have the same boring templates that everybody else uses from PowerPoint (and if you do use PowerPoint, please go online and download some new templates from Microsoft’s site; your staff and clients will thank you).

The bottom line is, if you need productivity software for correspondence, reports, calculating, and creating presentations, you can certainly use one of these free products. If you collaborate with others outside your company or exchange documents electronically, stick with MS Office. There are free online MS Office alternatives, too, but they rely on an always-on, fast internet connection, and that’s really not ready for primetime yet.

E-mail is critical. At one time Eudora was the primary Outlook substitute, but it has lain fallow for years. Windows Mail (included in Vista), Windows Live Mail, and Mozilla’s Thunderbird, are the primary e-mail client alternatives in 2011. Millions of people use each of them happily, so they should suffice for all but the most demanding office routines. If you don’t need absolute bleeding-edge features, the free alternatives to Office, Outlook and the like, may be everything you need. Just make sure you get them from a reputable source, such as Download.com, that guarantees that they are malware-free.

Before you make any changes, though, give us a call. You’ll want to be sure that you pick the right solution and that we can support it if you have any problems.

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