I.T. By The Sea\'s Newsletter - December 2009

1. Network Design • Network Maintenance • Data Backup/Recovery • Assets Inventories • Upgrades/Repairs • Website Design/Hosting
WiFi Networking: What It Is, How It Works, And What
You Need To Know
WiFi, or wireless networking, is quickly becoming the preferred method for connecting to the Internet
or other computers because of its simplicity. Using WiFi, you can connect anywhere in your home, office,
or even your local cafe without the need for wires or Internet connections.
How It Works
“As a business owner, I know you A simple way to understand wireless networking is to think about how walkie-talkies work.
don’t have time to waste on technical These small radios communicate by transmitting and receiving radio signals. When you talk
and operational issues. That’s where into a Walkie-Talkie, your voice is picked up by a microphone, encoded onto a radio frequency
we shine! Call us and put an end to
and transmitted with the antenna to the other walkie-talkie which then converts that radio fre-
your IT problems finally and forever!”
- Christine Roux, I.T. By The Sea quency back to your voice.
Where To Connect
Volume II, Issue 12 Finding a wireless (Wi-Fi) hookup (also called a hotspot) for your laptop is getting easier.
December, 2009 Thousands of free Wi-Fi hotspots are springing up across the country including coffee shops,
Fort Myers, Florida hotels, and public areas.
Most of these establishments charge a fee for the access but with a little research, you won't
have to pay a cent. For example, Shlotzsky's sandwich shops and Apple retail stores provide
Inside This Issue... access for free to attract customers.
WiFi Networking....Pages 1 and 2 Hotel chains like Best Western, Clarion, Comfort Inn and Omni hotels are also offering free
Wi-Fiservice to their guests. To find free hotspots in your area or an area you will be traveling to,
Creating Guest Accounts For visit- go to ConnectedHotel (http://www.connectedhotel.com) or Wi-Fi FreeSpot
ing Relatives….Pages 1 and 4 (continued on page 2)
Vita's Tips And Tricks….Page 2
How New Viruses Get Named….
Page 2
Creating Guest Accounts
Meet Our Client Of The Month:
Charlie Potter, Owner of Hawk
For Visiting Relatives
Enterprises….Page 3 The holidays are right upon us and there's a good chance some of your relatives will want to
use your computer while visiting. If you want to give them access but don't want them viewing
Great Technology Gifts Under your personal files, then you'll need to set up a guest account. This will give them access to your
$100... Page 3
programs, but not your personal files. Here's how…
Go Green Corner... Page 3
Windows XP
The Perfect Gift For The Business 1. Open Control Panel (Start -> Control Panel)
Owner Who Has It All....Page 4 2 Open User Accounts in Control Panel.
3 Click Guest.
4. Click "Turn On Guest Account."
Now your relative without a user account on your computer can log on to the computer at
the Welcome screen.
(continued on page 4)
239-344-7574 I.T. By The Sea // Page 1

2. Vita's
Tips
WiFi Networking: What It Is, How It Works,
And
Tricks
And What You Need To Know
Continued from Page 1... Never, ever send a credit card number
(http://www.wififreespot.com). or personal information of any sort
Hi, I am Vita, I am very excited because Wififreespot.com also lists libraries and over a wireless Internet connection.
this is going to be my first Winter ever. public parks that offer free access. They The guy in the next car could grab it
See, I was born on July 1st. I can't help are little bit harder to find but you may as easy as your neighbor. And if you set
but wonder what "cold" will feel like. be delightfully surprised to find one in up a wireless network, remember that
Ever try to save a file only to your area. you must go the extra mile to ensure
If you can't find free service, you can your network is secure. Police report
be told that the file name is "in- pay for the access. T-Mobile (http:// a big business among criminals who
valid" due to a character issue? www.t-mobile.com/hotspot/) has nearly use insecure networks to steal data like
This is because those characters 4,600 locations throughout the United credit card numbers.
have specific functions in Win- States and has hotspots located in To safeguard your computer, turn
dows. Here is the list of charac- Starbucks coffeehouses, Borders Books off all file sharing and avoid sending
ters to avoid: & Music stores, airports and other sensitive e-mail or making online pur-
areas. chases.
* Asterisk
Security Problems Want To Go Wireless?
< >[ ] Brackets With Wi-Fi Hotspots We Can Help!
= Equal sign Internet users beware! Wi-Fi access If you want to join the thousands of
+ Plus sign is not as secure as your Internet con- other computer users who have gone
" Quotes nection at home or at work. Most free wireless, give us a call. We can install
/ Slashes public wireless networks turn off all and configure the necessary hardware
security functions by default to make it and software to get you connected in
, . : ; Comma, Period, Colon,
easier to connect. no time flat!
Semicolon
How New Viruses Get Named
Get More Free Tips, Tools, Thousands of viruses are currently circulating on the Internet with more being
and Services At My Web Site: discovered daily. So how does a virus get its name?
www.ITByTheSea.com There is no official government body or organization that names viruses. In
most cases, the anti-virus company that discovers a virus gets to name it which
means it is a very competitive race to see who can discover new viruses first!
The criminals creating viruses like to leave clues as to what they want their
virus to be named, but researchers who discover (and fight) them don’t give their
authors the satisfaction of keeping the name. To hackers, creating a destruc-
tive, difficult to disable virus is a badge of honor. So instead of giving these cyber
criminals the publicity they crave, virus researchers will name a virus based on
the type of system it attacks, what it does, or other random reasons.
For example, the Code Red virus got its name from an eEye Digital Security
researcher's beverage of choice -- the cola variety of Mountain Dew soft drink.
Apparently he was drinking this the night he cracked the corruptive code.
Creativity aside, most anti-virus companies have policies and letter-number
formulas for naming viruses because it’s becoming more and more difficult to
come up with unique names for viruses. Symantec’s Norton anti-virus software
currently has a catalogue of over 58,193 known viruses—and the number grows
every day.
2 // Caloosa Tech Times www.ITByTheSea.com

3. Meet Our Client Of The Month!
Charlie Potter, Owner of Hawk Enterprises
Q: We are here with Mr. Charlie Potter from Hawk actually, in some advertisement I think seen out
Enterprises LLC and we wanted to talk about what it is which you guys had pushed it somewhere. I like to
that Hawk Enterprises does. keep my business local and do business with local
A: Hawk Enterprises is primarily an electrical con- people and you were the closest people to me that did
tractor. We have experience in most all types of elec- computer repair. I stopped in and we had a talk and
tricity. I have a lot of experience in industrial electric- I was impressed by your business like atmosphere and
ity and then I picked up some residential home elec- your ability to answer my questions. So I thought I'd
tricity. We like trouble shooting, the harder the job or give you guys a try and everything worked out very
the bigger the problem the better we like it. We also got well. When I got a problem I pack up, I come down
into generators. We do service on all Generacs, from there, it's solved. I don't have to worry about what I
the portables, RVs and the whole house units as well. did wrong or what I did. I just tell you what I did and
Q: Do the clients get the generators directly through you just fix what I had done.
you? Q: Thank you. That is very nice of you to say. Well,
A: Yes, we are Generac authorized service dealer. it has been a pleasure speaking with you Charlie.
Q: How do I go about contacting you? A: Thank you very much.
A: I have an email. It's HawkEnterprisesLLC@com-
cast.net. The phone number is (239) 770-2332 and I'll Hawk Enterprises is located in East Lee County
answer that one about 90% of the time. Phone: (239)770-2832
Q: I would like to talk a bit about how it is you Email: HawkEnterprisesLLC@comcast.net
know I.T. By The Sea. Listen to Charlie's Full Interview at:
A: I.T. By The Sea come to me through location http://itbythesea.com/testimonials/hear.html
Great Technology Gifts Under $100
Go Green Corner
iPod Remote Control: From up to 30 feet away this device will If you have a laptop, make it a point to
allow you to forward or advance songs, adjust the volume, and even use it more often than your desktop. On the
pause your music. Simply plug the transmitter into your iPOD, place average, desktop computers use about 150
it down and attached the water-resistant remote control to your arm. watts of power every time they are used.
One drawback: You can't scroll through your music collection. Compare that to the mere 25 watts that
You can, however, advance or replay playlists or albums. laptops consume.
Pre-Paid Cell Phones are another great gift idea that can help If you are still using CRT monitors, it's
your loved ones stay in touch. No new concepts here, but these time to switch to LCD ones, should the op-
phones are easy to purchase and provide one-size-fits all experience portunity arises. Prices have plummeted in
to its users. the last couple of years, and LCDs certainly
Muvi Micro Camcorder: At only2" x 0¾" x 0¾", it's the small- consume a lot less power than equivalent-
est camcorder in the world. Despite its size, it provides a resolution sized CRTs.
to match much larger units, while it's easy to use and even features
voice activation
Got any green tips you’d like
i-Fish: Similar to last year's i-Dog, this plastic robotic-fish-
to share with our readers?
turned-iPod-speaker has a bunch of entertaining tricks, like reacting
Email them to
to sound or music, and "swimming" all over your desk.
TechTimes@itbythesea.com
239-344-7574 I.T. By The Sea // Page 3

4. 13102 Palm Beach Blvd, Suite A
Fort Myers, FL 33905
Services We Offer
• Network Design
Phone: 239-344-7574 • Network Support
Fax: 239-236-0389 • Network Maintenance
Email: info@itbythesea.com • Local and Remote Data Backup
Office Hours: M-F 9am-6pm, Sat 10 am—6pm • Data Recovery
Be Sure To Visit Us At: • Upgrades and Repairs
ITByTheSea.com • Website Design and Hosting
FloridaInventoryServices.com • Assets Inventories
Creating Guest Accounts The Perfect Gift For The Business
For Visiting Relatives Owner Who Has It All
Continued from Page 1... Trying to shop for a busy business owner who has
Windows Vista it all?
1. Click on the Start button, Open Local Users and How about an I.T. By The Sea gift certificate?
Groups, then type lusrmgr.msc in the search box, and press Your relative or business associate may use the
ENTER. If you are prompted for an administrator password gift certificate to purchase new hardware or software
or confirmation, type the password or provide confirma- for their business, to cover an onsite service call or
tion. project, or may apply it towards our Network Life-
2. Click Users, and then double-click Guest. guards Service Plan.
3. Select or clear the Account is disabled check box Certificates may be purchased in minimum
amounts of $50 each and have a one year expiration
Windows 7 date.
1. Open the Control Panel (All Items View). Call 239-344-7574 now to order your I.T. By
2. Click on the User Accounts icon. The Sea gift certificate.
3. Click on the Manage another account link.
4. If prompted by UAC, then click on Yes.
5. Click on the listed Guest account, or create a new
account
6. Hit Set up Guest Mode and select Turn on Guest
Mode
7. The guest account is now turned on. Close the User
Accounts window.
Windows 7 Guest Mode also further protects your com- We Want Your Input!
puter by preventing your relatives from installing any
software, prohibiting them from making any system setting Do you have an idea to make this newsletter better? Would you like
changes, and deleting their data after the session is over to submit a story, article, or green tip? We’d love to hear from
or the computer reboots. Also, if your guest does manage you!
to wreak havoc on your computer, Windows 7 can revert it Call us at: (239) 344-7574
back to how it was before your guest got his hands on it. Or
Email us: TechTimes@itbythesea.com
4 // Caloosa Tech Times www.ITByTheSea.com