New Businesses: Evolutionary Computer Service & Repair

Evolutionary Computer Service & Repair offers a variety of technological services, including free diagnostics, laptop repair, home PC , repair, software installation and computer setup and quick start.

Brooks was introduced to computers and the technological field during his five years in the military. He was a technical wire system installer in Iraq.

“I worked in shelters and bases. In Iraq, I ran Internet and telephone lines so that soldiers could talk to their families. I worked with switchboards. I went into the middle of nowhere and hooked up satellites,” Brooks said.

By passing out business cards and fliers, Brooks has been able to advertise his business. He said he also talks to people, hoping word- of-mouth brings in customers.

His home-based business cost him only about $300 in start-up expenses.

Read More

BitDefender Antivirus 2008 – My Rating

To find out how we test, see CNET Labs’ How we test: software: antivirus page.

In terms of protecting your PC, we cite results from two leading independent antivirus testing organizations. In the latest test results from AV-Comparatives.org, for on-demand scans, the previous version, BitDefender Professional 10+, earned an Advanced (second-highest) rating, catching 96 percent of all malware tested; and for the Retrospective/Proactive test, BitDefender Professional 10+ also earned a Standard (middle) rating, detecting almost half the backdoors, Trojans, and other malware sampled. BitDefender was not tested by CheckVir.com, our second choice for test results.

SupportBitDefender provides a fairly complete package of technical support for its antivirus product. Greatly improved from last year is the built-in help file, although it would be nice if it were also context sensitive so that when we have a question about the Identity Pirvacy feature, the help file opens on that section immediately.

Read More

Where to look for help with application crashes

Note that PSI and NSI are intended to supplement rather than to replace your antivirus, firewall, and other security software.

Two forums on ExtremeTech include dozens of posts about software problems. Only about one out of 10 posts in the Software and Development forum are specifically on software glitches, but a good number of these include replies with possible solutions. The Windows Help forum is much more focused on solutions to Windows problems.

One of the categories at the Tech Support Guy Forums is Business Applications, though fewer than half of its postings relate specifically to Office apps. The site has a sophisticated search feature that lets you narrow your search by date and number of replies, and it features a search tag cloud similar to Flickr.

Read More

Mastering Music™ School Music Software Helps Teachers Enhance

“We carry all the computer software CD-ROM (http://www.music44.com/X/products/computer%20software%20CD-ROM) programs. And the Music Mastering school music software (http://www.music44.com/X/product/29083-D) is the most complete, flexible and economical program we’ve ever seen for schools and teachers. It covers performing, composing and listening skills, and delivers highly specific musical outcomes in performance, composition, notation, digital audio, ear training, music theory and even film scoring,” says Music44 buyer Michelle Oleck.

She continues, “At Music44 we cater largely to schools and teachers, so we are very pleased to be able to offer this comprehensive and cost effective solution. Compare it to the popular Essentials of Music Theory software course (http://www.music44.com/X/products/essentials%20of%20music%20theory%20software) and you’ll see what I mean.

Read More

SDET MT735442

Looking for a software design engineer in test to be responsible for programming automation tools as well as being able to perform manual in both frontend and backend of web application and ecommerce projects. The SDET must be able to determine the requirements for automating the test scenarios, program test tools to meet the requirements, document the tool usage, and execute test runs. They must be able to balance development of automation tools with the manual testing priorities assigned to them. The SDET is to be responsible for automating QA for handoffs and regression during the release process and reduce manual processes to a minimum. The tester will also write test plans and test cases to reflect process improvements through automation. The tester must be proficient in all aspects of the software development cycle and with test automation harnesses, not only to deliver automation tools but also to share responsibility with other testers.

Read More

Check Point Expands UTM Offerings

Check Point Software Technologies has expanded its UTM-1 Total Security appliance line, allowing customers and partners to better match the right solution with their security and performance needs. Check Point UTM-1 Total Security appliances provide businesses a comprehensive security solution that combines firewall, virtual private network (VPN), intrusion prevention, SSL VPN, antivirus, anti-spyware, Web filtering, Web security, and anti-spam into one, centrally managed solution. The new models are: UTM-1 Total Security 1070 featuring 1800 Mbps firewall throughput, three managed sites and six ports; UTM-1 Total Security 2070 featuring 2800 Mbps firewall throughput, five managed sites and eight ports.”Our commitment is to continue providing customers with the most secure, easy to manage and cost-effective security solutions on the market with the widest range of solutions and models to best fit their unique needs,” said Juliette Sultan, head of global marketing at Check Point.

Read More

Program Invented to Track Kids Health and MD Visits

They created a new computer program that will forever change how patients interact with their doctors. The company released their new software to help others keep their health and medical issues organized, and in one place. Their first software release, called The Residential Maintenance Program, keeps track of all home maintenance, repairs, and costs in one easy computer program. Likewise, MyMedTracks, their second software release, is a valuable resource that helps users organize all health records and medical information. “As we have grown over the last four years we have found that there is a huge need for better communication and organization within in personal health records,” said Heather Freemont, part owner in the company. MyMedTracks is a software program that is a valuable resource to help organize health and medical information.

Read More

IPhone illustrates technology’s power

The computer security specialists gave away 50 Dell laptops to people in 10 countries, the machines armed only with the basic McAfee antivirus software. The idea was to track phishing scams, where the intent is to get you to divulge financial details by sending you to fake Web addresses made up to look like real banks and other institutions. In one month of the test, the participants received 104,000 messages, which works out to about 70 per day.With PCs now stuffed with spyware, the testers saw performance drop like a stone. And get this: Of the 104,000 letters, fewer than 24,000 were in English, so I seem to be on to something in observing that spam and malware scams are increasingly internationalized.Linux or a Mac can sharply reduce the virus threat, but phishing scams have a life of their own and show up no matter what equipment you use.

Read More

Accounting software nightmare a cautionary tale for business

Shortly after buying a licence to use the software, problems emerged. White was not happy with 2Clix – it would later emerge many others were similarly unimpressed – and after a year of wrangling with the company and many thousands of dollars spent, decided he would drop it altogether.

But there was a problem. According to White, 2Clix refused to allow departing customers to take their information with them and continued to charge them for access.

“We were locked out of our data, and everyone was just about blackmailed into having to pay fees just to access their own financial information,” White says.

2Clix Australia is no longer trading, having moved into voluntary administration, although other companies associated with its directors remain registered and the company that reportedly purchased the software from 2Clix, Platinum One Business Solutions, still sells accounting software.

Read More

Software makers should take responsibility

It is possible to write quality software. It is possible to sell software products that work properly, and don’t need to be constantly patched. The problem is that it’s expensive and time consuming. Software vendors won’t do it, of course, because the marketplace won’t reward it.

The key to fixing this is software liabilities. Computers are also the only mass-market consumer item where the vendors accept no liability for faults. The reason automobiles are so well designed is that manufacturers face liabilities if they screw up. A lack of software liability is effectively a vast government subsidy of the computer industry. It allows them to produce more products faster, with less concern about safety, security, and quality.

Last summer, the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee issued a report on “Personal Internet Security.” I was invited to give testimony for that report, and one of my recommendations was that software vendors be held liable when they are at fault.

Read More