Vol 10-6  June 2010

Ekaru
Specializing in information technology outsourcing for small and medium businesses (1-50 Employees). "It's like having your own IT department"
  • Network Design
  • High Speed Internet
  • Computers & Software
  • Network Security
  • Email & Web Hosting
  • Back-ups
  • Virus Protection & Recovery
  • Web Sites
  • Professional Service


866-go-ekaru
866-463-5278



Welcome to this month's issue! The Technology Advisor provides technology advice, strategy, tips and trends to help you manage and grow your business!

What's new in Office 2010:
It's hard to believe, but it's time again for another big Microsoft Office release - Office 2010. Office 2007 was a big change from Office 2003 with the introduction of The Ribbon, a graphical system to group buttons for common tasks in context sensitive tabs. In the 2007 release, Outlook was excluded from the Ribbon and kept the old navigation. One of the bigger changes in 2010 is the inclusion of the Ribbon in Outlook (and OneNote and all other Office applications). The Ribbon was a bit tough to get used to at first (for me, anyway!), but overall feedback has been extremely positive for Office 2007.

Beyond the most obvious change with Outlook, there are several other nice features in the new release. "Paste preview" will be a help for editing, and some better techniques to handle the ongoing flood of incoming mail will also be welcome. There will also be much better tools for working with video in PowerPoint.

If you're thinking about getting a new system over the Summer, we recommend considering going with Office 2010.

The official release date is June 15 but you can already pre-order systems from Dell.

Windows Service Pack Updates & the MA Data Protection Law
Support for Windows Vista without any service packs ended on April 13, 2010. Support for Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) will end on July 13, 2010. If you're running one of these versions after support ends, it's important to know that you will not receive any security updates going forward and you'll therefore NOT be in compliance with the new MA Data Protection Law. Note that although the MA Data Protection Law specifically applies to computers that contain "Personal Information", all systems on your network should be updated.

No need to panic - Service Pack updates are free and can be downloaded from the Microsoft web site. If you're on managed service or you're working directly with one our engineers regularly, you should be all set. Any questions, please call us!

Fake Antivirus Warning!

We've been seeing a big increase recently for Fake Antivirus - which is a class of malware that displays fake alert messages concerning threats that don't exist, and then directs users to web sites that request payment for cleaning up the system or downloading an update or tool. One of the popular ways to get infected is through email spam campaigns that are socially engineered to trick you into opening an attachments - an account suspension or password reset request from a popular site such as Twitter, or an eCard. ALWAYS stay alert on the web and when opening mail. Unfortunately, the threats are designed with so many variants that morph over time to bypass even the most up to date antivirus programs.

Outbound eMail Problems:

Verizon (and Comcast) have both started blocking "Port 25" for outbound eMails. The reason for this is to block spam on the networks, but the unintended result is that many customers have experienced trouble sending outgoing mail. As of June 1, you may have noticed trouble with your Verizon account if you haven't already made the change in your Outlook settings. Port 25 was the old standard, and you should now be using port 587.

To make the change in Outlook, go to: Tools / eMail Accounts / View or Change / Highlight the account to change / hit "Change" / Go to "more settings". The last tab is "advanced settings". Look for "Server Port Numbers" "Outgoing Server (SMTP)" and enter "587" in the box. Call us if you have questions!

You're Invited! - June 15 Lunch & Learn Open House!

Please stop by for lunch on June 15 any time between noon and 2pm to learn more about Office 2010 and follow up on any questions you may have on the MA Data Protection Law. Our engineers will be here to answer questions on these topics and any other tech questions you may have. There is no charge for the event, but we need an RSVP to get an accurate count for food - Please call (978-692-4200) or email us if you plan to attend. Many of your have joined us for webinars over the past several months, and we look forward to seeing you in person!

Enjoy Summer!  Enjoy Summer!

Sincerely,
Team Ekaru

Introductory Technology Assessment Over 400 local small businesses have chosen Ekaru to manage their computers and networks. We offer a free, no-obligation initial consultation to get started. We'll visit your office, review your network, and make recommendations. Call us at 978-692-4200 or email us to schedule a no-obligation assessment. If you know someone who could benefit from this offer, simply forward this email to them. Thank You!

           Microsoft Small Business Specialist
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