Small Business Computing Staff

The BlackBerry 7130e is a welcome addition to Research In Motion’s (RIM) 7100 series. Like other models, the 7130e sports the form factor of a standard mobile phone instead of the relatively clunky BlackBerry shape that you might be used to. Best of all, the device is EV-DO capable, allowing it to reach data speeds […]

It gets to be rather a lot, doesn’t it? Install and run the antivirus. Run the firewall. Back up, defragment and clean up your hard drive. Oh, and don’t forget to make sure your anti-virus utility is constantly updated with the latest definition files. Pretty soon you’re spending all your time protecting and maintaining your […]

Building a sub-notebook that weighs less than its predecessor yet sports a larger screen may seem contradictory, but Sony’s engineers have pulled it off: The carbon-fiber-cased Vaio TX series boasts an 11.1-inch-diagonal widescreen display, while tipping the scales at just 2.8 pounds — yes, including a DVD±RW drive as well as a 60GB hard disk. […]

[Editor’s Note: Voting ends at midnight (EST) on Jan. 10, 2006] No product or service can transform an ill-fated business into an overnight success story. However, if you have a sound business model and a passion for what you do, the right hardware, software and services can help you operate more efficiently, more securely and […]

Voice over IP service providers big and small are in a full-court press to lure small and medium businesses (SMBs) to IP telephony. Some of the most recent moves include Qwest, teaming with Microsoft and Vonage partnering with TowerStream with services for the 1.8 million SMBs. “A lot of people are trying to reach this […]

Imagine for a moment that you are in Las Vegas and you accidentally leave your Pocket PC in the back of a cab. What would become of the device and the data that it contains? Being that there are countless taxicabs in Las Vegas, your odds of ever finding the cab that you just got […]

Over a long weekend recently, I experienced what every computer user fears most: a hard drive crash. For the next few hours, I hoped that it was some sort of operating error and I did not have to worry about restoring the data. I turned out to be wrong and needed a complete restore. Not […]

When it comes to security, the good news is that some small businesses are prepared for the potential breaches and persistent malware threats that come with technological advances. Take, for example, Massachusetts-based Arlington Lithograph. Like virtually all commercial printers, the 42-year old, family-owned business has evolved from a labor-intensive manufacturing process to a digital workflow. […]

In part three, we started talking about the different ways you can prevent spyware and adware from infesting your computers. Here we continue the discussion and offer handy resources, too. Blocking Pop-Up Ads One way to avoid the potential danger lurking behind pop-up ads is to install software that blocks and prevents them from appearing […]

Only You Can Prevent Spyware and Adware In part two, we learned how to identify and remove spyware. If you’ve found and removed these unwanted pests from your PC, or you’ve been fortunate enough to have never encountered them to begin with, now a good time to talk about how to keep your system clean. Ninety […]

Identifying Spyware: Malicious, Annoying or Misunderstood?In part one, we defined spyware and discussed its various symptoms. If you believe your computer has been infected with some sort of adware or spyware, there are a number of ways to identify the culprit. It’s usually easier to identify adware because it is often less mischievous than spyware […]

Most computer users are aware of the dark side of the Internet. Our online world brings issues of credit card and identity theft, junk mail and seedy content right into our homes and offices. But how many computer users are unwitting accomplices to such activities? Your computer, or those of the people in your organization, […]