ICT INFO: Email Attachments: Protect Your Business

by Tomica Bonner

 

Email Services

There are several email service providers available on the internet such as Google's gmail. Once set up with an email service, users are able to pass messages back and forth consisting of different types of information, files, and applications. This presents a risk not only to your computer hardware but also to files that are stored on the hard drive. You should ensure that the email service provider you use for your business can scan all attached files in order to check for viruses. Check that your email is equipped with a spam filter. This will catch some of the most common junk mail that may pose a threat to your computer.

 

Downloading Attachments

Computers are easily susceptible to virus threats through email even when you have a good anti-virus program in place. Help protect your business by being cautious of files that are sent through email to prevent possible infection. You should also avoid opening emails from unfamiliar senders, and never download a file from an email you don't recognize. There is as well the possibility of getting a file attachment that poses a threat from someone you know.

When possible, request that files are sent in recognizable formats. Most standard files sent by email are either in PDF or Word format. This is noticeable because the attachment will end in .pdf or .doc and docx in most cases. Executable files are very dangerous files that can cause immediate damage to your business computer system upon download. They contain viruses that may attach themselves to your business files and steal sensitive information.

 

Protecting Your Business

Securing your business against threats from email attachments can be a simple process. The first step in securing your web-based email is to have your own virus scanner in addition to those supplied by email service providers. Your virus software should be updated regularly. Out-of-date programs do not catch new viruses and leave your business computers vulnerable. Computers should also have a spam blocker to help prevent any further chances at catching a virus. When certain files get through your spam blocker you can mark them as spam and have them redirected out of your inbox.
Some email programs have a defaulted preview pane which opens email, as soon as it is received. By leaving the preview pane feature on, it is possible for malicious software to start downloading without users having to click on the file. Because of this, it's important to disable the preview pane option within your email program.
By adhering to some simple steps this will help your business stay secure from threats due to malicious attachments. Ensure that employees understand and follow all guidelines related to email security. This will help prevent potential threats being passed through the network due to employees being unaware of the warning signs.

 sources from http://www.suite101.com/

JuSt FoR FuN: You know you've been in Malaysia too long when...

1. You've got a variety of lah, mah, meh, lor etc. in your vocabulary and use them constantly

2. You pop in a shopping mall just because 'they have aircon in there.'

3. You're outraged when they increase the price of petrol from RM1.40 to RM1.50 (~EUR0.33).

4. You always have a packet of Premier tissues on you.

5. You forgot why piracy is supposed to be bad when it's apparent how good it is.

6. You don't care about red lights any more...

7. ... and then you ask 'Can you help me?' when a police officer approaches you.

8. Your local friends complain they can't get any pork at their university and you fully understand.

9. You moan about when Roti Canai comes for RM0.60 when it used to be just RM0.50.

10. You no longer believe that “tall, DARK and handsome” is a collocation.

11. You know what it means when a tin can is on top of a car

12. You find driving on the wrong side of the road in the face of incoming traffic nothing special.

13. There are more lanes of cars than there are actual car lanes, and you are one of the people, happily driving in the emergency lane...

14. You think there's nothing wrong with putting chili sauce on everything you eat.

15. Durian and belachan no longer stink to you.

16. You find roti for breakfast amazing.

17. You automatically take money out of your wallet to hand over when you're pulled over by a policeman.

18. You're surprised when bouncers ID you.

19. You're not surprised when your passport photocopy works as an ID

20. You talk about "pollution days" when your friends talk about "snow days".

21. You can tell the time of day by counting how many times it has rained so far.

22. Monsoons? unusual? never.

23. You've forgotten what a clear sky looks like.

24. You have a supply of breathing masks inside your store room. Damn those indonesians!

25. You find yourself in foreign countries asking for 100+ and are shocked when you can't get it, then experience severe withdrawal symptoms.

26. You get to hong kong and are amazed at the 'clean air'

27. An entire road that only sells foot massages no longer seems strange to you

28. A train taking 14 hours to travel 400km no longer seems strange to you

29. You no longer get the 1RM and 50RM notes mixed up, and therefore stop accidentily giving people rather hefty tips

30. You have actually seen the mysterious 2RM note

31. You can actually find your way around Sungei Wang Plaza, and when you turn a corner it doesn't just look the same as where you had just come from

32. You actually like that green coconut paste that finds its way into various food-stuffs

33. You have worked out the position of every ladyboy in KL, and can weave around them seamlessly without ever hearing "Hello, handsome man. You want boom-boom?"..

34. Malaysian bread no longer tastes strange.

35. A traffic jam where every car is pointing in a different direction no longer seems strange to you.

36. No longer bothers with zebra crossings, even at busy highways

37. Purple balls hanging from a 5 story christmas tree no longer look unusual.

38. Gardenia tastes "so good, you can even eat it on its own".

39. You say "I'm on my way" and really mean "I'm just getting into the shower." Upon arriving 20 minutes late, you blame it on the traffic.

40. In public bathrooms, the squatty toilets actually are more appealing to you than the western ones.

41. You double your words to explain something... ie. "ahh you talk-talk so much wan".

42. It is just 11:30 p.m and the Taxi driver thinks you are high and wants to charge you for midnight charge.

43. You make LOUD smooching sound to get waiter's attention at a mamak restaurant.

44. You roll up your pant legs before you go into a public toilet

credit to dville syokeratis

ICT NeWs: What is going wrong with Intel's marketing?

By Jeremy Laird

Second-guessing decisions made by large technology corporations is a perilous task. Including a copy-and-paste function in a new smartphone operating system, for instance, might seem like a no-brainer, but Microsoft decided against doing just that for the launch build of Windows Phone 7. Whether that turns out to be the correct call isn't the point. What matters is that making sense of such decisions from an outside perspective is often a fool's errand. You simply don't have all the facts. Problem is, I'm finding it impossible to ignore a pattern of apparently antagonistic anti-customer decisions coming from Intel of late. The best example is Intel's experimentation with 'upgradeable' CPUs. I'm not talking about replacing an old CPU with a new one. I'm talking about the ability to unlock hidden features. Currently, this 'service' is limited to a select number of low-end Pentium dual-core processors based on Intel's Clarkdale processor die. Courtesy of a code acquired when purchasing a $50 upgrade card, the chips gain HyperThreading ability and an extra 1MB of cache memory. The details of how this works aren't terribly important, but involve BIOS support from certain system builders' motherboards. Moreover, it's not unusual to have hidden or locked features inside CPUs.There are good reasons for doing this in terms of market segmentation and production yields.

New approach

However, Intel's approach is new in the sense that it's an unashamed moneymaking ruse. It's effectively gazumping the customer by saying, "Hey, you know that CPU you bought from us last month? Well, it turns out we didn't tell you about all its features. We'll happily unlock some extra performance for you, but only if you're willing to push another $50 our way. Deal?". Of course, AMD has unofficially dabbled in this area. Some of its multi-core processors have hidden cores that can be unlocked. The difference is that no money changes hands and no promises are made. You can buy a triple-core Phenom processor and have a crack at unlocking the fourth core. If it's a dud, you're out of luck and your PC won't boot, but you've still got a chip that works as advertised in triple-core mode. By contrast, there's something much more insidious about Intel flogging chips with the intention of later upselling hidden features. As an owner, I know that having paid once for the damned CPU, I shouldn't have to fork out again to have it turn on properly.

End to overclocking?

On a similar note in terms of contempt for its customers, I was very disappointed to learn that the upcoming Sandy Bridge generation of Intel PC processors will perhaps spell the end of mainstream overclocking. Intel has tweaked the architecture toeffectively integrate the speed of every bus. Push the base clock up, and the USB, PCI-E, CPU uncore – you name it – all goes up. Reportedly, the effect of all this is to limit baseclock increases to a paltry two to three per cent. The real kicker here is that Intel realises there's a market for overclockable CPUs and will serve it with K Series chips. These offer unlocked CPU multipliers and therefore the ability to adjust coreclockspeed without any knock-on effects. Exactly how much Intel will charge for K Series chips isn't clear. But going by existing Westmere-based K Series models, they won't be cheap. Anyway, it seems clear that enthusiasts on a tight budget will no longer be able to buy a low-clocked version of Intel's most powerful desktop chips and clock the twangers off it. Frankly, I'm baffled that Intel thinks this is a good idea. If the number of such overclocking enthusiasts is small, it hardly seems worth cutting them out of the market. However, if there are lots of them, denying them affordable access to suitable CPUs will only push them in the direction of Intel's main rival, AMD. Rounding out the evidence for Intel's anti-customer attitude is its famously brain-dead branding strategy. As I've bemoaned on many occasions, with the Core i3, i5 and i7 monikers, it's now almost impossible for ordinary PC buyers to have any real idea what CPU they're actually buying. The whole sorry situation strikes me as being intentionally obfuscatory. It's all the more disappointing given that Intel's CPU engineers are currently on such blazing form, but I suppose it all plays to the pessimist in me. Intel's recent performance has been near-flawless. Something's got to give, and if the engineers won't deliver, then it's down to the marketing guys to screw it up. From where I'm standing, they've really got their eyes on the prize.

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Read more: http://www.techradar.com/news/world-of-tech/what-is-going-wrong-with-intel-s-marketing--921361#ixzz1BCLgbWc1

JoKeS FoR ToDaY - "Classic Jokes"

A man was in his front yard mowing grass when his neighbor, a Singh, came out of the house and went straight to the mailbox. He opened it,
looked inside, slammed it shut, and stormed back into his house.
A little later he came out of his house again, looking nervous, went to the mailbox, again opened it, and slammed it shut again.
Angrily, back into the house he went. As the man was getting ready to edge the lawn, here our Singh came again,looking very heated up. He marched to the mailbox, opened it and then slammed it shut harder than ever. Puzzled by his actions, the man asked him,"Is something wrong?"

To which the ferocious Singh replied, " There certainly is! My stupid computer keeps telling me I have mail!"

==========================

One Singh was enjoying the sun at the beach in America . A lady came asked him, "Are you relaxing?" Singh answered, " No, I am Banta Singh."

Another guy came and asked him the same question. Singh answered, "No No Me Banta Singh!"
Third one came and asked him the same question again. Singh was totally annoyed and decided to shift his place.

While walking he saw another Singh soaking in the sun. He went up to him and asked, "Are you Relaxing?" The other Singh was a lot more
educated and answered, "Yes, I am relaxing."
The Singh slapped him on his face and said, Stupid, idiot. Everyone is looking for you and you are sitting over here!"

==========================

Jasmeet Kaur caught her husband Santa Singh searching high and low all around his living room.
Jasmeet: "What are you searching for?"
Santa: "Hidden cameras!"
Jasmeet: "And what makes you think that there are hidden cameras here?"
Santa: "That guy on TV knows exactly what I am doing. Why every few minutes he keeps saying 'You are watching the Star World channel'. How does he know that?"

==========================

Sardar Gurbachan Singh is appearing for his University final examination.
He takes his seat in the examination hall, stares at the question paper for five minutes, and then in a fit of inspiration takes his shoes off and throws them out of the window.
He then removes his turban and throws it away as well. His shirt, pant, socks and watch follow suit.
The invigilator, alarmed, approaches him and asks what is going on.
"Oye, I am only following the instructions yaar," he says, " it says here, 'Answer the following questions in brief' ."

==========================

Two Singhs were sitting outside a clinic. One of them was crying like hell.
So the other asked, "Why are you crying?" The first one replied, "I came here for blood test"
Second one asked, "So? Are you afraid ? "
First one replied, " No, not that. During the blood test they cut my finger"
Hearing this the second one started crying. The first one was astonished and asked other, "Why are you crying?"
The other replied, "I have come for my urine test."

==========================

credit to crckr (syokeratis)

ICT INFO: AMD Announces First Fusion Chips

By TechRadar News

 

AMD has launched the first-generation of its new Fusion chips that combine both GPU and CPU functions on the same die, something that AMD calles an APU, or accelerated processing unit.

AMD is planning various changes to its line-up as 2011 shapes up to be a truly revolutionary year in terms of computing architecture.

Designed to coincide with CES and another big announcement from a certain other chip manufacturer, AMD the new chips sit on the Brazos platform.The processors used will come in two different guises – a super low-power Ontario processor needing only 9W of power – and the 18W Zacate chip for more mainstream notebooks.

AMD has turned its attention toward netbooks – a stronghold for Intel with Atom.

AMD is promising huge advances in battery life from netbooks and laptops running these chips – though we’ll have to wait until we get kit to see how this really pans out. Not only that, the company also hopes its expertise in graphics will hit home with buyers looking for a low power, portable netbook but who still want DirectX 11 graphics.

Bobcat and Bulldozer

Both of these chips are based on a new core which has been codenamed Bobcat – it’s based on a 40nm manufacturing process.

After Zacate, AMD is planning a 32nm core called Llano, which will be with us during the first half of this year. The company also will debut its long awaited high-performance x86 multi-core CPU architecture codenamed Bulldozer.

In basic architectural terms, Bulldozer looks even more revolutionary than Intel’s new Sandy Bridge.

With Bulldozer AMD will do away with the conventional notion of CPU cores and created a much more modular chip designed to deliver a better balance of integer and floating point performance.

If Bulldozer manages to even to close the gap significantly to Intel’s Sandy Bridge, that will be some achievement.

Sources: www.techradar.com, 2011

ICT INFO: Powermat To Bring Wireless Charging To UK Cars

By TechRadar News

 

Powermat has announced a new partnership with General Motors that will see wireless charging make its way to Ford, Vauxhall and Saab cars in Europe.

Wireless in-car charging will debut in the US in the Chevrolet Volt and will be making its way to European motors at some point.

Although timescales are vague, Powermat tells us that the technology could be available in the UK by the end of this year.

Coupling

The company has also announced that it will be working with Qualcomm to develop the technology needed for consumers to use a Powermat case with other brands’ mats, or vice versa.

Over in Vegas, the wireless charging company is also showing off how it has integrated Powermats into objects around the home, including furniture and white goods.

We can look forward to some new products from Powermat in the coming months; from in-car charging to new Powermats in various colours and a super-thin laptop electronics package.

Hopefully we’ll also be seeing a range of phones with Powermat inside, completely doing away with the need for an external case, as promised by the company last year.

(sources: www.techradar.com, 2011)