La Piazza

Published by Leyre Velasco

Summer is finally here and online security and the protection of your computer is something that you must take seriously.

That’s why we would like to remind you of the 10 golden rules to protect your computer.

1. We love telling our friends what we are doing (Twitter, Facebook,… ). But remember: Don’t reveal any information about where you are going or if you do, don’t disclose how long you’ll be away during your vacation. Thieves are always lurking.
2. Keep your antivirus enabled and update it regularly.
   

   Security tips for the summer

3. Delete all unnecessary files and clear your computer history. Your computer will work better.
4. Configure your computer so that the Operating System updates are automatically installed.
5. Use your common sense. If you receive an email message with attachments from a dubious source, delete it.
6. Be careful when surfing the web. Avoid downloading programs from unknown websites. And even if you know the source, stay alert and take all necessary precautions before opening them.
7. Keep only those applications you really use. We all like to download and try programs that may seem attractive but… By the end of the year you usually end up with a lot of installed programs that you never use again after the first time. Remember that each of these programs may slow down your PC. Therefore, keep only those programs you normally use and you will improve your computer’s performance.
8. Be careful when you connect removable (USB) drives to your computer. They are a real source of infection.  You can use our Panda USB Vaccine to avoid any risks.
9. Do not answer any email messages that ask for your personal financial data. A bank will never request your personal data via email. Cyber-crooks use alarming message subjects and bodies like: “Urgent: Your account data has been stolen”, in order to get an answer from you.
10. Back up the content of your system so that you minimize the risk of losing it in the event of damage or theft.

Remember that the Panda Security TechSupport Forum is always at your service to resolve any technical queries, even during your vacation.

Have a great summer!

I’ve got a friend that is totally computer illiterate. Hard to believe, uh? Yes, we’ve gone to the same school, hung around the same places, shared similar likings, watched the same TV programmes,…, but she’s never touched a computer in her life. I’ll call her ‘Jane’ (not Jane Doe). Jane runs her business, in quite a successful way. She’s a hard worker, has been through difficult days in her life and fallen several times. But with effort, some luck and a lot of will, she finally established a business that pays her bills. And at the end of the month she still has money to spend in any “idontneedthisbutIreallylikeit” thing.

She has never visited Facebook or MySpace or Tuenti. She hasn’t ever been connected to Internet. She doesn’t have an email account. All the accounting of her business is recorded on a small notebook, using a pen (not a pencil, no need to erase). Her workers are happy with her -most of the time- and she says she’s happy with the way she lives. I tried once to teach Jane to run her business using an Excel spreadsheet (a minimum…). So I turned on my computer, showed her the screen and put her hand on the mouse. She panicked!. Minutes later, she came with her notebook on her hands and waved it at me, asking if the computer could make her make more money than the notebook. I replied that it was not the main use of Excel, that it was a way of organizing her things, her accounts, income, and so on.

Then she pointed a finger to her right temple and said ‘A computer is no better than my head, everything I need is inside here!’. I just laughed, she’s one of my best friends and a great woman, what could I say…

Posted by Ana

Just for fun!! Tech Support for Dad by Tom Smith

It had been a long ass work week, it had been a long ass day, I was hoping I could just go home and sleep the night away, But the message waiting for me was the worst a man could know: “Hi there, son, could you call me back? My computer’s running slow.” There are bamboo shoots and water torture, German blondes named Gert, Films with Adam Sandler and lots of other things that hurt, But it’s not my job or girlfriend that finally drove me mad, I’ve been on the phone long-distance doing tech support for Dad.

It took seven tries to get him to the Start menu and Run, He had Bonzi Buddy, Comet Cursor, and Quicktime 3.1. I said I’d try to find out if his firewall had been breached, Turned out he’d bought this Compaq before Clinton was impeached.

Service packs and driver updates, he needs every single thing, And he gets online by dial-up, so he might be done by spring, But he trusts that I can fix it, his beloved college grad, Never mind it was in Russian, now I’m tech support for Dad.

After thirty seven reboots and a dozen clean installs My room is trashed, my plants are dead, and there’s green slime on the walls But his ‘puter’s running smoothly, I can finally get away, When he says, “Oh, son, one more thing — how do you sell stuff on eBay?”

Here’s a pox on all programmers puttin’ crapware on your shelves, May you have to teach your programs to your dads by phone yourselves, There’s the Normandy Invasion, and the Siege of Leningrad, And the special hell filling in for Dell as tech support for Dad.

Now I’ve built him a computer, nothing can get in or out, The firewall’s adamantium, and the drives are sealed with grout, And if this one starts to run slow, well, that’s just too damn bad, ‘Cause I’d rather shave my eyeballs than do tech support for Dad. Tech support for Dad. Tech support for Dad. 

Hang on, son — your mom wants to know how to set up a web page.”

Most of us will accumulate all kinds of obsolete technology at home or in the office:

• Computers that are no longer used.
• Laptops with missing keys or that have simply been replaced with a newer, lighter one.
• Mobile phones replaced by others with more features.

What can you do with these obsolete elements?

Below we offer several ideas that will benefit you and society.

Let us see how:

Dump them in the bin? No, to start with, that is not ecologically responsible. 

If you dial public service inquiries in your area, they will probably be able to tell you where to deposit any such devices so they can be correctly disposed of or recycled. And by doing this:

1. Many materials in your computer or laptop can be reused, preventing the release of damaging elements into the environment, such as nickel, cadmium, lithium, cobalt, copper, coltan, iron, aluminum, titanium, etc.
2. You will be responsibly disposing of other potentially toxic and dangerous waste.
3. You will have more free space at home.

We would like to draw your attention to initiatives such as Oxfam’s, which consists of collecting computers / mobile phones to be reused in developing countries. And at no cost! Oxfam can even sell these devices in order to purchase tools, schoolbooks, etc.

You’ll find more information on their website:

http://www.oxfam.org.uk/get_involved/recycle/index.html
http://www.oxfam.org.uk/get_involved/recycle/computers.html

Not a bad idea, is it?

Would you like to share this kind of initiatives with us? Please send them to us and we will discuss them.

Blanca Carton