CMIT’s cyber-security team helps companies monitor, recover stolen property

Posted today in the Sacramento Business Journal today. CMIT's team of computer support professionals use special monitoring tools to track down thieves that stole PC's from Folsom's Prowest Insurance Services (www.prowestins.com). Yeah! See the link here to the Business Journal. You only get part of the story unless you're a subscriber to the Biz Journal. We'll post the full story once we have it. http://sacramento.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/2009/11/23/story10.html.

4 Do's & Don'ts Every Business Owner Should Know About Windows 7

Windows 7, Microsoft’s new operating system, just released in October, and with all the

advertising buzz that Microsoft has created, many business owners are looking to know

more about it. Here’s a list of Do’s and Don’ts for helping to determine whether or not a

Windows 7 upgrade makes sense for you.

DO – Find out if all your software programs will be compatible.

Anytime Microsoft creates a new operating system, software companies often scramble to

make their package work properly with it so there are no errors, glitches, or data corruption

(a.k.a “your information deleted”). Some software companies are faster and better at

this than others, so be sure to check with your software manufacturer to make sure you

won’t end up with more problems than when you started.

DON’T – Hold back from getting the new computers you need.

Maybe you want to wait until Windows 7 gets any bugs out. Or, maybe it’s because you’re

worried about buying a computer now that will be considered “old” when Windows 7 is

officially released. Good news is: you don’t have to wait. For a limited time, when you buy

from Microsoft-approved vendors, your new computer purchase will come with the ability

to upgrade to Windows 7 for free, giving you the flexibility to have the upgrade option now

and install it when you choose. Also, if you participate in Microsoft’s “Software Assurance”

program for your operating system, you’ll be entitled to the new version for free as well.

DO – Know how to “shake” it.

Have you ever had a bunch of windows open on your

computer and felt like it was out of control and you

couldn’t find anything? Then Windows 7 might be for you.

Because it is designed to really save time for people who work

on multiple documents, spreadsheets, and/or web pages at

once, it solves this problem by allow you to simply vigorously

shake your mouse and make all those open Windows drop

to the bottom of the screen and clear up your workspace. In

addition to the “shake” feature, Windows 7 also make it easier

to view and use two programs side-by-side with just one click.

DON’T – Expect miracles.

Windows 7 does indeed make using your computer faster, since

many of the features Microsoft has rolled out help business owners

and their teams work on multiple things at once easier

than ever before. Initial studies are showing that it might add

1-2 hours of productivity to your week over previous versions.

But if you expect Windows 7 to actually do the work for you, you may

be disappointed.

Need more answers? Feel free to give us a call at (916) 984-6243.

4 Cool Things That Windows 7 Does that Vista Does Not!

Windows 7 is getting rave reviews from our staff. I anticipate that Vista will go by the wayside very quickly. Vista was full of issues & no one (including our staff @ CMIT Solutions) ever wanted to install it if we could avoid it (and we generally always could)!

As a primer for getting you ready for Windows 7 & start to build the reasons why you should upgrade, you are 4 cool things that Windows 7 does that Vista (and XP) does not:

1. XP Mode

This time, you do not have to slap your head that same way when Vista would not run an XP application. For those XP applications that do not work under Windows 7, you can download XP Mode free from the Microsoft website and run XP applications in an emulated XP environment in Windows 7. Imagine Parallels on Mac OS X without the need to fish out money on an extra OS.

2. Problem Steps Recorder

The 'Problem Steps Recorder' lets you record a particular problem you are having with your PC so you can send it to someone who may be able to help. Click 'Record', and a screenshot is taken with every mouse click, allowing comments to be added in between if required. These screenshots (and comments, if any) are placed in a well-formatted HTML document that is placed inside a zipped folder on your desktop - ideal to be attached to an email.

3. Jumplists

Jumplists are a new feature that give you the option to view a list of recently accessed files by application, even when the application isn't open, by right-clicking on the application's icon in the taskbar. It also allows you to quickly access a favourite playlist without opening your media player. Jumplists can also be found integrated into the Start Menu.

4. A Step Forward in Previewing

In Vista, hovering over a minimised window on the taskbar would provide a preview of the window. In Windows 7, a similar preview pops up which also gives the option to close a window (within the preview), along with a full-size 'peek'. You can also press Win + T to scroll along previews in the taskbar.

While any of these on their own isn't a reason for upgrading to Windows 7 for your new PC, it's starting to (finally) look like it's going to be time to get off of XP pretty soon & move into something actually developed within the last 8 years! :-)

How to Troubleshoot a PC Issue

This is pretty much 1/2 of our job! (maybe it's a little more complicated than that)

If websites were people...

Thought that this was a decent representation of some of the popular websites these days...

Click on the image to make it bigger!

Is paper organization a problem in your office?

The summer is almost over (at least for my purposes)! The kids are going back to school and none too soon. We were given lists by the respective (2nd grade and Kindergarten) teachers for the basics that are needed as well as what to expect for the year. We are working to organize those necessities to put our kids in the position to succeed with the least amount of stress as possible.

Organization of files (paper or electronic) is certainly a challenge for many of us and understanding how you want to find the documents is a task to be undertaken (ideally) before you start throwing the papers into the binder, filing cabinets or electronic folders. Earlier this summer I cleaned out an entire four drawer filing cabinet of papers, statements, receipts and such in my home office. I freed up floor space that now I can decide to fill or keep open. What a relief to have streamlined my document organization. And now, CMIT Solutions of Sacramento can work with businesses in this arena of electronic document management!


I am proud and excited to announce that CMIT Solutions of Sacramento now provides for our clients an eco-friendly paperless solution that helps to streamline paper processes, improve organization and last but not least, increase productivity.

Doing the Math - Ask yourself the following questions:
• On an annual basis, how much is spent on office supplies that allow you to print documents, file documents and store documents? Hint: computer paper for printing, toner cartridges and maintenance of your printer(s), postage to mail documents, filing cabinets and so on.
• If you were to measure the amount of square footage used for filing cabinets and storing of office supplies needed for documentation, how much square footage would that be and what is the dollar value of that office space?
• Is your firm required - due to the nature of your business - to comply with such governmental regulations set by the SEC, FINRA or HIPAA?

Electronic document management (EDM) is becoming more and more important (and required in some instances) to our clients. Paper is the biggest obstacle businesses encounter in reducing costs, improving service and increasing productivity. Companies around the world have realized that manual and paper-based processes for managing mission critical documents are inefficient and expensive.

EDM is the medium of today for developing eco-friendly, cost effective and efficient workflow.
EDM delivers a smart, flexible and easily integrated solution to proactively capture, manage and protect your valuable business data.

Look for more to come on how eFileCabinet works and for all different industries. Contact Thor at (916) 984-6243 or by emai @ SacCentral@cmitsolutions.com l if your interest has been piqued by this new solution that may be a solution for your company.

Tweeting could land you in Jail!

The Associated Press reports that Guatemalan Jean Anleu may spend five years in a Guatemalan jail for his anti-government Twitter rant. It makes him the first person in the world to be arrested for a tweet!

Using his Internet alias “jeanfer,” Anleu advised Guatemalan depositors to “take cash out of Banrural and bankrupt the bank of the corrupt.” According to prosecutors, these words “illegally undermined” the banking system, violating a 2008 law enacted by the fledgling democratic government.

Foreign governments aren’t the only ones concerned about the use of social networking sites. Many US businesses are revising their acceptable use policies regarding company-owned technology to include social networking. A recent survey estimated the annual cost to US businesses in lost wages due to personal use of technology on company time topped $1 billion.

FREE assistance with the creation or modification of acceptable use policies is one of the many benefits enjoyed by our CMIT Marathon clients.