FREE Security Consultation - VIPRE Premium!

If you are a client of ODI and/or if you have been following our blog, you may have heard us talk about VIPRE. VIPRE is an Antivirus and Antispyware program developed by Sunbelt Software in Clearwater FL. If you are already using the system, you know why we swear by it.

Recently Sunbelt released an all new version called VIPRE Premium. This version incorporates new technologies and additional layers of security to offer you unsurpassed protection --keep your computer system(s) safe and secure from malicious software and internet-borne threats. Some of these new features include an enhanced firewall, web filtering with the ability to block known bad sites, and intrusion detection and prevention.

In an upcoming blog, we will talk more about these different points of protection and why they are essential. At ODI we are committed to enhancing our client’s security and are here to help ensure that your computers and network remain safe from outside intrusion. ODI has partnered with Sunbelt Software to be able to provide our clients with this cutting edge technology. Don’t wait until your system(s) and data have been compromised! Contact us for a FREE Security Consultation for your computer or network, to verify that your current security solutions are doing the job.

Sunbelt offers a wide range of security products for home users, as well as small to large businesses—all of which are extremely competitively priced. Contact us today for a free quote.

ODI is offering a special promotion now through April – receive a FREE copy of this software with your next security-related service call. Simply call or email our office (info@odiconsulting.com ) to book an ODI technician and mention the Vipre Promo*. Your technician will install this software FREE of charge!

*Vipre Promo valid with any billable system service call. Promo must be requested at time of service call booking.

Kids in Manatee and around world log on for World Math Day

Check out this news article from the Bradenton Herald!
~Kids in Manatee and around world log on for World Math Day~

Math x millions = fun - Education - BradentonHerald.com

What a great way to encourage our children to look past generations of boundries and meet and learn with other children from across the world!

A little good news for small businesses?

A little good news on the ‘small business’ front!!! (See article about employment figures for small business).
Written and posted originally from Chris Crum of Smallbusinessnewz:

Tuesday, March 02, 2010
Intuit, the software vendor responsible for such popular financial software like Quicken, QuickBooks, and TurboTax, has released its monthly report, the Small Business Employment Index. The main finding of this month's report is that small businesses are showing signs of an economic rebound. The findings were based on data from businesses with fewer than 20 employees (87% of the total US private employer base). Do you think employment is turning around? "Employment for these small businesses began trending upward in mid-2009, a good sign for the overall economy," said Dr. Susan Woodward, the economist who worked with Intuit to create the index.

"This index is an indicator that the small business employment situation may be getting better," she added. "Small businesses generally recover faster than larger businesses because they begin hiring sooner than big businesses. To see these figures showing a rise in employment at small businesses is very heartening at a time when good news is scarce."

Employment among these businesses has declined overall since December 2007, but the most recent month-over-month change was up 0.2% (on a "seasonally adjusted basis"). It is only the latest in an upward trend since mid-2009. According to Intuit's findings, employment grew nearly 0.8% over the past eight months, which is 1.1% at an annual rate, translating into nearly 40,000 new jobs for February and about 150,000 new jobs since June 2009.

Intuit also found that monthly average compensation per employee has been flat since September 2008, and it remained relatively flat in February at $2,559, down by 0.1% compared to January. Hourly employees worked an average of 101.4 hours in February. Intuit surveyed about 50,000 small businesses to obtain this information.

Social Networking

The other day, my daughter told me that she’s been challenging and having Math wars with other students from around the world. This is a teaching tool the school encouraged and that she’s able to do from home as well as school. She’s been meeting other kids from Egypt, Haiti, Kuwait, and others! I got to thinking, “Who are these kids?” “How old are they?” “Are they being supervised?”

I happened to run across this article in the office and thought best to share with all of you!

2007 Federal Trade Commission printed the following:
SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES: A PARENT’S GUIDE

“It’s 10 p.m. Do you know where your children are?”

Remember that phrase from your childhood? It’s still a valid question, but now it comes with a twist: “Do you know where your kids are – and who they’re chatting with online?”

Social Networking sites have become the mainstream for adults, teens, and now children. These sites encourage and enable people to exchange information about themselves, share pictures, videos, blogs, and use private messaging to communicate with friends and others who share interests.

When it comes to young kids, the law provides some protections and gives parents some control over the type of information that children can disclose online. For sites directed to children under 13, and for general audience site that know they’re working with younger children, there’s the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). It requires these sites to get parental consent before they collect, maintain, or uses kids’ information. COPPA also allows parents to review their children’s online profiles and blog pages.

Help kids socialize safely online! Talk to your teen and children about social networking sites and offer times for using the sites safely.

1. Help kids understand what information should be private. Information like their full names, address, phone numbers, and tell them not to choose a screen name that gives away too much personal information.

2. Use privacy settings to restrict who can access and post on your child’s website.

3. Remind kids that once they post information online, they can’t take it back!

4. Talk to your kids about bullying. Online bullying can take many forms from spreading rumors online and posting or forwarding private messages without the senders okay. Tell your kids that the words they type and the images they post can have real-world consequences.

5. Go where your kids go online. Sign up for, and use, the networking sites they use.

6. Review your kid’s friends list.

7 . Tell your kids to trust their gut! Most sites have links where users can report abusive, suspicious, or inappropriate online behavior.

For more information, check out Federal Trade Commission: www.onguardonline.gov
To get free information on consumer issues visit ftc.gov or call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357)

Quotes

I like quotes. They can be meaningful, spiritual, something to ponder, and something to laugh about.

Since I haven't posted anything for the last month I figured I'd switch things up a bit and share a few quotes related to computers!

1. The great thing about a computer notebook is that no matter how much you stuff into it, it doesn't get bigger or heavier. ~ Bill Gates

2. Home computers are being called upon to perform many new functions, including the consumption of homework formerly eaten by the dog. ~ Doug Larson

3. To err is human, but to really foul things up requires a computer. ~ Farmers Almanac

4. In a few minutes a computer can make a mistake so great that it would have taken many men months to equal it. ~ Unknown

5. The more you know, the more you realize you know nothing.~Socrates

6. Pessimists, we’re told, look at a glass containing 50% air and 50% water and see it as half empty. Optimists, in contrast, see it as half full. Engineers, of course, understand the glass is twice as big as it needs to be. ~ Bob Lewis

7. Commenting your code is like cleaning your bathroom — you never want to do it, but it really does create a more pleasant experience for you and your guests. ~ Ryan Campbell

8. SUPERCOMPUTER: what it sounded like before you bought it.

9. 1f u c4n r34d th1s u r34lly n33d t0 g37 l41d

10. To go forward, you must backup.

So, until next time.....Enjoy

Data Backup

You never know do you? You never can tell when your computer is going to crash and then, just in that single moment, you realize......Why didn't I backup my information!?

Funny thing, one of our ODI technician was called out to a job for standard computer repair. While onsite, he and the client began discussing data backup and that any backup is beter than no back up. The client recalled she had actuallay performed a quick backup onto a USB; the problem though was that it was crushed into several small peices!

ODI can perform most data recovery on various types of media; hard drives, CD's, DVD's, Flash Drives, etc.

Check out the ingenuity...... In a short moment, we were pulling data and saving a backup for the backup! Great Job!!

Happy New Year - Welcome 2010!!

Happy New Year to Everyone!

As ODI welcomes in the New Year we would like to wish everyone a happy New Year and may it be a prosperous one! It’s the end of an era and 2009 has been a rough year for many and ODI owes a big Thank You to to all of it's partners and clients. You have been a major contributor to ODI's success and we thank you! Hopefully 2010 is going to be an exciting year for us. There are going to be many new products and technologies emerging this year and along with them will be technical challenges to overcome. We can't wait for them and we look forward to the challenge!

ODI can help you and your company stay in tune with new technologies in 2010. ODI offer's free evaluations of the technologies you have in your home or business and can make recommendations of new technologies to increase not only productivity, but enjoyment as well. ODI also offers Web Design and Hosting solutions ranging from personal web pages to large-scale enterprise and e-commerce solutions. Give us a call and we will conduct a free analysis of your web site and meet with you to discuss how we can help maximize its potential. Your website should be making you money, not costing you money. If you are experiencing problems with your computers or networking on your home or business ODI is here to help. Highly skilled technicians are standing by to solve your problems.

Remember, whatever your needs may be this year ODI is here for you!