Every business is valuable, no matter how small it might be. It is definitely mandatory to take the necessary steps to safeguard information related to your business from hackers, thieves and so on and so forth.

While IT security might seem complex and expensive, the truth is that you can take a few simple steps to ensure that your information remains safe.

 

So, here are 3 simple security tips that you can implement with great effect:

 

#1: Encrypt your hard drive

The first thing that you should do is encrypt all the PCs in your company so that all the information remains protected. Of course, you have the option of encrypting certain folders as well but that wouldn’t as effective as protecting the entire drive. DiskCryptor and TrueCrypt are examples of software that can be used for this purpose at no cost.

 

#2: Find A Password Manager

Using the same password across several sites can be a disaster and which could entail financial loss and identity theft as well. So, instead of having to remember the different passwords that you have for all your accounts, use a Password Manager. Some examples of Password Manager software includes Sticky Password Pro, Roboform and LastPass.

 

#3: Stay Updated at all times

It goes without saying that your PCs should have the latest security patches and the software updates. For this purpose, ensure that Windows Update is configured to download updates periodically and correctly too. Also, check regularly for failed updates or download errors. This goes for Oracle’s Java Runtime Environment, Adobe Reader and Apple QuickTime.

Depending on how much time you spend on a computer carrying out useful tasks give you a clear picture as to whether you are an expert user or a rookie.

Most expert users know how to spend their time and in all probability, leave earlier on Friday, thanks to getting their work done faster in the process.

With that said, here are 5 time-saving tricks for PC users:

#1: Use InboxZero to Organize Email

For every minute that you spend sending emails, you lose at least five minutes looking for some. This is why it is imperative to save time by organizing email, and an excellent application that can help you do that is InboxZero.

#2: Learn MS Office Keyboard Shortcuts

If you compare the time spent in using a mouse as opposed to keystroke combinations, any expert user will tell you that the latter saves you time – hands down! Windows has a lot of them that you can use for virtually any task. If you don’t not want to look at a cheat sheet, no problem – try KeyRocket, which will make suggestions while you work.

#3: Speed up Your PC with a disk visualizer

Make it a point to clear up your disk space by using software such as WizTree, for example, which performs scans of your hard drive and tell you where your space is being used up in excess.

#4: Use online storage and syncing for your files

Using online storage to store and sync your files can save you time with everything that you need at your fingertips. It doesn’t make sense to switch computers, and email yourself the files that you need, right?

Experts are positive, for the most part, when it comes to Google Chrome’s security features. However, Google Chrome does have it weaknesses if you don’t take the necessary steps to beef up security.

So here are 3 tips so as to browse the internet with Google Chrome safely:

#1: Use Google’s Privacy Features

Google Chrome offers features such as phishing, autocorrect and malware-protection. All you have to do is get to Settings, Privacy and Advanced Settings to get there. Check the boxes labeled “Use a web service to help resolve navigation errors” and “Use a web service to help resolve spelling errors” as well as “Enable phishing and malware protection”. As a precautionary measure, try disabling JavaScript.

#2: Keep your credit card details and password safe

Allowing Chrome to save your passwords means giving other people who use your system access to your personal information. Simple solutions include not allowing other to use your Windows account but enabling the Guest account or even enabling the Standard account instead.

Alternatively, you can password-protect Chrome if you don’t want to create another Windows account, and that can be done by installing extensions such as Secure Profile, ChromePW and Browser Lock.

#3: Protect Your Google Account

When you use Chrome’s sync feature, you can also add another layer of security to protect your Google account, if you use a lot of its services. For this, enable Google’s 2-step verification process and which need you to enter a code received by email or text when you access your Google account from another computer or mobile device.

Even if you’re a user of LinkedIn along with the 200 million others, there’s every chance that you aren’t using all of the features of this business and career networking service.

Staying in touch with your LinkedIn is probably a good idea despite the fact that you aren’t looking for a job as it will give you that competitive edge while also giving your boss something to think about in terms of your value as an employee too.

So, here are 5 easy steps to becoming a LinkedIn power user:

Step 1: Polish Your Profile
The professional profile is the most important element of LinkedIn. It’s often the most neglected part as well. Even if it is where you display your skills, education and work experience, it’s a good idea to add some personality and most importantly – up to date.

Step 2: Stay and Get Connected
LinkedIn is very valuable in the sense that you get and stay connected with people that you might have worked with, met sometime back, did business with or even were in a collaboration with. Of course, this works only if you stay in touch with each other.

Apart from this, you can even search for contacts that you might have made through email – only ones that have lasting value. Also, make sure that you send personalized messages.

Step 3: Get Search-Savvy
Just typing keywords related to your job search won’t suffice. You have to do more than that. For example, use the Advanced People Search feature and look for the hiring manager or for people who are in the department you want to work with. Look if you are connected to any of these people or better still, ask for an introduction if you can.

Step 4: Join a Number of LinkedIn Groups
Joining LinkedIn Groups is one of the best ways to connect with professionals from your industry and keep in touch with the latest happenings but most of all, they can help you find employment. Apart from that, they can not only help you expand your network but also gain a lot of influence within your industry.

Almost everyone knows how to share a Dropbox folder but usually aren’t aware of the options available to them. For one, you don’t need an account to gain access to files but really only an internet connection and a browser.

Which brings us to the ways in which one can share files on Dropbox: a regular share as well as a share link.

The first approach requires both users to have a Dropbox account, and for one person to invite another, which when accepted, will be able to access the contents of the folder that you’ve shared with them. In fact, if you change the contents in the folder, these changes get synced in both folders.

Since this requires one to have a Dropbox folder of their own, if the files that you wish to access are larger than 2 GB, you might need to subscribe for a paid account that offers you more space.

And which brings us to the second way by which we can share files using Dropbox. All you have to do is locate the shared link to the folder and send it to the people who would like to access its contents.

Of course, this won’t work in cases where you have to edit documents in the folder, and which is why you’ll have to use the first method instead.

As for locating the share link, right-click a folder or file within your Dropbox account, and select ‘Dropbox’ from the drop-down list as well as ‘Share link’. There’s another way of accessing this option, and which is simply locating the ‘Share Link’ to the right of the folder in your Dropbox account.

Even if the hotel you are staying in offers you free Wi-fi, there’s always a chance that it is slow and unreliable. What’s for sure, however, is that you cannot depend on it to get your work done not unless you make arrangements for an internet connection, by other means.

With that said, here are 4 ways to deal with unreliable hotel Wi-Fi:

#1: Request the front desk to reset the router
In some cases, there might a problem with the router. Call the front desk and inform them that you can’t access the network. In fact, ask them to reset the router. After you’ve spoken with them, wait for 5-10 minutes and then try to reconnect.

#2: Find an Ethernet option
Some hotel rooms have an Ethernet cord or port which can help you jack into the network without needing to access the Wi-Fi offered by the hotel. If you want to share this connection with your tablet, you can use Connectify Hotspot – a popular software router. You can plan for this by carrying a travel router such as TP-LINK TL-WR702N.

#3: Use your phone’s hotspot feature
Most Android phones and iPhones have a mobile-hotspot feature which can accessed by a mere pinch. All you have to do is contact your carrier to check if they have such an option and how much it will cost you on a monthly basis.

#4: Try wardriving
You can use your favorite Wi-Fi finder app so as to find other wireless networks whether at the nearest coffee shop or even at another hotel.

Almost everyone who uses Windows 8 for the first time feels confused about the new Metro UI, with the omission of the ‘Start’ button being one of the widely discussed topics.

Another aspect that has been overlooked in recent times is how one can uninstall an app although, and quite obviously, the converse seems much simpler.

Even if you go the Charms bar and open ‘Settings’ or even open ‘Change PC Settings’, you won’t find what you need there. Nor will you find a way to uninstall apps using the Control Panel either.

Yet the answer to this question is based on the fact as to whether you have a mouse for your desktop or not. If you are using a desktop, then all you have to do is position the cursor on the tile, right-click and then select ‘Uninstall’ that is at the bottom of the list that appears when you right-click.

But what if you are using a touchscreen device, which obviously doesn’t have a ‘mouse’?

For most people, the answer would be to tap and hold the tile, and which would bring up the toolbar as mentioned earlier, when you use a mouse.

But that’s not the case. What you will have to do with is not only tap and hold the tile but also drag it down a bit and after which, release it. You will see a small check mark at the corner of the tile along with the tool bar down below.

Finally, tap the ‘Uninstall’ option and you’re done.

It’s a known fact that when it comes browser speed as well as the use of JavaScript, both Mozilla and Safari cannot compete with Google Chrome.

Despite the fact that Chrome is faster than most browsers, it must be said that there are ways to speed it up even more and specifically, by the use of power extensions.

In order get these extensions, the first step is to update your Chrome browser to the latest version. Next, visit the Chrome Store where you can find them.

Three extensions to look for and that serve this purpose very well are: Chrome Toolbox, Fastest Chrome and Google Quick Scroll, and so let’s look at each them.

#1: FastestChrome

As the name FastestChrome suggest, this extension allows you save a few seconds every time you surf the web. For one, when you highlight a word, this extension will provide the explanation of a word while also giving you the option of looking up that on four search engines such as Google, DuckDuckGo, Surf Canyon and Wikipedia. Also, it’s Endless pages feature loads other pages without you have having to click ‘Next’ and waste time.

#2: Chrome Toolbox

If you’re looking for any particular search term on a website, this extension helps you do that easily. So, every time you click on a search link, a text box containing the term will appear on the top right hand corner of your screen, and will take you to that part of the website where the search term if found.

#3: Google Quick Scroll

Among the things that Google Quick Scroll can do, you can open multiple bookmarks with a single click, magnify images and text in your browser but also be able to cache unsubmitted form data so as to prevent typing it again.