The Future of Computing

I’m constantly amazed at what the advancements in technology have done for the average American consumer. Watching interactive movies on DVD, navigation and entertainment systems in cars – these didn’t even exist 10 years ago. Just think what the next 10 years will bring!

Every year PC Magazine devotes an entire issue to the future of technology. Here are just a few items that are currently being developed in research laboratories around the world. You can see the rest of the articles in their September 3^rd issue, or go to their web site at www.pcmag.com/futuretech.

The Bellaire Arts and Crafts Festival is this Saturday, October 19^th, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on the Bellaire Ave. esplanade just outside of the 610 Loop. We have a booth where we will print custom mouse pads for you while you wait. We’ll have a digital camera to take a picture of your loved ones, and we will have art supplies so they can create a masterpiece that can be printed onto a mouse pad for you in just a few minutes. We will also be giving away the digital camera to a lucky registrant (new customers only, please.) So come out this Saturday to see and create your own art!

HAR Realtor^® Expo

The Houston Association of Realtors^® is having their Expo this Thursday, October 17^th, at the Reliant Center. Their goal is to attract thousands of HAR REALTOR members to have fun, network, learn about the newest ideas and items that will help make you money and enjoy delicious food and drink. We will have a booth to show Realtors how we can take care of your computer frustrations in your office or home. So come by Booth #505 to pick up a certificate for one free hour of on-site consulting and register for another digital camera giveaway (new customers only, please.)

Spyware – The New Security Threat

SearchCIO.com defines spyware is any technology that aids in gathering information about a person or organization without their knowledge. On the Internet, spyware is programming that is put in someone's computer to secretly gather information about the user and relay it to advertisers or other interested parties. Spyware can get in a computer as a software virus or as the result of installing a new program. Data collecting programs that are installed with the user's knowledge are not, properly speaking, spyware, if the user fully understands what data is being collected and with whom it is being shared.

The cookie is a well-known mechanism for storing information about an Internet user on his or her own computer. However, the existence of cookies and their use is generally not concealed from users, who can also disallow access to cookie information. Nevertheless, to the extent that a Web site stores information about you in a cookie that you don't know about, the cookie mechanism could be considered a form of spyware. DoubleClick, a leading banner ad serving company, changed its plans to combine cookie information with database information from other sources to target ad campaigns directly to individuals without their permission. DoubleClick's current policy is not to collect "personally-identifiable" information about a user without their explicit permission or "opt-in."

Aureate Media, which distributes free software on the Web in exchange for the right to gather user information, is another company that has been criticized for not plainly indicating what data it gathers and for making it difficult to remove its programming.

“Pests” is the collective term used to describe non-viral malicious code - trojans, remote administration tools, hacker tools, and spyware. Such code can stealthily gain access to and hide on computer systems, bypassing traditional security measures such as anti-virus, firewalls, and intrusion detection systems.

Pests can allow unauthorized users to breach firewalls and access sensitive data by assuming the identity of authorized users. Pests can then allow unauthorized third parties and disgruntled insiders to access electronic assets (customer database, financial records, intellectual property, trade secrets), compromise existing security, destroy customer confidence, and expose individuals and organizations to litigation.

Pests are fundamentally different from viruses, and so the technology required to detect and remove them is fundamentally different from anti-virus software. All pests share these common characteristics: most people don't know anything about them, didn't invite them in, don't know they are present, and don't want them in their system. With thousands of files in today's computers, no one could be expected to know what every single one does. And, without the technology to help find pests, they can live and thrive in your system for a long time before anyone finds out they're there – by which time it may be too late. Pests have the potential to create even greater damage than viruses - including significant loss of business, legal liability, and public relations nightmares.

To remove pests and spyware from your computer, we recommend using Pest Patrol. You can download an evaluation version or purchase the program at www.pestpatrol.com. Please send us an e-mail or call us if you have any questions or concerns about spyware and/or pests.

Half Price Copiers

Why pay full price? How about half price – or less? The goal of Half Price Copiers is to provide our customers with the best performing trouble-free copiers in the industry at the best possible value.

Call Half Price Copiers to get exactly the features you need on current model copiers that have been used for only a few months and have been recovered through loan or lease default. Reconditioned units are also available for companies seeking even lower cost. These are “low mileage” and carefully chosen.

We are so confident in the performance of these systems that we offer a five-year (60 month) performance guarantee. This means if we cannot repair your copier, we will replace it at no cost to you for the same or similar model. Now that’s a guarantee!