Welcome to the September edition of the Geeks2U newsletter!
In this month's newsletter we take a look at five steps you can take to protect your PC from hackers. We also take a quick look at how hacking may have become a more noble career choice for some. Don't forget to check out this month's gadget. It's one item that's a must-have for any serious computer user.
If you'd like more information about anything in this edition of our newsletter, or would like to recommend a topic for an article, just drop us an email at
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| Hackers and You - 5 Steps to Protect Yourself
With the state of computer technologies today, it’s quite often that you hear about hackers or breaches of computer security. In some cases a hacker may breach a computer to steal files or personal information. Whilst this does happen, it is fairly rare.
More often, an unscrupulous person will hack into a computer just to use the computers resources. Luckily protecting yourself from these computer hijackers isn’t difficult. In fact, simply by paying attention to the following points you will greatly reduce the chances of this problem happening to you.
- Email Attachments – Never open email attachments unless you are expecting the file to be sent. Even if the email comes from someone you know, their PC could be hijacked and the file could be malicious in nature.
- Installing Software – Don’t just blindly install software that you download off the Internet. Make sure you know where the software came from, that the company who produced it is reputable, and that you can be reasonably sure the file came from the company’s web site and not an outside source.
- Keep Your PC Updated – Whether you run a Mac or a PC, keeping your operating system up-to-date will ensure that as security holes are found, you plug them! Updates usually take care of the latest security issues.
- Run a Firewall – Never connect to the Internet without a firewall in place. This simple piece of software will automatically block incoming intrusions from your Internet Service Provider’s network.
- Backup Important Files – As a final step, you should always keep a copy of important files somewhere other than your PC. A simple USB hard drive or a USB storage key will allow you to keep your data backed up and safe.
With these five simple steps you will increase the security of your PC, and you’ll greatly reduce the chances of a hacker making use of your computer resources.
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| Hacking a noble profession, Really?
Surely, hacking couldn’t be considered a noble career choice, or could it?
As far as career choices are concerned, the job of a hacker may not be a first choice for most. Possible jail-time, disdain from society, and a life in hiding with multiple fake identities just isn't appealing to most of us. For some hackers though, the job has recently become more lucrative, and their work a little nobler.
According to time magazine, in 2006 banks around the world started to see the value in hiring hackers. Having long-been the main target for many of the big hackers of society, the banks began to pay these would-be thief’s to try and steal data from their systems. Over the past couple of years this business has grown, and continues to grow quickly.
Of course the purpose of hiring ethical hackers is to help the banks discover security holes and plug them before the unscrupulous hackers find them. These ethical hackers spend their days trying to find holes in the security systems and get into the banks customer and account databases, and they get paid well for doing it.
Hacking may not be the noblest of career choices, but for some hackers at least, it's now an honest profession.
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| Gadget of the Month
Hitachi or Verbatim External Hard Drive - 2.5", 320GB, USB
For those looking for an external storage solution, this month's gadget is a perfect fit.
The USB powered, 2.5" 320GB Portable hard drive, is travel friendly and simple to use.
At only 2.5" in width this USB hard drive can easily be kept in your pocket or laptop bag, and with 320GB of storage you'll have backup space to spare. The drive comes with simple-to-use backup software that makes backing up as simple as plugging the drive into a free USB port.
Whether you need a good external backup, or you just need some extra file storage, these portable drives are definitely worth checking out.
For more information enquire directly to
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Gadget Price: $139
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| Geeks2U Employee of the Month
Name: Emily Williams
Tell us about yourself ?
Love my art and music, the beach, friends and old things like my car – which breaks down a lot and leaves me stranded.
Hobbies/Interests?
Art, Music, Photography
Piece of Technology you can’t live without?
My iphone – I love it.
What you do at Geeks and for how long?
I have been a Customer Service representative for 4 months now.
What do you like the most about Geeks?
My colleagues and friendly work environment.
Recommended favourite YouTube video?
Forever Young by Youth Group – Music Video
Recommended/favourite website?
Deviantart.com and photobucket.com
5 Seconds with Emily Williams
Google or Yahoo?
Google
Playstation or Wii?
Hmmm... Wii
Laptop or Desktop?
Laptop
Myspace or Facebook?
Facebook
Apple or PC?
Apple
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remote computer repairs and technology support from Geeks2U
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