COMPUTER HEALTH

When dealing with computers, dust isn't just unattractive—it can potentially destroy parts of your computer. By cleaning your computer regularly, you can help to keep it working properly and avoid expensive repairs.

CLEANING THE KEYBOARD

A dirty keyboard doesn't look nice and can cause your keyboard to not work properly. Dust, food, liquid, or other particles can get stuck underneath the keys, which can cause them not to work. Check your owner's manual to see if the manufacturer has provided you with instructions for your specific keyboard.

DEALING WITH LIQUIDS

If you spill liquid on the keyboard, quickly shut down the computer, and disconnect and turn the keyboard upside down to allow the liquid to drain.

If the liquid is sticky, you will need to hold the keyboard on its side under running water to rinse the sticky liquid away. Then, turn the keyboard upside down to drain for two days before reconnecting it. The keyboard may not be repairable at this point, but rinsing the sticky liquid off the keyboard is the only chance for it to be usable again. The best way to avoid this situation is to keep drinks away from the computer area.

CLEANING THE MOUSE

There are two main types of mouse: optical and mechanical. Each is cleaned in basically the same way, although the mechanical mouse requires a bit more work.

OPTICAL MOUSE; require no internal cleaning since there aren't any rotating parts; however, they can get sticky over time as dust collects near the light emitter. This can cause erratic cursor movement or prevent the mouse from working.

MECHANICAL MOUSE; are especially susceptible to dust and particles that can accumulate inside the mouse, which can make it difficult to track, or move, properly. If the mouse pointer does not move smoothly, the mouse may need to be cleaned.

Before you clean your mouse, check your owner's manual to see if the manufacturer has provided you with instructions for your specific mouse.

CLEANING THE MONITOR

Dirt, fingerprints, and dust can make your computer screen difficult to read; however, it's easy to clean your screen when needed. Although there are monitor-cleaning kits you can buy, they may damage your monitor if they are designed for a different type of monitor. For example, a monitor cleaner that is designed for glass screens may not work with some non-glass LCD screens. The safest method is simply to use a soft, clean cloth moistened with water.

NOTE: Do not use glass cleaner to clean a monitor. Many screens have anti-glare coatings that can be damaged by glass cleaner and do not spray any liquids directly onto the screen. The liquid could leak into the monitor and damage the internal components.

Before you clean your monitor, check your owner's manual to see if the manufacturer has provided you with instructions for your specific monitor.

From time to time, you should clean your computer case and the sides and back of the monitor to avoid buildup of dust and dirt.

Computers are often the most important single items that you can have, and having to reformat can mean a significant loss of time and information. In order to avoid the panic associated with file loss and/or corruption, a few preventative steps can be taken.

DO A MONTHLY CLEAN UP; each month, delete unneeded folders, and files. They take up useful memory, and if they become superfluous, can slow down your computer. If you're a pack rat and just can't seem to part with these files, save them to disk for future reference if needed.

CREATE SYSTEM RESTORE POINTS REGULARLY; Do this at least once a week. If weaker viruses are accidentally downloaded, the restore point will ensure that your data is recoverable.

CREATE BACKUP DISKS; backup any files that you use on a regular basis or files that are updated frequently. In the unfortunate event of a hard drive crash, you won't panic about lost work.

USE ANTI-SPYWARE SOFTWARE; these programs can rid your computer of unwanted spyware and malware.

UTILIZE ANTI-VIRUS PROTECTION; if you can't afford an anti-virus program (or don't want one because of the negative effects it can have on your computer), simply conduct a free online virus scan. Two of the most trusted scans are TrendMicro (http://housecall.trendmicro.com) and Panda (http://www.pandasoftware.com/activescan/com/activescan_principal.htm).

DELETE COOKIES; clear your cache after you sign off. These files are completely unnecessary, take up memory, and can allow spyware to invade your computer.

PERFORM A SCAN DISK OPERATION; periodically perform a scan disk to make sure that your files are all in working order. This scan should be performed about once a week.

DEFRAGMENT; defragmenting your computer will guarantee that your files are organized and your computer is running at optimal speeds. This should be done at least once a month.

CONSIDER FORMATTING YOUR HARD DRIVE; this should probably only be done if all of the above have been tried without success.

The last but not the least is to, stay away from websites that don't seem trustworthy this includes places like flash game sites, and blogs.

I hope you find this information very helpful? Your comments and questions are welcome. You can use the form below to contact me. THANKS

Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year…..Stay Blessed!!!

WHY INFORMATION SECURITY NEEDS MORE WOMEN

The Information Security field is not keeping up with the bad guys. And, that’s with companies throwing gobs of money, software, and equipment at the problem.

That said, the International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium (ISC)2 and the consulting firm of Frost & Sullivan feel they understand why digital bad guys are winning. Information-Security departments are not paying enough attention to company business objectives, they are unable to communicate effectively with other departments, and team members have a homogenous set of skills.

WOMEN UNDER REPRESENTED

The two organizations go on to explain why the situation is what it is in their report, Agents of Change: Women in the Information Security Profession [PDF]. Quite simply, the group feels there are not enough women in the Information-Security field. Women only represent 11 percent of the Information-Security workforce which is discordant with other professions where women are near parity with men. According to the report:

“In comparison to representative labor statistics—women in 2012 accounted for 46.9% of the United States total labor force and 51.5% of United States management, professional, and related positions—it is clearly evident that women, at just 11% of the Information-Security profession, are greatly under represented.”

The report did not go into detail as to why the dramatic difference, but did say it was crucial that the status quo change.

WHY WOMEN ARE NEEDED

As to why it is crucial to change the status quo, the report was clear. The expertise needed to get Information Security back on track requires skills that are not prevalent and not considered crucial by today’s Information-Security departments. The (ISC)2 news release for the report explains: “While technical skills are integral to developing a strong security posture within organizations, it's important to supplement the proper skills and perspectives necessary to make impactful businesses decisions.”

The news release then hints at why it is important to have qualified women working in Information Security: “The report findings demonstrate that the surveyed women believe a successful information security professional should maintain a variety of skills vs. surveyed men, who believe technical skills should be the priority.”

The group running the survey came to that conclusion based on how participants responded when asked to determine how important the following attributes were:

1.     Communication skills
2.     Broad understanding of the security field
3.     Awareness and understanding of the latest security threats
4.     Technical knowledge
5.     Security policy formulation and application
6.     Leadership skills
7.     Business management skills

Here are the results.

It may seem too close to call, but Michael Suby, author of the report and Vice President of Research at Frost & Sullivan spoke to the significance of the results:

“While graphically the differences seem slight, these differences are nevertheless statistically significant with the exception of technical knowledge—the sole category selected by a smaller percentage of women as very important or important. Our interpretation is that technical knowledge is not becoming less important; rather, other skills that cut across disciplines are growing in importance with both genders, but more so with women.”

Julie Peeler, Director of (ISC)2 explained to Tim Wilson of Dark Reading News why these attributes are increasingly important:

Security is becoming less about technology, and more about people—understanding their behavior, and protecting users as they do their work. The study shows that women tend to value skills such as communication and education—the skills that are currently in short supply.

The report alludes to it, but I want to come right out and say it. It is all about diversity. Ask any sociologist: cultures or any group of people with a common purpose such as a business, do best when there is a diverse pool of human resources functioning together toward a common goal.

I’m no whiz in the math department, but even I know that 90 percent is about as “un-diverse” as a group can get.

Article source: http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/it-security/gender-gap-why-information-security-needs-more-women/?tag=nl.e101&s_cid=e101&ttag=e101&ftag=TRE684d531

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