The Ekaru Technology Advisor  Vol 4-7  August 2004

Welcome to this month's issue! Ekaru's mission is to provide technology advice and on-site technical support to help you manage and grow your business!

Windows XP Service Pack 2 - What you need to know!
Microsoft Corporation has recently released a major software upgrade for the Windows XP operating system, which runs about 300 million computers world wide. Over the past years, there have been several major viruses and worms (Blaster, Slammer, MyDoom, and Sasser) that have exploited security loopholes in the Windows operating systems and cost businesses and consumers billions of dollars in lost work time and repair costs. Windows XP Service Pack 2 is an 80-megabyte repair kit developed to fix many of these loopholes.

• The upgrade file is big: The upgrade is about 80-megabytes, so if you don't have a fast Internet connection, it could be difficult to download. You can order a CD directly from Microsoft, but keep in mind that it would take about 4-6 weeks to get to you.
• Disk Space Required: You need at least 1.8 gigabytes of free space on your hard disk.
• Install Time: Plan on about an hour. You'll want to manage the time of day the upgrades are performed so your office productivity doesn't grind to a halt.
• Changes on your System: One example is that the new default is to have the internal firewall automatically "on". This needs to be turned off if your computer is on a network. Your network firewall protects your individual system from outside attack in this case.
• Application Incompatibility: Service Pack 2 is a major upgrade. Several security technologies have been introduced to improve the ability to protect against malicious attacks, but because security is so much more restrictive, serious application incompatibility issues could be exposed.
• Backup your files first: Service Pack 2 is a major upgrade. Things can go wrong, so your files need to be backed up in advance.
• Automatic Updates: In Windows XP, you have the option of turning on "Automatic Updates". You can install Service Pack 2 and all future critical updates by turning on Automatic Updates. The Automatic Update feature downloads new updates in the background, and then you can choose when to install them. Beware that updates take time and could be inconvenient, and there are always incompatibility issues. Typically, we recommend that at a minimum, all critical updates be installed, and these can be found by visiting the Microsoft web site regularly.

The Microsoft web site www.microsoft.com is full of excellent information if you want to learn more. Quick Tip: We find that searching on Google for a specific topic often finds the right Microsoft pages faster than searching on the actual site!

Call us if you need help with your upgrades.

An update on junk email:
New laws introduced last year have had little impact on cutting down on junk emails. In fact, Spam now represents 65% of all email, up from 58% when the law was passed, according to a representative from Symantec, recently quoted in the New York Times. Although the FBI is cracking down on fraudulent e-mails in the US, many operate from overseas.

Here's what you can do:

1. Use a Spam filter. If you're already using one, invest the time to "tune" it. Always check for "false positives", that is, legitimate emails that inadvertently end up in the Spam folder - it could be from an important client!
2. Never reply to Spam. It only validates your email address.
3. Turn off auto-preview. Many Spam messages contain viruses. Don't open them.