Archive for the ‘General’ Category
How Your CDs Lose Your Data
Way way back in the 1990s when CDs first came out, manufacturers spouted off that they would most likely last 100 years or more. Since that’s pretty hard to prove – especially when something first comes out – we of course all believed them.
Wouldn’t that be great!
Burn the family pictures on the disc once and go through 2 generations before you have to worry about the backup media degrading. Well, unfortunately, we have found since then, that there are a lot of things in a disc’s environment that can cause it to not retain the data that’s been recorded on it.
Bottom line is, the data on disc’s can fade away in as little as 2 years.
Variability in manufacturing causes a lot of these problems, but the physical environment can, too.
These lovely sounding words are the top few ways you can lose data on a bad CD:
1. Rot – Includes abrasion and chemical changes to the surface.
2. Delamination – The disc is made from layers that come apart.
3. Oxidation – The aluminum or gold reflective layer, can be eaten away by the atmosphere.
Your CDs also have some natural enemies in the environment they live in…
1. Direct Sunlight
2. Rapid temperature changes and rapid humidity changes
3. Weight of the CD itself – This means that if you store them flat, then they can warp.
4. Fingerprints, smudges and the like
Here’s are some tips on what to do/not do to take care of your CDs and DVDs…
1. Only pick up CDs by the center or by the outside edges
2. No dirt on the disc – obviously…the data is stored in physical indentations
3. Store discs standing up not flat
4. Only leave discs in a cool and dry place – that’s the ideal environment for them
5. To clean a really dirty CD, use rubbing alcohol then rinse with water and dry with a soft cloth
Many people use CDs and DVDs to backup important data and the likelihood of failure is something all who backup that way need to keep in mind. It’s still not a bad idea to back up to a CD, but also use online backup storage to make sure your bases are covered. Every disc must be checked to make sure the data has actually been recorded or it’s time to use it for some other purpose – (like a Frisbee or a table shim, maybe.
Roger G. Brown is data backup and security expert. He has significant experience in helping individuals and small businesses make cost-effective decisions about data backup and storage. If you want to learn how to avoid losing your data, check out Roger’s website at http://www.onlinebackupstoragereviews.com.
How to Protect Yourself From a Potent Source of Data Leak?
What many people assume is that installing an anti-virus program or software on their computer would be enough and protect their data from all such security threats. But this is not the fact because an antivirus program can only protect your operating system from viruses, spyware, malware and Trojans attacks but does not provide any security against data leak and data loss. In addition, not all the anti-virus programs are effective enough to remove all the viruses from your computer.
Since the data leak is the biggest security threat companies and computer users have been facing these days, IT professionals are working hard to find out a reliable solution to prevent data leak. Although there are many sources or channels by which data can be leaked out but the most potent or you can say most effective medium is USB flash drives which are easily available in the market.
Portable USB flash drives are undeniably very useful, but at the same time they can also be used to upload malicious code to your computer (either knowingly or unintentionally), or they can also be used to copy confidential information from your computer and take it away. To prevent such incidences to happen, you must block unauthorized use of USB drives that do not belong to you, so that they cannot access your computer illegitimately.
USB Block or formerly called Device Block is a Data Leak Prevention (DLP) software that lets you block all the unauthorized USB drives and memory sticks so that no one can steal your data by plugging in such devices to your computer neither can he upload any malware or malicious code to your computer. In this way, you can keep your files and folders secure and protected not only from viruses and malware but also from hackers and other people who have bad intention and want to steal your private files and folders.
USB Block allows you to set access level for your own USB drives while blocking all other USB devices which do not belong to you; and in this way it helps you to protect your data from getting leaked and misused. It prompts for the password every time a USB flash drive is plugged into the computer where USB Block is installed. However, all those devices which you have added to your Authorize List will get full access to your computer as soon as they plug in.
By default, USB devices and ports have been blocked. However if you wish, you can deactivate this protection from Control Center which can be accessed after entering correct password.
Mark Neil is associated with New Software Inc that provides File Lock software.
A Ringside View of Outbound Call Centers – Their Services and Benefits
Call centers services have been resorts of SMEs and Fortune 500 companies to save time or enhance the productivity levels and increase customer satisfactions. The call center functions however change as per the need and size of the business. BPOs also vary in size, location wise and area of specialization. They can be an in-house set-up or a full-fledged business enterprise designed to meet the offshore needs of business.
Where an inbound contact center manage customer demands, product request and information on product support, services of an outbound call center can be used for promotional marketing, telemarketing, business development and for generating sales. The other working areas of outbound marketing are lead generation, up/cross selling and database selling services as well. Outbound contact centers play a crucial role in acquiring new customers by telemarketing your products and increasing your profits.
The advanced features of outbound customer care centers include:
Predictive Dialer
Predictive dialer technology enables call placement on the basis of the availability of agent and made selection on the responses given by the caller. It also saves time of call centers by managing unanswered calls, busy signals, disconnected or hung up calls etc.
Call Tracking & Interactive Voice Response (IVR)
Call tracking system streamline the data, information and metrics so that focus on promotions can be maintained. IVR is an automated system which identifies the callers and their query on the basis of keypad or voice responses.
Call Detail Record (CDR) Reporting
Call Detail Record (CDR) Reporting gather information and prepare reports on agent performance to track the performance of agents. This includes details like time of waiting, average call time, response etc. This helps supervisors to keep an eye on the areas of improvement.
Real Time Telemetry
This helps call center management to utilize the performance and work levels of agents in real time. Real Time Telemetry helps in the monitoring of waiting calls, total numbers of agents available and average time taken to answer a call. Having this information in real time assures quick resolution of the problem areas and promises enhanced productivity.
How outbound call center services help your company:
1) Increased customer satisfaction as agents are backed up by numerous advanced technologies like predictive dialers and CDRs
2) Increased Sales lead resulting in amplified ROI
3) Reduced costs of operations
Author has written about outbound call centers and also highlighted that how outbound call center services are helpful to increase the ROI. For more information please visit http://www.callcentresindia.net/
Three Uses of Call Center Analytics
Running an efficient call center requires having good data on how the work is being processed. Call center analytics give managers the tools to oversee and optimize staffing and workflow. Analytics can be used in three basic ways, and for best results planning should encompass all three.
The Past
Call center analytics provide reports on how the team has performed in previous time periods. This might be last quarter, last month, or even last shift. This information can be used to gauge performance of the department as a whole, or broken out to analyze each team. Which teams are meeting their goals? Which shifts are being overloaded and which don’t have enough work to do?
Past reports can be used to recognize high achievers, creating incentives for all teams to work harder. They can also be used to spot trouble areas so managers can brainstorm solutions. The information can be used to justify staff increases by demonstrating how average call volume is rising. These kinds of call center metrics have been available for many years, but increases in information technology offer other perspectives to today’s call center managers.
The Present
Real time analytics tell both managers and agents how call volume is being handled right now. It allows the center to adjust to changing volumes quickly so customers aren’t frustrated by long hold times during heavy traffic, and employees aren’t twiddling their thumbs during slow periods.
A center might set up teams assigned to different call volumes. Team A might be on the phones all the time. Team B has other duties but automatically moves to cover the phones once the electronic wallboard shows call volume at moderate levels, returning to their other tasks when volume drops. Team C could be an emergency group who works the phone only during periods of very high traffic. In addition, managers could monitor the call center metrics and react to changing call volumes in real time.
The Future
The real power of analytics come in predicting call volume before it happens. Managers get a feel for call patterns and can plan future staffing accordingly. As a company becomes more successful and call volumes rise, the center can be expanded in anticipation of future growth rather than trying to hire after employees have become overworked.
Flexible staffing solutions might be implemented to cover expected fluctuations in call volume. When call center analytics show that the center is always busiest on Mondays, or in the afternoon, or in the first week of the month the call center can bring on extra staff to cover those expected increases. Managers could bring on additional help right before new product launches or in response to positive or negative publicity. Proactive decisions are more powerful than reactive ones.
Author writes about a variety of topics. If you would like to learn more about Call center analytics, visit http://www.inovasolutions.com/.
Defense Center Removal Guide – How to Remove Defense Center From Your PC For Good
The Defense Center program is nothing more than a thinly-disguised virus, designed to trick you into thinking it’s some sort of antivirus program. The truth is that this is a “malware” (malicious ware) infection, that’s been designed with the aim of either stealing your money, or ruining your PC. If you want to remove this infection from your system, you need to be smart in the way you tackle all of its important elements, as they could prove to be difficult to remove.
A “malware” infection like Defense Center is often referred to as a “fake antivirus” program. This basically means that the virus will portray itself as being like a real antivirus program, and will then show a series of “threats” on your PC. Unfortunately, all of the viruses / threats it discovers are fake, and are just designed to scare you into purchasing the upgrade of this software.
If you’re looking to get rid of this virus, you need to be able to remove all the elements it has. The problem with it is that there is a lot more than what might first meet the eye, like an “ice berg”. It basically has the main application which you are probably seeing on your screen… but more importantly, it has a series of other codes & files which will continually try and monitor your PC to steal your data. This means that removing this virus takes some smart moves, to ensure that all the potential problems are dealt with in the most effective & reliable way.
To get rid of this virus, the first thing you should do is to download & install a legitimate “anti-malware” program on your computer. Anti-malware tools are software applications which are designed to scan through your PC and remove all elements of a certain infection. This means that if you’re looking to remove the Defense Center virus from your system, starting with one of these anti-malware programs is the best way to go. The best of these tools you can use is probably one called “MalwareBytes” (which is free to use, but can be bought), or a commercial product called “SpywareDoctor”. Our tests revealed both of these programs were sufficiently able to remove 98% of the Defense Center infection.
After using an anti-malware program on your system, you should then look to use a registry cleaner to finish the job. Hardly anyone talks about this, but ‘registry cleaners’ are actually essential in preventing this virus from coming back. These tools are designed to clean out the “registry” database, which is a central storage facility that keeps all the software, files and settings that your computer requires to run. This database is extremely important, as all your software programs store settings inside it. However, it’s also the case that Defense Center will keep a lot of its infected files in there as well, making it essential you’re able to clean them out. To do this, you just need to download a registry cleaner program and let it scan your system. It will remove all the infected settings that are left on your PC, removing the virus from your computer for good!
You can remove Defense Center by using the tutorial on our website. You can Click Here to remove Defense Center from your PC.
Defense Center Removal – How to Perform a Removal of Defense Center Quickly & Easily
Defense Center is an application which installs itself on your PC and pretends to be a legitimate antivirus program. Designed by a group of hackers, it’s part of a larger group of virus programs known as “Rogue Antivirus” tools. These fake antivirus programs work by installing themselves on your computer and then showing a series of “virus alerts” for potential viruses that are on your PC. The only problem is that this application does not find viruses, and will cause so many problems on your system that it’s vital you remove it straight away.
Defense Center is what’s known as “malware” – which stands for Malicious Ware. This type of virus does not try and ruin your PC, like typical viruses, it’s been designed to load up on your system and trick you into buying the software. This will make the hackers money and lead you to get scammed. Unfortunately, this type of virus is increasing its presence on the Internet, and it’s often the case that millions of people will end up putting up with it on their system.
In order to remove this virus from your PC, it’s important that you’re able to get rid of all parts of the infection from your system. Not many people know this, but this type of virus has more than just an annoying application – there are a lot of codes & files which you don’t see, and are working to try and steal your personal details. A lot of people make the fatal mistake of trying to manually remove Defense Center from their system, only to realize that they were actually leaving all the codes on there that steal your personal data. This means that if you’re going to remove this virus, you need to be able to remove all parts of it – which can only be done with an “anti-malware” program.
Removing this virus is best done with an anti-malware tool such as “MalwareBytes”. You should download this program onto your PC and let it perform a “deep” scan. This will send the application scanning through all of the files on your computer, leading it to remove all the infected elements of the Defense Center infection. After you’ve done that, it’s also recommended that you use a ‘registry cleaner’ to scan through your PC and fix the various settings that Defense Center left behind on your system. Cleaning the registry is hardly ever recommended by these tutorials, but it’s one of the most important things you can do – as if any Defense Center settings are left inside the registry, it could make your PC susceptible to further infections.
You can remove Defense Center from your PC quickly and easily by using the tutorial on our website. You can perform Defense Center removal by using the tutorial on our site.