Win an @Tab 7″ Tablet Computer

The @Tab 7″ Tablet features Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and Flash 11 Support. Packed with technology including a Dual Core 1.6GHz processor, 16GB storage and a 5 point multi-touch display, it’s perfect for web browsing, playing the latest games or keeping up to date with work on the go. With its HDMI out port you can connect the tablet to your HDTV for watching films or playing the latest games on the big screen.

@Tab comes preloaded with lots of must-have apps with loads more to download on the Play Store. Bluetooth 2.1 enables you to connect multiple devices wirelessly, or you can connect and charge devices with the USB 2.0 and Mini USB port. Online access is easy thanks to the built-in Wi-Fi connection, and when you’ve located your nearest Wi-Fi hotspot you can stay up to date with your emails and social

Technical Specifications:

If you’ve upgraded your PC recently to Windows 8 you may find that you’re completely baffled with even some of the smallest tasks. Even to the point that shutting down the computer is a complex task compared to what users have been used to in previous versions of Windows.

The main reason why Windows 8 can be so confusing for new users is due to its lack of a start bar, which has been present in every version of Windows since Windows 95.

There is one simple step that you can take in order to make Windows 8 more user friendly and look more like the Windows of old, and that step is to install a start menu for Windows 8. There are several different sources and versions of start bars for Windows 8, however after testing a few different variations the best one we’ve found is provided by IObit. You can download and install the IObit start menu for Windows 8 for free from the link below.

IObit Windows 8 Start Menu

Once installed, you can also set Windows 8 to start in the Desktop view mode rather than in the metro theme, so every time you turn on the PC you will be in the familiar desktop mode.

Despite Yahoo’s best efforts, users of yahoo mail continue to be reporting incidents of email account hacking. Hackers continue to defy Yahoo’s efforts to boost security and fix vulnerabilities in its Yahoo Mail service. Yahoo Mail users first reported seeing their accounts compromised as far back as early January. We’re now in March, and it appears that Yahoo still has a big problem on its hands.

Behind Microsoft and Google, Yahoo is the third largest email provider in the world. Even if a small percentage of accounts are affected, this can account for millions of users having their personal information shared, stolen and exposed. The attacks typically involve users getting an email from a friend or colleague or even a completely unknown party containing a link. The link may lead to the account being hijacked and sending emails to the victim’s contacts.

Regardless of whether the flaws haven’t been patched properly or if these are new flaws, it’s simply unacceptable for Yahoo Mail users to have their accounts hijacked so easily and for Yahoo to stay passive for so long. Given the clear lack of a fix for the issue, despite Yahoo’s assurances that all is well, the company may see a large decline in users in the coming weeks.

On a side note, if you are a business and you’re using free email accounts such as Yahoo, Gmail and Hotmail, then for the future you should be thinking about and planning to switch your e-mail to a more professional account. As an example, if you own your own domain and have a website that is being hosted then you should think about an email address such as john@yourdomain.com. The main reasons why it is more advantageous to use this kind of account can be seen below.

Yahoo and other free e-mail accounts are fine for personal use, but for businesses there are potential issues. There are two main issues with free email addresses, the first being when you send e-mails out to people you are more likely to end up in their junk mail because free e-mail addresses have a lot higher ratio of spammers than any other. This issue is an especially critical one if you are using a free e-mail address for sales and marketing as this will limit your potential reach for any e-mail marketing campaigns.

The second problem is that, generally other businesses or customers, depending on your market, will not trust a free email account if they have never met you before, because perception plays a crucial role in the consumer purchase decision process. How will they perceive you and your products and services if they see that your email address is a free internet one? Probably cheap and untrustworthy.

If you have been affected by your yahoo or other free email account being hacked, or if you feel that you need a better and more professional e-mail provider, then please feel free to give us a call and we may be able to provide you with a better option going forward.

In 2002 Microsoft introduced its Support Life-cycle policy based on customer feedback to have more transparency and predictability of support for Microsoft products. As per this policy, Microsoft Business and Developer products, including Windows and Office products, receive a minimum of 10 years of support. Support for Windows XP and Office 2003 will cease on April 8, 2014.

This means if your business is currently using Windows XP or Office 2003 then you should be planning on upgrading your systems before April 2014. After April 8, 2014, there will be no new windows updates for both XP and Office 2003, which means that there will be no new security patches or any kind of support for these products whatsoever. Running Windows XP SP3 and Office 2003 in your environment after April 2014 will mean that your system will be highly exposed to any new security threats that hackers can find and exploit in XP and Office 2003, below are just some of the issues you will likely experience:

• Software: Just as is the case for Windows 98 and Windows 2000 now, driver releases for new hardware that comes out will start to become non-existent for XP around or slightly after the April 2014 timeline.
• Hardware: Customers who purchase new hardware even for otherwise fully capable systems may start to run into compatibility issues.
• Security & Compliance Risks: Unsupported and unpatched environments are vulnerable to security risks.

As a Microsoft Certified Partner Mad Computer Solutions can help you understand the best options to meet your personal and business needs. There are many options for small and medium businesses considering moving to a modern Operating System or PC with the latest productivity and collaboration tools.

If you are currently running Windows XP or Office 2003 in your business and you haven’t given any thought of upgrading your systems yet, I would suggest you start piecing together a plan as soon as possible, as whatever size business you are, you will need to ensure that you have budgeted for such an upgrade to your business infrastructure.

As always, if you require any advice, help or support in planning or implementing such an upgrade, please feel free to give us a call on 0845 272 2373 and see how we can help you and your business.

Data is at the heart of businesses, it’s crucial for you to protect it. To protect your organization’s data, you need to implement a data backup and recovery plan. Backing up files can protect against accidental loss of user data, database corruption and hardware failures.

Imagine that you are using your computer at work when suddenly all of the lights go out and the computer shuts down. After a few minutes the power is restored. You reboot your computer only to find that an error message appears. It tells you that a fatal error occurred, and that some important data, let’s say your accounts for example has been either lost or corrupted. Situations such as this happen all too often, the good news is that there are key safeguards, one of which is data backup which will protect from such circumstances.

The reasons of data loss can fall into these main categories;

• Human error – deleting information from a PC by mistake, the misplacement of DVDs, CDs or media, and errors in administrating databases.
• Intentional Crimes – acking, H  Hacking, viruses, data theft and espionage.
• Natural Causes – Power failures, hardware failures, software failures, software bugs and also any kind of disaster such as a fire or flood.

With a little preparation, individuals and businesses can rest easy that if catastrophe strikes, they can be well prepared to recover and be back up and running in as little time as possible.

Mad Computer Solutions can provide you and your business with professional cloud online backup services in order to ensure that your company’s data is secure and can be recovered in the event of hardware failures, natural disasters or any other kind of problem.

Backup is just one part of ensuring the safety of your business when something goes wrong. If you want to ensure that your business is completely protected and capable of recovering from any kind of ‘disaster’ then why not have a look at our disaster recovery planning service.

We have recently heard that the supplier of the BT PC Backup service have gone into administration, affecting 3 of BT’s online backup services, which include BT PC Backup, BT Business Protect and PC Business Protect Multi. BT have emailed all their PC Backup customers explaining what actions are needed to protect their data.

The PC Backup services are currently running normally, and customers are being informed to retrieve their data as soon as possible. Full information may be found on their website http://business.bt.com/it-support-and-security/pc-backup/

What you need to do if you use the following backup services:

• BT PC Backup
• BT Business Protect
• BT Business Protect Multi

All customers are advised to backup their data to an external hard disk, USB drive or move to another online data backup service. Feel free to check our Data Backup Services web page, or telephone 0843 2893818 to speak to one of the team.

With prices starting at £5+VAT per month for 10GB of secure online data storage, our data backup service provides:

• UK Data Centres
• All files encrypted
• Backups only the data that has changed
• Stored in bunker conditions

According to research data recently published by Symantec Shows that almost a quarter of any businesses data is stored in the cloud.

The IT security firm claims 23% of all business information globally is held in a mixture of public, private and hybrid cloud infrastructure.

The IT security firm said it expected IT departments to shift workloads from on premise to off premise clouds in order to reap the benefits such as cost saving,  better data protection than on site data and easily accessible data while on the move or from home.

Get ahead of the curve by allowing Mad Computer Solutions Ltd to meet all your cloud storage and online business needs.

Microsoft Office 365

Office 365 is a cloud based service which is hosted by Microsoft. Office 365 is designed so that once you are signed up you will be able to work online from any device and from any location. Office 365 includes the standard Office applications, including Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel and Microsoft PowerPoint all provided as a simple monthly payment .

There are several different packages to choose from for your Office 365 subscription. These packages are designed to fit any size of business, whether you are a one man band, small business or corporate organisation. MAD Computers are able to help with advice to companies in Birmingham and the west Midlands, including choosing the correct package, configuration and training.

Starting from as little as £2.60 per user .

Secure Online Data Backup

Whatever the size of your company, imagine the cost of a loss of some or even all of your data. According to the Department of Trade and Industry, 70% of businesses that suffer a major data loss are out of business within 18 months. Offsite backup protects your vital information from all eventualities. A hosted backup solution removes these risks and brings your business complete peace of mind. Your business data is safe, secure and accessible, whenever you need it.

Your data is stored in UK based Data Centres which are geographically dispersed, to store your business information securely. The Data Centres replicate the services provided, holding identical copies of your data backups. Our backup solution uses advanced technology to replicate company data, ensuring that only new files and the changes made to old files are replicated, making your backup process incredibly efficient. The frequency is up to you.

With prices starting at £5 per month for 10GB of secure UK based storage could you afford not to?

A quarter of a million Twitter users have had their accounts compromised in the latest of a string of high-profile internet security breaches.

Twitter said in a blog post that the passwords were encrypted and that it had already reset them as a “precautionary measure,” and that it was in the process of notifying affected users.

The blog post noted recent revelations of large-scale cyber attacks against the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, but unlike the two news organizations, Twitter did not provide any detail on the origin or methodology of the attacks.

“This attack was not the work of amateurs, and we do not believe it was an isolated incident,” Twitter said. “The attackers were extremely sophisticated, and we believe other companies and organizations have also been recently similarly attacked.”

Privately held Twitter, which has 200 million active monthly users, said it was working with government and federal law enforcement officials to track down the attackers.

The company did not specifically link the attacks to China in the blog post, in contrast to the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, which both said the hackers originated in China.

Twitter, the social network known for its 140-character messages, could not speculate on the origin of the attacks as its investigation was ongoing, said spokesman Jim Prosser.

“There is no evidence right now that would indicate that passwords were compromised,” said Prosser.

The attack is not the first time that hackers have breached Twitter’s systems and gained access to Twitter user information. Twitter signed a consent decree with the Federal Trade Commission in 2010, subjecting the company to 10 years of independent privacy reviews, for failing to safeguard users’ personal information.

We highly recommend changing your password on a regular bases, and when such an event does occur that you change your password immediately.

German federal police are warning about a computer virus that accuses victims of viewing “juvenile pornography”.

It also displays an image that it claims reveals images of child sexual abuse have been viewed on a computer.

The Windows virus locks a computer and only returns control to its owner on payment of a 100 euro (£86) fine.

It purports to be collecting cash on behalf of German copyright authorities and the country’s national computer security agency.

The virus amounted to “digital extortion” and victims should not pay up, said German police.

The warning about the novel strain of ransomware was issued by Germany’s Federal Criminal police office (the Bundeskriminalamt or BKA).

The ransomware version found by the BKA uses a pop-up window that says the machine has been locked down due to “unauthorised network activity”. The window is crafted to look like it has been put together by Germany’s Federal Office for Information Security (BKI) and its society for prosecution of copyright infringement (GVU).

‘Emotional blackmail’

Text in the window claims that images of child sexual abuse as well as pirated content have been found on the machine. Also displayed is an picture of a child which it claims reveals illegal images have been viewed.

Rik Ferguson, director of security research at Trend Micro, said it was the first time he had heard of ransomware displaying images that users were accused of harbouring.

“It seems that they are attempting to increase the pressure of this kind of emotional blackmail,” he told the BBC.

Germany’s BKA said users should not pay the fine “under any circumstances” and added that neither the BKI or GVU collected cash in this way from those suspected of viewing illegal images or pirating content. Instead, users should use anti-virus and other security software to clean up their PC and deal with the virus.

“This is a form of digital extortion,” said the BKA in its alert about the virus.

Ransomware, which tries to make victims pay an on-the-spot fine, is becoming more prevalent but most strains simply accuse people of pirating movies or music. Others scramble data that is only unscrambled when a fee is paid.

Security firm Symantec said it was seeing more and more strains of ransomware and said it could be “highly profitable” for its creators. It estimated that ransomware makers were already making about $5m (£3m) a year from such malicious code.

An ambitious plan to update classic space trading game Elite has hit its funding target. Some of you may remember the old Elite game from back in the mid 80’s as being one of the first open world 3D space adventure games on the BBC Micro.

David Braben, one of the game’s original creators, sought £1.25m via crowd-sourcing site Kickstarter to fund the 21st century update of the 1984 classic. A last minute surge of pledges helped it reach its goal less than 24 hours before the funding deadline ran out.

Funding squeeze
Elite: Dangerous debuted on Kickstarter on 5 November and set itself 60 days to raise £1.25m. In November, Mr Braben said Elite was a game he had wanted to come back to for a “long, long time”.

Although some early work on the multiplayer title had been done at Mr Braben’s game studio Frontier Developments, but needed the cash to turn the code into a finished playable product. If the game did not hit its funding target then development work would stop.

Getting the cash via Kickstarter was preferable to using an established publisher because it gave Frontier and those who backed it total control over how the final game would turn out, said Mr Braben,

The finished game, he said, would keep the central trading, travel and spaceship combat elements of the original but add far better graphics, physics and feature a much larger chunk of the universe for people to play in.

Fund tracking site Kicktraq showed that after an initial surge the number of people backing the project tailed off dramatically. On its second day on Kickstarter raised more than £271,000. However, soon after pledge totals rarely got over £10,000.

A surge of pledges came forward in the closing few days of Elite’s fund-raising drive thanks to an appearance on social news site Reddit by Mr Braben and with the help of comedian Dara O Briain who urged his 1.2 million Twitter followers to back it.

When the funding target was passed, Mr Braben thanked all the backers via a message on Twitter.

“It is truly exciting, touching, and really wonderful,” he said.