Table of Contents

• COMMITTEE REPORTS
  • MEMBERSHIP REPORT
  • SOCIAL REPORT
  • SPEAKER COORDINATOR REPORT
  • TREASURER REPORT
• LEADS
• NOTABLE MENTIONS
• MIGHTY MINUTE
• QUESTION OF THE DAY
• MAIN SPEAKER

Committee Reports

Membership Report
(Click here to go to the Membership page)

Facilitec has officially resigned from the group.  They have reorganized their company and they don't know who they would send to represent them.

Social Report
(Click here to go to the Social Event page)

No report.

Speaker Coordinator Report
(Click here to go to the Speaker Schedule)

• 04/30/04     Paul Kavanaugh 
• 05/07/04     Dave Crissman
• 05/14/04     Panel Discussion

We have open speaker slots.  Please contact Wayne Unruh to get on the schedule.

Treasurer Report

No report.

Leads Report

46-45, 16-19, 20-02, 20-15, 26-37, 05-15, 15-14, 15-13, 15-41, 21-31, 21-13(x2), 34-27, 34-35, 22-17, 22-32, 35-34, 04-45, 04-27, 04-03, 04-11(x2), 04-42, 04-17, 14-34, 40-43, 40-37, 25-26, 19-20, 09-42, 09-17.

Notable Mentions

Jean Batt reminds members that now is a great time to get your family portraits taken.

Stephan Chilton has broke with tradition and hired an employee and MABE had a lot to do with this decision.  He was very skeptical about joining the group but now finds it overwhelming!

The next boarding will be the 1st Friday in May right after the regular meeting.

Gary Nelson is being told that his retail location will be available at the end of July.  Its about 6 months behind schedule but he has no complaints.  He has also developed a relationship with Arizona Fireplace so things are looking good.

First impressions can go along way!  Just ask Mike Whalen and Jean Batt.  They have learned with employees that attitude matters and if they have a bad one you need to cut your losses and move on. 

Dean Synan has a weary staff too.  With the "no call list" in effect, things are crazy at the office.  But this is a nice challenge. 

Chris Curran is dealing with a similar issue.  The "no fax law" goes into affect January 1, 2005 but he is already dealing with a case involving unsolicited faxes.  Roman Okonowski sends clients faxes regarding policies.  He must get every clients written consent to continue to do this before the law goes into affect or he will be in violation.  A general rule of thumb, if you are not sure whether or not you are in violation, don't send the fax!

Planning a trip to Hawaii this summer?  Expect to pay high fares (driven by a big sporting event taking place), says Carole Weishaar.

Mighty Minute

None.

Question of the Day

None.

Ralph Cunningham
Cunningham Computer Service

Ralph Cunningham is originally from Utah and, yes, he was raised Mormon.  But he has been reformed since moving here in 1969.   

Small break to tell a joke involving an engineer, priest and lawyer.  To summarize...Leave it to an engineer to want to fix something that should be left alone!

Now down to business...

Viruses
This last couple of years there has been a major siege of programs designed to give you problems - electronic terrorism.  A huge amount of viruses come from outside the United States by people who want to make life miserable for the bad USA.  And then there are those that come from pimple-faced kids mad at the world and others who want to exploit you.

The industry is currently working in reactive mode.  This won't change unless some grass roots organization takes a stand like those that complained about unsolicited faxes.  But, the problem is that the majority of virus do come from overseas.  Our government could filter it, it would take money.  And they always find ways around filters.

About 300-500 new viruses come out each month.  Most viruses are simply variations of other viruses.  The best you can do (without becoming a disconnected hermit) is to run a couple of anti-virus programs (i.e., Norton and AVG) and update them every two weeks.  Keep in mind, the Norton's of this world can only protect against virus signatures once they are detected.  There is nothing to keep you from being the first hit.

Another irritating problem is spy-ware.  To eliminate this, stop downloading those freebies (weather bugs, comet cursors, etc.) because nothing is really free.   Remember, Bonzi Buddy is NOT your buddy!  A combination of Ad-Aware and Spybot is good to have since both offer features the other may lack.

Finally, don't open attachments unless you know who sent them and you were expecting them!

More things to try...Use a MAC to retrieve your mail.  MAC's get attacked by viruses too but only about once or twice a year.  Only 8% of the market belongs to MAC users which are usually graphic artists so it is not a big enough target for the virus developers.

Also, add a firewall to your system.  A router with firewall capabilities will cost you less than $100 and could spare you a lot of headache.  Make sure you update the firmware periodically.

Maintenance

• Surge suppressor minimum is 700 joule or preferred UPS "battery backup".
• Keep your computer(s) 6 inches above the carpet (dust reduction - fan killer).
• Check for noises from the fan(s) and hard drive(s) - weekly.
• Check for airflow coming from the power supply-monthly.
• Use a vacuum to clean your keyboard(s). Compressed air drives the dust into the switches damaging the keyboard.
• When cleaning the key caps, first turn the power off. Use a damp (not wet) cloth. A damp tooth brush can be used to remove stubborn deposits.
• Remove the ball from the mouse and wash with mild detergent. (Lava soap works well). Treat the mouse ball with lacquer thinner to restore tactile surface. Keep liquor thinner away from all plastics.
• Clean monitor with soft damp cloth using antistatic monitor cleaner. This will slow down the dust collection. Note: paper or harsh chemicals can damage screen coatings or flat panel monitors.
• Use caution when blowing out CD Rom and Floppy Drive. Excessive air pressure can damage gimbals and focusing assemblies.
• Depending on usage, run disk diagnostics. Then defrag the hard drive every two to three months
• Check the Virus definition date on your antivirus software. It should not be greater than two weeks old Antivirus software cannot find viruses if it does not know what the viruses are.
• Download, install and run Spybot Search and Destroy monthly. This will remove a large assortment of mal ware applications. CW Shredder will remove browser hi-jackers (applets that take you to undesirable Internet locations).

Archive

• Before setting up a back up plan, ask your self "How much data am I willing to LOOSE?"
• Offsite back up storage will help to reduce potential losses.
• In most cases it is not necessary to save applications or systems Just your data.
• The greater the number of backups, the less the chances of data loss and the greater the risk of data pilfering- not to mention time involved in making backups.
• Back up applications, such as Retrospect, can be used to set up a centralized backup system. The applications allow the files to be copied in an encrypted compressed format requiring a password and requiring smaller media size.

Some Common Back Up Schedules

• ODD Day EVEN Day schedule. Two separate back up tapes, disks, etc. Use one for backup on ODD Days and one for backup on EVEN Days.
• Backup media for every business day.
• Full back up on Friday, then incremental backups on other days of the week.

Computer Spring Cleaning
Mac & PC

• Clean Mouse or Pointing Device
• Update Firmware, Device Drivers
• Install System & Application Updates
• Remove Extra Services, un-needed Start Up Applications
• Up to date Anti Virus Definitions & Hard Drive and System tools
• Install Router \ Fire wall Protection as needed
• Empty Trash, Sent items, & Deleted Mail
• Remove unwanted Cookies and Cached files
• Check Logical Filing structures on Hard Drive
• Defrag Hard Drive Often

PC

• Update Firmware, Bios : Adjust Mother Board BIOS
• Set Swap File to Static : Set Drives DMA on
• Install Spy, Ad, Ware & Key Logger Detection & Removal Software

If you just don't want to deal with it!
Call Cunningham Computer Service
Ralph Cunningham
(602) 407-6941 VM
(602) 616-2393 Cell