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IT departments: Going the way of the dodo?

Posted by Joe Gilreath
Joe Gilreath
I have been in Systems Administration for 9 years, working in the IT department
User is currently offline
on Thursday, 03 May 2012
in IT Services

I’ve seen IT departments go from centralized, to decentralized to centralized again. From in house to outsourced and back again.

Any group in a company that starts putting its own interests ahead of the company’s best interests is eventually either going to lose or take down the company; especially small ones. Unfortunately, too many IT departments see themselves as risk minimizers and not business enablers.

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Mac Security Is "10 Years Behind Microsoft"

Posted by Joe Gilreath
Joe Gilreath
I have been in Systems Administration for 9 years, working in the IT department
User is currently offline
on Thursday, 26 April 2012
in IT Services

Kaspersky's CEO went on record stating that Apple is 10 years behind Microsoft in it's OS security.  He further elaborates that Apple will soon find that they have the same security issues that Microsoft did 10-12 years ago.

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Another Thalo Custom Desktop

Posted by Joe Gilreath
Joe Gilreath
I have been in Systems Administration for 9 years, working in the IT department
User is currently offline
on Wednesday, 25 April 2012
in IT Services

We recently built a really nice custom system for one of our long time clients.  When they approached us about purchasing a new desktop for their business I informed them about our Thalo Custom Desktop's.  She was very interested in the prospect after I extolled the virtues of the Thalo Custom Desktop, which can be found in my blog post here, over what you could get from one of the big box vendors.

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Windows 7 Powertips - 10/10

Posted by Joe Gilreath
Joe Gilreath
I have been in Systems Administration for 9 years, working in the IT department
User is currently offline
on Monday, 23 April 2012
in IT Services

Move The Recycle Bin To The Taskbar In Windows 7

When the Recycle Bin first made its appearance in Windows 95, I really enjoyed dragging and dropping unneeded files on the trash can icon and watching them disappear. It was just so cool! (Keep in mind that was 15 years ago, and the drag-and-drop capability was a new feature.)

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Windows 7 Powertips - 9/10

Posted by Joe Gilreath
Joe Gilreath
I have been in Systems Administration for 9 years, working in the IT department
User is currently offline
on Monday, 23 April 2012
in IT Services

Configure Windows 7 To Run Only Specific Applications

There are situations where you, as the administrator/owner of a network or group of machines, want users to be able to run only certain applications. Parental controls, small business employers, etc.—there are plenty of reasons for doing this and a few methods for achieving it. One of those methods is built in to Microsoft Windows 7 (with the exception of Windows 7 Home) with the Group Policy Editor. This tool is powerful and offers numerous features, including the ability to limit the applications users can run.

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570,000+ Computer Users May Lose Internet In July

Posted by Joe Gilreath
Joe Gilreath
I have been in Systems Administration for 9 years, working in the IT department
User is currently offline
on Monday, 23 April 2012
in IT Services

This news was broken by the AP and can be read here on ABC's site: 

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/hundreds-thousands-lose-internet-july-16182036#.T5WHOvVrV8E

The bad guys are hard at work trying to make money by any means they can.  In this case they exploited the DNS system to have your web browser redirect you to their sites in which the advertisers pays site owners for each user they have visit their site.

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Windows 7 Powertips - 8/10

Posted by Joe Gilreath
Joe Gilreath
I have been in Systems Administration for 9 years, working in the IT department
User is currently offline
on Friday, 24 February 2012
in IT Services

Change and Customize Windows 7's Logon Screen Wallpaper

While experimenting with several Microsoft Windows 7 systems recently, I spent a lot of time staring at the Logon screen. During that time, I began to think about changing the Logon screen wallpaper. Now, I have changed the Logon screen wallpaper in just about every version of Windows I’ve used, so I knew there had to be a way to do so.

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Is My Website Down? How Can I Tell?

Posted by Phillip Chafin
Phillip Chafin
Phillip has worked with over 4,165 websites in the past 7 years in one position
User is currently offline
on Monday, 13 February 2012
in Web Industry Topics

This is a question we hear at least once per week here at Thalo Creative Studios. With the complexity of computers and the variety of browsers there are ways that your computer may be showing you a down website when everyone else sees the site is online. But how do you know if your site is down or if it is just you?...

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Windows 7 Powertips - 7/10

Posted by Joe Gilreath
Joe Gilreath
I have been in Systems Administration for 9 years, working in the IT department
User is currently offline
on Thursday, 09 February 2012
in IT Services

Restore the Quick Launch Bar in Windows 7

I like Windows 7, and I like the Windows 7 Taskbar interface. However, judging by the cacophony of voices in the Windows blog, there is still a great deal of affection for the Windows XP Quick Launch Bar interface. Now, don’t get me wrong. I like the Quick Launch Bar, too. I still use it on all the Windows XP machines I interact with. But I also like the Windows 7 Taskbar and find it performs the same function as the Quick Launch Bar, at least as far as my computing habits go. But a vocal minority feels differently, so here is how to get Quick Launch back.

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Windows 7 Powertips - 6/10

Posted by Joe Gilreath
Joe Gilreath
I have been in Systems Administration for 9 years, working in the IT department
User is currently offline
on Tuesday, 07 February 2012
in IT Services

Change the launch directory to show all drives in Windows Explorer


One of the most obvious differences between Windows 7 and the previous versions of the operating system is the concept of libraries. In Windows 7, files are stored in a library folder, which is essentially a folder that references other available folders. The idea is that you don’t have to worry about the actual physical folder that houses the file in question because it is referenced in your library—let the operating system worry about where it actually sits.

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Windows 7 Powertips - 5/10

Posted by Joe Gilreath
Joe Gilreath
I have been in Systems Administration for 9 years, working in the IT department
User is currently offline
on Thursday, 02 February 2012
in IT Services

Reveal Hidden System Files in Windows Explorer

Note: I am using Windows 7 for this tip, but the procedure is similar for Windows Vista and Windows XP.

Open Windows Explorer to any folder. For my example, I am using the root directory of the C: drive. Click the Organize menu entry and then click Folder And Search Options:

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Windows 7 Powertips - 4/10

Posted by Joe Gilreath
Joe Gilreath
I have been in Systems Administration for 9 years, working in the IT department
User is currently offline
on Monday, 30 January 2012
in IT Services

Add Internet Search to the Windows 7 Start Menu

One of the features I like most about Microsoft Windows 7 is the ability to search for applications from the Start Menu search box. Rather than navigate through a long list of menus, you can just type the name of the application in the search box and immediately get a list matching what you are typing.

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Windows 7 Powertips - 3/10

Posted by Joe Gilreath
Joe Gilreath
I have been in Systems Administration for 9 years, working in the IT department
User is currently offline
on Wednesday, 25 January 2012
in IT Services

Get the most out of Windows XP Mode with these tips

Windows 7 has several built-in compatibility features that are designed to allow you to run most Windows XP applications right from within Windows 7. But some older Windows XP applications won't run in Windows 7 even with those features. For these types of applications, Microsoft designed Windows XP Mode for Windows 7.

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Windows 7 Powertips - 2/10

Posted by Joe Gilreath
Joe Gilreath
I have been in Systems Administration for 9 years, working in the IT department
User is currently offline
on Tuesday, 24 January 2012
in IT Services

Move and Copy files the old tried-and-true way in Windows 7


Send To

To access the Send To command, simply right-click a file or a folder and select the Send To command from the context menu, as shown here:

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Windows 7 Powertips - 1/10

Posted by Joe Gilreath
Joe Gilreath
I have been in Systems Administration for 9 years, working in the IT department
User is currently offline
on Monday, 23 January 2012
in IT Services

Disable Snap in Windows 7


With the introduction of Snap in Windows 7, we now have a completely new way of managing open windows. This feature allows you to arrange open windows, including maximizing and resizing, just by dragging and dropping a window to different edges of the screen. When a window is dragged to the correct position, a ripple effect will emanate from the cursor and you’ll see an animated outline of the window instantly appear in its new position. As soon as you release the mouse button, the window will snap to that location.

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Top Seven Internet Security Trends

Posted by Joe Gilreath
Joe Gilreath
I have been in Systems Administration for 9 years, working in the IT department
User is currently offline
on Wednesday, 18 January 2012
in IT Services

IID (Internet Identity®), a provider of technology and services that help organizations secure their Internet presence, recently released its list of the top security trends from 2011. Some specific trends that IID saw emerge over the past year include the extended enterprise coming under assault, the emergence of dangerous mobile applications, and cyber criminals increasingly harnessing the power of social media. This highlights IID's list of the top Internet security incidents and trends from 2011 (in no particular order).

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Virus / Malware Removal Checklist

Posted by Joe Gilreath
Joe Gilreath
I have been in Systems Administration for 9 years, working in the IT department
User is currently offline
on Thursday, 12 January 2012
in IT Services

We have had a rash of computers grace our office with some type of malware on them.  If you believe your computer or other computing device (ie phone, tablet) give us a call right away.  You could potentially be hemorrhaging sensitive data across the network without knowing it.  I thought it would be informative to show the checklist we go through in the removal and repair process so our clients can get a feel for the work involved. 

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Build that Computer!

Posted by Joe Gilreath
Joe Gilreath
I have been in Systems Administration for 9 years, working in the IT department
User is currently offline
on Wednesday, 04 January 2012
in IT Services

We recently did a Thalo Custom Desktop for a good client of ours. The whole process is broken down into 4 different phases. Phase 1 is the Design phase which includes the assessment of our clients computing needs, software, budgeting, warranty terms, upgrade path, etc., this is the most time consuming phase.

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Pay Per Click - Pros | Cons | Scams

Posted by Phillip Chafin
Phillip Chafin
Phillip has worked with over 4,165 websites in the past 7 years in one position
User is currently offline
on Monday, 14 November 2011
in Coffee with an SEO

Having worked for the past 7 years solid on link management for over 4,000 sites I have compiled a library of articles, blogs and examples for businesses to use to help them get on the right track for link exchange and traffic generation.

Many people ask us if they should use the PPC or Pay-Per-Click method to get traffic. The simple answer is...

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Online Backup Services: Are they right for me?

Posted by Joe Gilreath
Joe Gilreath
I have been in Systems Administration for 9 years, working in the IT department
User is currently offline
on Wednesday, 09 November 2011
in IT Services

Expanding on my post from yesterday I wanted to discuss online backups.  With internet connections getting faster and faster, online backup services have sprung up to fill the need of protecting users data without all the hassle and planning involved in a traditional backup system.  Lets take some time and explore some of the pros/cons of online backups so you can make an informed decision when looking at backup solutions.

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