0 Comments
Computer networking is an ever-evolving field. With new technological advancements, computer management can be an exciting and rewarding career path. Computer networkers and security professionals are the ones who make sure computer systems run smoothly. They can install operating systems, configure networks, back up servers, and manage network security. When users have trouble with their systems, these IT professionals are the ones who fix their problems. If you’re interested in training for a job where you can provide security and support for digital networks, here are six great reasons to study computer networking and security: 1. Work in a variety of industries If you study computer management, you don’t have to be stuck in an industry you don’t like. You can apply to any company that has an IT department. Typical industries that computer managers may work in are:
If you’re a visual learner then this career path may be a great fit for you! In a computer networking and security training program, you can see everything you’re learning. You'll be guided through the steps when it comes to looking for security breeches and other network issues. Although, there are some concepts you'll have to learn through problem-solving, computer networking is mainly a visual-based career path. Once you get out into the real world and put your skills to use, you will continue to learn in a hands-on, visual way as you encounter new technologies and new IT challenges. 3. Learn technical skills to become part of an evolving field In a career training program, you will be guided to learn technical skills like ethical hacking, creating and managing network resources, and supporting operating systems for current and new technological software and devices like tablets. With the development of smartphones and tablets, more businesses are beginning to go mobile. The International Data Corporation (IDC) estimates that 87% of connected devices sold will be tablets and smartphones. As the revolution expands, there is likely to be a demand for computer and mobile networking and cloud computing for these devices. 4. Learn how to problem-solve Studying computer networking and security training can help boost your problem-solving and research skills. As an IT professional, it will be hard to get bored as you investigate where problems are coming from and how to best protect your network’s security. A training program will also help give you the logic to understand a variety of coding languages and processes. 5. Make a difference Becoming a computer networking and security professional can help you become a positive influence in many different industries. You have the ability to help protect colleagues’ and customers’ private information. You can also help manage networks so people can live their lives and do their jobs better. The global importance of the Internet could also give you the opportunity to travel and help other people and businesses around the world. 6. Expected job growth According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Outlook Handbook, Network and Computer Systems Administrators have an expected job growth rate of 8%, which is as fast as the average rate of growth for all other occupations. You could be a part of the industries that make the most out of the tablet and mobile revolution! Technology is here to stay so why not consider going to school for a computer networking training program? You could help enhance the work environments and lifestyles of people from small communities to those around the world. Right now Hands of Support is offering just such a class in the Baltimore, MD area. You can sign up here. The labor market is strong, wages are rising, and companies are eager to hire. If “landing a new gig” tops your list of resolutions, there’s a good chance you’ll soon get your wish. The job hunt won’t be a cakewalk, though. According to a report from consulting firm Dale Carnegie, competition will be stiff, with 41% of U.S. employees actively looking for a new job or planning on doing so within the next year. To keep your resume out of the trash bin, you’ll need to find a way to stick out. We asked career experts across the country to give us their best tips for elbowing your way past the competition. Upgrade & promote your LinkedIn profile Experts are unanimous on this one: Employers are going to look at your LinkedIn page, so make sure it’s on point. Career coach Cheryl Palmer suggests padding your profile with keywords that recruiters will search for. Use LinkedIn’s new Open Candidates setting to privately signal to recruiters that you’re on the market, without alerting your current employer. Then, add a link to your revamped LinkedIn page to your resume. Raise your profile Cement yourself as a powerhouse in your industry by joining trade associations, volunteering to speak on a panel, or publishing a guest post on an industry blog. You’ll create a track record of expertise, and you’ll have an easier time selling your experience to potential employers, says Courtney Ellett, founder of Obsidian Public Relations. “Whether through media opportunities or smart content marketing strategies, you’re creating more immediate credibility, trust and intimacy,” she says. Get a website already Particularly for people who have a tangible work product — whether advertising and design samples or academic papers — a personal website provides a home for your work and an easy way to control your brand. Use a simple template from a user- (and budget-) friendly website builder like Squarespace or Weebly to “collect work of consequence,” advises John DiMarco, associate professor at St. John’s University and author of Career Power Skills. Many employers are going to ask for work samples anyway; this puts you ahead of the curve. Streamline your resume ...Your resume should serve as a sample of your most relevant work history. If you’re a decade or more into your career, you’re wasting valuable real estate if you still list any internships or early jobs. “Consider dropping off your early jobs — they probably don’t say much about your current skills anyway,” says Mikaela Kiner, CEO of Uniquely HR. “If you haven’t already, you can remove your college graduation dates too.” … And delete soft skills “Resumes are often loaded with people skills, but those things translate better in a cover letter,” says professional resume writer Laurie James. You’re better off leaving out touchy-feely words like “adaptable” “enthusiastic,” and “critical thinker,” she says. Use that space to be more specific about your skills and achievements. Use mobile tools to your advantage Your smartphone can save you time and energy during a job search. Check out Switch, an app that works like Tinder to pair you with hiring managers, or Inigo, which lets you create and send digital business cards. And Google Alerts can bring job leads straight to your phone. Be strategic with that last one, suggests Mark Anthony Dyson of The Voice of Job Seekers podcast, who says it “beats going to job boards if you use the right combination of keywords. … If I were looking for a teaching position, I wouldn’t just put in ‘teaching position.’ I would put in ‘online educator,’ ‘English teacher,’ and ‘curriculum facilitator.’ Highlight tech competencies Even if you’re not in IT, you’ll probably need some tech skills to get a new job in 2017. Update your résumé to highlight tools you already use — Workday software in HR, for instance, or Epic’s billing tool in health care. If the jobs you’re seeking require a skill you don’t have, find classes nearby or online, via sites like Udemy and Coursera. If you are near the Baltimore area check out our new classes to help you upgrade your technology skills to get your ready for a better job. You can learn more and sign up here. For as long as we've been inventing ways to capture and present data we have been developing media on which to store it. With each new innovation, we've seen greater convenience, increased storage capacity, and longer lifespans. But at some point, even with the utmost care, media FAILS...leaving us with a useless piece of plastic, tape, or metal. I have been the victim of just such a failure. There is nothing worse then something happening to your computer only discover you were putting false confidence in your back up method. Double whammy.
Lets take a look at what you may be putting your faith in and if its something you might want to reconsider. You've heard all the experts talk about keeping your email inbox at zero! Why should you keep your email inbox empty? The benefits are many:
Have you ever lost all your data? Been infected by a virus which resulted in having to format your computer? Had a hard drive failure? Had a bad installation of a program? These are some of the causes for lost data.
Lost data includes all the documents created in the programs you use. This data can be scattered all over the hard drive of the computer. As a responsible computer user you have to implement a system to back up all the data files on the computer “just in case” something goes wrong. The Importance of Backing Up Files It is very important to do regular backups to prevent the lost of data. Software can be reinstalled but your data could quite possibly be lost for ever. There are various causes for data loss, machine breakdown, virus, power outage, software upgrades, fire, flood and human error. Before continuing here’s some terms used when referring to backup: Backup – A duplicate copy of a file, program, folder or disk used if the original is damaged, corrupt or lost. Restore – To copy the backed up version of information back to it’s original location. Backup Media – Can be another computer, floppy disk(s), CD(s), DVD(s) or any other recordable media for computers.
Incremental Backup – A backup of only what has changed since the last backup. Why Backup? The files on your computer are very fragile. They can be destroyed or damaged by a software malfunction, viruses, worms, Trojans and the biggest cause of lost files, the operator (that would be you). Ever accidentally deleted a file, not saved your changes, lost a disk or been playing around with something new and broke your project? Backing Up How your files and folders are organized on your computer will help simplify the backup process. For the inexperienced storing all your data files in My Documents in separate folders would be the simplest solution. The main idea is to have all your data files in one location so when backing up you don’t have to remember or search for all your data files located on the computer. Consult the documentation that came with each program that you use to reset the location of your data/project files. XP has Restore feature that will restore your system back to a certain time in the past but you have to have the monitor turned on for it to keep track of what has changed and it isn’t going to help you if your hard drive crashes or the system is broken to a point where you have to format and start over. A backup system is still required. Backing up is really just copying your information to a removable disk that you can store somewhere safe in the case of an emergency. Ideally, you store your backup disks off-site (somewhere other than the building that your computer is in like your safety deposit box, a friend’s or at home if you work from an office). Scheduling Back Ups Full Backup
Backup Software For someone who can’t get in the habit of backing up regularly on their own using a backup software package might be the best solution. There are various software packages available for free or at a cost. Summary
Bluetooth is no longer a niche technology that’s only for geeks. These days, you’ll find it in everything from your phone to your car. As such, enabling Bluetooth in Windows is more useful than ever. The operating system offers some cool native features that rely on the technology. Moreover, pairing devices with your computer can streamline your productivity and help save time. But how do you set up Bluetooth on Windows 10? The process has changed drastically from the Windows 7 days. Here’s all you need to know about enabling Bluetooth on Windows 10. Enable Bluetooth on Windows 10 Before we get into the details of pairing devices with your Windows machine, you need to know how to turn on Bluetooth on Windows. You have two options available. Both will make your computer “discoverable”:
Enable Bluetooth on Third-Party Devices Given the number of devices that use Bluetooth, it’s impossible to cover them all. However, if you want to pair a gadget with your Windows computer, you will need to make sure Bluetooth is active on both devices. Some devices, like Bluetooth mice, have Bluetooth permanently turned on. On mobile devices, you will typically have to activate it. On Android If you have an Android device, you will normally be able to turn it on by using a shortcut in the notification bar. If you don’t see a shortcut, you can navigate to Settings > Wireless and Networks > Bluetooth and slide the appropriate toggle. Note: Some Android devices may differ. Consult your phone manufacturer’s support documentation if you cannot find the Bluetooth function. On iOS If you have an iOS device, you can turn on Bluetooth using the Control Center or the Settings app.
Pairing Bluetooth Devices With Windows 10 Once you have successfully turned on Bluetooth on both your Windows computer and your third-party device, you need to pair the two devices together. You only need to undertake the pairing procedure on one of the two devices. Because this article is Windows-based, we’re only going to look at how to perform the task on Windows. To pair two devices together on Windows, head to Start > Settings > Devices > Bluetooth and other devices. In the right-hand panel of the window, click Add Bluetooth or other device. A new window with three options will pop up. Click on Bluetooth. As the snippet of information suggests, this option allows you to pair mice, pens, keyboards, and more. The system will scan for any available devices in your vicinity and list any results it finds. The process could take up to one minute to complete. To connect to a device, click on its name. Depending on the device you’re trying to pair, you might have to perform a final step. This could include adding a PIN code or permitting Bluetooth access on the external device. Once you’ve successfully paired your devices, you’ll see it listed further down the Bluetooth settings page in either the Mouse, keyboard, and pen or the Other devices section. Remove Device Managing your list of paired devices is prudent. If you let the list get too large, you’ll lose track of which devices you use and potentially open yourself up to security vulnerabilities. Removing a device from your list of paired devices is easy. Once again, navigate to Start > Settings > Devices > Bluetoothand other devices. Scroll down the page, and you’ll see all the devices paired with your machine. To remove a device, click on its name to highlight it, then select the Remove Device button. Click Yes on the popup window to confirm your decision. Advanced Settings There are a couple of advanced settings you should be aware of. Go to Start > Settings > Devices > Bluetooth and other devices, scroll to the bottom of the page, and click on More Bluetooth Options. A new window will open. Select the Options tab, and you’ll see three options.
Troubleshoot If you can’t get your Windows 10 Bluetooth connection to work, the most likely cause is a faulty Bluetooth driver. Several users have reported broken drivers after upgrading from Windows 7 and 8. To check your Bluetooth driver, right-click on the Start Menu and select Device Manager. Expand the Bluetooth submenu, right-click on your Bluetooth driver, and choose Update Driver. If no updates are found, you can try selecting Uninstall device and restarting your computer. Windows should automatically reinstall a new copy of the drivers when your machine reboots. Dynamic Lock Finally, if you’ve paired your phone with your computer, you might want to consider enabling Dynamic Lock. Dynamic Lock monitors the proximity of paired Bluetooth devices. If they move out of range of your computer, Windows will automatically lock your device. Once the devices are back within range, it will unlock again. To set up Dynamic Lock, firstly ensure your device is paired with your computer using the above steps, then go to Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options > Dynamic Lock and mark the checkbox next to Allow Windows to detect when you’re away and automatically lock the device. Do You Use Bluetooth on Windows? This article has covered all the basics. You should now have enough knowledge to get yourself up and running with any Bluetooth device. We’re curious to learn about how you use Bluetooth in Windows 10. 1) Canned ResponsesIf you commonly compose and reply with the same message over and over, you could benefit from the “canned response” feature. This lets you create automatic responses that you can insert in to your email and tweak as needed without having to manually type out the whole thing. Call it the lazy girl tip to sending emails. In order to enable this feature, click the gear in the top right corner. Select “Settings” and go to the “Labs” tab. Then enable “Canned Responses” and save. Now when you open up an email you can create and/or add an existing canned massage. Brilliant. 2) Unsend EmailsEver accidently hit send mid email? Or ever send a hasty email that you wish you could take back? (Yep, I’ve done this one too.) The good news is that you CAN take those emails back up to 30 seconds after you hit “send”. In order to enable this feature, go back to Settings, scroll down to “Undo Send”. Check the button and select the cancelation period. Then save. When you send a future email, you’ll see this bar below up top. Life. Saver. 3) Multiple Email AccountsSome of you may have multiple gmail accounts too (for example, if you set up a new email address when changing your last name after getting married). You can add up to 5 Gmail accounts under one. This is super convenient if you don’t want to manually log in and out of each of your accounts. To set this up simple go back to your Settings, click on the “Accounts” tab, then click “Add another email address.” Then when you send an email you’ll see the “from” line which you can change to any of your gmail addresses. 4) FoldersIn general Gmail isn’t a huge fan of folders, but you may be. It’s the one feature that I love more than anything. I like my email organized just like I like my life organized. To set these up, go back to “Settings”, then select the “Labels” tab. Scroll down to the bottom and create any new Labels that you want. Google may call them “Labels”, but I use them as “Folders”. Sorry Google. Now when you look over to your left side bar, you’ll see the Folders. You can easily move your emails in to the folders by clicking on the email and dragging in to the folder. OR clicking on the email and selecting the Labels drop down at the top. 5) Send Email LaterI’m one of those people who works late at night and on the weekends. But to all my coworkers, I’m likely rather frustrating because no one wants to get emails when they’re not working. Enter Boomerang. The magical ability to send your emails at a future date. Gmail does not have this feature directly, BUT the Gmail extension, Boomerang, will do the trick. First, simply download the Boomerang extension. Log in to Gmail. Start composing a new email. Now you’ll see a red “Send Later” button. Select WHEN you want the email to send and hit “Confirm”. 6) See which emails are sent JUST to YouWhen you log in to check your email it’s easy to see which emails are sent JUST to you vs you & other recipients. To activate,go back in to Settings, scroll to the bottom to “Personal Level Indicators”, select “Show Indicators”. Now when you log in to your email, you’ll be able to see which emails were sent just to you vs you & others 7) Archiving EmailsArchiving Emails is a great way to keep your inbox clean without forever deleting emails. You never know when you might need one of those old emails again. If you need the later on, you can simply search for it to retrieve it! Hope you found these helpful. Now that you’ve got these tricks up your sleeve, you can ruthlessly organize your email!
Dear Hands of Support,
My computer's feeling a little sluggish lately and I want to boost its performance if possible. Are there any easy and reliable tools I can use to check my PC and tune it up? Thanks, Hoping for a Boost Dear Hoping, Getting top performance out of your computer is definitely a challenge. We've got some ideas for you that may help. Perform Basic Maintenance We guess that you're already doing basic maintenance for your computer. Performing those maintenance steps, such as keeping your operating system and applications up to date and cleaning out temporary files, should keep your system running well. Sometimes, just deleting bloatware can really make a big difference in your computer's performance (we recommend PC Decrapifier for the job). So definitely the first thing we'd recommend is to check the guide for your operating system. If you're a Mac user don't forget to use the built in Disk Utility feature every 3 months. Download and Run Diagnostic Tools Like Soluto to Identify ProblemsIf your computer is experiencing problems, however, like applications freezing or serious slowdowns, you can use computer diagnostic software to troubleshoot the problem. One computer diagnostic software is Solute. Solute is a free Windows tool that shows you which applications may be slowing your system down. It's also a tool for solving application crashes before they happen and can report crash information based on other Solute users' experiences. Perform a Quick System Check Up Online with PC PitStop OverDrive If you just want a quick PC health check, however, there's a free online tool called OverDrive from PC PitStop you can use that will analyze your computer's hardware, software, security, and so on, and give you recommended fixes, if any. The site looks spammy, but the tool actually does a good job of analyzing your system and can also be used for benchmarking your computer. (Note: PC PitStop also offers PC Matic and other software downloads that can check your computer's performance, but you don't need to download and install any software to run the OverDrive tests.) When it's done scanning, OverDrive will suggest fixes like clearing your cache, updating any missing drivers, increasing security settings and so forth. Re-run the tests after making any suggested fixes and you should see your rank improve and your PC operating at least a bit better. Good luck and have fun testing your system! Sincerely, Hands of Support |
Archives
August 2018
Categories |