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April 2013 Update Details

April 10, 2013 by Todd Sanders Leave a Comment

It’s the second Tuesday of April and that means it is Microsoft‘s Patch Tuesday, the day of the month when Microsoft releases several scheduled patches and updates for their various software products. In the arena of Third-Party applications, Adobe has updated a small number of products and Java still sits at version 7 Update 17. So, here is a quick break down of the updates:

Microsoft:

Two Critical bulletins that cover Internet Explorer and Remote Desktop Client. Both of these vulnerabilities allow for attackers to launch programs remotely.
Seven Important bulletins that affect various Windows versions (two impact Windows 8 directly), Office, and Windows Defender. 5 of these vulnerabilities allow for a user to increase their privileges on a computer, while 1 bulletin can results in a denial of service for Domain systems, and the last bulletin causes information disclosure.

Adobe:

One update to Coldfusion that could allow an individual with no credentials to the administrative console to gain access.
One update to Shockwave Player that could allow an individual to remotely launch programs on a computer.
One update to Flash Player and Air that could allow an attacker to crash the program and take control of the computer system.

Users are encouraged to apply these updates to a test system prior to deployment to their critical systems to test for conflicts and problems caused by the updates to existing programs. Microsoft Windows users are encouraged to test and apply both Critical updates as soon as possible to avoid potential exploitation.

There are currently limited known attacks in the wild for the Microsoft updates, none of which currently target either Critical bulletin.

Here are links to the security update advisories:

Microsoft: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/security/bulletin/ms13-apr

Adobe: https://www.adobe.com/support/security/

Additionally, April 8th 2013 marks the day that Windows XP Service Pack 3 has 365 days remaining on its Extended Support. After April 8th, 2014, Microsoft will no longer be providing updates or patches for Windows XP Service Pack 3. Service Pack’s 1 and 2 are currently no longer supported.

For more details or to schedule an onsite service call to get updates installed as part of our Preventive Maintenance service, feel free to contact us.

Update – New Licensing Agreement for Office 2013

April 9, 2013 by Todd Sanders Leave a Comment

As reported previously, Microsoft has updated it’s licensing agreement for Office 2013 such that users are required to purchase a new copy of Office 2013 should they decide to re-install the suite on another computer, such as a new computer replacing a failed one.

However, after much complaint from users, Microsoft has decided to repent and update the EULA once again. Now, users may perform one transfer every 90 days (uninstall from one computer to install onto another), except for hardware failures when a computer is being replaced. Those situations allow for immediate re-installation.

It will take some time for the changes to be implemented in the activation process and users may be required to call in to active re-installed copies of Office 2013 for a short time period.

For more information, check out Office’s very own blog post: http://blogs.office.com/b/office-news/archive/2013/03/06/office-2013-retail-license-agreement-now-transferable.aspx

Questions or concerns? Just give us a shout.

New Licensing Agreement for Office 2013

February 15, 2013 by Todd Sanders 1 Comment

Changes are a given. In software, they happen quite often. And for Microsoft, they happen without so much as a whisper.

Microsoft released Office 2013 this past January, and with it, major changes in the licensing agreement. However, they didn’t mention anything at the time about the changes. Not until Valentine’s day.

Microsoft confirmed to ComputerWorld in an email exchange that Office 2013’s end user license agreement, or EULA, specifies that by installing Office 2013 on a specific PC, the software license is tied to that particular PC. Effectively, if you replace your PC, you must also purchase a new copy of Office 2013.

For reference, the previous Office version, 2010, allowed a user who purchased a single license retail copy to install Office on a PC, and then re-install it on a new PC that replaces the old PC.

Obviously, for an individual who may be replacing their computer in the near future, this can prove to be a costly change. However, this is an option from Microsoft to help avoid such a wallet rummaging headache.

Office 365 Logo Microsoft has been selling Office 365 since mid-2011. 365 is a subscription based service that allows a user to have access to the Office programs from multiple systems (up to 5 with Home Premium). Instead of paying upfront for a single license, 365 charges either a per year fee or a per month fee and can be used on any combination of PC’s and Mac systems. Also, should you replace a system, simply deactivate the license on that computer and you can put Office on a new one.

The changes in the EULA, plus the fact that you have to dig through multiple pages on Office.com to find details on Office 2013, show that Microsoft is pushing consumers more towards subscription based cloud services over conventional retail products.

So, you may be wondering what option is best for you. And just like the answer to most questions of this nature, simply put, it depends on you. Individuals with a single PC in their home or business will likely never see the need to have 5 or more computers licensed for Office 365 and would be fine with a retail copy of 2013, even if they replace the PC within a year or so.

Multiple PC households and small to medium sized businesses will likely find the subscriptions both cost effective and more efficient, with the ability to share and collaborate on documents, plus the inclusion of Office products such as Access and Publisher.

If you’re thinking of making the switch to the latest version of Office, give us a quick call or Contact Us and we’ll help you figure out what option is best for you.

ComputerWorld’s Article

First Look at Facebook’s Timeline

September 24, 2011 by Quincy Zikmund 1 Comment

This past Thursday, September 23, Facebook held its f8 Conference where the CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, announced new updates and changes for the Facebook platform. This year marked the biggest announcements and changes that we have ever seen from Facebook. One of these are the new profile design that has been called Timeline, which will be rolled out to all users in the coming weeks. However, Facebook developers gained access to Timeline immediately. This morning I made the switch on my profile, which is only visible to other developers until the official launch. Today I’m going to give you a tour of the Timeline so that you will know what to expect. Let’s start from the top!

Profile Picture, Cover and About Information

The first thing you see on the new profile is a large image that spans the entire width of your profile. This image is called Cover. It’s similar to your Profile Picture in that you set it to be whatever you want and can change it as often as you’d like. The purpose of the Cover image is to introduce yourself in one quick hit. Example: You might set your profile picture as just an image of yourself and use your cover image to show off your latest family portrait. The Cover image is only seen when someone is looking at your profile. The profile picture has had some updates as well. You’ll notice that it overlays your Cover image, which gives a pretty nice effect. Your profile picture’s thumbnail is still what you’re known by around Facebook when you send out posts and comments. However, the profile picture as it shows up on your profile is now a 2″ x 2″ square.

Your basic “About” information (i.e. your job, school, location and relationship status) is now located directly under your profile picture and name. The same information is displayed as before but now it just looks much cleaner. Clicking the “About” link under your basic information takes you to a page that is the equivalent of the “Info” tab that we had before. The same information is displayed as before, only in a much cleaner format that resembles the Timeline. All of your other links that were in the left sidebar on the old profile are now directly under the Cover image and each link includes image thumbnails. By default, “Friends” and “Photos” are the first two listed. Next you see “Map” (see below for information about the Map) and “Likes”. After the first four images you see a button with a number and an arrow. When this is clicked you see all other applications that you use such as Spotify or Nike +. Your featured applications can moved around but your “Friends” link and “Photos” link must stay in the first two spots.

Your Map

The Map application is a brand new addition to the Facebook profile. You can see the Map thumbnail and link as one of my featured applications under the Cover image. When clicked you see a large map full of dots. These dots represent everywhere that you have told Facebook you’ve been. Included on the map are check-ins, life events that you have added to your Timeline and everywhere that you have lived. This is a pretty cool feature, especially if you travel a lot.When others are looking at your map they have the ability to filter the map by month and year by using the navigation links that you see to the right of the map.

Goodbye Wall, Hello Timeline

Say goodbye to your old Wall and hello to your Timeline. Your Timeline is the biggest overhaul to profiles. Rather than showing a long list of your most recent posts and activity your Timeline is divided into two columns and each post or piece of activity has its own box. At the top of your Timeline is the dialog box where you make posts and where others write on your Timeline just they like they did on the Wall.

Life Events

Life events can also be added to your Timeline from the same place that you post status updates. These life events can be anything that you have ever done such as taking a vacation, getting a new pet or buying a home. These Life Events are then placed into your Timeline on the date that you specify. When adding a Life Event you can include a photo, the story, and who you were with. Timeline essentially allows you to create your own autobiography from the day you were born through the present day. In fact, when someone scrolls to the very bottom of your Timeline they see your birthday along with a baby picture and where you were born, if you choose to include those items.

To the right of your profile is a navigation bar that includes months and years. This is how you filter through your timeline. If your friend wants to look at what you were up to in 2008 then all they have to do is click “2008” in the navigation and they will be taken to that year of your life.

Final Thoughts

Please note that this is simply an overview of the new Facebook profiles and Timeline. There is so much more to say about all of the updates and changes coming, which we will talk about in later blog posts. For now I hope that you at least have a better understanding of what to expect in the coming weeks. This new format will no doubt take time for users to adapt to.

What are your thoughts about the new Facebook profile design and Timeline? Let us know in the comments below.

Moving to a New Building

March 10, 2011 by A2Z Computer Services Inc 1 Comment

Over the past couple of weeks many of you may have seen a “For Sale” sign outside of our office. We would like inform all of you that A2Z Computer Services is not for sale and is not going out of business. The building that we are currently in however is for sale.

We have been in this location since the fall of 2006. Our lease is due to expire later this year and with the growth we’re seeing since the latter half of 2010, I have decided that a larger facility is in order.

To answer your next question, yes, we are staying in Henderson and planning on occupying a building in the downtown area. We hope to announce the exact location to you very soon. Until then it’s business as usual for A2Z.

Keep checking back with us on our website, Facebook and Twitter pages for all of our new office updates.

Finally, I’d like to express my sincere appreciation for your business over the past 15 years. I am looking forward to providing our services for years to come.

Kenny