M.A.S. Electronics' Blog

Many of the recent data breaches have exposed passwords as a common denominator. And as you know, if someone gets hold of your password, then your account—and all the data in it—is vulnerable. But there’s an easy way to protect your critical accounts from hackers and other infiltrators: Set up a two-factor-verified authentication system. With a two-factor-verified system, knowing your password is only the first step. To get any further, hackers will need to know the second factor, which is…

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This list of security do’s and don’ts will help you safeguard your Mobile device and protect that valuable data. 1: Set up your lock screen This should be a no-brainer, but I’m always shocked to see how many mobile users neglect to set this up. Anyone who uses a smartphone or tablet for business knows better than to leave their data out in the open for anyone to snag. But if you don’t set a lock screen PIN/pattern/password, that’s exactly…

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A solid audio editor might not seem to belong at the top of your must-have list. It is, however, a tool that can go a long way toward helping you with your business. How? With an audio editor, you can add audio to your business website, create and edit a podcast to help promote your service or product, record and submit audio for radio ads, and more. But what software titles are available from the open source community? Believe it…

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Cryptolocker, a ransomware Trojan virus, encrypts a victim’s files and then demands payment for the key, and is indicative of the lengths nefarious types will go to for a few dollars of ill-gotten gains. Ransomware is on the rise and thanks to more than a few nefarious types and their victims, is proving to be an all too common way for electronic extortion to move into an enterprise. In many cases, it proves to be cheaper to pay for the…

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When you head out for a job, be sure you take this collection of handy go-anywhere troubleshooting tools. 1: Process Explorer Process Explorer (Figure A) is the tool to use when you really need information about a process and what file or folder that process has open. This tool is a tremendous help in discovering what application has a file or folder locked — especially when you can’t seem to eject an external drive. Figure A   Process Explorer consists…

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When you need to save disk space, backup data or send files back and forth to others quickly and efficiently, the best way is through file compression. You can use the ZIP archive utility which is baked right into the Windows operating system to get the job done. However, the ZIP file format is fairly limited in compression capability and is lacking in extra options. If you are looking for a power user style replacement that can support multiple archive…

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If you’re looking to audit your PCs, you need to have the right tools to handle this task. If you’re in a very small company, with one or two PCs, gathering this information isn’t a challenge to your schedule. If, however, you’re looking at 10 or more machines to be audited, you’ll want to have a hand in the process of collecting this data. Five apps 1. Belarc Advisor Belarc Advisor is often considered the go-to tool for auditing/profiling a…

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In most situations, a network router’s normal purpose is to facilitate in connecting computers together to form a network, either for internal use or for granting access to the World Wide Web. Admittedly, if you actually want to do anything interesting with the hardware, most routers have fairly basic firmware that limits the hardware’s full potential. DD-WRT Product Information Title: DD-WRT Company: NewMedia-NET GmbH Product URL: http://dd-wrt.com Price: Free I had an old Linksys WRT54G and tried the DD-WRT, which…

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As you know, the Start menu in Windows not only provided you with a way to launch your application but also a way to shut down your computer. For example, in Windows 7 there is a Shut down as well as a pop-up menu that displays six other related options: Switch user, Log off, Lock, Restart, Sleep, and Hibernate. In Windows 8, these options are spread out between the Power Charm and the context menu associated with your user picture…

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If you’re supporting a small organization with an even smaller budget, consider one of these free software management solutions. Poor planning is the root of most project failures and interestingly, the smaller the project, the less scrutiny the plan gets! If you’re managing projects, execution will benefit from tight tracking. Unfortunately, proprietary software is usually expensive or ransomed via subscription fees. If you’re supporting a small organization with an even smaller budget, consider one of these free software management solutions….

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