Windows Vista tips for users

Windows Vista has been on the market for more than 18 months now and we are seeing the adoption rate by our clients increase.

While XP can still be purchased on business-class computers through system builders like Dell and HP, retail stores such as Best Buy and Office Depot no longer offer systems with the beloved and stable Windows XP operating system.

For those of you who have already made the move to Vista, and those of you who are considering it, either by choice or by force, I have listed below seven tips that Microsoft has released to its certified partners, relating to security and protection, as well as searching and organizing on Vista.

All of your computer's security needs are now bundled in one easy-to-find, easy-to-monitor location. The Windows security center helps make your PC more secure by alerting you when your security software is out of date or when your security settings should be strengthened.

One of the key tools in the security center is Windows Defender. It works with Internet Explorer 7 to help protect your computer against pop-ups, slow performance, and security threats caused by spyware and other unwanted software, often defined as malware.

BitLocker drive encryption protects the information stored on your computer from hackers or thieves who might obtain access to your machine. It is a full disk encryption feature included with Microsoft's Windows Vista, designed to protect data by providing encryption for entire volumes.

The new backup and restore functionality in Windows Vista makes it easier to keep your data and computer safe from user error, hardware failure, and any other issue that could result in data loss. The Windows backup and restore center gives you one place to manage all backup and restore features.

Looking for specific applications, Web sites and e-mails is faster than ever with the streamlined Windows Vista start menu. To find a specific application or file, click the Windows key on the keyboard (or open the Start menu) and enter the file name in the Instant Search field. As you type, Windows Vista dynamically searches filenames, metadata, and the full text of all files and displays the choices by file type.

Every explorer window in Windows Vista contains an integrated instant search field in which you can enter a word, part of a word, or a phrase. Try filtering by type using the search pane and selecting "documents." Next, choose to see your files in another way, via the new stack view. Select the author column header control drop-down menu, and choose the option to "stack by author." Explore all the documents by a particular author by double-clicking on an author's stack. Now, save that search as a new search folder. Choose the option "save search" found on the top command bar and name and save your search folder. In the future, to re-run it, simply select the "searches" folder link on the left side navigation pane, and double click on your search folder.

Windows aero offers you a premium user experience. The glass windows create an open, energizing environment, and enable you to better focus on your content, rather than on the surrounding interface.

David Spire is the business technology adviser with US Computer Group in Bradenton. He can be reached at 721-6423. david.spire@uscomputer group.com

Computer tips for parents of teens

Reinforce the public nature of the Internet and let your adolescent know you will supervise online activity. Adolescents are more likely follow the rules when you let them know you will be watching out for them.

. Limit the amount of time spent online

. Use filtering software

. Monitor increased independence.

Even though adolescents may appear as though they can "handle" certain situations, they actually require and unconsciously seek adult guidance and supervision

Explain where it is appropriate for your adolescent to have privacy: confiding in close friends face-to-face, writing in a paper journal, in his/her bedroom, etc. Reinforce that there is no privacy on the Internet

. Know their passwords, screen names, and the friends they are communicating with online

. Monitor the use of webcams and mobile phones, as well as the posting and exchanging pictures/video online

. Explain that once a picture is sent online they lose control of what is done with it (it may never be completely removed from the Internet)

. Teach them that it is illegal for people to manufacture, possess or distribute naked or sexually explicit pictures of children under 18 years of age. Explain that they need to tell a trusted adult if they are presented with this situation

. Teach them that it is illegal for adults to offer them gifts or money in exchange for sexual activity

. Discuss dignity and self-respect and how it can be preserved or destroyed by messages sent online and offline

. Discuss the difference between healthy and unhealthy relationships

. Explain that they should never meet in person someone they first meet online without a parent or guardian

. Discuss online and offline high-risk behavior and create "what if" scenarios together to help your adolescent recognize dangerous situations and practice responses

. Encourage open communication and be aware of your adolescent's sensitivity to social judgment. S/he may be hesitant to share personal experiences

. Monitor and verify any job offers made, and accompany the youth to interviews

Source: Canadian Centre for Child Protection

Cisco And CompTIA Practice Questions: Etherchannels, The OSI Model

Here are some questions on static routing, the OSI model, IP version 6, and other topics to help prepare you for CCNA, CCENT, and CCNP certification exam success! Network+ candidates, I didn’t leave you out!

CCNA Certification:

What character or combination of characters indicates a statically configured default route?

Answer: An "S*" next to a route indicates that it is a default static route. If there were no asterisk, the route type indicated would be a static route – but not a default static route.

CCENT Certification / Network+ Certification Question:

Which one of the following networking terms is not associated with the same OSI layer as the others?

A. router

B. packet

C. TCP

D. IP

Answer: C. TCP runs at the Transport layer of the OSI model. The other three terms are associated with the Network layer. The Network layer is sometimes referred to as the “routing layer”.

CCNP Certification / BSCI Exam:

If an IPv6 address begins with "FF", what kind of address is it?

A. broadcast

B. unicast

C. anycast

D. multicast

Answer: D. Any IPv6 address beginning with "FF" is a multicast. IPv6 does not use broadcasts.

CCNP Certification / BCMSN Exam:

You've configured an Etherchannel and note that the trunk has gone down. You check the interfaces on one switch and note that two are "err-disabled". The corresponding ports on the other switch are not. What should you do?

A. Nothing - that's the normal and desired behavior.

B. Shut and reopen the err-disabled interfaces.

C. Shut and reopen the non-err-disabled interfaces.

D. Use the err-abled command on the err-disabled interfaces.

Answer: B. After finishing the config, shut and reopen the err-disabled interfaces. If the configuration is correct, that will do the trick. This is common when you configure all of the ports on one switch and then start configuring the other switch, rather than going back and forth between the appropriate ports on the switches.

See you soon with more CCNA, Network+, CCNP, and CCENT questions!

Cisco CCNA, CCENT, CCNP, And CompTIA Questions: HSRP, OSPF Cost, Route Summarization

Let's test your knowledge of important CCNA, CCENT, CCNP, and Network+ exam topics!

CCNA Certification:

The term used for an OSPF path metric is ____________ .

Extra credit: What formula does OSPF use to calculate that metric?

Answer: OSPF's metric is referred to as cost, and the calculation is 100,000,000 / interface speed in bps.



Cisco CCENT / CompTIA Network+ Question:

Which of the following do TCP and UDP headers have in common?

A. sequence number

B. source port

C. source IP address

D. window

E. destination port

F. destination IP address

G. ACK bit

H. reset bit

Answer: B, E. In addition to the source port and destination port numbers, the UDP and TCP headers also have a checksum field in common.



CCNP Certification / BSCI Exam:

In ISIS, what is the most efficient point of a network at which to perform route summarization?

A. An L1 router.

B. An L2 router.

C. An L1/L2 router.

D. A DIS router.

Answer: C. L1/L2 routers are area boundary routers in ISIS, and this is the most efficient point at which to configure route summarization



CCNP Certification / BCMSN Exam:

Short answer: An HSRP router is the primary router and it has a priority of 100. Another router comes online in the same group and it has a priority of 107. Does the new router become the primary? If so, why? If not, what additional configuration is needed to make it the primary?

Answer. By default, the new router with the higher priority will not become the primary router. To allow a router with a higher priority to take over the role of HSRP primary from an existing and normally functioning primary, the preempt option must be configured on the router with the higher priority.

Let's use a two-router HSRP deployment as an example. R2 is the standby, R3 is the primary ("active"), and both have an HSRP priority of 100. Raising R2's priority to 150 does not automatically make it the primary, as shown below.


R2(config)#interface ethernet0

R2(config-if)#standby 5 priority 150


R2#show standby

Ethernet0 - Group 5

Local state is Standby, priority 150

Hellotime 4 sec, holdtime 12 sec Next hello sent in 0.896

Virtual IP address is 172.12.23.10 configured

Active router is 172.12.23.3, priority 100 expires in 8.072

Standby router is local 1 state changes, last state change 00:14:24


R2 now has a higher priority, but R3 is still the active router. R2 will not take over as the HSRP primary until R3 goes down - OR the preempt option is configured on R2.


R2(config-if)#standby 5 priority 150 preempt


1d11h: %STANDBY-6-STATECHANGE: Ethernet0 Group 5 state Standby -> Active


R2#show standby


Ethernet0 - Group 5

Local state is Active, priority 150, may preempt

Hellotime 4 sec, holdtime 12 sec Next hello sent in 1.844

Virtual IP address is 172.12.23.10 configured

Active router is local

Standby router is 172.12.23.3 expires in 10.204

Virtual mac address is 0000.0c07.ac05 2 state changes, last state change 00:00:13

That's enough for today! Look for more free Cisco and CompTIA certification exam questions on this website soon! A+ certification and Microsoft Vista certification practice questions are on the way as well!
by: Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933