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When you buy a PC security software package, you can, for the most part, sit back and relax, knowing full well that your computer is getting the protection that it needs. However, if you want to get the very most out of your software, you’re going to need to run some of the PC management tasks on your own in order to get the best from it. Here are a few tips to keep your computer running nice and fast with your new software package.

Add Some Exceptions

There are some transmission mediums that you really don’t need to worry about too much. For instance, if you play online games, the vast majority of PC games (not browser games) are pretty difficult to catch viruses and worms through, as the only information being sent back and fort his game data. So if you play games on Steam or another service, you may want to add an exception for your security software to that whole folder, as the constant checks on every new piece of data sent back and forth can be a major slowdown in a heated match.

Update Regularly

If you want to keep your updates small, you’ll want to update your software regularly. Most people, these days, simply leave their computers online whenever they’re on, so you might not need to worry about this if you use a wireless network or what have you. However, if you sign off when you’re not actively online, then you’ll want to make sure to sign on at least once a day to get the latest updates to your security software. Otherwise, you run the risk of having to download a few dozen updates at once and having to sit through a long download process because you haven’t been online in a week.

Cross-Reference Your Software

If you’ve been using one piece of security software for some time, but your computer is still getting slower each month, you may want to cross-reference with another piece of security software. If you use another program and it catches dozens of worms and viruses that the original software missed, then it may be time to switch to a new software package. You can, theoretically, use multiple security programs at once, but this can actually slow you down worse than any virus. Double checking every new information packet takes far more time than it’s worth, so just make sure to double-check for yourself now and then and see if your current software is doing its job.

Finding and implementing the right software to keep your computer safe needn’t be time-consuming and it needn’t be expensive. As long as you take some time to check out a few different pieces of security software, as long as you make sure that you’ve properly installed the software and as long as you practice common sense in all things security related, you should have no problem protecting sensitive information without suffering any significant performance slowdown as a result.

An easy to understand interface and reliable backup service make SugarSync one of the most popular options out there. If you’re an IT professional or home user who has vital data that needs to be backed up, this may be a solution you want to try.

SugarSync is provided with a client that is very similar to the Windows Explorer interface. For individuals who are accustomed to the Windows operating system, it should be easy enough to figure out how to work the SugarSync backup system. You can use SugarSync on Macintosh, as well as Windows, so there aren’t any operating system restrictions that you have to concern yourself with.

SugarSync allows you to control how much bandwidth is dedicated to your backup tasks. This helps you make certain that you don’t end up flooding your network traffic at inopportune times. You can restore files just as easily as they’re backed up, so you don’t have to be a professional to replace anything that’s been lost off of your computer due to a data error or for another reason.

Pros

Mobile device support is highly developed with the SugarSync backup system. SugarSync also provides you with excellent data encryption so that you don’t have to worry about your transfers or your files being compromised. You can synchronize your files with as many computers as you wish and you can file share over your Internet site access, as well.

Cons

SugarSync has been reported to have some issues with mobile devices and file sharing. There haven’t been any problems reported regarding the client. The problems reported were due to a server. Overall, most of the people who have used the service have given excellent reviews and haven’t reported any major issues with the client or the file backup service.

Analysis

SugarSync offers a diverse array of plans and, if you want a free version, you can upload up to five gigabytes to their servers at no charge. This is a very large offering and gives you plenty of data storage to get an idea about how the system works. SugarSync has a backup client that’s intuitive for anybody who is an experienced computer user. You won’t have to hunt around in your file settings or in other areas of the computer to figure out how to get a standard backup done. In fact, it won’t be any more difficult than moving files around on your own computer.

Conclusion

SugarSync is a very good option for backup services. Their online servers are reliable and you shouldn’t have any problems accessing anything you store with them. You’ll also find that SugarSync offers you an excellent client that doesn’t require you to learn anything new to use it. Configuration options are broad enough to keep professionals happy and usability is simple enough to keep end-users from being confused. Overall, this is one of the online backup companies that is really managing to do things right.

Whether you are newbie Excel user, an experienced data cruncher, or somewhere right in the middle, I want to share with you my top three top ways to help yourself when it comes to Excel.

The help section in Excel is packed with goodies, tips and tricks, and is really underutilized. Let’s start with most obvious one that Microsoft offers up.

1. Press the F1 button. This little gem is an obvious but great resource. All you need to do is search the archives of Excel’s help. If you do require more information about a function, rather than more advanced questions then this is the place to look. I find the articles well written and explain the basics really well. This should point you in the right direction to allow you to expand to a more advanced level yourself in applying the basics learned in the F1 help section. There is an offline and also an online section in this help area, use both for maximum effect.

2. Another perhaps not so well used help section is that of contextual help. This help is easily be accessed quite easily especially if you know the function you want help on. Let’s say you are in the charts tab. All you need to do is click on the Insert Tab then hover your cursor above the icon you want to use. Excel help will pop up. If you press F1 in this area, your help section opens up right on the Data area that you are in giving direct contextual help on the area you are in. Now, isn’t that Excellent?!.

3. It couldn’t be easier that pressing on a question mark to ask for help could it? Microsoft again gives you this option. The questions mark is available at the top right hand side of the pop up windows or boxes that appear in Excel. It is also available at the top right hand corner of the Excel screen next to the minimizes and maximize icons. Hit this question mark and the contextual help will be displayed as well.

These are my tops three ways to begin to help yourself in Excel. They cover the basics and provide a good platform to pose any questions you have on the Excel functions.

So, before you ask your colleague, or some random office person passing by, give the help functions a go first, you might be surprised at yourself. These helps areas provide an ideal starting place for the straightforward queries that often arise within Excel.

UpdateStar has some good features built into it. It may or may not be what you’re looking for, depending upon your needs and the amount of backing up you need to do.

UpdateStar is a backup service that provides the usually compliment of products and add-ons to help you get started. For instance, there’s an application that you install on your computer that allows you to backup your files quite easily. There’s also a series of support options that you can call upon if you happen to get lost. The company uses compression and encryption to make backing up files faster and more secure.

There are some nice features to the UpdateStar service. The licensing is very flexible, so you can move to a new computer if you get one without having to worry about any hassles. Beyond that, however, you’ll find that the service is very similar to what most of the other companies out there in this field offer their clients.

Pros

UpdateStar has some good features built into it that business and personal users will like. For instance, there is a feature that allows you to backup external drives. This is handy if you have most of your files stored on removable media such as a fire wire hard drive. There are also technological advantages to this system, such as block-level backups, but these don’t really differentiate it from the other offerings out there. This is a “set it and forget it” type system that automatically takes care of your backups for you once you set them to run.

Cons

The UpdateStar service doesn’t do much to make itself stand out from the competition. The versioning support, ease of use and other features are all offered by its competitors, as well, so there isn’t much here if you’re looking for a feature that really puts it over the top in terms of what it has to offer. There aren’t any drawbacks to this service, but it’s going to be competing on price and usability with its rivals and, in both regards, it fails to ascend to the top.

Analysis

While UpdateStar is a good company that offers a good service, it hasn’t really done the work to make itself the best out there. It supports 128-bit encryption in a world where much of the competition is supporting 256-bit encryption. Its interface is easy enough to use, but it’s not intuitive as are some of the competition’s offerings.

Conclusion

UpdateStar manages to be another offering for online backup in a world full of offerings for online backup. If you’re looking for something that’s going to knock your socks off, this probably isn’t it. It does everything you’d expect, but nothing that’s going to wow you. There are better products out there that have standout features that make them particularly well suited to specific demographics. UpdateStar is a sort of jack-of-all-trades being suitable for anyone but, at the same time, not really being spectacular for any particular type of user.