In this day and age, it’s incredibly important to protect your computer. This includes using anti-virus, a spyware remover and a firewall to protect your computer from hackers, malware, spyware and viruses. There are many people out there looking to steal information from your computer by sending nasty viruses and by hacking into your computer. You can protect yourself by using simple, easy to use and free protection for your computer.

There’s much debate about the use of free versus paid computer protection services and software – many will say that you get what you pay for – that free protection is sub-standard to services and software that you pay for. The fact is there are not many differences between many of the free services and software that are available and the paid ones.

Avira Anti-Virus, AVG and Avast are the three leading free anti-virus software on the Internet. They are used by hundreds of thousands of people each day, just as many as the paid-for anti-viruses. Anti-virus programs are simple – they need to be regularly updated with a new set of diagnostics for current viruses. Any program can be set to do that, and they only work as well as they are updated – a paid for program won’t work any better if it’s not updated too. Some of the free anti-virus software available will automatically update for you, but most pop up a small reminder that it’s time to update the database with new information.

For spyware removal and protection, the most common free software available on the Internet include Hijack This and Spybot Search and Destroy. These two programs are available free for download on the Internet and are adequate protection for spyware removal from your computer. However, similar to anti-virus programs, it’s imperative that you download the updates for the database so that when you run the spyware remover on your computer, it’s using the most up to date information to remove all the spyware and malware on your computer. Paid for applications run the same way – update the database, run the software on your computer to remove the spyware.

Another important aspect of computer protection is a firewall for your computer. Today, there are hundreds available on the Internet for download that all work in the same way. Many computers come with a firewall already installed and working, however it’s best to download a personal firewall such as Zone Alarm or Tiny Personal Firewall, both of which offer free downloads as an alternative to the paid versions. Many people choose to run the free versions of the firewalls as protection for their computer, which is more than adequate to keep hackers out of your computer and to protect your personal information.

There has always been an argument in the technology world regarding the use of free software versus paid software. The primary argument – “you get what you pay for” – doesn’t hold much water when the free programs that are available on the Internet are sufficiently protecting computers around the world. In short, there’s no real reason not to trust the free programs for computer protection – anti-virus, spyware removers and firewalls – which have provided proven protection for computers against harmful processes that you may have unknowingly downloaded onto your computer, have kept hackers from obtaining access to your computer and personal information and remove spyware and malware from your computer, all for free.

There are many things that separate a “good” podcast from all the rest. Here are a few to consider:

Recording Quality

The quality of the recording is probably the most critical component of a podcast. A good podcast is easy to understand, and should be recorded at a volume level that makes it easy for listeners to hear all that is said.

Sound Balance

Adding background music polishes a podcast, but be careful that the music does not overpower the primary content. The background music should be subtle and not distracting. Create a balance that does not compromise the quality of the recording. Also, be sure that the music is not the focal point of a podcast show, unless the topic is about the music the emphasis should be on the primary content, and not on the musical arrangements.

Voice Inflections

Use voice inflections to indicate feelings and emotions. Do not use a monotone voice, as that will seem as if it just drones on and on. Listeners want to hear passion and expression in the speaker’s voice, and they want to know that the speaker is actually interested in the subject being discussed.

Podcast Ramblings

If the podcast is primarily an audio dialogue, keep to the point, and do not ramble. Listeners certainly do not want to hear the same thing over and over, so make the points and then move on!

Colorful

The podcast should have personality. Keep the podcast colorful and engaging.

Podcast Structure

A structured podcast requires timing for intervals, as each segment in the podcast is important. Create a format and structure for podcast shows and stick to it!

Edited Audio

Edit the audio file and remove any segments that are not polished. Also, remove any audio content or background noise that is unprofessional or unnecessary.

Consistent Podcast

It is critical that the podcast show be consistent from day to day, or week to week. Subscribers will have an expectation based on previous shows, so try not to deviate too much from the original format or show themes. Subscribers will expect consistency, so don’t wander too far from your basic format or theme.

Test URLs

Be sure to test the podcast after uploading the file, to make sure there are no URL typos or problems.

Subscribe To The Podcast

Be sure to subscribe to your own podcast, so you can see and hear exactly the same thing that your listeners do. It can often be an eye opener!

By:  S.Housley

IT Services Company Receives Honor for Second Consecutive Year

LOUISVILLE, KY, September 7, 2010 – GlowTouch Technologies, a Louisville, KY-based IT services company, recently received a second consecutive Inc. 500 award from Inc. magazine.  The 2010 award ranks GlowTouch at #244 on the list of the nation’s fasting growing private companies.

“Fast growth at any time is a big achievement; fast growth during the past few years is just short of miraculous,” said Inc. editor Jane Berentson.  “The Inc. 500 consists of these just-short-of miraculous companies, the ones that through ingenuity and ambition have increased revenue, hired employees, and grown fast in difficult economic times.”

Founded in 2004, GlowTouch has grown 1,261% over the last three years by providing IT outsourcing services to businesses across the nation.  The company provides application development, e-commerce, Web design, business process outsourcing, and IT infrastructure services.

“We are honored to be featured for the second time on the Inc. 500 list,” said Vidya Ravichandran, GlowTouch’s President.  “We have made a multi-year commitment to focus on service delivery by adding staff and measuring performance, and that has helped revenue growth tremendously.  Our incredibly talented team continues to provide invaluable service to our customers and we hope to continue our upward growth trend in the coming years.”  GlowTouch has expanded rapidly in 2009 and 2010 by adding employees at the company’s Louisville headquarters.

The companies on this year’s list employ more than 45,000 people.  Complete results of the Inc. 500, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, region, and other criteria, can be found at www.Inc.com/500.

About GlowTouch Technologies
GlowTouch is a well diversified technology resource company with offices in Louisville, KY, Nashville, TN, Palo Alto, CA, and a development center in Mangalore, India.  The firm provides turnkey IT outsourcing solutions to small, medium, and enterprise-sized companies nationwide.  For more information, visit official Glowtouch Website .

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A properly maintained Database Management System renders significant time savings, storage space savings, increased information availability, and the ability to accurately update information, all of which contribute to a substantial increase in human productivity. The quality of a company’s database management is one of the most important means to achieve a competitive advantage.

There are many reasons companies turn to remote database administration, but there are five key factors, according to Bluewolf. Acquired a new company and its database environment; you don’t have the right skill set to support the new environment in house.
Lost IT headcount
Redeployed staff to more strategic projects
Need to cut IT costs
Require higher levels and support and availability

Bluewolf is a leading remote DBA service provider, and has a proven methodology for providing high-end remote database administration support for a contractually set price, allowing for more granular and effective financial planning for future IT expenditures. Bluewolf Remote DBA offers 24×7 remote DBA support for Oracle, Microsoft SQL, MySQL, Sybase and PostgreSQL. It allows companies to compete in today’s demanding business environment, maintain institutional integrity and reduce system vulnerability by depending on its best-in-class remote DBAs.

Some of the unique advantages offered by Bluewolf are:

24×7 remote database support
Seasoned, full-time remote DBAs
All on-shore administrators
400+ years combined administration experience
Best-of-breed third party monitoring tools and analytics, as well as case tracking and regular proactive system assessments
Personalized process for each remote DBA customer
200+ employees
15 awards for innovation and customer service
Fixed-monthly cost
Unique Bluewolf culture: innovative, entrepreneurial, unafraid
Celebrating a Decade of Success as leading remote DBA provider in the US

Professional remote DBA solutions like Bluewolf Remote DBA not only substantially reduce enterprise database management costs, but also increase database reliability in a more agile and scalable manner than traditional in-house methods.

By Author: Kashif-Mukhtar

Looking into trying Google SketchUp? If you haven’t tried 3D modeling software before, it can be overwhelming to find a program that will work well for what you need without being difficult to learn and costing a fortune. Google has addressed this need by offering SketchUp for free. This program is designed to allow you do to 3D planning and model creation without the steep learning curve of professional software. Read on to know what makes SketchUp so great.

Simplifying 3D Frameworks

SketchUp does a good job of making building blocks of a 3D model simple enough for anyone to understand. You are presented with only two basic building blocks to use. Lines that Google calls Edges are used to create a a simple object, like a rectangle. The space inside the rectangle is called a “Face.” All you need to do in order to start creating a model in SketchUp is use the available tools to start drawing lines that connect into a face.

Once you have your first two dimensional object created, turning it into a 3D form is easy. If you made a rectangle, you simply need to use the tool provided to grab the face of the rectangle and pull on it a little bit to create a box. By combining forms that you create in this manner, you can build all sorts of three dimensional objects as soon as you start playing around with the program.

Painting and applying textures is as simple as using a familiar paint bucket fill tool with the texture or color of your choice to your model faces. Once you’ve got your design textured the way you want it, you can follow up by trying out different lighting options to see how the light and shadow will look on your form in different conditions. You can even save your model in slightly different positions to make an animation easily with the option called “Scene.”

Accurate Complex Models

One of the best things about the way SketchUp works is the way you can use the easy model building tools outlined above to create forms with mathematically accurate dimensions. If you want to use SketchUp to create a diagram for building something, you have the tools available to do so. The models in SketchUp are created with precise measurements that will translate easily into any project you need them for.

You can export SketchUp models into many different formats that are usable for printing and displaying online. If you have professional software you’d like to try with your models, you can purchase the pro version of SketchUp to export to most modern CAD programs as well as a wide variety of other professional formats.

Landscapes And Integration

You are not simply limited to your own library of objects with SketchUp. You can use the tools to create an entire landscape and populate it with objects you have either created or downloaded from the shared objects other users make available. Once you have your setting built, you can integrate it with other great software like Google Earth to share your setting with anyone. You can also download topography straight from Google Earth and turn it into a fully realized 3D model with SketchUp. Part of what makes the software so great is knowing you don’t need a great deal of knowledge to start using it to create anything you can dream up.

By: Joe Cline

Click on the link Google Sketchup to know more.