Just a quick post to wish you and yours all the best for the new year!
The Kalax Team
Happy 2012!
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The benefits of networked security cameras
People are always surprised when they hear that we install and configure network camera systems for both business and residential clientele. They seem to believe that only big business needs to worry about crime. The sad truth is that it happens everywhere, and the sad truth is that it can happen to anyone at any time. The amount of criminal events is much higher than just what we hear about.
We have installed many network cameras (commonly referred to as IP cameras), and as such, we know first hand that the crime rate in our society continues to grow.
While it is true that a camera can’t physically do anything to stop a crime, it can be configured to do the following:
- sound alarms
- notify personnel or authorities via email or text message
- record the event both locally and remotely
- show a live feed online (and/or email a link to the live feed to a list of people)
Not only that, cameras are a great deterrent. Would-be criminals see security cameras as a huge threat. Modern cameras come equipped with night vision so that your property is safely monitored 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. As well as a slew of other features, most cameras have High Definition visuals so identifying the guilty party is a breeze. Most modern cameras are also PoE-capable (Power over Ethernet).
This means that no AC Adapter is required to power your camera, you only need to have the network (Ethernet) cable run to it. You do need a special piece called an Injector to do this, but they are relatively inexpensive and well worth it.
Another benefit of network cameras are the low ongoing and maintenance costs. Other security services require you to pay for a subscription to their services each month. With network cameras, the only cost you incur is the initial charges (parts and setup), as well as any expansion should you choose to do so. There is no monthly service fee unless you subscribe to premium services such as remote recording storage. Typically the equipment will last many years with little or no problems.
We always recommend Vivotek cameras. They are high quality surveillance devices and their lineup of products can suit any individual need.
If you are interested in network cameras feel free to contact us and we will be happy to answer any questions or concerns you may have.
The benefits of a VPN
Today, we would just like to emphasize the benefits of a VPN-enabled workplace. We have set up many VPN tunnels at office sites, and have gotten lots of positive feedback.
For those of you who don’t know, a VPN is a remote connection to a network. VPN stands for Virtual Private Network. Basically, your computer establishes a secure connection over the Internet to your home or office network. This connection will grant you access to anything on the network that your administrator allows you. If your account only has access to certain directories, then those will be all you can use.
As stated before, a VPN connection allows for remote access to a network. This can be beneficial in many ways. The most obvious benefit is the ability to work from anywhere with an Internet connection (provided the computer you are using is configured to contact the network properly).
If you feel sick and can’t go into work, you could get some work done from home should you feel better as the day goes on. If you live far away from the office and your car won’t start, you can go inside and use the VPN to connect to the office and get some work done. If the weather has been really nice the last few days, you can take off early to go enjoy the weather and log in from home later that evening to finish off what you started. These reasons alone will help relieve lots of work-related stress.
Another benefit of VPN tunnels is the ability to connect offices.
If your business has various locations or branches, a VPN allows you to keep them all linked together. This allows you to easily check inventory and other data that needs to be logged at each location without having to make a phone call or go to each location. Linking sites over a VPN saves many hours of phone calls and travel to each location.
You don’t need anything too fancy to set up a VPN (We’ll go over this another day). You need a VPN-capable router such as a Linksys WRV200. If you would like a VPN for your office network we recommend a Sonicwall (check out the products we’ve set up here). Sonicwall makes quality products, they are a bit pricier but you get your money’s worth. Sonicwall also allows you access to their proprietary VPN software, which greatly simplifies the use of a VPN.
There is a drawback to using a VPN though. Because you are going over the Internet, things will only load as fast as the slowest connection present. If your office has blazing high speed Internet and you have dial-up, you can only get the information as fast as your dial-up will go (most max out at 56k, which is a drop in the bucket compared to most broadband connections).
We hope this information will allow you to make a more informed decision about VPN tunnels. If you have any other questions or comments, please feel free to contact us.
Incompatible Document Files
There has been a fair bit of debate over which office suite is best. There are quite a few of them, take a look for yourself. Rather than list the pros and cons of each individual suite, we are going to show you how to convert file types using a free office suite.
The fact is that Microsoft Office is the standard. More often than not, people will use Microsoft Office. But, those who do use other suites (Corel Wordperfect or even Microsoft Works for example) will most likely save the document as a “foreign” file type. We say foreign because it isn’t recognized by the Microsoft Office suite and cannot be opened, or it looks odd when opened.
When you have to do work with anyone who is using a different suite, this can create what could potentially become a severe problem. Especially if you are on a strict deadline. The most common Microsoft Office extensions are “.doc, .docx, .docm, .xls, .xlsx, .ppt, .pptx, .mdb, and .accdb”. Corel usually uses “.wpd”. You may also see “.txt, or .rtf”, these two will work in any text editor (Notepad, Wordpad, Microsoft Word, etc)
Skill Level: Basic, Intermediate
Time Required: 25 minutes
Software Requirements: Microsoft Office installed on your computer
For this example we are using a computer with Windows XP and Microsoft Office 2007, as well as the Google Chrome web browser. If you have another version of Windows or Microsoft Office, this tutorial should still work, things just might look a little different. If you have a Mac or Linux computer, the concepts should be similar at least.
Now, we are going to download a program called Open Office from their website, install it, and use it to open the document in question, and then save the document in a format that will be recognizable by Microsoft Office.
Now, go to the Open Office Website and click I want to download OpenOffice.org. Then click Download Now.
Remote control router setup
Seeing as we just covered our remote control program setup, we thought we should probably cover how to use remote control through a router as well. This way if you have a router and would like to try remote control stuff you can go right ahead and it also sets it up for us to come in through your router should you require our assistance.
Skill Level: Advanced, Intermediate
Time Required: 15 minutes
Equipment required: One router, laptop, ethernet cable (optional) and desktop computer (optional)
Software Requirements: Remote software installed on the computers you wish to access remotely
This example will be done using a Cisco-Linksys E2500 router. All Cisco and Linksys routers and managed switches run very similar software (With regards to the UI). They all look something like this:
That isn’t to say that this tutorial won’t work for you if you have a different brand of router. The interface may be very different but the items we are working with are generally the same. We also recommend that all router setup be done while wired into the router as wireless can be very flimsy and may not work very well for this purpose.
But before we start anything we ALWAYS recommend making a backup of the settings before you start making changes and after you finish. This can usually be done from the Administration tab:
One thing you should definitely have a good understanding of is IP’s and how they work.
Any computers that you want to have access to remotely, we recommend setting them up with a static IP (we recommend this for desktops only) or a DHCP Reservation (Some routers will do this and it is the preferred method. Especially for laptops).
In our router we will make a DHCP Reservation by clicking that button on the page above. Another window will pop up and we can view and edit information. DHCP reservation will assign a static IP address to the unique MAC address of your device (Wireless and Wired interfaces will each have their own MAC address). Find out your device MAC address and you can make a static IP for it within your network. Make sure there are no duplicate IP addresses! We will need that Static IP in order for our remote control to work properly.
We also recommend that remote administration be turned on because it makes working remotely infinitely easier. See below:
See how Remote Management is Enabled? This will make everything much easier if remote work needs to be done. These settings allow us to access the router using http://WANIP:8080 in a web browser on a computer off site (WANIP can be identified by visiting www.whatismyip.com while on site). Be sure to check the WAN IP on site every so often because if you aren’t paying your ISP for a static IP it will change every so often.
Now to set up remote access within the router it is very simple really:
Copy the VNC line EXACTLY as you see, but make sure the IP address is the one you have assigned the computer you wish to reach remotely.
That’s it! Hopefully this tutorial has helped you set up your own remote control-capable network using a router. It will sure help us help you should you require assistance. Don’t forget to make another backup!
Standard Remote Control Setup
Hey everyone,
Today we’re going to show you how to set up our standard for remote control of a computer. Keep in mind that this will not show you how to configure your router for this.
For this exercise we will use a computer that is directly connected to a modem for internet access.
Skill Level: Intermediate/Advanced
Time Required: 30 minutes
First things first. We’ll need to download the latest version of the software in order to install it. You can get it here. Just click on the most recent entry in the list. In this case you would click “Download UltraVNC 1.0.9.6.1″. It will usually be the first in the list.
Clicking that will take you here: