In this newsletter:

• Happy Holidays
• Sale: IBM PCs
• Is your data safe?
• Global Newsletter: Happy E-Greetings!

Happy Holidays

Hi Everyone,

We'd like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy, safe and prosperous New Year!

Just a reminder - we will be closed from 5pm Saturday 22nd December and will reopen on Monday 7th January

Cheers!

Graham, Peggy, Richard, Andrea, Nate and Janice
The team at CTS ~ Avonside

Sale: IBM PCs

• Pentium 4 2.8GHz
• 512MB DDR Ram
• 40GB Hard Drive
• CD Drive
• Windows XP Pro
• 1 x Full Height AGP
• 3 x Full Height PCI
• Keyboard and Mouse
• No Monitor
• Ex-Lease

Only $450 each!

Upgrade to a new DVD-RW drive for $50
Add an ex-lease 15" LCD monitor for $170

Available while stocks last. Prices include GST

Is your data safe?

How would you feel if you lost all your family photos?

How would you feel if you failed your courses because your assignments got deleted?

70% of small businesses fail within 6 months if they lose their critical client and accounting data due to computer failure, fire or theft

We can offer from as little as $2 per day a secure offsite (via the internet) backup system that can keep your data backed up, safe and secure.

Who should use this? Everybody who has important data, that can not afford to lose it. This is a cost effective solution ensuring your important data is protected in the event that it is destroyed, corrupted or stolen. Whether you have one computer in your home/office or 20 computers, this backup system is designed for anyone that has vital information stored on a computer.

You don't need to worry about uploading huge amounts of data each time your computer performs it backup tasks. Only the blocks of data changed within a file are uploaded and not the entire files themselves. The use of this method reduces the amount of data passing through your broadband connection. So a daily backup would only upload the blocks of data within the files that changed since the last backup, and not the entire files themselves, but you can still retrieve any file at any day in the last month.

Contact Computer Troubleshooters ~ Avonside for more information on this offer

Global Newsletter
December 2007

Happy E-Greetings!

As e-mail is more widely accepted as a communication method for doing business, it is also more commonly being turned to for sending good wishes to friends and family members on special occasions and holidays.  Slower, dial-up internet connections used to limit us to sending a text email as our message, instead of mailing a letter.  But now faster, broadband internet can handle animations, movies and audio too.  So, don’t be surprised if you see more cards in your Inbox and less in your letter box.

For most electronic greeting cards (‘e-cards’), you would visit a website, select your card type & design, and enter your message and the recipient’s email address.  Some companies are now also offering photo cards, which can incorporate one of your special digital photos in the design.  The recipient will receive an email with a link to their card or a link to a website with a unique code to enter.  It may also be possible for you to be notified once their card has been read.      

Free?

There are many reputable companies offering free e-cards and a Google search for ‘free ecards’ will return 1.5 million results.  Unfortunately, some free sites will leave you with more than just a card.  One of the top listed pages in our search results instantly generated advertising pop-up windows.  Another free site claimed that it contained no spyware or adware, but it did include the MyWebSearch product - which tracks the websites you visit for “the purpose of ensuring that our search partners are appropriately compensating us”.  Try websites of companies that you know and trust.

Real?

Malicious software developers like to take advantage of the holiday seasons, using the popularity of e-cards to disguise their dangerous software.  If they infiltrate your address book, their message will look like it was actually sent from you, so your friends are more likely to open it.  Be wary of the e-mails that you receive and only click on links in messages that you are sure of.  It is better to phone your friend and ask if they really sent it, rather than regret it later as you battle advertising pop-ups.

For business use?

Regular electronic newsletters, birthday and holiday cards can be sent safely to your customer base, especially if you take some steps to ensure their safety.  Always ask for their permission to be included in your email marketing.  Use an email marketing system which easily lets them unsubscribe and fulfills any anti-spam regulations that apply to your country or territory.  Also, choose an e-card site that actively working to protect you against e-card email scams (for example, provides details on what to look for in a legitimate e-card message from that site).

Talk to Computer Troubleshooters ~ Avonside if you are concerned about the contents of an e-card that you have received, or if you would like to learn more about communicating regularly with your customers via email.