FORREST CONSULTING, LLC

Solving IT problems in the Rogue Valley since 1994!

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Latest Posts

Web browser protection

Are you fingerprinted?
Test your default web browser by going to the link below
https://panopticlick.eff.org/

Here is what it’s about,
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/10/31/think-youre-anonymous-online-third-popular-websites-are-fingerprinting-you/

Check out this web browser built off the Chrome platform so it supports all Chrome plugins.
I’m pretty excited about this newer browser, well… for the facebook blocking to start off the list.
The next up on the list, earn money while browsing the internet? Brave uses a crypto currency that pays you out, or is much
faster because it’s not advertising you to death… You get to choose. 

https://brave.com/faq/#do-i-have-to-pay

Slow PC COST per employee

Average Salary – $60,000
Average Hourly Labor Rate (Fully Burdened) – $43/Hour
Time Wasted Due to Slow Computer – 2.75%
Annual Cost of Time Waste – $1,892 per employee
Annual Opportunity Cost of Time Waste – $3,784 per employee
Total Annual Cost of Slow Computer – $5,676 per employee

https://warrantymaster.com/blog/true-cost-slow-computers

Think about the salaries that you are paying your employees. Let’s say you’re paying an employee $50,000 a year. Assuming that employee works 2,000 hours per year, you’re paying an average $25/hour. If that employee loses an average 40 minutes per day due to a slow computer, you’re losing $16.50 daily, multiplied by 250 working days in a year.

That amounts to $4,125 of their annual salary that you’re basically flushing down the toilet. A new PC costs around $1,000. Does that make good business sense?

NOT IT related, just health and safety related

Smart and dangerous power meters.
Call to opt out but it’ll cost you $36 more per month.
1-866-869-8520, or have a moderately less smart meter
put back in by Pacific Power.
Below is a small list of the issues and concerns from the US to
the rest of the World since these have rolled out.

Pacific Power has started rolling out smart meters. I
know one friend that developed health
issues after the meter was installed, had it removed and
health issues went away. Search for yourself on the net and find
how all over the world people are complaining about them.
They transmit every one second approx. 2X more than your
cell phone (if you were talking to someone), 24/7. They are
meant to communicate with other houses and communicate
like a laptop to their wifi unit on the street.

Issues with smart meters;

They catch on fire or explode after a power surge. 


https://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2014/07/pge_replacing_some_electricity.html

Spying, the power company DOES know, when you are home, sleep, eat, shower, how many people
are there. They DO sell this data to government and
3rd parties (laws have been passed in at least California to allow this).
From the US Department of Energy
https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/gcprod/documents/Broadband_Report_Data_Privacy_10_5.pdf
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/45946984/ns/technology_and_science-security/t/smart-electricity-meters-can-be-used-spy-private-homes/#.W3wRwy2ZPyw

Health – Causes cell damage,
You can see here where 2 minutes in front of a smart meter
causes cellular damage in blood cells.

And they are hackable.. says the FBI.
https://krebsonsecurity.com/2012/04/fbi-smart-meter-hacks-likely-to-spread/

They can shut off your power, or it can be hacked and shut off

At least early units (not sure about current) were not tested by and not certified by UL
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UL_(safety_organization)

Many reports of the power bill going up by 2X more (not the money savings the power company claims)
http://stopocsmartmeters.com/price-increases.html

Dirty Power health issues, from the switching mode power supply

People have been jailed for refusing to have smart meters installed????
South Carolina Woman Arrested for Refusing Smart Meter

ALL DOCUMENTED Health issues that are known by RF radiation poisoning;
Insomnia
Ringing, buzzing/tinnitus
Pressure in Head
Difficulty concentrating
Headaches
Heart racking, arrhythmia (pacemaker malfunctions)
Memory problems
Agitation
Dizziness
Fatigue
Tingling, burning skin
Involuntary muscle contractions
Eye/Vision problems
Numbness
Infant and heath issues with babies
http://www.baltimoresun.com/health/blog/bal-cell-phones-child-brain-story.html
List of individual heath items caused by EMF (Electromotive force)
Tgf beta one marker
Mmp 9
Copper (in the cells)
Hormones
Neurotransmitter 

https://stopsmartmeters.org
http://www.stopsmartmetersnow.com

Documentary that explains it all!
https://www.amazon.com/Take-Back-Power-Jeffrey-Armstrong/dp/B00WAR6W9Y/ref=sr_1_1?s=instant-video&ie=UTF8&qid=1533661717&sr=1-1&keywords=take+back+your+power&dpID=51PrUwDN1OL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

Scientific basis for our common concerns (over 200 scientists including peer reviewed scientific studies on EMF affects)
Numerous recent scientific publications have shown that EMF affects living organisms at levels well below most international and national guidelines. Effects include increased cancer risk, cellular stress, increase in harmful free radicals, genetic damages, structural and functional changes of the reproductive system, learning and memory deficits, neurological disorders, and negative impacts on general well-being in humans. Damage goes well beyond the human race, as there is growing evidence of harmful effects to both plant and animal life. 

https://www.emfscientist.org/index.php/emf-scientist-appeal

IT Budgets, at home and abroad!

Fantastic breakdown of to expect in percentage spending and budgeting for IT needs.

State of IT Report

Another one with direct and indirect costs for IT needs per employee and per PC per year.
Even though the report is from 2003, I found another spending study that shows IT costs
not changing from 2014 to an estimated 2020.

http://www.networkalliance.com/your-advantage/understanding-technology-costs

Of course it depends on your sector, because a construction worker doesn’t need the same equipment as a software developer 🙂

Last but not least 2016 data for IT spending and revenue industry wide is;
IT spending $6,800 Per employee and they would net the company, $157,093.
I have seen this average several times to be approximately $5,000 per employee per year.

ITBudget_Sample_2012

Above PDF
ITBudget Structured Approach
This report contains total IT investment, cost and staffing comparisons against published Gartner Benchmark Analytics industry standard IT metrics.
References to the Gartner IT Key Metrics Data refer specifically to the Gartner Benchmark Analytics Research Note #G00316604, IT Key Metrics Data 2017: Key Industry Measures: Healthcare Providers Analysis: Current Year and Research Note #G00316610, IT Key Metrics Data 2017: Key Industry Measures: Insurance Analysis:

If Windows 10 Start button doesn’t work

Windows 10 is next version of Windows operating system from Windows NT family. Technical preview of windows 10 was launched in middle of October. Just after its releasing there are so many bugs and issues found in this operating system.

One issue is related to its start button. Many users complained that start menu button not works in new version of Windows 10. After installing or upgrading the Windows 10 Technical preview, Windows start button failed to launch.

According to latest discussions on Microsoft technical forum it is now known issue and solution of this issue is found. There is a registry key fix for this issue. You add one new Dword value in your registry and restart your computer, and this issue will be solved.

In few cases this got fix by simply restarting the current running explorer process from task manager. Latest windows update has automatically fixed this issue. But if your problem still persist than you can apply below method.

Follow following steps :

1. Go to run (Windows + r)
2. type regedit and press enter.
3. click ok when notification window prompt.
4. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER>Software>Microsoft>Windows>CurrentVersion>Explorer>Advance
5. Create a Dword with name ‘EnableXamlStartMenu’.
6. Give it value 0
7. Log off and login again.
Your start menu should work now.

Slow computers are bad for business and mental health :(

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/10/08/computer-loading-times_n_4061470.html

GETTY
The average person will lose more than five-and-a-half days a year to slow-loading computers, a study suggests.

A study of PC and laptop users in the UK found slow computers are causing almost a third (30%) to be put in a bad mood for the rest of the day, while almost a fifth (17%) have relieved their frustration over a gadget through physical aggression by either throwing it against a wall or stamping on it.

According to the study, by flash memory firm SanDisk, UK computer users last year have lost more than 130 hours of free time to slow-loading computers, applications and files.

With the typical desktop or laptop user in the UK waiting an average of up to 12 minutes for their machine to load at any one time, PC slowdowns have become one of the top seven most stressful everyday experiences faced by computer users in the UK, according to the study.

So-called “digital downtime” has climbed into the top seven stressful everyday experiences faced by UK respondents, with a quarter putting the experience on a par with waiting for the boiler to be fixed. The list also includes waiting for a bus or train (30% of respondents saying it was the most stressful experience), and waiting for a non-reserved table at a restaurant (30%).

Stefan Kratzer, for SanDisk, said: “PC users in the UK are spending too much time waiting for computers and would quite understandably like to get more time back to do the things they enjoy.

“It’s high time PC users in the UK started getting back the time they are losing to slow computers.”