Anti-virus programs are pretty much an essential component of every Windows PC these days. 

Unless you logged out of Prodigy and went to sleep for the last 20 years, you are more than likely aware of just how prevalent, and how dangerous computer viruses can be.  On the low end they can be annoying either flashing a silly message or slowing your computer down.  On the high side, they could completely destroy your system and its data, or open holes for identity thieves and hackers.

Surfing online without an updated anti-virus  program is like crossing the Grand Canyon on a tight rope.  It’s not a matter of if you’re going to run into to trouble, it’s a matter of when.

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Now that we’ve gotten the holiday behind us, it’s time to get back to work and to focus on those IT Certification and Training goals.  For one week only, we’re giving everyone 25% off all of our IT Certification Training Titles.

If you’ve been waiting for the best time to get your hands on the hottest IT Certification available, now is your your time!  World-class instruction in an easy to follow format that gives you classroom style learning that you can take with you and watch anytime, anywhere.

Learn from the best instructors in the industry as you prepare for your certification or to give you edge over your competition.

Take advantage now and get 25% off all our certification and training titles, including:

• Cisco CCNA Certification Training
• CompTIA A+ Certification Training
• Microsoft MCDST Certification Training
• Microsoft Outlook Training

Use the promo code PMD2008 during checkout to have 25% taken of your order instantly!

Be sure to act now, because this sale ends Tuesday, June 3rd.

Network monitoring is just one piece of the management model, and different capabilities are used for different levels.

Before you pick a tool, you need to understand what you’re measuring and what ‘normal’ is in your environment so you can identify problems as they happen. Here’s a few network monitoring tools to consider when selecting the one that’s right for you.

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When it comes to keeping your network secure, few things can be as critical (and annoying) as keeping your servers and workstations patched.

At least in the Windows world, Microsoft comes out with vulnerability patches on the second Tuesday of each month. 

Affectionately known as "Patch Tuesday" this is a day that is the bane of most IT Administrator’s existence. 

Why do you ask?  Because it means another round of downloading patches, another round of testing, another round of scheduling deployments and then dealing with any fallout when applications for some strange reason just stop working.

Automation is the Key

Anyone who’s been in the IT industry for any length of time knows that automation is the key to eternal happiness, and automating system patching is essential.

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Migrating from XP or another operating system to Vista can be a little like moving into a new house (but maybe with a few more unexpected headaches). You’re already attached to the old dings and dents in your wallpaper, and you know where all the pots and pans are in your kitchen. You are beginning to realize there are a lot of kinks to this new place, and you’re not sure where everything is or how it functions. To make this difficult transition smoother, these are some shortcuts that will help you improve your Vista experience so you can move in a bit more comfortably (if that’s possible).

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Elephantware. That’s what download.com calls them: programs that, like tanks, pull you down with the undertow and slow your PC to a crawl, causing it to freeze up while you’re in mid-sentence.

You don’t want them, you don’t need them, and you can get rid of them and replace them with friendlier less bulky counterparts. So what are they?

Here’s a list of the top five most annoying elephantware programs:

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I thought I’d pass along a pretty amazing contest that is being sponsored by HP and BuzzCorps.  They are giving away 31 extremely high-end HP Pavillion HDX laptops over the next month. 

These desktop replacement systems have a massive 20.1" screen, and are valued at over $5,000. 

There are 31 different technology related websites that will be running various contests that you can enter to win one of these laptops. 

The rules for each contest will vary from site to site, so visit them and check out the rules.

This really is one amazing laptop, so check out the sites and best of luck!

The following websites will be running contests for the HP HDX "Dragon" laptop:

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WordPress is one of the most popular blogging platforms today, and for good reason.  It’s extremely easy to install and can run on Windows or Apache web servers.  There are also thousands of plugins available to extend it’s functionality.

Plugins are additional pieces of code that are "plugged in" to the WordPress core to extend its capabilities, add new features, or enhance existing features.  There are many extremely useful plugins, which will vary depending on how you intend to use your blog. 

No matter your intended use, however, there are a few plugins that no WordPress installation should be without.  Check out some of our most useful plugins.

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