If you have 2 PCs, you have a need for a network. A network will allow you to share files, printers, zip drives and Internet connections, among other things. Currently, the biggest driver for businesses with as little as two computers to network is to share their DSL or cable Internet connection. A small peer-to-peer network is a small investment.

A peer-to-peer network is comprised of individual PCs, connected via network cards in the PCs, Ethernet patch cables and a hub or switch. Two PCs can be connected for under $100 in hardware costs. Windows operating systems can be configured for the computer to "talk" to one another with no additional software purchase. Peer-to-peer networks are good for sharing DSL and cable Internet, printers, ZIP drives, and some file sharing for up to about 4 PCs. For more networking needs, a client/server network is recommended.

A client server network has a dedicated server computer that is not used as a workstation. This computer holds all the shared data and contains other shared resources. It also has a means to back up all the data. Certain programs, specifically databases, are client/server and require a client/network to run. This means that the processing of the program is done at the server computer, and requires less hardware resources on the individual PCs. Other popular applications requiring client/server networks include e-mail server and workgroup collaboration software.

A lot of people have a fondness for the innerworkings of PCs. If you are one of these people, that is great. You might, however, line up the services of an IT professional for the time when your computer issues go beyond your expertise and you are in a time crunch. Make sure you know who you're going to call when your server or PC crashes and a critical proposal is due today.

The question is, can you afford not to. At first glance, the services of an IT professional might seem expensive, but if you evaluate the time and negative energy you may spend trying to work on your computer problems, you might quickly come to the conclusion that having an IT professional is a wise investment, not a cost. An IT professional can not only fix problems you encounter, but identify ways to improve your computer efficiency, and keep you informed about technologies that can help you increase your company's bottom dollar.

If your office uses Novell NetWare 6, many of your files are accessible. If your office uses Microsoft Exchange with Outlook Web Access, the e-mail, calendar, contacts and public folders are accessible, but not the general files. If your office has a VPN (Virtual Private Network) you can access all of your office files. The short answer is that you can only access your office PC if it was set up to do so. Any PC can be set up to be accessed. Even one PC with a dial-up modem can be accessed remotely if it has been configured to do so. However, it must be configured to do so correctly so that it is secure and only authorized persons access it.

It is critical that you have anti-virus software AND that you keep the signature files current. Additionally, if you have DSL or cable Internet, you need to have a firewall. You can purchase a hardware firewall starting at about $70. I know the software firewalls can come for free or are very inexpensive, but they often interfere with other applications, so I do not recommend them.

Whenever you open a file, then later save it, there may no longer be enough room to save the whole file in the same space, so that file becomes fragmented because it gets split and saved into two separate locations. The next time you open it, it will take slightly longer to open. When you save it again, it might get fragmented further, and so on, and so on… In order to reverse the affects of this, you need to periodically defragment your hard drive.

To do this:

• Open My Computer
• Right-click on C:
• Click on Properties
• Click the Tools Tab and then Defragment Now.

Here are few to get you started:

QUICKLY SCROLL THROUGH OPEN APPLICATIONS:
ALT-TAB A dialog box will show up in the center of the screen. Keep the ALT key pressed down. Each time you press the TAB key you will move to the next item. Stop when you get to the application you want.

HIGHLIGHT LARGE GROUPS OF ITEMS:
Click the top or left-most area, then scroll to the right or bottom and Shift-Click the bottom or right-most area. Among other uses, this is excellent for deleting a lot of e-mails or for deleting/copying/moving files. Remember, once they are highlighted, you can right-click your mouse to see a context-sensitive menu for options.

CUT, COPY AND PASTE:
CTRL-X, CTRL-C, CTRL-V These are keyboard shortcuts that are especially helpful in Word documents. Because you may already have your hands on the keyboard typing, you can quickly use these shortcuts without using your mouse. For example, to move a whole paragraph up one paragraph: 1) position your cursor at the top of the paragraph, hold the shift key down while moving the cursor down to the end of the paragraph to highlight the whole paragraph. 2) Press CTRL-X. 3) Position the cursor in the new location. 4) Press CTRL-V. Your paragraph has now been moved. You can adapt this shortcut for many uses other than paragraphs.