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NEWS RELEASE: Fergus, ON. – Small actions make big changes, and the second annual MyGreenITDay, hosted by PlanetCPU, was an overwhelming success for the Centre Wellington Food Bank and our community landfills.
Held on May 13th to May 14th at Planet CPU’s Tower Street South location in Fergus, this two-day free recycling electronics event allowed the public to drop-off recyclable electronic equipment, everything from computer monitors to hard-drives, printers, televisions and all their accessories. Through a partnership with RecycleElectronics.ca (Mida RPM), MyGreenITDay was created to help educate people on the ethical recycling procedures for electronic devices. For their part, RecycleElectronics.ca provided information, the large collection bin and ensured safe recycling measures were used to properly dispose of the waste.
A grand total of 20,000 lbs of electronics were collected, a remarkable amount of hazardous waste now safely diverted from our region’s landfill sites. Compared to Planet CPU’s initial MyGreenITDay in August 2010, which successfully gathered 4000 lbs in electronic recycling, this year’s event is proof that people are getting the Green message and making conscious recycling choices. It also means there is an increased need for events like this, something Planet CPU is actively helping to support by developing a how-to package to aide other technology partners host their own MyGreenITDay events in their communities.
"There are multiple reasons for running an event such as MyGreenITDay in your community,” says Terry Godreau, co-owner of Planet CPU, winner of Centre Wellington’s 2010 Small Business of the Year. “Helping the environment by diverting hazardous waste from our landfills is our highest  priority, but the event also brings people together to help support other community groups, allowing us to use the event to give back to those in our community who are in need."
MyGreenITDay included a food-drive where Planet CPU collected a large amount of nonperishable foods and cash donations in support of the Centre Wellington Food Bank. This will be matched with a cash donation of $1,607.46, from the funds raised through the scrap materials of the tonnage of waste collected.
This event was organized by Planet CPU co-owner Terry Godreau, and Centre Wellington District High School Co-op student Alan Dejean, as part of Dejean’s placement project. It was made possible with the generous support of Wellington Advertiser, Centre Wellington Chamber of Commerce and members of the community.
Contact:
Terry Godreau, Planet CPU
519-843-1234
www.PlanetCPU.com |
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 I see it far too often. You're sitting at work waiting for a page to load. Just then, a 20MB email shows up from a client. You can't save it to your computer - you ran out of space two months ago. You have 5 different USB flash drives, but they're all being used for your important backups. You make a call into your IT department or support partners and are assured that it's your fault, and they'll get it fixed asap. Two hours later, they've clicked a bunch of buttons and deleted a bunch of your data that you would have been happy to have kept. They've stuck a band-aid on your problem, knowing full well that it is going to reoccur. The response was reactive, and most often nothing is done to ensure other problems don't arise - let alone the one they just fixed. After all, if there were no problems, then there would be no job for them, right?
The truth is, most of the workforce's daily frustration comes from dysfunctional computer equipment. Those frustrations and your IT Support's ability to temporarily relieve those frustrations are what form a relationship that is based completely on desperation. Even then, the IT staff often see themselves as "celebrity status" because of their ability to fix multiple problems again and again. But have you ever stopped to wonder why these problems keep recurring - and aren't solved permanently?
This is where YOU can step in and become a Major Hero at your place of business! PlanetCPU offers flat-rate Managed Services, which is proactive, preventative maintenance, support and monitoring to small and medium businesses in Guelph, Kitchener, Fergus/Elora, Orangeville and surrounding areas. When we support a business, we constantly monitor each and every server and workstation used - even remote laptops - for problems, and regularly preform proactive maintenance to prevent problems from happening in the first place. Included is a support ticket system, Remote Control Support, Anti-Virus monitoring and Support and more! The truth is, the day of in-house IT staff are dwindling. We are far better prepared to support and monitor multiple systems because we put processes and self-healing processes in place so if problems do occur, they go unnoticed and are repaired without your even knowing they existed. We watch and report to you on everything from Hard Drives reaching full capacity to Virus Definition Update failure. We then resolve the problem, all covered under our affordable monthly subscription.
If your business has at least one server and 5+ workstations, then you're our ideal client. Who at YOUR work is going to be the hero? We will provide a free 2-hour network/security/backup audit and/or support for your business - absolutely no obligation - just to show you how much better we really are from the competition. We will fix any existing problems, consult you on any IT Matters, and provide a very valuable report for your boss to review. If they're happy with our services (which we know they will be), then we'll provide a no-obligation quote for continued Managed Service Support, and your business dynamics will change! Less frustrations, more work being completed, less "down-time" and more profits for the company! Your coworkers will thank you. Your boss will probably promote you! Want an easy way to achieve "rock-star" status at your place of business? Be the one who brings PlanetCPU in to meet the decision maker in your company, and change the way your technology runs!
You can find out more about the services here. |
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There are far more benefits to recycling than to just the environment! Where is YOUR e-waste going? |
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 In today's world where IT equipment is constantly changing we have to sit back and think about where the used, old, obsolete, surplus or failed IT equipment you no longer use is going when you are done with it. The trend has always been to dispose of it just like you would with your other household garbage. That means that it is ending up in a landfill.
In 2007 a report from EPA they estimated that over 112,000 computers were discarded daily. That is almost 41 million desktops and laptops a year, and that was in 2007 - numbers have been consistently growing ever since. They go on to estimate that out of the 3.01 tons of e-waste in the United States (sorry, can't find Canadian stats yet!), 86.4% was NOT recycled.
Only 13.6% was recycled.
Do you really want a product that contains hazardous wastes such as lead, mercury and cadmium to end up in a landfill?
We think not...
That's why PlanetCPU has partnered with a highly regarded, environmentally conscious local recycling company who is certified to recycle at least 95% of all the techno-junk we ship to them - and they pay us for it! The best part is that the entire event is organized not only to help our environment, but to raise money for local community groups. We're ramping up for MyGreenITday 2011, and we need your support! Whether you can help by simply cleaning out your basements, garages and businesses of the old technology garbage, or want to help with the event itself by means of suggestions, partnerships, donations, advertising or helping lug equipment out of people's cars, we want to hear from you!
Our next newsletter will announce the date of our MyGreenITday event and provide you with all the details you need to participate! |
 April 1 -- was D-Day for Conficker, as whatever nasty payload it's packing was set to activate. What happened come midnight is a mystery. We anticipated getting three hundred phone calls when we got in to work yesterday. We waited, fully staffed, but nothing happened. A couple customers came in “thinking” they were infected – but scans proved otherwise. This is not to say this was an April Fools joke, it was and is very real, but the payload – whatever that may be – didn’t seem to happen on it’s “live” date as anticipated. So what was to happen on April 1st with Conficker? Was it meant to turn the millions of infected computers into spam-sending zombie robots? Was it to start capturing everything you type — passwords, credit card numbers, etc. -- and send that information back to its masters?
No one knows, but we’ll probably find out soon. Or not.
As mentioned, Conficker was scheduled to go “live” on April 1, but whoever is controlling it could potentially choose not to wreak havoc, but instead do absolutely nothing – waiting for a time when there’s less heat. This can be done by the way Conficker was designed – which is extremely clever: Rather than containing a list of specific instructions, the virus is written to reach out to the web to receive updated orders via a continuously growing list of websites it creates. Conficker.C – the latest version of the virus – will start checking 50,000 different randomly-generated sites a day looking for instructions, so the chance of finding and getting all of these sites shut down is slim to none. If just one of the sites goes live providing legitimate instructions, Conficker stays alive – waiting for it’s next set of instructions.
Conficker is a nasty, yet sophisticated worm that bypasses your security defenses. There is still a lot you can do, however, to protect yourself from this unknown disaster (or from nothing). Also, there are tools available from a number of companies (free) to remove the virus if you’re already infected.
Your first step should be the tools you already have: Windows Update, to make sure your computer is fully patched, and your current antivirus software, to make sure anything that slips through the cracks is caught.
But if Conficker's already on your machine, it may bypass certain subsystems and updating Windows and your antivirus at this point may not work. If you are worried about anything being amiss -- try booting into Safe Mode, which Conficker prevents, to check. This is done by restarting your computer, and tapping “F8” before your computer boots. If it doesn’t work, there’s a good chance you’re infected, after which you should run a specialized tool to get rid of Conficker. Microsoft offers a web-based scanner (note that some users have reported it crashed their machines; I had no trouble with it), so you might try one of these downloadable options instead:
Symantec's Conficker (aka Downadup) tool
Malwarebytes
Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool
Conficker may prevent your machine from accessing any of these websites, so you may have to download these tools from a known non-infected computer if you need them. Follow the instructions given on each site to run them successfully. (Also note: None of these tools should harm your computer if you don't have Conficker, but should be used at your own risk!)
Anybody who doesn’t feel confident running these tools, or removing this or other viruses from their computer is welcome to bring their system to PlanetCPU (Elora Computer Service) for expert advice, removal and servicing of their systems for a more than reasonable price.
As a final safety note, all users -- whether they're worried about an infection or know for sure they're clean -- are also wise to make a full data backup today.
In closing, it’s important to note that just because Conficker didn’t wreak havoc yesterday – the day it began searching for instruction, doesn’t mean that we’re safe from it. The only way to ensure that you’re safe is to ensure you’re protected (with the Windows Updates and Antivirus Updates) It could be a day, a month, or a year before Conficker receives instructions to perform malicious acts. It may never happen. Nobody knows, perhaps even its developers. As always, however, it’s better to be safe than sorry!
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact an expert from our team at PlanetCPU. We can be reached at 519.846.8338, or come visit us at 16 Mill Street East, Elora. |
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 When I told people in the computer industry that we were going to Korea, almost all said the same thing. "Oh boy, you'll be able to pick up some really cheap parts! USB Flash Cards by the suitcase full, all for pennies on the dollar!" So far, my experience has proven that this is not true in the least. In fact, there aren't that many "Computer Stores" as we know them here at all! And any that we have found sell parts and accessories for more, generally, than we can get them for in Canada. Basically, a 4GB USB drive is around $20US dollars here. We sell them for $20CA. Definitely not worth filling a suitcase in my opinion. Perhaps we just haven't found the bargains, but speaking with many Korean citizens leads to believe this is the case.
I would say, from my experience, that 20% of the technology stores in the area are Cell Phone shops. Another 78% of them (and there are TONS), are PC Gaming establishments. That leaves only about 2% being "Computer Stores" that offer sales and service of computer systems. I've probably seen 100 businesses that start with "PC" and end with something Korean. It's known here that all "PC" stores are actually what we call "LAN Gaming Shops." To think that there is that much business here for gaming baffles me, perhaps only because I'm not much of a gamer myself. They're busy though, Korean teens and kids flowing constantly in and out cheering with excitement about the last sniper kill they made on their 6 hour Call of Duty mission. We tried to communicate with people about why they love the gaming shops so much, and found that many people here simply can't afford a computer to play at home. Another indication that computers here a not cheaper than in Canada. In fact, an LG laptop that we can sell for $1000 in Canada sells for the equivalent to $2000CA here. I don't quite understand that considering that they've been imported from the other side of the planet. There are reasons for everything, however, so I'm sure that I can find out what actually predicts that pricing. There are noticeably two main competitors here. LG and Samsung. Posters, billboards and other "branding" materials are everywhere. Every man/woman and child has a cell phone. "Texting" seems to be their preferred method of communication. Phones don't go in the pocket. They stay in the hand for easy access. We even saw multiple people on mopeds/motorcycles text messaging while weaving in and out of traffic. Scary for us, but seemingly natural for these daredevils. Today we are going to actually check out some more "corporate" big-box type businesses and discuss technology and pricing with them. I suspect from what our interviewees have said that the pricing in these stores are no better than the "mom and pop" shops that line the streets. From what I understand, the best way to get a computer in Korea is to buy it online. Problem is, aside from the high pricing and shipping charges, they best have a close friend willing to perform repairs, since getting these online systems serviced or warrantied isn't financially worthwhile.  After only two days in Korea, I'm generally don't believe Korea is much ahead of Canada with their technology, and certainly not with the pricing of their technology. They don't even have iPhones here yet, and seem to smirk at the fact that I'm using one- like it's a cheap toy. Perhaps it is, but I love it and consider it quite modern in Canada. Rumor has it that Korea will begin selling the first generation iPhones in the near future.
We'll update our experience after our Big-Box tour today. I pretty much know what to expect, but perhaps on the way we'll run into some back-street Korean technology market and hit the mother load! I'm not holding my breath, but hope we can find something to support what all Canadians "think" they know about Korean Technology and pricing. So far, we still have amazing prices - even better than one of the technology king countries! w00t to PlanetCPU! |
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