Welcome

Welcome to the latest news from 2BrightSparks. In this issue you will discover how to update FindOnClick to the latest and best version, read the second part in our series for "Road Warriors", and get the low down on how to find duplicate files. Also, our Corporate Relations, Administration and Marketing Director, Richard Gascoigne, gives the story of our company.

If you have any suggestions on what you might like to see in future issues of this newsletter, drop us a line with your suggestions.


FindOnClick V2.1 Update

If you are not yet a user, be sure to check out FindOnClick to see how it can find one file out of thousands in just a couple of seconds, identify duplicate files, and much more. You'll love it!

An exciting updated version of FindOnClick V2.1 has been released which sports a much-improved interface with Easy and Expert searching, faster searching, and a number of other significant improvements.

This update is free for all OnClick Utilities licensees.

FindOnClick is part of OnClick Utilities, a suite of eight powerful and easy to use utility programs – each one worth the price of the entire suite.

For more information visit the FindOnClick Changes page.

Find Out More About FindOnClick

Download FindOnClick and any of the OnClick Utilities.

We hope you like the improvements...


Specialist Groups - Road Warriors

What's the next most important computer task for a road warrior, besides backing up your files? Think about all those times when you emailed an important document to your colleague while you were on a business trip. Did you protect that file in any way before emailing it? If your answer is no, this section should encourage you to introduce security to your data files and communications.

With today's advanced technology it is possible for anyone to intercept information being sent via the Internet, and it is crucial that you consider data file security. Furthermore, as a road warrior who works on a laptop computer, you are at a higher risk of data theft compared to someone who works on a desktop computer in an office.

Encryption is one of the most common forms of data security and it involves translating the data into a secret code. The only way the secret code is converted back to the actual data is by providing a password which triggers the decryption process.

Different encryption software uses one of two main types of encryption: asymmetric encryption (public-key encryption), and symmetric encryption. Asymmetric encryption is a system that uses two keys: a public key, which is a password that is known by everyone else, and a private key which is a password that is known only by the recipient of the encrypted file. In contrast, symmetric encryption is a system that uses the same password to encrypt and decrypt the file.

EncryptOnClick and ScrambleOnClick, which are both part of the OnClick Utilities suite developed by 2BrightSparks, uses the symmetric encryption system. EncryptOnClick encrypts files and folders, while ScrambleOnClick encrypts blocks of text.

So, when you are on a business trip and you need to email an important and confidential document to your colleague, all you have to do is encrypt the file before attaching it to your email. With EncryptOnClick, just select the file or folder that you wish to encrypt, enter a password and you're all set. Of course the recipient of the encrypted file will need to know the password too.

If you have a private or confidential message that you need to email to someone else, you don't need to go through the hassle of creating a file with the message and encrypting that file. ScrambleOnClick allows you to encrypt a block of text within normal text. Therefore you can compose an email with the encrypted message within your email, without having the need to attach a file to the email.

With the kind of security, reliability and convenience EncryptOnClick and ScrambleOnClick have to offer, why wouldn't you take advantage of it? Get your very own OnClick Utilities today!


Staff Sparks

Hi, I am Richard Gascoigne, and you might recall that I handle finance, administration, and some of the marketing for 2BrightSparks. This is the place where we normally have a staff member share some information about themselves.

Now, each staff member has had an opportunity to present themselves, so, rather than focus on me this time, I’d like to give you a summary of the individuals who make 2BrightSparks work for you, and how we do business.

This all started in 2003 when Mick Leaver wrote the original freeware, SyncBack, and made it available on his rather rudimentary personal web site. An early user, Mike de Sousa, volunteered his creative talents to build a “proper” web site – write the Help File, and then a tutorial, and then... Well, there was no end of things to distract him from his real business.

I came along in mid 2004, also as a freeware user, and the three of us decided to take the leap to form a “real” company and work on a commercial version of SyncBack. The first release of SyncBackSE was successful beyond all expectations, and that was when the fun began!

We discovered that thousands of paying customers generate dozens of suggestions, need technical support, and present opportunities for hundreds of emails, not to mention the ‘back-office’ work. We needed help!

We looked for people who not only had to be highly skilled, but also disciplined, able to meet schedules, and fit in with a free-wheeling, low-key, group focused on quality in everything, and that typically work 60-80 hours a week. Not an easy combination to find, but we did.

Jane is a skilled business analyst, Debbie a superb communicator with a degree in Computer Science, and Titus an excellent software developer (check out the InfoHesive announcement coming next month). A common denominator is that all have young children, and need flexible daily schedules. Vitality is also an experienced Delphi developer, and likes the company’s “flex” scheduling.

That’s our small-but-mighty and dedicated staff. Our success is due to their efforts. We will grow by a few additional people this year, as we find good people who fit our mold.

Another factor to our success is having a great customer community. Although we now deal in thousands of new customers monthly, we try to give each customer our best consideration and respect, and we are happy that you all respond accordingly.

As we grow we will follow the same fundamental policies that got us here: to produce truly useful and usable software products, continuously improved, with excellent quality in all aspects, at an affordable price, and provide good customer support.

So, all of us thank you for placing your trust in 2BrightSparks Pte Ltd, and for being a part of our “extended family”. We will continue to work hard to deserve your commitment.


Tip of the Month by Richard Gascoigne

Using FindOnClick to find duplicate files or (conversely) unique files.

If you use FindOnClick you already know how blindingly fast it can find files - even with complex search parameters that include size, date, and content.

This tip is about a feature of FindOnClick that you might not have tried -finding duplicate files.

That is particularly important for my photo collection. I download pictures from my camera with file names like “IMG0001.jpg”. Then I copy them to an appropriate folder, and rename them according to their subject material - keeping the original. Now there are two copies. Then maybe I copy a few of them into a folder to send to one of my friends, and now there are three.

With the duplicates often having different names, I would have to look at each one to see if it is indeed a duplicate. But all I have to do now is to use FindOnClick, point it to my Photos folder, and tick “Highlight Duplicate Files” and “Show only Duplicate Files”. Like magic, I get a list of them all -and where they are, how big they are, etc. (The “Stats” button told me I had 4,247 duplicate photos out of 22,000 - representing 4.32 GB!)

Another use is to show files that are NOT duplicates. I want to see all files that are on my computer but not in the backup (maybe due to a poorly specified Profile?), or on the backup but no longer on my computer (I may want to delete those). I would run FindOnClick and specify both my backup Source and Destination drives or paths at the same time, and select Highlight Duplicates (but NOT “Show Only Duplicates”). In the results, just click on the Path column title to sort by Source and Destination drives and there are the unique files. Try it, you might be surprised at the results.

Do you have a novel use of our products? Send us your Tip, and if we use it you’ll get a nice surprise.


Articles at 2BrightSparks

We have a collection of articles that we hope will be of use to you.

If you would like to see articles of a particular topic, please do let us know.

Otherwise, check back in the near future to check out new articles.


Lucky Draw Winners

Every month, ten lucky winners who complete the SyncBackSE survey form receive a free license for OnClick Utilities. The link to the survey is contained in the order confirmation email for SyncBackSE. We will even allow you to transfer your license to friends or family if you've already got a license. Good luck!

To date, 300 lucky people have already received free software from us just by simply completing the survey, so what are you waiting for?


Until Next Time

Thanks for reading and we look forward to getting in touch again in a month’s time.

The 2BrightSparks Team.
2BrightSparks Pte Ltd.
www.2brightsparks.com

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