Author Archive

Going Incognito on Your Trading Computer? What, When and How

Dog in fake nose and glasses

Most traders have tried incognito mode (aka private browsing) on their trading computer at some time. It sounds neat and makes you feel protected. But just how protected are you?

Like so many things on the web, there are some widely held misconceptions about private browsing. It’s a good idea to understand when incognito/private browsing can be useful for your trading business and when it’s not.

Keep reading so you’ll be able to make better decisions about when to go incognito in the future.

(more…)

Eddie Z

7 Dropbox Alternatives for Sharing Trading-Related Files

File Sharing Helps Collaboration in Your Trading Business

For years now, many of us in the trading community have relied on Dropbox to make it easy to share files. Dropbox was one of the early pioneers in file sharing, and it’s still popular among the trading community.

Larger trading businesses routinely share lots of data files and screenshots with both internal and external users. But even if you’re just trading out of a home office, there are likely to be times when you want to, say, share your trading analysis spreadsheet with a family member.

If you’ve just been sticking with Dropbox for your file sharing, you might not be aware of some newer solutions that are as good as or better than Dropbox.

Here are some alternative file sharing solutions you may want to try for your trading business. Interestingly, some of these alternatives can be used on the fly. I.e., you don’t even need to sign up for an account.

One of these may be just perfect for your needs.

(more…)

Eddie Z

How to Use Call Forwarding to Simplify Your Trading Day

Smiling Shopper Gets Market Update on Smart Phone

For many traders, a mobile device is an essential business tool. Traders carry their mobile phones everywhere to stay in touch with the market.

But depending on the situation, sometimes problems arise with getting trading information on your mobile trading device.

In those situations, call forwarding can be an elegant solution to the problem. You can leave your business device at home, at the office, or in your car, but still have access to the calls.

(more…)

Eddie Z

Don’t Let Avoidable Hardware Failures Handcuff Your Trading

If you’ve been a reader of this blog for any time at all, you already understand the importance of regular back-ups. In fact, if you’ve just been using a personal computer for any time at all, you understand about back-ups. Sometimes files and data just get gone. Stuff happens. You might accidentally delete something. Your laptop might get stolen. But in my experience, the most likely cause of data loss is hardware failures. Hard drives don’t last forever. Other computer components don’t last forever. Your trading computer has many critical hardware components:  CPUs, GPUs, RAM, hard disks, fans, and more. Failure of any one of these components will bring your trading to a halt, and may result in data loss. What you may not know about is that there are multiple easy ways to regularly monitor the state of your hardware. Such hardware monitoring can prolong the life of your trading desktop and/or laptop. (more…)
Eddie Z

5 Tools to Ensure Your Laptop Battery is Ready for the Road

If you’re a trader who loves to travel, like I do, you know how critical your laptop battery can be to the success of your trading while on the road. If your battery is low on power and there isn’t a power outlet in sight, you could be taking a huge risk to hold or enter a position. If you’ve ever run out of battery power unexpectedly, it won’t surprise you to hear that battery indicators on laptops aren’t always reliable. Sometimes their discharge estimates are way off. Fortunately, there are more reliable tools available to help you get a better understanding of the battery health of your trading laptop. (more…)
Eddie Z

These 7 Keyboard Shortcut Mistakes Could Tank Your Trade

When you are working in a fast-paced trading environment, keyboard shortcuts (aka hotkeys) can be extremely helpful. They can save you time and make you a more efficient trader. However, if you aren’t accustomed to using these keyboard shortcuts, it can become a big problem when you accidentally activate one. It’s an especially big problem if you don’t know how to deactivate it. If this happens in the middle of entering a trade, it could cost you money. If you suddenly find your trading computer is behaving in one of the following ways, and you didn’t expect it or don’t want to be there, here’s how to fix it. (more…)
Eddie Z

One Mouse to Control Them All: How to Use Your Laptop as an Extension of Your Trading Desktop

Most traders nowadays have multi-monitor trading computer systems. Our customers typically have at least 4 monitors, but we sell plenty of 6- and 8-monitor systems as well. Despite the prevalence of multi-monitor systems, there are times when it would be handy to add one more monitor. Or have a laptop sitting next to your desktop and be able to drag-and-drop files or clipboard content between the two. Or be able to operate both desktop and laptop from one mouse. I bet you’re getting excited just thinking of the possibilities! If you’ve ever wished you could do any of this, you’re going to love today’s post. (more…)
Eddie Z

Who’s Been Snooping on Your Trading Computer? Find Out!

If you own a computer customized for trading, you own a device designed with security and reliability in mind. You already know about the importance of anti-malware apps to keep your information safeguarded. But you might not have thought about protecting your device from offline attacks. Even if you have passwords on all your devices, you should regularly check your trading computer or laptop for intruders. Cyber-criminals are not the only threat. If you trade from an office outside your home, or if you trade from a laptop while traveling, there might be people snooping around for valuable information. Even at home, you might want to check for snooping guests. Here are three ways you can check if someone has logged into the laptops and computers you use for your trading business: (more…)
Eddie Z

3 Ways to Send Text Messages From Your Trading Computer

Mobile phones and tablets are great. However, if you’re like most traders, entering text can be considerably more challenging than typing at your trading computer. Particularly, when you are writing a text message on your phone or tablet, it’s easy to make mistakes. And auto-correct can sometimes backfire. Your friends and family members might not mind a few typos. But your professional reputation can be on the line if you continually send text messages full of errors. You’ll be delighted to know you can actually send text messages using your trading laptop or computer. And it’s not complicated! (more…)
Eddie Z

Trader Beware: Are You an Easy Target for Ransomware?

Traders today totally rely on the software and data on their trading computers. Would you be able to operate your trading business if you were suddenly locked out of your trading laptop or desktop? For most traders, the answer is “No”. Scammers and hackers are aware of these vulnerabilities. They know the information traders store on their personal and trading computers has immense operational value. So fraudsters are continuously inventing new ways to take your data hostage. In general, malware that blocks access to your data is referred to as ransomware. Ransomware locks access to your files by encrypting them. (more…)
Eddie Z