Introducing the Personal Geek Security Pack, a quick and easy way to install every program I recommend to all my clients. Click the link and every program will be downloaded and installed automatically, and no toolbars or other extras will be installed. So easy! And free
The Personal Geek Security Pack includes the latest versions of Microsoft Security Essentials, Firefox, Flash, Java, Adobe Reader, Malware Bytes, and Spybot.
Please share this post with your friends now so they can benefit, too. Thanks!
We rarely get thunder & lightning storms in this part of the valley but we had one between 3 and 4 this morning, followed by a light, fragrant summer rain. It was a pretty active storm, too. So many flashes and bolts it was hard to keep up.
I love these storms, but my ‘puter doesn’t. Do you know what to do to protect your computer? Right, unplug it. But it’s easy to forget to unplug the modem. Don’t just unplug the power cord, unplug the phone cord or the cable. A surge of electricity can get to it from there just as easily as the power cord. And if it’s still attached to your PC, well, that would be bad.
We finally got all our gifts unwrapped and we get to play with our new toys. But what if something goes wrong? What if it doesn’t work or we can’t get it set up right?
Oh, great, now we have to call customer service. Not how I want to spend my day. Well, here are some ways to make your customer service call a little easier.
Be Prepared.
You will need model numbers, serial numbers, service tag numbers, account numbers, your complete billing address, your password, and God knows what else. Gather these things together before you call customer service and you will save valuable time on the call.
Set Time Aside.
You never know how much time you’ll need, even with the time you saved getting prepared. The customer service rep may ask you to complete some troubleshooting tasks or walk you through a process that may take some extra time. This is a good thing. You’re getting the help you need.
Have Patience.
I know you’re frustrated! Answering those endless questions about your account and the problems you’re having… Let’s just get to the point already! The truth is, this process will go much smoother if you let the customer service rep take the lead and get all the info he or she needs. And don’t jump ahead and say “I already did this and tried that” before they even mention those things. The reps often have a step-by-step guide they follow to ensure they’re covering all the bases.
Know What I’m Sayin?
Help us help you. If you tell me “it’s the little button by the round thing”, I don’t know what that is. Tell me it’s the reset button or be as specific about the description as you can. We do our best to keep up, but we don’t have access to every piece of equipment that’s out there. If you don’t know what something is, take a look in your owner’s manual. Lots of good stuff in there.
Be Nice.
A little friendliness goes a long way with the representative on the phone. We get beat up all day by angry, frustrated customers who complain and swear at us. Even one little “How are you today?” or a little humor can make our day. We love helping the nice people, and even going the extra mile for you! Don’t be this guy.
Bonus.
Thanks for reading this far! As a reward, I give you this extra tip: Do NOT put in the Restore disc just because they tell you to. The Restore disc has very powerful magic, and if used carelessly, it has the power to destroy all of your data. If you don’t have a current backup of your hard drive, get it done before you use the Restore disc. K?
Does your computer have less than 1 GB of RAM? If so, you’re cheating yourself.
Actually, the manufacturer cheated you. They always install the minimum amount of RAM necessary to run your PC so they can save money. They charge an arm and a leg for more at purchase time, but if you buy RAM after you get your PC, you can save a few bucks.
If you add more RAM, your computer will be faster. How do I know this? Because with only a little RAM, your PC uses the hard drive when it needs extra storage space. Writing and reading operations take a lot longer on the disk, what with the moving parts and all. RAM operations are made of electrons, which move at the speed of light. At least that’s what they told me in college.
I’ve seen the results many times. When I add RAM to my clients’ computers, they always experience a speed boost. The PC boots faster, it loads programs faster, so you will spend less time waiting for things to happen. For some people, this increase is so great that they feel like they have a new computer!
It’s easy to see the amount of RAM you have. Right-click on “My computer” and choose “Properties”. It’s there somewhere.
For Windows XP the minimum you should have is 1 GB.
For Vista and 7 you should have at least 2 GB.
RAM comes in different pin numbers, speeds, capacities, and even more geeky stuff that is beyond the scope of this article. You don’t need to be a geek to figure out what kind of RAM you need. Memory manufacturers have made it easy for you.
Select your manufacturer, product line, and model from the menus.
If you don’t know this information you can download their scanner, which will examine your system and tell you how many memory slots your PC has, how much memory you have, and what type of memory you need. Then you can order from Crucial right there. Disclaimer: I am not making any money from Crucial; they don’t even know I exist.
Many computers have only 2 slots for RAM, so if you have both of them filled already, you might want to buy one 2 GB stick (or 1 GB for Windows XP) to replace one in your PC. Some older models that have 2 slots allow only 1 GB total. In that case, you would need to buy 2 sticks of 512 MB each.
If you’d like some help with your next upgrade, please give me a call at 541-791-6502. If you want to install the RAM yourself, here is a video from PC World to show you how easy it is. Follow each step carefully to ensure the safety of yourself and your static-sensitive computer parts.
Please feel free to leave any comments or questions!
The timing couldn’t be worse. This vulnerability in Windows XP Help and Support Center has been cracked wide open by hackers, but Microsoft just issued their security updates for the month, so you will have to wait til next month for them to repair it.
Thankfully, Microsoft has posted a quick and easy fix at their support web site. All you have to do is go there and press a button. It looks just like that –>
My friend Byron wrote an excellent article about spam, specifically when it comes from an individual you know or a company you do business with. At first you think it’s legitimate. It’s from your bank or ISP or whatever.
But if the email has links, or wants you to log in to your account, or requires any action whatsoever, be warned: This email is probably a fake. Byron breaks it all down and teaches how you discern whether it’s good or evil. Go read Byron’s article, then you can teach all your friends and they might give you some cookies (ya, that’s a hint).
I love Windows 7 to pieces but one thing I couldn’t do with 7 that I could do with XP is put a folder shortcut in the Taskbar. Then I could access my Downloads folder without having to go to my desktop or start menu. In XP I could open the folder with just one click in the Taskbar. I was very sad that I couldn’t figure out how to do this with Windows 7. But now, thanks to Windows Weekly, there’s a way.
Find the folder you want and right-click it.
Select Create shortcut.
Right-click on that shortcut and select Properties.
In the Properties window, locate the Target field. It will show you the path of the folder: C:\Users\Janet\Desktop\Downloads.
Type the word explorer at the beginning of the field so it looks like this: explorer C:\Users\Janet\Desktop\Downloads. Make sure there is a space between explorer and the rest of the target.
Hit Apply. The Target field will now look like this: C:\Windows\explorer.exe C:\Users\Janet\Desktop\Downloads.
There’s just one thing. The icon for your new folder shortcut is that generic file folder icon. So let’s find one we like that sets it apart from the rest.
In the Shorcut Properties window, hit the Change icon button.
Scroll to an icon you like and double-click it.
Hit OK.
Now for the best part.
Find the shortcut you just made and right-click it again.
Select Pin to Taskbar.
You can drag it around in the Taskbar to put it where you want. Yay!
Some people don’t care much about having a public presence on the Internet so they might not care that Facebook is trying to improve privacy. I like to keep my Facebook private so when they announced a major privacy change, I looked at it right away. I couldn’t help it, actually, because they have a pop-up window that invites you to go through a settings wizard.
The wizard is really pretty useless. You can set each item to “Everyone” or “Old Settings”. It does not tell you what those old settings are but I chose old settings for everything anyway.
Facebook Privacy
After you go through the wizard, go to Settings → Privacy Settings and click on each category to check because even though my previous settings were for friends only, some of them had been reset to everyone. Suddenly, without my permission or knowledge, everyone could see my photos, and yours too! Do yourself a favor and take a quick look and make sure your privacy settings are exactly how you want them, then you can relax and go back to playing Farmville.
Introducing the Personal Geek Security Pack, a quick and easy way to install every program I recommend to all my clients. Click the link and every program will be downloaded and installed automatically, and no toolbars or other extras will be installed. So easy! And free 
We rarely get thunder & lightning storms in this part of the valley but we had one between 3 and 4 this morning, followed by a light, fragrant summer rain. It was a pretty active storm, too. So many flashes and bolts it was hard to keep up.
