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RAM upgrade for a faster computer

Issues With Viruses, Spyware, Trojan Horses Or Malware

Whenever your computer is suffering from a virus, spyware or malware issue, it will become difficult to use because these things flood your computer to the point that it becomes overloaded and eventually you will not be able to do even the simplest task, like opening a web browser. If your computer has any of these things, you will need to make sure you run through a few different virus scanning programs and run a registry cleaner afterward. We can do this in the shop, or you can do it at home. You should probably turn off system restore before you begin and clear out your Javascript cache, too. Many of these programs are designed to re-install themselves.

Not Enough Memory

Your computer uses something that is known as Random Access Memory or RAM for short. The more RAM your computer has, the more programs you can run and processes you can do at one time. (For this reason, RAM is oftentimes referred to as your computer’s memory.) However, if you don’t have enough RAM, it will become bogged down and unable to do much. The only ways in which to correct this problem is to upgrade your RAM or stop running and doing so many things at the same time. If you have to have a lot of things open or need to do a lot of things at once, then you have no choice but to upgrade your computer’s memory. We carry and install RAM upgrades, it’s a quick procedure.

Too many things to do at once

So what if you have the maximim amount of RAM your computer can accommodate and it’s still running slowly? Check the “automatic update” settings on some of your programs. You’d be surprised which programs are set up “stay awake” waiting for updates as long as your ocmputer is on. One easy way to check, on Windows XP, is to expand the menu of active programs in the bottom corner of your screen (where the clock is) right-click or click on each icon to see what it is. Your antivirus and firewall should be running constantly, but other things don’t need to be. Change the settings on these other programs, so that they don’t automatically start every time you power up.

Registry Errors

A lot of slow computers are plagued with registry errors. These will oftentimes go undetected because they are so hard to pinpoint. Essentially though, these errors occur whenever your registry files become corrupt over the course of time. Adding, updating and removing software usually cause this. Whenever you have a lot of corrupt or unused registry entries your computer will become bogged down because it is still attempting to run these commands, which takes up a lot of your processing speed. If you need to fix a registry error on your computer, you will need to get a registry repair software program. This program scans your entire computer looking for any errors and unused registry files. It will then delete these things so as to be able to clean up your registry. Once this is done, your computer will begin running faster.

If there’s anything on this list that you need help with, let us know. We’d be happy to help.

Reduce Eye Strain

Eye Drops

By using an over the counter eye drop you will be able to stop your eyes from burning, feeling itchy and dry. It only takes a few drops in each eye throughout the day in order to keep your eyes well lubricated.

The Blinking Cure

The reason your eyes dry out is because you’re blinking less often, focusing on the screen. If you’re one of the many people who don’t like using eye drops, you may want to know that there is natural remedy for dry eyes. Just blink more often. Experts say that whenever you are using a computer, or focusing on something for a long time, you blink five times less than normal. Every time you blink, your eyeballs get a fresh coat of eyestrain-preventing lubrication. It’s the very lack of that moisture that makes eyestrain hurt.

Remodel Your Office

It may be time to consider remodeling your office. If you decide to do this, there are some things that you should keep in mind. First of all, if you’re facing a sunny window, you should move your desk to reduce the amount of glare your eyes have to deal with. Secondly, look for an ergonomically friendly keyboard that will help you to have better posture. Third and finally, make sure that your monitor is at the right level for your eyes. This may mean that you will need to move it back a few inches to help your eyes focus better and easier.

Flourescent lighting flickers at a very high rate and can cause eyestrain faster than other kinds of lighting. Consider changing the light bulbs in your office to something more comfortable, like a full-spectrum bulb.

Talk To Your Eye Doctor

Make sure that you see your eye doctor at least every two years for a check up. While there, you should talk to him about his suggestions for eyestrain. You may even find that your eyestrain is due to the need for eyeglasses. Be sure to report any headaches, double vision, trouble refocusing from the computer to other things, images that stay imprinted for a while, increased sensitivity to light and any sign of “auras” or glowing trails of light around white objects.

Rest Your Eyes

One of the easiest things that you can do is rest and relax your eyes. Give them opportunities to focus on other things throughout the day. The ideal situation would be to take a 15 second break every 15 minutes or a 5-minute break every hour. Simply allow your eyes to focus on something further away from you than your computer.

Zoom In

Headache from Eye Strain

Eyestrain usually isn’t a big deal. According to the Mayo Clinic, “Eyestrain doesn’t have serious or long-term consequences, but it can be disruptive and unpleasant. It can make you tired and reduce your ability to concentrate. In some cases, it may take days for all eyestrain symptoms to go away after you’ve taken steps to change your activities or environment or treated any underlying cause.”

Its OK to leave the computer on overnight

Sure, we love it when they catch on fire and you come in crying. No, I’m just kidding. A lot of us leave our computers on all the time. It’s really not that big of a deal, most of the time.

In fact, we wonder why no one asks whether or not it’s OK to turn it off for long periods of time. Leaving your computer off for a long time can allow dust to get into your tower and settle into the various components within. Then, when you go to turn it on, it can spark or ignite and maybe even smoke up the house.

But when you leave your machine on, it keeps the fan running. That keeps a lot of dust from getting into the tower. This does not mean no dust will get in, just less. If you suspect you have dust in your tower, check out “How to Clean Inside your Computer.”

By turning your computer on and off, you could be causing excessive wear and tear on the various components, that are designed to run, not to be turned on and off. Just like a car, the process of turning your machine on uses significantly more power, and may end up costing you more than leaving the machine on all hours.

There are some times when you need to leave your computer on overnight or while you are at work due to uploads or downloads that are excessively large and will take many hours to transfer. Or you may prefer to do maintenance such as virus scans and software updates overnight when you are not using your machine, as they can slow response time down. This is perfectly fine and will not hurt your computer in the slightest.

Even if you do leave your computer on all the time, you will need to do the occasional reboot which is fine, since the computer needs to do maintenance as well as clear out the memory. But this is not something that needs to be done on a daily basis, it can be done every few days or on a weekly basis if that works better for you. If you do find your computer is not running at its best, go ahead and reboot it to give it a chance to clean out its memory.

One thing to consider doing if you leave your computer on all the time is to turn off the monitor, or put it into power saving mode. This way you will save power. Laptops generally have built-in features for saving power, especially when you’re running on batteries.

If you still can’t decide, you may want to leave it on from morning to night, but turn it off overnight while you are sleeping, unless you’re transferring files, running system maintenance or regularly scheduled virus scans.

One of the simplest things that you can do is check the address of the website you are on.  If it starts with an “http” then it is not a secure site.  If it starts with an “https”, then it is secure.  You can remember this easily, because the “s” stands for “secure.”  This type of security means that your data is encrypted and then sent through a secure server.  You may not see the https until you get to an order page, but it should be there.

Internet Security with https

Secure Shopping Online- things to look for

An important note is that you can click on these locks and get information about the security of the website.  If you do not know where to find them on your browser, then make sure to go into the help files and explore some of your browser’s built-in security features.

You may also notice different icons when you are on websites.  If you see icons from Verisign, GeoTrust or SSL.com you know that the site you are on is a safe site.  They meet the security standards of the company issuing the certificate, and as a result, the vendor gives them a seal to put on their website.  Any website that meets these guidelines will display these, as it is an important feature for them to gain your trust.  Be aware that these seals can be easy to duplicate. When in doubt, click on it and you should be brought to a page on the Security Certificate site that verifies the company’s reputation

Example of Verisign Graphic

GeoTrust graphic

Sample SSL Certificate

If you are still not sure about the website, but cannot get the item any other way, you will want to make sure that you use a credit card that’s insured, to make your purchases.  It is advisable to have one card just for Internet shopping, as it will make it easier to catch a fraudulent charge.

How much money can you save with free software alternatives?

(prices are from Amazon.com)

Free Software Alternatives

Open Office can replace Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Access.  It also has the ability to do desktop publishing.  I haven’t come across anything that I couldn’t do using Open Office, and you can’t beat the price.

Free Software Resources:

Wikipedia has links to several free open code software programs.

So- which free software alternatives are your favorite? Which ones do you love, which ones do you hate? Which one are you surprised that we left out?

Storing your tower on the ground, under your desk can cause it to collect more dust.

SAFETY ALERT: Discharge the static electricity within your body by touching the exterior of the tower while the three prong plug is still plugged in, but not turned on.

Once you have done this, disconnect all the cords and power from the tower.

Air can't get into those ventilation holes when they're filled with dust.

Step 1: Take your tower somewhere outside or in the garage, where the flying dust won’t ruin your wife’s fancy rug, and open the case up. You will probably just need to remove a few teeny screws from the back and then you can pull the cover off.

Buying computer equipment for kids is tricky. You don’t want to spend much, because you know there’s a strong possibility that it will be dropped, stepped on, lost or damaged. But you know modern kids have computing needs, for school work and… let’s be honest, games and social networking.

The Lenova IdeaPad g530 is functional, durable and inexpensive (says PCWorld)

Avoiding Craptop Disasters

Craptop is the technical terminology we use for cheap laptops that… suck.  Not that all cheap laptops suck.  Some manufacturers are more opportunistic than others, replacing cool features and functionality with slick marketing in order to save a buck on certain models.

Don’t you wish you could call us from the superstore to see which cheap laptop is the smartest option for your kids?  Well, you can – 853-0850. Seriously, program it into your phone.  Now. Would you rather know the answer before you buy, or a few months down after you’ve purchased it, when you discover that the machine is useless?

We Service New Laptops

Now you’re probably wondering why on earth a new laptop would need servicing, right?  It’s preventative maintenance, especially for students computers. Computers that kids will be operating need to be prepared for the onslaught of viruses and malware that are distributed on the sites where they play games and communicate with friends. They also need to be purged of the factory-installed trial versions, too.

When we get a brand new laptop in the shop, the first thing we do is get rid of the trial program installations. Computer manufacturers make business deals with software companies, designed to trick the consumer into buying the full version of a software program by making them dependent upon the trial version.  The last thing you want to do is spend $300 registering software on a $200 computer because your son’s homework was made using the “trial version” and now no one can open the file.  We can get rid of the trial ware and recommend alternatives to expensive software programs.

Free Virus Protection Programs

MSI makes mini netbooks and full-size laptop computers

You’re welcome to purchase a virus protection program, but paid-for protection can be just as effective as free protection, especially when a 12 yr old is using their own judgment about whether or not to allow a program access to his webcam, or installing a game that happens to have adware attached.

Bring your child to pick up the laptop, so we can scare him straight about virus protection. Sometimes kids just need to know what to look for, and how to respond when their computer is doing something strange. Some kids won’t tell you if their computer is acting up because they’re afraid of getting into trouble, but fear won’t protect their computer from viral attack. Arm your kids with the power to operate their own virus protection program, the knowledge to execute a full system scan, and the tools to protect your hard-earned computer budget.

Unfortunately, it won’t be without your consent. That’s right, you gave it permission so technically it isn’t a hacking situation, but it feels like one. So you gave it permission and you can take it away. Instead of cancelling your account or blaming Facebook for poor security, or changing your password (which won’t help) you just need to know how to take away their permission.

Step 1

Sign in to Facebook.com

Log into your Facebook account

In the upper right hand corner of the screen,click  on “Account.”

Facebook Application Settings

Step 2

A drop-down menu will appear, then click on “Application settings” Facebook will automatically display your recently used apps. Skim through the list of titles and delete the ones that you don’t trust.  New or unfamiliar apps are more likely to be the culprit.  Once you’ve weeded through the recently used list, double-check the “granted additional permissions” and make sure that nothing looks fishy there.

How to delete a Facebook application

Sometimes- I don’t know how often, but I’m sure it happens- nice people will develop a harmless application and then rack up a lot of followers and sell out or get hacked, much to the surprise of their followers, so it might not be something recent.  So stay in your application settings and check the “all authorized” to get rid of everything unfamiliar.

If you’re sure you know which one it is, you can Report the App to Facebook, to save others the stress and headache.

Once your account is cleaned up, be sure to remove the evidence from your wall and friend’s walls, so your friends don’t fall victim, too.

Step 4

Share this post with your family and friends.  In fact, bookmark it or email it out so that everyone knows what to do.  You can never be too careful.

Back up your home network files

It’s important to have a backup system for your home network, to protect you from damage of theft, disaster, virus attack  or computer failure.  Home backup solutions provide users with peace of mind, much like data insurance.

Imagine, losing family photos, business records or other important documents.

Back up your network with CD-ROM or DVD-ROM

You can use compact discs to back up your network.  If each computer doesn’t have its own drive, the files will need to be placed into a folder that’s accessible to the network.  Burn copies of important files on a monthly basis.  You can use the “detailed folder view” to see if a file has changed since your last backup.

This method gives you full control over which files are being backed up and discs are very inexpensive. In fact, if you’re using rewritable discs, you can backup your files to the same disc more than once. The drawback to this method is that people rarely remember to back up their system.  If you’re working from home or rely on your computer heavily, you may need to schedule time on a weekly or monthly basis to back up your system.  Very important files can be backed up on a daily basis.

For emergency backup of just a few files, email yourself a copy using a web-based email program like Yahoo or Gmail.

Backup Your Network to a Local Server (MUCH easier than discs)

A backup server, or Network Attached Storage Device  is one or a series of external hard drive with lots of memory that everyone on your home network can access.  You can also use one of the computers on your network for backup.

The good thing about this method is that each computer has access to the same backed-up copies of files, which can free up resources.  Unfortunately, if the house burns down or becomes flooded, the local backup is in just as much danger as the rest of the network.

Remote Backup for Home Network

Remote backup sites pull copies of the files you specify and store them on a secure remote server. You can access your files online, by logging into your account.  Registering for a remote backup website is easy

• create an account
• install the secure transfer software
• choose backup preferences

Shop around for backup services. Some charge monthly, others charge annually and still others charge according to your file transfer habits and disk usage. The benefit of these services is that they can be set up to perform automatic backups, without you ever having to remember to back up.  The servers are located away from your home, so they’re not subject to the same natural disasters and, since the company is in the business of securing your files, they often have additional backups in place, in case one of their servers are compromised. Choose a reputable host that’s been in business for a long time and has a history of stability.