TechTidBit - Tips and advice for small business computing - Tech Experts™ - Monroe Michigan

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What To Do When Things go Technically Wrong

It’s amazing how many things can go wrong with your computer; bad drivers, hardware malfunctions, viruses, software glitches, spyware… and this is only the beginning. Computer problems always seem to happen at the most inconvenient times and can leave you stranded for hours, even days without a computer. However, vendor “help desk” support can be frustrating and in some cases, expensive.

The next time you have a computer problem, here are six simple things you can do to try and resolve the problem yourself or to at least prepare and get the most out of your help desk support.

1. Check your connections. This may sound obvious, but check all the cables to make sure they are plugged in securely. Don’t ignore this step because USB, printer, and serial cables have a way of working themselves loose and causing problems.

2. Reboot. Windows sometimes gets into a state of confusion or overload and locks up. You can clear the memory and set things straight by simply rebooting your system. Similarly, if you’re having a problem connecting to the Internet, try rebooting your cable/DSL modem and router by unplugging them for 15 seconds to reset them.

However, this isn’t something you should have to do often. If you find yourself rebooting your router once a day, the problem is a bit deeper. If you still can’t resolve the problem yourself, then here are a few more steps to take before calling support that will save a lot of time and get your problem resolved quicker…

3. Try to narrow down the problem as much as possible. Identifying what went wrong is 90% of the journey to the solution. Try to isolate when and where the problem happened and note the last thing you installed, changed, or plugged in to your computer. You’ll also want to narrow down the error message as much as possible.

For example, if you discover your printer isn’t working from Word, try to print from another application.

Maybe you can print when you first boot up, but everything seems to go haywire after you scan a document. Does the problem occur all the time or only after the machine has been running for a while? Does the problem repeat itself or is it only occasional? Observing what situations lead up to a problem can be a great help in determining what is causing it.

4. Access crash logs. If you are using a Microsoft operating system, you can access an application called Dr. Watson that will report information about your memory and configuration to a crash log file.

In Windows XP, the default location is C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\ Dr Watson. The crash log is a text file called Drwtsn32.log, which can be read in Notepad or sent via e-mail to a tech-support person.

5. Know your system. When you talk to a support technician on the phone, they are going to want to know what specific hardware, operating system, and software you’re using.

To save time, know the make and model numbers for all your hardware. You can access CPU and memory info by selecting Control Panel | System. Drill down from here into Hardware | Device Manager for information about other devices such as your sound and graphics cards.

Write down new software, no matter how small or insignificant, that you’ve downloaded and installed lately, including upgrades, screen savers, emoticon software, and web browser updates. It can also help to jot down any services running in the background.

To access a list of what is running on your Windows XP system, press Ctrl-Alt-Del and select Task Manager. You can also get very detailed info from Start | All Programs | Accessories | System Tools | System Information.

6. Back up your data. Before you start following directions over the phone from a support technician or tearing your system apart to fix it yourself, make sure you have a backup of all your important documents, e-mail, and other data.

Although many fixes will be as simple as downloading a new driver, you’ll be glad you have a backup if you find yourself reinstalling the operating system. You should also have your original CDs around in case you need to reinstall applications.

The ExpertsMobile: “What the heck is it?!”

 

What the heck is it?! Boy, do we get that question a lot!

The “ExpertsMobile” is a 2008 Smart fortwo. It is a two seat (“for two,” get it?!) gasoline-powered car manufactured by Smart, a division of Daimler. That’s right, it is a 100% gasoline engine, not electric. We’re averaging about 40 miles per gallon driving around town.

The fortwo received four out of five stars in front impact crash tests, and five out of five stars in side-impact crash tests, so it is very safe! The body panels are made out of 100% recyclable materials. And it has a lot more space for transporting sick computers than you might think!

We like the Smart for a couple of reasons, but most importantly, it is smart for the environment, and smart for our company, since it saves us so much money on gasoline and maintenance. Plus, it’s fun to drive!

The Smart is like our philosophy in supporting small business computer networks: The latest appropriate technology, delivered in an efficient and cost effective way.

If you’d like to learn more about the Tech Experts Smart car, visit: www.SmartComputerGuys.com.

For more information about Smart cars, visit www.smartusa.com.

 

Is Your Company Getting Slandered Online?

New “Online Identity Managers” Are Becoming A Must For Business Owners Who Need To Keep Their Online Reputation Clean…

A recent front-page story in the Washington Post brought to light a fast-growing trend in today’s digital world: online identity management.

According to the article, Sue Scheff, a consultant to parents of troubled teens, was getting slandered online after one of her clients turned on her, calling her “a con and a fraud,” and accusing her of taking kickbacks and destroying people’s lives. Negative comments were being posted on online bulletin boards, forums, and threatening videos were posted up on YouTube for the world to see.

Even though Scheff sued for defamation and won an $11.3 million verdict, the attacks worsened. To resolve this situation, Scheff was forced to hire ReputationDefender, a PR firm that cleaned up her reputation online.

While the costs for hiring this firm were steep (reputation management firms charge $15,000 to $100,000 for their services), the cost of her time, litigation and reputation make their fees seem like a drop in the bucket.

So what should you do if you are an average Joe small business with limited resources? Fortunately, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and you can easily monitor your image online for free with a few simple steps.

First, the easiest way to check your online reputation is to Google your name or the name of your company and see what appears. Next, set up a Google Alert on your name and your company name. You’ll be alerted by e-mail whenever you or your organization has been mentioned in a blog, by the media, or in an online forum.

Next, make sure your website and your company is coming up first in search engines. If you own the top positions online, negative media may not show up on the first listing when your name is Googled.

To do this, create a profile of your expertise using social bookmarking tools and news aggregators such as del.icio.us and Newsvine.

Contribute to online forums and write articles for user-generated content sites such as Squidoo. You can even create book and product reviews at Amazon.com to help establish your authority on a particular topic or subject matter.

You should also create a blog for yourself and your company, and then link that to your main web site. Tech Experts can help you set up a blog using your existing domain name. Post to your blog frequently and make sure your posts are key-word relevant.

Other obvious ways to put a positive spin online about your company is to create content pages on social media sites such as YouTube, Facebook and MySpace.

Finally, be very careful about posting any incriminating evidence about you or your company or sending e-mails with incriminating information, tasteless jokes, or messages that could easily be misconstrued.

You don’t want a search on your name to bring up pictures of you in compromising situations or sexist, racist, or off-color jokes you thought were only being sent to your friends. If you wouldn’t want it posted to a billboard, don’t post it or send it via e-mail.

Rebate alert! Don’t Get Ripped Off!

The offers are irresistible but misleading; retailers advertise after-rebate prices on hardware and software to grab your attention and get you to buy. But are you really getting the bargain you expected?

They’re Counting On You To Forget
According to the NPD Group, a global market research firm, almost one-third of all computer products and twenty percent of all consumer electronics are sold with a rebate. Manufacturers use rebates as an easy way to offer discounts without actually having to take the full financial hit; that’s because thirty to fifty percent of the buyers never attempt to redeem them and therefore end up paying full price for the merchandise.

Get Ready To Jump Through Multiple Hoops
To further tip the scales in their favor of not having to pay out, some manufacturers and retailers are imposing impossible restrictions, complicating the process to request a rebate, delaying payments, and creating other barriers that make it difficult to get your money. All of these are delay tactics to get you to give up on the idea of getting your rebate out of frustration.

New Laws Protect You
With consumer complaints to the FTC and Better Business Bureau piling up, regulators have tightened the rules around advertising rebates.

Last year, the Federal Trade Commission settled its first dispute with a Dallas-based CompUSA store for knowingly advertising rebates from computer peripherals manufacturer Qps Inc., even though they knew this manufacturer wasn’t fulfilling on the rebates advertised.

After this settlement, CompUSA was not only required to advertise the time frame for securing the rebates advertised, but also had to take financial responsibility for any rebates not paid during the promised time frame.

Even though the government is on your side, getting stuck in the middle of a rebate war is very frustrating and a huge waste of time. If you are going to try to cash in on a rebate, here are some tips that will help.

5 Tips To Collecting Your Promised Rebate:

  1. Follow the rebate instructions carefully. Many manufacturers will reject a rebate over a tiny technicality. That means reading the small print and following the instructions to the letter.
  2. Make a copy of all the paperwork, receipts, and documents before mailing them off. Some manufacturers may request the original receipt; if you mail in your only copy, you could be out of luck if it gets “lost” in the mail. Which brings us to tip #3…
  3. Mail your rebate via certified mail to have proof of delivery.
  4. Schedule a reminder to yourself to call the company if your rebate doesn’t show up within the time frame promised. Most companies will have a web site or toll-free number to call to track your rebate.
  5. If the manufacturer rejects your rebate or is holding your check, let them know you plan on contacting the FTC or the BBB. Ask the people you speak to for their names and ask to speak to their supervisor.

Are Your Co-Workers Stressing You Out?

It seems like every office has at least one jerk, loudmouth, or snooping pest that drives everyone crazy. Even if they are only mildly annoying, interacting with them on a daily basis can be incredibly stressful.

What are some of the things that co-workers rate as the most annoying? Loud cell-phone talkers, habitual space-invaders, and general rudeness and inconsiderate behavior towards others.

According to one ABCNEWS.com story titled, “Trapped in co-worker hell,” co-workers’ annoying habits are the #1 source of workplace stress (survey by www.truejobs.com).

Nearly 60% of the 2,200 who responded said bad habits and manners of co-workers as the cause of stress that negatively impacts their work life, and 40% said that annoying co-workers have led them to seek new
jobs.

Do You Roll Out The Red Carpet For Identity Thieves?

Just about every web site you visit these days wants you to register and choose a password, especially when making a purchase.

However, if you do this carelessly, you may be setting yourself up as an easy prey for online criminals.

Although we know we should choose unique and hard to decipher passwords that contain both numbers and letters, most people still use easy to remember passwords and words for their convenience.

Below are the top 10 passwords used online according to PC Magazine. If you are using any of the following, you’re putting a big red bullseye on your account for identity theft:

  1. password
  2. 123456
  3. qwerty
  4. abc123
  5. letmein
  6. monkey
  7. myspace1
  8. password1
  9. link182
  10. [your first name]

If you want to avoid having to remember dozens of hard-to-remember passwords, Robo Form is a great FREE software you can download without having to fear adware or spyware. RoboForm was named PC Magazine Editor’s Choice, and CNET Download. com’s Software of the Year.

After you download the software, it memorizes your passwords and logs you in automatically to every web page with one click.

Best of all, it encrypts your passwords and generates random passwords that hackers cannot guess. You can even back up your passwords so you can copy them to another computer.

How To Keep Your Laptop Safe and Secure

You can’t beat the convenience of checking e-mail and hopping on the Internet at (Wi-Fi) hotspots found in airports, coffee shops, and bookstores. For the uninitiated, hotspots are areas where you can use your wireless laptop to surf the Web.

But the question you have to ask yourself is, just how safe are hotspots? With the proliferation of hackers, viruses and identity theft at an all time high, you’re smart to be concerned. Wi-Fi spots are very attractive to hackers because they can use what’s called an “evil twin” connection to access your laptop.

An evil twin is a hotspot set up by a hacker to lure people from a nearby, legitimate hotspot. For example, when you log in at your favorite coffee shop, you might actually be logging onto the evil twin Internet connection set up by the innocent-looking person working on a laptop at the next table. The most dangerous evil twins remain invisible and allow you to do business as usual. But in the background, they record everything you are typing. Buy something online and they are recording your credit card information. Log on to your bank account, and they can grab your password.

So what can you do to make sure you are not giving an evil twin access to your laptop?

First, know the name of the hotspot you’re going to use by asking someone who works there. Some businesses will give you printed instructions that include the hotspot name. But be careful. Hackers will name their evil twin network by a very similar name as the real hotspot, and may even show up as a stronger signal.

The best protection you can have is connecting via your company’s VPN (virtual private network). A VPN will protect your online information by encrypting your data and activity even if you’re connected through an evil twin.

If you don’t have a company VPN, you should assume that someone is looking over your shoulder and recording everything you type in. Therefore, the BEST protection without a VPN is to never type in information such as credit cards, passwords, or social security numbers when connected to a public Wi-Fi hotspot.

SHHH! We’ve Got a Dirty Secret To Confess!

We’re Guilty Of This Computer Sin… Are you?

We have a dirty secret to confess…

We don’t clean our office computers as often as we should. Yes, we’ll shake the crumbs out of the keyboard from time to time just like everyone else, but that could hardly constitute as a “cleaning.”

With spring in the air, we thought this would be a good opportunity to remind everyone to clean out those dirty PCs. After all, you should do this every 3 to 4 months. And, it’s not just for sanitation purposes.

The electromagnetic field put off by your computer attracts dirt. Just take a look at the back of your PC near the fan vent. This dust and debris accumulates, and acts just like insulation, making your computer run too hot.

It’s Not Just Dirty… It’s Dangerous!
The dust clogging those vents will cause your CPU to heat up—and heat is the biggest cause of component failure in computers. That dirt and dust can end up shutting down your PC and costing you real money!

Here’s a general overview of how to clean your computer…

A Warning Before You Start Scrubbing
Never spray or squirt any type of liquid onto ANY part of your computer. If a spray is needed, spray the liquid onto a cloth and then use that cloth to rub down the component. You NEVER want to get any of the components inside the computer wet and you don’t want to spray cleaner directly onto a computer screen!

Also, when vacuuming the dust INSIDE your computer, make sure you use one that was designed specifically for the job and not the one in your closet. Standard vacuums create static electricity that can damage the internal components of your computer. Instead, use a portable battery powered vacuum designed to do this job.

Tools You’ll Need
You will also need:
– A screwdriver to open the computer case; just be very careful not to unplug, unscrew, or knock anything out of place!
– A can of compressed air.
– A computer-approved cleaning liquid such as rubbing alcohol or mild cleaning agent like dish liquid diluted down.
– Cotton swabs (Q-tips).
– A lint-free cotton cloth.

Tip: Wiping down the outside of your computer tower with a solution of one half vinegar and one half water will minimize static.

Before you begin, turn off your computer. Start by getting out all the dirt, hair, and dust with a vacuum. Do an extra good job around any ventilation locations as they will help to keep a steady airflow thereby keeping your internal components cooler.

When cleaning the fan, we suggest you hold the fan or place something inbetween the fan blades to prevent them from spinning. Avoid spraying compressed air into a fan or cleaning it with your vacuum since it may cause damage to some models.

Compressed air is great for getting all the crumbs, dust, and dirt out of your keyboard, but be sure to also wipe down the keys and surface of the keyboard.

When cleaning the monitor, use a lint-free cloth (like the one you use to clean your eyeglasses). Paper towels, dryer sheets, and other cloths may scratch the monitor. Also, never use Windex or a commercial cleaning product, and never spray anything directly onto the screen. Instead, lightly spray a mixture of rubbing alcohol and water onto your cloth and wipe it down.

Want Us To Clean Your Computer For You?
Want us to do the dirty work? Then give us a call at (734) 457-5000. We’re running our annual “System Spring Cleaning Special” for just $59 per computer.

Our Microsoft and A+ Certified Technicians will clean out your systems, check for viruses, spyware, and malware infections, and get your computer in top-running form for your busy summer months.

No more grime, germs, or dust bunnies—we’ll get rid of them all as part of our Spring-cleaning special!

Call us: (734) 457-5000 Or, you can e-mail us: info@MyTechExperts.com

Make Sure You Condition Your Laptop Battery

When you purchase a new laptop, make sure you condition the battery or you’ll end up buying a replacement in the very near future.

The conditioning process varies among laptop manufacturers, so make sure you read the instructions that came with your new laptop. Some manufacturers recommend that you completely drain the battery before allowing it to fully charge, and then repeating that process two or three times before you do a partial charge.

Others have different instructions so, again, be sure to ask your Tech Experts team member, or follow the directions that came with your new laptop.

After you’ve conditioned your battery, we recommend that you allow your laptop battery to completely drain once every 3 to 4 months, and then fully recharge it to refresh all cells.

A well-maintained battery should accept hundreds of recharges and last for a long time.

Spring Is Here… Time To Check Your Battery Backup!

What’s the best way to keep your computer safe during a thunderstorm? Crawl under your desk and unplug it.

While not a particularly practical suggestion, unplugging your PC from AC power, a telephone line if you use a modem, and your network will protect it from surges and power problems.

A more practical solution would be to use a power protection device, such as a true surge protector, or a business-grade battery backup system.

Computer damage from severe weather conditions is surprisingly a very common problem, despite warnings to installl power protection.

When power problems strike, they can cause permanent damage, to either your computer or your data. To minimize the possibility of damage, install a true surge protector – not just a power strip. A true power strip will cost you in the neighborhood of $20 to $40, and most offer specific guarantees if your equipment is damaged after you properly install the power protection device.

Get a surge protector that also protects your network, phone lines or DSL connection. Some even offer a connection to provide surge protection on the cable line that services your cable modem. Remember, the more protection, the better.

Check your protection devices regularly. If you use battery backup systems, use the testing feature at least quarterly to make sure your unit still functions properly.

Batteries in backup systems will typically last two or three years, unless your power environment is particularly troublesome.

Remember, too, that not all power problems result from electrical storms. The every day variances in power quality – from smaller surges, sags, drops and brownouts – will also, over time, cause damage to your electronic equipment.

When you invest in a high-quality surge protector, many of them will also compensate for these minor electrical fluctuations, protecting your equipment at its own expense. These are called line conditioning surge protectors.

Higher end line conditioning surge protectors will wear out and lose effectiveness after a few years, and should be replaced. We always recommend using APC Power Protection equipment because it comes with an equipment insurance policy.