October ’10 Newsletter

I hope you are keeping fit and well. Autumn is now well and truly here, darker nights and cold windy days, brilliant!

Here is a roundup of some of the latest news from the computer world.

Dell PC System for sale for Sale .

I have a fully refurbished Dell PC for sale. It is only 2 or 3 years old and has been completely restored to its original factory state, so is as good as new. It includes a 19” flat screen monitor, HP Printer/scanner/copier and a set of speakers with sub woofer, so excellent sound quality.

The specification is:
Dell Inspiron E520

Windows Vista

Pentium Processor with 1Gb RAM (upgradable)

150Gb Hard Drive

15 Month Mcafee Security

Office installed (Word processor, spreadsheets, PowerPoint)

Wireless Logitech keyboard and mouse.

Excellent condition, as good as brand new.

Price including basic set up £195.00

Only one, so first come, first served.

Backing up

I make no apologies for nagging you again, but I must ask you when you last did a full back up of your computer, last week, last month, or how do I do a back up???

I have had three cases in the last month where customers lost all their data. One had a completely dead hard drive, one was burgled and one had a BOTNET virus, which meant that the whole computer needed to be rebuilt from scratch. In all three cases, the owners had no back up and lost all their documents, pictures, music and emails.

If any of the above happened to you, how much of a problem would that be?

There are various ways of backing up. The best is using either a memory stick or external hard drive, or you could use a blank CD or DVD. You could also use online storage facilities, whereby your data is saved on internet.

I understand that many people don’t know how to do a back up, so if that is the case, please call me to discuss, and I can come over and help you. It’s cheap insurance in case of a major disaster. Prevention is better than cure.

Cloud Computing.

In the next couple of years, backing up will no longer be necessary, as everything will be backed up and saved automatically online.

The Cloud is the way forward. Bill Gates of Microsoft predicted it many years ago. Simply put, the Cloud eliminates the need for you to store programmes and data on your own computer, instead everything is saved on online servers. You won’t need to have programmes like Microsoft Office stored on your computer. All your documents, pictures, music etc will be saved automatically online. This means that your home computer will just become a terminal for accessing your data; you will simply just have a monitor and printer.

To some degree this is already in place. Those who use web based emails such as Hotmail, Yahoo Mail, Facebook etc already have everything stored online, which can be accessed from anywhere in the world. Google already offer Google Docs, for anyone who has a Google account, which is their equivalent of Microsoft Word, Excel etc, free online now: (www.docs.google.com) Try it out for yourself.

BOTNETS

One of my customers, who is a Sky Broadband customer, received a letter from Sky this week, saying that their broadband had been cut off, as they had detected that their home computer has been attacked by a BOTNET virus. This meant that their computer was being used as a hub from someone unknown, to send out millions of spam emails. So Sky cut their broadband off without any notice.

When I spoke to Sky on their behalf, they confirmed that this was the case. They did say that they would reinstate the broadband service, once they received confirmation that the computer had been completely formatted, had Windows reloaded, and was effectively back to its factory condition.

So that’s what I had to do. In total it was practically a whole day job to restore it and reload everything. Sky then reconnected their broadband and everything is back to normal again.

This emphasises the need to make sure that your computer has full security protection. Having a basic Anti Virus is no longer good enough. You need a proper anti virus programme (like NOD32), as well as making sure you have anti malware and your firewall is enabled.

If you are in any doubt of your computer’s security, please call me and I’ll arrange to come over and check your whole system.

Corporate Customers

For the last 10 years or so, the vast majority of my business has been to offer training and support for residential, home users.

Over the last few months, I have been asked for training and technical support for companies.

I now am working closely with IT companies who deal solely with businesses, from the relatively small companies, to large corporations.

So, my company, PC Basics, is now able to offer full training to any size business. This can include Microsoft Office, Sage & Accounting packages, Adobe products etc etc.

We can also offer full technical support for companies, including advice and installation of new IT systems, networking, remote and on site technical support.

If you, or someone you know, runs a business, however large or small, I know that we can be of help, whether it be for training for individuals or groups, to full technical support.

Service Tune Up.

Is your computer running slower than it used to, or just not performing as well as you would like it to.

It may be time for an Autumn tune up and service. Computers, like cars, do need servicing once or twice a year, to ensure it is running to its best ability.

For a fixed fee, I can come and give your PC or laptop a full service, clear out everything that may be affecting its performance, and get it back running sweetly again.

I also check to make sure that it is fully protected against all the nasties that are out there, as mentioned earlier.

Please call or email to arrange a convenient date.

And finally……

They’re back. Those fantastic 3D stereograms, which most people tell me they love.

So, can you find the hidden image in this picture? Just Focus on it.
The first correct answer wins a pair of my old socks. Don’t all rush!