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Backup Your Computer Data and Save Your Sanity

Filed in Newsletter

Computers are a major part of everyday life. If you’re like most people, your computer contains valuable information that you would hate to lose. Considering that, it is surprising to learn how few people backup their data on a regular basis.  If you’re not making regular backups of your computer data, then you stand to lose everything in the blink of an eye.  You probably never think about it, but computers do crash.  Hard drives burn out, and data gets corrupted or deleted.  Nothing feels worse than realizing all of your data is gone, and then wishing you had created a backup.  The sooner you realize that computers aren’t perfect, the sooner you’ll understand the importance of backups.

You have several options for securing your data. Read the remainder of this entry »

Join.me: free web conferencing

Filed in Computer Safety and Stability Tips

Do you need to have online meetings but not frequently enough to warrant purchasing a subscription to GoToMeeting? Well, I’ve got news for you there’s a free one out there from the people at LogMeIn. It’s called, cleverly enough, Join.me. (Yes, that’s a .me extension, not a .com extension, so don’t type Join.me.com, because it won’t go anywhere.) Read the remainder of this entry »

Why we use WordPress

Filed in Website Development

WordPress is, by far the heavy hitter in open source content management systems (CMS). With a WordPress CMS all the power of a world class online presence is delivered, stable and at a click of a button. Not only does WordPress provide the ultimate in content management it also is highly extensible using a myriad of freely available plugins for your site. Everything from event calendars to photo galleries can instantly be integrated into your web presence giving you new ways to interact with your target audience. Read the remainder of this entry »

Passwords: Your gateway to security

Filed in Computer Safety and Stability Tips, Computer Security, Internet Tips

How many passwords do you have? Think for a moment. There are the standard ones. Your E-Mail passwords. Bill payment passwords. Maybe even a password on your windows start-up.

But wait. If you’re like half of America, you have a credit card. And paying on line is a whole lot easier than mailing that envelope or paying in person. If the average person has four credit cards, that’s four more passwords. And if you’re using the internet to pay your bills, chances are you have an online banking account. And exactly how many utility bills do you have? Let’s assume electric, water, and cable. All of them paid online. Read the remainder of this entry »

Routine Computer Maintenance

Filed in Computer Safety and Stability Tips

On any Saturday morning, you can see rows of cars lined up for car washes, oil changes, and maintenance. We recognize the importance of keeping our vehicles running smoothly, and we try to protect our investments. Yet people rarely pay the same attention to their computers. Most laptops have an average lifespan of about four years. However, they can easily last much longer if properly cared for. Just like your car, computers require routine maintenance to keep them running efficiently. Read the remainder of this entry »

Does That Email Look Phishy?

Filed in Computer Safety and Stability Tips, Computer Security, Internet Tips

As computer technology continues to become more sophisticated, the incidence of email phishing has the opportunity to increase. Email phishing is the practice of sending a bogus or fake email under the guise of being a company with whom the consumer conducts business. The body of the email will vary but the the general purpose is the same: getting private information. Examples of the information such emails ask for include passwords, account numbers, social security numbers, or credit card information. Read the remainder of this entry »

Keep the lights off

Filed in Computer Safety and Stability Tips, Internet Tips

Mass mailing isn’t new to anyone alive back before the invention of the internet. Nearly everyone out there has gotten mail that read “dear occupant” or “To your household.” So it shouldn’t be a surprise that this same kind of ideology shifted from plain old snail mail to the internet and E-mails. Both process are a lot alike, but at least with E-mail you can deal with the spammers a little better. Read the remainder of this entry »

Your computer is not safe on its own

Filed in Computer Safety and Stability Tips, Computer Security, Internet Tips

Well, you did it. You got your High-Speed Internet hooked up.

Now you can surf the web faster than ever. You can upload your pictures of your last family outing to Facebook at blazingly fast speeds. And you can download files, music, pictures, and viruses in less time than it takes you to decide where on your hard drive to save the file. Read the remainder of this entry »

The importance of maintaining software records

Filed in Computer Safety and Stability Tips

There are some ways in which owning software is like owning a car. You go along using your car every day without anyone else being involved in the process, but once in a while you have to confirm your proof of ownership with that very important registration slip! This same ability to prove your ownership is needed with software that you purchase. Read the remainder of this entry »

Unnecessary Programs in Startup Can Slow Your Computer Down

Filed in Computer Safety and Stability Tips

There are many things that can cause a computer to perform slower. One of those things is having unnecessary programs that run when your computer boots up. These unnecessary programs can not only make the computer take longer to boot up, but also reduce the speed of every day processes. Read the remainder of this entry »

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