Blog

Posted on

Wifi and Other Internet Issues

It seems like Wifi has been around forever, but it only came out commercially in 1999. We have all become so accustomed to having it that anytime there is a break in service or if it comes and goes, we feel like our world has come to an end. Many of the “emergency” calls I get are about wifi or internet.

Based on this, I thought I would give you some quick fixes to the common issues I hear about.

  1. Home wifi is spotty or doesn’t reach certain rooms/floors. First, realize that the equipment you typically get from your internet supplier is not the strongest. For most homes I recommend getting a mesh wifi system. This is a series of small pods. One pod needs to connect to your existing router and create a new network, each subsequent pod is wirelessly connected to the others and spread about your home to give complete coverage. These pods even have ethernet ports so you can wire a few items to each pod if needed. This set up can also work in offices that are not wired for the internet. Also, they make pods that are waterproof so you can even extend your network into the yard. I can offer recommendations and help with installation if needed.
  2. Computer wifi or ethernet port quits working. This is a very frustrating situation that I hear about often. Yesterday my internet connection worked fine but now it doesn’t even show a connection. There are a few levels to this one. Sometimes the settings just magically get turned off. I don’t believe it is intentional or even accidental because the settings are usually buried a few levels deep in the many settings menus. Some laptops have physical buttons on either side to turn wifi on or off, or they might have a function key that does this. If you can locate one of those, the repair can be very simple. If not, you can go to the Device manager and actually turn your wifi card off and back on. Sometimes this works. Occasionally the internal wifi card or even the ethernet port quits working all together. This used to be a big deal, I would have to open the computer and then replace the wifi card or for ethernet add an expansion card to a desktop. Laptops used to be very difficult to fix ethernet cards since laptops don’t have expansion cards. Now all you have to do is get a USB adapter for either wifi or ethernet. These are not expensive and fix the issue in minutes.

I hope you never experience issues like these, but if you do I can help you get back on the information super highway in no time.

Want to get my computer services updates and reminders directly into your email inbox? Sign up for my FREE Newsletter!

Sign Up!
Posted on

Windows 10 End of Support

I know I have talked about this many times, but the end is definitely near and to ensure you stay safe on the internet it is important to have a plan in place to either upgrade if possible or plan on getting a new computer. Either way I am happy to help. In the past couple months, I have helped a few people get their computers ready for the upgrade when they initially received notice that their computer could not upgrade.

There are a few things that can keep you from upgrading. The first is having a processor that is not supported. If this is the message you receive, your choice is simple. You need a new computer. Actually, you will probably be pleasantly surprised by the increase of speed when you do get a new one since modern processors are so much faster and efficient than the older ones. If this isn’t the message you get about not being able to upgrade but instead you get a message about TPM and security I can most likely help you solve this issue.

If you do need a new computer, reach out to me and I can help you find the right computer. I have people messaging me all the time with specs on computers asking if this or that is a better deal and the right computer for them. I don’t want anyone to end up spending too much on a computer, or worse not getting enough power in a computer. In many cases, I will even do the shopping for you and then bring you the computer and complete the setup for you. Since this is usually something that can cause many people a great deal of stress.

If your reluctance to switch is just that you don’t like change, I suggest you take the plunge and move to Windows 11. I have said this before, but there are a few new features that make the change well worth it. The first great change is the improvement to Snap-Assist. This is the tool that allows you to break your screen into two equal parts, four equal parts, or even a few other options, effortlessly. It was easy in Windows 10, Here is a video that shows the old way:

But, in Windows 11 it is even easier. You can do it all from the maximize box at the top right of any open window.

The next feature that I like is PhoneLink. This allows you to make and receive phone calls on your computer instead of your phone, deal with text messages on your computer, access your pictures and get all phone notifications. I use it all the time to take a link from my computer and then text it to someone, get pictures from my phone for use on my computer and even make phone calls just by clicking a number on my computer.

There are a few things that look a little different than the old version, but it works very similarly, and it shouldn’t take very long to get comfortable with it.

Want to get my computer services updates and reminders directly into your email inbox? Sign up for my FREE Newsletter!

Sign Up!
Posted on

Helper Sites and Services for Government Services

Last month, I received an email from a customer because she had just realized that she gave all of her personal information to a website that she thought was a government site but turned out not to be. She was concerned about identity theft and thought she might have just given scammers a free look at all of her personal information.

The site she went to was govplus.com. I did a little research about this site by checking out Trustpilot.com. According to TrustPilot:

 “Trustpilot is an online review community that connects businesses and consumers through genuine feedback from customers about their buying and service experiences.

Since we started Trustpilot in 2007, our purpose has always been to help people. As a free and open review platform, we work to build trust between consumers and businesses.

We want to help businesses collect reviews to engage with their customers, fix problems, and achieve success by improving their services. We also want to help consumers learn about businesses so that they can make informed decisions when buying products and services. These things are only possible with customer feedback.”

Trust pilot had many reviews for the govplus site and none of the reviews mentioned being scammed or having their information stolen. Thankfully, my customer didn’t find a fake site. It was what I call a helper site. This type of site isn’t connected to the government, but they claim to make your process easier to get the government services you need. They usually charge a fee for this help. Based on consumer reviews, Govplus is very helpful and makes the passport process very easy.

There are many companies that do this sort of thing. Every year when my LLC is up for renewal, I get a letter in the mail that tells me it is about to expire, and they offer to help me with the process. In this case, I can easily go to the Colorado website and quickly file the necessary paperwork myself and pay just $10 to renew my LLC registration. The letter that I get wants $100 for this process. I always just throw these letters away. It isn’t really a scam, but it is a big waste of money, and it won’t save you any time.

It isn’t just government services that are targeted in this type of help. I also receive notifications from some official sounding domain seller when I have a domain that is up for renewal. In this case, they are trying to get me to switch my domain from GoDaddy to their company, but they make it sound like they are just being helpful. The cost for hosting my domains with this other company is usually many times the cost I currently pay to GoDaddy. It is important to be aware of this type of potential scam.

How can you protect yourself?

  1. When on the internet, make sure you look at the actual website URL when searching. The most important part is what is between the “WWW” and the “.com, or .gov”. All federal government sites will have the “.GOV”, most state and local government sites will too, although some might have the .ORG”
  2. If you receive a letter about renewing something, whether it is for a government service or anything else, read all of the fine print. If a company doesn’t divulge everything in their letter it is mail fraud and can cause severe penalties. They usually list in very small print that this is not required, and you can file this for yourself by going to the state website. This is what the LLC renewal always says, but the print stating this is very small, and all the rest is very large and “demanding.”
  3. However you are contacted, you can always go to the official website for whatever agency you need to work with and ask them about the letter or other site. Many times, they will have a FAQ section, which stands for Frequently Asked Questions.
  4. If you really are not sure, you can reach out to me. I would much rather give a little advice than try to clean up after a scam.

I hope this explanation helps in your future dealings with government and other services. There is nothing wrong with using these helper services, but it is best to be informed so you don’t accidentally give out all of your personal information.
The above article is a reprint from my monthly subscription newsletter Email ScamBusters Monthly Report, every month I highlight a couple of scams and show how to spot them to keep yourself from getting scammed. The people that initiate these scams are usually outside of the USA and they are able to quickly disappear after the scam to avoid getting caught. Education about scams is the only way to prevent getting scammed. If you or someone you know needs this type of education, you can get this monthly report in your inbox every month. I charge $30 per year for the Email ScamBusters Monthly Report, partly to cover costs and also, I have found people are more likely to read it if they pay for it. To subscribe just follow this link.

Sign Up for ScamBusters

Want to get my computer services updates and reminders directly into your email inbox? Sign up for my FREE Newsletter!

Sign Up!
Posted on

Battery Horror Stories

I get requests all the time to replace laptop batteries. Usually, it is a fairly simple process. I get the serial number and the brand of laptop and search for the correct battery. Once it comes in the mail, I install the battery, and my customer is happily back to mobile computing.

 Every so often I run across a battery that is damaged, and the simple battery swap gets a little scary. Here is a picture from a recent battery swap.

A group of batteries on a table AI-generated content may be incorrect.

The battery on the bottom is the one I just pulled out of a laptop. The one on the top is the new one I am about to install. I knew it was a problem before I opened up the laptop. I could see that the keyboard was bulging, the laptop did not close flat, and while removing the screws the back was actually popping open.

Why does this battery look like this? It is a phenomenon called THERMAL RUNAWAY. If left unchanged, this battery could actually explode and cause a chemical fire. This is why they are restricted on airplanes and are always identified when being shipped.

What causes thermal runaway? There are a lot of things that can cause it, physical damage, exposure to high temperatures, manufacturing defects, aging, electrolyte leakage and poor ventilation, but the most likely cause is overcharging.

Many people treat their laptops like they are desktops. They leave them plugged in all the time. This can cause thermal runaway in extreme cases but even if it doesn’t swell and threatens to burst open your laptop, it will degrade the battery and cause it to not hold a charge.

The best thing you can do to keep your battery working properly and not expanding inside your laptop is to use the battery. Unplug the cord when the battery is fully charged and don’t plug it in until it is at or below 10%. It is alright to let it completely drain the battery occasionally. While charging the battery monitor it and unplug it as soon as it is full.

Here is a video that explains proper battery use and care.

Want to get my computer services updates and reminders directly into your email inbox? Sign up for my FREE Newsletter!

Sign Up!
Posted on

Surge Protectors vs. Power Strips

I have talked about this many times before, but this is very important, and spring is coming so I thought I would mention it again. All surge protectors are power strips, but not all power strips are surge protectors. (Too long, don’t want to read it? Here is a video that says the same thing.)

Lightning can strike anywhere, if it strikes near your home all of your electronics plugged in are in danger of getting hit by massive amounts of electricity that can quickly destroy them. To solve this problem, you could always unplug every electronic in your home as soon as you stop using them, but this is not very practical and what would happen if you were using them during a lightning storm? Which you should not do.

The solution is to protect them even when they are plugged in. Never plug any electronic device directly into a wall socket. Always use a surge protector. Make sure it is a surge protector and not just a power strip. It should say surge protector on it. If it doesn’t, you should replace it with a surge protector. Surge protectors have a break point, kind of like a fuse in them that will break due to too much electricity running through them. They will break so the devices plugged into them don’t receive too much electricity.

When shopping for a surge protector, look carefully at the packaging. Many surge protectors come with warranty coverage that might cover a certain amount if they fail to suppress the surge, and it damages your devices. Always read fine print because these warranties might only apply for a certain time period.

Want to get my computer services updates and reminders directly into your email inbox? Sign up for my FREE Newsletter!

Sign Up!
Posted on

National Backup My Computer Day

Yes, this is actually a thing. I guess there is a day for everything anymore. March 31st is National Backup Your Computer Day, so I decided to give some insight into what is a backup and what isn’t. Many people use OneDrive, Google Drive, iCloud, and Dropbox and think they have a backup. In one sense this will help you recover your files if your computer dies or is stolen, but it isn’t a true backup. It is a sync.

With sync, the cloud service keeps an exact copy of your documents and each time you make a change on your device it will change in the cloud. For the most part, this is great except for a couple instances:

  1. If you have the sync turned on and you delete your computer copy, it will also delete your cloud copy. Years ago, I had a customer that used Dropbox to share documents with employees and she figured this was also a great way to back it up. One day she had to fire an employee that had access to Dropbox, so she got the employee’s computer and proceeded to delete the drop box from it. This also deleted all files stored in the cloud version of her Dropbox. Luckily, she figured it out fairly quickly and Dropbox was able to help her restore the files. If she had signed out of the drop box on the employee’s computer first, this would not have happened. Before doing anything you are not sure about, please call me!
  2. If you get ransomware and it encrypts your files, it will also encrypt your cloud copy when you are connected to it. With a true backup each time there is a change to a file it saves it in addition to the old copy of the file. This can be helpful in catastrophic ransomware issues or if you simply overwrite a file. I got a call one day because a customer could not open any files on his computer. Upon further discussion I learned that when he tried to open a file, he would get a pop up telling him how to purchase the “key” to fix this situation. It would only cost about $800 to purchase the key. He had opened an attachment in an email that looked like it came from FedEx, and it had encrypted his entire computer. Since he was connected to their server, I told him to immediately disconnect from the internet and also to disconnect the server from the internet. When I got to his office, I first checked the server, and the virus had already infected about 20% of the files on the server. Luckily, this company had a true backup, and I was able to recover all of the infected files. If they were using one of the sync clouds, they would not have been able to recover their files.

When you have a true back up, the process is different. It is a one-way process, not a sync. It also keeps previous versions. It is like putting all of your files in a box and sealing it up and then putting it on a shelf. Then you make a few changes and those get put in another box and also get put on the shelf. The boxes don’t care if you delete a file or change a file. The previous boxes are unaffected, but the changes will be in a new box on the shelf. Later on, if there is an issue with a file or many files you can go to the previous box and retrieve the files.

There are also a few kinds of backups. Most work like the cloud services where they charge a certain amount of money for a certain amount of backup storage. If you go over the limit, you have to pay more. The one I recommend is a little different. They charge by computer a fixed dollar amount regardless of how much you are backing up. I had a customer with two external drives connected to her computer. They were each 4 TB, and my backup didn’t care as long as it was attached to this computer.

Here is a link to a video I made about this.

 If you want more information about this backup solution, you can call me or just use this link to get it for yourself.

Find out more

Want to get my computer services updates and reminders directly into your email inbox? Sign up for my FREE Newsletter!

Sign Up!
Posted on

Password and Account Disasters:

I know I have talked a lot about passwords in the past, but I just had an incident with a new customer that really drives the point home on making sure you know what accounts you have and how to get into them. Not knowing what accounts you have could be devastating to your business. 

Let me start at the beginning. A friend recommended that someone call me when they could not get their email working. No problem usually. I get a lot of calls like this. The difference this time was that his computer had also quit working, and his hard drive was encrypted so I could not even get to his information. This was going to take some detective work.

The first thing I did was replace his hard drive to get his computer working again. We saved the old drive in case we could at some point get into his Microsoft account to get the encryption key to access this drive. He wasn’t sure if he had a Microsoft account. He had always had people help him with his technology and he didn’t pay attention to the information. He wasn’t even sure who helped him with his email and accounts involving this type of stuff.

Once we had his computer running again, we attempted to login to any accounts using the email addresses he knew about. He did have his phone, so we hoped to be able to authenticate these accounts using his phone. We found two personal Gmail accounts and we thought we were well on our way.

Using the Gmail accounts we attempted to log into his business email account. We were unsuccessful at this. We finally figured out that he had set up his domain at GoDaddy, so we reached out to them and using his phone number we were able to get into his account, but it did not have any email accounts listed, just the domain. I will also mention this took us a few days for GoDaddy to give us access to this account.

At this point we tried to just set up his email using GoDaddy, but they informed us that he already had email set up with Microsoft and we needed to contact them to either use the one set up there or have them release our domain so we could set up his email at GoDaddy. We elevated the support, but they kept saying they could not do anything, and we needed to contact Microsoft.

With the help of GoDaddy, we finally found a phone number for Microsoft and actually talked to a person. They helped us set up a ticket for the Microsoft system and we thought we were finally moving forward. They told us this will take a few more days and they would email or call us. This actually took more than a week and when we finally heard from them, they told us they could only help us if we were the global administrator on the account. I gave them every email address he could remember but they said none of those were the global admin.

It turns out the global admin was someone from a company that helped him set this up years ago and he was not sure of the company name. He is currently going through old receipts trying to find this company that he isn’t sure of the name. This has gone on for more than a month and his business is suffering due to this. In addition, I have spent many hours working on this, so he is also racking up a bill with me.

Why am I telling you this? This is a worst-case scenario of not having all of the information for your accounts. If someone sets up your domain, email and website make sure you know how to access all of these accounts. Hopefully your relationship with the company that sets everything up will stay intact but sometimes companies close down, and people move away. It is also helpful to know what email account is connected to your Office365 account. 

These are probably the most popular accounts, but this goes for any software on your computer. If you don’t know how to access your accounts, you can end up losing a lot when disaster strikes. If you are not sure about your accounts, I can help you get control over them. It is much easier when you have a working connection to those accounts. If you wait until your computer crashes this becomes much more difficult.

The person listed above thinks this might cause him to shut down his business. I don’t want this to happen to anybody. If you have accounts out there and you are not sure how to access them, let me know and I can help. It is best to attempt this before your computer breaks or your previous vendors disappear.

Want to get my computer services updates and reminders directly into your email inbox? Sign up for my FREE Newsletter!

Sign Up!
Posted on

National Clean Out your Computer Day

Yes, February 10th was National Clean Out your Computer Day. I know most of you probably have not celebrated this day before and are probably wondering why I even mentioned it. This just gives me an excuse to take you through some very important computer maintenance issues that usually get overlooked and can make a big difference for your computer.

So how do you celebrate this day? 

The first thing is to get rid of unnecessary files that are on your computer. The files I am referring to are the temp files that are created when updates happen. There are tools built into both PCs and Macs that will remove these files, but I like to use a program called CCleaner (ccleaner.com) to do the job. This program is available for both platforms and will go through your computer and get rid of all of those temporary and unneeded files. It will also work in the background and tell you when you should run the cleaner again. They have a paid “Professional” version and a free version. The free version should be just fine.

The second thing you should do is look at your desktop and move any files stored there to your documents folder. By keeping your desktop relatively empty you will know if a new icon appears on it. Many times, unwanted programs that you accidentally install will drop an icon onto your desktop. If you notice anything suspicious you can take action to remove it. I am always available to remove those pesky programs that just happen to appear.

The third thing to do is make sure your backup is working properly. If it isn’t working correctly now is a good time to fix this so you won’t lose any documents in case of a computer failure. If you are not sure how to check your backup or you don’t have a backup, I can help with this also. If you are using a cloud service like OneDrive or DropBox as a backup, you might want to watch this video since those are not really backups but syncs.  

The last thing is to make sure that your anti-virus is working properly. If it has expired and you are no longer protected, your data could be in jeopardy. I have written a lot and made videos about anti-virus software. If you need one, I can also help with that.

Now that you have done all of these things your computer will hopefully be more organized, maybe a little faster and definitely safer. So Happy National Clean Out your Computer Day!!

Want to get my computer services updates and reminders directly into your email inbox? Sign up for my FREE Newsletter!

Sign Up!
Posted on

What Kind of Printer Should I Get?

I get this question a lot. The real answer is not so simple. There are a lot of factors that go into purchasing a printer. Let’s look at all the things you need to consider when purchasing a new printer.

There are three initial things to consider when purchasing a printer: 

First, what will you do with this printer? Merely print, or do you also want to be able to make copies, scan and possibly even fax (if you still have a land line phone)? If you only need to print, usually you can get a basic printer for a lot less than an all-in-one printer which can also scan, copy and fax. One issue with this is that many basic printers don’t have a screen and only have a few basic buttons so adding these to your network can be cumbersome.

Next, do you need to print in color and make perfect copies, or do you just need black, and you don’t mind if it is perfect or not? If printing in color is not a requirement you can also save by getting a black only printer. These come in the all-in-one and basic varieties. See the possible issues above for the basic models.

Lastly, how often do you print, daily, maybe once a week, or hardly ever, do you just want it available when you do need it? There are three ink/toner systems for printers. Inkjets are small little cartridges that don’t hold a lot of ink but are also not as expensive as toner cartridges for laser printers, that can sometimes do thousands of prints before needing to be replaced. If you print a lot and almost daily you will save money by going with a laser printer versus an inkjet printer. Another issue with inkjet printers is the ink can actually dry up if not used regularly. The printer might show that the cartridges are full, but it prints blank sheets. This is not an issue with laser. You could leave it alone for a year and it would print just like it did last time. 

There is a new type of ink printer called a tank where instead of cartridges, you fill reservoirs on the printer with ink from a bottle. This is a much less expensive way to print. The nozzles will occasionally dry up, but you can run the maintenance to clean the nozzles, and it will be back to printing in no time. These printers cost more than the traditional inkjet printers, but you will make up the extra cost in ink savings.

Armed with this information, you are ready to find a printer. The last consideration will be cost and brand. A lot has changed in the printer world in the last few years. HP used to be the absolute go to but in recent years they are really putting out junk. They are currently my last choice in buying a printer. If you are considering a laser printer, I recommend BROTHER. If you are considering a tank, I like the EPSON tanks. I usually try to steer people away from the inkjet, but they are still the cheapest initially so if that is what you want to consider either Brother or Epson for inkjet.

As always, I am happy to discuss your options with printers and even help you set up your new printers.

Posted on

Microsoft Accounts

If you have a Windows computer, it is nearly impossible to not have a Microsoft account anymore. They have made it very difficult to set up a computer without using a Microsoft account. In this article I will discuss the good and the bad and some things you should not do with Microsoft accounts.

Before we get into that, what exactly is a Microsoft account? According to Google’s Generative AI:

A Microsoft account is a personal account that allows you to access Microsoft’s products and services. You can use your Microsoft account to: 

  • Sign in to Windows, Xbox, and other Microsoft devices
  • Access online apps like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
  • Save files and photos in 5 GB of cloud storage
  • Access the Xbox network and community
  • Customize privacy settings
  • Receive alerts for suspicious account activity
  • Use optional password less sign-in
  • Automatically sync data to the cloud

You can use any email address as your Microsoft account username, including addresses from Outlook.com, Yahoo!, or Gmail. It is even possible to use your company email as a personal Microsoft account, but it is not a good idea. Microsoft accounts used to be called “Windows Live ID”.

First, the positives of having a Microsoft account:

  • It allows you to sync settings, documents and browsers across two or more computers. This is great if you have a desktop at home and a laptop that you carry around or use for travel.
  • It is easier to set up a new computer since you can just sign in with your account and synchronize the above-mentioned items.
  • You should never get locked out of your computer because you can always reset your password by using the email account connected to your Microsoft account on another device.
  • It allows you to use fingerprints, pins or your face to login.

Next, the negatives of having a Microsoft account:

  • All of your documents and settings will sync across your devices.
  • You must use their cloud. It is difficult to only save documents on your computer.
  • In small businesses it is difficult to set up computers for employees and it is difficult to get into the computer if that employee leaves and you don’t know their password.
  • Microsoft will have control over your computer, programs and documents.
  • Microsoft accounts can be used with many different things. You can use it only as the method to sign into your computer. You can use it only for signing into your Office365 programs or you can use it for both.
  • It is possible to have a personal and a business Microsoft account that use the same email account. (this can cause a lot of issues for people)

Next, I will list the things you should never do with your Microsoft account.

  • You should never use your Microsoft account to set up a computer for someone else. If you are a small business owner and you don’t use the entire expensive suite of Microsoft this makes setting up an employee’s computer difficult.
  • You should never share your Office 365 programs by signing into someone else’s computer with your Microsoft account.
  • As a business owner it is not a good idea to simply hand a new computer to an employee and have them set it up for themselves.

Microsoft mainly caters to large enterprises, but it is possible to set up and use computers without falling into these issues. No one wants to find their personal documents and pictures on their employees’ computer. This is something I help small businesses with all the time. Before you set up your next computer, whether it is a business or personal computer, give me a call and I can help you make the best of the Microsoft accounts without compromising your security.