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Yes Virginia, You Really Can Solve Your Windows Problems

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Unless you have the money to buy a new laptop or PC every six months, you have likely been faced with some of the most common Windows problems. Learning how to detect these three problems and how to fix them will mean you will have a faster and safer computer for far longer.

  1. Slow Boot: One of the most common problems faced by computer owners is a slow boot up. One of the best ways to fix this is to change how many programs run during the start-up process. The process is easy. Click Start and Run. Enter ‘msconfig’ into the box and hit enter. The system Configuration utility will appear. Choose the start-up tab and make changes as you see fit. Reboot and you will see the difference.
  2. Slow Run: Over a period time, you will see a decrease in the speed of your computer. Many users overlook common maintenance tasks that can make this easier. Regularly defragment of your hard drive to improve your performance speed. You can even schedule this process to make it easier.
  3. Pop Ups: If you have seen an increase in the number of pop ups, there is a pretty good chance your computer has a virus. Purchase a top quality anti-virus program and use it. Avoid the ‘free’ programs. These are not as robust.

Remember that you should regularly reboot your computer. It is also a good idea to manually check any Windows updates before installing them. A bit of care is all it really takes to keep your PC or laptop running smoothly for more than a few days.

Filed Under: Common Problems, Computers, Operating Systems Tagged With: , ,

Evolution of Voice Control Makes Personal Assistants

We’ve all used the telephone technology where words have to be enunciated carefully for the software to know which function to perform. Many times the software just turned people over to a real person anyway, making the voice recognition a time waster.
However, now we have Vlingo, the voice recognition software that wants to be a personal assistant, software that works much like Siri, the personal assistant app that Apple purchased last year. Vlingo can help your computer know what you want it to do.
Vlingo is a Personal Assistant, Not Just Software

Instead of just dictating text, a person can dictate directions, or actions. Here’s an example of what it can do:
Grab the phone and say, “Tell Bob Springer that he needs to try Vlingo.” The phone opens up a text message and it types a message that says ‘You need to try Vlingo’ and it sends the text message to Bob Springer in the contact list. Now a person can (and will) speak directions into their phones without feeling like a dork in public; no repeating the command or trying to enunciate better – Vlingo understands.
A user can tell Vlingo, “Get me a reservation at a hotel in Philadelphia for Tuesday night.” Vlingo then opens an app called Kayak, and Kayak shows a list of hotels in that city with vacancies on Tuesday night. If the user doesn’t have Kayak on their phone, then Vlingo will prompt the user to download it. If the user does, Kayak pays Vlingo a small fee. If the user registers and makes a hotel reservation through Kayak, then Vlingo gets another small fee. Then if the user clicks on an ad that’s on the hotel page, Vlingo gets a cut from the advertiser.
Already, with 8 million users that downloaded the app, Vlingo figures it can make .14 cents on each user per month – that equals out to about $13.4 million a year. This year, 2011 promises more money and Vlingo expects to earn .22 cents per user per month.
Filed Under: Common Problems, Technology Tagged With: , , , , ,

New iPhone Apps Make a Phone a Cool Toy

iPod touch - My PDA.

Image by MJ/TR (´･ω･) via Flickr

Smart phones are the future… er, the present and the future. Phones can do so many things these days, they aren’t just telephones anymore. They’re cameras, video makers, music makers, all kinds of things wrapped into a small black rectangle. There are over 300,000 apps people can download that enable a person to do all kinds of things on their telephone. Some of the things are a little odd, like these:
An app called Blower turns the iPhone’s speaker into a small fan. It doesn’t do much good as a fan, unless you want it to blow out your candles, and in that case it’s good.
British developers have made a functioning satellite that uses a smart phone as its brain. It’s called the STRaND-1 (Surrey Training, Research and Nanosatellite Demonstrator) and it weighs in at under eight pounds and costs less than a new car. But sadly, a new car can’t go into outer space, yet.
So Many Apps Make to iPhones More Fun

An app called Annoy-a-Teen that emits a ring tone that adults cannot hear. It’s quite an annoying sound, and because of physical technicalities, teens are able to hear it but not adults.
The Google Goggles phone app has a Sudoku puzzle solver. Just point the iPhone at it, click “solve” and it’s done! The app fills in all the numbers and the puzzle is complete.
Now anyone can contribute to the science of earthquakes. With an app called iShake the user’s phone sends a report of a quake to a central computer that will compare the iPhone’s data to the data taken from other iPhones in the area. Then, it makes a map of the strength and location of the quake.
An app called Parrot AR Drone can turn the phone into a remote control for a four-rotor helicopter complete with camera and sensors. This can be operated from an iPad computer, iPhone or a iPod Touch, and all one has to do is tip it in the direction they want the helicopter to fly.
It’s more than a phone; it’s a cool toy!
Filed Under: Common Problems, Operating Systems Tagged With: ,

Protecting Your Computer Against Malware Attacks

If you are like most people, you rely on your computer in many ways, which makes it a necessity to protect your computer against viruses using software such as PC Tools Antivirus. Running your computer without antivirus protection exposes you to malware that can harm your computer and wreak havoc on your life in the form of lost productivity and other time consuming hassles.

What Antivirus Software is Intended For

Antivirus software protects your computer against all manners of invaders, such as viruses, Trojans and worms. Malware can enter your computer from clicking on an email file, downloading untrustworthy files or visiting harmful websites. The best strategy for protecting your computer against these issues is to install antivirus software that prevents these malicious attacks.

Quality antivirus software is able to detect the presence of these invaders and block them from harming your computer. A good product demands little attention from you. You simply install it and it runs in the background as you go about your business. When it does detect malicious files, it blocks them and alerts you to them, as needed. You know the quality of antivirus software from its ability to detect all kinds of malware. The best products are those that are continually updated by the manufacturer to recognize any and all types of attacks. Poor quality antivirus software is rarely updated and leaves your computer exposed to malware attacks.

Reasons to Use PC Tools Antivirus

With so many antivirus products constantly entering the market, you’ll want to choose one that is well-known and constantly updated, such as PC Tools Antivirus. This product has many protective layers in place to react to and eliminate malware attacks. It automatically protects your computer and allows you to have peace of mind. With this antivirus software, your entire computer is scanned and you have access to a report of all malware issues and how they were resolved.

Filed Under: Common Problems, Computers Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Computer Problems: Ways to prevent data loss

Nothing is more frustrating than working hours on a computer document to discover a system problem caused the data to become corrupted and lost forever. There is no way to recover the loss and now must start all over again.

Here are a few recommendations to prevent loss of data:

  • Auto save

Many word processing applications have an auto save feature that can be turned on when creating a document.  Every few minutes the document automatically saves safeguarding the document should the application fail or the power supply shutdown.

  • Secondary hard drive

When saving a document in Word, it will usually place the document under the My Documents folder on the main hard drive. This is the worst place for the data because if anything happens to the operating system, the only resolution is to reformat the drive and reinstall the operating system.  Upon reinstallation, everything previously on the hard drive is lost. The best solution is to have a second hard drive installed for documents to be saved on. The hard drive can either be internal or external as it is not impacted by corrupted operating systems.

  • Backup

Saving a document or file in one place is not a good solution. Systems break down or get stolen, CDs get scratched, and floppy disks can get erased or copied over. You should always save data on a hard drive and then backup it up by burning the information to a CD, or copying it to a USB flash drive or floppy disk. For important information, the data should be backed up and then stored in a safety deposit box or fire-proof vault.

  • Attachments

When receiving email attachments, always run a virus scan before opening it to prevent damage to your system. Also be aware of automatically saving documents that come as attachments. If you do a lot of document collaboration, the email document may have the same document name as one already saved to the hard drive. You run into a problem of overwriting the original document. You can set your email program to save attachments in specified folders.

As a last resort, consider printing important documents. While it means having to retype the information again later, at least you have not lost any content and have to start over from scratch.

Filed Under: Common Problems, Computers Tagged With: ,

Antivirus Software: What to look for before you purchase

Antivirus and spyware software applications protect your computer against viruses, Trojans, worms, and other malicious malware through detection, prevention, and removal.

There are several different types of electronic infections to be aware of:

  • Virus

An infected piece of data those piggybanks onto real programs. Every time the program is opened, shared, or update the infection multiplies and spreads.

  • Email Virus

This type of infection attaches itself to email messages. It has the ability to replicate itself and automatically send itself to individuals in the victim’s contact lists. Some viruses require the recipient to open and double click, while others launch just by being viewed in a preview pane.

  • Trojans

Trojans are computer programs that state they are one thing (such as game) but once opened run havoc around your computer including damaging or erasing your hard drive.

  • Worms

Using computer networks, a worm is a piece of software that looks for security holes to infect and duplicate itself.

The key function of antivirus software is to keep your system virus-free and running smoothly. Knowing your system requirements before purchasing a software application will ward you against making a purchase that is more or less than your system needs.

Top 5 Antivirus Software

  • BitDefender Antivirus 2011
  • Norton Antivirus 2011
  • F-Secure Antivirus 2011
  • Kaspersky Antivirus 2011
  • ESET NOD32 Antivirus 4

Here is a list of other things to look for when choosing an antivirus software application:

  • The ability to remove and detect all spyware, viruses, and any malicious activities
  • Must have real-time scanning options to detect and defend real-time threats
  • Requires regular daily uninterrupted updates that can be automatic or manual
  • Must be easy to configure and run scans with ease
  • Requires accelerated applications/tools with the option to run in the background
  • Should provide customer assistance including after-purchase support, FAQ, help options, and other support related to the product

You can also protect your system by avoiding programs or attachments from unknown sources, removing preview pane from your email, never clicking on emails from unknown parties, and running your antivirus software daily.

Filed Under: Common Problems, Computers Tagged With: ,