Collecting Friends Like Bottle Caps?

Quit counting fans, followers and blog subscribers like bottle caps. Think, instead, about what you’re hoping to achieve with and through the community that actually cares about what you’re doing.

To get started, visit the +1 button tool on Google Webmaster Central. You’ll be able to  configure a small snippet of JavaScript and add it to the pages where you want +1 buttons to appear. You can pick from a few different button sizes and styles, so choose the +1 button that best matches your site’s layout.

But social media is more like a cocktail party than a press release. Write status updates that sound like they were produced by a corporation — or even a public relations pro — and you’ll soon find yourself socializing with like-minded CEOs and company leaders, not just attracting new friends and followers.

• Use the 70-20-10 rule for engaging your followers making sure your status updates are welcome guests, not intrusive pests.
• Pass the “who cares?” test and become a good resource, not a bore, on social media.
• Get retweeted. Expand your influence and reach on Twitter.
• Tweet like the FBI. Write dramatic, compelling status updates that draw followers and get clicks.
• Make your posts personable. There’s a reason they call it “social” media.
• Tweak your tweets. Get your message across in 140 characters or less. Think of new ways to make 140 characters go further.
• Last, but certainly not least, DON’T BE ROBOTIC in your posts.  Be engaging, original; professional.  It’s okay to add some fun into the mix too. 

Now go and make it a wonderful Wednesday!  To read more blog posts, go to http://sitenoticed.wordpress.com/ or http://www.credocomputers.com/blog/.

Profit in business comes from repeat customers, customers that boast about your project or service, and that bring friends with them. W. Edwards Deming, Statistician, Professor, Author, Lecturer & Consultant

We’re getting multiple calls a week where someone has a piece of malware that is aptly named a “Fake Antivirus.” One of the most rampant ones in our experience is “System Tools 2012.” This piece of fraud mixed with extortion asks the user to pay them to remove infections that the malicious software has “made up.” Once it is installed it is best to shut your computer down and get to a reputable web site, on another computer naturally, to find out how to remove it. The more you use your computer and the more you restart your computer the more their feet dig in. You will also want to have a USB flash drive handy while you download a few tools to aid in your extermination.

One great site is http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/ that will aid you in just about anything you want to do yourself.

For those that are a bit apprehensive, or do not want to do it themselves can call on a computer repair company, like us, to get you on the right track. Just make sure that the company you hire gives you a guarantee that they have obliterated your costly nuisance.

Do you want to know how to avoid the bad things on the Net? Don’t ask Sandra Bullock (she’s an actress) – Ask us: Click to visit our lovely contact form.

Good day to you and safe surfing.

There are a LOT of antivirus programs out there. Most of us know about McAfee and Symantec’s Norton but what about the other ones? And how do I know what to choose? A great place to start if you like reading statistical data is http://www.av-comparatives.org/ which does research and tests on quite a few antivirus programs: 20 in all at the writing of this article.

When it comes to our own customers we have found that a large majority does not like the overwhelming amount of overhead (or how it slows a computer down) that McAfee does. Some do not like the price of Norton. Some find others to be unknown which makes them question the company and then there are some that like the free products put out by AVG, Avast, Avira, and a few others.

Free versions of antivirus software are typically free only for home users that are not using the computer for any kind of business. The free versions are also limited in their capacity compared to the full versions when it comes to other facets of security. If you are a business user and you are using a home version of a product please stop. Reason #1 to stop is obvious and the #2 reason is that you want the full package on your machine with a stronger software firewall and features like that of Avast’s Internet Security. Yes, here is where we state our liking and why we like it. We also have to tell you that we are an authorized reseller of Avast antivirus. The thing of it is, we do not like Avast because we sell it – we sell Avast because we like it, trust it, and never have issues or problems with it.

Most antivirus programs do a scheduled scan and also watch for files that you download. Some will even watch what programs you are opening but that is rare with the free versions. With Avast Internet Security you get a live and active scanning solution that not only stops viruses but goes the distance to stop Potentially Unwanted Programs (PUP). If you ever open an “unsigned” program or something that could be fishy/phishy then Avast will give you options: Open it, Open it Sandbox, or Stop the process.

What is the Sandbox? The sandbox is a safe area to open the program where it cannot harm your system in any way. The sandbox can even be used to open your web browser and give you a 100% safe-surfing experience.

The next key ingredient to Avast Internet Security is that it comes with a software firewall that stops unwanted traffic coming into your computer or leaving out of your computer. It knows every time you move to a new network (for you laptop users) and asks you if you are at Home, Work, or in a Public place. (Always choose Public if you are indeed in a Public place – like Starbucks.)

Avast is also not a power hungry program and here is where we like it the most and why we decided to become a reseller: Avast uses very little of your computer’s resources (memory, hard drive, processor) and it has one of the fastest scanners out there. How can you trust it if it is not built like a tank? That’s the thing. It is specifically tailored for its jobs and they have done nothing but program Avast to do it as slim as possible. Typically when software is slimmed it has bugs, issues, and crashes, but in our 3+ years of being customers we have never had it crash, error, freeze, or halt and that is what is important. You have to know that your antivirus will not fail you at anytime.

The only con about Avast is that it is sometimes TOO strong and will from time to time have a false positive where it thinks a safe file has an infection. If this ever happens to you contact us with the information or contact Avast directly and they will correct the problem IMMEDIATELY. They are all about their customers and making sure things run right.

Want to buy a copy of Avast and help support a local Reno, Nevada company that is “Paying I.T. Forward”™? Give us a call at 775-636-8378, e-mail “info *at* credocomputers.com”, or visit our Contact Page. (We have a store coming soon!!! Our prices are the same or lower than those online – so buy from us directly and help a worthy cause.)

You just received an e-mail with an important document. You cannot open the document and are unsure on how to proceed. What is your next step?

You need to upload a few photos to Walgreen’s or some other store’s online printing site so your child or parent in another state can pick up some printed photos. The interface is confusing and it is difficult to browse your computer for the photos. Do you just give up?

You have a report due the next day and your new printer is not installing correctly. Do you continue to stress and feel you need to run to the nearest print store?

For as little as $10 for the first 10 minutes and $0.79 per minute after we offer ‘Per-Minute Billing’ via our remote tech support because we do not believe it’s ethical to charge for a full hour of service for things that take so little time. Most often, we can start helping you within moments without having to schedule an appointment. The best part: If you call us and we can assist you over the phone [775.636.8378], via e-mail [support-at-credocomputers.com], Twitter, or Facebook there is never a charge.

If the session lasts longer than 45 minutes our standard hourly fee for CredoRescue.Net initiates (billed in quarter hour increments). Online support is also available nationally and not limited to Northern Nevada. (Yes, we have senior, disabled, veteran, student, and other discounts available – however, at rates this low for per minute billing we have to limit our discounts to per hour services.)

Do you want to learn more about our online service?
Visit http://www.credocomputers.com/remote-rescue.html

As I hop, skip, and jump from one customer to the next it seems that just about everyone has a scanner or an all-in-one (printer/scanner/fax). The troubling part is no one really uses their scanner and when they do they tend to get things a bit messed up. Pay attention here because this goes for small businesses as well.

First and foremost: Both Windows and the Mac OS have programs built in to scan straight from your scanner. We’re not going to get into detail on how to use these programs directly or any other programs. What I am going to relay to you is how to use the settings to share a great photo at a small file size.

Are you still going to Walgreen’s to get your photos developed? This article may not be for you if the digital age confuses you but if you want to e-mail a family member one of those palpable pictures then read on.

Photos

There are two main reasons to scan photos for the everyday user; you want to archive/save the photo for printing later or you want to share the photo with a friend or family member via e-mail, Facebook, Picassa, or other digital avenues. We’ll only concentrate on the latter and show you the proper way to share the photo.

Grab that photo and place it on your flatbed – look for the marks so you know which way’s up. Open your favorite scanning application. Once you have it open look for the scanner settings. You will want to choose JPEG/JPG (if your app has a setting for JPEG quality, 8/10 or 80% is a decent setting but you can play with it and make up your own mind). Now set the resolution as low as possible. Most apps start at 100dpi/ppi or 100×100. Set the color for Color or Photo. If your application allows you, and most all do, hit the pre-scan or preview button. Is the scanner lamp still warming up? I’ll wait. Should be grinding and whirring now. Now your app will show you what you are scanning. Crop the image. Most all apps have the ability to select just the area you want to scan by drawing a box around the picture. Otherwise you’ll be scanning the white background and making the image larger and harder to look at. Okay. So you set to JPEG/JPG, selected 100dpi, selected color, previewed, and cropped. Now press ‘scan’. Looks fine doesn’t it? You do remember where you saved the file to, right? Go ahead and upload it to Facebook or send it via e-mail to that friend or family member. They’ll be happy to know they’re not receiving a huge file that’ll bog down their e-mail and it will upload to a site like Facebook in no time flat.

If you do plan on scanning a photo to print later or to send to someone (or a company) to print then you can increase the DPI to 300 or even 600. You shouldn’t need to set it any higher unless someone asks you to, for whatever reason. Leave the higher resolutions to the professionals. Most printers don’t do more than 600dpi anyway unless you have a super fancy one and want to print an 11″x17″ tabloid or the like.

Our next article on digital images will cover overzealous faxing and how you can just e-mail the document as a PDF and a few other tips to save paper, ink, toner, and time.

You’re the parent. You have two ways to implement your protection. You can do it while they are at school (ahem, behind their backs) or you can talk with them first and come to an understanding – starting with this handy-dandy little agreement package:

PACT - Click here to download the agreement (PDF)

Parental Involvement: Who sets the guidelines?
Access: With whom can your child interact online?
Content: What video games, TV shows and websites can your child play, watch and browse?
Time: When and how long can your child enjoy these activities?

The PACT covers more than just protecting them from bad images and unsavory characters – it’s a well-rounded contract pact between you and your children. You’re the parent and the choice is yours on how you approach it. I’m just the computer guy. You ready to install some software? Are you on a Windows-based computer? Are your children using a Windows-based computer (can be the same one you’re on now, of course)? [For those not on a Windows-based machine, mainly Mac - Write in the comments selection below and we'll point you in the right direction for your children... but you'll want the PACT so feel free to download that now.]

Software Install

If your child or children use the same computer as you please set up a separate user account for each of them. (How? XP - VISTA/7)

Microsoft is not perfect but there is no other software that I can recommend that will work this well and have as many features for the price: FREE. You are going to want to download and install Windows Live Essentials 2011 – if you constantly update your machine it may be installed but you’ll need to make sure that Family Safety was checked and installed when it happened. However it is not easy to show people to go to their Control Panel -> Programs & Features (Add/Remove Programs in XP) to check. Here is a link to visit the Microsoft Windows Live Essentials 2011 site and download the latest version: http://explore.live.com/windows-live-essentials

The install can take some time and depends on how many features you are installing. I do recommend that if you are going to let your children on IM that you have them use Live Messenger since you will be able to protect them easier through it. (This is another parenting call – They may like Yahoo or AIM and that’s what their friends use, but if their friends really want to IM they’ll install Live Messenger as well – maybe you can tell their parents about this blog post? The choice is yours.)

Once Windows Live Essentials 2011 is installed go to Start -> All Programs -> Windows Live. Single click: Windows Live Family Safety. You will need a Windows Live account or Microsoft Passport to proceed. Don’t have one? Click on the link in the dialog box to proceed.

If you do already have a Windows Live Account/MS Passport go ahead and enter in your e-mail address associated with the account and your password. As a reminder, the e-mail address that you use for the account is the same one that will receive e-mails for website requests and the like.

The rest of the setup will be quite easy. You can visit http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/Protecting-your-kids-with-Family-Safety to learn more about setup or ask questions in the comment section below.

You can also check out http://internet-safety.yoursphere.com/ written by Mary Kay who is dedicated to protecting children online by providing information to parents.

The beginning of Day 2:

After making sure that all three programs would get along I felt it was time to put them to the test. First we’re going to visit some infected websites. Yes, websites themselves can be infected and spread the issue to your computer. You don’t have to download a file; just leave yourself vulnerable.

We’re going to texaswhitetailfever-dot-com (don’t even think about, I will not be held responsible). Whamo! Chrome halts and MBAM steps in.

If you’re able to read the pop-up from MBAM it says the “Process: avastsvc.exe” which is avast! plugged into the browser. This is normal and confirmed. Let’s visit the same site with MBAM turned off. Nothing happens except the same message from Chrome and Firefox. I will not use Internet Explorer as it has too many security faults.

Every known website with an issue, virus, or malicious code responded the same way. Malwarebytes would block it but it was impossible to know what was happening without it turned on.

As far as SAS. It has not so much as made a peep. I know how well it works as a first scan on a potentially infected PC but I am unsure of its ‘real-time protection’ at this time.

I was unable to find an infected file and the few that I have had (yes, I knew I had them) have been automatically removed by avast! on my Windows Home Server over time.

I will keep this article up to date as I find out more. Also to note: Microsoft Security Essentials and avast! also work together nicely. There is nothing wrong with having extra protection but do know that McAfee, Norton, Kaspersky Pro and the similar will NOT work together. There are few AntiVirus programs that will work together and it’s good that there are because each program seeks out malicious codes differently then its competitor.

Surf Safe. Be virus free. If you would like some free help to get rid of a virus visit Credo Computer Repair and Services on Facebook.

It’s a glorious Saturday morning and I felt it was time to add some content that I have shared on Facebook and Twitter. I’ll also be posting content about computer safety/security, child safety on the Internet, and some Windows Tips & Tricks ~ maybe some Mac ones from some guest writers.

Preventative maintenance is the key to any healthy and happy computer and most of what you will find here will help you keep your computer up to date and help avoid seeking out costly computer repair.

Let’s hope we get off to a great start and thank you for visiting!

Best Regards,

Eric L. Johnson
I.T. Specialist/Owner
eric (at) credocomputers.com
Credo Computer Repair and Services