Integrity Computer Consultant's Blog

Networking, Virus Protection, Back Up, Training, Troubleshooting | Kevin McGuire

Credit Cards

by

Banks offering credit cards have different security measures that you CAN use.  For example, Capital One users can “turn on text or email alerts that will arrive when their balance goes above or below an amount that the customer sets, when a charge occurs above or below a certain amount, when any charge occurs at all, or if a transaction doesn’t go through because there isn’t enough money in the checking account.”

“Citibank can ping you if you’re within a set distance from your credit limit. Chase will text you if its systems detect an unusual charge and let you reject it on the spot.”

With Amex, you can receive an alert whenever someone gets a cash advance using the card .

Something that I think everyone should use is a “virtual” or “one-time use” card number.  This feature is offered at least by Bank of America and Citibank.   You ask or sign up for this one-time use number, and give it to just one online shopping site (iTunes, Lands End, whatever) – if it’s stolen, no problem – it cannot be used again!  You can ask for as many of these as you need.

Motherboard failure

by

The motherboard of a computer is the electronics board, or circuit board, that everything plugs into.  It is the “mother ship” of any device – phone, tablet, laptop, desktop.  It holds the central processing unit (CPU) chip, probably from Intel, AMD or another major manufacturer.  When a motherboard or CPU chip fails, then your device simply doesn’t do anything when you turn it on – nothing shows up on the screen, even though the power is on.  Unfortunately, the motherboard is typically the most expensive part of the device, costing hundreds of dollars.  When it fails, or the CPU chip, then a new computer is the most likely solution.  In some cases, it is possible to buy the exact same make and model of the computer and move the hard drive from the old computer into the new one.  If the computer is several years old, though, a new one is the better solution.

Disk drive failure

by

If you turn the computer on, and you see the usual “splash” screen – a Dell, HP, Apple logo or the like – but then the computer doesn’t load, hard drive failure is a likely culprit.  A hard drive failure can be accompanied by sound.  In case of a laptop, it can be a high pitched clink or ping; in case of a desktop, it can be a grinding noise.  Either way, it’s bad… When this occurs, you might be tempted to grab a drink.  Instead, grab your backup drive and hope that it’s been working.  If you don’t have one, then you better have everything backed up to the cloud somewhere.  Sometimes the hard drive fails gradually and you can experience unpredictable shutdowns prior to its complete collapse.  The possibility of any kind of complete computer failure raises the need for a good backup solution, both local (external hard drive) and cloud (i.e. anything outside the house).  “Backup whatever you’re not willing to lose!”

Memory failure

by

When a computer can turn on with power, but nothing appears on the screen and you don’t hear any ominous noises, then a memory failure can be occurring.  Sticks of memory are located in the memory slots inside the computer.  Depending upon the computer, they may have to be inserted in pairs.  When there is a memory failure, it can occur in two different ways.  The actual stick can be defective, which is the more common way.  Or, the slot that the memory goes into can be defective, which is very rare.  Either problem can occur when the computer is a victim of a power problem, a brown-out or a surge.  Hence, if you absolutely must ensure that your computer has “clean” (level) power, then a battery UPS (uninterruptible power supply) should be purchased to provide at least some time to shut the equipment down gracefully in case of a blackout, and to provide missing power in case of a brown-out.

Software Updates

by

There are some absolutely key rules about updates.  First rule: Know what you’re updating.  Is it Microsoft Windows?  Is it Adobe Reader or Flash Player?  Is it your anti-virus software?  Is it Java?  Is it the IOS on your iPhone or iPad?  All of them are legitimate updaters.  Second rule: Assume the worst – the update will break your device.  Hence, do the update when it’s convenient to lose the computer for an overnight or day.  Don’t try to “squeeze” the update in between major deadlines or projects.  Third rule: Know beforehand what you will do if there are problems.  If you know you absolutely positively must continue working on something and you must do an update, then copy critical data to a thumb drive or other media  before you do the update.  You have no idea whether the update will finish, will work, will leave you with a broken computer – unlike gambling, you can do something pro-active before you roll the dice!

Hardware Maintenance

by

Your computers will collect an inordinate amount of dust if left alone.  Yearly, and sometimes more frequently especially if you have pets in the house, the dust (and anything else that doesn’t belong) should be blown out.  For laptop and desktop computers, the case should be opened and the fans checked.  A fan with encrusted dust will cause the device to work harder and hotter, overheating even and causing it to shut down at an inconvenient time.  A $10-$15 can of compressed air and 15 minutes of time can prolong your computer’s usefulness.

Backing up

by

Where does your data reside?  Where does its backup reside?

If your answer is “I don’t know,” then disaster WILL probably happen.  If your device – phone, tablet, laptop or desktop – suddenly breaks completely or is lost or stolen, you will be looking for a backup.  Where is it?  How recent is it?

Backups are typically in one of two places.  For standard laptops and desktops, an external hard drive should be first choice for backups.  It’s fast, it’s local, it’s inexpensive, and it can be fairly obvious when it’s working.  Depending upon your computer and the backup device, the backup software varies – Windows Backup, Apple’s Time Machine, Seagate oftentimes provides Memeo.  You have to learn how to tell when backups are successful, AND learn how to perform a restore of a file.

The second place commonly used is online.  Many paid services abound.  Some of the more popular choices include BackBlaze, Mozy, Carbonite, SOS Online Backup.  The one big disadvantage to all of these services: if you have a massive amount of data to backup or restore, it can take a long time…

For phones and tablets, are you synchronizing your contacts and calendars with another device?  If so, that means that other device has a copy of its data.  Doublecheck though!  For example, I’ve had clients turn on iCloud on a phone and tablet – but using different accounts – so the data could not sync…

Warning Signs

by

Many times, I’m on the scene a day late and a dollar short.  Someone calls for my help only well after disaster has already occurred – the computer doesn’t turn on, or the browser doesn’t work, or the printer is up in flames.  What could have been done?

Pay attention to the warning signs.  Many of them can be subtle, so being observant is key.  Here are some particular examples and some possible culprits:

1) Overnight, the computer is taking much longer to become usable.  Was this accompanied by some strange sounds?  It could be a failing hard drive.  If your browser starts with a different homepage, your computer could be suffering from viruses or spyware.  Or possibly some automatic updates were performed, but they went awry.

2) Your printer has problems printing.  If it is a wireless printer, can you tell if it is still on the network?  Is it asking for a new cartridge, even though you just replaced it?  Did the paper jam, and now it’s not printing even though you turned it off and on?

3) “Something” on the computer doesn’t work right.  Maybe it’s Microsoft Word, asking you to click on the end user license agreement…again and again.  Or HP software says it’s looking for something, please locate it.  Or all your files are missing (!).   There could be a corrupt file causing these problems.

In my opinion, it’s preferable to deal with problems with immediately rather than hoping that time will solve it.  If you have restarted your equipment, and the problem’s still there, assume it’s permanent, and act accordingly.

Speeding up a computer

by

Probably 10 years ago, Microsoft published a “white paper” on how Windows could be made faster.  First, preferred, and best option?  Faster hardware.  To that end, I will list the 2 most likely ways to improve your existing computer’s speed.

First is the RAM or memory in your computer.  If you have little of it, or if your device has slow RAM, then replacing it or adding to it is a very reasonable low-priced option.

Second is replacing the hard drive storage with a solid state disk (SSD).  This requires that a knowledgeable person with the right software and equipment (yes, me…) clone the existing hard drive to the new SSD.  The resulting speedup can give tremendous results.  I have seen computers start in less than a half minute whereas previously they took 2 minutes – a 75% reduction.

If you like the way your computer is currently setup but find it too slow, these options can be less expensive then buying a new machine and setting it up.  For example, for my 5 year Apple laptopI bought an SSD for $203 and faster ram for $103 – instead of purchasing a new computer for over $2,500.

If you are buying a new computer, then find out whether you can purchase an SSD for it – and in particular, ask if you can purchase one that comes from Intel.  (There are reported problems with many others not present with Intel’s.)

Encrypted Data is not Secure

by

According to documents leaked by John Snowden, the N.S.A. has been hard at work to compromise all encryption techniques.   Encryption is used constantly, especially on commercial websites, placing orders, sending email, etc.  If true, then this would allow the N.S.A. to read anything it’s able to capture – which we already know, from Snowden and confirmed by N.S.A., is just about everything… Click here for one of the many articles about this capability.