7 New Years Resolutions to make for your PC

7 New Years Resolutions to make for your PC

Dec 29, 2014 | Backup, Computer Repair, Computer technology, email, Error, internet, Malware, Security, Software, Wireless

New Years Resolutions are everywhere this time of year. Everyone else makes them, but when it comes down to actually doing it, people rarely follow through. Those of us that frequent our local gym, will have it inundated with people for the first month, maybe two,? and then like magic, everyone is gone. So why don’t people just make New Years Resolutions that they can stick to? Things that are easy, and that don’t take a ton of your valuable time. Well, here at Computer Geeks we have compiled a list of New Years Resolutions for all of you to help your PC thrive in 2015! And if your computer and everything on it is fast and safe, then it will save you time, and potentially a lot of money. Without further ado, here is the list

 

7. Viruses, spyware, malware, adware protection

anti-spyware new years resolution

Listen, most people have anti-virus software because it comes with virtually every computer out there. But do you have Anti-Malware on your PC? How about Anti-spyware? Probably not. Computer Geeks has several solutions to this problem that we can put on your computer, and the best part is that the software is free!

6. Maintenance Checkups

pc cleanup new years resolution

I know, I know, nobody likes to schedule to fix their computer. But checkups are important. So many people who call me up with a dead computer that they haven’t had serviced in 5 years. What if you didn’t take your child to get a check up for 5 years? Sounds outrageous right? Same thing with your computer. That could be all of your family memories on that computer, or your entire business database, gone because you didn’t see a problem coming. A computer should get a thorough cleaning and tune up every 3 months to keep performance optimal. Simple checkups can increase the average computer life span by up to 4 years. Computer Geeks can set you up on scheduled maintenance calls for the entire year, all at once! And you can always reschedule at no cost if something comes up!

5. Use Better Passwords on your computer

password new years resolution

I’m sure your dog is cute, and is a great companion, but he’s a BAD password. Most hackers who get into your computer can find personal information, like your pets name. And when they go to steal your email address, or your bank account info, you might as well have not even set a password. You want there to be 3 variables to your password, a capital letter, lowercase letter, and numbers, but please don’t just do R4m35eS, they’ll try that too. Combine two things to make your password unguessable, like your dog and your birth year backwards. My birth year is 1982 so my password could be this: S2e8se9ma1R, now that’s a password! (FYI that’s not my password)

4. Archive your old emails

Warehouse

For you outlook users, your inbox/outbox for your email can look like the warehouse from Indiana Jones. Filled with so many items that you’ll never find anything. Outlook has an auto-archive function that will archive anything that is older than a certain amount of time, that you can dictate. Set it once, and then forget about it! The best part is that if you need to view the archive emails, they will still show up when you use the Outlook Search feature.

3. Watch what you post on social media

social media new years resolution

Listen, we’ve all done it, had a bad day at work and then go home and blow up Facebook about how much your boss’ management style reflects that of Adolf Hitler. The problem is, when you go to leave Hitler’s company, your new potential employer is more than likely going to find you on Facebook before he hires you, so he can see what he may be getting himself into. Be careful what you post online, there is no escaping something once its on there…

2. Be careful where you surf on the web

web-surfing

Seriously, this should be self explanatory. Don’t go to a site that you don’ t know what it is. And if you do go to a bad site and pop-ups and people saying you have viruses comes up, CALL GEEK CHOICE FAST!? Once a virus is on a computer the longer it sits there the more damage it can do. Turn the PC off, and give us a call 800-433-5435.

1. BACKUP ALL YOUR FILES

This last one is so simple, so important, but almost always not done. People think backups take up a lot of their time, or that they are expensive. But Computer Geeks is here to tell you they are neither, they are just lifesavers. 10 times a week some poor soul wanders into my office telling me their hard drive is dead, and they’re whole life was on it. I ask if they have a backup, and they give me the frowney face. Backups are really cheap, and for the most part can be set up 1 time, to perform backup either daily, weekly, monthly or ever quarterly. And you can set the backup to occur at 3AM while you sleep, so you never have to deal with it! Computer Geeks can get you on a yearly backup plan for UNLIMITED DATA at only 59.95! Just give us a buzz and Computer Geeks can help

 

We hope you have enjoyed our New Years resolution blog, feel free to follow us on Twitter @geekchoice, and like us on Facebook Here to get all of our daily blogs to keep you updated with everything technology from cell phones, gaming systems, to computer tips and hints!

Missing Labor Day already…

Missing Labor Day already…

Sep 2, 2014 | Backup, Computer Repair, General

Labor Day is a fun holiday for most people. You get a long weekend, spend time with your family, BBQ’s, you name it. It also marks the end of the summer for most people. Which means back to school for students and teachers. And on days like today, the end of vacation season and back to the grind for business people like lawyers and major corporations. Some of you are starting off your collegiate career today, and others are saying the final goodbye to their kids as they start their journey in life on their own.

With this comes issues in life, you write that first term paper, ya know the one that will set the tone for your entire academic career, and BOOM your drunk roommate spills his beer on your laptop. The world is ending, or is it? We here at Computer Geeks can help you. First thing you want to do is make sure the machine is completely off and unplugged. Then call us up to go over your options. If you can wait a few days, then it is best to do so, leave your PC off and upside down for a few days so it can dry out, before we come out to assess the damage and clean it out. If your needs are more pressing, we can come out right away and extract the hard drive and attempt to do data recovery for you. As well as set you up with a data backup solution so you never have to worry again.

For you parents who just let your little genius go off to school, you all know he/she was your computer repairman. There for you whenever you clicked on something you shouldn’t have. Or whenever you downloaded your 5th toolbar, they fixed you up. Now who do you call in a pinch? Computer Geeks 24/7 onsite computer repair service is here for you. Even though we can’t replace the hugs of your son/daughter, you don’t have to cook for us or do our laundry, so it all evens out in the end.

So, although Labor Day is now over, and it is back to business, know that someone is here for you when you have problems. Think you need Geek to help you? Click on the button below or give us a call at 617-262-2626 or feel free to visit us at our Beacon Hill office in Boston, MA

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Lessons from Microsoft/Danger and T-Mobile’s Sidekick Fiasco

Oct 26, 2009 | Uncategorized

You may have already heard about the colossal failure of Microsoft and Danger’s “cloud” system, resulting in the loss of roughly 800,000 T-Mobile users’ cell phone data. The unique method T-mobile employed to manage their customers data experienced a catastrophic failure on October 5th and while questions still loom as to how this could have occurred the take home lesson for all computer users is plain as day: always backup your data properly.

Sidekick data was not stored long term on the phone itself, unlike other cell phone models. Instead, data was uploaded to Microsoft/Danger‘s cloud: a cluster of many computers sharing the load of data storage and computing power. Systems like this aren’t all that unusual, if you use gmail or flickr you’ve already got data stored in a cloud. When one computer in the cloud fails, usually there is minimal to no data loss. If many computers fail, or if the software connecting the computers has a problem, all the data could be lost forever.

Thankfully Microsoft had some backups of the Sidekick data and finally began restoring it to customer phones on October 20th, fifteen days after the initial loss of data. In the interim, literally thousands of blog posts, news articles and RSS feeds flooded the internet with bad press about T-Mobile and Microsoft. The criticism was completely justified as well, due to early concerns within Microsoft that the backup data had somehow been damaged or lost in the same incident that took down the cloud. The idea that a company with the kind of resources and expertise as Microsoft could have made such a rookie mistake of creating backups that were relying on the same resources or software as the cloud is unthinkable to tech pros.

The cost of this catastrophe is more than just data loss and bad press, the financial toll is still growing. Between users terminating contracts early (without the customary fee), $100 T-Mobile gift cards being offered to users whose data was lost, and pulling Sidekicks from shelves and online stores, the final cost could be somewhere in the millions.

Data recovery is a complicated and expensive process, and it’s not always successful. To keep your information safe, whether it’s tax records or photos of your children, you should always keep a secure backup. It’s a simple, inexpensive, and reliable step that can help prevent multi-million dollar disasters and private heartbreaks, but it must be done properly. Computer Geeks techs are trained professionals who can help make sure that your backup solution is safe, even if your system fails. If you haven’t already, take the time to call about backing up your data today.

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