PC Spyder

Mini Laptop Deals

2011-04-05T03:14:00.001-07:00

The Mini Notebook deals

In the mad rush from CChristmas and holiday season into the spring, we fall victim to quick buys. These are those things that sound absolutely wonderful, and we impulse buy on our projected ability to handle the cost, in balance for the product we are getting. This would be one of those mistaken buys, a Mini Notebook Deal offered by small Internet Companies and large cellphone giants.

My deal was paying $100 dollars to Sprint, after a credit check, and them promising a $100 rebate check in 2 weeks. (It took 6 weeks) Then I had an option of either a 500 Meg limit data plan or 5 gigs, the price difference of $60. The 500 meg plan was 30 some odd dollars, and the 5 gig was 60 a month. I took the 60 a month, as I know in this day and age, 500 megs of data would be opening and watching 10 YouTube videos, and about 4 hours of Runescape. (An online role playing game, I play with my sons.)

So I buy the thing and take the 60 dollar plan for 2 years. Being computer savoy didn't save me. I underestimated the data usage of one thing, my browser.

The window we use to view the Internet eats up a lot of RAM, my machine, as most of the Mini machines offered by phone companies in this GREAT deal, has only 1 gig of RAM. To upgrade this RAM, I need to PAY and send it in to be upgraded. I can't just simply open a bottom panel, and put in a larger Memory stick. Or I can void my BASIC manufacturers warranty, and open it up myself and upgrade the RAM, which would include ripping the entire unit apart. You CAN use a Flash Drive or a Mini Card to speed up your browsing speed, but it is a hassel. You can't run much more than one browser at a time, and only with limited tabs. This is even after I cleaned out all the SALES programs that come with every system, and removed the invasive preinstalled security software.
(THUMBS DOWN)

Second, and important to remember, the machine has no CD/DVD ROM. No Cd player or similar device is attached to these Mini Machines. You must go buy an external.or find everything you want online, or move the data using a Flash Drive. The upside, is someone computer savoy can work around this obstacle quite easily, and with medium effort.
(THUMBS DOWN)

Compressed windows, make browsing and researching in multiple windows, and even playing simple videos and online web browser type games a nightmare. Nothing short of frustrating, the clicking options on the mouse makes life a hell, it will jump around the screen, and you'll click and windows get grabbed and shut, or tabs are grabbed and moved. Sheer hell. Even for a veteran user. I invested in this unit to write my online articles, and gave up after an hour of being unable to read efficiently on it, and keep multiple tabs of information open for cross referencing.
(THUMBS DOWN)

The Machine comes with the most basic Windows software for an operating system - Windows Starter, this is even more primitive than the old version known as Windows Home. It is also stacked full of every Internet product and other thing they could shove on it for some extra pocket money. It took me hours to clean out trash programs for products anyone that is sane would never have interest in. And the preinstalled machine killer itself, Norton Internet Security, which is a great program for computer engineers, but not for normal humans like us.
(THUMBS DOWN)

Background Displays and the changing of your themes. Does NOT exist. You CAN NOT change your image backgrounds, and the image viewers in your windows can and WILL default to some weird subtext so you can't preview images properly either. You can install third party software to ADD this function to your system, but it will have long term effects on the code, once it is uninstalled.
(THUMBS DOWN)

Battery life is unbelievable! The best record yet! My 3 Cell gets more than 5 hours!
(THUMBS UP)

Mobility, and the ability to run social networking sites, and doing small busy work and Internet maintenance is over the top incredible. The ease of being able to move around or be on the go and accessing the Internet in a casual way, the unit is awesome. However, this is the adverse effect of simply using a laptop of any brand. Freedom of movement.
(THUMBS UP)

Internet connection. My Sprint service is great. I can roam throughout the city, with my machine online and connected and not loose connection while traveling. There is the rare occasion, but for the most part, the Sprint network is strong, and I nearly always have 3 or more bars of strength.
(THUMBS UP)

Home connections. With the multi card option in these units, connecting at home or at friends and family's homes is a snap, and this connection time is not deducted from your usage with Sprint. (Or the other companies you may have AT&T or T-Mobile)
(THUMBS UP)

My overall view on this machine is this, if you want mobility, and your using it for entertainment, then this will do the trick. If you have an option to upgrade the RAM do it, 2 gig would be good, but 3 would be ideal. It is a nice change of pace, not having to carry big bulky machines around to have access to the world wide web. I feel like I have a very large texting device, and a screen that allows the versatility of a Mini Machine.

Updates

2010-07-18T10:49:00.000-07:00

Well I have been busy. I quite my job with HP, and now work from home writting articles for google, and doing my own in home tech support with my Tech Underground Company.

It is a slow start and I have lost tons in advertising money at this point. But I will tell you, I would not change the level of freedom I have for financial security, lol.

You can find out more about Tech Underground Here: http://www.techundergroundmo.com/

You can find out more about my free online assistance here: http://www.pcspyder.net/

You can find out more about my NEW book here: http://www.amazon.com/

And search for "The Modern 7 Seas" written under my pen name: Steve Stephens

Look for more books to come! Not tech ones though.

The book is Available!

2010-05-29T10:11:00.000-07:00

You can click this link, CLICK HERE , to order your copy of my book, it arrives in 3-4 days. There is a a small mess with the chapter page numbers, which i will fix in second print. You can add this discount code:

79WQC5CK for 10% off the cover price.

I hope you all enjoy, this was a long time coming, have been working on this for over a year. Which started with m,any of you on tech support calls, then to the website, and now in book form. I know you will all enjoy as it tells you all the scams that these computer companies try to pull on people, and gives you step by step- what kind of machine you need what to put on it and how to set it up and keep it running smooth for years to come! It will be the best $25 dollars you have spent in reference to computers.

Enjoy your time, with your new found friend. Steve Stephens May, 2010

The Time is Here

2010-05-04T13:05:00.000-07:00

Be sure you hit me with any other things you would like to see in the upcoming book, "Sailing the Modern 7 Seas" A layman's Computer Bible. This is in Final Edit for those that are interested, if there are any other things you would like to see, leave a post at the bottom of this article and I will get it on E-mail.

When the book is released, It will be available at http://www.Amazon.com as well as any local book stores, such as Barnes and Noble, and local libraries over time.

I have finally made it to the first step of progress! I no longer work for Hp, and work full time for Google, and on my own Home tech Support service company in Springfield and St Louis http://onthegosolution.blogspot.com

Find me on Live Chat at http://www.pcspyder.net where I do over the phone and chat FREE tech support, or click the live chat link to the right if it says I am online. Remote assistance is available for $50, if the situation calls for it, and I use MSN messenger to do this, it is very secure as Microsoft invented Remote assist.

I am still looking for someone to offer me a RADIO or TV Tech show! Lol

Self Employed, I will be better prepared to get my books completed! If anyone is interested in making residual income and you are quick to learn and type send me a message, it is a great "on the side" job, or even full time, its up to you! Make your own schedule! I do!

Hope you all are doing well, talk to you soon I hope!

SAILING the MODERN 7 SEAS

2010-02-03T04:38:00.000-08:00

Well Guys thank you for all your SUPPORT in getting information enough to fill a book and help the rest of the world escape the nightmares we have escaped together thus far with our relationships conerning our computers and the outlook we take when dealing with these modern "Best Friends..." How much do we really know? What would I have needed to "DO" to avoid this or that.

Well knowledge is power!

There will be more info in the book obviously than whats in my blog here. So there is something for advid followers of my blog and for the first time person to stumble across me in this crusade. The fight to make fear of computers, and Tech Dependance, and the overall headache of "understanding" your machine go by the way side. And place a confidence in you, that your an EDUCATED consumer, and Tech Savy enough to avoid the perils of the Internets Modern 7 Seas of crooks and villians.

WHAT IS IN THE BOOK:

Protecting yourself, your machine and your home from unwanted "electronic" intrusions. Mking for a better computer experience you can share with others as well. The empowering feeling of knowing the right "Common Sense" Tech outlook on how you, your friends and family; even your co-workers interact and cohabitate with your computers.
System Health Maintenance, and how to keep top internet and system performance.
"Sailing the Modern 7 Seas" is going to teach you from the point of taking it out of the box, setting it up, what to install and what not to install. How to install it.
It will explain computer production software.
Security software.
Backups.
Restores.
Recoverys.
Data Backup.
Maintenance.
Even the best ways for adding printers and other devices.
Not to mention settting up your own home or home office network!
Including how to keep it safe from being "Leeched" or "Hacked".
And a Whole LABS section of more Advanced stuff to know or play with for TECHIE fun.

I hope you will all be on the lookout for the book and simply spread the word. Those that I have helped, alot of it you could have done on your own had you known the answers. The answers WILL be in this book.

Thank you once again my friends, for your feedback, your conversations and your support.

Stephen

(These will be the front and back covers)

What to Buy Holidays 2009

2009-12-20T08:10:00.000-08:00

Welcome to another year! Happy Holidays everyone and regardless of your faith and what you are celebrating, you can be sure it is going to involve some goodies for you and your loved ones.
I noticed a lot of what I wrote last year still applies, so I will add some new things to the top of the list and then get redundant later with a refresher of last years suggestions.
Lets start at the top shall we? We will start with the who, what when and where's... First off ALL new machines come with Windows 7 on them! Yahhhhhoooooo! Whoot! Ok, enough of my excitement...

Ok when we are buying new technology, we generally go to a store. Lets start with the WHO. In my opinion it is better to buy computers DIRECT from the manufacturer. The reason for this is that you know its never been touched by someone else, and there's less chance that someone owned it before you and ruined the machine and the company just placed it back on the shelf.
Do not buy machines from 3rd party websites. Doing this is taking the chance that the machine is a refurbished one, meaning they took parts from dead machines and retested them and resold them. This leaves the space for mechanical failure and you generally get a 90 warranty on these types of machines, definitly not worth the "savings" that would motivate someone to buy them.
In a retail store if it looks too good to be true it probably is. And this works in reverse as well. Many try to sell you more when you need less and less when you need more. Examples follow in mention of warranties and security software and these were issues last year and still are a problem. If a machine is extremely inexpensive, know you are getting what you paid for. A lot of the time the units are cheaper as the retailer ordered machines that have been downgraded, meaning not loaded with the basic stuff, or in other cases it is made up with refurbished parts. Cheap on a laptop should be a common sense warning.

An exception to this rule is the new MINI type machines, just know they are souped up PDA's basically, internet and word processing, no built in DVD or CD rom and have top end processing of 1.2Ghz. Good for a student doing documents and emails, anything more intense than that, you'll be disappointed.

Do not buy your added gear like external hard drives and other replacements or upgrade from retail, instead set up an account on New Egg (click here) and get all your extras and upgrades through them, and they run deals all year long. Again, this is for parts, Assec, and upgrades. Awesome place. And no I don't get paid for you going there, again this is FREE information.

SOFTWARE:

Top of the list, the one greatest thing that we can not live without! It doesn't matter if its for audio editing, video playing or the like - even security software, we should know what we are getting and what it offers - before we buy or install.

The hottest thing on the market this year is the LoJack software. If you are on the go with your laptop and ever in a situation where it could be stolen. LoJack is your answer, it will embed a tracker into your machine and if it gets stolen they will be able to GPS your machine and the goons that stole it. Amen.

Here are a few known things to look out for:

Multiple Purchasing:

Be cautious of retailers selling you multiple copies of the same program, good examples are copies of office and Norton security and the like. Most of these offer 3 product keys for every one package purchased. I have seen very often (No retailer names mentioned to avoid lawsuit) them selling a person two copies of these soft wares when each box is good for up to 3 machines.

Compatibility:

Be sure that the Software you are getting has a label on it saying it was coded for your version of machine. In example, if it says Xp, it may run on your Vista machine, but no guarantees. And you definitely don't want to install your Vista software into your XP machine. If the program does not make reference to your system at all, well assume the company that makes the program is too cheap to buy the proper blueprints for your Operating System (OS) from Microsoft and avoid it all together- it could potentially turn a "great weekend" into a tech support call and a drawn out nightmare as you try to unravel the mess it made when it was installed.

Things to Avoid:

Third rate programs and Peer to Peer (P2P) programs. They could be malicious, or contain viruses and the like. If you need to cut the budget on your program purchases, go to manufacturer websites and retail sites and look for boxed sets on sale. (It is very common)

Great Options:

There are many FREEWARE products on the Internet. Freeware and Open Source software is state of the art products that can be used without PURCHASE. Generally these programs are made by helpful Tech Gurus and placed free to the public in rebellion to big money companies and they generally function even better than BRANDED versions. And its free.

Installations:

Be sure that if you are installing a full version of a program, that you fully remove the old version off your machine first to avoid program corruptions. Example, if I had a trial of OFFICE, I would go into the Programs and Features (for Vista) or Add and Remove programs (for XP) and uninstall it, and restart my computer. Then install my copy from disc.

The other option would be to go into the Trial you have now, and click on subscribe and in here will usually be an option to put in your product key from your purchased version. Enter the key and you don't have to muss and fuss with uninstalls etc etc.

WARNING: This should never, never be done with ANTIVIRUS or computer protection software, be sure to remove the old version completely before installing a new one, and don't ever trust the program to remove the old copy correctly. YOU WILL HAVE PROBLEMS.

BIT SYSTEM TYPES:

Well there is two things to think of here. The Processor type itself and then the BIT speeds of your Operating System (OS).

Information on Bits :

32 Bit Information

64 bit Information

Let us start at the top. The Bit speed on the computers processor is important for operating speed. The latest and greatest would be a 64 Bit processor, with Duel Core technology.This is perfect and you will notice a huge speed difference in performance from the older versions we had grown to love.

The thing to look out for here is (once again) retailers pushing 64 Bit Operating Systems (OS) onto people that have no clue at all what they are getting into. Let me explain.

32 Bit system:

The programs transfer and communication rate should match what you have for a system itself to sync the two harmoniously. 32 Bit programs are what nearly all software developers are making and putting on the store shelves and on the Internet. If you want few nightmares, you want at best - a 64 Bit Processor (Duel core) using a 32 Bit Operating System.

64 Bit system:

If you don't work for Pixar, or Disney, and have the habit of running KAD (more here on Kad), and spend all your earnings on software that itself costs the same as a used car that is LABELED in bold 64 Bit then you want to avoid this like the plague. Go ahead, please, when a retailer offers you a 64 Bit system, ask them if they are stupid or just trying to UP SELL and ruin your life. Companies are not in the habit of making 64 Bit programs, and your software collection at home is not going to run and function correctly on this type of machine. I would like to point out however, the new 64bit Windows 7 machines are not that far out of the park and will be great for you in this season. They have worked out a lot of the 64bit issues.

A good spot to find and figure out what is available on a 64 bit machine: 64x Software Store

When a retailer offers you 64 Bit, they probably don't know what they are talking about. Just know the new machines are running Windows 7 and it will be alright. On top of this we have a very cool new toy called the XP Emulator, and look for an article soon on that. That solves the program compatibility issue once and for all.

EXTERNAL HARD DRIVES and BACKUP SOLUTIONS:

Well having a backup solution is the PRIMARY responsibility of the computers owner. If you run a home business and or freelance using your home machine or laptop and you do not have a regular back-up solution or plan, then well I am sorry- your not very prepared and you deserve everything you get. I.E. Data loss.

BACKUP OPTIONS:

It is YOUR job as a computer user that stores anything important on your machine to back this information up. Meaning make copies somewhere.

We all have multiple copies of our social Security cards, and birth certificates and every other "paper" document that's worth keeping safe forever, the same applies to your computer data and files. If you have a DATA backup solution and a good copy of your RECOVERY media for your brand of machine and its system, then you are now UNTOUCHABLE by system failure, corruption and even DATA loss.

Flash drive/ Thumb drive:

This is the most common among college students and very very easy and effective. Also very cost effective. One problem- absolutely for no reason do you ever want to get your FLASH drive near a magnet, say good bye to everything on it. You can get these now from sizes as small as 256 mega bites up to 100 Gigabytes. And they can cost now anywhere from (depending on size) $10.00 to $200.00 and can be found at any tech store. I recommend radio shack for their "no questions asked" 30 day return policy, and they are very helpful, you are not JUST a number to them and are actually treated like a human with questions and concerns.

They are also generally very honest, and will let you know if they don't know what you are talking about or if they don't carry what your looking for.

External Hard drives:

With the change in technology you have several options here. There is the old and friendly SATA drives we are all familiar with and the new Solid State drives which are basically really big Flash/ Thumb drives in essence - no moving parts.

SATA HDD:

They generally have an external power source and plug into your USB port. Again all sizes available and they usually come with an auto backup system software built in. Price varies by its size and extras. These have moving internal parts and if dropped can cause the HEADS to magnetically stick to the reading surface inside causing failure and destruction. These will also die over time from mechanical failure, (a natural act for any device with mechanical and moving parts, including us).

SOLID STATE HDD:

Basically the latest in technology, where it works and looks like the old Sata HDD, but is lighter, and holds more and instead of mechanical failures, you should be more concerned with just keeping it away from magnets. They cost a lot more but are more portable and have a faster DATA transfer rate. (suggested if you have the money)

WEB Backups:
A huge new industry, and this is becoming more and more of a standard in the industry- backing up your data onto the Internet into a VIRTUAL database. There is something really nice about this as well (without having to carry an external HDD around) you can go to Mom's house and access your storage (on the Internet ) from her home computer, and simply download all those photos of the kids and that recipe for oatmeal cookies. No fuss, these are paid services, however you can find some free options for photo and song backups like this, a good example for Photos that's free - I use www.photobucket.com

WHO/ WHAT/ WHERE/ WHEN WARRANTY'S:

This is a very simple thing to understand, a computer is not a cellphone- KNOW your warranty for your computer. Without extra purchased warranty's you are not getting FREE repairs when you drop your machine down the stairs, or dump your coffee into the keyboard. Don't be surprised when the Tech agent says "That's going to cost $659.68..."

Realize some repair costs are going to cost more than your machine if it needs to be fixed and that is because of the following metric: (I lay this out very good here I might add)

- My Motherboard has failed and I am Out of Warranty:

Agent explains : Cost 600.00

- But I only paid $500.00 for the whole machine!!

BREAKDOWN:

-Shipping and Receiving : internal mail handlers and postal fees and rates

-Labor to rip the old part out

-The cost of the replacement part

-Labor to put the new part in

-Overhead costs (micromanaged) costs to maintain the service center

a) rent

b) electricity

c) insurance for workers

-Return Shipping : internal mail handlers and postal fees and rates

Overall cost to the manufacturer: 600.00

RETAILER WARRANTY'S:

Here are some tips: KNOW WHAT THE RETAILERS WARRANTY COVERS

Retailer warranty's don't start usually until the manufacturers warranty expires~

Retailer warranty's generally don't cover software issues, only hardware failures

If you take your machine to them they are likely to bill you for software repairs

If it is something big and complicated, they are going to mail it to the manufacturer

(this means your retailer is now a middle man)

They take your machine and make repairs and there is no real interaction, and with this also comes lack of understanding and knowledge as to the solution to the problem or how to avoid similar issues in the future. Your just as clueless in the end as the beginning, they'll see you again.

MANUFACTURER WARRANTY'S:

Here are some tips: KNOW WHAT THE WARRANTY COVERS

The manufacturers warranty is automatic and generally covers you for a year

Extended service plans are generally one year less than stated, meaning they are an extension not actual coverage for the term. Example: a 3 year extended warranty is actually a 2 year extension of your warranty not 3 years of warranty. Yes confusing.

Manufacturers offer hardware and software support

Software support is done through troubleshooting on the phone or in some cases in-home support, which can sometimes cost an added fee for a person to come to your house.

You learn more about your machine by being involved, you don't just take your child to the doctor and say here fix them. You get involved and want to know how to protect them and keep the problem from happening again. Don't do any less for your computer.

You will get more from the manufacturer than from a retailer, despite what retailers say~

TWO TYPES of WARRANTY:

ADP - accidental damage, which generally covers, breaks, drops, minor water damage and power surges that cause damage to the internal components.This is very important if you are moving around with your machine a lot. If you are then you want to protect the machine from enviromental dangers and get this type of warranty.

STANDARD- covers hardware failures (not wear and tare from usage)

(Manufacturers generally add software support on this which is golden)

DIFFERENCES in service:

Retail:

They are generally low paid counter people and run their diagnostics through "formated" steppe processes and only encounter a "controled" group of people and their issues and in very small quantities, so exposure to commonalities in trouble shooting is low to none.

Compare them to a Children's doctor with a small clinic.

Manufacturer:

Techs are higher paid advanced trouble shooters and certified A+ agents and are geared in all ranges of hardware and software support. Networking and setup processes, dealing with all levels of different companies one on one from Microsoft to Linksys and Net gear, or Norton and Trend Micro. One agent handles 100's of cases a week, and in the big picture they know that a computer is 98% the software operating environment, and have to troubleshoot to prove functionality of the machines hardware and software functionality.

Compare them to a M.A.S.H. unit in a War Zone.

Retailers call the manufacturers tech support, tech agents call tech support. In the end these agents are the frontline of true chaos and mayhem and its their job to sort it out and make things better for all involved. Yes you'll have a few bad encounters, but rotten apples are in every Field of service, from the local and state government all the way down to the grill line at McDonald's.

OTHER DEVICES:

Hmm, what dictates another device? Well, anything that is going to plug into, Sync to or extend the environment or user interface of someones machine.

There is one main rule here, before buying know what your getting. See a trend here?

If its a ROUTER to make your home network, be sure it is compatible with what your running at home, don't just trust a retailer to know, or a friend- research and get some answers and compare.

Just a small note on Blue ray Players, and that is that the industry is presently fighting over who is going to own and imprint the UNIVERSAL format.
What is that you ask? Well this is the code that the Blue Ray disc runs on or the (Firmware), this is kind of a battle between big companies right now and many of them are making their own machine that run and play only their formatted DVD's. This is a BIG problem. What this is can only be compared to Lord of the Rings, where they all want the ring so that "they" can rule the universe. In this wave of greed, power and control, you could buy a Blue ray device that won't play your discs from Walmart. Be warned.

External User Interfaces:

Web cams and the like along with Air cards can change the way your machine works and operates, again know what your buying and know what your installing. Air cards are a last resort choice for someone whos only other option was dial-up service. They are not fast and stable and I do not advise ever doing updates or downloads for your system while using these, find an Internet wire to plug into at a friend or family members house for your system updates. Otherwise your running a risk of getting corrupted file downloads and that can cause 858994835038 issues.

Microsoft Mice (wireless):

Great alternative to a touch pad, however the wireless mouse they released constantly sends a signal to your computer and causes the screen saver to never come on. When buying Microsoft hardware devices, be sure to research, I have had many reported issues with their devices, and in my opinion, they should just stick to making software that works.

I appreciate your feedbacks, comments and suggestions, Happy Holidays 2009!
Smart shopping to you and yours!~

Use the comments box below or email me at : pcspyder@gmail.com
Stephen

Welcome to Windows 7

2009-11-28T07:11:00.000-08:00

Well folks the time has come and Windows 7 is off and running. We are finding a few things here and there that are causing some minor issues. Let me explain all this right quick.

First off the UPGRADE is nothing near the experience I am having with my machines at home with Windows 7 and to make this easier whenever I mention Windows 7 - instead of writting it all out I am simply going to put W7, you'll get the picture. I will get to the point eventually sorry.

OVERALL EXPERIENCE:
Overall the W7 experience is going to be a good change for us America. However just as in any transition, they can't get it all right and alot of this falls on the Manufacturers of our Printers and other software just as normal. When an Operating System (OS) comes out the people that make mice and keyboards and printers and scanners and other software are FORCED to get on the ball and program new code for your new OS and their stuff so that it will work correctly.

They have one of two choices. Spend a ton of money on Microsofts System Maps, or have their programers rip through the system code and figure out where they fit into the big picture. Obviously the later is the least expensive and is the most common route that these people take. Not having available updates and patches for their stuff until they have tons of people complaining and boycotting their products. So if your stuff isn't working, don't blam Microsoft, blame the company whose device doesn't have an upgraded W7 patch or software fix made for it yet. They are the ones not doing what they should be. Because they are, well... cheap.

PRINTING and FAX:
I have a Lexmark X1270 printer scanner combo for my art and printing documents. I'll tell you folks, my unit is several years old and look, on the lexmark site, theres an updated version of my software for W7 on their site! Yeah! So I found my machine on their site, and then looked for driver updates. There it was. I installed and it offered to remove my old stuff and it did. Then i restarted and installed the new stuff. It saved it to my Downloads, and then did the install and restarted my machine and walla. Lexmark back online. Very easy, simply find the main web location of your printer and search your model. If the company is not cheap and on the ball, as Lexmark; there will be updated software there waiting for you.

PROGRAM COMPATIBILITY:
Old programs I have found will run on W7. I have tested this. Now the pixel rate on old programs runs in 800x600 very old school. But I have installed and run old Windows 95 stuff without any problems other that the graphics are a little weird unless you chage your display to 800x600. Not a big deal. The point is it IS backward compatible. For those needing more function out of their old programs, see the XP emulator later in this article. But yes OLD programs do work.

OLD HARDWARE and the XP emulator:
On some of the Premium and greater versions of W7 you have what is called an XP Emulator. This allows you to run programs that don't run properly in W7. There are not many but people seem to still own a few. This is your solution. Most manufacturers will not assist with you using the emulator so you'll have to play around with it and see how it functions. Any feedback to me on this would be great as I don't have this Emulator on my version of W7- Testers. It is said to be a virtual Xp machine built into W7 and I would like to know more.

On the topic of old hardware, all I have to say is I installed my old 1998 webcam, and W7 found the driver for it that my Xp machine couldn't find for 6 years. So hope of old hardware working again is bright.

UPGRADE vs CLEAN INSTALL:
One thing I have mentioned to people, at work, at home and in the field is that if you want the BEST of what W7 has to offer than AVOID the UPGRADE! An upgrade is a nasty word in my world. It says I am taking something I don't really want and I am intergrating it into something I do want. This means you are KEEPING the same old garbage system to a degree to avoid moving files etc. Don't do it!

When you do an upgrade you are basically taking two decks of cards, Vista on one side and W7 on the other and shuffling them together really fast. I know when I do this with a deck of cards, I drop a bunch of them. This is your data and system information we are dropping. Not to mention security software and your user accounts are being shuffled too. You are setting up for a BAD experience.

When giving the option. Backup your Data files ONLY. Then run the disks, when it asks for upgrade or install clean, you choose the clean install. Your end result will be a better one. Like mine.

Now on a clean install it is going to save your old operating system and everything in a file called windows.old -this will be located under the C:/ drive. Once you get what you want out of there (Again data only) delete the folder and free up tons of space. Walla. Clean system and I think you'll find if you have been having issues previously after the UPGRADE, they will go by-by.

WLAN issues on Upgrade:
Important on the Notebook/ Laptop front. The Wlan intergrated wireless is reporting major issues resyncing to the machine after the windows 7 Upgrade. Again, I think this is not only software not properly being updated, but also a combination of the upgrade itself instead of a clean install. At this point there is not a solution to this, and this effects the smaller machines that have the WLAN card in them, that offer AT&T or Verizon service on wireless. This is a big issue nd is being address. What can you do in the meantime? A clean W7 install instead of an UPGRADE. Again this is done with the same disk you got for the Upgrade you just select the full install option.

64bit Vista vs 64bit W7:
Oh dear lord. This is simply to state, you have 64bit! You are on the moon. Please please for all thats HOLY- DO NOT RUN AN UPGRADE! Do the clean install. You should know better from my articles. And yes it runs fine on 64bit, just do it clean and don't be lazy about saving your data, which you should have a backup solution anyways. If your already on top of this- good work.

A NEW AGE FOR HOME AND OFFICE:
Well the size of it is - the amount of troubles being reported are as expected- minimum and minor. For the most part the new system is doing what was expected and again it falls on the third party companies to update their software and firmware. I am running old programs and using old hardware on a new machine OS.
We have finally bridged the gap from Xp, thank god I am tired of the days of the point and click anyway.

A TIDBIT:
Did you hear that Apple is now putting smoke detectors in their machines? Yeah if they find smoke has been around the unit, it will void your warranty. How fun.

INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEOs and COMMENTARY:
Looking for feedback here. Do you think I should do Video talks and chats about Tech? Do you like how I explain and would like to see more? Let me know and send a message below under the comments. Hope you all do well in the Holidays season, and remember to read the WHAT to BUY before going out and buying machines and Warrantys this year. BEWARE the RETAILERS....

Windows Update Error

2009-08-27T16:16:00.000-07:00

WARNING!!! BLUE SCREEN ERROR ON 64bit MACHINES!

KB973879 - Windows Update was sent out to fix a Blue Screen error for 32bit systems.

On Sunday an update came through to all systems on a Windows Update and gave the people with 64bit machines a pretty blue screen when they put in their passwords.

Microsoft did not stop sending this update for over 48 hours which backed up manufacturer Tech Support lines and Retail tech stores with people afraid their machines had taken a dirt nap.

The rumor points mainly toward a huge Microsoft Layoff, and perhaps someone exacted revenge - thats just a rumor and if true they want to hope they never get caught. On the up side of this though, all Tech groups involved likely made a killing forcing people to pay for Out of Warranty Support in order to get assistance. I would note, Microsoft did not do this and did set up a toll free 800 line for the Blue Screen issue. (I couldn't find this number however and all the searches on Microsofts website led me to improper solutions to this problem.)

So do you want the fix? It is really quite easy. Who needs a support Tech when you have PC Spyder Insider.. here it is.

1) Shut your machine down.

2) Turn it on and tap F8 until "Boot Options" pops up

3) Choose "Safe Mode w/ Networking"

4) Log in

5) Go to the "Start Search" above the start button.

6) Type in "program" on the top left click on "Programs & Features"

7) Click on "View Installed Updates"

8) Find KB973879 update and "uninstall it"

9) Restart when prompted, after shutting off your wireless/ unplugging your ethernet.

10) Look your on windows start up.

11) Search Update in the "Start Search"

12) click "change settings" and change it to -

"Look for updates, but let me decide to download and install them" and apply

13) Click on "View Available Updates" and find KB973879

14) Right click it and select "hide update".

15) restart your machine.

16) walla... no more Blue Screen!

Good Luck

Stephen

Windows 7 Release

2009-07-09T15:43:00.000-07:00

It has been revealed that Windows 7 will be released on October 22ND of 2009, as a Microsoft OS to be purchased from them or retail. You will also be able to purchase upgrades through them for both Xp and Vista, for 32 and 64bit Systems. I do have reports now that this is going to be the single greatest release from Microsoft for an operating system ever~ And have tested this system first hand. It is incredible. It has left me speechless. Check my previous experience with Windows7 on this link- Windows7 Opinion

New machines will be on store shelves installed with manufacturer copies of Windows 7 also around this time. People buying machines as of June 26Th going forward will be eligible for a FREE Windows 7 Upgrade, contact your computer manufacturer for details. Find out more about Windows 7 at this link - Windows7

Microsoft's end quote on their website says it all, but in my opinion is an understatement,

"The result? Everyday computing is
faster, simpler, easier." -

I say so simple, once you become familiar with the layout of Windows7 it will bring tears to your soul, Thank you MS!

Requested Tidbits

2009-06-26T08:41:00.000-07:00

INTRO -
I have had requests from some of our readers in relation to several topics, and I am posting a new page. I know it has been awhile. As a little bit on me, I have been very busy with the up coming release of Windows 7 and would like to report that it is also known now that it operates perfect for both 32bit and 64bit systems, as before I had said I did not have enough Data to make an opinion. The ticker tape is in and it operates quite well for both systems, now we prepare ourselves for the 128bit systems of the future. I am adding a few tidbits here as by request and I hope you all enjoy. And as always you know I love to answer questions and feedback. You can do so many ways, either through e-mail, the live chat or message system link on the right, or even through my face book as several of you have added yourselves to my friends list. Thank you all for your input and questions, without which I would not have even started this massive project that grows every time I touch it.

The Miracle of Data

I had a request to explain how Data on a computer is read in the most basic of terms one day over a phone support call. Here is a request for that information as I can best explain in layman's terms. Feel free to look for more technical information on that on this link - (CLICK HERE).

My description focused on how data was stored on a computer, not so much the technical involvement of Bits and Bytes, but the physical methods used to STORE the data on a computer. It is quite miraculous the way this is done. I am about to give the simplest breakdown of how this is done, and it will hopefully open your eyes to the true wonder of what has become a modern phenomenon brought on by the hands of human creation and invention.

FIRST we start at the Hard Disc or the "Hard Drive" this is the core of all your stored information on your computer. The hard Drive is a vital organ in the operation of everything on your machine as it is storage or "Memory" for your computers programs, Data (i.e. pictures, music, video, documents and the like) and the Drivers that allow your computers "Brain" or Processor to talk to all the other Hardware on your Computer (i.e. Speakers, Monitor, DVD Drives and other Physical components).

This Data is what we are focusing on in this section. How does the computer STORE this information? This is the Miracle itself. It starts with a very simple concept of Positive and Negative electromagnetic charges. Lets try and break this down a little so it is easier to understand, we have to begin with the language itself - Binary. More on Binary is on the Click Here link just above in the first segment for those wanting to "Know more technical stuff".

So in basic we start with a small part of Data. And for arguments sake lets just break down how one single letter of the alphabet is stored on your machine. Lets say we open a word or text document and type the letter "A", one single letter, how is this stored?

Well in code the letter "A" as in all letters in the alphabet and all numbers are identified by a series of 0's and 1's. These zero's and one's represent as grouping of "on" and "off" codes that in a series equals the capital letter "A". The binary code for this is: 01000001

You can have fun and find out what the Binary is for anything using one of these cool binary translators at this link - (CLICK HERE). You can type in a phrase or a word and click "encode" and it will give you the Binary translation of it. This is the "code" your computer uses to store information. It does not store the letter "A" on your hard drive when you type it and save it, it actually saves the Binary translation which in this case is 01000001, meaning "A". So this many numbers to save a single letter? Yes. But the way it is stored, the size of these numbers are not important, because this breaks down even further. As an example, Pcspyder in Binary is written to the hard drive as: 01010000 01100011 01110011 01110000 01111001 01100100 01100101 01110010 . 8 0's and 1's, a series of "on" and "off" for every letter in the word. Programs and other data on your computer is also saved in this same method. This is where data is broken into Bits and Bytes as seen on the Tech links I have been adding as we go for those trying to put my info here together with what is on the information pages.

Now back to the magnetic part. All these 0's and 1's are then written to your Hard Drive using positive and negative magnetic charges on the Hard Disk. So a zero is saved as a magnetic stamp on your hard Drive. This explains why people always say keep your computer away from magnets and static electricity, because those two things are the NATURAL enemy of your Data on your Hard drive. If your hard Drive is hit by such an attack, its magnetic data can be altered, thus causing the magnetic charges to become corrupted with "FALSE" information.

So everything on your computer is stored in a series of 0's and 1's in form of a magnetic charge on your hard drive and that's the sum of it, in the simplest terms I can muster. So your computers NATURAL enemy is magnetic fields and static electricity.

Cookies what are they? What's the best way to clean them out?

Mmmm... My favorite cookies in the whole world would have to be Peanut butter ones. Another reader asked how to delete their cookies, and I am going to explain that here and also the ups and downs about cookies. And as our reader explained, we are not talking about the baked ones but it is fun to play with words a little. Mmmm peanut Butter~

Cookies are a way for websites to help your computer remember where you have been and allow your web browser to pull up like pages quickly and efficiently. Some cookies can be bad and some can be good and others can be absolutely necessary. In example, your online banking in a lot of cases will plug in cookies to know that it is you that is trying to access your online bank account and not some schmuck down the road. More on Cookies for the techies can be found on this link (CLICK HERE).

Is it OK to clean out your cookies? Well yes. If it removes the cookies you use to gain access to saved and secure websites, when you log in again, it will restore them as needed. So no worries about getting locked out of your online bank account but you will have to log in again all fresh and new to return your sites cookie to remember your visit.

The BEST tool I have found for cleaning out my cookies and the like is the CCleaner tool and you can get the download on the links to the right. It is free and the programmer makes his living on donations, so if you have an extra dollar here or there, don't forget them so that these awesome types of free programs can continue to be available to us.

There is also a built in system that is standard in all windows computers called "Disk Cleanup", which on Xp machines is found in Start button then All Programs, then accessories and into the System tools. For Vista (I love the ease of Vista) simply type in disk cleanup in the Start Search and it is right there in the top left. Click on it and run it and it will give you options of what you want to clean out, I suggest everything it offers, you'll regain a lot of space back and it should speed your machine up a little as well.

The bad side of cookies is that malicious programs and other parasitic organisms in our new data world like to track what you are doing and the like. one good example is covered in my other articles on Rogue ware and Toolbars of Death. Also in the links to the right.

Battery, Hibernation, Sleep Modes, Power Options and Modders -

Ok, another reader thought it would be nice for me to share my input on Hibernation, sleep modes and battery life. And here is the scoop. In my honest opinion there is two different situations to look at on this topic. Both pan out the same in my world.

A computer Laptop or Notebook and a Desktop have one major thing in common, windows run time environment. In my opinion is extremely flawed in the aspect of the Power options called the hibernate and sleep mode functions. These settings can be found in Power Options in the control panel. In the advanced options you can turn off the Hibernate and sleep mode functions which on a lot of laptops cause the machine to go to sleep and not wake up. It is a known flaw in the windows software and not very publicized to the masses. As we know, they refuse to admit their own flaws, much like any billion dollar company.

If you have a Laptop you should always turn it off if you are away from the machine for more than an hour. A laptop is not MEANT to be on for more than 4-5 hours at a time, nor are they designed to modify their operating environment. When you BUY a laptop, they are a molded machine and not made to be altered. I talk to a lot of people that try making their laptop into a gaming machine or some dual boot monster. This is not the correct approach.

Machines that are made a certain way can not be properly altered to do higher end tasks that these self made computer gurus are attempting with their "branded" machines. I call these people "Modders". A Modder is a person that is trying to bend the laws of corporate physics by making their machine do or become something it was not built to do.

A laptop of any size or shape is not a GAMING machine EVER. It also is not meant to be altered in a way for whats called Dual Booting separate operating systems. If you are into this kind of stuff spend half the money and build a machine that is half the cost and can do everything you want without having to wrestle with "Big brother" corporate machines stamped units.

Less money more power and more control. If you are a person that falls in this category, let me know via e-mail what you really want to do and I can guarantee I can build such machine at 1/3 the cost you'll find on any corporate website. Modders should never own prefab machines, you are limiting yourself for more money than its worth and no result but disappointment.

If your worried about your laptops battery life, then use your battery more often. Always keep your battery plugged in and use it on a regular basis. Your battery will live longer by using it. Letting it charge and then running it down so it can recharge again. Just like us, you live a longer and healthier life through use and exercise, the same applies to your battery. As a note, most prefab laptops allow only one battery replacement in the first year, be sure to take advantage of this as after the warranty expires, you are going to pay upward of 150 dollars for a new one when it finally retires from service.

In short, if you want advanced performance from a computer - BUILD one, special abilities from your machine? BUILD ONE. Turn off all Windows built in Hibernate and Sleep modes on the machine through your POWER OPTIONS, and if you have a laptop, turn it OFF if your not using it and run on the battery power on a regular basis for the best experience.

System Restore use and cleanup ~

You may find yourself to be one of those people that find that your machine is constantly screaming to you that "D drive is Full". This is caused by your system restore. When your computer does a system backup restore feature, it actually saves a "picture" of your system environment on your D drive or whats called the recovery partition. This is listed under, Computer or My Computer, and you should see the C:/ and D:/ drive. The D:/ drive is actually the section of your machine you do not use, and it is actually a saved copy of your recovery disks.

With this drive is full error, you will find that the D:/ drive bar is likely to be RED. This is caused from your machine doing its backups in this area of your machine. There is limited space in this section of your machine as it is not really used unless you have to RECOVER your computer to the factory setting due to system corruptions and the like.

When it is red, all you have to do is click on the D:/ drive and delete all the files in this first window except the one labeled Recovery. Leave the recovery file and delete all the rest and then the bar will turn green again and the error will go away. The next time your machine runs a system restore it will save a new file in here for the future. Whatever you do, do NOT delete the Recovery folder, as this is a complete compressed version of your entire machine for use in case of system failures. Once this is done, you can manually create a fresh restore point right away by going into system tools and selecting system restore and clicking the option create a new restore point. You can even name it to remind you what was happening when you made it. Example, I name mine "cleaned" so know if I have to restore, this is a title I will look for knowing my machine was clean and healthy on that particular date. More on system restore here (CLICK).

Browser Efficiencies ~

Well to avoid redundancy on the browser topic read the articles to the right about cleaning up your Internet explorer.

But some things to add. One is that your machine runs on Internet explorer, even if you use Mozilla or google Chrome or the like, their connection to the Internet does so through the health and settings of your Internet explorer. In fact your desktop (the area that you first see when your machine turns on with your icons on it) is in fact an Internet explorer page without an address bar and search box on it. YOU CAN NOT REMOVE YOUR INTERNET EXPLORER - you will kill your machine. It is running on Internet explorer the moment the machine turns on.

The best way to surf the Internet is to have multiple tabs open in one browser and not having multiple windows open. And from my reports, I have found a lot of people having issues with the new Internet explorer 8. You can actually uninstall it from your machine if needed by clicking this link (click here). (click the Fix It link and then restart the computer).

Things that will kill your Internet explorer are websites that use add-on games and other things that ask - "add this" to your explorer. As an example, My Space, Face book and the like absolutely have broken my Internet explorer because of their "Add-ons" so for these types of websites I only open them using Mozilla which has no problem handling these "Add-ons".

Download Mozilla here - (click here).

A browser is simply a WINDOW into the Internet. Web based e-mail and the like are only locations IN the Internet, it does not matter what browser I use, I can access my g-mail from any of them on any computer on the planet. A browser is simply a way to "see" it. I don't have to use Internet explorer to view and interact with the Internet, but without it, my other browsers will not connect to the Internet at all, as they "USE" my explorer settings to connect to the Internet.

What I do is use my Internet explorer to connect to safe and secure websites, like my bank and Cnn and the like. I run a second browser (Mozilla) to surf the web and run my websites that run a bunch of JUNK, to prevent breaking my explorer.

Another neat feature is that I can run one yahoo email loggin and account on my Internet explorer, and another user and account name in the Mozilla, so I can see and respond to two emails at the same time and be logged into yahoo on two separate accounts at the same time using two different browsers. A very nice trick.

ROGUE WARE UPDATE:
Be on the lookout for the latest release by our Russian thieves in the Rogue ware industry, and it is going by the title of Antivirus 360, to trick our unsuspecting Norton Antivirus 360 users into clicking on them and becoming victoms of their latest release. Find out more of how to deal with rogueware by using the link on the right titled "Rogueware" and "Ccleaner Setup and operation".

PC Inside Secrets

2009-05-11T17:46:00.000-07:00

Welcome to PC Inside Secrets! You can find more on PcSpyder at http://www.pcspyder.net/.

As we know the age of Technology was not a fast evolution until the invention of the Personal computer, with this we have speeded up the evolution of tech to new levels. I am planting the seed of self taught Independence, free yourself from Tech support for all the little things.

The idea here is that in every profession there is a certain level of common sense. Stuff that you know being in a job that the general public doesn't know. This is why they come to you for your help, however - someone good at what they do, don't hesitate to share little tips and tricks to make life a whole lot easier.

In this book I am putting the major common sense things that techs know and take for granted, the stuff that makes you wonder why can't my machine run like that? How does he do that? I spend alot of time talking to people and helping them work through their computer problems, and in doing this I find that the information in here is common stuff that ALOT of people just are not aware of. If you read it or know it, then it then becomes your common sense as well going forward and you can apply this knowledge in your everyday life without a second thought.

I started gathering these pages to help people have a better experience with their machines and share this information with others whenever possible. Now the amount of pages has increased and this is from questions and the like asked of me in relation to the certain topics.

A little bit about me. I was born in 1968, in Belfast, Maine. I always had a love for science, come Junior High the school had a computer lab, where we had two Commodore 64's. Because of this I forced myself to learn Programing Basics. Made a few stupid games and had fun, this is back when data was stored on a cassette tape and read like a fax machine.

The Apple took root and the schools flipped to them and I then got frustrated. I couldn't believe that all that stuff I had learned was now useless. And with this I stopped trying to learn more about the Apple machines even into High school.

Once out in the real world, I found old machines later in life, once Windows surfaced and left a trail of Windows 95 machines in the wake. I began working on them mechanically and tweaking the programing in them to run more efficiently. Well, after breaking the machines and repairing and breaking and learning DOS, and studying the engineered aspects of a computer, I began helping friends fix their old dead units.

I then bought my first Hp machine 4 years ago. An a1219h Media Center Edition. I was having problems learning the new Xp environment, and had to get Tech support on the line. And thought to myself, wow this guy has a cool job I would love to work for Hp. Took my A+ training and Hp Certified training and the next thing you know, I am completely submersed into this all over again. But this time I bring something else to the table, a desire for all people to have a healthy and strong relationship with their computers. Enjoy~

Windows 7

2009-04-13T15:00:00.000-07:00

WELCOME TO WINDOWS 7

Well I said I was ending the entries for a bit while I compiled the E-Book for the world, but it seems for once I have lied to you! This is a few more added tid-bits that I thought you would like to know about that I have found renewed excitement in. The greatest Operating System that Microsoft has made to date EVER! Microsoft's Windows 7.

The streamlined Beta (Test Version) was released in late January of 2009 to those daring few that figured they'd give the new system a test drive. With the promise that they would be able to buy the full version on a discounted price in August when it is fully released to the World and placed on NEW store bought systems everywhere.

With the familiarity of Windows Xp and the Operating and Processing speeds of Vista, and a NEW flashy look, Windows 7 is to die for. It is fully upgradeable for both Xp and Vista owners and will be breaking the paths into the future with its Simulated Vista Ai (artificial intelligence) that monitors and repairs itself in times of trouble, (which we all, even me) - get ourselves into.

Some of the features is an independent system that allows your entire machine not to be effected by Browser errors, (you know when your Internet window crashes down and takes everything else with it?) and failures on a system wide range. If you are running a program and there is a fatal error, that window and that alone will shut down, leaving all your other work alone. Amazing!

Secondly, that device driver database nightmare (you know what I am talking about Techies) where your hunting for the right driver for your printer and the new external monitor you got, will be ancient history. The new system uses its own database and detects and installs everything once the device is plugged in and even communicates with the manufacturers website for driver updates!

The environment is gorgeous and runs on only 22 processes, which means faster everything. This applies to nearly every type of operating system yet the results are still waiting to come in for our BELOVED 64 bit users.

If the system itself has a serious issue or error, the intelligent computer will flash the screen for a few seconds and then come back- repairing the problem on its own. The future looks great!

This is not to say that there will be rules, however, you should be able to run any Xp or Vista program without a hitch, as long as your not breaking the "Software Salad" rules. Click Software salad to see more on that. Yes Windows 7, computer life is about to get a whole lot better ~

I am still running PCSpyder online Chat and Support and you can e-mail me for feedback or questions to pcspyder@gmail.com ! I love to hear from everyone. If you are new to the site look on the top right for a suggested reading list to get started.

Odds and Ends

2009-04-07T08:44:00.000-07:00

People name their Cars and not their Computers:

This is the last entry before publishing the e-book. Remember all this information will remain on the website and look forward to more on the way. I thank you all for your feedback and input on these topics. Hopefully our combined efforts will make life easier for everyone owning a machine.

Below are the items from my suggestions lists, and some of these have been addressed in other articles and I will simply link them in the information. You can reach me by e-mail or through the live chat from my web page if you have further questions or concerns.

It seems to me we spend more time with our imagination coming up with names for our cars and treating them like they are a person or thing that needs our attention more than we do our computers. Lets face it, our computers are smarter than our cars could ever be, and they need special attention. Take a moment and name your computer.

Now that you have done this think of your computer as a pet or a friend or a child. Would you ever take them to the Doctors office and leave them in the hands of the Doctor and not sit and wait for the Who, What, When, Where, whys of how they got sick and how to prevent it in the future? I think the answer is no. If a Tech doesn't feel its needed to explain to you these things than I would be cautious with them. See if you know how to prevent a problem, they won't get paid again by you to fix it. Do not "drop off" your machines for repair, you don't learn anything from that, if you own a computer - you owe to yourself to know how to keep it safe and healthy.

The best thing to do is to find a Tech (freelancer) in your area that friends or family have referred, and use them. You will pay a lot less and they will also (a good tech will) explain without being asked to, what happened and why, and how to avoid the problem in the future. Get a home computer doctor and get the best out of your money, a training session that will leave you more knowledgeable of your machine and its functions.

Mac vs PC:

Here goes everything! Well the truth of the matter is simple. The world runs on Windows, and the few run on Mac. And there is a reason for this. A lot of programs are not compatible on the Mac and you have a lower rate of having friendly support.

There are not many Mac techs in the world, you will pay more for repairs. If you want to upgrade you have to go through them to get the parts and they are expensive. On Windows based systems, there is such a market, I can get anything I want for my machine at a discounted price. And all the corporate offices I have ever worked in run Windows of some sort or another, and if I was young this is where I would be focusing on my learning.

Every major company in the world except film studios use the Windows environment. It is a more economical machine, parts are cheap as is repair costs compared to the Mac. The rumor is that you can not get a virus on a Mac, this is funny because you don't need a virus for your machine to stop working.

I could send a delete command.com .exe, e-mail to every Mac user in the country and when they opened it their machine would shut off. They are not hacker free, or immune to attacks. People who make viruses are generally paid by bigger companies to make them to support their own repair products.

Mac users are such a small number of people, it is not economically viable for them to bother with them, and then their software to FIX the problem is not Mac compatible. Get the picture? Mac users are a minority and ignored by big companies on all kinds of levels. You can deal with the stuck up clerks in the Mac store and one thing will be sure- your Itunes will work lovely on your new Mac book. I am a PC. Cheaper parts, more options, and friendly support.

Aol email vs Free Email:

Ok, this one gets me going. For those of you out there that converted from the old AOL dial-up and have now entered the world of broadband high speed Internet let me explain some things real fast. You don't need to pay AOL anymore for Internet e-mail!

I have talked to tons of people that no longer use AOL for their Internet but are still paying for the e-mail services from them. Anywhere from 5-24 dollars a month. Stop the madness! The Internet connection is gained through paying your Internet provider, once you have this, you have access not only to your Internet providers e-mail (ISP), but you now have access to hundreds of free e-mail account options.

There are a ton of companies that offer free e-mail, stop paying AOL for it, and when you tell them you want to cancel your e-mail, they will explain you can have basic e-mail with them still for free. Isn't that nice of them to let you know that was an option?

Once you have an Internet connection, you can sign up for free e-mail at many places and here are just a few. http://www.gmail.com/ , http://www.yahoo.com/ , http://www.hotmail.com/ , http://www.msn.com/ , and most social websites also have a built in free e-mail system and chat browser options. Stop being a sucker for AOL and get a free e-mail account today!

And the AOL Browser is the most system hogged Ram chewing program in the universe! If you use the AOL browser and this is your selling point of paying them a monthly service charge for your e-mail, well, that thing is junk. Full of add-on tools and whiz-gigs and all kinds of crazy stuff that slows your machine down and strangles your Internet speed. get rid of it and learn how to use your explorer or get FireFox at http://www.mozilla.com/ .

Belkin transfer Cables: Ah, the wonderful world of Data transfer. Reminds me of the days when it took me 5 minutes to load 5 meg worth of program onto my Commodore 64 back in 1982! (see more on the wonderful Commodore 64 - click here) The chirping that could only be later compared to the sounds coming from a dial-up modem, as my data was transferred through audio from a tape deck.

Belkin is a good company, and they have a solid product. When you are wanting to transfer data from one machine to the other- there is no better way to go. Their tools can allow you to transfer data only or the entire operating environment. I suggest only ever doing the latter, in a case where the two machines involved have two different operating systems. You can find out more about Belkin Data transfers on this link - Belkin.

You have to install the program for the cable on both machines for this to function correctly. Again I suggest that you follow the next set of rules:

Transferring from Vista to Xp = Trans Data only
Transferring from Vista to Vista = Full Transfer
Transferring from Xp to Xp = Full Transfer
Transferring from Xp to Vista = Data only

If the OS on the system is different, you do NOT want to transfer the entire Operating environment over, this can and will break hardware drivers etc. Be warned.

Windows Service Packs (SP):

Service packs which we in the normal world know as the SP1, SP2, and SP3 updates, are in all sense of the word, upgrade patches for our machines. When a Windows system is released, it has been tested by thousands, and then once exposed to the public, we find ways they didn't in which to break the software.

These Sp updates, actually fix these common issues that we find and report to our manufacturers and the like. So when you have an issue and report it to a Tech at HP for example, they then log the information and it then gets looked over by their senior Techs and on, until it eventually gets to Microsoft and they deliver a patch. After a length of these patches have been done, they then compress it all and create a Service Pack for everyone.

As with anything, each of our computer environments is different~ Even if we had the exact same machine. This is due to programs we have installed and the added stuff we use etc. So not all updates help everyone, they are designed to fix issues for the majority. Remember your machines health is 98% software health (Which YOU are responsible for) and the rest is the hardware you see the picture on and put Cd's into. You are the carver of your machines life.

Antivirus 360 - and Malwarebytes:

MalwareBytes is a wonderful registry scanning program that can be used to SCAN your machine for unwanted spy ware and rogue ware, and all Mal ware in general. I use this for scanning my machine for this stuff which does not make it a robot program, it is actually just a scanner looking for specific lines of code on the registry that it knows could be harmful.

My Ccleaner is a manual registry trimming tool, I use for immediate manually controlled protection. There is a difference. One does not scan but checks and removes entries, and the other actually scans my system for programs that are running that shouldn't be.

A word to the wise, some people that make bad programs know how security software works and are always finding ways to get around it and not be detected. So security software such as this are only 80% successful against educated Spy ware created programs. Don't be shocked if something slips through unnoticed, no matter what your running for protection.

The registry in Layman's terms:

The registry is basically like a switchboard operators switch board in a 50 story office building, the buttons are marked and she knows what ones to press to get who, and to get answers or tasks done that are needed. The operator is actually your computer.

In order for any program or piece of hardware to function on your machine, it needs a registry entry. A button on that switch board. Now what spy ware and other bad programs do is they will take over one that's already there and then change the settings to suite themselves, thus we have issues on our machines once we get infected.

The key is to protect your registry and the machine will stay healthy. The other big thing to know is that like in the Software Salad article, one program can change how your machine functions and cause things to not work right.

A good example is if you install Itunes on your machine, it is likely that it will overwrite your registry entry's for your DVD player and cause it not to function right. This is an example of software breaking hardware functions. This can be fixed with a simple registry change (well for me) but the Itunes DVD and CD functions for burning music won't work anymore. I guess you would choose the less of two evils, I would rather my DVD player to work then to know I can burn Cd's with Itunes.

So know that the registry is a list of what functions programs and hardware have on your machine, and that when you get spy ware it tries to access the registry and make changes, this is why we need to be diligent in our pursuit to eradicate the concept that our security software should robotically run and protect us. The people that create this stuff are smarter than our protection software in many cases and it is a constant battle to stay clean. If you have access to the Internet and you connect to it and surf the web, you are at risk - accept it and learn how to protect yourself, it is YOUR responsibility as a computer owner.

Internet Explorer 7 and 8, and how to set yours up:

I am presently running Internet explorer 7 (IE7), and am preparing myself to move to Windows IE8. I will let you know that a Browser is simply a tool for viewing the Internet, like a window in the bottom of a glass bottom boat, the bottom of the lake is the Internet and the websites that you visit. Every Internet address is another location in virtual space or in a virtual city of locations. Each web location is like a home or a residence.

Some websites are secure from containing viruses and spy ware "BARBS" (Barbs are like when your walking in a field and get those little plant seeds stuck to your clothes, like burdock's and bristle burs, this is very much how these nasty programs get attached to you, you pass them and they stick to your machine through the registry system). Instant infection.

So the more common a website is and the heavier the traffic and the more professional it is set up - the safer it is to visit. Generally Forum sites and main websites are safe and contain their own installed security to prevent nasty programs from trying to attach to them. An example is that Google is safe, but the sites it brings up in a search are not, you have to decide if they are safe or not by what kind of content they have on them and who built it.

When you leave My space you get a warning, "This is not a My space page, you are leaving My space if you continue..." I have clicked saying yeah sure and instantly got spy ware on my machine. My space is safe for the most part, related websites .. well, not so much.

The browser is a great tool, and yet we can get slowed down by it. As you install programs and the like, they will offer to "Add" stuff to your machine so the page can run. Active X is generally safe if your going to a site you are familiar with, other unknown sites are again not so safe.

I advise, if you have not done it already to wait about 6 months before installing a new browser such as the Windows Explorer 8 (IE8). Simply as with anything new, let the masses deal with broken stuff and in 6 months all the bugs will be worked out of it. Don't fear the Explorer.

I do suggest using a different type of browser for your Internet surfing, and the reason for this is that your entire system runs on Internet Explorer, matter of fact, your desktop page is an Internet Explorer Window. If Internet Explorer gets infected, guess what? Your entire machine will be infected. So use another type of Browser like Mozilla FireFox or Google Chrome and if they get infected all you have to do is uninstall them and reinstall them after restarting your machine. Problem solved, then a program gets infected and not your entire machine.

Always look out for programs trying to add themselves to your computers START UP and adding TOOLBARS. Avoid both of these and you will keep your Internet explorer healthy, and your machine running fast in and out of a cold start up.

PRO TIP: Did you know, that if you change the main hard drive to anything other than C:\ , that you can never be infected by Viruses? Its true, the most common drive letter for the main drive is C:\ and virus makers program their Viruses and some spyware to look for and target the C:\ drive. If your drive is A:\ , B:\ , D:\ , E:\ , (you get the point), they won't even see you.

The Program control Firewall in Norton:

Ah, for those of us braving the waters of Norton Internet Security, (and they are few and brave), let me teach you a neat trick. The Norton program is actually like 5 -6 programs in one, and since 2007 , they added a fun thing called the Norton Program Firewall Control or NPFC .

It was someone genius idea that if the Norton could control program access to and from the internet, the odds of the machine becoming infected by spyware would be minimal. Well, this creates a different problem.

The NPFC was not designed to not block system required programs and this causes everything from windows Updates and the like downloads and Updates to not run or hang and not complete. The vital programs to run and access your internet and home network are also blocked in this system, and then suddenly no wireless connection, and no internet of any kind.

This is an easy fix for all versions of Norton. Here's basically where you'll find the control panel you need- Open Norton, and find Internet or Settings. If you find internet click on configure or settings, and then your at the next menu. Go to the bottom and click on Internet security options or on other versions your looking for Smart Firewall.

On the older versions you'll see personal firewall on the left, in either case click on the Program Control link or the configure next to it on newer versions. Once inside, you will see a list of items, these are all the programs that are being blocked or have limited access to and from the internet. I would place all my money that everything is Custom or Auto, except the Norton programs on the list. Funny huh?

Now go through the list and allow everything by clicking the drop down box on the right hand side of each one. Once finished, hit allow and or apply - and then Ok to close. Then restart your machine, test it out. All your programs actually work now, and you know how to investigate if Norton is blocking your actions now- check the NPFC.

Defrag and Disc Cleanup, vs Ccleaners Cleanup:

If you use the Ccleaner, then you'll notice that there is a internet cleanup tool at the top. This tool will clean out all your cache and Temp internet pages, but only on a surface level. You can not beat your Disc Cleanup and Defrag tools.

Both are found by typing in the first word for Vista users (how much easier is that?), and by clicking Start - then - assecories - then - system or system tools.

Disc Cleanup will remove all Temp downloads and Cache and internet History and will not delete your favorites list. Once done you'll have tons of free space and your internet will run 100 times faster. You will not loose important Data as long as you save and store your Data correctly.

The Defrag is a file system orginizer. Imagine when your machine does something it takes a file from a cabinet and when its done, intead of putting it back ~ It places it in the first open slot in the filing cabinet. Then when it needs it later, it has to hunt to remember where it put it...

A Defrag goes through your system and puts all the files back where they belong, resulting in a faster machine. I advise running each of these once a month for a casual computer user and twice for the moderate user, three times for the power user. For a better experience....

Some navigation tips for Vista: (Windows 7 release)~

Look out America! It's Windows 7! And from what I have seen and know first hand others are experiencing, Windows 7 is the best product Microsoft has ever forged!

Running with the simple complexity of the Vista enviroment, all pretty and set to race, and the usability and familiarity of XP! Yes I said it .... XP! And as I vow that to upgrade or downgrade or sidegrade your Operating System (OS) is a sin, with Windows 7, its a dream.

A dream I do not want to wake from. From an Xp upgrade you bring a Vista arsonal running like an Xp enviroment. The operating system runs on 22 processes which is even less than the original Xp before the Service Pack (SP) Upgrades. Look out America! Get Windows 7!

Each window operates indipendant of the system making the machines processor work less. Seperate jobs instead of bulks of Data crunching. If a window suffers an error, it is independant, and does not effect your other windows that are up and running. Beautiful and priceless.

FOR THOSE WANTING MORE....

Ok, here's the back door Admin info for you for Vista you have to access the DOS either from windows or take the chance in start up -

SUPER SECRET ADMIN PASSWORD!

Turn it on in windows:
Start search type CMD and open it and run it as admin by right clicking on it-
Once in dos type in :
net user administrator /active:yes
hit enter -
once done close the window and log off your account and then log into admin - unlocked
reverse this using /active:no to turn it off when done - you do not want to leave this feature on for the safety of your machine ...

Turn it on in RECOVERY:
At machine start tap F11 to enter recovery manager
On the first page hit CNTRL+D to enter Dos, you'll be on virtual X: drive
type cd C:
Once on c: type in:
net user administrator /active:yes
hit enter -

Once done close the window and restart your machine at the log in window log into admin - reverse this using /active:no to turn it off when done - you do not want to leave this feature on for the safety of your machine ... In the recovery mode the feature sometimes does not work - if this is a main password locked issue , then your only option is a recovery if this doesnt work.

Outlook and Windows Mail

2009-03-19T08:51:00.000-07:00

Outlook Express and Windows Mail:

Well anyone that has asked me the question will know I am not to fond of these services offered by Microsoft. But I will try to hold back on the bias and stick with the information at hand.

There can be benefits to using these services and also serious downfalls, and of course I will list them both and let you make the choice on this one. First for those of you that don't know what this is, I will explain in as much detail as possible.

What is it?

Outlook and Windows Mail is a third party e-mail service program that collects your e-mails from the main site that it is being hosted. In example if I have an e-mail account with Verizon, then I can set up this Microsoft program to get my mail for me and send mail out as well.

So instead of having to log into Verizon's website and check my e-mail through there, I can click a button in my start menu and it will pull my mail from the website for me. If I want to send mail, it will send the mail out through my website e-mail without me ever having to visit the Internet.

Basically this is like having a third person go and get your mail every day and then having a third person send your mail, this seems quite silly, and to me really makes no sense.

Pro's and Con's:

As with everything there is an up side and a down side to this type of service. The first is in setup, if I set it up with standard settings, when I get my mail using this program, it is going to "EMPTY" my website e-mail (meaning my actual "REAL" account on the Internet), Which means if I go to my Internet e-mail and look for messages, there will be none, they are now only on my computer saved onto the hard drive (HDD). The program automatically pulls all my e-mails out of my online account and deletes them, sending copies to my computer.

Now in the case where say my computers hard drive crashes, all of the e-mails on my computer are now going to be lost. I have officially placed all my eggs in one basket. If something happens to my computer where I loose my data, I have now lost all of my e-mail history and contacts list.

Any contacts I create will be stored in the program only, again if my machine fails, then I also loose all of these too. You can go into the settings and change them to only make copies of your e-mails from the Internet website, and to not delete the ones on the Internet. However in doing this you will have to continue to visit your website e-mail to keep it cleaned out, as most e-mail providers will start asking for money once your Internet account gathers so much space with old e-mails piling up left and right.

The upside of this type of service is for those FEW people that are SPAMS. This program allows you to upload images into your e-mails easily and then you can spam the world with your image laden junk, or send photo images to friends and family. With the image in the e-mail itself. If you get adds and those crazy chain letters with pictures in them, likely someone made that e-mail using Outlook Express or Windows Mail.

SO THE PROS ARE:

You can click one button to send and receive e-mails.
You can embed images into your e-mails.

AND THE CONS ARE:

It deletes copies of your e-mails that are safely stored on the Internet.
Saves only one copy of e-mail onto your machine where the data can be lost.
Does not update your Internet information with your contacts list.
Has to be configured properly to send and receive e-mails.

CONFIGURING MAIL:

When setting up your Windows or Outlook mail you have to go to your Internet providers information page or google it for the correct mail routing information. Example if I had Verizon I would probably google search "configuring Verizon in outlook" or "Windows live mail setup for Verizon." You then have to get the POP address information and get it all set up.

Some Internet e-mail providers demand to get added services in order to configure your e-mails to work with Outlook and Windows Mail. A good example is yahoo. you need to buy their premium account or they won't route your e-mails through.

I say leave Windows mail and Outlook in the dust. Your data is safer on the Internet instead of on your computer, I have tried to route all my mail into one account as I have 10 e-mail addresses, and they don't all work. Your best bet is to learn how to access your REAL e-mail account and become free of allowing other people do your mailings for you. Take control of your e-mail and contacts list. Like I said I have 10 e-mail accounts and I log into them each and do upkeep on my mail manually, that's part of the adventure.

A TIP:

Here's a good tip. I have many e-mail addresses and there is a reason for this. Each has a particular purpose. Example, for my friends and my family I use my hotmail.com e-mail address, for business related issues I use my Gmail.com address, and when I am gaming on the Internet I use my Yahoo.com address. But when I am signing up for junk or offers on the Internet? I use a completely different yahoo e-mail, this way spam and junk mail never go to my "REAL" accounts ... neat huh.

Another thing is that I talk to a lot of people that pay for e-mail services that don't need to be. Ok if you have Verizon Internet for example, you don't have to pay AOL.com for your e-mail account, you have a free one with Verizon for one, and in the second place, there's a ton of free e-mail services out there like yahoo and hotmail and GMail. If you pay for Internet service, you should never have to pay for e-mail service. Don't be tricked into thinking otherwise.

Again I thank you for reading,
you can leave comments below~
contact me via e-mail (which I do not pay for)
click the live chat to the right if I am online, or even leave a message.
If you live in Missouri,
you can also call.

Thank you.

Backing up your Data

2009-03-12T11:44:00.000-07:00

BACKING UP YOUR DATA:

An important thing to know is that you are responsible for BACKING UP your data, if your like me and don't really keep anything on your machine to worry about then this really doesn't matter. But for those that have tons of important files, pictures, music and the like installed on your computer, well its important to save that stuff somewhere else as well.

If your DATA is important then you don't want all your eggs in one basket, in example all your Data in one place. Your machine is mechanical and as with all mechanical devices, you have the danger of the Hard Drive failing (HDD), when it fails one of two things can happen-

1) Your Hard drive fails and before replacing it, you take it to another a Tech Repair center and pay anywhere from 150 - 200 dollars for them to get the information off of it.

2) Your Hard drive fails and you can't retrieve the Data, or its not accessible, and you loose everything that was on it. Not a good place to be in, but I talk to alot of people that had "Important" Data on their machine and have lost it for this reason, and in their fit of anger I would have to say it is their own fault. If you have some Data that's important - then common sense would say to back the information up somewhere else to keep it safe.

Again it is YOUR computer, and 98% of its health is based on the programs you install and uninstall and the websites and the like that you visit that install junk behind the scenes on your machine. But there is the 2% of your hardware that could fail, and it is important to protect your information so that you can get it back if such a thing should happen to you.

BACKUP SOLUTIONS:

In the case of backing up your information you have several options. Each a little better than the others and there are some basic ways you can protect your other things like images for example that don't require a ton of money and expenses, I will explain.

PROTECTING YOUR PICTURES:

First if your just trying to protect your Pictures and images, a good resource is an uploading picture site. I use Photobucket and love it. I use it to this day for my editing and my family can see images and download them to a file and take them to get printed. I know that if my machine crashes, my pictures of my vacations, and children are safe. That service is free for basic use and you pay for added services from them, find out more at http://www.photobucket.com/ . create an account using your e-mail and then start uploading. Of course this is just one service and there are many out there to keep your information safe.

PROTECTING YOUR E-MAILS:

OK, if you use your e-mail on their website, example you log into yahoo, or AOL and the like to access your e-mails from them directly you have nothing to worry about. Those are being stored on the Internet and if your machine takes a dirt nap, when your back up and running again, simply go to your e-mail on the Internet and all your e-mails will be there.

However, if you use windows mail, windows live mail, outlook, outlook express, then your in for a nightmare in this situation and all your old e-mails will be gone. The reason is these programs download your e-mails from the Internet into your computer, and then generally delete them from your real e-mail on the Internet (where they would have been safe).

In this case you would want to follow the backup solutions I am about to provide to save your e-mails as well (if you wanted to keep them), or you can simply look into your Outlook options and in there will be an option to "delete" or "do not delete" the original e-mail when it is downloaded. If you change this then a copy of the e-mail will stay on your Internet account. If you do this you probably want to go to your e-mail account every once in awhile and clean out the ones you don't want. Generally e-mail providers charge for the amount of space you use in their server, meaning if your inbox gets too full they may start wanting to bill you, just go into it and clean out the ones you don't need.

I can't stress this enough, if you use Outlook or a similar program and you are not an E-mail spammer or sending image rich documents over the Internet in your e-mails, you don't need this service. Outlook is junk in my opinion, its like getting a third person to go and check your mail everyday and then using them to send mail etc. It just creates a window for failure.

I have 5 e-mail addresses and I go into the Internet and access them manually. I keep maintenance on them manually, and no problems and the like. Secondly if something goes wrong with your Windows Mail or Outlook, have fun talking to Microsoft after you pay them a ton of money to walk you through your issues. And odds are good that they are going to avoid blame and tell you there's something wrong with your machine. Don't rely on Outlook, just my thought.

BACKUP OPTIONS:

Every machine has a built in BACKUP and RESTORE feature built into the Windows program, this is a good thing to use but if the Hard drive fails the information is stored on the Hard drive and in turn doesn't save you in the long run. This does help if you are restoring your computer due to a virus or a program error or conflict but not in the case of a Hard drive crash.

So you have several backup options, all are good and some better than others. Below is the list and following just a brief description of who, what, when, where to make your life a little easier.
FLASH DRIVES/ ZIP DRIVES:

These are the fastest and most convenient tools in the UNIVERSE! Yes, the UNIVERSE! They can be bought at any TECH shop or retailer, and of course if you go to a big name you'll pay more for LESS, but hey some of us can't avoid a popular shopping spot because its a BRAND name.

The Hardware's the same in all the stores and in all, there's cheaper versions available a well as more expensive. My suggestion here is going to TARGET or WALMART (Never buy a computer at Walmart but a flash drive is fine) or even head over to my favorite - Radio Shack.

Now what you want is probably a 5-8 gig Flash Drive (they also call them Zip Drives or Thumb Drives) and they cost anywhere from $20.00 on up depending on the brand and the size. My favorite brand is Kingston or XDigital - I personally have two 4gig ones i use. The Travel Warrior and a Data traveler. I use one for Data backups and the other one I have computer repair tools on it for when I do home visits, I can simply plug it into the sick computer and run diagnostics and the like without worrying if I can get to the Internet or not. Very nice.

Once you get this you simply take it home and plug it into your USB port on the side of your machine. You can go into My computer (or COMPUTER, for Vista users) and see it there. Open it up and there you have a folder. Go to the Data files you want to protect and simply copy them into this folder, once done take the USB drive out and your done! Easy!

This device is basically a simply memory chip your plugging into the USB port so there are no moving parts and the odds of Hardware failure on these is bare minimum. However, you want to keep these away from any magnetic surface or device as this is how they store information and a magnetic charge could erase them completely.

My advice is to never backup programs to the USB drive as they can be corrupted, if you ever downloaded a program and saved it to your machine before installing it, that's called a SUITCASE or an INSTALLER, those are generally safe to backup, and then you can just put them back on your machine later if needed without having to download them. Yes move it to your desktop and then double click it to run and reinstall that particular program. Again- EASY!

EXTERNAL HARD DRIVES: (EHDD)

External Hard drives are the better option in the list and the reason for this is Space! They can range from $99.00 - up to well, the sky's the limit. There are two types, the old SATA drives that are just like the one in your machine but plugs into the USB port like a flash drive, or the NEW Solid State drives which are going to cost a little more, but are less likely to fail mechanically in the distant future like the SATA.

SATA has moving parts, where as the Solid state are like GIANT USB flash drive as explained above, just a quick reading memory chip and that's it, no moving parts. You WILL pay more for one of these and this is the main reason for the price difference (and like the USB Flash drives you want to keep them away from magnetic interference).

Some of these even have a BACKUP program built into them and you can backup all your data using a simple program once it is connected to your machine. If it doesn't you'd simply use the same steps as outline under the flash drive section to save your data.

Whenever you need to restore your data, simply plug in this external Hard drive and reverse the process, again the same rules apply- you do not want to backup programs themselves but the installers are fine and of course your pictures, music and documents.

PROGRAM AND ONLINE BACKUPS:
Online backups can be offered for example with your Norton Internet Security, or another protection program. I do not advise using these but hey, what ever floats your boat. They are safe and secure but very confusing and complicated to reverse the process and when you need help your computer manufacturer can't help you and the company that made the program will probably charge you $75 -$80 dollars for assistance.

The best option in the world is ONLINE backups through a third party. Yes I said it a Third party is BETTER. They offer uploads and time stamped backups that can backup your machines data every time you add something new or on a daily weekly or monthly basis, and as I said earlier the safest place for your data is on the Internet.

Be sure if your looking into this that you know the terms of use, that they insure that your data is safe (in case they loose it from a system crash or the like, which is rare and nearly unheard of) and that they offer support for when you need it. I do know that HP offers such services as do many other companies of some reputation. I can't really give any clear examples as I do not use this type of service as I have nothing on my computer I cant just re download or backup from my other sites. Let me know if you find any and I'll look into it and add them in a list here.

CLOSING:

Again I look forward to your feedback and suggestions. I am online at random times and access the live chat randomly as well. Be patient with me. Leave a message or email me if you have questions and if you see the LIVE on to the right on the live chat, simply click to talk to me. Again talk is free, happy computing everyone.

Stephen

Defrag the Hard drive

2009-03-04T12:42:00.001-08:00

DEFRAG that Ol Hard Drive

On all machines there is a tool we have all heard of called the defrag tool and Disc cleanup. These can work to your advantage for system speed in two cases.

SYSTEM DEFRAG:
On your machine you can find the Defrag tool as follows, on Vista simply type it into the Startsearch above the start button.
On Windows XP you have to go to Start then to All Programs, and then accessories and into the System tools folder- you will see Defrag there.

WHAT IS A DEFRAG?

System Defrag is much like if you were leaving a burning building with a stack of files, you would probably just toss them and run out the door. This is kind of what happens every day when you turn on and off programs on your computer. It just dumps files and other data in the first available spot and then shuts the program off.

This also happens when you turn your computer off.

Well the system does this over a period of time, when it starts a program or function it is now searching randomly all over the floor for the files it needs and it causes the machine to run slow while it hunts for the needed tool to operate properly.

A System Defrag picks up all these files and places them in the correct places and location all your programs need them in in order to run more quickly and efficiently. In essence, putting the Data back into the files they need to be in and in turn speeding up your computers processing power.

RUNNING A DEFRAG:
You should run a system defrag at least once a month. This will help your machine operate better and you will see the difference. The graphic is also informative as the machine will scan the surface of your hard drive looking for broken and failed areas and then locking them out so that your computer doesn't waste time reading those sections in the future.

Let the Defrag run and don't interrupt it or restart your machine during the process. It is generally good to also turn off your screen saver temporarily during this so that you can check on it and be sure it is running properly. If it fails during the Defrag, you can stop the process by using the Task Manager, by clicking Control - Alt - and Delete and entering the Task Manager and ending the process. If this happens your Hard Drive is probably on its last Sunday walk.

More Technical information can be found on Defrag here at - Defrag at Wikipedia!

You can find out more about system cleanup articles by me here:
Cleaning up your Startups
Keeping Internet Explorer Healthy
Software Salad
Adobe and Java
Update or not to Update
Ccleaner setup and operation
Toolbars of Death

DISC CLEANUP:

The good old Disc Cleanup tool. Well this has been around awhile and I will tell you whats its for- removing old junk, cache files and the like from your machine. There is NO harm in running this program as long as your computers system is healthy and in good running condition.

But if these residual files are the glue that is holding your machine together- miles of junk files and improperly removed Data and the like, this program COULD cause some harm. I have just recently discovered this with a young man who had a friend run this program and he had an expired Antivirus and the machine refused to work right afterwards. Technically this should be a harmless cleaning of old file Assoc and the like from your machine.

You can find the program in the same ways you found the Defrag on Xp and vista and running it would be advised once a month. Try and run this tool after you have done all other cleaning on the machine, this way all the files that might be laying around looking like they are junk- will already be neatly put away somewhere safe.

PEACE and TRANQUILITY:
The key to a long and healthy life is to take good care of yourself and not let yourself get bogged down by the repressions laid on us by our outside environment. The same is true for your computer. Again, don't just pay hundreds of dollars to get your machine repaired by a drop off and leave the machine repair shop. Demand to know what they are doing, so that you are better informed and can avoid the problem from occurring in the first place.

It is always better to get a Technician that you know or trust, or one your family knows and trusts. This way your more likely going to be able to ask Why? and How? So you are better informed and can avoid the same types of problems in the future. If I had a dollar for every dollar just wasted by people sending their computers to repair centers for assistance and not getting the QUALITY of help from the experience... well I'd be rich.

You would not just take your child to the Doctor and drop them off without getting answers on what happened and how to prevent the same issue in the future. Don't do any less for your computer, it is your friend, a member of the family don't treat it any different. Demand answers, and then learn from them- this will save you tons of money in the future, by allowing you to avoid issues that may cause your computer to have to be repaired.

Together we can make our relationship with our machines, one of Tranquility~

My name is Stephen and I work for a Major Computer Manufacturer. The truth is big companies don't manufacture anything, they are in fact only assemblers. Just as if I was going to build you a custom made computer with al the bells and whistles you wanted at your home. They don't make parts they simply put them together like a puzzle or a tinker toy, and then install software from yet another company. Know your manufacturer, and do some research, a computer CAN be a good investment or simply a spot in your life that will burn your money until its gone.

jwatson - has left a new comment on your post "Defrag the Hard drive":
Alrighty Stephen, I want to pose a question. Not to long ago I was downloading a newer version of CCleaner to keep it up to date, and Piriform has created their own Defrag program. So which do I use, the Defrag built into Windows, or Piriform's Defraggler? I used Defraggler and am not sure about the run times ; Defraggler might be a little longer, but dose it do a better job?

Stephen Phillips to jasewatson show details 4:04 PM (5 minutes ago) Reply
Well awesome question! In honesty I have never used it, I would avoid two things -- 3rd party (other than windows) backup programs and any kid of system cleaning and defrag tools, this is only because it is hard to see if the program isn't going to conflict with another program on your machine... see the article about robot programs for more on this! I Look forward to hearing from you again, and I am going to add this question and answer to the article as well - again, great question!

END NOTE:

I thank you for reading my articles and I look forward to responses, E-mails and even through chat talk. When the light on chat is lit and says I am online, you can click on it to live chat and ask questions or make suggestions etc. Communication, it is free.

You can Comment in the bottom-

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Protection software

2009-02-17T14:52:00.000-08:00

SPYWARE AND POP UP PROTECTION: "BOTS"

In this day and age we should be cautious and fearful of getting some type of Rogueware or Spyware on our machines and avoid those pesky pop ups that ruin our surfing experience. But at what price? The very control and operation of our machine itself? Have MEAN people making this kind of junk made it so bad that we have to resort to resigning our machines control to a preprogramed application to protect us from infections? Remember a program only knows what it is taught, so do we trust a program to make the right choices all the time?

I say no ... I say follow the steps outlined in Ccleaner, and take your POWERS back! Below I will explain why I don't use these types of programs that I like to call "ROBOT" protection software.

SPYBOT SEARCH AND DESTROY: AKA "SBS&D"

As a test I installed Spybot on my machine to see if it really is NICE and friendly and easy to use. What I found was the exact opposite in fact, this is a program to be avoided even by the smartest technician unless they are a coder or computer program er.

I installed this and in the beginning it seemed nice. It ran a scan found some junk and removed it- no problems. Then over the period of three days (and I have an active computer life, so a lot of use is done on my machine in just one day) I found that I was getting pop ups from them asking me if it was OK for a program to access my registry file and make changes.

That was nice. But what wasn't nice was the program that was trying to access my registry was listed by spy bot much like this:

A program: "253.234.87.6" for ubla.exe wants to access blah blah blah blah blah .... I think to myself, well if it detected it and I don't know what it is- it must be BAD. As I assume any NORMAL computer user would. After several days of BLOCKING and allowing stuff that I had no idea at all what it was, I found stuff stopped working right on my machine. DVD players, my audio etc etc. I thought to myself as per installing new software section in my article "Cleaning up your startups" ,and said to myself "what was the last thing I installed - Oh yeah spy bot." Then promptly removed it and ran a registry cleaning with the CCleaner. Boom ALL my problems were solved. Do I like Spy bot? No it is not user friendly.

WEBROOT SPYSWEEPER:

The second type of problem and Spybot has this as well, is that the program will auto protect your machine and make random decisions based on a "GENERIC" set of criteria.

If you read the SOFTWARE SALAD article you will get a better idea of what I am talking about and I will add a little to that here.

Example, if we each had the exact same machine, everything on it was the same and we have the machine for a year and can do anything with it we want. In one years time when we meet back up and compare, our machines are going to operate very differently, this is because of the software environment. The programs we install or remove from the computer effects the way it operates. It can make the machine slower, or even faster - It can interfere with the way some other programs work on the machine. Now how in the world is someone going to make a generic robot program that can protect us without you having to fiddle with it?

You are handing your machines program environment - which is 98% of your machine capability to a ROBOT program that is going to make choices on what can and can't access or run on your machine. This is not a good thing by any means. It WILL lead to problems and it will take many people and calls and services to a retailer before one of them has the light on in their head enough to remove it.

See security software is not something to take lightly, or to leave in the hands of some preprogramed robot that does not adapt what it is told to the programs that are running on your machine. Take your powers back!

Programs that are healthy, means your machine is healthy. Don't let programs make choices for you. You did not get a computer to let it robotically run itself and not care what it does, in the end we all care when stuff does not function correctly, prevent this issue by removing the ROBOTS from your life and your machine. You will be happier in the end~

Thank you for reading,

Notice the Live chat icon in the top right now?

When it is lit up and says someones online - you can click the button and chat live with myself or one of my friends about your concerns or comments. You can also leave a comment in the bottom or email me directly with questions or ideas at pcspyder@gmail.com

Adobe and Java

2009-02-13T03:39:00.000-08:00

WELCOME TO A SHORT INFORMATIONAL!

About Adobe and Java applications....

First off you need these two programs to properly view the Internet as these are the programs developers are using to build web pages and our interactive programs.

Games have Java in them, video online has embed in them of Adobe scripts and the like. The two programs should not at any time be removed from your computer and updated as often as possible.

You will find the updates for these programs pop up in the system tray, the little area in the bottom right of your computer near the time clock. You simply click or double - click on them to install. And once they are finished they are gone- the little picture disappears from that area, and won't pop up again until a new update id available. Be sure to keep them up to date and they will need you to install them as well. Simply follow the on screen instructions, not updating these can cause Internet and system problems.

The best thing to do is always let your machine load completely and then wait for everything to be done loading. Once this is done you can check the system tray to see if any strange icons are there, this is where your antivirus icon is, and where windows updates will appear. These things running will slow your Internet, so it is better to know they are running and let them do so before trying to do to much on your machine. Let them install and then if needed restart your machine and everything will be back to normal.

Java as well as Adobe have many other fine products available as well. The CORE of these programs are free to the public, so that you may run them on your machine and READ what the web people have made on their websites.

However, other tools can be purchased, such as browsers and movies players and the like to enhance your windows experience.

As a developer, you can purchase a developers copy and design websites and other types of interactive programs using their software. For the standard user this is not needed, and it only applies to those that want to start creating their own projects.

Java is a language of programing like HTML, PHP and XML as examples. Programs can be written in this language. The version you run on your machine is simply a READ this program type only program feature. To actually start in a programing and developing of such things will take a lot of time a dedication to learn the computer language and how to apply it to the environment it is supposed to be running on.

You can go to the sites below to run and install these READERS if the ones you have installed seem to be failing- can't see video or pictures. Just be sure to remove the old versions first from Add & remove programs (on Xp) or Programs and features (on Vista), then go to the sites listed below and reinstall the programs and run all their updates.

As you will see on the websites there are other great products available from them as well, just be sure you are aware of the proper installation process and avoid adding unneeded things to your start up or those sneaky toolbars they all try to slip in there. See Toolbars of Death, and Keeping Internet Explorer Healthy, or Cleaning my start up.

You can find the download for them here:

JAVA

ADOBE

The end result? Well they are healthy programs and should NOT be removed. Keep them up to date and all your worries will fade away. I swear, they are good for your Internet Surfing, and matter of a fact, they are absolutely mandatory for a functioning Internet experience.

Video and image issues? Uninstall and reinstall your Adobe Flash and Java~

Text issues? Check you Adobe Reader.

I enjoy your feedback! You can find out more about me on the links to the right! Or shoot me and email to pcspyder@gmail.com.

You can also leave a note in the comments below.
I am still waiting to have a radio show.
Look forward to hearing from you!
Stephen

64 Bit operating systems

2009-01-22T14:08:00.000-08:00

OK first off if you read my other article on What to Buy , you would see my mention of the 64 bit vs 32 bit hangups and troubles people get into. However I would like to point out if you do have a 64 bit system and can work with the few troubleshooters, and can survive having it~ You will be better off in the long run as 32 bit will EVENTUALLY be obsolete just like windows Xp. Want to know why? Click here for Microsoft's disclosure on the LIFECYCLE POLICY -

So after reading the above link you will see that in the LONG run - yes you want to get bigger and badder and better. The new Windows 7 is coming out and I suggest it is a good transition for most VISTA users, I would not do it if I was running 64 bit Vista or running Xp.

The point is to be able to make the smartest move on your tech upgrades without adding nightmare to your journey. Most of this can be avoided by doing google searches on programs and the like before running installations and upgrades. If other people have similar problems then you probably don't want to make the change to your system or add that program.

You can more technical information on 64 Bit Operating systems here at Wikipedia.

Now there are a lot of cases where having the system 64 bit ready can add to a faster experience on your computer- but this really only effects the operation of your system itself and the programs that came pre-installed.

The fact is most programs you install are going to be 32 bit and only run at that speed anyways, if you go to start/computer/c:/ you will see 2 program files on your machine. One is labeled Program files and the other is Program files (x86). The ones in the x86 folder are the 32 bit programs you have installed on your machine. No matter what you do, they are going to run at 32 bit speed and you won't see a difference in operation and secondly you want to be careful of what you are installing as it can break the drivers for your 64 bit hardware. Drivers are communication lines made up of software that your computers brain uses to talk to the hardware installed on your machine. People have problems installing this kind of software on their regular 32 bit machines- let alone on your 64.

The rule of thumb is if it is 3rd party software and it is supposed to run in sync with hardware on your machine, you probably don't want to install it. It will likely change the hardware driver settings on your hardware and then your computer won't read the device correctly, then you'll have tech support on the phone, and they are going to band aid the problem or tell you to get rid of the program that keeps destroying your drivers.

A good example is IPOD/ Itunes software on a lot of windows machines that run Vista. The Itunes overwrites the DVD/ CD ROM drivers with their Apple junk software and make your DVD or the burner fail and stop working. Or you loose sound, or video. Apple loves this cause your addicted to Itunes... maybe next time you'll buy a MAC. Good luck if you ever want to upgrade it or find the same variety of compatible software.

The graph shows that on a program that is made to run 64 bit the performance that a 64 bit machine can get from having the proper configuration. Mind you that 64 bit programs are still not widely available, nor are they inexpensive.

This bring us to another topic. 64 bit PROCESSORS. I talk to people and I ask what system type are you running? 64 bit or 32 bit. They will say 64 bit. I check the computers specs (VISTA: click start, right click computer, go to properties - system type / for XP, right click computer and go to the properties and then to general tab) and see they have a 32 bit operating system and a 64 bit processor. Good thing we checked before installing an updated BIOS.

64 bit processor simply is speeding up the communication of the hardware attached to your computer - dvd and audio and video moving information across the system board. Big difference from the operation of programs installed on the machine.

Either way, if you are running a 64 bit OS, then simply be careful when installing programs on your machine. If you have read my other stuff you will know that your computer is your friend, like a pet or a favorite car not an inanimate object. Matter of fact your computer is more influenced by your habits and behavior and process in doing things then your Friends, car or anything else in life is. Your actions directly effect your machines health and lifestyle.

Thank you for reading!

I love feedback and suggestions on other articles! Simply add a note to comments at the bottom or email me directly at pcspyder@gmail com

CCleaner Setup - Operation

2009-01-08T08:20:00.001-08:00

CCleaner was formerly known as CRAP Cleaner. I assume the name changed to CC cleaner when being referenced as to the two C's in the name and the easier way for people to find it in searches on the Internet.

Information on the program from Wikipedia click here.

As you can see I do have a link for this to the left, and this is a tool that I use myself on my machine at home to help remove programs and keep my machine in good running health.

I'm going to explain a little bit about it and show you how to use it properly and there are updates for this for the Vista and 64 bit system users out there. This is a FREE program and free to download, however the creator does take donations. Well deserved, I would say. You can find alot of good programs from these kind of developers because they are being motivated by peoples experiences and needs - Vs the drive for a dollar bill.

Once you have downloaded the program we can have our first CCleaner experience. You can find the download link page in my links or simply click here:

CCkeaner download - Simply click on "Download latest version" on the right to get started.

If your downloading from the LINKS to the left, click the link, select on the right column, download CCleaner. On the next page select "download from FileHippo" , then simply click on "Download latest version" on the right to get started.

Download and install! Be sure you go through the setup and avoid the MSN and possible Yahoo add-on bars they try to get you to add. Everything else that is offered is fine and will not slow your machine and make for a better CCleaner experience. See Add- ons of Death for why you want to avoid add-on tool bars here.

Ok now that the program is installed, you should see the icon on the desktop as well as in your start menu. Go ahead and double click it to open it. This is the last cleaning tool you'll ever need.

There is three main tools in the CC cleaner. Tools - Registry - and Cleaner. They work in different ways for three different reasons and needs of your machines health. First we are going to get prepared.

What we need is a registry backup folder. We are going to use this folder to back-up our changes on the system. The best way to do this is to go to START, then to Computer, and then to your C:/ drive. In here right click and create a new file, we are going to name it Reg Backup. You can make capitals or small letters it doesn't matter, it is for our use only. Once the file is made we are ready to continue. If you accidentally clicked off the folder and its not named right, right click the folder and then click on RENAME. You can now rename the folder.

Now the main tool on the program is the remove programs and clean your system start up tab on the left. Note in this picture, it is from the old CRAP cleaner days and the registry button is actually names ISSUES. Pretty funny. But you get the idea here.

So the bottom tab is going to be TOOLS. In here will be two main options, Start ups and programs. This is where you want to remove programs from your computer from now on. The reason for this is, when you remove programs from the systems programs and features (Vista) or Add and Remove programs (XP) it only removes a chunk of the program and then leaves a bunch of broken junk on your machine.

With this, it will remove EVERYTHING including the registry .dll files and program folders your machine WOULD have left behind to clutter your system. Thank you Microsoft! (Just kidding, again I love PC and PC = Microsoft).

TOOLS: (Programs / Startups)

Now here you would uninstall a program, or use the Start ups tool to remove unwanted programs from the start up, and this doesn't break the way other programs work- Unlike using MSCONFIG as some self proclaimed computer tech gurus do and then it ends up breaking other stuff on your machine. This is the way to do it or even for more read my last article on how to clean up my start ups here.

I know there is not a whole lot to talk about in this section. Pretty cut and dry, select a program to uninstall and then click uninstall. Simple. And ALL of the program will go bye-bye now. No leftover sludge on your machine and broken .dll registry files etc etc.

REGISTRY: (Reg Backup)

Every time I remove a program I run this wonderful tool. And I also make it a habit to run it once a week, or if I see a Rogue or Malware program Pop-up. See more on that here on the Rogue Ware Article - click Here.

This is easy after the first time you use it, but its not that hard to figure out. Simply follow the on screen steps and leave the settings the way they are. You would click on Analyze, at which point the machine will be scanned for broken .dll on the machine. These come from Spyware, Malware, Rogue programs and from broken programs or uninstalled leftovers of other programs and this will find them.

Once the scan is done, click on "Fix selected issues", and you will be prompted to if you want to make changes and save them before you make the changes. You say yes, save before making Fixes, and then find the C:/ drive then the REG BACKUP file we made earlier. Then leave the label for it as it is and don't change anything- click save. You will only have to locate this file once, going forward it will default to this folder! Great Huh! Easy and does all the harder stuff for me!

Then it will take you back to the window that asks "Fix" or "Fix all issues" click FIX ALL and then it will prompt for you to close it. Then run the Analyze again. And go through the same process, yes Fix issues, save, Fix all - close. Do this over and over until the Analyze does not pull anything up at all. When it's clean of finding errors- your registry is CLEAN.

I explain this to people as like trimming a hedge, you trim up some branches on the outside, and find there are more to be trimmed below that have been exposed. This continues until you have the perfect hedge, and no more to trim. We are done here.

CLEANER: (Internet/ Browsers)

I do not use this one generally I use the Internet Explorer tools as in the article keeping Internet explorer healthy, which can be read here on this link. Keeping IE7 Healthy.

However, my wife uses this one and so do her friends, it has many options and it will help to clean junk off of your web browsers and the like. There are multiple options here and you can click and choose for your personal preference.

To be warned, be careful, there is a password reset in here which will delete all of your Internet saved passwords. You do get the option and warning if I remember right. Like I said I don't really use it but you will probably find it very helpful in speeding up your Internet surfing experience.

WELCOME TO CCLEANER and Happy surfing!

I welcome your comments and feedback, simply click the comments link at the bottom or email me direct at pcspyder@gmail .com

Stephen

Cleaning up your Startup

2009-01-01T14:31:00.000-08:00

THIS IS GOING TO GUIDE YOU, SHOWING YOU HOW TO CLEAN UP YOUR START-UPS AND OPTIMIZE YOUR PROGRAMS FOR A BETTER, FASTER AND MORE RELIABLE MACHINE~

THE OUT OF BOX EXPERIENCE (OOB):

Generally when you first buy your computer the manufacturer has preinstalled a bunch of stuff that the general user does not need. There are also a bunch more programs that you do need, let me explain how to take care of this mess and what to follow going forward to keep your machine running happy and health.

When you get the machine out of the box and turn it on you will be prompted to set a user name and password. Be sure to not make your password all complicated because if you get locked out of your machine, the only option is a system recovery and this will whip out everything8ng on the computer and set it back to the factory specifications.

During setup it will ask you if you want to set up your Internet, if you already have a provider you would want to select "I will keep my provider", option. Then comes the antivirus security along with 1000 other products, if you have an antivirus on disc you want to install, make sure you remove the one that comes preinstalled before you install a new one, click here for more Removing my Antivirus.

OK, now that we have that settled and you have decided what programs and features you do and don't want during the set-up, now its time to optimize a little more.

CLEANING UP MY DESKTOP:

OK, now look at your desktop (the area where all your links and icons and background picture is, kind of like a desk) on here do you see stuff you don't want or need? Well write them down and then we go into the removal program for your computer.

We get there by clicking Start

For Xp:

Settings then Control panel then classic mode in the top left, and select Add & remove programs.
For Vista:

Simply type program in the start search, and you'll see Programs & features pop up, open that.

In here we are going to remove all unneeded programs from your computer, in some cases it would be wise to contact the manufacturer before hand so you don't remove something your computer needs, for the most part we want to focus on stuff that doesn't have your computer companies name on it, or Microsoft. We want to remove all tool bars, and any unneeded third party software offering stuff we don't want. See more on Add on Search Tool bars here.

Once this is done, restart your computer.

Just as a note, you do not have to have AOL browsers to check your AOL emails, etc etc, and I do advise against using Microsoft's Outlook and windows mail as eventually they are going to stop support for these and then you will have to relearn your email experience. My advice is to set your home page on your Internet explorer to the email company you have and log into your mail that way, and get in the habit. It is much easier than dealing with 3rd party mail servers which is what outlook and live is. See more on keeping Internet Explorer healthy here.

HOW TO OPTIMIZE YOUR EXPLORER:

As in the above link I suggest using FireFox for intensive gaming or web browsing, and the reason for this is in the related link above where it says click here, however I'll add the link again just so you know what I am talking about (CLICK HERE).

Getting your Internet Explorer healthy is the greatest thing you can do for your Internet experience. There are several things to do to set it up and you won't have to worry about it again, and it goes like this-

We get there by clicking Start

For Xp:
Settings then Control panel then classic mode in the top left, and select Internet Options.
For Vista:
simply type Internet in the start search, and you'll see Internet Options pop up, open that.

Make sure all Internet Explorer windows are closed during this.

Now click on the advanced tab to the right, and at the bottom click RESET.

When another screen pops up, click reset again. (This might not happen on XP)

Once done hit CLOSE on the little window and you should be back on the Internet Options window, where we continue~

Once done go to the connections tab- click on LAN settings.

In there make sure only the top option is checked and the rest are blank-

"automatically detect settings" hit OK and it will exit.

Now go to the far left tab called General, and click in here. Now type in the address of your favorite website, or in the case where you are giving up your outlook or windows live mail, type in the address of your email, here are some examples.

http://www.yahoo.com/
http://www.hotmail.com/
http://www.gmail.com/
http://www.aol.com/
http://www.comcast.com/
http://www.verizon.com/

Then once entered, click APPLY in the bottom right.

Now find the Tab Settings in the middle of this page. Click on Settings.

In here you want to check the box that says "open home page in new tab instead of blank"

once checked hit OK.

Then your on the Internet Options again and hit OK, and this will close.

Now open an Internet Explorer. It will act like its the first time you ever opened it.

It will ask do you want to choose a default search provider, and simply click I'll keep my own, and hit save. Now it should go to your new home page.

Now click on the new tab option (available only on Internet explorer 7), and it will open to a page called blank. In the bottom left select the box that says don't show me this page again. Then hit close. Close the tab by clicking the red X at the top of the tab itself.

Now open a new tab.

BOOM! It's your homepage!

Do another one- Boom! Your home page! I do this and have it set to google, so I can google until my hearts content, if I want to search a different topic, I simply click my tab and Wallah! Another google search window ready and waiting.

It is more efficient for your computer to run ONE Internet explorer window and have multiple tabs then it is to have multiple windows opened. Think of every open window as another program running, it isn't good in the long run. Another tip is for the best performance, only run 5-6 different tabs in one window.

Now when you close the Internet Explorer it will ask close all tabs? You can click on the options in the bottom left of that window and have it reopen the exact same ones when you open Internet explorer next time! Awesome!

NEW SOFTWARE! Well a computer is no good to us if we can not install new software onto it right? Well that's absolutely true and I agree and concur in every essence of the statement! However there are a few rules you should follow, you can get a big picture idea by reading the article VISTA OPERATING SYSTEM 101 here, or read on for more details.

It is very simple, be sure that the software you are installing is not going to change the way your hardware functions, you can research a program before installing it by using google or another search engine and find out if its a good idea to install is or not.

The idea here is you can't expect a Volkswagen carburetor to work right in a Benz, think logic, you can't put straight gas into a 3 to 1 mix lawnmower or chainsaw, it ill stop working. OK now that I am past that. Lets say the software is great STEVE no problems, compatibility the likes GOD has never seen since Adam and Eve~ Excellent.

The simple thing to look out for when installing a program is them trying to add (Secretly almost) a bunch of junk and spy ware and other trash into your system. How they do this is they ask do you want google toolbar (and its already checked off) or msn search bar, and again its already checked off. You simply need to look for these and UN CHECK them.

Generally to catch this stuff you have to do a manual or custom set-up. And you will see them there and then just uncheck the unwanted trash and move on. They used to ask you and you had to select it, but in these HARD times, I guess you don't get to decide unless you pay attention during an installation anymore. Quite up[setting I might add.

If you have an old version of the program your installing on your machine already, be sure to uninstall it and restart your computer before you install the new version. NEVER trust a program to properly remove anything on your machine, do it yourself. Again to get to the list to remove a program-

We get there by clicking Start

For Xp:
Settings then Control panel then classic mode in the top left, and select Add & remove programs.

For Vista:
simply type program in the start search, and you'll see Programs & features pop up, open that.

Well thank you again for tuning in and I hope this helps you along!

The last thing here is to keep your START UP clean! The computer turns on and loads all the program you have set to start up when the computer starts -BEFORE- it loads the computer itself. If you have too much in the start up, you'll sign in your password to log on and it will just sit there and not load the desktop. The reason for this is that your start up programs have eaten up all the system RAM and now there's none left for the computer to run the Operating System, meaning Windows has no room to turn on.

When you install a program that is another thing to look out for, it will say start this program at the start up, and you want to uncheck this. If you have a bunch already you can remove them from the start up from going into them one at a time and going into the Preferences,options or settings and find the "Start at Startup" option and uncheck them. When you retart the computer they should be gone, and you'll notice a HUGE change in the speed of your machine.

Right now if you have alot of NON- system startups they are programs that are running and eating up your system resources whether you are even using the program or not. Turn it off, and another thing if you run into someone that wants to OPTIMIZE your machine for you by going into the MSCONFIG tools, don't do it. Removing stuff from there is for TECH use only and blocking or limiting start ups in there will cause your other system functions to break. Avoid self taught optimizing wizards and software you see on the Internet offering a system clean, they could very well be a scam helping you do something you can do yourself. Read more on Rogue ware here (click here). Well best of luck to you all and don't hesitate to drop me a line.

Again my name is Stephen with PCspyder@gmail.com

leave a comment below or email me with any questions!

What to buy

2008-12-21T11:15:00.001-08:00

Well with holidays and post-holiday shopping I thought I would take a page and dedicate it to the Ins and outs of computer and technology purchases. what you might need and also what to look out for.

This is just a quick what to look out for and what not to worry about guide for you to go by when dealing with stores and retailers, or even websites when purchasing, or approaching the thought of upgrading or adding to your present life another TECH toy or tool.

SOFTWARE:

Here are a few known things to look out for:

Multiple Purchasing:

Compatibility:

Things to Avoid:

Great Options:

Installations:

BIT SYSTEM TYPES:

Well there is two things to think of here. The Processor type itself and then the BIT speeds of your Operating System (OS).

Information on Bits :

32 Bit Information

64 bit Information

The thing to look out for here is (once again) retailers pushing 64 Bit Operating Systems (OS) onto people that have no clue at all what they are getting into. Let me explain.

32 Bit system:

64 Bit system:

A good spot to find and figure out what is available on a 64 bit machine: 64x Software Store

When a retailer offers you 64 Bit, they probably don't know what they are talking about. This type of system does not have that big of a software selection, and your 32 Bit stuff (everything you own) will potentially (more likely than not) not work properly on it EVER.

EXTERNAL HARD DRIVES and BACKUP SOLUTIONS:

BACKUP OPTIONS:

It is YOUR job as a computer user that stores anything important on your machine to back this information up. Meaning make copies somewhere.

Flash drive/ Thumb drive:

They are also generally very honest, and will let you know if they don't know what you are talking about or if they don't carry what your looking for.

External Hard drives:

SATA HDD:

SOLID STATE HDD:

WHO/ WHAT/ WHERE/ WHEN WARRANTY'S:

Realize some repair costs are going to cost more than your machine if it needs to be fixed and that is because of the following metric: (I lay this out very good here I might add)

- My Motherboard has failed and I am Out of Warranty:

Agent explains : Cost 600.00

- But I only paid $500.00 for the whole machine!!

BREAKDOWN:

-Shipping and Receiving : internal mail handlers and postal fees and rates

-Labor to rip the old part out

-The cost of the replacement part

-Labor to put the new part in

-Overhead costs (micromanaged) costs to maintain the service center

a) rent

b) electricity

c) insurance for workers

-Return Shipping : internal mail handlers and postal fees and rates

Overall cost to the manufacturer: 600.00

RETAILER WARRANTY'S:

Here are some tips: KNOW WHAT THE RETAILERS WARRANTY COVERS

Retailer warranty's don't start usually until the manufacturers warranty expires~

Retailer warranty's generally don't cover software issues, only hardware failures

If you take your machine to them they are likely to bill you for software repairs

If it is something big and complicated, they are going to mail it to the manufacturer

(this means your retailer is now a middle man)

MANUFACTURER WARRANTY'S:

Here are some tips: KNOW WHAT THE WARRANTY COVERS

The manufacturers warranty is automatic and generally covers you for a year

Manufacturers offer hardware and software support

Software support is done through troubleshooting on the phone or in some cases in-home support, which can sometimes cost an added fee for a person to come to your house.

You will get more from the manufacturer than from a retailer, despite what retailers say~

TWO TYPES of WARRANTY:

ADP - accidental damage, which generally covers, breaks, drops, minor water damage and power surges that cause damage to the internal components.

STANDARD- covers hardware failures (not wear and tare from usage)

(Manufacturers generally add software support on this which is golden)

DIFFERENCES in service:

Retail:

Compare them to a Children's doctor with a small clinic.

Manufacturer:

Compare them to a M.A.S.H. unit in a War Zone.

OTHER DEVICES:

Hmm, what dictates another device? Well, anything that is going to plug into, Sync to or extend the environment or user interface of someones machine.

There is one main rule here, before buying know what your getting. See a trend here?

If its a ROUTER to make your home network, be sure it is compatible with what your running at home, don't just trust a retailer to know, or a friend- research and get some answers and compare.

Just a small note on Blue ray Players, and that is that the industry is presently fighting over who is going to own and imprint the UNIVERSAL format. What is that you ask? Well this is the code that the Blue Ray disc runs on or the (Firmware), this is kind of a battle between big companies right now and many of them are making their own machine that run and play only their formatted DVD's. This is a BIG problem. What this is can only be compared to Lord of the Rings, where they all want the ring so that "they" can rule the universe. In this wave of greed, power and control, you could buy a Blue ray device that won't play your discs from Walmart. Be warned.

External User Interfaces:

Microsoft Mice (wireless):

I appreciate your feedbacks, comments and suggestions~

Use the comments box below or email me at : pcspyder@gmail.com

To Update or not to Update..

2008-12-09T19:39:00.000-08:00

Windows Update is a trusted source but not without its Flaws. But without going into details and slamming Microsoft (As I won't, I LOVE PC, and PC in our day and age is MICROSOFT), I am going to cover some basic Do's and Don'ts in relation to your computer and running UPDATES.

Some Basics:

If the Update request is coming in the form of a pop-up - Don't do it from the pop up. Even I would not know for sure if it is not a cleverly disguised piece of Mal ware trying to attach itself to my machines system registry. It could be dangerous. Instead close it using the RED X in the upper right hand of the POP - Up window, and then run the update from your START button or their official website.

In Vista you can do this by simply typing "UPDATE" in the Start Search above the start button, and in XP you'll see it in the All Programs menu- In these searches you will see updates for both your Windows and for the Manufacturer, unless you have a Hybrid or Modded machine in which case you should already know what your doing. If not you'll want to contact the person that built your CUSTOM machine and find out the proper way to get your DRIVER updates.

There are three basic types of UPDATES:

Software Operating System (OS) Updates: From Microsoft, for your Vista and or Xp system.

Hardware Updates: That come from your computers manufacturer (HP, Dell, Toshiba).

Program Updates: That are specific to programs installed on your machine and are not limited to the ones preinstalled on your machine to run other functions and features of your computer. A good example of this is Adobe, Direct X, Java.

All of these can be run by accessing their home pages directly or by opening and accessing their UPDATE software on your machine. See other articles on my blog list for what not to run and install, such as Tool bars of Death.

The greatest thing to look out for in these POP - UPs are fake security software's and other tidbits of junk that like to make your machine their home, see more on this in the section titled Rogue Ware~

Here is a classic example of malicious Pop ups trying to convince you that they can help you fix and clean your machine.

As my grandfather used to say, "If you want a job done right, you have to do it yourself - and you save a lot of money that way too."

These types of software can do all numbers of BAD things to you and your machine- from identity theft to fooling a lot of people into buying their services which are honestly BOGUS.

The other thing that you can do is remember what site you went to when the POP up occurred and let others know. Don't go there again. Most popular sites as example - http://www.cnn.com/ , http://www.fox.com/ , http://www.cbs.com/ , have built in protection software to clean these types of pesky enemies off their domain.

Other examples of security is http://www.google.com/ (whom I also love but don't like their add- on software), whom has a secured search page yes - but the moment you click a link you are now no longer in GOOGLES domain and no longer protected by them.

A good comparison is say http://www.myspace.com/ , which is secured when your on their site, except for two things, spy ware (which people install on their machines like its going out of style, and macros, such as fancy pointers and the like, and glittery flash buttons etc etc) and when you click an external site link. My Space does have the common sense to let you know ... " ah, yeah your leaving My Space now, and if you get infected or your machine blows up - well, we are not responsible. Are you sure you want to leave My Space?" We click yes. Well technically unless you have been to the site before, you can get infected with spy ware at the very least. I have.

Web e-mails have built in security as well, such as http://www.yahoo.com/ or http://www.gmail.com/ or even http://www.hotmail.com/ to name a few. Most e-mail based sites have several layers of antivirus , spy ware and malware protection built in, and if you are paranoid like I am, in your e-mail you can also turn on e-mail antivirus scanning. Web based e-mail is safe in general until you open that e-mail that you shouldn't of. Be cautious.

Another trusted location for updates are located in your SYSTEM TRAY:

This area is located in the bottom right hand corner of your computer screen. This is a place you want to keep clean of unneeded start-up programs and the like. However when a REAL program needs an update- this is the official place it should notify you. Unless you have already installed something you shouldn't have- then this area of your computer should be safe updates...

Again my name is Stephen,

I am an A+ Technician for a MAJOR computer Manufacturer,

I have a Local In-Home repair service company called Tech Underground~

And an Online remote assistance and training company called PCSpyder!

All feedback is welcome and if you have questions or ideas for articles please feel free to post a comment or shoot me an e-mail. You can also check http://www.pcspyder.net/ for live chat, I and my friends have opened this channel to help as much as possible. If you would like to chat through there and can't seem to catch me online- simply send me an e-mail and we will sync up.

LAST NOTE:

One thing to be sure, know your update and pay attention to the last update you did. This way when you start to have errors and the like, you can simply RESTORE your machine back a day and not loose your data, or even uninstall the update manually from your programs list. This will keep you running optimally and with fewer errors going forward.

Have fun! And happy computing!

Hey! Spread the word! Add my Widget (guaranteed Spy ware free!) to the right up there on the right. You can add it yo your favorite blog and see all the latest articles as they come through. Have a tech addiction? or have a friend that wants to be "In the Know?" Send them here!

Blue Screen of Death and More ...

2008-12-03T08:49:00.000-08:00

In the late 1980's and early 1990's the Microsoft teams and others were able to eliminate the ellusive BLUE SCREEN of DEATH. I find it funny that our young techs out there (they can be a little Noobish) are calling these system issues of the Modern age the same title due to the screen color. See more on the original Blue Screen of death here --> Blue screen of death! (On www.Wikipedia.info)

Now I will tell you I have encountered this as well and in the last few years I might add. And the source of this Blue Screen? How did it return when we thought we had imunized ourselves from the microsoft plague? Well, it is not their problem- they are not the one creating the issue .. It is us, ourselves that must take the blame. If you recall I have an article on the Anti-virus issues and how to avoid these problems. (Linked here---> AntiVirus or here Antivirus again)

Let me add to these little articles, and yes the Viruspwnr is my site as well, just didn't have the heart to shut it down when I created this site. Not much goes on over there.

I have documented cases, of ANTIVIRUS conflicts causing so many various issues that numbers of other ailments are being identified that are not even the real problem. Here is a short list and what is happening and you decide, and maybe inquire to your technician if an antivirus conflict may be the cause and they will likely say a firm "no." Which is why our problems continue.

I feel alone in a battle to make Antivirus more friendly and less of a system destroyer.

Antivirus conflicts have been documented in cases to cause the following issues:

In the system Bios, No Hard drive detected (HDD) - they've eaten your IDE control er, the Hard Drive is actually fine, the software that it uses to communicate with your machine has been destroyed telling you the Hard Drive is broken when its not.

BLUE SCREEN : This is the number on answer to the Blue screen and system and memory dumps and crashes. The rule is - NEVER more than ONE antivirus on your machine at the same time and if your removing one from your system- be sure your doing it correctly!

Mother Board (MB) failures... again, the conflict ends in the antivirus software destroying your system boards software sets and causing the machine to have everything from power and display failures to power downs and memory dumps.

Case after case of the machine not being able to start up and load , this is of course the antivirus programs have destroyed your start up system files trying to remove one another in their silent war behind the scenes on your machine.

When using antivirus software, please please please, know what you are doing. Don't trust your buddy knows what they are doing. Don't trust a third party knows what they are doing. Be sure you have the knowledge to ask the right questions, and know the right answers- if the person trying to help you answers correctly then you know they are competent.

Antivirus software is GOD on your computer, and when there are two or more (yes I have seen this myself), then it is all out war for control of your computer. And you and your computer are the victims as they destroy files and needed device drivers trying to remove one another from the system. Which is impossible, as they are one in the same ... a GOD.

If you know people suffering any of the above system issues, direct them here or educate them to get rid of their multiple antivirus programs. Spread the word and maybe together we can put an end to our nightmares in this battle of Antivirus...

I think the title for the Blue screen of today should be called BLUE- V meaning the Blue Virus, as I have yet to see one of these that are not related to running multiple securities that are basically eating the persons machine alive.

Hibernation and Battery Life

2008-11-23T12:30:00.000-08:00

One thing people always will ask me off-handily is what do I do with my battery life? Do I keep the battery charged or do I drain it? What about the Hibernate and sleep modes? Are they good to use? Whats the difference?

Well most of these rules apply to different machines- you either have a Desktop machine or a Laptop. Different machines mean separate ways of keeping good battery and system maintenance of course. I'll try to touch on this a little bit in this section.

Battery Maintenance:

Of course this does not apply to a Desktop machine and involves the details in reference to the laptop or Notebook models of "portable" units. Most have a battery size option, which usually ranges from 4 Cell, 6 Cell, 8 Cell or 12 Cell. These of course determine the length in which they can stay powered on in general without being attached to a power cable.

As the 4 Cell would be an hour off power, the others would essentially add one hour accordingly, example the 6 would be 2 hours, 8 would run in the 3 hour range as the 12 should max at 4 hours of charge before having to charge the machine.

Common Questions:

My battery is not seeming to charge right- is the battery dead or what?

Try a calibration. To do this go into your POWER OPTIONS and in the advanced section create a new power option call it CALIBRATE and set all the setting on battery to high.

(To find this Vista user need only type in Power in the START SEARCH then select the power options in the list and for XP users right click the desktop and go to properties and then to screen saver- you'll see power options there.)

Once this is done power down the machine in this while running in this power mode, and unplug your power cable. Restart the computer and hit F10 to enter the BIOS setup screen, once in here do nothing. Let the battery drain, on full option it shouldn't take long at all. Once the machine shuts off from the battery draining, plug in the power and turn on your machine. Go into power settings and change them to your normal setup. Your battery has now been calibrated and should show the correct charge amount and be working fine.

(I have had people HARD RESET and it has fixed everything from NO DISPLAY to BATTERY not CHARGING.)

Sometimes a machine won't charge or start up correctly and this is from the machines temporary start up information getting corrupted. You might want to try a hard reset~

It is easy to do: HARD POWER RESET

Power your computer off, take out the battery and power cable. Hold the power button on for 30 seconds without any power connected. (What this is doing is resetting the STATIC MEMORY chip on the computers motherboard, inside this is the start up information for your machine and sometimes it can get corrupted by other programs. This information will stay as long as there is electricity running to the machine. The machine has a thing called a CAPACITOR that regulates the electricity voltage to everything on your computer- one of these is that STATIC chip. By holding the power button down you are creating an OPEN circuit for the electricity to drain out- thus draining the information kept in that STATIC chip as well.) Once this is completed simply plug in the battery and power cable and restart the machine. Go then to the Internet and go to your Driver page on your manufacturers website and update your BIOS, you should see an updated version there. If you have problems with this I would advise getting them on the phone and helping you walk through it- it takes about 10-15 minutes.

When do I replace my battery?

Most manufacturers only warranty the battery for the first year that the machine is owned and after that you are on your own. If you have tried the above trouble shooting and are experiencing the same problem you may want to contact them to get the battery replaced.

Know that batteries like any other get old and will eventually die and the manufacturer knows this and will only warranty one replacement usually. Batteries depending on their size can range in price from $69.00 up to several hundred. I suggest getting the first one replaced by the company that made your machine about 10 months out and then after that your on your own. A battery with good maintenance should last you 2-3 years without any problems.

Do I charge the battery to FULL when I am going to take the battery out?

My suggestion here is if you have a notebook or a laptop, the battery should not even have to come out accept when needed (doing a HARD RESET). The Lithium Ion batteries are nothing like the batteries of yesteryear that blew up- you can keep your battery in and when its charged it will stop giving it more juice.

Charge the battery to 100% and the system will automatically stop charging it. You can unplug the battery at 50% or even 35% and the new software on these things will pick up where they left off on charging it and not miss a beat. However some do go into a recall do to the batteries manufacture, you can keep up on this information on websites.

More on details concerning the History of batteries is here. <--

Sleep Mode and Hibernation:

On this topic I have but one comment and here it is:

Some manufacturers set the default on your POWER button to sleep or hibernate, and this is not in my opinion a good idea. Go into the power options in the advanced settings and change the power button to shutdown and for vista users there's also one for the power off in the start menu in there too.

Unless you have a desktop, these functions should never be used and turned off. Microsoft has broken the WAKE mode in a lot of the updates and your computer might just go to sleep and not wake up until you HARD RESET or get TECH on the phone.

These functions should never be used on a portable machine. If your walking away from your computer for more than an hour- SHUT IT DOWN. The portable computers (i.e. laptops, and notebooks etc) do not have the proper ventilation and support hardware to properly function on all these hibernate and sleep tools. Why are they an option? Well people that don't know any better would complain if they were not there that's why.

On my desktop, I don't hibernate and I never shut it down. It is a desktop, I can, it's made to RUN all the time if needed and that's what I need it to do- and it does, quite efficiently I might add. Laptops and notebooks are portable! That's what they are built for - not being on ALL the TIME and used on the go. If the constant run machine is what you wanted or a high end gaming machine, or high end anything for that matter- buy a DESKTOP. Use your notebook for around the house, the neighborhood or the country and world, but when your not using it- give it a break and shut it off. I know I am kind of brash, but sometimes it's required~

I look forward to your comments and suggestions, you can leave them below with your email address or contact me at steve@pcspyder.net

Software Salad

2008-11-16T11:58:00.000-08:00

Software Salad...

Well welcome to another fine article on the crazy world of computers. In this little entry, I am going to touch on the topic of our operating environment , or the software environment . This is the area of our computer that gets infected the most, and we have the largest responsibility in keeping it clean and running good.

The Hardware is the stuff made on the factory lines and it is made up of components and bits and pieces of wire, metal and circuits. This is the bowl of the salad if you will, as it it the chunk of your computer that should not be easily changed without doing physical damage. The software is the salad itself.

We all know a good salad from a bad one and we know this can happen from adding just one to many ingredients or by it just missing something. The concept here is to understand that the running environment on your machine can be corrupted or beautiful and well balanced. This is the quality of your SOFTWARE SALAD.

As an example you can take two identical machines, exact everything on them, all the same hardware drives and motherboards. Same chips and monitors.

The difference here is whats running on them. You install an identical program on each of them. It runs fine on one machine and doesn't run at all on the other.
The one machine the person is having a good old time using the program and on the other machines owner spends hours on the phone with technical support trying to get the problem fixed.

The difference (using common sense) is the SOFTWARE on the machines. One machine doesn't have any software that is conflicting with the new program. The other machine has a software CONFLICT.

Generally people blame the manufacturer for these errors only to find that it is something they have installed on their machine and has nothing to do with the creator of the machine at all. This SOFTWARE SALAD, also can effect the way your hardware works. Like the salad is so strong it destroys the bowl or stains it or cracks it.

When software installed on a machine effects the machines hardware, theres a problem - find out what it is and get it off your machine right away. So in a nut shell, our operating environment is the salad. The computer hardware the bowl.

The salad effects everything, what you add to the salad can make or break your machine. Be sure you research a program before you install it on your computer- see what others think or say about it before you take the time to install it.

If your computer was a loved one or a child, you would not just feed them something you found on the ground or something you thought LOOKED good, or MIGHT be good for them. We are going to ensure it is healthy and is not going to kill them when they eat it. Do no less for your computer, and it will be running great for you for years to come it is your friend.

I look forward to feedback, leave a comment below-
or you can contact me directly at pcspyder@gmail.com

I welcome your questions and ideas for future topics.

Rogue Ware

2008-11-05T09:06:00.000-08:00

ROGUE WARE

Rogue (vagrant)

The word "rogue" was first recorded in print in John Awdeley’s Fraternity of Vagabonds (1561), and then in Thomas Harman’s Caveat for Common Cursitors (1566).
The 1572 Vagabond Act defined a rogue as a healthy person who has no land, no master, and no legitimate trade or source of income; it included rogues in the class of idle vagrants or vagabonds.

If a person was apprehended as a rogue, he would be stripped to the waist, whipped until bleeding, and a hole "about the compass [circumference] of an inch" would be burned through the cartilage of his right ear. A rogue who committed a second offence, unless taken in by someone who would give him work for one year, could face execution as a felon. A third-offence perpetrator would only escape death if someone hired him for two years.

The 1598 Vagabond Act banished and transplanted "incorrigible and dangerous rogues" overseas, and the 1604 Act commanded that rogues be branded with the letter "R" on their bodies. (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Now comes a New age, in the year 2007 a fine young group of Russian saboteurs developed and released whats known as the first largest Rogue program known to the technological industry. Thus in my opinion changing the old terms of Rogue to the modern day "Rogue Ware."

The first release was call Windows Anti-virus, which to truly understand this development, you should probably know what this program is and does.

Well in this case a Rogue is very much like a TRICKSTER or the Wolf in Sheep's clothing if you will. It disguises itself as a normal regular run of the mill, Windows or other trusted company attachment or download. Even tries to fool us into believing it is going to scan our computers for malicious stuff and free us from the diseases of the technological world.

We click on it thinking its a WINDOWS program and run it to see what it has to say. The fancy little thing runs a scan (or so it seems) on your computer.

YOU HAVE 1,366,589,254 infections.

Well, we don't want that (Panic sets in), CLICK HERE. We do and then the program downloads and installs itself onto your computer. You clicking on it allows it to bypass your ANTI-Virus program and your Spy ware Protection.

You just invited the Vampire into your own house and have rendered all your security software POWERLESS. You are now at the mercy of the Rogue of the Century. Now maybe you don't realize this yet, wait it's going to let me remove this stuff. You click and it scans again.

Same result: YOU HAVE 1,366,589,254 infections. CLICK here to Clean and remove.

You do and it is now asking for $49.95, $69.95, $99.95, $199.95 ... Yes the numbers go up. Pay this amount and we will remove the infections from your computer. So you argue with yourself, and then once you try to access files on your computer and can't you realize- WOW, I am infected, I better pay them, they seem to have caught this stuff and my other Anti-Virus hasn't, these guys have to be much better at what they do. So you click, and you pay.

Things are fixed. Then a month later, it pops up again. Same old story. Over and over and over again. This group of developers made 2.5 billion dollars in 2007, more than any other Anti-virus company in the world. We can't stop them because of international laws and regulations, and hey you "clicked" and said "yeah bill my credit card", and they are in untouchable sitting in Russia.

OK, so what really happened? Well you have been a target of Rogue Ware, and now they have become more and more skilled at attaching themselves to your machine and causing damage. The first versions were pretty easy if you knew what you were looking for. Then came the better ones, Windows Anti-Virus (with a Windows logo on it), then Anti-Virus 2008 and then the newer and harder to find and remove Anti-Virus 2009. And there are several others.

The fact is these are not Anti-Virus programs at all, they are file LOCKING programs. When they first attach to you they enter a Registry key into your machine. They then have partial control already and if you don't know what your doing its about to become a wild ride.

The second thing it does is begin to LOCK your system files through this Reg Key, so that you can not access files and data. Usually the C: Drive and other system files and if you try you'll get an error "You do not have access to this file."

You are now infected. Then of course they run their FAKE little virus scan and you think - wow look at all that stuff. It's not a real scan, matter of fact it is just like a movie or flash video of a REAL scan, if you have encountered this on other peoples machines, you'll see the VIDEO of the scan is the same on every computer it touches, as well as the end result in what viruses you have and how many. All a very nice act or deception.

You pay the FEE, and they UNLOCK your computer files. Hey look! They fixed my computer! These guys are better than my other stuff I have that didn't even detect these things. WRONG.

It's all a lie. To get your money. And believe it or not, it is on a rotation loop and in a month or two it will pop up again, doing the same thing. Because you WELCOMED it into your machine, your security software won't even detect it. I have talked to people that bragged about having this as their protection software - It is really hard to not laugh. They had been paying these guys for months, before I told them the real deal. If you get this pop up, and you think you can there are some tools available to scan for it at MALWAREBYTES here.

WARNING: These guys are inventive and have even worked their way around most security systems. This includes the site link above as it was tested yesterday and didn't detect or remove it. These guys are smart and will do anything to maintain that 2.5 billion dollar income off of uninformed American and European Internet users. Figure they will create new ones that are bigger and badder and better, and even harder to find and remove. Invest in BACK-up systems like external Hard Drives (HDD) and Flash Drives, and if you get this infection and don't know how to fix the issue, don't fiddle with it - contact a technician.

Good luck! leave comments below and let me know what you think- or request other topics for me to write about. I'd love to hear from you!

Setting up a Home Network

2008-10-27T22:24:00.001-07:00

How do you set up a home network? Well here is the checklist and the requirements for whatever your going to set up. Whether it is one HOME machine or a Family network, this will at least get you pointed in the right direction, of course the possibilities are nearly endless.

One Home Machine? Only have one machine that you want connected to the internet?

Step one you will need a Modem.

A modem is the device that the Internet signal first comes to and translates the Internet signal into a language that your computer can understand. This can be any kind of device that receives the Internet signal, a wireless card picking up WIFI, an Air Card, a Cable connected Modem (TV Cable), or even a DSL (Phone Line) Modem or a Blue tooth, Dial Up (Analog Phone Line)service or Cellphone Internet.

The device that these connections first touch is the Modem. This can only be used to connect ONE machine to the Internet at a time, unless you are one of the lucky few that have a MULTI- PORT Modem (Allowing more than one Wire or Wireless connection through this one unit). Or you are a VERY advanced user and know how to turn your one main computer into a ROUTER and feed the Internet connection to other computers through other means. Not for the beginner.

Wireless Connection? Are you connecting to WIFI on a built in wireless card? Easy, click on connect to Internet when one is available and hit connect. Be sure to remember to disconnect from it when you leave to avoid leaving open doors. See more here under Wireless Security.

Does your Internet company offer a Wireless Modem? If they do then the Internet signal should already be there and secure. Matter of fact you will likely need to have a loggin user name and password to access it for the first time. Once set up it will detect this connection every time you are with in range of it. The bonus here is that with this kind of Modem/ Router, you can connect other computers to this same wireless signal, all they have to do is sign in the access codes and they are online too. Be sure to see details on Wireless Security here, and also know that some Internet providers will prevent you from having multiple machine connected to one modem, ask them for details.

Broadband Cable? With this kind of connection you will be connected through an Ethernet cable that runs from the Internet modem to your machine. Some Modems will allow you to connect multiple machines onto one unit, and as I have mentioned before, some Internet providers want you to have one box per computer in your home. The computer should automatically see your Internet connection without much fiddling and be up and running in minutes.

Broadband DSL? With this kind of connection you will be connected through an Ethernet cable that runs from the Internet modem to your machine. Some Modems will allow you to connect multiple machines onto one unit, and as I have mentioned before, some Internet providers want you to have one box per computer in your home. The computer should automatically see your Internet connection without much fiddling and be up and running in minutes.

Dial up? With this type of service you will need working phone lines and be sure that you have the appropriate software from the Internet provider. Dial up can be a complicated process and is a very slow form of Internet connection. A popular misunderstanding is that you can't access your AOL e-mail account without having AOL service, this is not true. E-mail is based on the Internet and you can access this on any computer in the world by typing in the Internet site of the e-mail account and logging in. If you have dial up because you have no other choice, you may want to look into satellite service or perhaps cell phone Internet look into other options for faster Internet and good luck.

(If there is something I missed or you want more information on something just ask.)

Multiple Computers in the House? Have more than one computer in the house? Tired of flipping a cable from one computer to the other? Sometimes this will fail as the Modem reads and stores your IP Address in it under your MAC Id. In laymans terms this means that the first computer that is attached to the Modem is permanently stored in your device and won't issue other IP addresses to other machines. This is why they invented the Router.

FOLLOW the "one home machine" steps above and then be sure you have a ROUTER. You need a Router when you are planning to connect more than one computer to the same SINGLE Internet connection that you presently have. For all the types of Internet connection and be sure you have one machine configured and setup with all the needed services for your Internet. This applies to Wireless Connection? Broadband Cable? Broadband DSL? Yes, all of them.

(Does this include Dial up? Um, no sorry.)

A lot of Cable Internet providers try to limit how many computers you have connected to their network and using a ROUTER may not work. These companies require you to purchase a separate MODEM for each computer your running in the HOUSE. Shame on them.

For the rest of you, once again you will need a ROUTER.~

What we are doing with this ROUTER is basically using it as a MIDDLE man for your Internet connection, where it can tell the difference between all the computers attached or connected to it and direct them to and from the Internet without confusing the TRAFFIC.

Imagine each of your home computers is a car and it is going through your Router and being directed to the Internet without running into the other computers on your NETWORK. A network is basically two or more machines or devices connected by Wires or wireless signals for the purpose of sharing functionality, information or other connections.

Example a printer that can be used by all people in an office or in a home is considered a Network Printer. As many computers connected together by wires or wireless sound waves by the same HUB or Router is also known as a Network.

There are other devices called HUB's. Don't get a HUB. The HUB is like a Router, but does not have the ability to keep your computers information from getting confused with others over the Network and onto the Internet. You will have problems unless you get a ROUTER.

Technicians joke that a HUB is Dumb as a Router is SMART. As the one can direct traffic and the other can not without messing up everything it touches. Once you have one machine connected to the Internet and all is up and running well, you then insert the Router between the MAIN computer and the Modem.

The Modem connects to the Router's IN Ethernet PORT, from the Modems OUT Ethernet PORT. Thus continuing the chain for the extended connection to come.

You then need to run your Routers Ethernet OUT channels vary from model to model they run from 1 to 4, any one will work, but to save on confusion- we will use PORT 1.

Take these steps even if you are going to be using wireless eventually, you need to first set up the Router on a wire. For more details on Wireless set-ups, as some Routers need updated Firmware and patches to work on VISTA machines, you can search your Router community feed backs at http://www.google.com/ , or contact your Router manufacturer.

Assuming all settings mesh with your machine, once plugged into the Router, run your Router software (or run the software, following their instructions, as sometimes you CONNECT to the Router after the Software is already run). This should then guide you to set up the Router settings and Internet protocols. Your Router is now connecting like your computer used to and now your being "ROUTED" like traffic to the Internet through the Router to the Modem into the Internet. Whee.

OK, next if you have Wireless on another machine or you want to run another wire to another unit, you can do so. The Router will read the other computers MAC address and issue it an IP address unique to that computer. Thus keeping your Internet "Cars" and traffic separated as you come and go from the Internet. See Wireless Security for more on making sure your air waves are secured and safe and the dangers of not having a secured WIRELESS router.

You can do this on Printers and other devices on the network in your Home or Office. You now also have the ability to share files and folders and images over your network to others in the house. I know some parents that even monitor their children's computer surfing and research habits through using REMOTE Assistance on the Home Network. the sky is the limit, you can connect home functions and appliances, heating and lighting controls, stereos and TVs.

Use your imagination! Have fun! Welcome to your own home network!

Wireless Security

2008-10-27T08:23:00.000-07:00

We are in an age of wireless services and all around us we are finding more and more WIFI connections available where we work and play. Now this is a wonderful thing, but we do have to be a little cautious when setting up our own wireless networks at home. What I am going to do here is explain a little on the do's and dont's of wireless services. And how to protect yourself.

WIFI Networks:

A lot of us in the cities and Urban areas have found many of our local HAUNTS have taken on the secondary service of offering free WIFI at their places of business. Some to note would be McDonald's, Starbucks, Panera Bread, and Borders to name just a few.

A lot of city and towns have also adapted a WIFI for local downtown areas and universities where the local companies and small businesses pay in a little chunk every month to help pay for city wide WIFI service for the customers on the go. This is great and is speeding our process of becoming a truly informed and connected society. The WIFI is of course free to the passer by and those that are visiting the store enjoying an Mocha latte and a Scone.

Whether doing school work, working on a presentation or just surfing, the WIFI network provides free Internet access for anyone that is in range. And it is generally pretty secure, and the dangers of connecting to this kind of wireless that can handle a bulk of connected users at the same time; is safe, friendly and FREE. More on WIFI here or Hot Spots here.

OK, now in this article and in general terms when talking to a technician a WIFI network is a wireless network shared by many people in a public area, and is generally offered as a FREE (or some stores and shops charge a fee for access) Service. It can hold many people connected at a time and I refer to this as the "California Freeway" of Internet service connections, as it can carry a lot of traffic and not get too congested and bogged down.

Secondly is a Home or Private Network. This is compared to a two lane road vs the 8 lane Highway that WIFI generally uses. More than just a few machines connected to your home Network and you won't stay connected long.

These are the two main connections most people use, the last one available is a third party service common ones are AT&T or Verizon wireless or Air Cards. These are more Satellite and direct service Internet connections to their network on whatever is available where your standing or sitting and don't always seem as fast or reliable as they claim. They run off a PCMIA slot card that plugs into your machine or through an external USB connected Antenna.

Air cards are a secure way of connecting to the Internet as well but they can be limited in many ways such as home networking other machines or printers to the Internet, etc. They mainly provide a means for you to connect to the Internet when on the go. However this signal WILL get interrupted as you pass from one service area to another, most people forget about this. If your trying to have a steady connection to the Internet while driving, you probably want to look into BLUE TOOTH through your cellphone.

It is always good to log off of a Network when you are done using it when connected to WIFI or any other network while traveling. This prevents errors in how your machine reads OPEN gateways or access points into the Internet. If you don't disconnect from a network before you leave that area, and then try to connect to another network later, the last place you were attached to may be read as OPEN by your computer (even though the door leads nowhere) and you won't be able to FIND the Internet. "Unable to Display the Web page", yuck.

Every time you connect to a wireless location your computer OPENS a door if you will to the Internet, when you leave you want to close the DOOR. Do this by reversing your connection steps, click Internet connections and then disconnect from network. If you don't you will leave a ton of open doors to the Internet that lead nowhere and your computer won't know which one to use and get lost in a maze of dead ends. you'll soon be on the phone with Tech Support.

Now for the reason I am writing this article. Security. How do you keep yourself safe on the Internet wireless connection and what are risks and what are not? Well, read on.

WIFI, overall is secure and you won't have too much interruption in your connection, it is designed to handle large amounts of Internet traffic, but can not be accessed efficiently while traveling, you'll loose your signal. "California Highway."

AIR CARD, overall is secured and will have random connection strengths, it is designed for one machine to connect to the ISP (Internet providers) network and is the comparison to a one lane road to the Internet, while traveling you will loose and gain signal as you enter and exit service areas, not good for traveling connections in your car unless your parked. "One lane road."

BLUE TOOTH to PHONE, secured and uses your cell phone as an Internet connection source by dialing into an ISP. You won't loose connection on this when traveling unless you loose your cell phone signal. This also is made for just one machine to connect to the Internet over the phones BLUE TOOTH technology. "One lane road."

HOME NETWORK, or PRIVATE NETWORK, can not be accessed while traveling, is based out of your home using a Wireless Router or a Wireless Modem from your ISP. Most Routers have to be purchased and set up separately and I prefer LINKSYS, as they have the best Tech Support for Router systems and they make a Router strong enough for every ones need. This is more like a four lane road Internet connection, you can network several computer and home printers, etc onto this network without a problem. Security is only as good as you make it. It is advised to SECURE your home network~ See more on setting up a HOME Network here.

You will want to contact your router manufacturer to properly set up your ROUTER, and be sure you have a working Internet connection before calling them. Explain to them you also want help SECURING your network and they will assist you without a problem. Most LINKSYS units carry a one year hardware warranty for their ROUTER which includes TECH support.

WHY SECURE?

Imagine that I am an Internet thief or pervert. I'm driving around the neighborhood looking on my laptop for an open and UNSECURED network. Once I find one I pull my car over and park, I then connect to your NETWORK and Hack into a BANK or download some illegal pornography, once finished I drive off, you never knew I was there.

Two weeks later the FEDS knock on your door and explain that you have done illegal stuff on your Internet connection. You have no clue what they're talking about and maybe in the back of your mind you think maybe someone you know is the guilty one. When in fact it was some random guy that drove by and used your network. Now you can argue this as every computer has whats called a MAC address. This is specific for every machine made in the world. The FEDS check your MAC Address and recognize it wasn't one of YOUR machines, but now there's a MISSING gun basically, you can still be drug into court, etc, etc.

On another note, lets say your connected fine to the Internet and then log off to go to the store. An hour later you come home and decide to check your e-mail. You are not able to connect. You check all your connections and they are fine.

You have full signal strength and all the lights that need to be on are functioning. Whats happening? The answer to this is called LEECHERs, and it is illegal. Cheap people that don't want to pay for Internet are using their wireless cards to connect for free to your Wireless.

A wireless connection splits its signal for every new machine connected to it. So say you have 100 Mbps (mega bites per second), you log off go to the store. While your gone someone accesses your network getting 100 Mbps, then another neighbor does the same the signal is now 50 Mbps, and more people log onto your network until all the "LANES" of road are used. You come home and can see 5 bars of signal but can't log into the Internet. That's because everyone else in the neighborhood is eating up all possible signal on your ROUTER. Another reason for a SECURED Internet on WIRELESS. Talk to your Router manufacturer about getting this, it is easy to set up and protects you in the long run.

Just because your computer comes with a WIRELESS card does not mean you have Wireless, yes you can access a WIFI for FREE, but anything else you have to purchase. To access someone Else's Internet and connect with that signal, whether it's SECURED or not, is illegal without their consent, and many companies report this or will refuse tech support to use someone Else's WIRELESS signal.

Another thing is, if your WIRELESS HOME NETWORK is unsecured, and the person getting onto your network knows what they are doing, they can log into your router and set a password on it so that you need a password to log into your own device. This will in essence cause you nightmares in trying to get it fixed, the easy answer is - if your network is UNSECURED or isn't acting properly, or your locked out... call your ROUTER service technicians immediately.

Explain to them your situation, and they will help you get your NETWORK secured. The examples I have written above are not absolutely going to happen, but they are descriptions of situations that CAN happen and can easily be prevented.

Tool Bars of Death

2008-10-22T11:49:00.001-07:00

Most people either have an internet browser tool bar, or knows someone else that has one. Some people live by them and don't know how to use the internet without them, and the rest of us avoid these things like the plague. These tool bars are in fact a browser add on, that can hit you in many diffrent ways, and slow your access to the internet or worse. What is an add on bar? Well it is a potential tool to make your Internet browsing easier right? Well yes and no.

It can make it easier for you to search a beloved topic on the Internet but at what price? Do you really know whats going on here? An Add-on tool bar is nothing more than a piece of Spy ware.

In fact they also eat up many of your other resources as well through this Add-on, and you probably never even realized it. Internet Pages load slow? Some things don't work? Does it seem like your Internet service and speed has gotten worse? Most likely caused by Add- ons.

What is an Add-on? Here is the Anatomy of your IE (Internet Explorer).

A) Google Search Add-on bar. Added at http://www.google.com/

B) URL Field or the Address Bar, where you manually type in website locations. A website location is basically like a home address for your information - but on the Internet super highway. It is the location of information and data that's stored IN the Internet itself~

C) This is the Norton Security Add-on, an example of Internet security add-ons. They are all generally the same as this one listed here. Except they would have the name of their company on it instead, i.e. AVG or Trend Micro.

D) Tool bar Add-on's even have the ability to add more add-ons to their Add-ons. it gets to be quite the mess eventually and 99% of these never get used.

E) Added Add-on Tools and settings buttons.

F) A top bar search box, very common and the least threat of all the Add-on tools. Also available in various titles and services from many different companies (i.e Google, yahoo, AOL etc, etc).

G) Your Internet Explorer (IE) tools in visual button format. yuck.

Ok so above you see the breakdown of Add-ons and what they look like. But your probably thinking I have some of those things. Whats the big deal? Well, now comes the insider information on these "Innocent helpers" in our web browsing life...

First off, everyone of them is considered a program or program attachment. This falls into a "program eating your system memory resources" category. These things are eating your system memory whether you use them or not, and they run the second your computer is turned on.

Second, they track and record (some more intensely than others) what you are doing, searching, reading and compiles the information of your habits, then uses YOUR Internet speed and connection to send DATA back to the programs creator. Where they COMPILE the data AGAIN, and then turn around and SELL your habits to research groups for alot of money.

Third, they change the way your computer IE browser works, sometimes by changing your Browser settings and defaults that allow you to work freely, other times they change the settings enough to break your IE completely. On Vista this happens commonly. And it is sure to happen to anyone that starts adding more than one, like this example above, they probably have fast Internet but access it slowly as too much junk running on their Browser.

Customers reporting bad Internet connection or intermittent Internet, frozen browsers, downloads that won't work, anything browser related in error "Explorer can't display page" -

Once removing and resetting their IE, the problems go away. Resetting the IE removes all the Add-ons and changes done to the factory settings on your Internet Browser. See instructions from PCSpyder about how to CLEAN your Internet Explorer (IE) of Add-ons here -> CLEAN!

In essence, these Add-On Bars are basically SPY WARE that you have clicked "Yes" and willingly let them onto your computer to eat up your system memory, Processor usage, Internet speed, track your habits and make money at your expense... i.e. Spy ware, but you welcomed it.

In a nut shell, "Just say no to Add-ons " , if a site asks you if you want to add them to your Internet explorer or other browser (i.e. Mozilla, etc) look at it as them saying:

"Can we install a program that runs in the background of your computer, using your memory to track you, and access your Internet to send us your trends? It will only cost you Internet speed and performance.That's okay right? Just click I Accept!"

Go ahead, you can do it.... "Do not Accept..."

Just say "no."

As a final note, I had a lady call me once with the complaint that she had "intermittent" Internet connection. So I asked permission to access her computer from my office and she agreed. When I first connected I was lost- The top 3/4 of her screen were ad on tool bars... I must have counted 20-30 different ones, I was in shock. I was lost in a colored field of this and that's.. colors and flashing stars and lights and the entire screen was quite dazzling...

I asked her... why all the tool bars? She responded, "I don't know I don't use them and I didn't put them there." So in essence these just added themselves when she downloaded or installed certain programs, this is another good thing to look out for.

We began the invasive surgery to remove them all, it was a very colorful browser but hardly functional. I educated her on the law of "Tool Bars." And with in minutes her Internet was running better than it ever had before...

I welcome comments and feedback, suggestions on articles, just respond below.

keeping Internet Explorer healthy

2008-10-19T18:52:00.000-07:00

What is Internet explorer (IE)?

Well if you are a techno scientist and what I am about to say isn't enough; you can get the full mechanical aspect of the IE at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_explorer

For those that are good on the Layman's terms and explanation, read on. But I will let you know, it is much more than a web browser.

First off and most people don't realize this. your entire computer if your running WINDOWS runs off your Internet explorer. The desktop (Which is the main screen after you log in with the icons and documents and links on it and your fancy background picture, is in fact and Internet explorer page). With a little knowledge you can actually add the Internet address box at the top of the screen just like any browser page.

So if this is the case, what happens when our explorer browser (The E icon we use to connect to the Internet) breaks or gets infected? Well, it is just a matter of time before the entire computer will be effected by the changes as well, good or bad.

I recommend if you plan on adding a bunch of junk and search bars and links and things to your Internet explorer - don't. Instead use a separate browser that does not infect your system if it gets broken. A good one to use is Mozilla FireFox, and you can get the download at this link, here.

why? Well this is a separate program and if it gets broken or infected, it is not as easily infecting your entire computer. keep your IE safe from added junk and things that may break or infect your machine. If Mozilla breaks, it's broken- not your computer itself.

Mozilla offers a bunch of options for better streaming video and audio and works really well with gaming engines and other intensive programs. Something good to check out anyway.

If you plan on not getting FireFox, and like your explorer as it makes you feel warm and cozy inside (Me I like both and run both daily at the same time), and you can do so without a bunch of added on stuff and gadgets- no worries.

HOW TO CLEAN UP MY EXPLORER:

OK, well how do I know my explorer is infected and how do I keep it from getting that way?

You know your IE is broken when it won't display web pages correctly, this can and does 90% of the time happen because of Add - ons, google toolbars (bless them, I love google, but not their tool bars) Yahoo search, Norton search tools, Ask.com to name a few of the breakers.

Remove them and walla! Machine works again. This is because they change your settings and interact with other junk you have added to your browser, and honestly they can't test how their program is going to mix with every other one out there.

When you have more than one, this is when problems start. Same as an antivirus conflict (read more on that here. In reference to the section titled Antivirus conflict, same thing just insert add-ons as two search programs on your IE).

Screens freeze, windows crash. pop-ups become uncontrollable. The list is honestly endless, if your IE doesn't operate normally, if it takes forever to open or display a page and your running DSL or Broadband... you have a problem. Your IE is broken or infected.

Well the first thing to do is to clean the IE of any unneeded add-ons. Adding search bars and the like only cause errors in the long run and a lot of system performance issues. See my Vista 101 article, click here. This will explain more as to why not to use add- ons, it WILL scare you.

To clean your Internet Explorer, you need to know it is going to reset everything on your browser except your favorites list. Any saved passwords, or those pretty useless buttons across the top are going to be ancient history.

Close all Internet Explorer windows. And go to the start button. Click on control panel and once there on the left select "classic view".

In this window you will see Internet options, open it.

On the far right you'll see a tab "Advanced, or Advanced options."

On the bottom you will see for windows XP - RESTORE

On windows Vista you'll see the option - RESET

Click it and go through the paces, on XP you really won't see much happen. On vista another window will pop up and ask if your SURE. Click reset again and a check box will pop up and show you whats being rest. (Awesome VISTA tool by the way). On Vista once this is done click CLOSE.

Now both XP and VISTA users will be back on the Internet Properties window again, (actually XP never left).
Next we go to the Connections Tab and click on the "LAN Settings" button at the bottom. In here nothing should be checked off except the "Auto detect" option at the top, the rest should be blank.

Hit OK and then this window will close and you are back to the Internet properties screen again.

The last step is to set a default home page.

Click on the far left, on General. In here you'll see a blue highlighted area that says default homepage. Click in this area and delete whats in there. Now type in your most preferred site, http://www.google.com/ or http://www.yahoo.com/ or http://www.msn.com/ or, well the list is endless. And then click apply in the bottom right corner.

If you want to go the next step, click on the button labeled "Tabs" on this page. In here you can set the fine settings on your explorer, like if you open a new tab if it defaults to your home page. This is what I do and when I create a new tab, google is there waiting for me. Hit OK when done and the Internet properties window will close.

When you first open your Internet Explorer, it is going to act like you never opened it before. Turn on the Fishing Filters if it asks. Then click on a new tab, it should initially show as BLANK, you can click don't show this again and close it. Open a new TAB and if you set your tabs correctly it will pull your homepage up. Now every tab you open will open your home page.

It is more efficient for your computer to run multiple tabs instead of multiple windows. At any time you should have no more than 5-6 windows running at the same time. It is better to run them all in the same window in separate tabs. It is more handy for you, they are a click away, and easier on your computer. Remember you are the master of your computer, and just say NO to Add - ons.

Now you do need access to your tools and favorites and files etc, simply right click next to your new tab icon in a blank spot there (A). You'll see a menu come up, the top item will say "Menu Bar"(B), click this and instant windows based safe tools. Use these instead of all those system hogging search bars.

If learning how to type in a URL or Internet address might drive you insane, simply make your default homepage http://www.google.com/ or http://www.yahoo.com/ or one of the worlds other beloved search engines. This will save you the headache and still maintain a healthy Internet surfing environment.

Remember computers are our friends and should be treated the same as a pet or our vintage car. Treat it right and it will be around with minimal repairs and costs in service for a very long time. For the record my main machine is 4 years old and it runs like I bought it yesterday. Seriously, it's not the computer, its how it's treated.

Do you have more questions or want to give me some feedback, maybe even have an idea for an article? You can reach me at steve@pcspyder.net

Antivirus Program Dangers

2008-10-04T02:20:00.000-07:00

This article is not just about Norton, it is about antivirus in general, and how to avoid issues when using them, replacing them or operating in THEIR enviroment.

Now we are in an advanced age of computers, and with it comes advanced ways of dealing with them so that we can live in harmony. Such as going to our e-mail account or playing a game and checking the stock prices and weather online without getting our screens locked up, or system shut down or our passwords and personal settings changed... I am going to be helping with this, and in this attempt, you need to know the first culprit to such issues is what we call Anti- Virus.

Norton Anti-Virus is a very good product when respected and understood, very much like every other antivirus program in the world. But if you try to remove it or replace it and do this incompletely or incorrectly, it can become your greatest computer owning nightmare. And its not because Norton is malicious, its because it is thorough as you should be in removing, replacing or even keeping and maintaining your product.

It is important to become one with your antivirus software- use a program you are comfortable with. Whether its Norton (Symantec) or Trend Micro, make sure your familiar with what the program needs to run and operate in harmony on your computer.

Fist off removing Norton from the add and remove programs option (or Programs and Features in Windows Vista) is not properly removing the program. All you are doing is removing the control you have over the software, it then continues to run out of control, doing as it sees fit in the background generally undetected.

1) Anti- Virus Conflicts

2) User installed incompatible programs

The latter has to do with knowledge and experience. Installing a program on your computer is much like installing something electrical in your car. If you don't do it right or install something that's not going to work or needs special features added for it to work (like a car stereo speaker high AMP needs an amplifier and volt regulator) it is going to mess up the electronics in your whole vehicle.

You'll hear radio crackles when turning on the car etc etc.. errors.

Same thing.Going onto the Internet without such protection is like having unprotected physical contact with every person in the world that has an Internet connection. Whatever they have you can get and whatever you have they can get, a sharing of contagious sticky tackiness... this includes but is not limited to Mal ware, spy ware, worms,parasites, key loggers, registry markers, file munchers, data corruption, and over all- "Oh my gosh why isn't my computer working!!?"

OK, so now to explain how Anti Virus works. When you get your computer the odds are that it came with a preinstalled Anti - Virus program on it. Lets look at an Anti - Virus program as a small army that is invited onto your computer to protect your files and system tray from suspected malicious or infectious programs and other parasites from the diseased Internet.It goes into folders and Sub files where even the most experienced and well trained Technician can not find them all -

(Examples of code: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Source_lines_of_code)

-and this in turn leaves your machine fully protected from the enemy viruses. They go into files where they know virus and malicious programs will go to root themselves into your system, and set up post there monitoring all incoming and outgoing traffic... like a military check point.

If you do not remove the anti virus properly, (as in just through add/remove programs) it may not be fully un-installed, and all you remove is your ability to control the soldiers left behind in the sub files... when you install a new anti virus, those troops go into the same files and detect the soldiers from the last anti virus program and label them a virus or threat.

Some new anti-virus programs and sometimes our TRUSTED technicians at RETAIL stores or third party outlets offer to remove the old antivirus for you. If they do not do this properly, this can cause a lot of serious problems immediately or in the near or distant future....

Because both Anti-virus programs have the same security clearance they can not remove one another, and in this case eventually, a day- a week - a month - a year later, the anti virus that's in control gets fed up and removes the entire driver, file or extension where the battle has been waging.

Someone with some tech knowledge may try to un-install the driver or file or program and reinstall it trying to get it to work, but the Anti-virus logs what it has removed. The anti virus automatically removes it again without a word or twitch of the eye... You are now the victim of anti virus conflict.

The one program that has more control over your computer than you or the computer itself is eating your files alive... at this point there's little escape from a full recovery.

Some have tried to recover their computer to avoid the issue, but in many cases this does not solve the problem because the anti-virus that's causing the errors to begin with has saved itself in the very same areas of your computer where the recovery is taken from. the problem still exists, and the nightmare continues~

But there is hope.

How do you prevent this you ask? How do I? How do I?If you have found my page, then your one of very few people that have an issue and are looking for an answer on your own instead of paying ungodly amounts of money, time and effort in taking your machine in for repair or to an outside repair resource to get your system running again..

Hats off to you!

HOW TO's and WHAT Not's Well first off do not under any circumstances remove your pre-installed anti virus unless you know what your doing.

Do a search at http://www.google.com/ , example:
Trend Micro removal
Trend Micro removal tools
How to properly un-install _________~

You'll be amazed at how much information is out there!

Don't fall prey to other programs that say they'll do it for you, most are scams and they only want your money. There are many alternatives. Usually the program that removes your anti-virus will be of the same name and on the website of the manufacturer.

Don't pay for a cleanup on your system or to remove the program from your machine, this is a responsibility of the software company and in the case where another program is needed, they supply one on their website.

Example to remove Norton (Symantec) , Anti - virus or Internet security:
go to http://service1.symantec.com/Support/tsgeninfo.nsf/docid/2005033108162039

click on the version you have and then click download in step 3
If you have a good Internet connection RUN it from there, if not save it to your desktop screen and then run it once its done. Once finished - restart your computer and you now have a machine clean of issues and can now install the new anti-virus of your choice.

If you have more detailed questions send me an e-mail steve@pcspyder.net

NOTE: Norton antivirus is a very thorough Internet and computer security package. It saves you from having to get a separate Spy ware package, registry protector, program firewall and another separate antivirus program. They are all rolled into one. I know you also get phone support in the case of viruses, and most people dislike Norton because of two reasons- nothing gets by it, and it can seem to be complicated. Learn it and you won't need another program to protect your machine again...

ADDED NOTE: (Added from Vista Operating System 101)

ABSOLUTELY do not for any reason remove the ANTIVIRUS program from your computer without knowing exactly what you are doing. An ANTIVIRUS program is basically a CONTROLLED virus that HUNTS, eats, imprisons, and destroys viruses.

It goes to all the hidden places viruses like to go and HUNTS them like a predator.If you don't REMOVE your antivirus properly when you DECIDE to get a new model or brand, what then unfolds is nothing short of complete ANARCHY and CHAOS on your computer.

"An ANTIVIRUS unto itself is nothing more than a VIRUS~"- SMP II

Even if it is an ANTIVIRUS made by the same company on the same machine. One detects the other as a VIRUS, they then try to remove one another and they can't as they have the same security rating.

So instead they remove. delete and destroy the places and locations that they detect one another.

This can happen in a day, in a week in a year- but eventually it's going to happen. One day you won't be able to turn on your machine, as the war has removed your start up files, system files, Internet connection drivers (usually the first victim, as they detect one another getting an update, and to the other one it appears it is installing more infections straight from the Internet).

During this, you and your computer are a slave to the battle. Systems don't work, stuff doesn't function right. Windows freeze up, you get blue screens, the symptoms are as numbered as the hairs on Bob Marley's head, and as varied as the bugs in his beard.

Your computer during start up and the entire time your Windows is running is torn between the two (or more in some cases) programs, each telling the computer not to trust the other as it is a virus. Computer confused, you locked up between screens- Welcome to the war zone of the ANTIVIRUS CONFLICT, worse than any virus could dream of.

Complete system genocide, as your machine slowly eats itself alive.In the USA, it is thought BIGGER means better, MORE means RICH. With ANTIVIRUS software, one is more than enough, anything more than one is TOO many.

And to remove the one you have without the skills to remove it properly is opening Pandora's box in the center of your planned computer time. Pulling out of this mess can be done, but plan to donate some time, effort and a whole lot of learning as you go. You won't want to be the victim of this again ...

The Vista Operating System 101

2008-10-03T22:06:00.000-07:00

INTRODUCTION:

I work for a Major computer manufacturer- who it is, is honestly unimportant. In my time working for this company I have come to one realization- all Vista systems have issues cross all borders of every brand available in the WORLD, Toshiba, Dell, HP, Acer. Yes, in the World.

Computer manufacturers have only one choice when it comes to a computers operating system in the PC world and that is whatever Microsoft is offering. Because face it people, just because your IPOD doesn't work doesn't make your PC junk- it is after all a PC world. In our offices, in our schools and in our libraries. PC computers shape our daily lives, and they won't be going away any time soon.

If you think transitioning to VISTA is bad, you might as well give up now, because I'll have to take classes to learn the systems of the future just like everyone else. It will happen, this is the law of evolution - 20 - 30 years ago hardly anyone owned a computer because they were not SIMPLE enough. If they were to make machines any simpler in the PC world, well ... 8 year old children do use them and quite proficiently I might add. Enter laugh here.

We are in a global economy as is the Personal Computer (PC), and the operating systems we have grown to hate or to love. One other thing is common, with any piece of machinery; factory, commuter, Airline, Home appliance, Car, Truck, Bicycle~ they are subject to breakdown or even failure if not properly maintained. Ignore your oil change on the Car and soon you'll be walking, and there will be no one to blame except yourself or your significant other that "forgot" to take it in for service, or didn't have time to do it themselves.

Now that's out of the way, the same applies to our Computers. All systems, brands and walks of the electro magnetic sort, that speak in series of 1's and 0's and symbols and paraphrases.

This means that you have to know and understand the machine to have the best results from the machine. We can not think to plant a tree in the ocean- it won't live, the salt water will poison it as it slowly dies.

We can't place a Volkswagen carburetor in a 57 Chevy, it won't run. The same goes for your Vista machine and any other machine in the world ... Add what does not belong and things stop working, you broke it.

Then you have to pay for someone to fix what has been broken, if we don't learn from these mistakes, our free hand me down 57 Chevy costs us tons in repair costs and time in service, and then we wonder ... why did I take that truck from my folks, it was going to save me money, but it has cost me a small fortune.

COMPARE AND UNDERSTAND:

I was running Windows 98 when Xp came out. My friends asked me, when are you getting XP?

I replied "When all the bugs have been worked out."

My Friends argued and hemmed and hawed. I'm the one that laughed my way to the bank. For one I didn't pay the large sum of money for Xp, because I waited. By the time I bought it, it was dirt cheap and all the errors and bugs in the program had been worked out already.

In that 4-6 year period, I continued to run Win98, my Friends constantly complaining and carrying on about their Operating system XP and how they were constantly unable to do the stuff I was doing without errors and things breaking- not able to run other programs.

Software companies released programs and most of the newer titles were for Win98 not for Xp, and I was playing games and using software they couldn't get on their "NEW" WinXP. This is where I laughed... They wanted to be on the edge of technology and think everything was pearls and oysters. Even test pilots crash a few planes before they get it right in the engineering department, this is evolutionary law attached to technology. Build it, test it, expose it and find errors, repair the errors, test it and find more errors. Fix it. Fix it. Fix it.

Eventually the prototype has had all the exposure a small crack team of scientists and engineers can submit it to, and they "Special Release" it to the WORLD. Where it is exposed to millions of users that do things to the product that even half a million engineers couldn't dream up.

Suddenly the machine that functioned perfectly in test is now breaking. This is because every possible exposure to the machine can not be possibly tested. We as a Global society are the ultimate testing ground of products that are thought to be perfect.

Example, build a rough and tough truck designed to carry tons of weight, winch itself out of the deepest hole and 4x4 its way across the softest sandy desert. We see the commercial, it has all a hard working, in the field construction worker could ask for out in the back 40 or in the city moving tools to the work site. One of us is going to break it and show even it has limits. A metal barring can be broken, a tank can be broken. Just hand it to someone with some spirit, some know how, and the drive to get something done. We will break it.

They fix it. They fix it. They improve it.

People with Win Vista:

"I want my XP back-"
"This machine is junk-"
"I hate Vista-"

10 years ago?
"I want my Win98 back-"
"This machine is junk-"
"I hate XP-"

If you own a machine running Win Vista, don't hate the machine. You are the ground breakers of a new era. I predict that in our age of technology, is going to be stunted by every ones combined hate and lack for understanding of what the Vista system really offers. In all honestly, I'd rather help someone with a Vista machine as it is 150% easier to find stuff that's missing or needing to be found than XP ever dreamed of being. It is more secure than Xp ever dreamed of...

Owning Vista is owning a piece of the FUTURE. As the XP users before you, that bravely went out and bought the system the first day, or week it was on the shelf. Several system updates later, Service Pack 1 (SP1) and Service Pack 2 (SP2) and you have a machine that runs as naturally as a mountain stream. And think repairs and fixes took forever to become available back then, it took 10 years to get SP2, Vista is barely a year old and SP1 came out a few short months ago... yeah geeks and nerds with in the companies behind the genius of the computer have gotten themselves much more efficient with sharing information and making fixes and updates readily available to the general public. Welcome to the future, it is now.

VISTA MACHINE HEALTH:

Got a Vista machine? Well guess what? It really is no more different than XP, other than the fact you have to live by a FEW more rules, and you get a whole lot more "BOOM" for your buck.

What not to do:

Rule number one, and I live by this on my XP machine as well. JUST SAY NO to ADD-ONS and browser search bars. In any machine it is like spy ware watching your every move and sending the data back to the owner of the Search Bar. See my article on this Here: Tool Bars of Death!

It slows your computer by, eating up system RAM, chewing up your PROCESSOR speeds, and Internet BANDWIDTH. Then to top it all off, once they gather all our DATA, the company that owns this SEARCH Bar on your Internet browser, cashes the information in for cold hard cash at your systems expense.

And just to add, if you have VISTA, most of these are in the wrong Code for your browser and cause you to loose Internet connection and get that pretty white screen that says, "This web page can not be displayed." Rule number ONE: JUST SAY NO TO ADD ONS.

Rule number two, INSTALL wisely. Very easy and those of us in the beginning release of XP remember this rule, think before you install. Before you install a program, check the net, Google is a great search tool, example:

GOOGLE SEARCH: Itunes errors in Vista Click Search.

Try it, you'll be amazed. Hmm. Apple Software doesn't like the PC? I can't believe it. Search that one some time and it will become apparent that people are addicted to IPOD, and Apple my very well be gaining a customer base do to their NON-WINDOWS software not running properly on the Vista machine. Some updates even ruin your Vista DVD and audio drivers.

Know what you install. Research errors reported by others. People love to share BAD news and rarely share GOOD news. If there's a problem, GOOGLE will have 10,000 hits on the topic. Don't install it.

Install one program every three days or so on the Vista machine. Then operate as normal, this way when something goes wrong. You can point your finger at one specific change on your machine- the last program you installed obviously is causing the problem. Go in and remove it from the "Programs and Features", which can be searched in the START SEARCH bar above the START button.

Rule number Three, which actually could be part of rule number two. Do not install anything that effects your HARDWARE that does not have the official "VISTA" label on it. Example, if the program runs with your DVD player, or Audio and Video, or any other Mechanical device on your machine, DO NOT INSTALL IT.

It WILL break your device software and it will stop working, another good example would be not to install a WinXP DVD software program because when the software gets installed, it is going to change your "VISTA" DVD software (or communication line) from your computer BRAIN to the DVD from a VISTA line into an XP line, and then when you go to use the DVD player, using any program on your machine, it WILL not detect your DVD drive... No disc in Drive errors, the list is endless.

Rule number four, ABSOLUTELY do not for any reason remove the ANTIVIRUS program from your computer without knowing exactly what you are doing. An ANTIVIRUS program is basically a CONTROLLED virus that HUNTS, eats, imprisons, and destroys viruses. It goes to all the hidden places viruses like to go and HUNTS them like a predator.

If you don't REMOVE your antivirus properly when you DECIDE to get a new model or brand, what then unfolds is nothing short of complete ANARCHY and CHAOS on your computer.

"An ANTIVIRUS unto itself is nothing more than a VIRUS~"

- SMP II

Even if it is an ANTIVIRUS made by the same company on the same machine. One detects the other as a VIRUS, they then try to remove one another and they can't as they have the same security rating. So instead they remove. delete and destroy the places and locations that they detect one another.

This can happen in a day, in a week in a year- but eventually it's going to happen. One day you won't be able to turn on your machine, as the war has removed your start up files, system files, Internet connection drivers (usually the first victim, as they detect one another getting an update, and to the other one it appears it is installing more infections straight from the Internet).
During this, you and your computer are a slave to the battle. Systems don't work, stuff doesn't function right. Windows freeze up, you get blue screens, the symptoms are as numbered as the hairs on Bob Marley's head, and as varied as the bugs in his beard.

Your computer during start up and the entire time your Windows is running is torn between the two (or more in some cases) programs, each telling the computer not to trust the other as it is a virus. Computer confused, you locked up between screens- Welcome to the war zone of the ANTIVIRUS CONFLICT, worse than any virus could dream of. Complete system genocide, as your machine slowly eats itself alive.

In the USA, it is thought BIGGER means better, MORE means RICH. With ANTIVIRUS software, one is more than enough, anything more than one is TOO many. And to remove the one you have without the skills to remove it properly is opening Pandora's box in the center of your planned computer time. Pulling out of this mess can be done, but plan to donate some time, effort and a whole lot of learning as you go. You won't want to be the victim of this again ...

What you SHOULD do:

Be informed before you install something~

Run your manufacturers updates~

Keep your warranty alive with the MANUFACTURER if you plan on keeping your computer awhile, they offer 150% despite what showroom salesman preach~

Run your WINDOWS updates~

If your walking away from your LAPTOP or NOTEBOOK computer for more than an hour SHUT it OFF. A desktop can handle being on all the time a portable can not. Hibernate and Sleep modes for long periods of time can cause your machine to not want to wake up~

If you remove software from your computer, know that it is not needed for the computers hardware to run, many machines now have some of the DVD software and WEB CAM drivers that run its machinery EMBEDDED in other software, whether you think your using it or not.

Avoid Operating System Upgrades and downgrades. The machine was built for XP or Vista, keep it that way. If you want one or the other, get a machine built for that system. Change your system and stuff will stop working, unless your a programing A+ Guru.

If you travel a lot with your portable machine, get Accidental Damage Protection, replacing something broken on your machine from an accident can be as expensive as buying a whole new computer. Check the website of your machines maker, information is readily available.

Not familiar with the computer? Check out the YMCA and the YWCA, local career centers and other public areas including the library for instruction courses and introductions to computers. This in itself can help you be more comfortable with your machine and make you more aware of whats out there, how to find it, or even to avoid it down the road. And can save you a ton of money in the long run for repairs and guidance from outside paid sources.

Don't just trust that anyone knows what they are doing. I come across this a lot. People explain my brother or my sister did this, or a Tech at work did that~ The first advice you should get is from the machines manufacturer, not from someone who's "In Training" or handles issues occasionally. Tech support generally have seen and heard of it all to date, and if not their buddy next to them have, all they do all day is fix errors and report breaks and fixes. They handle more problem issues in a one hour period than a Home Grown Tech Store on the street corner handles all week, this includes RETAILER techs, relatives, and School and University Technicians. The knowledgeable ones are there but the odds are higher they are bluffing their way through the Fix, or pass the buck toward the manufacturer anyways, might as well go to the source before using alternatives.

Optimize your system and speeds through proper methods and not through limiting or unnaturally stopping processes in the computers internal "Start up" or other engines. A program should either be removed using a removal program from the parent website or through the program removal feature. Advice to remove all programs or limit program controls in the MSCONFIG tools is not good advice, a lot of programs are shortcuts from the computer to your Hardware and when you limit them in startup, yeah less stuff loads but other things stop working or start to act funny when you attempt to use it.

When installing a program look carefully for them offering SEARCH BARS and START this at START UP. Just say no to these, imagine instead that they are offering you the plaque. The more programs you have in start up, the slower your machine loads and operates. These programs then run in the background eating your system resources whether you use them or not.

I talked to one lady her machine wouldn't turn on at all, went into safe mode and it started fine, I looked down at her start up programs and there were over 40. These all load before windows can even start, her "Programs" had eaten up all the system memory on the programs and didn't have any left to start windows, this was the reason it wouldn't load. When you start in safe mode, the only thing that loads at all IS windows, which is why we could see the problem.

Well this is my start... welcome to the FUTURE, and welcome to VISTA.

VISTA FUN:

One cool thing is the 3D screen flip, open a few different windows and then hit ALT+TAB and flip in this wacky mode between your windows, stop to land on the one in the foreground.

Use the START SEARCH above the circular START button and type in whatever you want. It will appear in the list right above on the left without hitting enter. The complexity of search and pick is over with this new tool.

In the START SEARCH type in the word "HELP", and you'll find the HELP tools. It can teach you all you want to know about your systems features and abilities.

The Gadgets or Widgets tool bar to the right has tons of things you can add, calenders, picture viewers, games, stock quotes and news flashes!

This is just the TIP of the new frontier Ice burg! Did you know that your VISTA machine is near intelligent? It monitors itself for updates and even looks out for errors in its system? It also has its very own user account, just like you do when you log into your USER name. It uses this and several other tools to monitor the health of your machine whenever its on...

Only one step from the machine that you wake up to in the morning that GREETS you with the latest STOCK quote or even dictates your latest EMAILS. Not far away...

The Xgen Machine

2008-04-08T11:37:00.000-07:00

WELCOME TO TECHUNDERGROUND & PCSPYDERS XGEN MACHINE!
TOP end computing for only $800.00, and includes 1 yr Tech Support.

Presently the machine is only available in Black with Blue LED lighting, very nice effects.
This is a Great machine for regular home use or the Top end gamer, including World of WarCraft and even running on the edge of other higher end games like Entropia, Team Fortress 2, Half Life or Call of Duty.

Have the software? Install your other programs for running Office or whatever else you fancy, the machines Operating System (OS) is our favorite trouble free Windows Xp with service pack 2 (SP2) or others as they are available!
The Machine is designed with the user in mind. Powerful and easy to use. It will come with regular parts manufacturer warranty, Operating system software, and a preinstalled AntiVirus. AVG Free 8.0

Allow 2-3 weeks for delivery.

XGen Desktop Specs

(Fully upgradable) Air Cooled (Can be water cooled for an added price)

Graphics Card: GeForce 8400 1 -VGA port / 1- Digital / 1- S-Video

Chassis: XCLIO A380BK ATX Full tower (LED lights in front and on the side panel window)
Fans: 2 - 250mm fans for excellent circulation and cooling (backlit)

Motherboard: Foxconn A6VMX
Processor: AMD Phenom 8450 Toliman 2.1GHz Socket AM2+ 95W <<Triple-Core !!!>>

Yes! That's a Tripple Core - Equivelant to 6.3 GHz Processing speeds!!!

RAM: 2 gig DDR2 800

Power Supply: 550W

Hard Drive(HDD): SAMSUNG Spinpoint F1 HD502lJ 500GB 7200 RPM SATA - Yes , 500 Gigs!
Optical/Media Drive: LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black
Ports: (Input/ Output): 4 rear USB (2.0) ports / 2 front USB (2.0) ports / 1 front IEEE 1394 firwire / 1 COM port (rear) / 2 PS2 ports (rear) / 1 Parallel port (rear) / 3 Audio in rear

Good for hooking up external Tv on S-video and Audio surround sound system straight from the MB Audio!

Microsoft Windows XP Home With SP2

Windows Vista or Windows 7

AVG Free 8.0

This machine comes with one year of TechUnderground in home support and one year of Pcspyders online Tech Support and Remote assisted service!

Questions? Reach us at the contact information below.

Call today or email me direct at pcspyder@gmail.com

Pcspyder Remote Assistance

2008-02-25T11:12:00.000-08:00

Welcome to PCSpyder! Home of the Tech Insiders!

PSCpyder is there for you to answer questions as best we can and try to help you better understand your computer. The bulk of our services are free and we plan to keep them that way.

We bring several things to the table here, one is the blog site with all kinds of fun TECH insider information and links to tools to get the job done at http://pcspyder.blogspot.com/ !

Then we have our chat room where we can try and walk you through whatever you are going through and determine if further levels of assistance are needed. The Chat button is located in places on both the blog and the main website at http://www.pcspyder.net/ , the button below will also take you there.

LIVE CHAT IS FREE!

Once chat has been done and the issue seems to fall outside of just talking you through it, or if you think that direct assistance would be better or simpler in the long run, we can set up a remote assistance session with you. This is a secured connection through the built in Microsoft software on your machine or using Microsoft Windows Live Messenger service.

REMOTE ASSISTANCE!

We can remote onto your machine for two reasons, either to help FIX an issue you are having, or to walk you through "How to" do something on your machine. There are two different prices, and we do not charge until we are sure that our REMOTE connection has begun successfully, this is to avoid situations where you may have paid and we can not remote access your machine- either your Internet Provider or your system security has locked us out. This avoid crediting for the services and ensures that it is an overall good experience for you.

You would then simply click the sites PAYPAL button and pay for the assistance. There are two types of remote assistance available through us. One is for TECH help and the other is for learning or instruction. Both last one hour for the fee, it is $50.00 USD for TECH assistance and $100.00 for training instructions.

WAYS TO GET HELP!

There are two ways to connect remotely using Microsoft, the first and easiest is to download and install Windows Live messenger - http://download.live.com/?sku=messenger , once this is done and you have set up an account to log in, we will give you our Live Id and you simply start a chat session with us. Through this you can click on the invite to remote assist button on the window where we can connect to one another.

The second method is using the built in Help and Support center on your machine.

Before we can begin with your requested troubleshooting, repair, optimization, or technical assistance, with either type of connection - we need to make sure that you have the proper tools in place for Remote Assistance to be performed.

1) You must have an Internet connection that is Broadband speed or better. (This includes Wireless and Satellite services, Broadband on DSL or Cable)

2)Your Internet Explorer must function, and be able to connect to web pages and run active web pages without error.

3)You must still have the Remote Access tools for Microsoft available. Here's how you find it: A) Go to the "Start Button" at the bottom left corner of your computer.
B) ***For Windows XP users, go to "Help and Support" and then click on Tools in the bottom right. Click 'Remote Assistance' in the top left. ***For Vista users, click the Start Button, go to the Start Search field, just above the Start Button, and type in 'Remote'. Click Windows Remote Assistance.
C) Click on invite someone to help you.
D) At the bottom you'll see a link that says "Save invitation as a file".
E) Type in your name, and set the time limit to 2 hours.
F) Click continue and then enter a password. You will give this password to the technician in the next steps when sending an e-mail, this is used to keep your remote connection secured.

Only you and your technician will have access to your machine via this password, and it will expire when your session expires. Keep it simple please.

G) Click in the bottom right "Save invitation" and a save window will pop up. Click on DESKTOP on the left to send it there. It will be easier for you to find it later. It will save as file name: 'RAinvitation'

4) Now go to your favorite e-mail account and compose a new e-mail. In the send field put in the e-mail of the agent you are connected with (Ex: steve@pcspyder.net)
A) Click add attachment or send attachment. Using the Browse button go to your desktop and find the file titled "RAInvitation" and add it to your e-mail as an attachment.

B) Send the e-mail. This entire time we can be in live chat, and we can help you as needed. The chat rooms are secured, and are only two-way conversations, so no need to feel awkward talking in there, as no one else can see the private chat. Once the e-mail is sent, let your agent know on the CHAT.

Once the remote request has been sent in either form through the Help & Support or the Windows Live you will then get a prompt asking if it is ok for the PCSpyder agent to connect to your computer.

A) Click yes or ok.
B) You may see your screen change a little during this process- don't be alarmed, this is simply your graphics card setting itself to display your computer on this end. It will return to normal after our session is completed.
C) Once we have a visual, we will have another PRIVATE 2-way chat box available inside the remote session. We will walk you through it at this point. The last step is for your agent to offer to TAKE CONTROL of your computer. Once allowed. the agent will be able to move the cursor on your screen, and begin the repairs needed.
D) We will then ONCE CONNECTED lead you to the PAYPAL button that corresponds to your needs where you will make payment.

THESE ARE THE SERVICES:

Remote Assistance - $50.00
Remote Tutor - $100.00

PCOptimizer can be done for an added charge of $40.00

LOCAL ASSISTANCE HOUSE CALLS

If you live in Springfield, Missouri or in Saint Louis, Missouri we can come to your home and provide in Home tech Support with our TECH UNDERGROUND service. Tech underground charges a minimal fee to come into your home and service your machine with hands on work and on the site educational training.

Fees for Tech Underground are small when compared to big "treat you like a number" companies. We come to your house and diagnose the issue for $25.00, plus the cost of gas at the rate of $10.00 over ten miles from town and an additional $1.00 per mile over that.

For the Visit fee, we can determine if we have the ability to fix the problem or if you need to go another route to get the problem resolved. If we determine that we can fix the issue, we then charge $35.00 an hour on the job.

We do have a referral program that can save you money, ask us for more information on this during your call to us. For more information on Tech underground in your area and the CALL US button go to http://onthegosolution.blogspot.com/
Call Tech Underground directly using this button below:

Again i would like to thank you for choosing PCSpyder and Tech Underground!

Submissions and Feedback

2002-12-03T10:59:00.000-08:00

Hello! Welcome to PCSpyder. The reason for the name is tripple. First, PC = I only help people running windows (as they rule the world), SPYDER = Spiders eat BUGS, and I like to hunt and destroy BUGS on peoples computers, and SPY = as you see at www.pcspyder.net , I have tools to remote onto your machine (With permission only through microsoft) and then SPY on what these BUGS are doing and get rid of them and help teach you to Optimize and better understand your computer.

Another new thing that I have decided to get out there for all of you is another mode of actually being heard on a platform. Perfect if you are not too familiar with Blogging or the internet, but want to see or share your information or experiences.

I am now accepting articles written by you! If you have some tech knowledge or an experience you would like to see posted,or would like to share- please feel free to submit it to me and if it fits my BLOG I will add it and include your name in the credits for that segment.

Remember to share PcSpyder with your freinds and those want to be Tech savy people you know! Spread the word and help end computer ignorance...

If you are including images (I would like to see images for articles, they catch attention in my Widget), you will have to send it to me in an HTML format.

HOW TO CREATE HTML:

You can do this in most online writing and Blog programs by simply clicking the show HTML link. You can even type the article in word or works and then build your final with images in Blogger or another online blogging tool. (Images can be copied and legally from www.photobucket.com or using the www.google.com Image search link on the top left, be sure not to use INK Marked images)

CAN BARELY TYPE:

If you want to make a submission but are stuck on the HTML bit or even getting images - don't worry. Type up your article and then mail it to me, and simply explain your dilemma, and I will help you. It is ok, once upon a time, I didn't know this stuff either.

THE SUBMISSION:

The article will be posted as if you had posted it yourself, and given endorsement by myself and the PCSpyder and Techunderground sites. Just like writting for a magazine! Or the Newspaper!

CAN I ADD LINKS TO MY BLOG/ WEBSITE?

YES! You are even allowed to insert links and connections to your own webpages and other blogs! No problem! No restrictions ouside of affiliate links and spam links. These will all be checked before I publish the document, any violations will be removed and reported to you as to why. AGAIN No Affiliate/ or Spam links allowed.. please don't try to infect my visitors.

CREDITS:

Be sure to include your writing name and an image (optional) of yourself. And I will get back to you if any changes are needed or reasons for refusal.

COPYRIGHT:

You surrender all reprinting rights to me by submitting the document, and no payments will be given for articles at this time- This means I can refferance and reprint your articles at will. Now this does not limit your ability to reprint, you can also post your article elsewhere without problem.
THE FUTURE:

In the future however, when the PcSpyder e-books are written, all contributers will be contacted and payments will be arranged based on the number of articles to be printed. This will be a base percentage, based on your submissions and the sale cost of the book to be calculated by PCSpyder and TechUnderground.
(YES! eventually you could get paid!)

CONTACT ME:

You can send this to me at pcspyder@gmail.com

I welcome submissions and feedback or comments! If you have a Blog you can add me with the WIDGET to the right, or even add me through Techunderground on Myspace!

I look forward to hearing from you!

Stephen
Owner PCSpyder and TechUnderground