In December of 2010, Gawker Media (the company that owns LifeHacker and several of the internet’s most visited blogs) was hacked, and all their user information was stolen. Names, passwords, email addresses, all stolen by hackers. In the following days, they prompted their users to now only change the password on their site, but all ANY OTHER WEBSITES THEY USED THE SAME PASSWORD ON. They knew that most web users have a tendency to use the same password over, and over, and over again.

So here’s a very simple tip that will help you to not only ensure you have different passwords, but that can also remember them.

1. Start with a strong core password. 8 characters long, including both upper and lowercase letters, and at least 2 numbers. My example for this article will be PopeYe65. Your core password is critical to the “being able to remember your password” part so memorize it! It can be whatever you want, but I encourage you to be creative with your use of capitalization and number placement.
2. As you create passwords on new websites you visit, you simply use your new core password and add the first letter of that website to the front (or end). For example. If I were creating a new account on Amazon.com, my new password for that site would be: APopeYe65. If I were creating an account at Facebook, it would be FPopeYe65. It’s as simple as that! You take the name of the website A for Amazon, F for Facebook, etc… and add that letter to your core password!
3. As you visit websites that you already use, go to your account information and update your password to ensure continuity and security across the entire web.

Your new password would take 20,000 years to crack using current technology. That’s a little better than 5 minutes, right?

Few tips for those that Google until they give up (aka…the Google tech, YOU!):

Google is a great search tool, no question. Be careful of searching for repair tactics to do yourself, sometimes the instructions are a bit tougher for you to follow if you are not technically minded. I say this because we have many clients who have tried to remove their own viruses and make it overall…worse for us to repair. Let’s make it easier for us to repair and help you learn a bit about viruses and save yout time and money. How do we make money? By helping our social network learn and share this information with their not so technical friends who don’t want to remove the virus themselves (and that will call us!). So please remember to share this blog if you find it of value. We appreciate your support!

We are getting many calls from people in regards to the new virus that is out, that is striking hard and quick and destroying fast…and getting through just about every antivirus program out there (of course, we know the product we support is much better!). This blog will help you learn how to back out of the attack, then get good support and protection  You might want to print this blog as you will not be able to use your internet after you’ve been attacked. Follow these instructions and you should be in a better position with your virus.  If you are NOT comfortable doing these instructions on your own, feel free to call us at 405-367-9090

Part I.

• Turn off your computer the minute you notice you have been attacked
• Turn on the power and then immediately start tapping your F8 key fast and keep tapping until you see “Advanced boot options”
• Click on “safe mode”
• You will see your computer go through some dark lines of code, and eventually up up showing your desktop. Be warned, the text and icons will be large.
• Go to your start menu icon (lower left corner of your computer) and find “search” (you may only have two choices, search and run). So far, the virus has not attacked the search options (yay!) . If you are using Windows XP, it should be a choice that you will see and it should still work. If you are using Vista or Windows 7, you should see your search area right above the “start icon” (lower left hand corner, should be a circle”. (see pic below).
• Search for “system restore”

(XP pic coming later today)

• A system restore wizard box will pop up. Once you start the system restore wizard, it will give you options with what date you can restore your computer to.
• Usually you want to select a restore point that is from before the day (or many days before) your computer was infected.
• The system restore wizard is only a few boxes and will start once you get it going. Your computer will shut down and then take a few minutes and come back up.
• If after your system restore is done and you see all of your icons again, you are not out of the water!!! Don’t think your system is virus free, what we basically did was do a “time machine” effect on the computer and set it back, but the virus may still be in there, just dormant, or hadn’t destructed the computer yet (you haven’t clicked on anything to cause it to start destroying). Missing icons on a computer is what the virus did to your computer = destruction!
• At this point, see if your internet works.  You can try to run your virus programs and see if you have any viruses, but I will let you know…that it’s a good idea to look into stronger protection other than what you already have for antivirus, becuase it didn’t really work very well did it? Nope!

Few tips…

• Keep your antivirus up to date and paid for
• Update your “Java” on your computer (the viruses are getting in via this program on occasion)
• Keep in mind, this is a helpful blog. We are not responsible if this time machine effort does not fix your computer or made it worse. We have found it works on many computers we have done a system restore on.
• Friendly reminder…back up your data if it’s important to you. We are not responsible for your data loss if you attempt the system restore and it fails.

Key search words:

• All my programs are gone
• My programs are missing
• Where are my programs
• My desktop icons are missing
• All my stuff is missing
• I can’t get on the internet
• Where is my internet
• Virus removed all programs
• virus removed all my files
• virus removed all my icons
• virus removed all start menu shortcuts
• virus removed all desktop icons
• virus removed all shortcuts

This past week I have received three calls from clients asking to get back on Outlook and off of Gmail servers, too many glitches and issues. So needless to say, I was quite happy to hear that folks are coming back to Outlook and using their own servers for email again. YAY.

Here are a few factors to consider before switching over to Gmail if you are on the fence.

If you are an average emailer and want a decent free email, Gmail is the way to go. I have to recommend it over yahoo, hotmail and other free email services. I see less hacking from Gmail and it does play nicely with Outlook for the most part. I will tell folks that it’s sometimes simple to set up Gmail in Outlook, sometimes not. Usually it is.

If you are in business for yourself and have your own website domain and email from a company such as Go Daddy, then staying on your own system is what I recommend. Outlook and Go Daddy play fairly well together and if you have two computers, I recommend getting IMAP, so you can have the two computers and Outlook synchronize. Go Daddy’s support is very good and fairly quick, so if you have an issue with your email, contacting them is a breeze.

If you are in business for yourself and want to use Gmail and other Google products, then most of my clients have a software company move all of their information to Google for them. Not many people do it themselves and we here at Call That Girl do not offer that service. Mostly because we are a Microsoft shop and support Microsoft products. Clash of the titans? Nah, I just don’t believe in everything being in the cloud. I really like that email can be stored offline and backed up locally.  I also like that many email accounts can be run in Outlook with different inboxes and managed separately. I don’t like Gmail folder structure either, but then again, I am old school Outlook and to get me to move will be very difficult, if never.

Don’t get me wrong, I am a fan of some Google products, like the calendar synch tool,  gtalk and their analytics, but that’s about it.  I have been troubleshooting Gmail for years and am quite knowledgable about the product, just not a fan of it. So if you are reading this blog and are on the fence yourself on what choice to make, feel free to comment below and I will try to help figure out your best course of action.

Let’s start with why you may need more memory first before we show you the video on how to install it yourself. For starters,  you may have an older computer (5 years old) and it’s been running fine but it’s getting slow. Sure, we can do a cleaning on it, and get it faster and after our cleanings, our clients are very happy with our services, but many need to buy more memory/RAM to get that old computer zipping very fast. The cause of the slowdown is many times, these computers only have the bare minimum that came factory installed. If you have XP, to run with the big dog programs such as Office 2010, you should try to get your computer to at least 1gig of RAM or 2gig if you want your computer really fast. For the older computers, the RAM is usually very inexpensive and recommended if the computer seems stable. If you are having other problems with it, like a lot of noise coming from the computer or seeing crashes often, this is a sign of a computer that may need to go to the land of refurbished computers and I don’t recommend putting much money into them.

Vista is another culprit of low memory. Most factory computers shipped with just 1gig of memory/RAM and that is just too darn slow for Vista. As the complaints are high with Vista, you can help it by just adding in the max memory your computer can take.

How to check your memory, I could write up instructions, but here is a short video from Crucial (the company we buy memory from online).

How to Install Memory (RAM) in a laptop/notebook

How to Install Memory in a desktop computer

www.crucial.com has a nice scan tool that you can run and check what type of memory your computer needs. It also tells you what is installed and how much more your computer can take. It also offers a check out system for you to buy it and get it shipped right to your home/office. It’s our favorite at Call That Girl and we have had great success with Crucial.

If you need help with purchasing or installing, feel free to give us a call!  This is so easy to do, we can walk you through it over the phone. No kidding!

Now for those needing a new desktop computer…business or residential users can learn a bit from this blog.

First tip: If you have a monitor, keyboard and mouse that works, just buy a new desktop computer. Many computers come with a new keyboard and mouse in the box anyway, but unless you want a new blingy monitor, you just need the tower/computer itself.

Second tip: Make a budget and stick to it. A basic desktop model that is good for a family/solo is normally in the $400 to $600 range. You can go to Dell’s website and get a basic “no frills” computer for under $300!  An average desktop model is around $500. The better systems for “Multimedia experience” is around $650 and up. If you’re into streaming Netflix or using your TV as your monitor, then you will want to spend a bit more to get better visuals from your computer. So, figure out how much you want to spend and stay in that budget.

Third tip: If you go to a big box store, don’t get talked into all the “extra’s” that they sell you.

• Their “optimization” package (we do this remotely and do a lot more in the time you’re hiring us than they will)
• The “data transfer” tools (buy an external hard drive and do it yourself and have a back up system or hire us, way cheaper and more fun to work with!)
• Their anti-virus programs (use ours, it’s fabulous!)
• The warranties. If you are buying a basic computer for that low of cost, you don’t need to pay $200+ for a warranty (unless you run a business and want next day service for your hardware parts).  The computer usually has a one-year warranty for hardware and after that, the parts are cheap enough to replace at any hardware repair store. AND…the software is never included in the warranty! That means that software that runs your computer “Windows” is not covered. So if you have an operating system crash, they won’t pay for it unless it’s due to hardware failure!

Fourth tip: Don’t worry so much about processor speeds or hard drive space. All new computers are keeping up with the industry and giving you what is standard. Although…if you are a music or picture fan, then yes…you may want a bigger hard drive. Most are shipping standard with 320, 500 or 640 gig hard drives, some are shipping with 1TB drives (WOW, that’s HUGE), but in our world of data hoarding, music and video collections and 1000′s of pictures, you may want one that big. For those into graphics and speed, you already know what you’re looking for and that is a whole blog post on it’s own to be honest.

Fifth tip: The extra’s–wifi and usb ports. Most computers today come with everything you need, but if you can find a good computer with wifi and extra usb ports, WIN. If you want to use your computer next to your TV and do streaming, you may want to get one with wireless already installed. (from what someone told me, it’s not good to have a computer right next to your TV, but I will look into that one). You can never go wrong with finding a computer with extra USB ports, I always max mine out and have a 4 port extender LOL. Everything needs USB power, so more the merrier there.

Sixth Tip: RAM/Memory. Yes, be sure to get the most bang for your buck here. Most computers are coming out with 4 gig as a standard, but if you look around enough, you will find some great deals that have 6 or 8 gig of RAM installed. GET THOSE. In a few years, we will look back and wonder how we lived on 4 gig. Just a few years ago, how did we live on 1 gig? Prepare for the future, get what you can now. If you can ask the sales rep or look online, see what the computer can max out with for RAM. Some are being shipped with 16 gig of RAM and I saw one the other day at 32 gig. WT???? Those are very expensive, but hey…if you are faster than your computer, you might want those options lol.

I hope this helped many of you in your buying decisions! When you get your new computer and would like us to help you set up and transfer your data/set up your computer, give us a call.  You can reach us at (405) 367-9090

1.) Figure out a budget. Remember that with a new computer, you may need to buy new software. The Office suite can run up to $300 for the full package, so keep that in mind.

2.) Test out laptops in stores first if you are buying online. Buying online gives you no sense of how the computer feels, weighs or views in bad/good/extra light. Once you see the one you want at the store, then go find it online and order there if you are getting a better deal. Some stores have the same computer on their own website cheaper!

3.) When you are at the store…. make sure to check out the next few things:

• Keyboard. Play with the keys and make sure you can type ok and see the keys. Some laptops today have the shiny look and feel and it’s hard to view and use those! Or they have the “bouncy” keys and it’s even hard for me to type on and I can type 100 wpm!
• Weight. Pick up the laptop and make sure you can carry it without problems. Many folks end up buying 10 ton weight laptops and they are very hard to drag around.
• Screen. Check out the screen and make sure there is not too much glare. If you plan on working outside, many screens have too much glare and you can’t read the screen in natural light, even too much overhead light can be bothersome.
• Screen width. Many folks hate the wider screens. It is not an issue for me, but for those with the regular monitors, it’s quite a change. Test opening some stuff on the computer and make sure you like how it looks.
• Memory. Try to get 4-8 gig of RAM if you can. Most new computers are coming out with at least 4, but if you can get a good deal with 6 or 8 gig, go for it! You should be fine with that for many years to come. But with how fast technology is changing, who knows…8 gigs might be slow soon, hah!
• Hard drive size. Most new computers come with 32o to 1TB hard drives. If you are a data hoarder (like me!), then getting the biggest hard drive possible that meets your budget is best. If you don’t keep a lot of stuff, then a smaller one is just fine.

That’s the quick and dirty…many folks also ask about the processors…my answer is you’ll be ok probably if you can find a computer that fits your needs with the list I gave you. Those are much more important for the standard/average user.

If you are buying a new computer and need help with the set up, data moves, antivirus protection plans or data back up, please let us help you. Our rates are very affordable and will get your computer up and running quickly!

Give Your| I.T. a call at (405) 367-9090

Moving along 14 years later, we have many choices for our internet surfing. IE, Firefox, Chrome, Safari, Opera are the most downloaded by the average person. I tend to believe it’s down to what you like best for the look of the browswer, how you like surfing, using tabs, using the add-ons, plug-ins, etc. I still use IE as my main browser, probably because I used it so much in my past life as a corporate brat it’s been hard to get off it. But I have to admit that as much as I am used to IE, this past year I have delved into the world of FF and Chrome. (I have to also admit, that I have troubleshooted FF more than I have used it, so I know it, just didn’t use it).

Firefox (FF) has been around long enough and had enough updates and whatnot that it’s now bringing the business more work than ever. Believe it or not, we have clients who actually pay us to fix their FF over the simple usual fix of “reinstalling” because of their FF  **bling** I call it. All the special settings and all their plug-ins, add-ons, drive people to fixing over reinstalling. And I understand where they are coming from, so we at CTG work hard to not have to reinstall.

Chrome is the new hottie in town and I have to admit, I am kinda digging it too. I am finding it easier to do a few things, it appears faster than IE for browsing,  the look is better and the downloads are eye blinking fast. For the past two months or so I have forced myself to use Chrome on a daily basis and have to admit, it’s now becoming my favorite. Unfortunately, I still have to use IE because some of my internet based programs will not work in Chrome (mostly work tools).

Now, to answer the question posted in the title, which one is best for you? Any of them. Just make sure when you download it, you get it from it’s website and not through another website, could be a link to a virus. Be aware that FF and Chrome use the “download” feature by default, so you will have to look for what you are trying to download to run it (usually in the Tools area (FF) or at the bottom (Chrome). IE users are used to the pop up box that allows you to “Run or Save” the downloads.) This is the most confusing I think for new users. As all programs have settings options, you can change that option in the browsers.

If you are a simple internet user that doesn’t need all the extras, IE is still just fine for you. If you are a bit more interested in seeing what else is out there, download FF and try it out. Go to Google and type in “Firefox” and the link will be at the top for you to download from Mozilla (ok, it was Mozilla back in the day, then renamed to Firefox in 2004). To try out Chrome, just go to Google and you will probably see the download button on the right side if you don’t have it installed.

That’s it tonight folks, just a few thoughts for my clients and fans that are not into all the different browsers yet! Not for my tech buddies who all know way more than me who get the feeds. Just a lil disclaimer:)

Here is what I do to keep it all under control. Below are the steps.

1.) I have installed on my computer (and all my techs computers too) a tool called “Dropbox”. Click on the link to install it for free and use 2 gigs.

2.) Then I create a folder called “to do”.

3.) Then I open notepad (to find, go to the Start menu->Accessories->Notepad) and start my to do list, be sure to save in your new Dropbox folder.

4.) Then go round up your to do lists from other sources (take off your paper list, emails, all the post it notes by your desk, etc) and type them all up, order doesn’t matter right now.

5.) Now after you have the list all typed up, underneath the lists type this in

• Monday
• Tuesday
• Wednesday
• Thursday
• Friday
• Saturday
• Sunday

6.) After that, start at the top of your list and take those items and cut/paste them into the days below. Not everything on your list needs to be done on Monday and as you go through the list, you will see that Monday’s items are more critical and Friday’s are more “back burner”.

7.) Now save your file.

8.) At this point, you should have a nice tidy list of things to do everyday for the week, your paper work should all be shredded and your desk in order. HAH! Or not…but mine is usually quite tidy as I try to keep that file open all day/everyday. When I am on the phone with someone and I need to call them back, I put it on my “day” of the to do list. If I have to do something before that call, I put it in the day or two before’s day and write down “Research Jackie’s email issue” so I know to do that before the call.

Yep, I still use my Outlook calendar. Nope, I don’t use the tasks. Mostly because the task list doesn’t follow me computer to computer at the three locations I go to for work.

Two final tips: Using dropbox is nice because it saves a copy “in the cloud” that you can get from any computer in the world and you can use it on your smart phone. So you are never really without it, its very nice and a time saver.

Welcome to my Outlook FYI series of blogs. We will be covering these topics in a series as there is just way too much information to handle in one blog. I felt that these FYI’s were important to discuss because so many people use Outlook every day, for so many things. And Outlook is just not for email anymore. I also apologize, there are no “How to” in my blogs, just FYI’s. This blog will just explain things hopefully better for you to understand.

Many of us use Outlook in our everyday computing needs. It’s a wonderful tool, but very misunderstood by the common user. And maybe by some not so common people. Many of us are really married to it and I am all for it because it’s been my favorite software program since 2000, but it can be tricky and problematic.

Topic covered today
PST-General FYI

Last weekend one of my clients took a computer to a “big box” place to buy a new computer and in a panic, had them do a data back up from his old computer to get the files quickly. When he got his computer back, he asked many times about the Outlook files and they told him, “We couldn’t get those files, they were corrupted”. He panics and comes back to us, where we find his files in no time flat. Why is that? Because we know where Microsoft hides the PST files, their technician must not have known. Years of data, calendar appointments, tasks, contacts, emails, archives…all could have been gone in one fast “Nope” type answer. Let me explain…

By default, when you set up Outlook for the first time, it creates what is called a PST (personal storage). You usually complete a set up wizard, fill in all of your email account information and happy days, email is back and running again! Email is working fine, but…Houston, we have a problem.

Again by default, the Outlook PST file on older computers that have XP and Windows Vista are set up in a hidden folder (not in Windows 7, it’s in the Documents folder now), way deep in some folders that are not shown by default. Windows says “click here to show hidden files” the average person would never think of going to find. Nor do they really make it easy to find unless you know how to navigate around the Outlook properties and settings. To be honest, very few of my clients know where this file is or know it exists.

So you may ask, why should you need to know where that PST is? Because it stores everything you do in Outlook. If you are using Pop3 for email, that’s where your email probably is being downloaded.  Using the calendar? That’s where your calendar is. Contacts, Tasks, Auto-fill name, archive files….Yep, all there and hidden. And please never assume your emails are being kept on your server because that is not the truth in many cases either.  (That will be our topic next Wednesday though, email).

I think of Outlook like this, it’s like buying a house but you don’t know where the furnace is. You know you have heat and can manage the thermostat…but don’t know where the furnace really is. Could you imagine that? Buying a house with no furnace, then one day you notice something is wrong and you can’t find the furnace at all. But you Google it and find the house builders buried your furnace underneath your basement. That is what Microsoft does with your default PST, hides it under the basement pretty much. And when you find the furnace, let’s say you can’t get it out of the basement because the house builders never told you how to get in and find it nor do they allow you to just open that basement door and see your furnace. You can see the outside of it, but you can’t see the pilot light to know its running. Your PST is in those deep hidden folders and you can’t just double click them to open them. You must open them through two or three special ways and the common person, again…doesn’t know how to do this. (I hope I didn’t lose you on the furnance comparison, but it’s the only thing that I could think of this am!)

Whenever I am remoted into a client’s machine and they are missing an archive folder, I go and find it open it. Most times I get this, “How did you do that”. Such a mystery that Microsoft really didn’t need to do to people.

To close, today’s topic of the infamous Outlook PST file was a just a start of my series of Outlook blogs. I will try to keep up with these every Wed and will continue to post in this blog, so favorite it and come back next week! Please share with your friends on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Newsletters, etc. If you or a loved one are in a need of an Outlook intervention (haha), give Chris a call at (405) 367-9090.

When your Outlook is not playing well… Googling repairs is fine and I recommend you do that to learn, but when it comes to actually repairing it, call us first. We can help you get back to work fast.