Tag: Computer repair St. Louis Park

5 Questions a Computer Repair Shop Should Ask You

| October 12, 2012 | 0 Comments

This short list of questions is very important for your computer repair technician to ask you when you bring in your technology to the repair shop. Be prepared to answer questions like…

  1. Do you have your program installation disks? Programs like Microsoft Office and Photoshop cannot be backed up and are therefore at the risk of being lost in the case of an operating system reload and other repairs.
  2. Did you bring in any cords? Most of the time, your computer repair shop will not need you to bring in any cords besides your laptop’s power cord. If you do have to bring in cords, make sure that they are labeled so they do not get confused with the shop’s cords.
  3. Are you backing up your data regularly? If not, you may want to have the computer repair shop back it up for you just in case something were to happen during the repair and all of your data was lost. If you never back up your data, talk to the technician about the options you have; after all, backing up is the golden rule in the tech world!
  4. What problems are you experiencing? Try to provide a detailed description of the problems your computer is experiencing to the technician so they know specifically what they should be looking for.
  5. How old is your computer?After describing the problem, the technician may ask how old your computer is. In some cases, problems are due to old age and it would probably make more sense to just purchase a brand new computer.

Why you should be careful when buying Microsoft Office on the Internet

| September 24, 2012 | 0 Comments

I’ve had a few clients call in this year with problems with the Office products they purchased online. They either downloaded a pirated version and had to get their money back from their credit card, or they just had tons of issues with the installation causing many other problems.

When most of us need software, we go to our favorite search engine (mine is Google) and type in what we are looking for. Many of us want to save money, because software is expensive! But….if you end up buying a product that is from a site selling illegitimate copies, you will have a few more headaches to deal with as Microsoft will not activate products they do not sell licenses for. As well, 30 days after a purchase, you may have problems. Or, if you try to re-install, you will have problems.

Or you may not and get lucky. I recommend just paying full price; own it and use it as you wish.

Here is an example of a search in Google for “Microsoft Office.” These are the top 4 searches. The top 2 are actual paid ads from Microsoft. The 3rd one down…is a store selling products for WAY CHEAP. I would be leary of buying that product.

 

Having issues with your Microsoft Office products? Fill out the form below and we’ll help you out!

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Want to share files? Here’s an easy tip!

| July 13, 2012 | 0 Comments

Do you have files that need to be on multiple computers? Or maybe you have files and folders you would like to share with your fellow employees or another company that you are working with. Emailing or transferring documents back and forth on a disk drive can become tedious and time consuming if you are constantly updating and changing the file. A great solution to this issue is to use the file hosting service Dropbox. This secure web-based site allows you to save a file on one computer and access it anywhere in the world as long as you have an internet connection. Or, just download Dropbox to specific computers and have your updated files anywhere you need them, even if you don’t have an internet connection. In this day and age, people are traveling more than ever and rely on their phones or tablets to get their work done. Dropbox makes it super easy to access your documents on the go with the mobile app. Basically, Dropbox allows you to access any document anywhere, any way.

Another benefit of Dropbox is the ability to give permissions to certain people who you are sharing your documents with. Maybe you only want to share a few specific files and don’t want them to have access to all of the folders in your Dropbox. With a Dropbox account, you have the ability to pick and choose which files you want to share with family, friends, employees, co-workers or another company.

Sometimes your computer might not have enough memory to hold all of the files in your Dropbox folder, depending on the size of the plan you sign up for. Luckily, you can also select specific files to have available on your computer. To do this, simply right click on the Dropbox icon on your screen, go to preferences and click the advanced tab. (See the picture below.) In this tab you can choose which files to remove from the folder on your computer.

Dropbox also provides you with a backup solution in a couple different ways. First of all, by keeping important files in your Dropbox folder they are protected if anything were to happen to your computer. All you would have to do is log into your account on the web from another computer and all of your documents will be there just the way they were left. Secondly, Dropbox keeps a one month history of your work, so if you accidentally change or delete a file or decide that you need it back, you can undo changes and undelete files.

Call That Girl uses Dropbox throughout the company. It’s great for us being that we have stores and employees all throughout the state. Check it out if you’re looking for a file sharing solution. Get started today with this link, http://db.tt/HHcLY6KC. First 2GB free!

And as always, call us or fill out the form below if you need any computer support!

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Is Pinterest the perfect camping grounds for viruses?

| May 29, 2012 | 0 Comments

Pinterest is an online pinboard.

Organize and share things you love.

Now, love that virus you’re about to download.

Think you already have a virus?

Click on the black button to the right of this post to book an appointment!

office365 podcast2

And now you can send your friends right to viruses, too! Many of you might not know this part of Pinterest, but when you find a picture you love and “Pin it”, you’re basically telling your fellow pinnners to love that pic, too and that they need to click on the picture to pin to their boards. Pinterest hosts the pictures, but then when it is finally “pinned” it can take people right to the website that is hosting the virus (after clicking on the image). The website that is hosting the pictures could have been attacked by a virus and now it’s camping out on the picture, just waiting for pinnners to pin, click and download a virus in less than a minute.

What can you do? Not much. If you pin the picture virus free you will never know. If the site becomes tainted, your future pinners will probably get it after clicking on the image, unless they have awesome protection. My client that called in this a.m. had McAfee protection and it sailed right past the security features McAfee offered. He didn’t even click on the image, he typed it in manually. If you get a virus, call us at 612-865-4475 immediately!

Watch our Youtube video to find out what you should watch out for now that you know this is a possibility.

Research has turned up little information on the laws regarding Pinterest and this issue, although I did discover another virus report. To read more, I found this blog about a clever Pinterest virus sneak.

http://doktorspinn.com/2012/03/18/clever-pinterest-virus-a-first-for-the-booming-image-site/

 

Microsoft Office 365 Consultant 2

Office365 Podcast

10 signs that your computer may have a virus

| April 16, 2012 | 0 Comments

Boy oh boy is this getting more and more common. We used to take calls from our clients who told us that they had pop ups and weird notifications, or even a huge flashing graphic, “You’ve been infected”. Seems lately, the viruses are doing more damage underneath, and not showing the usual suspects. And no…your AV program may not be catching these buggers either.

Here are a few ways to figure out if you may have a virus.   

  • Your computer is acting up
  • Websites aren’t loading right
  • You try to Google something, and it takes you to a whole different page
  • You see a “web certificate” page on a website you’re trying to get to
  • Occasional blue screen of death
  • Internet goes in and out
  • Internet just completely goes out
  • Mouse and keyboard aren’t working as they should
  • There is a new icon in your system tray you’ve never seen before
  • You cannot log into your online banking

While most people just blow these off as glitches, you may have a virus and if let go long enough, could result in a computer crash, loss of data and spendy repairs. We recommend that you get a tune up where we do a virus spot check included in our 22 pt checklist.

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