Many of us today are using Gmail, Google applications, AVG free, etc. Free software is usually great, but the support you get if you need help is usually not up to par. About a month ago, I decided to start using Google documents to store a few files because I needed to have them on 3 computers. I worked on a massive “to do list” and after I was done, I hit the “cut” button to move something and it all disappeared. I could not get it back, even though it had saved just a minute before! I was LIVID to say the least. I had been saving it too for a whole day or so and I’m not sure how easy it is to put in a support ticket to Google and have it checked out for a restore, but decided then and there…to only rely on myself for such needs from now on.
Support is very important when it comes to things you need to use.
Here are my opinions:
For the sake of your business, please move to a paid email hosting solution. There are many affordable solutions out there, if you need some recommendations, please email us at info@callthatgirl.biz
Feel free to comment on the blog!
Lisa
Well folks, the time to start considering online backup solutions is NOW. Many times I have been asked what is better, online or external hard drives. I always ask people how important their stuff is…external drives are not that reliable these days. I had one a few years back that died after 3 months and I had to send it back in under warranty. Where was my stuff? I didn’t have a back up or a back up solution for 2 weeks. ???
How good is your external hard drive if it was stolen, in a fire, fried out or got something spilled in it?
Online back up today is very reliable and I will now introduce you to a Minnesota based online back up solution, MNBU (Minnesota BackUp). The owner is Dean Meier and I met Dean when we were neighbors a few years ago. He is also the owner of Digital Brigade (http://www.digitalbrigade.com) a server/network solutions business. I was thrilled to find that they are offering a local solution, as many people are worried about online backup. “Where is my stuff”…it’s right here in Minnesota!
Why chose MNBU?
Want to give it a try? Here is the sign up link….and use code “CALLTHATGIRL” to get one free month.
I bet you didn’t think I could come up with this one, but you are wrong! I have come up with an evacuation plan! I recommend printing these out asap and tape up to a filing cabinet. These instructions, could save your computer and your wallet a few bucks.
Be Smart
If you happen to see an attack/infection going on, your best bet to stop it:
Now, you may or may not be infected still. If you do all of the above and see symptons of a new program on your computer or it acting very slow, then you probably have a virus.
You can do the following:
Not a shock to Call That Girl, well known websites have been hit lately by viruses, and there is not much “the average user” can do about that….unless you know how to avoid getting them!
If you watched the segment tonight on WCCO’s “Good Question” with Jason DeRusha, then you will have seen our interview about Malware and viruses! It goes to show that everyone/everywhere now can be hit by these sneaky intruders.
The interview was pretty cool, I have to give props to Jason…He has heard of Call That Girl and forgot our name, Tweeted it and got responses…called me immediately and had an interview done within with the hour! Talk about a HOT on the TROT journalist!
I was very impressed with his interview style, he knew the topic and it was like having a conversation with a client, even the cameraman was interested in what I had to say.
What did I have to say? The Star Tribune was attacked over the weekend (Jimmy’s List Tony Lopez was the first to call in did the recommendation today!)….Jason figured this was a GOOD QUESTION…what is malware and how can you all help yourself from being attacked! The Star Tribune didn’t even know about this…until it was too late.
Call That Girl to the rescue! We are here to help!
If you are one of those folks getting a bit frustrated with Vista and want to upgrade, here are a few things to keep in mind. Just don’t buy Windows 7 and throw it in the drive and install it…until you have backed up the following:
I think there is an assumption that if you upgrade your Vista to Windows 7, that all of your stuff and programs will still be there. This is not verified by Call That Girl as we have read reviews out there and haven’t done an upgrade, only full installs. The reviews are not good about upgrades. What we do know is that if you do the full install, all of your stuff, data, programs are gone. You will need to have your disks ready to reinstall on the computer. Itunes too!
As I have said in past posts, I am all for moving to Windows 7. I have found very few problems with my testing to not recommend it. Your Vista computer should have enough hard memory (RAM) to be able to make Windows 7 run pretty smoothly.
If you are thinking of upgrading and want help, give us a call and we can certainly help you with this! Can we help you with this remotely? We sure can! No need to bring your computer to our office or have us come to your home, this should be fairly simple to do via the remote tools/internet.
Printer errors and slow computers…very common problem for many users lately. I have seen folks not only calling that their systems are slow, but they are getting odd errors too. For the most part, we can remove the problematic printer issues to make the system faster and get rid of the errors, but let’s review a few things for you folks.
All printers install HUGE software programs with the printer. So understand this, you go out and buy a new HP or Canon printer. You put in the disk and the install isn’t difficult, but you have to babysit it for almost 45 minutes! How annoying! Next up, the printer installs fine, works like a charm, but you can’t figure out how to scan/fax/etc because the software is not easy to understand.
Question…are you buying an all in one printer to save money or because you need all of those functions? I am highly recommending the following:
If you just need a printer, shop around. Buy something affordable, ink is cheap to replace and won’t cost you a bundle to get repaired. Usually a home user can get away with a $75 dollar printer. Our rates to fix a printer is the standard $75, so trust me…I don’t put too much time into troubleshooting a cheap printer!
To save you problems, if you don’t need the fancy software, skip installing it. Just plug the printer in the computer and then do a “add a printer” function and hopefully your comptuer will find it automatically (most do, especially the newer ones).
What does Call That Girl have for printers? haha…Ask my interns, I don’t allow printing! They get antsy and irritated I think, but that makes them do things electronically…save and share files. I have found too many scrap print jobs in my day to know that printing is not necessary for everyday things. We do have an old Lexmark in the workshop for scanning (but haven’t in months) and a nicer HP that my friend Mary borrowed us many months ago, but it hasn’t worked right since I re-did the wifi network and is almost out of ink, so I gave up on it and went back to my “no printing” policy. Seems to work fine, we are still a “No print” company!
