The past few days calls and emails started filtering in about the new AVG 8.0 version folks have seen appear on their free versions of AVG Antivirus. The common query is, “Should I upgrade?” No, home users of AVG Antvirus do not need to upgrade at all. The current free version of AVG will continue to be updated and as… Read More »AVG Antivirus 8.0 Upgrade Advice
“Why didn’t my computer come with a manual?”
One of the most common complaints we hear is about how new computers don’t come with manuals. I am here to explain why this is the case.
The sad answer is that if the computer company came with a manual, it would weigh more than the computer.
“But my old computers used to come with manuals…,” Is the next comment.
Back in the old days of computers there weren’t many uses. You would use computers for word processing, finances, Internet and email. In each case there were only a handful of options.
After almost 13 years of battling security problems on Windows machines, I’m finally seeing the light of day and recommending Mac’s and Linux for many computer users. It will be a long journey convincing people that there is life beyond Microsoft.
For those who bang away with Microsoft Windows computers,and have problems with Slow Computer Disease (SCD), pop-ups, viruses and other problems, I present the following sage advice:
I’ve learned that when it comes to spyware/adware (THE major cause of SCD), if it takes more than an hour to troubleshoot and solve, you will be WAY AHEAD of the game to:
1. Backup your data
2. Reformat the system, and resinstall Windows
This weekend, an emailer asked the question of how to use the backups that we describe on our site. An excellent question I’m sure others have had as well.
Over the years, I laid out step-by-step methods for backing up your email address book, favorites/bookmarks, and even your email. To use these backups, simply use the “Import” function to bring them back into a new installation of a program or even a new computer.
Ya, don’t ask me to elaborate too much on the title of this post, I didn’t mean anything too deep by it.
I picked up my new/old Mac that a reader gave me. It is an older system, but It does a great job. It’s a dual 867mhz G4 with a gig of RAM, 10GB hard drive and Leopard OS. While it may seem a little dated by Mac standards, it is every bit as fast as my dual core Pentium that I typically run XP on.
I haven’t used it for any digital photography stuff, but I didn’t want it for that. I wanted a mac so I could use it exclusively for a few weeks and learn how to help my Mac clients adapt to “the switch” from Windows.
Today, I helped a new customer order a Zonbu computer. I first wrote about this interesting computer about two months ago. I offered to setup these machines up for free for the first three people in our area that buy one. After much deliberation and research, the customer (KC) and I decided that this computer was really the right decision for her needs.
She bought the laptop Zonbu, and I can’t think of anything that this computer won’t be able to do for her. She plans on doing some traveling with it (it has wi-fi built-in). She wants to possibly add a digital camera at some time (it has a good picture manager utility and editor already installed). Of course she plans on using the Internet for research, entertainment, and email (the Zonbu has arguably the best browser installed…Firefox and excellent email programs as well). She might want to play a few games (Zonbu has over 15 installed including Sudoku, Mahjongg, Solitaire, Freecell, and more). In addition to all these things, the Zonbu boasts a world-class word processor, spreadsheet, presentation manager, database, calendar program, web editor, desktop publishing software, DVD player, music player and organizer, and over 30 games and countless accessories. AND it includes 24/7 support via either telephone or email or chat. AND it includes program and operating system updates automatically maintained via the Internet and a built in web backup system. And this system does not require you be a security expert because it doesn’t require anti-virus or anti-spyware software.
Is this starting to sound good to you? It should, but wait how much does it cost? $1,000?
Every time I show a computer user how to use the tab feature of their browser (found in Internet Explorer 7, Firefox, Opera, and Safari), their eyes light up and they can’t believe what I showed them is real. Today was another such day. I helped an extremely knowledgeable young lady with her computer, and somehow the conversation drifted into searching the Internet. She nearly fell off her exercise ball when I showed her the trick.
Software upgrades can cost you much more than they help you. Very few computer users need to upgrade any software, except for daily updates for security software.
Today, I helped a couple who became frustrated after updating from AOL 9.0 to 9.1. They relayed to me that they went ahead with the upgrade because of the promise that AOL would be easier and faster with the upgrade. After the upgrade, AOL changed their Internet Explorer and Firefox home pages, made getting to email more time consuming, and even lost some of their bookmarks.
It didn’t take long to get them back to their familiar 9.0, but they were extremely frustrated by the changes made to their system.
Moral of the story: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it nor upgrade it.
Today I saw a client I have not seen in a long time. They are a great family with four teenagers at home. One year I had to reformat their computer three times because of their knack for picking up spyware.
While I enjoyed the money, I did not enjoy doing all those reformats. Reformatting a computer is my least favorite project.
Gradually I would break them of their habits and have them using Firefox, AVG and a variety of anti-spyware tools. Each year I have seen them less and less.
I saw them today to help them setup a new laptop and I decided to scan their desktop computer for spyware while I was there.
I am resurrecting this great tip from my archives. This tip first appeared about four years ago on the show and then the web site. I wanted to share it again because of our new listeners and the extreme usefulness of the tip.
Printing information from the web can sometimes be frustrating. A long web page yields reams of paper when you only wanted a couple of pages. Read on to learn how to print only the pages you want!
Firefox/Internet Explorer/AOL
Highlight the part of the page you want to print with your mouse
Click on File —> Print