PC-ASSIST/MAC-ASSIST Updates & Reminders

PC-ASSIST/MAC-ASSIST Updates & Reminders | Sale - HP Laptop, iPad/iPhone news

Thu, 12 Aug 2010 02:43:00 GMT

<h2>PC-ASSIST/MAC-ASSIST | Updates: iPhone Stuff, Latest Virus Information</h2> <A HREF="#HP">HP Laptop for Sale</a> | <A HREF="#iPad">iPad </A>| <A HREF="#iPhone">iPhone Cases for Sale</A> |<a href="#app"> App-A-Holics Anonymous on Facebook</a> <hr> <h3><a name="HP" id="HP"></a>HP 17" Laptop (Model DV9410US) FOR SALE! $400!</h3> Up for sale is one of the laptops used occasionally for business at the office. Excellent condition! Comes with box and papers! HP Series DV9000, Model DV9410US Windows Vista Home Premium SP2 - without the HP bloatware, 2GB RAM, 160GB HD, 17" Display, AMD Turion 64x2, Nvidia Graphics, WiFi, 4 USB ports, 1 FireWire, full size keyboard with seperate numeric keypad. Click here for pics <a href="http://mac-pc-assist.com/images/hplaptop/IMG_0358.JPG" target="_blank">(Front View)</a> <a href="http://mac-pc-assist.com/images/hplaptop/IMG_0359.JPG" target="_blank">(Screen)</a> <a href="http://mac-pc-assist.com/images/hplaptop/IMG_0360.JPG" target="_blank">(Front W/Screen) </a><a href="http://mac-pc-assist.com/images/hplaptop/IMG_0361.JPG" target="_blank">(Top</a>) <a href="http://mac-pc-assist.com/images/hplaptop/IMG_0362.JPG" target="_blank">(Bottom)</a> Clicking will open a new window! <hr> <h4><a name="iPad" id="iPad"></a>iPad? Yes!</h4> I recently aquired an iPad. I finally caved and went for the top of the line model: 64GB RAM, WiFi and 3GS. Some of the apps for this are amazing - the<a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/abc-news-for-ipad/id380520716?mt=8" target="_blank"> ABC News app </a>is absolutely phenomenal in its delivery of information and most unique. Using a program called <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/evernote/id281796108?mt=8" target="_blank">Evernote</a> (<a href="http://www.evernote.com" target="_blank">http://www.evernote.com</a>) I can create notes that sync scross all of my computers and devices - Mac, PC, iPhone, and iPad. I am now testing this out in the field for taking notes at a client and not having to add to the piles of paper that I call a filing system. Apple recently release <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/keynote/id361285480?mt=8" target="_blank">Keynote</a>, <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pages/id361309726?mt=8" target="_blank">Pages</a> and <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/numbers/id361304891?mt=8" target="_blank">Numbers</a> - the same apps for Macintosh - for the Ipad. Each app is $9.99 in the iTunes store. Keynote is pretty much the same as PowerPoint on the PC, Pages reflects the same functionality as Word and Nubmers is analagous to Excel. So far it also handles my billing, has a great screen for videos, and plays music for hours. It is also a great tool for research! For the fun part: I have WordsWithFriends, which lets me play a Scrabble-like game using the Internet with friends. I have been playing this with various people from the net for about four weeks as time allows. I also have links to my google stuff including tasks, a piano playing app called Virtuoso and a few more news gathering apps. If you have any questions, please email me (scott@mac-pc-assist.com) or call (760) 969-0974 <hr> <h4><a name="iPhone" id="iPhone"></a>iPhone Accesories for Sale!!</h4> In Stock Now!! Cases for the iPhone! $10 each/ 2 for $15!!! Tye-Dye, Jelly, Specialty, - pics will be posted shortly with a possible shopping cart! <hr> <h4><a name="app" id="app"></a>App-A-Holics Anonymous</h4> If you are on FaceBook, click here to "Like" the page - it's where reviews of iPhone and iPad apps show up... <hr /> <h4>Once again, Thanks for letting me of service to everyone!</h4> Scott PS: So far this year, Kaspersky seems to be the hands-down winner for protecting my clients. If you are coming due on another product, give me a call so we can see if this might work better. <hr>

PC-ASSIST/MAC-ASSIST Updates & Reminders | Latest iPhone Stuff, Latest Virus Information

Wed, 24 Mar 2010 21:20:00 GMT

<h2>PC-ASSIST/MAC-ASSIST | Updates: iPhone Stuff, Latest Virus Information</h2> <A HREF="#iPhone">iPhone Stuff</a> | <A HREF="#iPad">iPad </A>| <A HREF="#APPLE">Malware</A> | <A HREF="#VIRUSES">Free AV Scanners</A> | <hr> <h3><a name="iPhone" id="iPhone"></a>iPhone - Still running - longer than any previous phone!</h3> Most of my customers, if not all, know that I have been through phone hell since May 2007. It started with a Sprint Treo and ended on Verizon with a Blackberry Storm that woke up on a Wednesday and started deleting emails, contacts and text messages. I could not make calls out as it was totally posessed. I gave up, took out the battery and realized that I had been through four phones on Verizon and 17 phones on Sprint. That night I bought an iPhone. Well, a good number of my customers have also taken the iPhone path - so did my parents! Accessories for the iPhone are many and vary in quality, durability and cost. I have spent $25.00 for some cases! I got frustrated with the cost and the lack of quality and decided that I can get better quality items wholesale (I have a resale number!) and have now got in stock screen protectors, and about 45 different cases in about 15 different styles and colors. There are the rubberized types of cases, "jelly" cases and a bunch of other choices. All are for the 3G or 3Gs. For the folks who might remember the sixties, I even have tie-dyed cases! Well, they are made out of silicon rubber and look tie-dyed...there are many different colors, and some are clear and some have nice laser-etched designs. Stay tuned for the opening of my web store with all of the accessories. If you need a case or accessory prior to the opening of the web store, please call me before you spend a ton of bucks. Now for some other iPhone stuff.... Welcome to Appaholics Anonymous! "My name is Scott, and I am an Appaholic." "Hi, Scott!" My customers and a great number of freinds and acquaintances regularly stop me to show me new apps and to see what apps I have on my phone. Some apps for the iPhone are truly great while others.... Last weekend I took a trip to LA for a birthday party. Did "someone" forget to find out that it was also the LA Marathon...and that it ended EXACTLY where I had to turn to get to the Pacific Coast Highway? Traffic.com has an app for that. Needed an exit with a gas station nearby from overconsuming coffee? iExit handles that. If you have entered addresses into your contacts, all you have to do is touch the address and it will bring up a map that with a couple of touches on screen, allows me to get some basic directions and check traffic where I am going if there is information available for that area. Bad traffic appears as red, moderate is yellow and green is....guess...clear! I think that I have 110 apps on my phone now. There are at least 16 apps for games - my favorite currently is Scrabble. Chase and most major banks now offer iPhone apps to quickly access account information and pay bills, GEICO & AT&T let me pay bills right from my phone. Geocaching is fun when we are out and about and want to do some quick treaure hunting. It does not work where there is no service, so I still download lists for my off-road trips and put that into my GPS before I leave. Some of the other apps I use nearly every day: The Weather Channel, Fandango, USA Today, AP Mobile, MyMeditation, Naturespace, and I even got an app for iBart when I was in San Francisco and needed to commute downtown via subway! All of these are available through the iTunes store on your computer...some are too large to load over the cell's data network and require wifi or the computer for download. If you have come across a super duper app, please let me know! <hr> <h4><a name="iPad" id="iPad"></a>iPad?</h4> Right now Apple is taking orders for the upcoming iPad. I am eagerly awaiting mine...after the bugs are fixed! I see this as one of the greatest potentials for mobile/portable computing - touch screen technology, add-ons that provide a full keyboard, and the ability to update information rapidly on the top level models through Cellular 3G and WiFi. If the bugs are few, I am probably gonna get one before the end of the year. If there are many, I can wait till next year! <hr> <h4><a name="Malware" id="Malware"></a>Beware of the innocent looking applications advertised on Facebook, MySpace and other sites...and "Frostware"</h4> A large number of computers have come in that belong to my client's kids. The majority of viruses found on these computers have been added in through innocent looking ads on FaceBook and MySpace that catch the eye with things like "Cartoon Yourself", and "Tattoo Your Web" and "Tattodle". The above named ads request that you OK the installaiton of some programs including FunWebSpace & MyWebSearch, which then introduce a number of trojans, rootkits, downloaders and some other infectious programs into the computer. "How did it get past my security?" At some point during the installation process a pop-up appeared asking if it was okay to install and the user clicked "yes". Now the computer is slower than molasses uphill in the Siberian winter. And gets slower as more and more viruses get loaded in and more processing goes to the battle between the antivirus program and the infections. At this point, adding another antivirus program will not help. It requires some serious cleaning, even after "removing" the programs through the control panel. The background workings of these viruses are still present. DO NOT ALLOW THESE PROGRAMS TO BE INSTALLED. Frostware and some of the other music sharing programs sound good - free music. Here's the downside: a great number of the files downloaded including music, movies and pictures can and do carry backdoor trojans that I have seen take over the computer completely. These are called "rootkits." They take over all processing of the computer and dedicate the computer to being a part of a robotic network. (You may want to look that up as a botnet.) So for a few songs for free, the costs to repair the damage from the viruses might be ten to twenty times the cost of buying the music through a legitimate source such as the iTunes store. <hr> <h4><a name="avscanners" id="avscanners"></a>Free Antivirus Scanners....JUST SAY NO!</h4> After I have cleaned out a ton of computers, there are times when I have made second visits to the same client or the computer was brought back in. It had stopped working well and the client had been concerned. After analyzing many of these I have realized what has been happening: During downloads of LEGITIMATE software such as Adobe Reader, Flash, or Shockwave, there is a box that is pre-checked for a FREE Norton Secuity Scan or Mcaffee Security Scan. Once these programs are downloaded, they WILL interfere with the standard operation of a currently installed Security package such as Kasperksy. Hackers know which programs have holes in them and which ones create holes in security software by having so many installed. Hackers regularly write routines on common web pages to see if those security flaws are present. Reinfections of many different types of viruses have gotten in through the holes created by these "free" scans. Remember, if you are downloading software froma site, pay CAREFUL attention to what else they might want to send to your computer. I strongly reccomend clearing the pre-checked boxes for any additional security software. And worse, these are only scanners and will not be able to clean out the infections if there are any ... <hr /> <h4>Once again, Thanks for letting me of service to everyone!</h4> Scott PS: So far this year, Kaspersky seems to be the hands-down winner for protecting my clients. If you are coming due on another product, give me a call so we can see if this might work better. <hr>

PC-ASSIST/MAC-ASSIST Updates & Reminders CORRECTION TO LAST EMAIL...

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 04:28:00 GMT

Yup, even I do typos... The correct link for my computer oriented blog is: <a href="http://www.mac-pc-assist.com/geekythings/">http://www.mac-pc-assist.com/geekythings/</a> Sorry if you clicked and got a bad page error. Scott

PC-ASSIST/MAC-ASSIST Updates & Reminders | Virus Alerts!!

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 02:38:00 GMT

This past week has seen some serious activity with some pretty intense viruses. I personally have received the same type of email message multiple times with an attachment that is caught immediately by Kaspersky. It arrives as a message from a tracking system, UPS or DHL (are they still in business?) and the attachment is the actual virus embedded in a zip file. If you open the attachment, the virus will start the attempt at loading itself into the computer. The other computers that have been seen in my office have had a similar type of virus much like the original XP Fraud anitvirus. Remember the popup that told you that your computer, your dog, your house and most of your food and paperclips were all infected and at no time could you close out of the popup? Well, there has been a huge amount of pages on the internet that have been infected with the virus that looks for the hole in your computer security or any flaw in Internet Explorer or javascript, and then proceeds to load the virus in with a screen that again tells you that the computer has an infection. While it is running the fake scan, it is scanning your computer for further flaws and holes in your security. I recenlty wrote up a blog post (<a href="http://www.mac-pc-assist.com/GeekyThings">http://www.mac-pc-assist.com/GeekyThings</a>) about other programs that attempt to "add" security scans from Norton and McAffee as a "bonus" for the downloading their software. MAKE SURE THAT YOU UNCHECK THE BOX PRIOR TO DOWNLOADING THE DESIRED SOFTWARE! Too many cooks spoil the broth and too many "scanners" leave open a hole for hackers/virus writers to walk through. On another note: I have been extensively testing the Kaspersky product out here in the office. So far, it has caught every single attempt that a webpage, an email or any other attack including the dreaded message from a friend in "FaceBook" has tried getting past it. As this year starts out, please call if you are not sure about keeping your existing Anitvirus/Internet Security solution and would like to make the switch to Kaspersky. A number of my clients are also doing the upgrade path for Windows 7. Since a number of folks bought computers with Vista after June 26, 2009, they are getting free upgrades to Windows 7. Others are looking at replacing existing hardware as parts fail on Windows XP computers. Most are at least 3 years old and as the industry moves towards Windows 7 in terms of hardware and software support, the decision to purchase Windows 7 is easier. So far, I have been using Windows 7 on my netbook, my laptop and on my main box here in the office. Both of the portables have 2GB of RAM and seem sufficient for what I use them for. My office computer is an 8GB machine with a couple of terabytes. I need speed on that with all of the support and design work. There are fewer errors and issues with Windows 7 than with all of the previous operating systems I have had used from Microsoft. (For giggles: DOS 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0, 5.0, 6.0, Windows 2.0, 2.1, 3.0, 3.1, 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP, Vista, 7 and Windows Mobile starting with CE.) In Service, Scott (760) 550-9496/(760) 969-0974 cell scott@mac-pc-assist.com <a href="http://www.mac-pc-assist.com">http://www.mac-pc-assist.com</a> <a href="http://www.mac-pc-assist.com/GeekyThings">http://www.mac-pc-assist.com/GeekyThings</a> blog

PC-ASSIST/MAC-ASSIST Updates & Reminders | Happy Holidays!

Fri, 25 Dec 2009 07:16:00 GMT

<h2>PC-ASSIST/MAC-ASSIST | Happy Holidays!!</h2> <h2>Wishing you all a warm and happy holiday season!</h2> This has been an amazing two+ years for me running PC-ASSIST/MAC-ASSIST and for all of the other smaller projects that have started to get off of the boards. As I wind down 2009, I wanted to express my deep gratitude for support from everyone - family, friends & clients - that has made this the most incredible time I have ever had running a consulting business. 2010 marks 23 years of computer consulting, teaching, custom databases, web design (started around 1995 or 1996), and a host of other skills I picked up along the way. In 1987 I started when I was asked to setup an Epson Equity. Two 360K floppies, one 10 or 20MB hard drive (yes MEGABYTES), and twelve hours later I got a $50.00 gift certificate for a local photo shop in NY. I still have the monopod that I bought...and it gets used! (2010 also marks 41 years of photography...somewhere I still have the first camera that a neighbor gave me when I was 7.) Thanks to everyone for your support, generosity, love and kindness! May it all be returned to you a thousandfold! In love and service, Scott PS: I have attached a little <a href="images/2009 holiday card.jpg" target="_blank">holiday photo card</a>. Please feel free to print it. It is my gift! PPS: Please check out my newest computer-oriented blog - I have started posting more information there...let me know what you think! <a href="http://www.mac-pc-assist.com/geekythings/" target="_blank">http://www.mac-pc-assist.com/geekythings/</a>

PC-ASSIST/MAC-ASSIST Updates & Reminders | Happy Turkey Day!!!!

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 01:09:00 GMT

To all of my clients, family, friends and relatives! Just taking the moment to reflect on a wonderful two+ years and to express my gratitude. This has been the most exciting two years in my recent memory as I started and grew PC-ASSIST from a part-time to a full-time operation. With customers are as far away as New York City, Vegas, San Diego, San Francisco and Twin Peaks, I am never at a loss for something to fix! I have started other businesses including healingenergybracelets.com (fine crystal bracelets) and scottpam.com (mostly stock photography and a showcase of some of my photography...been at it since I was 7!); both of which are in the development stages. I extremely grateful for everyone's support and continued opportunities to be of service! May you and your families have a Happy Thanksgiving!! Scott Pam PC-ASSIST/MAC-ASSIST (760) 550-9496 scott@mac-pc-assist.com <a href="http://www.mac-pc-assist.com">http://www.mac-pc-assist.com</a> PS: If you get a new computer this holiday season, I can assist in getting all of your data transferred and the new computer setup and installed!

PC-ASSIST/MAC-ASSIST Updates & Reminders | News & Specials!

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:19:00 GMT

<h2>PC-ASSIST/MAC-ASSIST | News and Updates!</h2> (760) 550-9496 (office) or (760) 969-0974 (cell), Monday through Friday 9AM to 5PM by appointment. As seen on Channel 2 KPSP last Friday morning, right before most mammals are awake... <a href="http://www.kpsplocal2.com/mediacenter/local.aspx?videoId=474@kpsp.web.entriq.net&navCatId=58" target="_blank">http://www.kpsplocal2.com/mediacenter/local.aspx?videoId=474@kpsp.web.entriq.net&navCatId=58</a> Yup, I got interviewed regarding phishing scams, which I will cover in the next newsletter... I posted a small slide show on the main page regarding phishing scams and how to avoid them. Onward.... <hr /> <A HREF="#HolidaySpecial">Thanksgiving Holiday Special</a> | <a href="#VIRUSES">Viruses</a> | <a href="#BACKUPS">Backups</a> | <A HREF="#XPVISTA">Vista/Windows 7</A> | <A HREF="#APPLE">iPhone</A> <h3><a name="HolidaySpecial" id="HolidaySpecial"></a>With that, here is the holiday special from 11/9/09 until 11/30/09!</h3> This special will run until Monday November 30, 2009 @ 5PM. (Website services are excepted) For ANY service call onsite, $125.00 for the first two hours! (Travel time out of the valley NOT included beyond Thermal or Palm Springs and is additional. Parts/Software additional.) For dropoffs, $125 for up to FOUR hours! (Parts/Software additional and not included.) Have you thought about tuning up the performance of your computer? Has it slowed down, or become unresponsive? Need some help with service updates, anti-virus configurations, new or old printer problems with new Vista Service Pack 2? Need Help with a Windows 7 Upgrade? Now is the time to get these configured and working! <hr> <h4><a name="VIRUSES" id="VIRUSES2"></a>Viruses and other malware | Kaspersky? BitDefender? Windows 7?</h4> Since my last email, I have had the opportunity to setup Windows 7 Ultimate on the Quad-Core PC in my office and the last release candidates on a netbook and a laptop. I am impressed with Windows 7, though there are a few very minor bugs, most users will not expereience them. Since the launch of Windows 7, I have worked at finding the right Anti-virus solutions that perform with Vista and 7. After contacting Kaspersky Labs, I was provided with three licenses to test out their Internet Security Solution. So far, Kaspersky has out-gunned all of my previous solutions, finding items and blocking web threats that had gotten past other packages. So far it has blocked and found 192 threats. I really do run the software through the worst download sites like LimeWire and then some. It has caught and blocked every single attempt that was made on my computer. As of this month, customers who are expiring with Trend or any other package this year are advised to call me PRIOR to renewing. The link to Kaspersky is now on the home page of my site: <a href="http://www.mac-pc-assist.com" target="_blank">http://www.mac-pc-assist.com</a> if you want to get a licensed version of Kaspersky. As for BitDefender: during the past two months something went haywire with their licensing and update servers. I also was unable to get it to work correctly on Windows 7 and had to remove it. If you are going to Windows 7, I suggest trying the Kaspersky package. <hr /> <h4><a name="BACKUPS" id="BACKUPS"></a>Backups...Again?? And Again...(After the past two weeks, I have to send this again...and again...and again...)</h4> Another computer catastrophe that can be avoided is the total or partial loss of your data including photos and documents. Remember those pictures you took 8 years ago and left on a zip disk? Well even Zip disks can fail over time and so can CDs. There are a number of backup solutions that I have come across and can recomend. Solution 1 - the simplest: get an external backup drive (500GB or more) that will copy the data off of the computer at night so you do not lose your photos, spreadsheets, documents, Quiken or other financial data. While some go for encryption, this can be a problem when it comes to restoring data if the key becomes corrupted. ("Scott, we backup it up every night." But it is encrypted with a non-decipherable key...not even the NSA can get to the 500GB of scrambled data!) Solution 2 - almost as easy as Solution 1, but guaranteed that data will be available even after a disaster....get an external drive as in Solution 1 and also get an online backup service that is well rated and easily accessible if you had to restore the files to another computer in the event of a total failure. I have used Carbonite and am about to try out Mozy for one of my medical clients. Both are highly rated and Carbonite just saved my day after a profile crash on a machine. Solution 3 - a little more involved but worth it for small businesses and medical offices....get TWO external 500GB drives that are easy to transport. Each day, one gets swapped out so that at no time is there a data set more than one day old. In conjunction with an online backup system and even another stationary backup drive that stays in the office, this guarantees that the data will be retrievable and your business will expereience the least amount of loss due to the crash or disaster. (Hey, I used to do the backups on weekends for American Mensa and we had OFFSITE storage for our backup tapes...yup, TAPES! Every day we had a pickup and a delivery of data sets so we were never more than a day out...) <hr /> <a name="XPVISTA" id="XPVISTA"></a>Purchasing computers �Windows XP or Vista? Windows 7? New Information! Right now almost every computer on the market is loaded with a version of Windows 7. If you do get a get a computer with Vista, Microsoft is still offering FREE upgrades with authorized purchases. Microsoft is also offering to certain customers the XP compatibility pack which allows Win7 to run XP software with less difficulty than Vista. This will only be available on certain levels of Windows 7 and is not needed for everyone. Of course the next question: 32-bit or 64 bit software? 64-bit operating systems are the future as they will handle larger amounts of RAM, run faster as it uses CPU and memory processing power more efficiently and over the next few years, we will see more and more software written to operate on 64-bits systems. How do you know what your computer has? If you look at the tag with the chip maker's mark, it will sometimes have a "64" on it. The best would be a dual-core or quad-core 64-bit chip for the better processing power. Recently Dell had a special through Costco. The computer had a Quad-Core Chip, 8GB of RAM and a 750GB hard drive. It was less than $800 for the package with a 23" Widescreen Flat Panel Monitor. <hr> <h4><a name="APPLE" id="APPLE"></a>iPhones vs Blackberry vs Windows Mobile or just a plain phone?....</h4> Well here is a confession. When I first started PC-ASSIST/MAC-ASSIST I was on Sprint. Before I cancelled the contract, I had gone through 4 new phones, and 11 refurbs. All were Windows Mobile. After last September, Sprint service was greatly affected where I am on Shadow Mountain. On one side of the street I could get service but in my apartment, I did not even get voicemail. So I went to Verizon. And the Blackberry Storm. It was a nightmare since the phone did not work with bluetooth on it's first iteration. Nor would it work with it's own speaker. Along came two more Windows Mobile based phones. I tried, really I did...Windows Mobile describes the phone 8 nanoseconds prior to sudden deceleration trauma as it hits the wall... After four phones on Verizon, I recently tried out the Apple iPhone on AT&T. Granted, AT&T service is not Verizon, but when I am sitting in my vehicle trying to make a call hands free and the phone has to get rebooted or does not understand English it is difficult to keep up with the volume of communication that I handle. You can have the best service in the world but if the phones don't work, what good is the service? Phones usually have to perform a few functions for me. Yes calls are important, but the other functions are also necessary. They have to synchonize with Outlook, get email and be able to find things on the web and text message. The Blackberry Storm was by far a great invention. It just did not work as well as Verizon touted. About a month ago, I got up early for a conference call and I could not get my Blackberry to stop deleting contacts, messages, appointments and whatever else it's posessed mind could eat. I had to take out the battery and reboot the phone. Thank heaven I had backed up the phone earlier in the week...(mmm, did Scott mention backups, AGAIN? Is this now subliminal messaging?) That night a close friend allowed me to check out his iPhone. Make an appointment? The iPhone was the fastest text entry with onscreen scrollers to get to the right date and time. Press in one spot and the data is finalized and entered. I can describe the calendar process for Windows Mobile and Blackberry as lengthy and drawn out, with a need to go through tons of menus just to enter an appointment. I used to carry around paper so would not have customers and others waiting for me to finally get to a screen to enter the information. On the Blackberry Storm, entering information was a workout in that the screen-based interface was not accurate enought to avoid major typos all of the time. That night I bought an iPhone. Last week my parents went to iPhones. Two weeks before that my good friend and her family went and got iPhones. Don't know what else I can say other than this is the easiest phone to operate. I have never had an easier to use system for appointments, contact, directions, addresses, and playing music. I can go to a contact in the iPhone and just press on the address, and it brings up the address in a map as the destination. It will then give me directions to the address from my exact location using GPS. When I was in San Francisco two weeks ago for my first comedy show as a comedian, I spent Friday walking around. I needed a Starbucks pretty bad as they usually have restrooms. I have an app that locates Starbucks and guides me to them on the map! There was even an app for the BART system that let me find the station and times of the trains to get from my hotel to Chinatown! If you need any assistance setting up your Smartphone with your computer, give me a call! <hr /> In Service, Scott

PC-ASSIST/MAC-ASSIST Updates & Reminders | New Office Number!!!!

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 06:55:00 GMT

<h2>PC-ASSIST/MAC-ASSIST | Updates: New Office Number! (760) 550-9496</h2> I hope you are all having a wonderful summer! Scott <hr /> New Office Number! (760) 550-9496 I have a new office number that rings me on both lines. Please enter this number into your contact information for me - this will be the best way to get to me. It rings all of my numbers when a call is coming in so you no longer have to dial two different numbers to find me. (760) 550-9496 Please use this number for all communication as it is setup to manage call routing, converting voice messages to text and email so I can see what is going on right away. If you are having an urgent issues, please indicate that clearly in the voice message if you do not reach me immediately. REMINDER: Some of my clients are in bulding that do not receive cell phone service and others are out of the range of the towers. This does not mean I am ignoring anyone, I am just not reachable in those areas...I do check messages from the local phones. <hr /> Windows 7! I now have two computers that are running the most recent release of Windows 7 RC. One was an XP netbook from Asus and the other is a laptop from HP. Both are configured with 2GB of RAM and I find Windows 7 to be very fast and easy to use with even that smaller amount of memory. (umm, I have 8GB on my main office computer...) This is probably the best version of Windows that I have had the pleasure of using. Remember, I started in DOS 1.1! Windows 3.0 was the first major graphical version to hit the market...and I have been versed in all of them since! Windows 7 was released to be manufactured last week and will be out in October. If you are in my neighborhood and would like to play with the latest operating system from Microsoft, please call me so we can setup some coffee and you can check it out! Note: Windows Vista is directly upgradable to Windows 7 but XP would require a complete reinstallation of the operating system and software. Purchases of new computers at this time with Vista Home Premium and better will receive a free upgrade from Microsoft if you register the machine. XP will not directly upgrade to Windows 7 and will require a fresh install of the operating system. Vista is directly upgradeable depending on the version of Vista (32 or 64 bit). <hr /> Netbooks vs. Notebooks vs. Laptops Over the past month I have also had the experience of attempting to setup the new Asus Netbooks. Although I have the Asus eePC 1000HE (and it now has Windows 7 on it), there have been 6 different models configured here at my office. Three of six have had to be returned to the supplier as they were clearly defective. A 50% failure rate across the models I have tried to setup it abyssmal. Two 1005-HA models failed within a few hours of being turned on, and a 900 model line did not even charge the battery. I suggest that if you are looking for a new netbook for travel, avoid the Asus line though they offer many upgraded features. The failure rate is frustrating. There are some major considerations when purchasing netbooks: touchpad buttons for the mouse and where they are located, operating system, memory, easy to upgrade RAM, included software, cameras on the screen for Skype and video conferencing, wireless (WiFi) level (b/g/n?), ability to handle a card to use a cell providers wireless network when travelling and of course, cost. The newest Acers have a screen size of 11.6" and are pretty nice...though they only have XP or Windows Vista Home Basic...neither of these have the free upgrade options to Windows 7 and would require a future purchase of Win 7 to upgrade. <hr /> Anti-Virus and renewing... As some of you have are starting to expire with your current version of your anti-virus/internet security programs, I advise giving me a call prior to renewing. The latest round of viruses that got out went right past four of the major products including Trend-Micro. Trend was at the top of the list for a while but has now shown that it too has some vulnerabilites that can be exploited by determined hackers creating these viruses. Most of my customers are now switching to BitDefender as their subscriptions expire. This is available directly from the main page on <a href="http://www.mac-pc-assist.com" target="_blank">http://www.mac-pc-assist.com</a>. While is does cost a bit more, it offers online backup with the Total Security version and some of my clients are making good use of it. I have personally been testing this product for about three months now. It has stopped every single attempt that was thrown at it including infected web pages, myspace accounts, FaceBook pages, and infected files from downloading. <hr /> Backups...@!!@#$!#@$ Okay, I cannot tell you how many of my clients have had their data saved from extinction by having some of the following forms of backup systems working for them. I recently had a computer with a major infection on it. It took a few hours to scan and clean it up, but right after that was finished, the actual login (we call them profiles in computer parlance) was corrupted and the data was corrupted beyond repair. The drive also was damaged by the type of virus it was infected with. Two months prior, my client had taken a subscription to Carbonite through my website. I logged into Carbonite and was able to restore the data within an hour or so and recreate another profile for him. After breating a sigh of relief and noticing that my blood pressure was down from 900 over 800.... Okay, so what should you do? For businesses and anyone with CRITICAL data that CANNOT be lost, I suggest a multiple backup approach. What data are we talking about? Email stores in Outlook and Outlook Express, photos, documents that were created and might be needed in the future, accounting and financial data, and any other record that would create a detrimental loss if it was gone. First: a local backup on an external drive. Why? If it needs to be restored fast, it is at hand and can be gotten to. Second: an online backup such as Carbonite or Mozy, and now with BitDefender up to 2GB online. If the office or the computer were completely lost in a disaster, theoretically you can get to the data online with another computer and retrieve what you need. Third: for accounting/financial data I have setup a system that also creates a backup onto one of the USB memory drives such as the Cruzer. This type of information can be critical and since the USB drives can be placed in your bag or keychain, it is immediately available in case of a disaster. With daily backups it is easy to recover data, and sleep a bit better at night. Without backups, it can take up to $5,000 to recover critical data from a crashed drive.

PC-ASSIST/MAC-ASSIST Updates & Reminders | Early Summer Service Specials and Updates!

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 19:51:00 GMT

<h2>PC-ASSIST/MAC-ASSIST | Early Summer Service Specials and Updates!</h2> (760) 837-9496 or (760) 969-0974, Monday through Friday by appointment. <A HREF="#HolidaySpecial">Holiday Special</a> | <a href="#VIRUSES">Viruses</a> | <a href="#BACKUPS">Backups</a> | <A HREF="#XPVISTA">XP or Vista </A> | <A HREF="#Samsung">Samsung?</A> <h3><a name="HolidaySpecial" id="HolidaySpecial"></a>With that, here is the holiday special from Father's Day until July 6th!</h3> This special will run until July 6, 2009. (Website services are excepted�I was going to do it until the 4th but I might be barbecueing that weekend, so it is extended till Monday!) For ANY service call onsite, $125.00 for the first two hours! (Travel time out of the valley NOT included beyond Thermal or Palm Springs; $75.00 per hour for less than two hours.) For dropoffs, $125 for up to FOUR hours! Have you thought about tuning up the performance of your computer? Has it slowed down, or become unresponsive? Need some help with service updates, anti-virus configurations, new or old printer problems with new Vista Service Pack 2? New viruses have been out in past two weeks and if you have been hit, take advantage of the special to get your computer cleaned back up. Do you have a good backup system going for protecting your data? I can help configure what data needs to be backed up so do not lose valuable information! How about an uninterruptible power supply to make sure that your computer SAFELY turns off in a power outage? Now is the time to get these configured and working...it may be too late after you lose your data! <hr> <h4><a name="VIRUSES" id="VIRUSES2"></a>Viruses and other malware | TrendMicro or BitDefender?</h4> On the Virus front, the past week has been very active with six computers in my shop after they got hit with the latest round of viruses. It is that time of year again as students are out of school and spending more time online allowing increased proliferation through the various social networking and other sites. The hackers know this and actually are at work writing more code at this time of the year. Last year saw 8 weeks straight of just virus removal at this time. Of the machines that have been dropped off, 5 have been hit from FaceBook/MySpace viruses that took over a user profile and sent messages to all of the profile's contacts. After clicking on the link that was sent to the user, the machine was infected through the web address as it exploited a number of security holes. Make sure that you have updated your anti-virus program and do it at minimum daily. The latest updates from Trend should handle most anything, but on occasion, a virus hacker writes code that can get by even the best AV software. If it does, TURN OFF THE COMPUTER IMMEDIATELY. Why? If the computer remains on and the virus did get past whatever security system you have, the longer it is on, the more infections it will bring in through the hole it punched in your software. What can be a one hour fix can turn into a $nightmare$ with data loss and a damaged hard drive. Yes, some of the rogue rootkits can take over a portion of the hard drive and use it as a private server to send out more infections and other unwanted and potentially illegal data. As of this month, customers who are expiring with Trend this year are advised to call PRIOR to renewing as I am now recomending the BitDefender product. I have been testing the two against each other and so far the BitDefender product has caught every single attack. As your TrendMicro subscription expires, I stringly recomend the switch to BitDefender. The link to it is now on the home page of my site: <a href="http://www.mac-pc-assist.com" target="_blank">http://www.mac-pc-assist.com</a>. <hr /> <h4><a name="BACKUPS" id="BACKUPS"></a>Backups...Again??</h4> Another computer catastrophe that can be avoided is the total or partial loss of your data including photos and documents. Remember those pictures you took 8 years ago and left on a zip disk? Well even Zip disks can fail over time and so can CDs. There are a number of backup solutions that I have come across and can recommend. Solution 1 - the simplest: get an external backup drive (500GB or more) that will copy the data off of the computer at night so you do not lose your photos, spreadsheets, documents, Quicken or other financial data. While some go for encryption, this can be a problem when it comes to restoring data if the key becomes corrupted. ("Scott, we backup it up every night." But it is encrypted with a non-decipherable key...not even the NSA can get to the 500GB of scrambled data!) Solution 2 - almost as easy as Solution 1, but guranteed that data will be available even after a disaster....get an external drive as in Solution 1 and also get an online backup service that is well rated and easily accessible if you had to restore the files to another computer in the event of a total failure. I have used Carbonite and am about to try out Mozy for one of my medical clients. Both are highly rated and Carbonite just saved my day after a profile crash on a machine. Solution 3 - a little more involved but worth it for small businesses and medical offices....get TWO external 500GB drives that are easy to transport. Each day, one gets swapped out so that at no time is there a data set more than one day old. In conjunction with an online backup system and even another stationary backup drive that stays in the office, this guarantees that the data will be retrievable and your business will expereience the least amount of loss due to the crash or disaster. (Hey, I used to do the backups on weekends for American Mensa and we had OFFSITE storage for our backup tapes...yup, TAPES! Every day we had a pickup and a delivery of data sets so we were never more than a day out...) <hr /> <a name="XPVISTA" id="XPVISTA"></a>Purchasing computers �Windows XP or Vista? Windows 7? New Information! As some of you know from this mail list, I was asked into the first beta of Windows 7. I am also about to install the new Release Candidate, a more stable version prior to final release of Win7. I can tell you that it appears that Win7 will be a hit. It works much better than XP and is easier to work with than Vista, though it is based on Vista's bas programming. Since Micorosoft has now offered FREE upgrades to Windows 7 for new purchasers of computers with Vista, it might pay to get a new computer sooner. Where Vista can be quirky, like not liking most of my Smithsonian-level printers from three years ago, Windows 7 seems to play nice with the hardware I have without having to buy new lasers in color and B&W. Microsoft is also offering to certain customers the XP compatibility pack which allows Win7 to run XP software with less difficulty than Vista. Of course the next question: 32-bit or 64 bit software? 64-bit is the future as it will handle larger amounts of RAM, it runs faster as it uses CPU and memory more efficiently and over the next few years, we will see more and more software written to operate at 64-bits. How do you know what your computer has? If you look at the tag with the chip maker's mark, it will sometimes have a "64" on it. The best woul be a dual core 64-bit chip for the better processing power. <hr> <h4><a name="APPLE" id="APPLE"></a>Apple is one of the best....</h4> One of my customers recently called me up after her iMac screen started flashing what is thought to be Klingon and Vulcan characters. She brought it over and after opening it up, a number of capacitors were blown on the motherboard. Since she had AppleCare in the past, Apple will be replacing her motherboard though she will be picking up the cost of labor at just over $100 or so...Still a great gesture from Apple to take care of their customers! <a href="http://www.apple.com/" target="_blank">http://www.apple.com/ </a> <a href="http://www.macmall.com/" target="_blank">http://www.macmall.com/ </a> <a href="http://store.apple.com/" target="_blank">http://store.apple.com/ </a> <a href="http://www.CDW.com/Mac" target="_blank">http://www.CDW.com/Mac </a> <hr /> <a name="Samsung" id="Samsung"></a>Samsung? Five months, ten hours and finally a replacement printer! Would you buy this product? A customer of mine purchased a Samsung laser and it failed within two weeks. That was in November 2008 and under warranty. The replacment unit finally arrived after placing complaints with the BBB, countless calls to their customer service departments with an "s" and multiple conversations with class-action attorneys. The replacement arrived in April, of this year! I can not recomend this company as their track record for customer service is this bad. Other customers have had MAJOR Samsung appliances and monitors fail and they usually fail right after the warranty period has expired. If you do decide to purchase the Samsung or Hanspree brands, be advised of the potential problems for repairs and Samsung not honoring their warranty. (I would avoid them altogether...HP, Epson, Canon or Brother for printers and faxes; Dell, Acer, HP, Viewsonic and NEC for monitors.) <hr /> Have a Happy 4th! Scott

PC-ASSIST/MAC-ASSIST Updates & Reminders | For Sale: iMac Dual Core 24"

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 20:56:00 GMT

Good Afternoon! As some of you know, occasionally I get asked to assist in the sale of a computer. One of my clients has taken ill and had to relocate to another state and was only able to take his laptop. He asked me to facilitate in the sale of his iMac Dual Core computer. He is currently asking for $1,100.00 or best offer. Attached are photos of the machine. <dl> <dt>Specs</dt> <dd>24� Display 2.16 GHz Intel Dual Core Processor 2GB RAM 128VRAM 500GB HD Wireless Apple Keyboard and Mouse OS X 10.4 Balance of one year on Apple Care to be transferred to new owner.</dd></dl> I have personally set the machine backup to erase his data. The machine is in great shape. If you know someone who might be interested please forward this message intact. Please call me if you are interested! Scott Pam PC-ASSIST/MAC-ASSIST PO Box 3457 Palm Desert, CA 92261 (760) 837-9496 (760) 969-0974 cell

PC-ASSIST/MAC-ASSIST Updates & Reminders | Conficker Worm Targets Microsoft Windows Systems - VIRUS ALERT!

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 20:07:00 GMT

From Scott Pam | PC-ASSIST/MAC-ASSIST (Please forward this if you can help someone else prevent the infection...) The latest virus that has had major discussion is expected to hit the internet tomorrow, April 1, 2009. This is the CONFICKER virus and it's variants; they are all sleeper cell type viruses. They are remotely activated and then once activated, can cause damage to the system. It is acknowledged by Microsoft, Symantec, Trend-Micro, McAffee and most of the major players as a significant threat to UNPROTECTED and some protected computers. Currently there are reports of infections even with Anti-Virus/Internet Security Programs, though I cannot track or determine which ones have not stopped the infections. The creators of this virus have found methods of attack that foil some of the programs designed to protect PCs. It has been found to be spreading through the Social Networking sites such as FaceBook, MySpace and such as well. <ul> <li>If you are online with one of these sites and you get a friend request, or install an application request, check to make sure that it is real (see the mail list archive or the link from my main page) as some accounts have been hijacked to promote the spread of the virus.</li> <li>If you are not sure of the sender of the request, then do not confirm the request or install the application.</li> </ul> So, let's start with some prevention basics: (Make sure you are connected to the Internet BEFORE doing any of these steps....) I cannot guarantee complete defense against this one, but sometimes an ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure. <ul> <li>Make sure that all of your Windows updates have been installed. <ol> <li>Go to Start in XP, or the Windows button in Vista</li> <li>Go to All Programs</li> <li>Go to Windows Update and launch it</li> <li>Follow the onscreen information and click "CUSTOM" if you want to not install certain programs that are not essential or pick "EXPRESS" for a less interactive experience</li> <li>Let all of the updates get installed</li> <li>Reboot after it is complete</li> <li>Go back to Windows Update until there are no further updates available</li> </ol> </li> <li>Make sure that your Anti-Virus/Internet Security Program has been updated <ol> <li>If you are running Trend-Micro, as most of my clients are, right-click the little red ball in the system tray and left-click Open Main Console OR </li> <li>Go to Start in XP, or the Windows button in Vista</li> <li>Go to All Programs</li> <li>Click Trend Micro and go to the Main Console</li> <li>Click on Updates and make sure that you have the latest updates installed...Trend will let you know if you are current or it will download the latest updates and install it.</li> <li>Make sure that you run a FULL scan after the updates</li> </ol> </li> </ul> If you have another Anti-virus/product, follow the same concepts and make sure that it is updated and the comptuer has been scanned. IF YOU DO NOT HAVE AN ANTI-VIRUS PROGRAM, PLEASE GO TO http://www.mac-pc-assist.com and click on the Trend-Micro icon. This will take you to the checkout for purchase. You do NOT need to purchase the extended download service and can delete this from your cart. Download it and then clear the "close this box after downloading" checkbox. Make sure that you have copied down your license number...After it finishes, click the RUN button and let it install. If you have any questions or problems, please call me @ (760) 969-0974. In Service, Scott