From the Workbench

January 2012

2012-01-04T14:32:00.000-08:00

Welcome to 2012 people, I guess this is it, if the rumours are true? I am going to assume they're not and continue as normal. Hopefully this year will be a far better one than 2011 and though I have no control over your life and the events that may come your way, I can help you with your computer problems if they were to arise.

I know I say this all the time but I guess until there is no reason to do so I will just have to keep it up, besides we are only just starting the new year and already I have had two (2) customers who have fallen victim to hard drive failure. Please remember to backup your files, if you need help you can visit our backup page or call us.

We will also be continuing our $100 campaign whereby you bring your computer to us and pay cash the maximum you can expect to pay is $100, conditions do apply so call us to arrange a suitable time etc...

2011 also saw a number of our competitors go under and though we enjoy the increased workload we are also concerned for our business so please remember to support the local guy before you send your money elsewhere with both national and international franchises.

If you have any questions please feel free to email us and if there are any subjects that you think we need to cover on our blog feel free to recommend them and if we can we will.

The Internet and Freedom:

I would like to take the opportunity to climb aboard my soapbox and have a small rant about the Internet and the ability to enjoy freedom of expression and speech. Sadly the Internet can be a dangerous place to go wandering around in and because a small minority of people don't like it and have become victims by their own naive and irresponsible actions are canvassing Governments to take control of the Internet and filter it's content to what they believe we should see and have access too. Please it is extremely important that this doesn't happen we do NOT need big brother on the net! If you have been a victim of some ^&** then educate yourself so you don't become a victim and take the steps required to protect yourself and your family, don't expect someone else to do it for you as this will only destroy the last place on this earth where people have the freedom to express themselves and the freedom to be good or bad.

Security:

In relation to the above rant, security, why is it so hard to understand that you MUST protect yourself when on the Internet? Security is not a set and forget arrangement, it's something that must be managed and maintained in an ongoing manner. This doesn't automatically mean that you have to part with your hard earned cash to buy a solution, there are a number of adequate free solutions available but in saying that take care as some are a cut down version of their full versions to entice you to purchase the real program, AVG etc... Microsoft at the end of 2010 released a full version security suite called Security Essentials as is 100% free. So stay safe in 2012 and keep your security up to date.

As some of you maybe aware Microsoft will be releasing the next generation Windows this year and below is a video walking you through some the changes that are going to included be in this version.

Well till next month, stay safe and backup your files often and remember Help Me Computer Services will help you when things go wrong, so call us today.

2011-12-11T14:33:00.001-08:00

Hi Everyone

It's been a very long time since Help Me Computers posted a blog to the point that it was no longer used, but we have decided to revamp it and again offer our customers a place for their tips and tricks etc and much more.

Through out 2012 Help Me Computers will bring you answers to common questions, warnings and generally how to achieve some great stuff using your PC.

Help Me Computer Services is a local Gold Coast Australia business supporting the locals of the greater Gold Coast with all their computer needs, with fully qualified technicians with almost two decades of IT experience. Computer repairs, virus removal, databases, desktop support, websites, video editing and so much more.

As it is December Help Me Computers would like to take the opportunity to wish all our customers and their families a safe and happy Christmas and may 2012 be your year for success.

Well till the New Year stay safe and we hope Santa is good to you. Oh! Don't forget to back up your importnat files and keep your security up to date.

The Help Me Computer's Team

From the Workbench

2010-03-03T21:54:00.000-08:00

Hi All

Its been a while since I wrote a blog, thankfully I have a legitimate excuse, I have been very busy.

As always its doing those familiar tasks - infection removal - recovering someones lost photo's because they didnt backup you know the rest.... I guess I should be thankful for those who dont take computer security and stability serious as they make computer technicians money the world over.

Well since my last post Windows 7 has had a fair run and to date has been adopted as a suitable replacement for the aging XP. Which brings me to another note that all XP users may wish to consider;

The eventual death of XP is imminent when? Well there is lots of time frames running around however Microsoft has reported that the support for Windows XP SP (Service Pack) 2 will end on the 13th July 2010. However it also states that support for its operating system will continue for three (3) years after a service pack release, which means that it will continue to support Windows XP SP 3 until 2012 as SP3 was released in 2009. Then you also have the reported statement that Microsoft would continue to support Windows XP until 2014 due to the Vista debarcle. As you can see there is some doubts as to the final nail being driven but one thing is certain Microsoft has indeed placed the nail and has the hammer risen above its head, when it decides to drive the nail home is... Well stay tuned.

I would like to personally add that though some maybe hanging on to XP because of the bad taste of Vista or for whatever your reasons maybe, be assured Windows 7 is a worthy successor and staying in the past is in itself thrawt with problems. Whether pushed, coaxed or of your choosing we can help you with all your upgrade needs, so call us today.

If I may be granted the opportunity I would like to drag out the proverbial soapbox, place it before me and with gusto, jump aboard. As a consumer I am no different from any other, always looking for a bargain and wanting everything for nothing, however as a small business operator I have become to see things a little different, why? Because as a consumer I take no interest in what it has taken for that product or service to be presented to me for purchase, all I am concerned with is its price. However as a small business operator I have been forced to consider these things and to learn the valuable art of balance. Yes, balance, as it is incredably difficult for any small business to manage the fine line between going broke and going home with a few dollars to pay your respective bills etc and - and remain competative in a market that demands cheap instead of quality. Maybe next time I go shopping I will stop and consider is the quality worth the extra few dollars or should I be like a sheep and follow the crowd and buy inferior products or services and moan about the quality. If I managed via some underhanded manner to aquire something for nothing I feel good that I managed to save myself ex amount but in reality I have taken away the ability of people who rely on this product or service to feed their families and the opportunity to buy poor quality products and services to complain about, crap, now I feel guilty, imagine someone I had gone the extra mile to help not paying me - (you know who you are!) - CRASH!!!! Ok, you didn't have to push me off, I was getting down myself, geezz...

Well, all you computer users out there, remember don't backup your files, let your security lapse and keep using P2P software and we will see you soon.

Our workshop record for the most spyware infections stands at 1198 can you beat it?

Happy Computing

Happy New Year!

2010-01-18T00:30:00.000-08:00

Hi All,

I trust Santa was good to you all, seemed to have ran out when got to my house, or maybe I didnt make the good list who knows!

Towards the end of 2009 we saw the release of Windows 7 and since then people have been eager to upgrade, which is great. For those with Vista the upgrade cant come fast enough and those who are hanging onto their beloved XP installations, well it's time to let go. Yes, Windows 7 is worth it and as of July 13th 2010 Microsoft will be discontinuing support. So now is the time to bight the bullet and upgrade to a new operating system that has the look and feel of Vista but the speed of XP and few new toy's to play with as well.

Some of you may have seen on the news recently that a virus is going around pretending to be a security application but is in fact a virus, this is not new and can be easily avoided by keeping your antivirus program up to date and Windows plus running regular full system scans. When surfing the Internet and popup messages appear DO NOT click on yes, No, Cancel or any other button, use the 'X' in the top right hand corner or right click the button on the taskbar and choose close, it is very common for programmers to make all buttons on these windows do the same thing - infect you.

This year will also see an increase in the use of ransonware, an infection that will encrypt all your files and you will be forced to pay directly or indirectly to have them decypted. Keeping a regular backup of these files elsewhere can enable you to recover from this infection without the need to continually pay the ranson which would be ongoing. Also keep you security tight install all available updates for both security programs and Windows and take care when downloading. For those of you hell bent on using P2P software for free stuff, well we look forward to helping you throughout the year.

As summer begins to bite for us all and we feel the heat, so does our computers, so please ensure they have adequate access to air and that the vents are clear of dust etc.

Well till next month take care and happy & safe computing

Cheers
Bill

The End is Near

2009-12-21T14:15:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone

Yes! I have been dragging my feet a bit and missed a couple months. However I have just got a post done, just before the end.

As it is the end, the end of 2009 I would like to take the opportunity to extend my many thanks to those who allowed us to support their respective computer needs throughout the year. On behalf of myself and Help Me Computer Services we wish everyone a Merry Christmas and may 2010 be a year to remember for all the right reasons.

As you all should be aware by now Microsoft has delivered on their promise to correct the mess that was Vista and released Windows 7. I personally have been using 7 for some time now and find it to be an excellent replacement, not just for Vista but XP as well. So may Santa deliver you a copy for the new year.

I guess it would be wrong to create a blog and not mention the regular things to help remind you, such as backing up your files; don't become a victim of data loss, how important are those Chrissy photo's? - Update; updating doesn't mean buying a new computer but it does mean keeping those Windows updates installed as soon as they are available and ensuring your security software is also updated daily and a full scan done at least once a week.
Also for those of you who hate having to buy a subscription for your security software every year, Microsoft has released a suitable replacement and the best part is its FREE, so visit our site for more info.

For those of you who are determined to use P2P software such as Limewire and other bittorrents we look forward to seeing you in the new year.

Well till next year, may Santa drop his entire load on your lap and stay safe...

Cheers
Bill

2009-10-16T14:52:00.000-07:00

Book your upgrade to Windows 7 today!!

Hi Everyone,

Dragging my feet a bit this month, Phew! October already didn't we just have Xmas? Time seems to get faster and faster. Anyway, as you all know Microsoft is about to release its next installment in the life of Windows - called simply Windows 7. I guess it's easier to just add a number to it's name than think up some other clever name. Logical really no matter it's name we still all know it as Windows so why not just add a version number. With the very sour taste left by ME2 whoops I mean Vista, some of you maybe a little weary about adopting Windows 7. I would find it difficult to comprehend that even Microsoft could well afford to make the Vista mistake twice? I have had the opportunity to use and test Windows 7 for quite sometime and I am very impressed with this release. We all love Windows XP and find it hard to let go but with this version I believe we have finally found a suitable replacement and I foresee a bright future for Windows 7.

Another notable event and yes believe it or not again from Microsoft but this month saw the final release of their new security software called Security Essentials and the best thing in a long time is the fact that its FREE, yep that's right no more having to pay expensive annual fees to stay safe, so go get your copy today.

To discus your security or book in for your Windows upgrade give us a call today and we will be very happy to help you.

Remember to backup your important files, install your Windows updates and keep your security up to date.

Happy & Safe Computing
Bill

September Blog from the workbench

2009-09-18T15:38:00.000-07:00

Hi All

As you may have noticed we have been busy connecting our site with all those popular social networking websites such as Twitter and facebook etc. We have also redirected our monthly blog to the one your reading now. We have done this to help increase traffic to our site and to also extend our helpful hand to more people.

This month as far as the workbench goes has been very much the norm except, we have had a number of Western Digital hard drives fail and sadly those customers who also experienced this lost all their files and had no backups. I fully understand that backing up your files is a pain in the proverbial, however if you have items stored on your computer that you can not lose - now's the time to burn them to a CD/DVD and store them safely away.

I have also noted that owners of laptops are neglecting the requirement to create recovery disks when they first turn on their shiny new piece of equipment. These disks are very important and can save both you and me considerable time when repairing your system. So please take the opportunity to create these disks before the opportunity is lost forever.

A few of you have asked about the FREE security program from Microsoft codenamed Morro, well thus far it is still in Beta testing, it was to be released in the second half of 2009, I guess they are dragging their feet a little but hey! Still time left yet. It's official name is Microsoft Security Essentials and will be available download soon, maybe....

Well remember to backup, update and stay safe

Happy Computing

August 2008 - Monthly Newsletter

2008-08-18T21:31:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

Well this month has seen Help Me Computers relocate to it's new home in Burleigh. Though we are still trying to get setup we are very much open for business.

For those customers who have recently joined the family welcome to our newsletter (blog), each month we strive to continue to offer support, via tips and tricks and reminders to help you to get the best from your computer.

So I dare say, lets get business out of the way with the following reminders:

It's time to backup your personal files, so as not to become a victim of data loss
Your security software needs to be updated and a scan performed to keep those threats away
Also remember to download and install all available updates from Microsoft, as these updates also protect you from malicious attacks etc.

Advice

People quite often ask me what's the best laptop to buy, well... most of your common garden variety notebooks would be suitable for most users. However, there would be a couple of things I would consider when making a purchase.

Get the extra warranty - e.g. 3 years onsite
Ensure the company has a local repairer

With the above two (2) choices and the correct price and etc, you should be safe to buy a notebook whatever name they stamp on the front.

I am also constantly asked how much is it to upgrade or replace existing computers. This is very difficult question to answer as there are so many different options available. The best advice I can offer you is to check your budget and see what you can afford to spend and then we can attempt to match a solution to suit.

Tips

Microsoft Word

Grow font, shrink font. Here are three quick ways to change the size of selected text: Choose Font from the Format menu and specify the desired point size. Click the Font Size button on the Formatting toolbar and select an entry from the drop-down list. Or use the Grow Font and Shrink Font shortcuts, which are [Ctrl] plus the close- and open- square bracket characters, respectively.

Paste plain text. When you copy and paste text from a Web page or another document, the text brings its formatting into your document. To get around that behavior, copy the text and place the insertion point marker where you want to insert the copy. Then, open the Edit menu, choose Paste Special, and select the Unformatted Text option.

Use AutoCorrect as a text expander. You don't have to keep typing those long words or phrases you have trouble with. Come up with a three- or four-letter abbreviation for it and add it to AutoCorrect. For example, say you often need to type Indianapolis. Press [Alt]T (to open the Tools menu) and press A to select AutoCorrect. Type indy, press [Tab], type Indianapolis, and press [Enter] twice. Now, any time you type indy followed by a space or any punctuation, Word will automatically "correct" that spelling and replace it with Indianapolis. You can save up to 255 characters in an AutoCorrect entry. (If you need more characters or you want to include pictures along with text, use AutoText instead.)

July 2008 - Monthly Newsletter

2008-07-29T02:50:00.000-07:00

For those of you who are new to Help Me Computers, we would like to take the opportunity to welcome you to our family and we look forward to helping you well into the future.

For those who have been apart of the Help Me family for sometime welcome to our latest edition.

This month we offically start our online blog as a replacement to the email newsletter that most of you would be familiar with. This format allows us to offer you better support coupled with the ability to archive our blogs, so if you need to reference a past issue it's now easier to do so.

I guess the first order of the day is to remind you all to:

Ensure your security software is up to date and you have run a recent scan of your computer?

Have you installed all the Windows updates that have been released in the past month?

Most importantly have you backed up your information?

Secondly as some of you maybe aware Help Me Computer Services will be relocating to Burleigh, this is likely to happen sometime in August as we are only waiting for the phones and Internet to be connected and then we will move. Unfortunately we will not be able to retain our existing landline number and a general email will be forwarded to update you all with our new address and phone number when available.

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This Month's Special Offer!
This month we have a great offer for customers, a perfect solution to that old computer you thought was to expensive to update. From a low $399.00 you can replace the dinosaur with a new faster, bigger computer. For this low price you get;
· Foxconn Case
· Celeron Processor
· MSI Mainboard
· 1GB DDR2 RAM
· Samsung DVD/RW
· Hitachi 160 GB Hard Drive

All this would normally cost $599.00

Hang on! You'll need a monitor how about a BENQ 19" Wide Screen $320.00 plus you'll possibly need a copy of Windows XP for just $205.00 plus you'll need some security to protect it all, we can include a copy of Microsoft's Onecare for just $45.00.

All this would normally cost you $1,169.00

For the entire package Help Me Computer customers can have this for just $865.00 you save $304.00.

If you don't need a monitor and software, you can have the base system for a low $399.00

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One of the most popular components of our monthly newsletter is our tips and tricks so I guess our blog should be no different and offer you some advice, tips and tricks on how to get the best from your experience on the computer.

Just learning about Windows Vista?: Here are 10 cool things you can do that you couldn't do with previous Windows operating systems. Read More

Speed up Vista: Turn your Windows Vista-based PC into a speed demon with these quick tips and advice. Read More

3 Solid Gold Excel Tips: These simple, relatively unknown tips are worth learning. Read More

Keep your computer clean: An unorganized computer will perform slower and make it difficult for you to find what you need. Read More

10 tips for more effective Internet searches: Finding what you're looking for on the Web can be challenging. These tips will help you search more effectively. Read More

5 productivity tips for Windows XP: Still using Windows XP? Here are five ways to help you be more productive, straight from the pages of Windows XP Killer Tips Read More

Get continuous protection for your PC with Windows Live OneCare
Download Windows Live OneCare, the new comprehensive, automatic, and self-updating PC care service that helps protect and maintain your PC. Download the free trial. or phone us on 55 72 6060 and order your copy today and protect your computer for tomorrow.

Well people that's it for this month, if you would like to contribute to our blog, whether it's a funny story, maybe you have a tip you would like to share or you have a question you'd like to ask then send us an email.

Happy Computing

Bill