November 16, 2009 by jeff schreibman
Reston Tech Wiz is excited to announce the release of Windows 7 from Microsoft. We have been running this new operating system for around a month now and must say, this is a STUNNING upgrade from Windows Vista. This version of Windows runs extremely well and has tons of neat and useful features, that almost make us feel as comfortable as when we use a Mac. Kudos to Microsoft and we can highly recommend Windows 7 to anyone who has problems with Vista or is purchasing a new computer.
We would also like to announce a new partnership with Advantage Media Technologies who provides top of the line Audio and Visual services to the local area. AMT does A/V jobs across the board ranging from single family home install to partnering with the Greenspur project in McLean. These guys are true professionals and come highly recommended.
Computer Tips for the Month
- Download, install and use Mozilla Firefox instead of Microsoft Internet Explorer
- Mozilla Firefox is a swiftly growing internet browser that is more powerful and secure than Internet Explorer. The problem is that Microsoft ships all PC’s with Internet Explorer installed. You have a much better alternative out there called Firefox which can be downloaded here. Along with the standard Firefox browser are these wonderful “add-ons” that can make your web surfing life so much better. Click here to see the many add-ons available and see below for a few of our favorites:
- Web of Trust – This add-on can basically save you from ever visiting a site that is untrustworthy again. A simple red circle next to the website name and also a warning when you try and access an unsavory site will alert you of the danger. The web of trust is actually created by other users out there who rate websites on the quality of their content, its fascinating how this all comes together.
- Email the Web – You can quickly and simply email a web page you are looking at to anyone with an email address.
- Adblock Plus – Ever been annoyed by all those ads and banners on the internet that often take longer to download than everything else on the page?
- Personas – Choose from over 30,000 cool designs, including art from Harry Potter and Bob Marley. Join over 8 million people from around the world who are asking themselves: “What Will My Browser Wear Today?”
Category: newsletterTags: advantage media technologies, firefox, internet explorer, security, web of trust | Comments (0)
by jeff schreibman
Reston Tech Wiz would like to make all of its clients aware of the remote desktop help option that has been getting an excellent response. We can send you a link that will install software on your machine so that ONLY Reston Tech Wiz can log into your machine and offer remote support. We have found that this type of support is fantastic because our clients can alert us of their problem the instant they occur and we can properly diagnose the issue as sometimes they are hard to re-create. You know how it works, just when the repair man shows up, everything stops acting broken!
If you are interested in this option, please reply to this email and let us know and we can get you on remote support. The convenience is really a wonderful benefit.
Computer Tips for the Month
- Be wary of internet windows that claim your computer is “infected” or offer “free scans”
- From time to time you will get a pop-up window that claims your computer is infected and that they have the perfect solution for you. Be very careful as 99% of the time these are bogus and they are trying to get you to install spyware and other malicious software. If you think you may have gotten spyware from this type of window, please visit http://www.malwarebytes.org/, which offers excellent FREE software for removing malware.
- Apply your Windows updates
- That little annoying shield in the bottom right corner of your screen will display a message every once in a while such as “Updates are ready to install”. Most of us ignore these messages, but instead they need to be taken seriously as this is Windows telling you they have a patch or more often security fix for the operating system. You need to get in a habit of allowing Windows to apply the most recent patches to stay safe and secure while you are computing. If you are uncertain of the correct place to get updates, visit http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/ using Internet Explorer only.
Category: newsletterTags: anti-virus, malware, windows updates | Comments (0)
by jeff schreibman
Reston Tech Wiz is proud to announce the first newsletter where we will be offering some free tips and a reminder of our services offered. We have been growing quite steadily since the beginning of the year and thank you, our clients, very much for the work. We will continue to deliver top notch service and provide just the amount of work needed and never more. If you have a friend or small business in mind who needs a professionally designed website to serve as a sales tool or storefront, be sure to contact us.
Computer Tips for the Month
- Don’t pay for an anti-virus subscription.
- There are many FREE alternatives to the subscription based anti-virus programs out there. We especially recommend AVG free edition which can be found at free.avg.com
- Backup your important data regularly.
- We cannot stress this enough, getting a solid and repeatable backup plan is critical. USB backup drives are extremely affordable these days (around $100) and will provide automatic, dependable backup and most of all piece of mind.
- Defragment your hard drive at least once a month.
- This process greatly speeds up your hard drive and is essential if you are constantly moving files to/from/around your computer. This can be setup as a scheduled task by using Windows ‘Task Scheduler’ found at Start–>Programs–>Accessories–>System Tools–>Task Scheduler.
- Be careful when “replying to all”
- This is humorous, however everyone knows the feeling when an email is sent out to a large group of people and inevitably, someone clicks ‘reply to all’ and responds to the entire list accidently. Just be careful and be sure to hit ‘reply’ only, everyone else will thank you and its much less embarrassing!
Category: newsletterTags: anti-virus, data backup, defragment, hard drive, logmein, remote access | Comments (0)
