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

1. 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?”

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

1. 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.
2. 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.

Computer Tips for the Month

1. 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
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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!

1. Use WordPress – Be sure to use WordPress.org to be the platform to build your blog on.  This is the most powerful, flexible and easy to use package on the market.
2. Post Often – You must post new blog articles AT LEAST once a week.  The purpose is to get readers coming back to your for information and “news”, you don’t want them to think you aren’t posting on a regular basis.
3. Link Gallore – You want to link to as many RELATED sites as possible to improve your search ability and to gain as much exposure and page hits as possible.  An easy way to do this is to contact another blogger and ask them to exchange links, this is not intrusive at all and normally a welcomed request.
4. Be Candid – Blogging is meant for you to act as the news reporter or editorial page writer.  People come to your blog for candid talk with opinions and usually an agenda.  After all, you are trying to build an audience, so they want to hear your UNIQUE voice.
5. Utilize SEO – After you have started to create posts and get people interested in your topic (from whatever geography you choose, mind you) you MUST utilize Search Engine Optimization (SEO) on your pages to ensure they are searchable and easily readable in search engines.  This basically means if you are blogging about technology, you want to be sure that if someone types in “Technology Blog”, your blog will come up in the search engines and look clean with a nice title and description that looks inviting to potential readers.