Blog :: PCTechs Online | In-home Service | Spyware removal | Word Press Design

The greatest illusion of communication

PCTech — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 17:51:29 +0000

“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.”- George Bernard Shaw

A friend, Linnaea Mallette of Read My Lips Tips For Success, has been quoting this for months. It finally resonated in me when a series of text messages were misunderstood or never received.

The scenario is this:

A person initiates a text message to another user, there is no response. Later the person checks their email and discovers that the responses were coming to email via the other person’s phone email. The emails were received with cryptic subjects and “from” description.

The takeaway I got from this, is NEVER ASSUME. Communication is only as good as the receipt of it, whether it be in social media circles or one on one speaking.

The Problem with Domains Part 1

PCTech — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 07:57:31 +0000

Having your own domain is a wonderful thing. yourname.com can be a great location for a blog, a business site or a hangout to post your rant.
The problem is where do you host it? How do you own it? And how to do start the whole thing off?

First Step: Check for the domain name on the Internet

You can use any registration site to discover whether or not your domain name is available. Once you determine the domain is available, find a hosting company that suits your web needs and purchase the domain there. I do not recommend buying a domain from one location and then hosting elsewhere.

Using a hosting company to check a domain is the easiest means to the end. I can recommend Bluehost for this. My domains are hosted there. If you click on the link, you will go through my affiliate link.

Choosing a domain name can be a tedious or adventurous task. If you are thinking of using your name for your domain, and it is a common one, you may find you need to include a middle initial to acquire the domain. I think the domain jacksmith.com for example is already taken. But perhaps jackjsmith.com is not.

Be creative. Watch for part two in a couple of days.

Three Cheers for Google and GMail

PCTech — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 07:03:59 +0000

This week I had the opportunity to help a client transition from one email address to a GMail address. One of the options I encountered said the client could migrate her contacts and mail to the new GMail account. I wasn’t sure this would be accomplished and GMail had a disclaimer about it, but, I opted in for my client.
Within a few minutes most of her contacts were appearing in the list under the GMail account. Soon the email came in clearly labeled as having come from the old email account.

This was the easiest transition of email I have seen in awhile. Congratulations Google, this is great!

Right Place, Right Time

PCTech — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 06:30:35 +0000

Tonight I was emailing a client when I realized it was the time for her radio show, “Read My Lips Tips for Success“. When I listened in I heard that the speaker had not arrived yet. The host was smoothly transitioning into other topics. Nice job, I thought.

I signed into the chat room for the show. I wanted to see if anyone else was listening and on the boards. I was the only listener there.

Then I began to hear that the hostess was saying she would ask her computer tech…me…to see if I could contact the speaker using Facebook. What a stroke. So I began the quest. The speaker had her Facebook account fully locked down so I couldn’t even message her without “friending” her first. So I tried LinkedIn. Same thing.

I got back on the chat board and typed the information in to the moderator. Then I heard Linnaea say she was going to see if she could get me to come on the line and talk for a bit. I am scheduled to be on the air in August. I was excited to do this spontaneous thing, so I typed in the chat window…calling in.

We talked for a few minutes. Linnaea interviewed and I answered. It was a blast. You can hear this impromteau broadcast from Linnaea Mallette’s website http://readmylipstips.com. Click on the Radio/TV tab to see all of her previous shows.

MacKeeper- Updated

PCTech — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 00:25:49 +0000

Keep your Mac Clean and running smooth! Now is the time to protect your MAC from Malware and junk files.

System requirements Mac OS X 10.5 or later.

Got another email sent by Malware

PCTech — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 05:38:50 +0000

One of my client’s email programs sent mail to all of her contacts. It had not subject. This is a RED FLAG for SPAM. I notified her and she is changing her password to stop the program from sending more emails to her contact list.

This is the only way to stop this process.

Here is what the customer had to say:

“Good Morning Circe,

Password is taken care of and working properly thanks to you.“

Domain or Hosted Domain

PCTech — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 03:02:18 +0000

A domain name is an identity with an extension of .com, .org, .net, .info etc. A hosted domain is an identity on the World Wide Web.

You can buy your domain anywhere and it is yours to keep as long as you pay tht yearly fee.

But, when you buy a domain and host it somewhere, it is on the World Wide Web, and instantly available for publically being found. What would that domain look like at this point? Not much. In most cases it would have a page that says you have reached a page that not available. This is set by the hosting company until you change it.

How do you get a site up without spending all of your hard earned money? Word Press. If your hosting company has a tool to install Word Press, do it on your hosted domain. Then you have a site. Editing your Word Press site is a lot easier than you think.

If you think you want to get online, look at Bluehost for hosting and domain registration in one place.

Tethering your iPhone

PCTech — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 15:04:44 +0000

Parked in the wide open spaces with no WIFI in sight? Need to shoot off an email or a new blog post before you head back to work? Tether your iPhone to your PC.
Tethering is connecting the phone to the USB port and turning on the hotspot (or tethering) feature. This creates a nearly instant connection to the Internet. It is fast and easy for a quick connection. Of course you will need to have a data plan that supports this.
Another great thing about this connection is that you can still receive calls while connected. Perfect for the multi-tasker!

Ejecting Attached Devices

PCTech — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 14:05:30 +0000

The Windows operating system can corrupt data stored on an attached drive if the drive is disconnected without running the command to eject it. The process is simple and should be done each time a flash drive, external hard drive or card reader is used then removed.

Click on the icon in the lower right corner of your system that represents an attached device. In Windows Vista and 7 it looks like a tall rectangle with a green check mark.

Select the drive from the popup that you want to eject.

Now you can pull out the USB disk, cable, or flash drive.

Word Press Security Alert!

PCTech — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 04:23:15 +0000

WordPress.org has brought to our attention recently news of several popular WordPress plugins that have been compromised and contain disguised backdoor security holes. The compromised plugin(s) found on your account are:

W3 Total Cache

All affected plugins have since been updated and all malicious content has been removed. Unfortunately many users installed or upgraded the infected versions and remain compromised. You are receiving this email because we have detected that you are running at least one infected version.

To resolve this quickly, please upgrade all plugins through your WordPress Dashboard immediately

FROM WORDPRESS.ORG NEWS:

Passwords Reset

Posted June 21, 2011 by Matt Mullenweg. Filed under Security.

Earlier today the WordPress team noticed suspicious commits to several popular plugins (AddThis, WPtouch, and W3 Total Cache) containing cleverly disguised backdoors. We determined the commits were not from the authors, rolled them back, pushed updates to the plugins, and shut down access to the plugin repository while we looked for anything else unsavory.

We’re still investigating what happened, but as a prophylactic measure we’ve decided to force-reset all passwords on WordPress.org. To use the forums, trac, or commit to a plugin or theme, you’ll need to reset your password to a new one. (Same for bbPress.org and BuddyPress.org.)

As a user, make sure to never use the same password for two different services, and we encourage you not to reset your password to be the same as your old one.

Second, if you use AddThis, WPtouch, or W3 Total Cache and there’s a possibility you could have updated in the past day, make sure to visit your updates page and upgrade each to the latest version.