One day, my father decided to buy a new router and modem. They were lovely, sleek machines that gave our household a pretty decent internet connection. We were all very satisfied with the results, and were able to use the internet from any room in the house, night and day.

However, over a period of a few days our broadband speed slowed to a snail’s pace. This was unusual, we thought, because there was no way we could have used our monthly data allowance in less than a week. So what’s going on?

After grilling one another (to the tune of: “Who used up all the internet? Was it you?”), my father called our internet provider to find out what exactly was going on.

They asked him: “Have you paid your bills?” Yes, all bills were paid.

“Have you run diagnostics?” Yes, no issue there.

“Well, have you looked at your modem?”  ….

And therein lay the problem.

When the modem was purchased, it came with a default ID and password that we had forgotten to change. Someone in New Zealand had stumbled across it and thought it would be a lovely idea to try and hack into it, to piggyback our internet data.

Unfortunately for them, they weren’t very good hackers at all.

When the intruder came across our modem, still with its default ID and password, they foolishly thought that entering their own ID and password would gain them access to our data. But what really happened was they logged us onto their account. The reason our internet was so slow was because our family of five was charging our internet usage to his/her account!

When my father first discovered that our broadband speed was slow, naturally the first thing he did was to unplug the modem and router. This had the effect of switching our IP address, which was bad news for our hacker, whose internet we were using. When the modem was turned back on, our account was assigned a new IP address, which the hacker didn’t know, meaning they couldn’t hack back in to boot us off their account, because they didn’t have our IP anymore.

Luckily for them we didn’t like their slow internet connection, so we were switched back onto our own account. All that we suffered was the minor inconvenience of torturously slow internet. The hacker, on the other hand, lost all their data allowance and would have had to pay a nice big wad of cash to top-up again.

My family got off lucky, but there are others who don’t fare so well.

To avoid a more disastrous outcome than the one we suffered, take the following steps to secure your network:

Enable WPA or WPA2 encryption on your router. This protects the data that is transferred between your PC and your wireless router. Change the default ID and password on your modem and router. Run software firewalls on all PCs. Enable Virtual Private Networking (VPN) when out and about, to prevent people from spying on your communications.

If all of this sounds like gibberish to you, then let us help! Advanced Computers’ specialist team can set up your wireless network to be watertight and secure against unwanted guests, and we’re just a phone-call away!

Drop us a line at 0508 PC SERVICE (727 378), send us an email to info@advancedcomputers.co.nz, or pop into one of our stores at Glenfield and Penrose.

Using the internet means you have to be prepared to defend yourself from unscrupulous tricksters who want into your computer, bank account, and identity. Now, when we say ‘defend’ we don’t mean barricading yourself behind the dining room table with a potato gun. We mean taking steps to ensure that there is nothing for these people to latch onto when they come across you, online.

First of all, your most basic and necessary protection is a good anti-virus software package. Not only will this protect your computer and the files you have stored on it from hackers, it will also warn you about suspicious websites, and actively catch anything trying to break through to you. The crucial thing to remember about anti-virus software is that you must keep it up-to-date. If you don’t, you run the risk of leaving exploitable holes in your security network that otherwise would have been patched by the latest version of your anti-virus.

Social media websites are common places for fraudsters to trawl for opportunities. Many people leave their profiles and contact information open to the public, which is a huge no-no. It may make it easier for your friends and acquaintances to find you, but it also makes it easy for the bad guys to steal your identity. If they know your email address, phone number, date of birth, where you live, where you went to school, who your best friend is, and what you look like, they can do quite a bit of damage ranging from setting up fake profiles with your name on them, to signing you up for all kinds of things. They can even use the information they gathered to hack into other accounts you own that require basic security questions like “what is your mother’s maiden name?” or “where were you born?”.

The solution? Ensure that your profiles have the highest levels of privacy, so that only those on your friends list can see your details. Also, don’t put everything about you on social media! Keep the information you post to a bare minimum, and if you must supply information you’d rather not, make it up and write it down somewhere safe.

Another big area of risk lies in online retail therapy. Shopping online gives you access to a huge range of items, but it also opens you up to a huge range of risks. We all know to protect our credit cards in real life, but how many of us protect them online? All it takes is one person to get a-hold of your credit card number, and before you know it they’ve overdrawn on your account and potentially ruined your credit rating for years to come.

However, there are steps you can take to ensure this doesn’t happen to you. As mentioned about, install a good quality anti-virus to get rid of malware, spyware, and keyloggers (programmes that log the keys you press on your computer). Next, only shop on websites that you know are trusted. Places like Amazon, eBay, and Trademe are great examples. If you venture onto a website that you’re not so sure about, Google its name and check out what other people are saying about it. If it’s bad, then you know to stay away. If it looks ok, then your next step is to look at the URL of the website. Does it start with ‘https’? If it does, then it is a secure website and safe for you to proceed. Finally, shopping online is all about using your common sense. Always make sure there is a way to contact the seller via phone number, email, or address. If a website looks dodgy, then do a U-turn and find someplace else.

The final point to be raised here is the issue of scam emails. Those silly pleas for help from millionaire Nigerian businessmen, or letters from banks saying your ‘deposit has failed to transfer’ are all scams. Think critically about such emails if you are unsure: did you, in the past months, try to transfer money to Russia? Why are these emails addressed to ‘Sir/Madame’? Why would a millionaire contact you? The answer is simply that they are all scams. These emails are stabs in the dark; the senders are sending them out en masse in the hopes that someone will reply. If you do reply, either with an offer to help or an expletive-laden refusal, then they know that there is someone at your email address and they will target you in other ways.

So be careful! Don’t reply to emails where you don’t know the sender. Think critically about everything you do online, and you will be safe.

(credit: nydailynews.com)

Apple maps

This is the the big problem that had people driving off bridges, into the desert, and Google laughing all the way to the bank. Apple replaced Google maps with its own version, forcing people to adapt to a buggy piece of software that sent them on wild goose-chases. As well as that, Apple removed some of the key features that were typically found in the Google map app, and replaced them with…well…nothing. Apple is currently working on a fix, but there’s no set date. For now, the safest option for users is to simply visit maps.google.com on their browser to get a more accurate picture of the roads ahead.

(credit: psdgraphics.com)

Wi-Fi connection

Many people have reported a problem connecting to the internet via Wi-Fi, on their iPhone 5. Common issues are refusal of connection, dropped connections, and low signal strength, even when the Wi-Fi works just fine on another device. A quick (but not permanent) fix for this problem is to turn your phone off and turn it on again, just like you do with computers. Apple has released an iOS 6.0.2 update to specifically fix this problem, and yet it still persists for some people. If this is the case for you, take your iPhone 5 back to the Apple store and get them to solve it (or even give you a new phone).

(credit: iosdoc.com)

Overheating and excessive battery drain

The introduction of iOS 6.1 saw many people complaining about excessive heat and battery drainage. The cause hasn’t been confirmed, but a solution to the problem appears to be to turn off Push. This means you will receive your emails only when you click on the email app, which saves your iPhone continually refreshing. Another solution some found to work is to hard reset the phone. Until the official update is released to solve this problem, this is all users can rely on.   

(credit: cultofmac.com)

Scratches

When you shell out a lot of money for the latest and greatest iPhone you want to keep it looking as new as possible, for as long as possible, right? Well, that may be an issue with the iPhone 5, which appears to attract dings and scratches like flies to honey. The most obvious solution is to buy a cover protector (of which Advanced Computers has a nice selection, by the way), or just be very careful with how you handle your iPhone.

(credit: cnn.com)

Purple glare on photos

It’s frustrating to line up the perfect shot only to have it ruined by some strange purple light that definitely wasn’t there when you last looked. Reports indicate that this occurs when there’s an out-of-scene light source. Apple’s solution? Shield the lens with your hand, or move the angle at which the light hits the lens.

(credit: macobserver.com)

Screen flicker

This has been happening most commonly when people use the virtual keyboard in the App Store. It’s a minor problem, but it has no fix as yet.

(credit: dailymail.co.uk)

Unresponsive touch screen

Some iPhone 5’s appear to be dropping the touch-screen input intermittently, for no reason. Some people have even reported a complete cessation of touch-screen capability, or the entire screen going blank. Thankfully this isn’t a widespread problem, but it is a serious one if it affects you. The easiest solution to the problem is to get a replacement phone from the Apple store.

While this may cast a pall of doom and gloom over the iPhone 5, the truth is these problems will not all happen to the same iPhone. If you’re unlucky you’ll encounter one of the above, but the odds are that if you purchase an iPhone 5, it will be fine.

And remember, if you do have a problem and want a fix, Advanced Computers will help you out!

Microsoft has been slowly winding down and unplugging XP, starting with the cessation of mainstream support in 2009. Since then, all that’s been available to users is the extended support, where security updates, non-security hotfixes, free or paid assisted support options, and online technical content updates are provided.

However, come April 2014 extended support will also be cut, and anyone still using XP will be all on their own.

This is a worry for the people and businesses who still have the old girl running because there will no longer be crucial security updates, patches, bug-fixes, and so on, that are part of a normal operating system. In particular, the lack of security updates creates weaknesses in the system that viruses, malware, and hackers can exploit. Vulnerabilities that remain unpatched will continue running, leaving your computer open to some pretty nasty intrusions.

People are encouraged to upgrade because if something goes wrong, Windows will no longer be there to give you a helping hand. Of course, you can still continue to use XP (I’ve known people to run Windows ’98 until 2005!), but be aware of the risks involved.

The line Microsoft is taking is “use XP at your own risk after April 2014”.

Businesses, on the other hand, are strongly urged to upgrade now, because if they haven’t already, they’ve left it till the last minute which will cost them time and money.

This is because of the length of time involved in upgrading to a new OS. Small businesses will manage the switchover faster, whereas large businesses will find it a challenge. It takes the average business around 25 months to reach optimal deployment, so depending on the number of computers and complexity of your organisation’s systems, you could be in for quite a haul.

Switching to a new OS is not a quick process. It’s not like your internet browser that can be updated online to the latest version, nor is it a simple overwrite-job. installing a new OS will require you to wipe the slate clean, meaning that all the programmes, data, and configurations on your current OS will need to be migrated over to whichever new version of Windows you decide on.

The complexity of switching to a new OS means it’s not something the average person should do, unless they have quite a bit of computer experience under their belt. For those who don’t, it is highly recommended that you get a professional service like Advanced Computers to do it for you.

Our technicians will perform meticulous back-ups and transfers to ensure all your data is safe and protected, as well as eliminating any residual problems on your hard drive that could carry over to your new system.

When you entrust your computer to us to upgrade the system, you are guaranteed a 100% satisfactory job.

To learn more about how we can help you upgrade to a newer OS, give us a call on 0508 PC SERVICE, or send us an email at info@advancedcomputers.co.nz.

But like many things, servers are going virtual, which means there are many additional benefits gained that can save your business even more time and money.

Affordable and forward-thinking, virtual servers are key to accommodating and facilitating your business’s growth. By replacing your physical server with a virtual one, you will save your business time and money through reductions in cost and downtime, as well as enhanced efficiency in day-to-day and long-term business operations.

Check out the ways we’ve found virtual servers improve SMEs, below.

Key benefits of a virtual server

1. reduce costs

2. reduce downtime

3. increase efficiency

Reduce costs

Investing in virtual servers will reduce expenditure on your I.T. budget.

Virtual servers allow you to consolidate the total number of servers, cutting costs on infrastructure that requires installation and regular maintenance, as well as the initial capital investment.

Some software, like Microsoft Virtual Server, allows you to run multiple servers within a single server platform, reducing the costs associated with set-up, running, and maintaining multiple servers, as well as granting flexibility to your I.T. department.

Virtual servers can also do more with less; compared to physical servers, virtual servers run at 80% utilisation, whereas physical servers only reach between 5 and 15% utilisation.

Not only that, virtual servers take less time to set-up, as standard configurations are pre-configured and stored, making it a simple matter to get things running.

Reduce downtime

In the event your business experiences downtime, virtual servers will help you bring everything back up to speed. Thanks to this, virtual servers minimise downtime as data back-ups can be easily replicated and loaded, making disaster recovery and planning more efficient. Downtime is costly for SMEs, which is why the ability to quickly bounce back through virtual servers is a great solution.

Increase efficiency

The most significant benefit of virtual servers is the efficiency they grant to SMEs.

By nature of being online, virtual servers allow you to manage your office space, reduce power consumption, and save money. They also enjoy enhanced flexible, as the CPU memory and disks can be changed within minutes, compared to physical servers where upgrades cost considerable amounts of time and money in ordering, installing, and testing.

Server resources are also allocated on-demand, meaning they can be directed to where they are needed, when they are needed, and standardisation means that servers can be easily replicated, which translates to faster deployment.

Reductions in cost, downtime, and increases in efficiency are three of the main points businesses strive for, and they can all be found in virtual servers.

If your business is at the point where information management is getting to be too much to handle, consider investing in a virtual server.

For more information, talk to our experts at Advanced Computers. You can contact us here.

At Advanced Computers we’re always keen to help students out which is why we’ve partnered up with StudentCard to deliver great savings just for you!

For the whole of 2013, tertiary students who have signed up with StudentCard will receive 15% off repairs and servicing on computers, laptops, smartphones, tablets & sundry technology at Advanced Computers.

We fix everything from broken screens to faulty wiring, virus removal to data retrieval.

Even if you live outside of Auckland you can take advantage of this great offer: simply send us your device, and we’ll fix it and courier it back!

No other technology provider in Auckland offers this great deal for students, so take advantage of it now!

Visit our StudentCard page here.

What about your posture? Have you given that a thought?

Every week we hear messages about the need to eat healthily and exercise for at least 30 minutes a day, but because we spend so much time indoors in front of a computer, some of the most pressing health issues (that can easily be fixed!) are found right there.

Sitting in front of a computer, or at your desk all day, is terrible for your health in the short and long terms if you don’t practice good ergonomics. While you may justify your slouched position as a product of a late night, before you know it, it will become your habitual way of sitting at your desk.

Mum always told you to sit up straight and she was quite right.

Poor computer posture leads to repetitive strain injuries (RSI) and severe problems with your neck, back, and shoulders, often sooner than you think.

Ergonomics is not just about making sure your spine is vertical; it’s also about ensuring your feet have proper support, your computer is at the correct eye-level, and the way you type and use your mouse is not going to damage your wrists.

Here are the main points to take into consideration when setting your workstation up:

1. Ensure your back is well-supported. Adjust your chair or place a firm cushion to give you something to lean against. Your back should not curve beyond what is normal.
2. Your feet must be flat on the floor, which may necessitate a height-change in your chair. If that isn’t possible, place a few thick books under your feet to raise them up.
3. Adjust your computer so that your eyes are level with the toolbar on-screen. This places your eyes in the optimal position to view the whole screen without strain.
4. Centre your keyboard in front of the monitor, and place it close to the edge of the desk. Your keyboard and mouse should be positioned so that your arms fall at a 90 degree angle when typing.
5. Your knees should be at a right angle to your thighs, and thighs at a right angle to your torso.
6. Keep frequently-used items close at hand to avoid repeatedly reaching for them.
7. Support your wrists and hands with wrist guards and gel pads.
8. Take breaks to do some exercises!

Below are some quick hand exercises to go through during your workday, to prevent or alleviate carpal tunnel syndrome:

(image credit: Clinical Reference Systems)

(image credit: carpal-tunnel-symptoms.com)

A sensible workstation set up with ergonomics in mind will save you a lot of hassle in preventing backaches, muscle spasms, and RSI. Take a few minutes to re-organise your workstation and save yourself years of future health problems.

1. Loss of speed: when your programmes or browser is loading slower, or not at all, or the hard drive is running constantly, run a security scan to make sure that these are not just the workings of an aging computer but in fact, a virus.

2. Home-page redirects: when you open Firefox, Chrome, or Internet Explorer the first page you see is called your ‘home page’. One of the symptoms of a virus is when the home page suddenly changes to a different website, without you changing it yourself.

3. Mid-browsing redirects: this takes place during ambles through the internet. You click on a link or scroll through a page only to suddenly be taken to a completely different site. This often happens once every 10-20 pages visited, and is a sign of a virus.

4. Downloading slows to a crawl: if your broadband speed is super slow (and once again, you don’t have multiple programmes running off it/ haven’t reached your monthly quota) then it’s a sign a virus may have jumped on board.

5. Pop-ups in strange places: as we use the internet we become used to the everyday pop-ups and windows that appear when visiting certain sites. However, when pop-ups happen frequently on regular as well as questionable websites, and even start showing up on your desktop, you have a virus.

6. Unusual error messages: computers can sometimes display some odd error messages, and often they’re legitimate. However, if you are ever suspicious of one, copy and Google it to determine whether it’s real or a viral fake.

7. New icons: always be suspicious of desktop icons or new add-ons to programme windows you don’t recognise. Pay attention especially if they appear and disappear, and run a scan to make absolutely sure it’s not caused by a virus.

8. Anti-virus software disappears and/or firewalls disabled: viruses are sneaky in that they can disable your computer’s security systems. If one of these is shut down, check to make sure it’s not just a software failure. If all of them are down then get your computer checked out ASAP.

9. Strange languages: the language installed on your computer when you buy it is the language it should keep, unless you change it yourself. If the language suddenly changes that should be a warning sign to you that something funny is going on.

10. Major decrease in free space: if you find suddenly your hard drive has little to no space on it (and you haven’t installed any large programmes lately), then it’s highly likely to be due to a virus.

11. Unresponsive computer: some viruses were created with the nasty ability to lock you out of your computer. When this happens try starting your computer back up in safe mode and running a scan.

Protecting yourself against viruses is imperative since so much sensitive information is stored on personal and business computers. The best way to do this is to make sure your antivirus software is up-to-date, running regular scans, and never clicking dodgy links or visiting questionable websites.

If your computer displays one of the above signs of a virus, run an immediate scan. If you are still worried then bring it in to Advanced Computers, and our technicians will cure your computer of any digital sniffles it may have picked up.

There are any number of reasons for why a computer moves at a snail’s pace: internal memory is full, viruses and malware, un-defragged hard drive, or (most popularly) not enough RAM. But another reason why your computer may be lagging behind is because, plain and simple, it’s dirty!

Even if you keep the screen and keyboard sparkling clean, the interior of your computer may still be chock-full of dust, and there’s little you can do to prevent it because it accumulates over time. The problem is exacerbated by keeping computers near or on surfaces that attract dust, like carpet, table cloths, and curtains. Getting rid of the dust can be done in either an easy way, or a difficult way: take your computer to the I.T. experts, or roll up your sleeves and give it a clean-up yourself.

Being the adventurous (but somewhat foolhardy) type, I decided last week that enough was enough: it was time to exercise some good old kiwi ingenuity and clean out my laptop myself.

One of the problems my laptop was experiencing was a labouring fan, and upon closer inspection (i.e. peering through the vent with a flashlight) it was found to be absolutely clogged with dust. Working in a computer repair company (but not being a repair technician myself) I confidently believed I had picked up enough knowledge to do a satisfactory job that would have my laptop sparkling inside and out, and running faster than Usain Bolt.

I can tell you now I didn’t get very far.

The first thing I did was to grab some screwdrivers, flip my poor laptop over, and go to town taking out every single screw I could see. “When in doubt, take it out,” was my philosophy. Soon I was sitting amidst a pile of screws and cover parts, with no sign of the dust build-up I was positive lurked in my computer.

Casting a gimlet eye over the backside of my laptop I determined that all I needed to do was to remove the second layer, because that was definitely where all the troublesome dust was sitting, no doubt about it. The only problem was I had already taken out all the screws, and despite all the pulling and prying the back cover was stuck together tighter than a clam.

An hour and a half had already passed and I clearly wasn’t getting anywhere noteworthy. Now was the time, I thought with reluctance, to consult the service manual and find out exactly how to reach that dusty fan, hidden away in the gloomy depths.

(The great thing about laptops is that you can do a simple Google search using the brand name and model number, together with the phrase ‘service manual’, and it will pop up online.)

Another hour and 136 pages later I was cowed by the sheer work it would take to dig down to the fan, located beneath the second protective layer, right next to the motherboard and other delicate components.

My kiwi ingenuity could only take me so far; cleaning out the fan was a task that required one with greater skill and nerves of steel than I possessed. I conceded this round to my laptop.

However, I consoled myself with the fact that there was one thing I could do all by myself: cleaning out the keyboard!

The manual made it look easy, and bearing the warnings in mind to ground myself and never pull hard I managed to pop off the keyboard cover, ready to shake out all manner of things that had accumulated.

Imagine my disappointment when there was absolutely nothing there to be cleaned. Keyboards in many laptops are installed in one unit with edges that lock down tight, preventing anything from reaching the inside of the laptop by falling through the keys.

I was disappointed; my laptop had won this round, too.

This was not a tale of blazing success. While I did learn quite a bit about the inner components and structure of my laptop, I was unable to complete my goal of cleaning out the fan. Apart from learning how to take apart the underside and keyboard of my laptop (and developing an impressive set of muscles: some of those screws are tight!), my first foray into the realm of self-repair was a dud.

But while my laptop has twice bested me, it won’t be laughing for long. Where I failed, the professionals at Advanced Computers will succeed! I look forward to updating this blog in the future, on a laptop with a squeaky-clean interior.

When I first was given the chance to play around with it the first thing that stumped me was the lack of a ‘Start’ button. No start button? But Windows always has a start button. Without a start button how can I get to the start menu? How to I access all my programmes? Needless to say, it threw me into a bit of a flap.

I pride myself on being somewhat in-the-loop with technology, so I figured if I’m having this trouble, I can’t be the only one. So I decided to do some research into the workings of Microsoft’s newest operating system and share it with you, so that when you encounter Windows 8 you are also not thrown for a loop.

Windows 8 is odd in that it has two desktop views. You can alternate between the ‘traditional’ view with a toolbar at the bottom and icons of software on screen (but no start button), or the new Metro interface, where programmes are displayed in squares (called ‘Tiles’) much like apps are on smartphones.

(Windows 8 desktop view)

(Windows 8 Metro interface)

One of the reasons for this is Windows 8 is designed for PCs, laptops, and tablets. These three devices have different needs that are met in Windows 8, and as a benefit, all three devices are able to be unified.

You can switch between the Metro interface and traditional desktop view by pressing the Windows button on your keyboard, or clicking on the desktop Tile (when in Metro-mode). When in the traditional desktop view you can switch to the Metro interface by hovering your mouse on the bottom left of the screen.

(The pop-up box that takes you back to the Metro interface)

A pop-up will appear with multi-coloured squares, and clicking on this will take you to the Metro interface. For the lucky people with two monitors out there, you can enjoy the best of both worlds! It’s possible to display the traditional desktop on one screen and the Metro interface on the other.

In all probability you won’t want or use all the Tiles preloaded onto the Metro interface. In order to delete them simply right-click on the offending Tile, and select from the toolbar at the bottom of the screen ‘Unpin from start’ or ‘Uninstall’ (if you don’t want it at all).

There’s another shortcut feature that’s available on both the Metro and traditional desktops that you can reveal by clicking on the ‘minus’ sign on the bottom right of the screen. This will open a sidebar that allows you to search your apps, files, settings, or internet. Clicking on the search function will show you all the apps and programmes installed on your computer. While not a start button or menu, it’s the closest Windows 8 equivalent.

Conversely, when you hover your mouse on the left hand side of the screen, a pop-up will appear that shows you all the recent places you visited on your computer and on the internet.

In order to switch between users (assuming your computer has multiple accounts), you can do so quickly by clicking on your user account photo, located on the top right of the screen. Underneath, a pop-up will appear with the options to change your picture, lock your account, or sign out. Beneath those options will be a list of all the other accounts available on the computer. Selecting one will log you out and log that person in. You can switch between accounts without interrupting the programmes running on either. When you log back in, everything will be as you left it; no need to close programmes down.

What you will have to bear in mind is that you shouldn’t restart your PC when others are signed in, as anything they were working on (that wasn’t saved) will be lost.

Windows 8 will take some getting used to, but the new features and functions it boasts certainly makes up for the inconvenience. Next time you’re wandering past a Windows 8 PC, stop and have a play around. You may find you like it!

For Microsoft products and the best advice about computers, talk to the tech-spects at Advanced Computers: 0800 PC SERVICE or email at info@advancedcomputers.co.nz