Three Items to Keep your PC Clean

Posted by Clayton Lewis on December 29, 2008 under Blog Articles | Be the First to Comment

Not that I’ve switched to the dark side or anything but since I’ve been helping my relatives clean up their PCs, I’d thought I’d summarize the process. This was posted on AskMeHelpDesk.com by the user Vingogly

Here’s what you need to get and keep your PC clean:

AVG Free antivirus (viruses and trojans)
Lavasoft Ad-Aware Free (adware and spyware)
Spybot Search & Destroy (adware and spyware)

Make sure you get the right version of Spybot – there’s an imposter out there (I’ve provided the link to the correct one). Note that you want the Ad-Aware free version on the left, unless you want to complete an offer to get the Plus version on the right. I recommend both Ad-Aware and Spybot since in my experience they can find different things.

In addition to running the above weekly, make sure you never open an attachment in an email without scanning it first; turn off HTML display in your email client; and use Firefox for everyday browsing rather than Internet Explorer (only use Internet Explorer for Windows updates and those few sites that require it). Turn on your Windows firewall in XP or Vista.

Do all the above and chances are you’ll be a happy camper.

Relatives and Their Computer Problems

Posted by Clayton Lewis on December 26, 2008 under Blog Articles, Mac Tips, misc | Be the First to Comment

frustrated While I was living in Salt Lake City, I enjoyed the break and being away from friends and relatives who would always hit me up for free computer advice or have me take a look at their computer problems while I was “off-duty”. Now that I’m back in DC and visiting the relatives again for the holidays, I’m back to being the “go-to” guy for computer issues. I get asked all sorts of questions, such as… “Can you tell me why my computer is running so slow”? or ” I think I have a virus.. can you take a look at it?”. Since most of my relatives are PC users, my first response is always… “Toss it and buy a Mac.”

LifeHacker’s Gina Tripani, has posted an article on this very subject, just in time for the holidays called “Helping Clueless Relatives with Their Computer Problems“. It gives great advice on how to deal with the most common questions I get asked as I’m trying to choke down my Christmas ham.

1. Why does my computer take so long to start-up?
2. I keep getting a pop-up from my anti-virus software asking me to pay, what do I do?
…and more.

So, if you’re the family “go-to” person for computer problems, read the Lifehacker article and arm yourself this year for when the relatives come-a-calling.

Let me add that I am a big fan and supporter of the Free AVG Antivirus when it comes to protecting a Windows machine. I have taken off every version of Norton or MacAfee from every relative’s PC and replaced it with AVG Free.

Also for those long distance relatives that need support after the holidays are over, check out LogMeIn. They offer a FREE version that will allow you to connect and control any remote computer, Mac or PC. Just sign-up for free account and install the client software on any computer you want to control. Makes phone support with the relatives SO MUCH easier.

So, while I’m in the middle of my holiday vacation with my relatives, I’m properly armed for any questions that might get thrown my way. But my first response will always be. .”Dump that POS and get a Mac”

Just kidding.

Happy Holidays & Happy New Year

Posted by Clayton Lewis on under misc | Be the First to Comment

I’d like take a moment to wish everyone a joyous holiday season. I’m spending this season with my wife and kids and other family members in Williamsport, PA area.

Macworld – Come See Daylite Touch

Posted by Clayton Lewis on December 23, 2008 under Blog Articles, Daylite Tips, News, Announcments & Rumors | Be the First to Comment

mailchimp_iphone

Macworld is just around the corner… and so is Daylite Touch. At the show you’ll be able to see an essentially feature complete version. They’ll have demo stations setup and they’ll be there to answer questions. Check out this interview with AJ on G-Whiz. They also have a host of informative seminars lined up.

Presentations with Special Guests

Learn from the masters. Special Guest Wayne Pepper of the David Allen Company will be presenting a special GTD session on Wednesday and Thursday at 2:00 pm. We’ll also have Dax Dasilva – CEO of Xsilva, Grant Cowie – CEO of Cognito, Frank Blome – CEO of ProjectWizards and Todd Salkovitz – MYOB Product Evangelist making special appearances.

The Macworld crew including our CEO, Alykhan Jetha(AJ) will be there as well. They’d love to meet you.

Check out the full schedule and get your discount pass in Marketcircle’s Macworld page.

Visit them at Booth #2438 in the South Hall and find out how to fit your business in your pocket.

(I, unfortunately, will not be able to attend MacWorld 2009 and witness the ending of an era.)

Mac OS X 10.5.6 Update – Caution!

Posted by Clayton Lewis on under ALERTS!!, Blog Articles, Mac Tips | Be the First to Comment

Apple released an update to Leopard last week. OS X 10.5.6. As wtih any updates, I always recommend not jumping on the proverbial bandwagon and WAIT to see what kind of issues other folks experience. It’s not unusual for some to have problems.

Right now, I’m still hesitant to install this new update on anyone’s computer and cannot recommend it to anyone else. If you follow Mac FixIt, you will see the list of problems people have had to deal with during or after the installation.

Installation hangs and not booting past the white screen seem to be the biggest issues thus far. Apple has posted a fix for the installation hangs but if you’re one of the ones suffer through an installation hang then you may be in for a bit of trouble. Worst case, a failed install of the update can cripple your hard drive and have you recovering from a backup.

If you do decide to install the update (and I have successfully installed it on a couple of test machines without issue) then follow this bit of advice.

1. BACKUP BACKUP BACKUP. Before you do ANY update, make sure your machine is backed up.

2. Quit all running Applications

3. Repair Permissions BEFORE updating

4. Go to the /Library/Updates/ folder and remove all files in it. (As per Apple, Removing these files may prevent the problem from recurring for future updates)

6. Instead of using Software Update, download the stand alone Combo Update for 10.5.6 and install that. The download could take awhile as it’s over 650MB.

7. Once installed and rebooted. Repair Permissions once more.

Prior to installing an update, I typically take the added step of running Disk Utility on my drive by either restarting from the Install DVD, that came with the Mac or rebooting into Single User Mode and running FSCK. Click here for more information.

Good luck and feel free to leave a message on your experience.

Tis the Season for the Mac Giving Tree

Posted by Clayton Lewis on December 22, 2008 under Blog Articles, News, Announcments & Rumors | Be the First to Comment

mac-giving-tree

Free software is ALWAYS COOL.

LifeHacker reports…

Semi-controversial Mac software bundle site MacHeist has gone the free route this holiday season, offering up to six different shareware Mac apps for the price of a free registration with MacHeist through the Mac Giving Tree. As soon as you sign up you can download iTunes remote Synergy and video game Enigmo 2, while you’ve got to wait until Christmas day to open two others. Yet two other free but undisclosed options are unwrappable if you refer a friend. In the past we’ve suggested free alternatives to MacHeist bundles, but since this one’s free to begin with that’s not really necessary.