Paul

“Oldest nerd in Guatemala” has a lot to be thankful for—and a lot more still to give

by

For Otto Knoke, the self-described “oldest nerd in Guatemala,” every day is a gift—and one that he pays back to the best of his abilities every day. Twenty years ago, right around the same time this high-tech early adopter was making a name for himself by modernizing the Guatemalan banking industry, Knoke was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) and given only two years to live. Never one to back down from a challenge, Knoke began researching how technology could …

Read More

Do you really need an Antivirus?

by

Like the role seat-belts have in your vehicle, antivirus is one part of security. Can a seat-belt be the difference between life and death in the even of an accident? Absolutely, but not always. Similarly, an antivirus will not always stop an attack or infection, but it is the last line of defense. Each network will implement different security measures, but they generally include the following components: Secure authentication and access (Password, FOB, etc) Periodic password changes Hardware based firewall …

Read More

Migrating Data and Settings to a New Computer

by

You purchased or are planning to purchase a new computer, but you’re concerned about reinstalling your programs and moving all your data. Below are some important points to consider: Programs you purchased need to be reinstalled and activated on the new computer You want to avoid buying new licenses for programs you already paid for Programs obtained from the internet need to be downloaded and reinstalled Your individual settings in each program need to be configured the same as the …

Read More

KeePass – Password Manager

by

KeePass is a free open-source password manager. If you have tried one or more of the following ways to keep track of your passwords, KeePass was made for you: Keep them in a notebook or sticky notes Save them in a password protected excel file Save them in your email inbox Save them in digital notebooks like Evernote Depend on your browser to remember them (IE, Chrome, Firefox) Reuse a few different passwords and try to remember them KeePass is …

Read More

Is Your Computer Infected?

by

Has your computer been behaving abnormally? Do you suspect it may have an infection? We will discuss the common symptoms and how we approach them. Ideas expressed are based on our own experience and is intended for informational purposes only. Most cases we encounter today already have antivirus programs installed. Sometimes scans have already been completed to ensure the system is clean. But the issues persist. Below are some of the common symptoms we encounter: Slow start up and/or programs …

Read More

Trouble Sending Email? It Could be Spam Filtering

by

Scenario: You can send email to some, but not to others. Your emails sometimes show up in the recipient’s spam folder, or do not come through at all. You may or may not receive a bounce back message notifying you of a problem. Often the message appears to send normally and appears in “Sent Items”. Most who experience this issue are using an email client like Outlook or Thunderbird to send email. The likely cause of this is spam filtering. …

Read More

Disable Work Offline in Outlook

by

Ever get errors in Outlook when trying to send/receive email? If your internet connection is working, it might just be that Outlook is working offline. In the rare event that someone is working without an internet connection, this mode will stop Outlook from continuously trying to connect, thereby preventing various popup error messages. There are several keyboard shortcuts depending on your Outlook version that can inadvertently enable work offline mode. Common ones are ALT+FK or ALT+SW. To disable “Work Offline” mode in Outlook …

Read More

Changing Mouse Pointer Options

by

Ever lose track of where your mouse pointer is? It happens to the best of us, especially those who use multiple displays and/or large HD displays. Windows has a useful feature that locates the mouse for you when pressing the Ctrl key. Follow the directions below to enable this feature. The example is shown in Windows 7 but should work similarly in other versions. 1. Press Windows Key + R to open a run command prompt. The Windows Key is …

Read More

Adjusting Keyboard Language and Preferences

by

Ever tried to type “?” and got “é” instead? This occurs because the keyboard layout has been changed, usually by accident. Windows comes with 2 keyboard layouts for computers distributed in Canada. The first and default is “English – US” and the other is “English – Canadian Multilingual Standard”. The default keyboard shortcut to change the keyboard layout in Windows is Ctrl+Shift. Since these keys are placed one above the other it’s common for people to inadvertently press them, thereby …

Read More

Converting Business Cards to Digital Contacts

by

Several apps provide this capability. Some are free but usually with a limited number of scans. The common features found in these apps are summarized below. Support for Android, iOS, Blackberry, and Windows Phone Use your devices camera to scan cards with auto correction Scan from a Mac or PC using a web cam Upload your own photos to scan Cloud storage with access to all your scans from any computer/device Batch scanning (scan multiple cards in quick succession) Save …

Read More

Terms and Conditions · Privacy Policy