ComputerHelp!: March 2013

Google cranks up the Consensus Engine

Google this week admitted that its staff will pick and choose what appears in its search results. It's a historic statement - and nobody has yet grasped its significance.

via Google cranks up the Consensus Engine • The Register.

Time to start using other search engines, I guess

Disable auto-sort in Windows 7 folders

How to disable strictly sorting and auto arrange in Windows 7 and allow free arrangement of files in folders.

http://www.unawave.de/windows-7-tipps/disable-sorting-auto-arrange.html?lang=EN

I had a customer ask for a fix for this today, and I found this, above. Or you might prefer to do like I did (after reviewing the batch file's contents) and run the batch file (saved procedures) that he created, here. It worked!

How to delete a Windows XP account

Click Start, Run, type (without quotes) “control userpasswords”, hit Enter
Click “Change an Account”
Choose/click the account you want to delete
Click “Delete the Account”
You can usually choose “Delete Files” (but you don’t have to if you’re not comfortable with that)
Click “Delete Account”

If the above helped you in any way, please click the PayPal DONATE link here. It's safe. Or visit one of our sponsors' ads. Thanks!

-------------------------------

For in-home/on-site computer repair service in and around Nashville (remove viruses, connect to the Internet, setup new systems, fix a myriad of problems), call Bill at (615) 479-4981.

Rejected messages from addresses I've never heard of

QUESTION:

I just started my computer this morning and I had 9 undeliverable/ spam/ rejected messages from addresses I never heard of. I have a feeling I am being hijacked to send spam. Please advise.

ANSWER:

It’s someone pretending to be you when they send out their spam messages. It never touches your computer. The recipient’s server sends the rejections to you because that’s where the spam message is pretending to be coming from.

The first thing you need to do is change your password to something stronger than what you've probably been using. If it continues, there’s really nothing you can do short of getting a new email address.

Ransomware Is Expanding

Ransomware Is Expanding in the United States

Don't fall for it. And always keep a good backup (we suggest Acronis) in case this happens to you.

My computer's really old and slow

QUESTION:
Should I buy a new one?

ANSWER:
The hardware might be fine, you just need to reformat the hard drive and reinstall Windows. Some brands have a key you hit upon startup that reverts it back to factory specs fairly automatically. Be SURE you back up all of your documents, music and pictures to an external hard drive (or online storage) first, though.

If you do decide to buy a new one, but are on a budget, you can buy an Acer netbook for just under $300 right now from jr.com. Incredible deal! Or maybe a refurbished Dell from txmicro.com for under $160! Below is a "ASUS 3rd Gen Core i7 1TB Desktop PC" from Tiger Direct:

Hard drive "dock"

Cool! I'm getting one of these. It looks very useful for someone like me who ends up with old used drives. Pop one of those into one of these, and you've got yourself a temporary "new" external/backup drive!

How to clean your screen

Click here: How to keep your computer screen clean!

Google: Fake antivirus makes up 15 percent of all malware

Google: Fake antivirus makes up 15 percent of all malware | Tech News on ZDNet

Amazing software

That looks like a spam subject line, but it's true. And for a small fee ... just kidding. There's this free software called EaseUS. I've been using their amazingly fast and easy disk partitioning software for at least a year. But now I've just discovered their equally fast and easy disk backup/imaging software. The great thing about it is that you run it right within Windows, you don't have to create a boot disk and all that. Here's the link:

http://www.todo-backup.com/products/home/download.htm

Like so many great free software programs, you have to wonder why it's free. They make their money from people falling in love with the software and upgrading to the paid version for extra features.

Hard Drive Manufacturers Slash Warranty Periods

Hard Drive Manufacturers Slash Warranty Periods

That's on new drives. So, from now on, more than ever, always have an external drive (or two) for backups.

Duplex printing

QUESTION:
Duplex printing isn’t working, but it worked before.
ANSWER:
Click Start, Control Panel, Printers and Faxes, right click and choose Properties on that printer. Click Device Settings tab, choose Duplex toward the bottom, change it from Unavailable to Available [or something similar on other printers].

How long will your hard drive last

http://ask-leo.com/how_long_should_a_hard_drive_last.html

Comp-U-Plus big deals page or something

ComputerHelp!

a.k.a HepYa.com, ComputerSavior.com, NashvilleComputerHelp.com

(615) 479-4981

posting to hepya by email

this is a test

Downforeveryoneorjustme?

Downforeveryoneorjustme?.

I LOVE this service!

Ides of March Update

My hourly rate (for home users) is $60, plus 33 cents per round-trip mile. So a 30 mile round-trip would be $10 for gas. We have some flat rates as well, here:

Remove all known viruses = $65 (plus mileage)

Data recovery (save data from an unbootable hard drive over to another customer-provided drive) = $80 (plus mileage)

User migration (from one machine to another (usually "old" to "new")) = $80 (plus mileage)

If it's all of the above, or we're just not sure going in what will be required, it's $60/hour for home users; $75/hour for businesses (plus mileage).

You can also earn a $10 credit for every new customer you send us! (customer must spend $50+)

I also happen to have a couple of used (but good condition) Dell Latitude laptops right now, in case you or anyone you know is interested: One D520 and one D530. They both have 150gb hard drives, not the 120 mentioned. And the D520 has 2gb RAM instead of 1gb, as well as a 2GHz CPU instead of the 1.66GHz mentioned.

I had to use Amazon's image and description. Don't ask. :)

Call me at (615) 479-4981 or email help@hepya.com

Memory issue

QUESTION: Did you have a major update from Microsoft in the last 24 hours? Mine ran 4 updates when shutting down last night and [the wife’s] ran 4 updates when I started it up last night. The 4 updates took a long time to download and install. Just curious and cautious.

[The wife’s] computer is working fine and I run Ninite weekly. My computer is much better, but still freezes up when I first start and gives the error message about unable to read instruction at 0x00000, etc. I re-ran CCleaner, but haven't tried to troubleshoot yet

ANSWER: Yes, every Tuesday is Microsoft's "update Tuesday." As to your "read instruction error," that sounds like a memory issue. I had put the higher capacity memory stick back in there (after you said you'd taken it out). It never caused a problem for me, but I didn't test it repeatedly as a typical user would.

You might need new memory. I like these guys here: 4AllMemory. I've been using them for years and have never had a problem with them.