Welcome to the Tips & Tricks Blog

7 Easiest Ways to Break Your Computer

Follow these 7 simple steps to break your computer:

1. Unplug your computer while it’s running
2. Click on ads that sound too good to be true
3. Download “free” music and movies
4. Open odd/unfamiliar emails and attachments
5. Regularly visit the “dark side” of the internet
6. Never update Windows or your anti-virus program
7. Don’t use a surge protector or battery backup

Do any of the above and you’ll have to bring your computer into our repair shop in no time!

Remote Computer Support – How It Works!

We find that many of our customers are still intimidated and/or don’t know how quick and easy remote support can be. So I recently created a new video that demonstrates how quick and easy it is: Teknyka Remote Computer Support – How It Works video on YouTube.

Whenever our customers finally experience remote support it changes how they perceive the whole repair process – it’s no longer such a hassle because they don’t have to bring the computer into our Canby computer repair shop, and we don’t have to travel to them.

Requirements: A computer that works well enough to go online (we cannot remote into a physically damaged computer) and a high speed internet connection.

Remote computer repairs can be performed within minutes of your call to (503) 213-4183. We can connect and work on your desktop or laptop, Mac or PC. Please go to our remote support instructions page for more information.

I quit my job to run my own business!

Well, this is it. My last day at the bank is today – Friday, August 12th.

 
As many of you know I’ve been working as a computer technician at a major national bank for over 6 years now. It’s been a wonderful job and I’m grateful for the opportunity to have worked there. However, my dream has always been to run my own computer support company so I started Teknyka Tech Support in 2008. Since then I’ve had three part-time technicians join me in my business and our company has grown to support over 250 residential clients and 28 businesses.

 
Over the years, as we gained more and more clients it became harder and harder for me to keep up with both jobs. The time has finally come for me to quit my bank job and focus solely on Teknyka Tech Support.

 
I’m very glad this business has grown so large, so quickly. I love the work I do, and I take great pleasure in providing quick, honest, high quality repair services. From the very beginning our focus has been on giving you, our wonderful customers, the kind of response time and quality of service that you’d expect from a top-notch tech support company.

 
We are committed to growing this business and supporting you, our customers, far into the future. We will continue to provide outstanding customer service that you have come to expect from us. As a matter of fact, you will see even more service options and even faster turnaround times as the month go by. Watch as we grow into best tech support company around!

 
I’d like to thank my wife, Penny, who’s had the harder job of keeping up with our four children while I work late nights and early mornings – I truly couldn’t have gotten anywhere without her continued support in this endeavor. I’d also like to thank my technicians, Paul, Elijah, and Austin in keeping up with our company goals in providing the most outstanding customer service possible – keep up the good work!

 
And last, but not least, we couldn’t have done any of this without you, our customers. Thank you for your business!

Brands We Love! …and Hate

I try to stay brand neutral and have found that brand quality isn’t constant. One year Dell has great products, the next year it’s HP on top. There appears to be some sort of cycle in which these companies realize their product has a bad image so they put in a lot of effort to improve it… then they lose focus and their quality goes down again.

In my experience, the more you pay for something, the more dependable it is. That’s not true in all cases, but if you’re on the fence about something, then go for the part that’s more spendy.

The Best And Simplest Search Tip Of All!

What is simply the best way to search online on a search engine like Google or Bing?

The answer is: keep it short and simple!

You can do this by describing what you need with as few terms as possible. Here are a few examples:
Searching for [pizza canby] will give you better results than [family pizza place in canby area]

Searching for [weather jamaica] is better than [weather report for the country of jamaica]

Searching for [best pizza state] is better than [in what state will I find the best pizza?]

The main advantage to starting with fewer keywords is that, if you don’t get what you need, the results will likely give you a good indication of what additional words are needed to refine your results!

You can also improve your searches by focusing only on unique words or brands. The more unique the word is the more likely you are to get relevant results. For example, searching for [teknyka] will get you results about a single company, while a search for [computer repair aurora oregon] will get you multiple results with a lot of extra data you may not be looking for.

Keep it simple and to the point. Most online searches don’t require special tricks to get great results. Happy surfing!

Why can’t we stop the viruses?

Ever wonder why your computer keeps getting infected? The reason viruses and spyware are so common is because these are the tools used by online criminal organizations to steal millions of dollars from people like you. Just last year just a single international cybercrime ring stole more than $70 million from bank accounts and credit cards. And the problem is growing.

One of the most common ways of getting infected is through compromised websites. A recent study shows that the number of infectious websites increased by 111% between the years 2008 and 2010. Nearly 80% of those were legitimate websites that got hacked by criminals. This means that even if you avoid disreputable websites you are still in danger. Cybercriminals like to get popular websites infected because they come up on top of Google search results. Facebook and Twitter aren’t safe either because malicious links are often posted there (to be safe, avoid clicking on a link unless you’re absolutely sure it points to a secure website).

Just one click on a bad link is all it takes. When you land on an infected website it scans your computer for vulnerabilities. If you computer is unsecure or unpatched then the virus or spyware takes the opportunity to install itself and take control of your computer. Once it’s infected your computer becomes a botnet and is remotely controlled to infect more websites, send emails, and propagate infections across your home or business network.

Anti-virus software helps protect you from virus infections but unfortunately it can’t keep up with the newly created ones released every day. One of the best ways to avoid getting infected is to keep your computer up to date with Windows updates and software updates. The most common software that should be updated is Adobe Reader, Adobe Flash, and Java. This kind of software often asks you if you want to update – don’t ignore these prompts!

If you’re a Mac or a Linux user then you’re not as vulnerable. However, cybercriminals are now beginning to target Macs as they become more popular. And now that smartphones are being used for online banking they will also be targeted.

This all sounds very alarming but don’t lose sleep over it. Be cautious on the internet, try to minimize your online banking activity, and use credit cards whenever possible (they’re better protected against fraud than debit cards are). And keep an eye on your monthly statements to see if anything fishy is going on with your funds. We recommend you download our 13 Point Guide on How to Avoid Spyware and Viruses. I personally follow the advice listed in this guide and haven’t been infected in years.

If you really want to be safe we recommend you buy yourself a cheap Linux laptop and use it for online banking. We can also install Linux on a Windows system so that you can use the two operating systems interchangeably.

If you suspect your computer is infected use a program like SUPERAntiSpyware or Malwarebyte's to clean your system. If you’re still not sure that you’re totally clean, call us and we’ll clean your system and install software that will help you avoid getting infected again.

More Awesome Search Tips

Find a Local Business
Looking for a store, restaurant, or other local business? Google, Bing, and Yahoo will show you a map of where the business is located, reviews, and contact information.
Simply search for the business category and your location like this:

tech support 97002

Don’t know the ZIP code? You can type in the City and State like this:

tech support aurora or

Find Out What’s Playing Your Local Theaters
Type the word “movies” and your zip code to get a list of movies playing locally:

movies 97002

What’s The Weather?
Type the word “weather” and your zip code to get the local weather conditions:

weather 97002

What’s the Time?
Get the current time of any location in the world by typing the name of the location and the word “time”:

sweden time

Exciting News! New Computer Repair Shop

We’re very excited to announce the opening of our new computer repair shop in Aurora. It has been years in the making and it finally became a reality at the end of 2010. The shop was designed from the ground up for computer technicians, including a specially designed repair bench, for the specific purpose of repairing computers as fast as possible. We’ve got all the tools needed to do all types of computer repairs and we usually complete them within 3 days. The shop is wired to power up to 24 computers at one time and we look forward to filling every available space.

We could not have built our business without the support of customers such as yourself – thank you! We look forward to providing you with the best tech support far into the future.

To those of you that haven’t tried our services yet, we invite you to try us out – you’ll be glad you did!

Awesome Search Tips

The internet is full of junk, unwanted advertisements, and excessive information. Wouldn’t it be great to cut down on the amount of information you have to wade through when searching the internet?

Here are some simple search tricks that will help you get the results you want quickly and easily.

Search Tip #4: Search for a Range

If you are looking for a range of results use “..” (two periods) between words or numbers.
For example, to find the weather conditions during a certain time period, you could type the following:

weather 2005..2010

Search Tip #3: Search for Keywords with Similar Meaning by Including Synonyms

Use the ~ (tilde) before the keyword to find websites with words which have a similar meaning. This will give you more search results but also give you a good start if you’re not exactly sure what you’re looking for. The following example searches for tutorials as well as guides, manuals, references etc.

computer ~tutorial

Search Tip #2: Exclude Keywords in Search Results

Use the – (minus) immediately before the word you want to exclude from your search results. This indicates that you do not want pages that contain this word to appear in your results.

Do you like pizza but just not a particular kind? The following example searches for the websites that offer pizza, but does not include any results with the word Domino’s:

pizza -domino’s

Search Tip #1: Use double quotes (” “) to search for an exact phrase

I remember a poem I read a long time ago. I really liked it but did not remember the title or the author. The only thing I could remember for sure were the words “triumph and disaster” in that specific order. To find the complete poem I typed the phrase into Google exactly like this:

“triumph and disaster”

By putting double quotes around a set of words you are telling Google to search the exact words in that exact order. Be careful because this is a very specific search – if you misspell or type the words in the wrong order you will not get the results you’re looking for.

This type of search can help you find specific movies, songs, books, or products with unique descriptions (like “4.7 liter dodge engine”). Try it out and see how much more relevant your results are.

By the way, the poem I was looking for is called “If” by Rudyard Kipling. Search for it online – I think you’ll like it!

More tips to come in the following weeks. Get the latest articles in your email by filling out the form in the top right corner of this website (and get our 13 Point Guide in the process!).

Windows 7 GodMode Function

Have you ever heard of the GodMode feature in Windows 7? Technicians and power users who like to have all control at their fingertips will like this feature. GodMode puts all major controls into one convenient folder. It doesn’t do anything for you that you couldn’t have done otherwise, but it makes it easy to find everything in one place.

To enter GodMode in Windows 7 simply create a folder on your desktop and rename it to the following:

GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}

Open the folder you just created and enjoy looking through all the options!

NOTE: This feature will only work in Windows 7.
Would you like to upgrade to Windows 7? Try our complete upgrade package for just $280!
You will get a Windows 7 Upgrade license for $120 and for $160 we will do the following:

• Backup your old system documents and settings
• Format the hard drive
• Install the Windows 7 Upgrade
• Install drivers (Motherboard, Video Card, Sound Card, Network Card, and Printer)
• Perform a complete System Update
• Install an Anti-Virus program
• Restore the data backup and system settings

Minimum PC requirements: 1GB RAM and 1GHz Processor.

A secure place for your passwords

If you’re like me you probably have about 50 online passwords and you struggle trying to remember them all. And since you try to make a different password for each account (remember that rule mentioned in the last article?) it makes it 50 times harder to keep track of all them all.

I had difficulty keeping track of all my passwords – until I found LastPass.
LastPass is a free online password management tool that stores your passwords for you. It stores your passwords in an online “vault” that can be shared on multiple computers.

With LastPass you create a master password that gives you access to all your passwords. It also automatically fills them in whenever you login online. If you’re concerned about how secure it is, then read about it in Lifehacker.com and see what security expert Steve Gibson of Security Now! says about it.

Check out http://lastpass.com for more information. If you’d like assistance with installing and using this program, please give us a call and we’ll be glad to help.

Is your password one of the 10 most common?

Are your passwords hard to guess? Are you using a different password for every important online account? It’s very important that you don’t use the same password for multiple accounts, because if one password gets compromised, then you grant access to all your accounts that have the same password.

But did you know that even if you use a different password for all your accounts, you can still compromise many of them just through a single email account?

For example, say a bad guy finds out what your email password is. Then they find out where you bank at. Then they could use the password reset feature available on the bank website to get a new password using your email address. Bingo – they’re now have access to your funds!

According to multiple recent studies the 10 most common passwords are:

1. 123456

2. 12345

3. 123456789

4. Password

5. iloveyou

6. princess

7. rockyou

8. 1234567

9. 12345678

10. abc123

Is yours one of these?

Here are a few tips on how to create good passwords:

• Use a different password for every important online account
• Never use common names or words that can be found in a dictionary
• Use a mix of numbers, letters, and symbols
• Create random, meaningless patterns that are easy to remember (like the first letter of each word in a favorite song or poem)
• Use a random password generator such as http://strongpasswordgenerator.com/

My favorite tip for strong but memorable passwords is to make a sentence and use the first letter from each word. For example:

• My four kids drive me crazy! = m4kdmc!
• I will win 10 millon dollars = iww10m$
• Broken computer? Call Teknyka to fix it = bc?cTtfi

Think you have a strong password? Test it by going to http://howsecureismypassword.net/. This site determines how long it would take a regular desktop PC to crack your password. Don’t worry, this test is secure (although it would be a clever password gathering tool!). It’s a simple Java Script that runs on your computer – not theirs. No data ever travels from your computer to the website. You can check this by loading up the webpage and then turning off your internet connection. You’ll still be able to use the website to check your password.

By the way, don’t share your password with your technician unless absolutely necessary. After the service is done, change your password to something different.

Disconnecting a USB drive can cause data loss

Fake Microsoft Security Essentials

A new malware attack is out that not only tries to foist a fake clone of Microsoft Security Essentials on victims but it also customizes fakes browser warnings.

The attack looks strikingly similar to the real deal and it can be tricky to tell the difference even with an experienced eye. It starts out with a slick social engineering move by detecting what browser is in use and putting up the appropriate warning page. Right now it has warnings for IE, Firefox, and Chrome. The faked warning page looks almost exactly the same as the real warning page. The difference is that the fakes have some misspellings and also urge the user to get new virus protection via an update or upgrade.

When the user clicks the upgrade link they are sent to the homepage to download the malware Rogue:MSIL/Zeven. The homepage is itself another clone, it closely resembles the real Microsoft Security Essentials homepage. It even has a link to the real Microsoft Malware Protection Center.

When installed the malware looks like a convincing real anti-virus named Win7 AV with all the features including scans, updates and alerts for out-of-date definitions, and settings but none of it work. It will do the usual “scan” and then claim to have found a bunch of awful malware that it can’t remove without paying some money to upgrade to the full version. If the user decides to buy the full version it pops a window that claims to have strong encryption in “Safe Browsing Mode” that will actually do nothing to secure credit card data.

Even though this is such a cunning attack, it is possible to avoid it by remembering a few details. First, real browser warnings won’t have a link or message trying to get the user to download anything, they will also have no misspellings. Second, Microsoft Security Essentials is a totally free software so they wouldn’t ask for money anywhere on the program or website. Careful browsing will avoid traps like this and others.

This is a screenshot of the fake webpage:

And here’s the genuine Microsoft Security Essentials page:

Source: Microsoft Malware Protection Center via Technibble

Automatically start with your favorite website

Your browser automatically opens a default web page whenever you go on the internet. Did you know you can change it so that your favorite website is loaded every time you start surfing?
Often times the default website is whatever was set when you first bought your computer. And in many cases it’s a website that’s full of pictures and junk that takes forever to load.

I recommend setting it to something quick and useful – I personally like to set mine to www.google com.

To do this, first open your favorite website, then follow these steps (depending on which browser you use):

Internet Explorer:
Go to Tools – Internet Options and under Home Page click on the Use Current button. Click OK.

Mozilla Firefox:
Go to Tools – Options and under Startup click on the Use Current Page button. Click OK.

Chrome:
Click on the Tools Icon (crescent wrench in top right) – Options and make sure you have the correct address listed under Home Page. Click OK.

Safari:
Go to Preferences – General and under Home Page click on the Set to Current Page button. Click OK.

Don’t be fooled by this “virus scan”

A client of mine called and said, “I got a message on my screen telling me that my computer is infected. It offered me a virus remover so I bought it. It seemed to fix it at first, but now I’m getting the pop-ups again. Help!”

I checked his computer and found that he had paid for a fake anti-virus! He was scammed and his credit card number was now in the hands of criminals!

Beware of fake anti-virus programs that show legitimate looking messages on your screen telling you that you’re infected. The message is actually being generated by a virus and it is intent on taking your money.

The following images are what some of the messages look like:

As you can see these messages look very convincing. They are transmitted by email or from infected websites. The best way to recognize them as fake is to take note of the anti-virus you have installed on your computer and compare names. For example, if you have McAfee installed but the message on your screen says it’s “Antivirus 2010″ then you know it’s fake.

When you see this type of message don’t click any button other than the red X in the top right corner. If the message returns again and again then that means the infection got into your system and your computer needs to be cleaned. Call us and we’ll take care of the problem.

Your mouse will slow you down

Think the mouse is the best way to navigate your PC? No way! Having to constantly reach for the mouse to do simple tasks just slows you down. Learning to use common keyboard shortcuts can greatly increase the speed of which you use your computer, and it makes you look like you have great computer skills!

Below is a list of commands that are completed much quicker by keyboard instead of a mouse (I suggest you print this list and tape it near your screen).

CTRL+C: Copy
CTRL+V: Paste
CTRL+F: Find (Search)
CTRL+Z: Undo
CTRL+Y: Redo (opposite of Undo)
CTRL+B: Bold
CTRL+U: Underline
CTRL+I: Italic
CTRL+S: Save
CTRL+P: Print
ALT+TAB: Switch between open programs
Windows Logo+L: Lock the computer (without using CTRL+ALT+DELETE)

This simple fix will surprise you…

The other day I got a frantic call from a client. They wanted me to come out and fix a major computer problem.

The client said, “Our payroll system is down, it’s telling us there’s an error. We called the software company and they had us do a bunch of stuff but it still doesn’t work. We tried everything and nothing works! If we don’t get this system up in an hour we won’t be able to pay our employees. My boss is going to be so mad!”

I said, “Ok, have you tried rebooting?”

Client says, “No.”

“Let try that first.”

…a reboot and a little while later…

The client screams in excitement, “Wow, it’s working now! That’s all we had to do? You’re my hero!”

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve witnessed this scenario. Whether it’s a hardware or a software related problem, often times all you have to do is reboot, and then like magic, whatever problem you had is fixed.

HOW TO REBOOT TO FIX PROBLEMS
Rebooting means that you turn off your equipment and turn it back on.
If the device doesn’t have a power off switch, just unplug the power and plug it back in after a few seconds.

Common scenarios:

Can’t open a program or errors are popping up? Reboot your computer.

Can’t get on the internet? Turn off the modem, the router, and the computer, then turn them back on in the same order (modem 1st, router 2nd, computer 3rd), a minute apart from each other.

Can’t print? Reboot your computer and your printer (printers have to be unplugged, not just turned off).

Monitor (screen) doesn’t work? Turn off the switch and unplug the power, then plug everything back in and turn it on.

How to Save Keystrokes by using Ctrl+Enter

Say you want to go to Bing.com
You can go to www.bing.com by typing www. and bing and then .com

But there is a much easier way using Ctrl + Enter!

Example:
Type in bing into the address bar of your browser

Press Ctrl + Enter

…and it will automatically fill in the www. and the .com part of the address

You just saved yourself a whole bunch of typing!