What to search

1. Exact error message.  First thing to try, especially if you are getting a specific error message (not just one that says it’s not responding or something to that nature).  Type in eiter the entire error message, if it’s short enough, or just type in the first sentence.  In addition to the the error message you can be more specific by typing in the program name as well such as “there was an error opening this document. this file cannot be found Adobe”. 

2. General symptoms.  If you do not have a specific error message, try searching for the general symptoms.  Some great keywords are: freezing (for when things just stop working without closing or continuing), crashing (for when the program completely closes without you closing it first), hanging (for when the program freezes for a while, but then ends up responding),  and unable or no longer (for when you used to be able to do something, or the program used to respond in a certain way and isn’t anymore).  Be sure to include the program name and version such as “outlook 2003 immediately crashes”

What to Click

Now that you’ve obtained several search results what should you click to help you find the right answers?  Under each search result will show the url that the result comes from.  Look for relevant websites.  For the Adobe issue I googled in this image the first result is from forum.adobe.com.  You can see this is from the user forums on the Adobe’s website, so there should be some answers from actual Adobe developers.  The next result is from a doman called acrobatusers.com.  This should also tell you that it’s a website for hardcore Adobe users.  That will also be a pretty safe bet that they’ll have your answer.  Other websites that look legit could include tech help websites and computer support sites. 

How to Read the Result

Many times the result will be in the form of someone like you asking the forum the question.  What will follow should be several different answers to the problem.  Sometimes it will even be obvious what the original asker has marked as the solution that worked for them.  All computers and issues are different though, so what worked for one person, might not work for you.  Try some of the other solutions until you find the right answer.

MY WORD OF CAUTION!!

DON’T and I repeat DO NOT mess around with things you are uncomfortable with, or that you don’t understand.  Sometimes the answers you find can be on a very high level, and should only be attempted by IT professionals!  Things that ask you to edit the registry by typing in “regedit” I would completely avoid, unless you want to turn your computer into a brick.  </PSA>

Desktop – This is what I call my temp file.  I store things here when I need quick and easy access to the file in the next day or so.  As soon as I’m done with it, then I move it to a more permanent location in My Documents, or I delete it.  If you really need to keep some things on your desktop I recommend installing Fences to keep the desktop neat and organized.

My Documents – It is essential for this folder to have some organization!  Most files can be separated initially into categories (folders) of Business or Personal (unless you don’t have any “business documents”).  As you get into the personal files you can have folders for all the different hats you wear.  A folder for recipes, one for bills, one for household inventory, and don’t forget a misc file.  You don’t want to create an entire folder just for one file.  Those items should be placed in the misc folder.  In order to do this, create the folders by right clicking the white space in the folder and going to “new” then “folder”.  Once the folders have been created just start dragging the files into the right folder.  To view the majority of the files at once, right click on the white space within the folder again, and go to “view” and select “list”. 

My Pictures – These can be organized into whatever makes the most sense to you.  You can have a folder for each month of the year, or a folder for the entire year, a folder for each kid, a folder for just scenery.  You can do pretty much whatever you want in here… just do SOMETHING so you will be able to find that picture of Maddie kissing herself in the mirror.

My Music – If you have iTunes there is a fancy schmancy little checkbox that says for iTunes to keep the music organized FOR YOU!  Hooray!  I suggest just turning that on, and never worry about it again.  (Yes, yes, I know I’m betraying my beloved Microsoft with this one… but I do like iTunes)

So get to work, and get those files cleaned up!

Norton Ghost is one of my favorite backup utilities.  Here is the beauty of Ghost.  I back up my laptop pretty regularly.  My laptop’s hard drive bit the dust a while back.  The Dell guy came out, replaced the hard drive and then went back on his merry way.  If I did not have a Ghost backup I would have had to re-install all of my programs and then restore all of my files back to their correct locations.  Since I had my backup though all I had to do was restore the image, and it was as if my hard drive had never even left.  With NO effort on my part.

What Ghost does is create an “image” of your computer.  Basically it’s a snapshot of all of your settings/programs/files exactly as they are at the time of the backup.  You can schedule the backups to occur at regular intervals, and you can tell it the type of backup you want to do. 

Full Image Backup – This backs up everything on your computer from programs to files, to your background.  It is how you won’t miss a beat in the event of a bad virus, a software install that goes sideways, or even a hardware failure.

Files and Folders – You can also select to just back up your files and folders (specifying which ones you want backed up based on location or even just by file type!)  Say you want to backup all of the .jpg’s on your computer in various folders that they may be in.  Just specify that file type and it will take all of the images from your computer and place them on your external hard drive (or wherever else your backups are located)

Incremental – an incremental backup is a great tool to make sure your backups are always up to date.  What an incremental backup does is back up only files that have changed since the last backup.  This makes the backup quicker, and always up to date.

Ghost has some more great features that you should check out!  http://www.symantec.com/norton/ghost

*GIVEAWAY*

Symantec has graciously given me a copy of Norton Ghost to give away!  Simply comment on this post for your entry!  You can also tweet about the giveaway for one extra entry.  I am also giving away a copy of Norton 360 v. 4.  I personally don’t use 360 as I like a much quieter antivirus program that I can’t even tell is there.  Each is worth about $70!!  There will be two winners.  Giveaway will end at 8 PM on Sunday, April 25th. 

GOOD LUCK!  and get that backup ASAP!!

*Disclaimer – I received a free copy of Ghost to review, but I was already using a previous version that I had purchased myself.  I have never used Norton 360, and did not receive a review copy of it at my own request.

1. Never use a file sharing program like LimeWire! First, when you download them they come chock full of Malware and Spyware and are generally going to destroy your computer eventually. The other part of that is my feelings about pirating software, movies and music. People work hard to make these things, and just because you are stealing them ONLINE, does not make it any different then walking into a store and grabbing it off the shelf and walking out.  So don’t steal.

2. Don’t keep your computer in a hot location, or if you do, make sure you have fans near it.  Computers like to be cool.  Your hardware will run better and won’t break down as much if you keep it cool.

3. Looking at p0rn is probably the fastest way to get your computer completely messed up.  That’s how they make money, and they make a LOT of money by putting all sorts of ads and spyware on your computer.

4. Installing things you don’t understand.  When a pop up comes up saying “you have a virus on your computer” and you install their program to “fix” it, you’ve just opened up a back door to your computer.  When you see that something is installing on your computer and you don’t know what it is, stop it!  Best advice is only install something that you KNOW!

5. Messing with things you don’t understand.  We have a term in the IT world “knows enough to be dangerous”.  When someone knows how to get into the registry of the computer and gets into the important computer files, they can do some SERIOUS damage.  Sometimes irreparable damage!  If you don’t know exactly what it does, don’t mess with it!  If you are going to change or delete a file or registry key ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS make a backup before you do so.

So avoid these and you should always have a great computer!

So there it is… someone telling you that you are in a video or picture or something in your Direct Messages… you are tempted.  Really?  Who could have a video of me out there on the web?  Did they get it from my facebook page? YouTube?  So you click.  Rule of thumb #1 – Never click any link that you aren’t sure what it is.  This works for Twitter as well as Facebook, MySpace, Email, Instant Messenger… etc etc etc.  I’ve even been known to confirm with my own sister that sent me a link having to do with our current conversation if she really sent me a link.  You can’t be too paranoid about this kind of thing.  Even if it isn’t a phishing attack that is only trying to get information, it could be something much much worse.  Like a link to an actual virus.  Best advice is to just confirm with the person who sent you the link if it’s legit or not.

So now that you’ve clicked it is asking you for your username and password.  You think in your head… Hmmm that’s weird.  (FIRST STOP RIGHT THERE!  If you think it’s odd, then don’t continue!).  The brief fleeting odd feeling goes away as you think, “oh I must have gotten logged out somehow”.  So you enter you username and password.  Rule of Thumb #2 - NEVER EVER enter your information from ANYTHNG from a link that you have clicked on.  Open a new browser and go to the main website yourself.  ie if the link send you to a Twitter login screen, open a NEW browser and navigate to twitter.com yourself.  Then you know it’s safe to enter your username and password.

So now that you’ve given the phishers the information they wanted to gather from you and your account is compromised… it’s time for you to fix it.  Rule of Thumb #3 – Change your info ASAP.  If you gave them your password change it!  And change it quick, because they will use it!  If you gave them information that is far more damaging like your Social Security number or your bank account, notify the appropriate people BEFORE anything happens.  Then monitor your credit score like a hawk. 

So be smart and safe out there… and stop sending me phising DM’s please… Thank you!

The easiest and quickest way to accomplish your reboots is to pull the power out.  Obviously if you can shut it down nicely that would be prefered, but sometimes you just have to pull the power cord out of the device.  Especially with wireless routers and printers.  Sometimes pressing the power button on a printer really doesn’t shut it down all the way.  Only removing it’s power will truely bring a printer down. 

PC Boot Options

When rebooting a PC you have several options to try and troubleshoot the computer.  First, if the computer is completely frozen, sometimes the only way you can get it to come down is to press and hold the power button on the computer until it shuts down.  Do not let go of the power until the computer comes all the way down.  Now that the computer is shut down you have some options to bring it back online.  To get to these options, as the computer is booting up when you see the black screen start pressing f8.  Press f8 repeatedly until you come to the boot options.  If you get to the windows loading screen you are too late.  Here are the safe mode boot options…

Safe Mode with Networking – This is the one I like to use the most.  It is safe mode, but with the added benefit of still being able to get things online (such as updates to antivirus or malware removal software).

Safe Mode – Just regular safe mode will load windows with only the basic drivers and utilities it HAS to have to boot.  Safe mode is really great for troubleshooting issues that programs could be causing since those programs will not load in safe mode.

Last Known Good Configuration – Using this option will most likely not help you a good majority of the time.  If your computer fails to load AFTER you see the windows loading screen then Last Known Good will not work for you.  It usually will only fix issues that are preventing windows from loading.  If you happen to install a driver that completely kills your system, this is going to be the greatest thing ever!  It does exactly what it says, it will load the last known set of drivers that booted successfully.

Safe Mode with Command Prompt – This will definitely not be the option for you.  Unless you know DOS, then don’t even attempt this option.  It will boot the computer to the black screen where you can type in DOS codes to try and troubleshoot the computer…. for pros only please.

VGA Mode – This will help with video driver problems, as it will load only a basic video driver so you can try and install a different video driver for your system.

I hope you have a better understanding of how to reboot your computer and other devices, and if you have more questions just tweet me… twitter.com/tech4mommies

WARNING YOU HAVE A VIRUS ON YOUR SYSTEM!!!!  -  For the love of all that’s holy please ignore these warnings.  You don’t, I promise, they LIE!  As soon as you see something like that pop up close it immediately.  Sometimes you are not even able to click the x.  I would right click on the task bar (the long bar across the bottom of your screen) and select Task Manager.  Highlight Internet Explorer and End Task!  Those liars are pretty tricky and they disable the nice little red x that is usually your friend.  Clicking on the red x may lead you to an eternal loop of message boxes telling you that you REALLYREALLY  need to install their “antivirus” which is really just a bunch of Malware (bad software) that will completely jack everything up!  So end task and then reopen internet explorer vowing to never visit the site you were just visiting.   

YOU HAVE A VIDEO FROM A FRIEND! – This is typically related to Facebook and other social networking sites.  If it looks suspicious don’t click on it.  If it’s kind of generic, like “look at you in this awesome video” then REALLY don’t click on it.  If it was really from a friend it may look more like ….”hey Sarah!  Remember when we were in High School and made silly videos in the Pit? I just uploaded it, you gotta check it out”… I’d say that is probably pretty legit.  Something that is funny friends will likely just post it to their own profile, and not post it on yours.  That’s one of your first clue’s that it’s not what it claims to be.  If you question it, don’t click on it, just send a message to your friend that posted it, asking if they really posted it.  If they said yes they did, then click away!  It’s safe!  If they say no my account got hacked!  Delete it from your profile, and be grateful you dodged a bullet.

FACEBOOK, PAYPAL, MYSPACE, YOUR BANK, ETC NEEDS TO UPDATE YOUR INFO… PLEASE CLICK ON THIS VERY SUSPICIOUS LOOKING LINK IN MYEMAIL! – Even if it says www.facebook.com it doesn’t mean that the link actually points there… go ahead click on that facebook link….You can put anything you want behind that text and direct the user to a totally different site.  Once in this random site, that looks a bit like facebook, you enter your username and password, or maybe your account number, etc. and now the person that sent you the email has all of your information.  It’s called Phishing.  If you have any questions about an email, don’t click the link, simply open a new browser and type in the address yourself.  Do not rely on a link in an email to get you to the right place.

DO YOU KNOW ME? – Don’t accept friend requests from people you don’t know.  It’s just common sense.  If you don’t know them, then do you really want them knowing things about you?  If you are curious about it send them a message asking how they know you. 

So be smart out there, and you’ll keep your system clean too.    Stay tuned tomorrow for tools to help you keep your pc clean.

I finally found it!  ESET’s NOD32 Antivirus Protection was exactly what I’ve been looking for.  I’ve had it installed on my laptop for about a month now, and it is great.  It updates it’s definitions quietly.  It doesn’t take my laptops resources, it doesn’t give me constant popups questioning why I’m doing this or that.  It just quietly protects my computer from the nasty trojans, viruses, and worms that are running around out there trying to Hack the Planet.

According to their website “That’s why ESET NOD32 Antivirus gives you fast, effective and easy-to-use protection without getting in your way. Smart proactive detection blocks most known and emerging threats hours or days faster than other antivirus technologies. Fast, light and unobtrusive software protects your Internet experience without annoying system slowdowns.”  ESET is quickly becoming the highest rated Antivirus around right now.  It has also tested through the roof against the competition for proactive detection, accuracy, and system performance.

Here is the SUPER excellent news!  ESET is letting me give away a One Year of protection with NOD32 Antivirus!  Simply leave a comment on this post and you are entered!  You can earn extra entries by becoming a fan of Technology for Mommies on Facebook and leaving a comment here that you have done so, or tweeting about the giveaway with this comment…

“I just entered to win a year of Antivirus Protection from @eset and @tech4mommies Go enter now! http://bit.ly/61B7tU ”

Don’t forget to link your tweet here for the entry to count.  Good Luck, and stay safe out there! 

Once upon a time, early in my career as an IT Manager I was not checking up on the backups.  One day I fielded several calls saying that the drive all of the company’s files I worked for was inaccessible.  I saunter over to the server room to find the drives had crashed on that particular server.  I checked out the backup situation and found that we did not have a valid backup on that server for the last 6 MONTHS!  This was EVERY file the company had!  I ran back to my office and had a good cry, thinking for sure I would be fired.  We took the drives down to a data recovery location and paid them $11,000 to retrieve the data on the drives.  ELEVEN THOUSAND DOLLARS!  Needless to say, after that day I was a BIG fan of backups.

While my data now isn’t quite as valuable as the company I used to work for, I still prefer to backup my computer frequently.  About 9 months ago my hard drive on my laptop failed.  I had recently had a good backup, and therefore did not miss a beat when the new hard drive came.  Today, I’m not quite as lucky.  My backups on my laptop have been failing recently, and I knew it was because the hard drive was failing.  I’ve been trying and trying to get a good backup before I upgrade my laptop to Windows 7, so I could easily roll back if it went sideways, but after running some diagnostics, and trying several different backup programs it was not meant to be.  My new hard drive will come this week, and luckily I was able to at least backup all of my documents, videos, pictures, music, etc.

The up-side is that I will be able to start with a clean install of Windows 7… and I just love having no traces of Vista left on my computer.  The downside is that once the hard drive comes, I’ll be spending the day reinstalling all of my programs and transferring my files back instead of the computer doing all the work for me.

Do yourself a favor and BACK UP TODAY!!!!  A great website to help you do so is www.safecopybackup.com