Updated November 2012:

Some people have initiated a call to AT&T internet or email support, computer hardware companies such as Dell or HP, or responded to an ad on the internet while searching for help with a computer problem, and were eventually lured into agreeing to purchase a yearly tech support plan costing several hundreds of dollars. Often the “tech”/telemarketer is luring uninformed computer users into the large fee by telling them that their computer has severe problems that require immediate attention, when in fact there are minor or no problems at all.

We’ve had several clients report that they’ve called AT&T for internet or email tech support issues, and if they weren’t able to immediately fix their problem they were transferred to AT&T ConnecTech – a $180 yearly service (billed monthly) where a representative can remote control a computer to troubleshoot issues.

The drawbacks of the service are:

• The representative’s technical know-how is sometimes misguided. Several times we’ve been called to fix a problem which their representative has made worse or misdiagnosed.

• Representatives are usually located in India and other foreign countries, have heavy foreign accents or speak in a language which is hard to understand.

• Calls with inexperienced agents in which there is a language barrier can take hours to troubleshoot. We’ve had several clients mention they’ve spent up to 4 hours on the phone only to get seemingly nowhere to resolving the problem.

Our recommendation when calling AT&T for tech support issues is to refuse to be transferred to their for-pay support. Computer Techs provides honest, local support. We can resolve computer issues quickly, either on-site or remotely, often for much less than the other companies yearly fee.

 Print This Article

New computers sold from 2010-2012 with the Windows 7 operating system came with Microsoft Office Starter 2010 – which includes limited versions of Word (word processor) and Excel (spreadsheet) programs. Though the programs are limited, they include about 90% of the features of the paid full versions of the programs, and the Starter versions are adequate for most home users. Microsoft Office Starter 2010 replaced Microsoft Works, a free program that came on earlier computers.

Word processing documents created with Microsoft Works were saved in a file format ending with the .wps file extension. On a new computer, when using Windows File Explorer to look at files and folders in the Documents folder for example, files with a .wps file extension cannot be opened. If you attempt to open such a file, Windows may prompt to search your computer for a program that will open the file. You should NOT proceed at that point because there is no program in the default list that will open the file. Instead you should follow the instructions below.

1. Start Microsoft Word Starter 2010 (which is on your Start menu).
2. Click the File menu, and then click Open.
3. In the Open dialog box, follow these steps:

• Change the Look in box to the location of your Works document (it automatically defaults to your Documents folder)
• In the Files of type box, click the drop-down arrow and choose All Files (*.*).
• Select the Works document (.wps) that you want to open, and then click Open.

4. If the document opens correctly, when you are finished with it, click File, click Save As, and then change the file type to a Microsoft Word document (.docx).
5. Save the document and you have successfully converted the file to a Word document. It can then opened directly from File Explorer without having to open Word Starter first.

 Print This Article

Updated November 1, 2012:

If you’ve got a computer with Windows XP and have been delaying the purchase of a new PC until the April 2014 end-of-support deadline, I suggest purchasing a new computer while Windows 7 is still available. The newly designed Windows 8 is in stores now, and the more familiar Windows 7 is getting hard to find preinstalled on a new computer, though they can be purchased directly from manufacturer’s websites such as HP and Dell. Windows 7 will be supported and continue to receive Microsoft Updates until 2020.

Operating System..	General Availability……..	End-of-support
Windows XP	Oct 2001 – Jun 2008	Apr 2014
Windows Vista	Jan 2007 – Oct 2010	Apr 2017
Windows 7	Oct 2009 – TBD	Jan 2020
Windows 8	Oct 2012 – TBD	TBD

The average lifespan of computer hardware is about 5 years, and a computer with Windows XP is well past its lifespan. Computers with Windows XP preinstalled were manufactured from 2001-2008 (over 5 years ago). If you’re still using a computer with Windows XP the likelihood of hardware failure and data loss is very high considering the average life of a hard drive is 5 years.

Computer Techs can help you shop for a new PC and get the best deal. We can also setup your new system and transfer the data from your old computer – as long as the hard drive hasn’t failed.

 Print This Article

Updated October 2012:

The successor to Windows 7 – appropriately named “Windows 8” – was released on October 26. It can be purchased as an upgrade for Windows Vista, Windows 7, or pre-installed on a new computer. A common question that we’ve been receiving is “should I upgrade to Windows 8?”

I’ve been using the final release of Windows 8 since August. From my experience I recommend that people DO NOT upgrade to Windows 8 nor purchase a new computer with it installed – unless you like change. It has been described as “revolutionary” and “reimagined”. That also means “unfamiliar”. Two of the biggest changes in Windows 8 are the new tiled Start interface, and the removal of the “Start” button from the Desktop interface.

Microsoft developed the tiled Start interface to make it easy to navigate Windows 8 if you’re using it on a touch-screen tablet computer. But if you like to use a desktop computer with a separate physical keyboard and mouse, in my opinion the new Start interface is distracting. You can switch to the Windows 7 style of Desktop interface, but the Start menu has been replaced by the tiled Start interface and other methods to access things that you’re trying to do by moving your mouse to different corners of the screen and waiting for menu options to appear.

If you’re interested in seeing more of Windows 8 so you can decide for yourself if it’s worth upgrading – see this review which includes more details and screen shots. Or see a video preview here.

If you’d like to discover Windows 8 for yourself, most local big box stores have it on display on their demonstration computers. I recommend that you spend some time using it to do the things that you normally do on a desktop computer to see if it’s right for you.

 

 Print This Article

If you have the free version of AVG AVG Anti-Virus, recently it has been prompting to install the newest update for 2013. If you have not yet installed the update, below I give instructions on how to install the free version, which is not the default installation. The default installation installs a 15-day trial to AVG Internet Security (which I do not recommend), after which an annual fee is required to keep the program up-to-date.

If you have already installed AVG Internet Security Trial and you wish to revert back to the free version, see this article.

 Print This Article

Updated 8/26/14:

We have seen many emails appearing to come from legitimate companies with unexpected order confirmations or cancellations and account balance notifications – all with shockingly high dollar amounts that peak the curiosity. These emails are the latest tricks by spammers to lure people to open the email and visit a malicious website that spreads spam and malware. This tactic emphasizes an important computing safety tip: Never click on links in email unless you are absolutely sure about what website the link will take you to.

Some of the companies that are represented in the phony emails include UPS, Amazon, PayPal, Verizon Wireless and US Airways.

How to tell where a link is pointing to. The link below initially looks like it will direct you to the www.ebay.com auction website. But if you hover your mouse over the link text you should notice text along the bottom-left bar of your e-mail client or web browser that shows where the link actually points to – which in my example will take you to Computer Techs’ contact information page.

www.ebay.com

When you click on the screen shot below you can see an official looking e-mail I received that appears to be from “eBay”. I hovered my mouse over the link “Proceed to Account Update” and the status bar along the bottom-left corner of my web browser shows that the link does not point to a legitimate eBay web page, but rather a long link that happens to have the word “ebay” in it to fool the recipient.

If you receive a questionable email, never click on the link in the email. Instead open your web browser and go to the company’s website by manually typing their website address into the address bar.

Also see: How to recognize emails that “phish” for your information

 Print This Article

AT&T changed their att.yahoo.com homepage recently, and we’ve heard from many people that they dislike the new design.

If you want your old customizable homepage back, type my.yahoo.com in your browser’s address bar, then make it your browser’s home/start page.

 Print This Article

Updated 8/26/14:

Over the years we’ve been contacted by dozens of clients who have had their email account hacked and sending out spam to all of their contacts. This happened shortly after clicking on a link in an abnormal email from someone they know. The website that the link opens typically shows a video while capturing email address and password credentials, then hackers log into the email account and send similar spam emails to all of their contacts.

The subject line of the emails are vague in hopes that you’ll be curious and open it. Examples include:

– Hey
– Hi
– fwd:
– re:

Some of the phrases in the body of the emails include:

– wow this is amazing look into this [link]
– this is awesome [link]
– wow can you look at this [link]
– wow this is crazy check it out [link]
– this is pretty amazing you should give it a look [link]
– [link only]

Other variants coming from the email address from someone you know include links to an unknown website that will:

– Ask you to enter your email login credentials in order to view a document or photo
– Ask you to install Java or Flash Player in order to view the website

The methods above are tricks to get you to divulge private information or to install malware on your computer.

Security reminder: Do not click on links in an email that you are not expecting or if you are not absolutely sure that the link will open a trustworthy website. If you discover that your email account has already been hacked, see our information about what to do if your email account has been hacked.

Also read about emails that appear to come from a business that you recognize.

More essential reading:

• More information about this method to hack email accounts at TruthOrFiction.com

 Print This Article

 

We get a lot of calls where the person’s account has been hacked. The hacker has sent spam email to their contacts, and often copies their contact list for the purpose of sending future emails and forging their name and email address. Others have had emails sent to their contacts asking for money because they are in distress in a foreign country while on vacation. After their account got hacked, people usually ask us how it happened. Typical methods that hackers are able to access email accounts include….

1. Guessing an insecure password to access your account. Examples of insecure passwords include common names, names of a pet, words listed in a dictionary, or using the same password for different websites.

2. Guessing the answer to your account security question(s), then resetting the password so that the account can be accessed.

3. Insecure web site databases are being hacked and the usernames and passwords are being used to log into email and other accounts. For example, here’s a common scenario that could happen to you:

You discover xyzrecipes.com and register for an account so that you can access their exclusive recipes that are only available to registered users. They require an email address for a username, and ask you to create a password to access their site. To make it easy to remember, you simply use the same password that you use to access your email – since most people wouldn’t care if somebody got access to your xyzrecipes.com account.

However, a few weeks later a hacker breaks into the xyzrecipes.com user database and copies all the email addresses and passwords. The hacker then tries to access your email account using the same password that you used to register at xyzrecipes.com. If it’s the same password, they now have access to your email account, make a copy of your contact list and send spam messages to your contacts that look like they’re coming from you. Worse yet they can read all of your previous emails, learn about the people you correspond with and financial transactions that you make, and/or change your password – locking you out of your email account.

4. If you click on a link in an email which leads to a malicious website, the website can capture your email login credentials.

5. Sending an official-looking email asking for email login credentials. (See sample below)

 

What you should do if you’ve been hacked, and tips to prevent being hacked.

If your email account was hacked, immediately change your password. (If your email address is the master account for AT&T DSL service, see note below*) Below are a few things you can do to help prevent your email account(s) from being hacked.

1. Use a password system/pattern so that you have a unique memorable password for each web site. I recommend putting part of the letters of the website in the password. (See creating secure memorable passwords.)

2. If the account has a password reset question (or account security question – ASQ), make sure that the answer to your question is something that a hacker would not know or easily guess.

3. Learn how to recognize emails that “phish” for your information.

4. Secure your email account with 2-step verification.

* Note: If your email address is the master account for an AT&T DSL account, after changing your email password you need to call AT&T DSL at 877-722-3755 and have them give you your network password to program into your DSL modem or router. Otherwise you could lose your connection to the internet.

 

 Print This Article

According to DoNotTrack.Us “Do Not Track is a technology and policy proposal that enables users to opt out of tracking by websites they do not visit, including analytics services, advertising networks, and social platforms.”

For example, the social network website Twitter recently announced that they support and adhere to the Do Not Track setting by your web browser. Some websites that you visit may feature a Twitter button, widget, and other embedded features that makes interacting with the website more of a social experience. If you select the Do Not Track option in your web browser, if are a current or future Twitter member, they will no longer suggest other Twitter users that you may wish to follow based on your web browsing habits.

DoNotTrack.Us continues “At present few of these third parties offer a reliable tracking opt out, and tools for blocking them are neither user-friendly nor comprehensive. Much like the popular Do Not Call registry, Do Not Track provides users with a single, simple, persistent choice to opt out of third-party web tracking.”

“Do Not Track signals a user’s opt-out preference with an HTTP header, a simple technology that is completely compatible with the existing web. Several large third parties have already committed to honor Do Not Track, but many more have been recalcitrant. We believe regulation is necessary to verify and enforce compliance with a user’s choice to opt out of tracking.”

AVG Anti-Virus installed a Do Not Track add-on in a recent update. However, I recommend that it be disabled since it slows web browser speed, can cause some web pages to not display as expected, and websites are not required to adhere to your preferences. Here’s how to disable or configure AVG Do Not Track.

Personally, having my web browsing habits tracked by certain 3rd-party sites or social networks doesn’t bother me if it enhances my overall browsing experience. The fact that there is no regulation to enforce Do Not Track makes changing the setting in my browser or enabling and add-on seem pointless to me at this time.

 Print This Article