If you experience buffering or pausing while playing online videos on websites such as YouTube, here are a few times that can fix the problem.

– Pause the video to allow the playback to catch-up to the download. On YouTube, take notice of the playback bar on the bottom of the video. The circle on the right-side of the horizontal red bar signifies the current playback position of the video. The grey “loading” bar to the right of the red bar shows how much of the video has downloaded to your computer. If the red bar/circle catches up to the grey bar, you will experience buffering and pauses. To minimize that you can pause the video and allow the grey bar to move considerably ahead of the red bar.

 

– Choose a lower playback resolution. On the playback bar, notice the gear icon among other icons on the right side. Click the icon and choose a lower number than currently selected.

– Consider increasing your internet connection speed. If your internet connection speed is below approximately 2500-3000 Kbps, you will likely experience playback issues with higher quality video. Contact your internet service provider and see if a higher speed is available.

If the tips above don’t fix the problem, see the YouTube help for buffering and playback problems.

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Updated September 2020:

To help prevent unauthorized access to personal information, many websites require a password that consists of six or more characters, numbers and letters, and uppercase and lowercase letters. Creating a password that meets the requirements and being something you can remember doesn’t have to be a challenge.

I have created a password system that you can use or modify to create memorable passwords. The most important part of the system is that a different password is created for each website.

If you currently use the same password for different websites, if the password or website gets compromised, hackers could access your data on all other websites that you use. That would be bad.

The system divides a password into 3 memorable parts that create a secure 10-character password when put together:

Part 1 – First 3 letters of my name [Mar]
Part 2 – First 3 letters of the website – (Yahoo would be [Yah], Google would be [Goo], Amazon would be [Ama], etc.)
Part 3 – 4-digit month & year of my birthdate [0468]

To summarize, my Yahoo password created under this system would be MarYah0468 – created by putting the 3 parts together. Notice that I use uppercase letters as the first letter of each part for added security.

If you’re using a website or service that had a data breach and you’ve been told to change your password, you could just change the 3rd part to reflect the current month & year:

Part 3 – 4-digit month & year that the password was changed [0916]

To summarize, my new Yahoo password changed due to a data breach in September 2016 would be MarYah0916

If you keep a written or typed password list, for added security you could write the name of the website and date, while using an underscore “_” or dash “-” for characters of the password that you’ve memorized without showing the entire password on paper and revealing your password to someone that you may not want to read your password list. For example, my written Yahoo password would be M – – Y – – 0 9 1 6

You should use your own variation of this system. Here’s some suggestions:

• Capitalize the MIDDLE or LAST letter in each part

• Use the first 3 letters of your MIDDLE or LAST name, the name of a loved-one – or your initials.

• For Part 2 remove the vowels from the website or service – Yahoo would be Ah, Google would be Ggl, Amazon would be Mzn.

• For Part 2 use the letter or character one key to the right on the keyboard – Yahoo would be Usj, Google would be Hpp, Amazon would be S,s

• For Part 3 of the system, use a 4-digit number from your graduation year, childhood phone number or street number, or any other number that you’ll remember for life. For added security you could use a different number based on the type of website – for example you could use part of your SS# for financial websites, a street number for shopping websites, your graduation year for social networking websites, and birth month+year for everything else.

• Add a special character such as [! ? # *] at the beginning, end or memorable location in the system. Alternatively you could use special characters instead of numbers by holding the shift-key when typing numbers – thus 0468 would be )$^*

• “Pad” or add something somewhere in your password that you don’t write down – such as putting a childhood phone number or zip code at the end of every password.

You may also want to visit the following website for ideas on creating a memorable password system: http://www.f-secure.com/weblog/archives/00001691.html

Also read how to safely manage your passwords.

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Microsoft will end support of Windows XP in April 2014, meaning that they will no longer be providing security and reliability updates as they do now on a monthly basis. In less than 2 years any computers that still have Windows XP computers will become highly vulnerable to getting viruses and malware. New software and hardware will increasingly not work with Windows XP.

If you still have a computer with Windows XP it’s time to start thinking about updating to a new computer with a modern version of Windows (currently Windows 7) before April 2014. The good news is that new computer hardware these days will likely cost much less than your old computer. Middle-of-the-road computers for everyday computing average less than $500 on sale.

Windows 7 can sometimes be installed on an old computer that currently runs Windows XP. However, old hardware on a computer that is over 5 years old is more likely to fail and cost more in the long term versus updating to a new computer and operating system together.

Computer Techs can help you make the transition from Windows XP. If you’re looking for advice and deals on new computers, check out our New Computer Deals newsletters located at the bottom half of our Newsletter Archives web page.

You’ve probably seen the TV ads or computer pop-ups for websites such as CyberDefender, PCMatic.com, MyCleanPC, FinallyFast.com and others. They promise to speed up your computer by fixing registry errors, reducing clutter, tweak settings, etc. Their websites promote a 100% guarantee, 5-star ratings from well-known web sites and user reviews that make their claims seem believable. But doing a little research shows the truth about many of these quick-fix programs and websites: many can be classified as scams.

An article which investigates MaxMySpeed.com echoes the warning signs and experiences of many people who try the service. The five-star user and website reviews are often inflated. The free programs scan your computer and always find problems, then offer to “fix” the problems for a fee. Trying to close out of the program or decline payment options often results in more pop-ups and scare tactics. And the results it finds are inflated and inaccurate. In summary they present false results to scare you into purchasing the product.

One person tried the free download, but was then told it would cost $390:

My computer was seriously slow and locking up… …So, I thought I’d go out on a limb and try Double My Speed. The good news: they fixed my computer and it runs great now. The bad news: it is a classic bait-and-switch. Their website allows a free scan but to fix the issues found requires buying their software. Then, they require a phone call to activate the software. This phone call is actually a sales event, where they try to sell their 24/7 service to support your computer. I went ahead and bought it, depending on the guarantee in case I was not satisfied. Their tech (what they called a “certified level 3 technician”) spend many hours connected to my computer. The result was as advertised. The price was ridiculously high–I could have bought a new desktop–but decided that if it didn’t work I would get my money back and if it did, I could avoid going to the store, shopping for a new desktop, lugging it home, transferring my files, and so on. The price was $130 three times (three easy payments!) and I was able to talk the rep down by discounting the amount I had paid online for their initial service. That also extended the license on the software from 1 year to 2.

Do yourself and your pocketbook a favor and avoid quick-fix programs and websites. There is no single program that will fix all of your computer problems. Computer Techs uses dozens of specific tools to fix your computer based on the problem(s). Stick with a local company that you can trust to work on your personal computer.

Other articles worth reading:

The truth about registry cleaners

FinallyFast.com refunds thousands is scareware suit

Ascentive sued for tricking customers with scareware

 

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If you occasionally create a letter or spreadsheet, you may not need to purchase Microsoft Office – a $100+ suite of bundled programs which include Word, Excel, PowerPoint and others. Instead there are several computer programs and web apps that don’t cost a thing.

1. LibreOffice: You can download and install LibreOffice on your computer, which includes a word processor (similar to Microsoft Word), spreadsheets (similar to Microsoft Excel), presentations (similar to Microsoft Powerpoint), databases (similar to Microsoft Access), and a drawing program similar to Adobe Photoshop.

LibreOffice will open Microsoft Office and Word Perfect Office compatible files, and can be configured to automatically save files in those formats. A few common file formats supported include:

.doc/.docx – Microsoft Word document format

.xls/.xlsx – Microsoft Excel spreadsheet format

.ppt/.pptx – Microsoft Powerpoint presentation format

.wpd – Corel WordPerfect document format

.pdf – most files can be exported to the Adobe Acrobat PDF format

2. Gmail/Google Docs: If you just need to be able to read a document or spreadsheet, if you use Gmail you can open the attachment from within Gmail’s web interface and view the file with no special software required to be installed on your computer. If you’d like to be able create and edit documents, spreadsheets, presentations, forms and drawings, you can use Google Docs. Google Docs lets you work on your files in real time with other people (if you choose), and store them online for free.

3: Office Web Apps/SkyDrive: Similar to Google Docs, Microsoft also lets you create, store and share (if you choose) Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote files online for free in your personal SkyDrive using Microsoft Web Apps. If you have the desktop version of Microsoft Office 2010 installed on your computer, you can also edit the files on your computer and transfer them between SkyDrive for a secure back-up method.

4: Microsoft Office Starter/New computer: If you’re in the market for a new computer, Microsoft Office 2010 Starter Edition comes pre-installed on new computers these days – which includes most of the features of the paid versions of Word and Excel.

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In the past month we’ve received an unusually high number of calls from clients that have had their email accounts hacked. The hackers have accessed their email password either by simply asking for it via a phishing email, or hacking into other insecure web site databases then trying to use the same password to access their email account. After accessing their email account the hackers have done many of the following steps:

• Changed their password and account security questions to permanently lock them out of their email account

• Sent emails to their contacts saying that they are traveling in a foreign country and are in desperate need of money

• Deleted all of their saved email

• Deleted everybody from their contacts/address book

• Changed their email options so that all email forwards to the hackers email address, and all replies are sent to the hacker

• Made a copy of their address book and are continually sending out spam email to their contacts that looks like they are originating from the person whose email account was hacked

Many web sites (including financial institutions) have an option to reset your password by sending an email to your address-on-file. If a hacker has access to your email, they can easily receive the email, reset and change your banking or other password and steal money or purchase merchandise under your name.

Below is what you need to do now to help prevent your email account from being hacked in just 3 easy steps…

• See how to recognize emails that “phish” for your private information

• How to help prevent your internet accounts from being hacked

• Create a secure and memorable password system

Sadly, the clients that called for after-the-fact help could have prevented their email accounts from being hacked in the first place by taking a few minutes each month to read our monthly newsletter. Information about hacking and steps to avoid it has been mentioned in it each month for years.

 

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If you miss an airing of your favorite TV series or want to watch an old film, there are a few websites where you can view live and recorded video for free. Below are some of our favorites:

Hulu.com – Hulu brings together a large selection of videos from nearly 190 leading content companies, including FOX, NBC Universal, ABC, Comedy Central, ABC Family, Biography, Lionsgate, Endemol, MGM, MTV Networks, National Geographic, Digital Rights Group, Paramount, PBS, Sony Pictures Television, Warner Bros. and more

CBS Video –  Just about the only network programming you can’t watch on Hulu.com

YouTube.com – Amateur and professional videos uploaded by millions of people from around the world.

Ustream.tv – Live streaming and recorded video by amateur and professional broadcasters around the world.

California Live Streaming Traffic Cameras

Downtown Reno webcams

Reno area weather webcams

Reno freeway web cams

Feel free to share a link to your favorite video or webcam site in the comments section below.

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Apple released iOS 5 this month, an update for iPhones, iPads and iPods that improves device speed and adds over 200 new features and enhancements. Anandtech.com has posted a comprehensive review of iOS 5 with screen shots and videos detailing some of the changes and new features.

One of the most notable improvements that comes with iOS 5 is access to iCloud – a synchronization and backup system. Photos, contacts, calendars and email with @me.com addresses sync between iCloud and multiple iDevices and PCs or Macs. iTunes Match will sync your music with the cloud. Daily automatic backups will allow the device information and settings to be restored to an existing or new device if needed. And future iOS updates will be automatically installed after iOS 5 is installed.

Would you like to print from your device? Printers that support AirPrint will show up automatically when you select “Print” on your iDevice. If your printer is not listed, there is 3rd party software that can be installed on a PC or Mac that is connected to a printer that enables printing from your iDevice.

To upgrade your iDevice to iOS 5 you need the latest version of iTunes installed on your computer, and all apps should be updated to the most current versions. After your device is connected to your computer with the supplied USB cable – iTunes should detect your device and prompt to download and install iOS 5.

If you need help updating your device, setting up the iCloud backup and syncing features, setting up printing or showing you the new iOS 5 features – give Mark at Computer Techs a call.

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AVG has released the 2012 version of their free anti-virus and other paid versions. Installing the update should be quick and easy if you following the instructions below.

When a pop-up from the system tray appears – as shown below (near the clock on the bottom right corner of your screen), click “Update Now”.

 

By default “Full protection” is selected. For the free/basic version which we recommend, select “Basic protection” (as shown below) then click “Next”.

 

That’s it! The installation should continue, then prompt you to restart your computer when finished.

After installation if you get a prompt to scan your computer for errors or problems with the AVG PC Analyzer component, I recommend avoiding doing the scan. It looks for registry errors and junk files among other things – which are harmless – then prompts you to purchase the add-on if you want items fixed.

If you have problems with the automatic installer, you can manually download the new free version directly from AVG’s website:
http://free.avg.com/us-en/download.prd-afh

If you need assistance downloading and installing the new AVG Anti-Virus, please call or e-mail us. We’ll be happy to take care of it for you, and give your computer a check-up/tune-up while we are there.

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One consideration to make before switching internet providers is if you will be able to keep your email address. Changing your email address can take lots of time because you have to notify all of your contacts, and many web sites and services use your email address as your username or login.

If you cancel your AT&T Internet service, you can keep your (@sbcglobal.net, @att.net, @nvbell.net, etc.) email address. See section 5a in the AT&T Terms of Service.

If you have AOL and switch to high-speed internet, you can change to the “Free AOL” plan and keep your @aol.com email address as well as access to the AOL desktop program if you so choose.

On the other hand, if you have Charter Internet and you cancel your service, you lose your @charter.net email address. If you use their web site to view your email, you would also lose all saved emails. However if you use an email program such as Outlook, Outlook Express or Windows Live Mail, any saved emails would remain in that program.

I recommend that you get an email address independent of your internet service provider – such as Google’s Gmail or Microsoft’s Outlook.com – for instances when you want to switch or just have another way for people or businesses to contact you.

It’s also good to have more than one email address through a different provider as a backup -just in case there’s a problem with your main provider. It’s also a good way to separate email by using one account for correspondence with friends and family, and a different account for business, purchase confirmations, etc.