High Tech House Calls
  October 2011
Welcome to High Tech House Calls

Greetings!

We are Experts in Integrating Apple and Windows Based Systems!

We Offer Technical Support and Tutorials For Computers, Networks, and Smartphones at your convenience, in your home or small business.

Got bugs and spyware on your mind?
Is your system down?
Are You Behind in Work?
Did your child download a virus... or worse?
Do your network problems make you feel cursed?

Call High Tech House Calls at 404.229.0839 to schedule an appointment.
Cellphone Roundup  

Replacing your Blackberry with another Blackberry?

I have spent some time reviewing the new Verizon Blackberrys that are running the new 7.0 operating system. 

  • They are much faster than the Blackberry I purchased 6 months ago. 
  • The browser is very usable. Finally, Blackberry has a browser that you can use to surf the Internet.

Two concerns remain:

  • Will Rim, the company that manufactures Blackberrys be in business a year from now? The financial press reports Rim is not doing very well financially.
  • The Blackberry Applications Library still pales in comparison to the applications library for iPhones and Androids. Will the Blackberry Applications Library ever catch up?

 

Browser Suggestion to Make Your Current Blackberry More Usable

I have tried the Opera, Bolt and Firefox browsers to see if using a different browser makes a difference in surfing the Internet. Here is what I discovered:

  • Opera did not seem to make much difference in my surfing experience. (http://www.opera.com/mobile/download/blackberry/)
  • Bolt is now my new Internet browser. The initial load of the program is longer than the Blackberry Browser, but once loaded, Internet pages loaded very quickly. Changing the preference to a split screen made the web content visible without using the magnifying glass all the time. (http://boltbrowser.com/dnld.html#BOLTbb) 
  • Mozilla Firefox is not available for the Blackberry, but is for iPhone and Androids.

Paying For Your New Phone

The Blackberry website has a trade in program where they will give you credit for your old Blackberry if you buy a new Blackberry.

 

If you want to get cash for your Blackberry, you can sell it on the website Gazelle. http://www.gazelle.com/?utm_campaign=Brand&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=gazelle 

 

Another Lesson on How Not to Treat Your Cell Phone 

By now, we are all familiar with the indicator built into your cell phone and cell phone battery that changes to a pink color if the cell phone has come into contact with water. The most common methods of contact with water are dropping your cell phone into the toilet or forgetting to remove your cell phone from your pants pocket before washing them. Add a third method to your list: If you store your laptop in a backpack and leave the backpack outside in hot humid weather, it is possible to damage your cell phone from exposure to humidity.

 

Android Upgrade Report

Many Verizon customers of Android cell phones were in for a not so pleasant surprise when they recently upgraded their cell phones to the newest Android Operating System. Before the upgrade, you could individually customize sounds for voice mail, texts, and emails. The newest upgrade took part of that customization away. While you can still customize ringtones, you won't be able to designate different sounds for emails, texts and tweets anymore.

Passwords You Need to Remember

Here is a list of passwords anyone working with your computer environment will need:

  • The Administrator user account password for your Windows Operating System.

Many times the best way to solve a problem with a computer that will not boot is to boot the system in safe mode (a way of starting your computer in a diagnostic mode with a minimum amount of resources assigned to programs and devices). To log in to the computer in safe mode, it may be necessary to use the Administrator account.

  • The username and password pair for a computer administrator enabled account for your Windows Operating System.

Administrator tasks such as installing a new printer or application program can only be installed by a computer administrator enabled account.

  • The password for each of your email accounts.

In order to access your email, you must have the password associated with that email account.

  • The Administrator username and password pair for your DSL or Cable Internet modem.

If your DSL or Cable Modem needs to be replaced, this password is necessary to re-establish your high speed Internet connection.

  • The Administrator username and password pair for your wireless router.

Any changes to the router - such as a firmware upgrade (fixes to the software on the router that is supplied by the router manufacturer) - will require the username and password.

  • The username and password pair associated with your anti-virus software.

Many times to de-install an anti-virus product so that it can be replaced, requires a valid username and password pair.


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For a limited time*, High Tech House Calls will not charge you for the first hour of any service call.
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Issue: 21
In This Issue
Cellphone Roundup.
Password You Need to Remember.
Store Passwords Safely.
 

Store Passwords Safely     

 

Do you have so many usernames and passwords to remember that you write them down in a book?

   

*    What happens if the book is lost or stolen?

*    What happens when you need a password and the book is at home?

You can buy software to maintain your list of usernames and passwords. The two major players are:

*    RoboForm (http://www.siber.com/)

*    SplashID (http://www.splashdata.com/)

How about a free solution? In a previous blog, I talked about using DropBox (www.dropbox.com) to
backup files on your computer. If you create a document in Word - one that lists your usernames and passwords, for example - you can store that file on the cloud using your DropBox account. The file can now be accessed from any computer, smartphone or tablet that can connect to the Internet and can read a Word document. Your files are encrypted on DropBox. Only someone who knows your DropBox username and password can read this file.

How about a less complex solution for free? Everyone has a USB flash drive. If you don't, the price has dropped so much that you should go out and buy one anyway. You could copy your password list onto the USB flash drive and keep the flash drive with you. When you need to retrieve the password list, simply plug the flash drive into
the USB port of your computer and access the file. If your device doesn't have a USB port (i.e. an iPad or Smartphone), this solution won't work for you.

If you find this solution still lacking in security because the data is not encrypted, you can encrypt the file. This article describes the software and the encryption process:
http://ask-leo.com/how_can_i_keep_data_on_my_laptop_secure.html

If you are not interested in encrypting the file, but still want the file to be secure, be crafty in how you
display the passwords. Think up a shorthand memory jogger that only you would know to store the password. For example, if your password was a combination of your son's name and birthday, you could write "firstborn bd". You are limited only by your imagination for the shorthand notation for your password.
   

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Carl Thorne
High Tech House Calls
email: carlthorne@hthcatlanta.com
website: www.hthcatlanta.com
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cell: 404-229-0839
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