CBC News has an enlightening exposé on incompetency and corruption in major PC repair service providers. I not only invite you, but I strongly encourage you to take 15-20 minutes to watch it. Misdiagnoses, inflated prices, FUD, impropriety, questionable morals and lacking ethics seem to plague this service industry. As one of the good guys in the video states, “We’re going to wind up being hated like car salesmen.”

As my existing clients already know, PCIAM is all about great customer service. This means honesty, efficiency, integrity and fair pricing will always be delivered to you. You will receive top-of-the-line service from me or from someone hand-picked by me. Nothing, absolutely nothing, of the deplorable service seen in this video will be the experience of any PCIAM client. Your trust is invaluable and you deserve respect and gratitude for offering it. Thank you to my many existing clients for allowing me to serve you. To my future clients, thank you in advance!

Image by versageek (Thanks!)

I was at a birthday party recently (Happy birthday, Ches!) and a friend there asked me about networking his desktop PC and laptop in his home. I knew he had broadband internet access, so I asked if he used a wireless router. Indeed he did. He was so close to having his network set up, but needed a little information to complete it. First, he needed to ensure both computers were in the same workgroup. Then, he needed to turn on file and printer sharing on one or both computers. Of course, there are many other things one can do once the basic network is set up. Here is a good document on Microsoft’s site about setting up a network.

It was cool to get an email the next day from my friend telling me he’d gotten it all working.

Remember, while it’s important to encrypt your wireless network, it’s doubly important when you have enabled file sharing.

I recently loaded Windows Vista Home Basic on a spare laptop to explore the low-end option of Microsoft’s latest operating system. Besides the occasional (OK, very frequent) UAC prompts, it’s pretty nifty. My main concern for many users is they will likely never repeat the same procedure twice when making changes to the operating system. I say that because there are so many different ways to get to where you want to go. Sometimes, limiting options makes for a better user experience. I expect someone will contact me for help because they changed something and don’t know how they got there! One good thing, though, is knowing what you’re looking for can save you. The search function (available almost anywhere in Vista) is pretty powerful. Say you want to get into the Device Manager - simply type dev into a search field, press enter and you’ll have a link to it in the first few results.

OK, enough of my Vista review. There are a million reviews of it already! The thing that prompted me to write this post is what I just experienced. I have a personal photo gallery on Picasa Web Albums that I tried to access as a visitor using Internet Explorer 7 on the Vista laptop. Instead of taking me to the page showing my public albums, the Picasa front page with a Google Account login window appeared asking me to sign in or create an account. HUH? This address is not supposed to require a login to view the albums. I started Firefox on the same laptop, keyed in the same address and… voila! The index of my albums showed. Hmmm… What’s amiss? This little “Protected Mode On” indicator at the bottom of IE looked suspicious. I double-clicked on it and unchecked the “Enable Protected Mode” option and clicked OK, acknowledged the warning (surprised it was not the UAC) and re-entered the address. Again, voila! My index page showed.

Now people getting into my measly little photo gallery is not of great concern. However, being redirected from a perfectly harmless photo album (or other harmless site that Little Timmy might send to Grandpa) without telling of the redirect, why the redirect and, quite importantly, how to get past the redirect… That ain’t all that good. Now when I choose to email a link to my gallery or to another such site, do I have to include a blurb of directions for Vista/IE7 users to access the site? Wow. That really improves my and the recipients’ computer experience.

In light of this and the plain ol’ newness of Vista, I counsel my clients NOT to purchase Vista just yet. Let the “first adopters” play with it for awhile and put it through real-world paces. After Microsoft and other developers have worked out the kinks (about this time next year?), then consider the purchase. For what most of my clients need, Windows XP with service pack 2 is highly adequate. If you need a new PC now, consider a refurbished unit with XP. It’s a good buy.

(flickr upload by mdornseif)

Sitting down at an unfamiliar (or even a familiar) PC can really risk compromising your personal information. While there are many malicious applications (and even hardware) that don’t readily disclose themselves, there are a few things that should be red flags when using an unfamiliar PC.

• Pop-ups! - If there are pop-up and pop-under windows on the system, beware. Especially beware if they are happening even when the internet browser is not open. The more pop-ups, the more likely the system is significantly compromised.
• Toolbars! - Some toolbars are quite handy and beneficial - Think Google, Yahoo! and Norton Antivirus. If there are other toolbars showing in the browser (especially Internet Explorer), be concerned.
• Internet Explorer! - Though IE7 offers much security improvement over IE6, if Firefox or Opera is installed, use it. Internet Explorer is notoriously vulnerable to attacks and is attacked more often due to its market share.
• Add/Remove Programs - Take a look at the program list in the Add/Remove Programs applet in the Control Panel. There are some malicious or questionable programs that actually list themselves here. User chaslang has a long list of questionable and downright nasty malware over at Major Geeks Forums.
• Windows Updates - If Windows is not current on updates, there could be some problems. In XP’s Control Panel, check to see that “Automatic Updates” is set to automatic.
• Antivirus - Verify that the antivirus definitions are current. Most antivirus programs have an icon in the system tray (next to the clock). Give the icon a double-click and check for the date of the definitions.
• Antispyware - Nowadays all PC’s should be running antispyware. It’s likely accessible in the system tray, too. Check the date of its definitions. If it’s not installed on the PC, beware.

Remember when using PCs that are not yours not to tick any of the “Remember Me” checkboxes when logging into websites. If you believe you’ve logged into a site that’s important (say email or banking) on a PC that may be compromised, change your password for that site ASAP on another (preferably your own) computer. Keep your wits about you when using PCs that are not under your control. If in doubt about a PC’s state of security, move on or be prepared to accept the consequences.

One way to make your and others’ day a bit nicer is to share an electrical outlet. As our personal gadgetry proliferates, so does our need to top-off the batteries while out and about. Unfortunately, many of the places where we use our laptops or have time to charge our phones simply do not have enough electrical outlets accessible to their customers. Until establishments add more outlets or offer some other means by which customers can get an electrical top-off, it is up to the consumers to provide the solution. Here’s one:

Just pick up a 3-outlet adapter or an extension cord and throw it in your laptop bag. The next time your in the coffee shop and all the outlets are in use, ask if you can share an outlet using your adapter. Better yet, if you already have outlet access and you see someone who is in need, offer to share your outlet and make a new friend.