Biden PC's Small Business IT Blog

Have you been having a BSOD (Blue Screen Of Death) pop up on your computer? Have you seen your computer do a "Core Dump" then go to a "Logon Screen"? Has your computer screen changed resolutions or colors? If so, you have a nasty piece of spyware called Antivirus 2009.

There are many files associated with this problem including XPSecurityCenter.exe, av2009.exe, and Antivirus2009.exe. This problem is difficult to fix and neither McAffee nor Norton can remove it.

If you think you have this problem or need any other Virus or Spyware removal, call Biden PC at once. We know how to handle this problem and we will do it right the first time.

Happy (and safe) Computing,
Tim

Labels: Computer Repair, Desktop Support, Services Offered, software, Spyware Removal, Tech Talk, Virus Removal

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Mozilla Firefox gives you many more options on how to deal with cookies than Microsoft Internet Explorer does. You have the options of:

• Accepting all cookies
• Not accepting 3rd party cookies
• choosing on a site by site basis which cookies to accept.

You also have options as to how long to keep the cookies that you do accept.

• Keep them until they expire
• Keep them until you close Firefox.
  

ITCSNY points out a few reasons why we should be more careful with the cookies that we accept.

So here are some easy instructions (for Windows Users) to change your default Cookie rules.

1. Go to the"Tools" menu and choose "Options".
2. Click under the "Privacy" tab at the top of the window and look under the "Cookies" section.
3. Choose your settings then click "OK".

Cookies can be very helpful so I don't delete them all but I do recommend AT LEAST removing the check mark from "Accept third-party cookies". I also choose "Ask me every time" under "Keep Until" just so that I can actually see who is requesting the cookies.

Remember, cookies help you log into websites and some absolutely require cookies so I don't recommend blocking them all, but you should at least learn about who is giving them to you.

Happy Computing,
Tim

Labels: Desktop Support, General PC Advice, How To, My Thoughts, Tech Talk

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I recently ran into a blog by a guy named Sean Daniel. He is a member of Microsoft's Windows SBS Product team. That means that he is intimately familiar with Windows Small Business Server 2003 and 2008.

Sean posts new factoids to his blog just about every day. Some posts are about new features, others are about training opportunities and still others are actual "how to" posts. I am excited about his blog and I wanted to share it with you in the event that you are also interested in Windows Small Business Server 2003 and 2008.

Labels: Computer Networks, Computer Upgrades, General PC Advice, How To, SBS 2003, SBS 2008, Tech Talk, Windows Server Tips

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I've been receiving lots of hits to my website asking how to change passwords in Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003.

If you don't have the legitimate Administrator password you (or your client) either forgot the password or you're trying to hack in to it. And if you're not my client, I won't tell you how to get in.

If you do have administrator access to your Small Business Server 2003 computer, changing users' passwords is extremely easy. Just follow these simple steps.

1. Go to the Server Management Console and click "Users".
2. Choose the user whose password you want to change and right-click on their name then click on "Change Password".
3. Type the new password in both boxes and click on "OK". Now the user can log in with their new password.

Simple huh? I thought so.

And if you are interested in a new server for your small business, Biden PC can install one (depending on your current computer network infrastructure) for less than $2000.00.

Happy Computing,
Tim

Labels: Computer Networks, How To, SBS 2003, Services Offered, Tech Talk, Windows Server Tips

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Do you have questions about computer networking? Do you have computer system problems that you haven't gotten fixed. Send us an email at sales@bidenpc.com. We will answer your computer questions in our blog just a few days.

Happy Computing,
Tim

Labels: Computer Networks, Computer Repair, Computer Upgrades, Desktop Support, Free, General PC Advice, Hardware, How To, Tech Talk

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If you are like me, you have a few different email addresses that are being managed by Microsoft Outlook. I have 2 IMAP email addresses that I have to check but Outlook defaults to opening the standard inbox first.

To correct this and setup Microsoft Outlook to open the folder you want open first, just follow these easy steps.

1. Go to the "TOOLS" menu and Click on"OPTIONS".
2. Click on the "OTHER" tab at the top of the new window.
3. Now click on "ADVANCED OPTIONS" then click on the "BROWSE" button.
4. Highlight the folder that you want to see opened when you first open Outlook and click "OK".
5. Now click "OK" and click "OK" again.
6. Reboot your computer and when you start up Microsoft Outlook it will start up in the folder that you chose.

If you have other computer support needs or questions, please feel free to contact Biden PC.

Happy Computing,
Tim

Labels: Desktop Support, Free, General PC Advice, How To, Microsoft Office, Services Offered, Tech Talk

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Since everyone wants more business, it pays to be on the first page of Google, Yahoo, and MSN. Website rankings and their placements are always changing which is why we must perform SEO. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization.

I've been learning quite a bit about SEO in recent weeks and I would like to share just the basics with you.

1. The wording on your page is extremely important, especially the H1 and Title tags.
2. Inbound links are are also extremely important. Not only how many you have but also what the anchor text (the text you click on that takes you to the link) says. For example, if your link anchor text says "Biden PC", that will only get you SEO credit for the term "Biden PC". That means, to find you, your prospective client must type in "Biden PC". Instead, if your anchor text says "Computer Networking" (which gets a lot more searches per month) you will now be found under that term. The more that you get with specific anchor text, the better off you will be.
3. Who links to you is also extremely important. If you have a page that has a Google Page Rank of 1, you don't get a lot of SEO credit for that. If a site with a Google Page Rank of 3 or 5 links to you, that carries more weight. But even better, if a site with a Google Page Rank of 6 to 10 links to you, that carries a whole lot more weight.

This is why I am enrolled to be listed with Total Blog Directory under their Tech Support Blog Directory section. It has a page Rank of 3 (which is higher than my page rank of 1) and that will help me to get a higher Google Page Rank.

For more on SEO, check out Hubspot's Website Grader and their SEO Blog.

Happy computing,
Tim

Labels: Free, How To, Search Engine Optimization, Services Offered, Tech Talk

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Regular computer maintenance will keep your computer running faster longer and over time that will save you both stress and the price of a new computer. Here are a couple easy computer maintenance procedures that you can quickly do on your own in less than 10 minutes.

Remove all the dust from the inside of your computer.

1. All you need is a can of compressed air. Take your computer outside and remove the side cover.
   
2. Using your can of compressed air, blow all the dust out of the inside of your computer. Point it at the CPU Fan, Power Supply, air vents and anywhere else there is a build-up of dust and/or animal fur.

Run CCleaner.

1. CCleaner is a free program that cleans up many parts of your version of Windows. You can download CCleaner here. You have many options when running CCleaner. Here are my favorites... I will assume that you start with the defaults then modify them. When you start CCleaner you have a number of check-boxes and some of those are checked and some are not.
   
2. To start with, under "Internet Explorer" uncheck cookies, history recently typed URLs, and AutoComplete Form History.
   
3. Under "Windows Explorer" uncheck Recent Documents.
   
4. Under "System" uncheck Startmenu Shortcuts and desktop Shortcuts.
5. Now, check the box that says "Advanced". Click "OK" to the boxes that pop up. We will turn off problematic ones.
6. Under "Advanced" uncheck Menu Order Cache and Custom Files and Folders.
7. Now click on "Run Cleaner" and then click on "OK".
8. Off to the left side, you will see a bunch of blue building blocks that say "Registry" under them. Click on that then click on "Scan for Issues". This will take a minute. When the process is completed, click on "Fix Selected Issues".
9. Now reboot your computer and know that your computer is cleaner both physically and in the software.

See, performing your own computer maintenance really isn't that hard. Of course, if you feel uncomfortable doing this, Biden PC is available for this and many other computer support services. These can be performed onsite at your office or home or they can be performed remotely over the Internet.

Happy computing,
Tim

Labels: Free, General PC Advice, How To, software, Tech Talk

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According to C-Net's senior editor Matt Elliott, the expected life of a computer is 3-5 years. I believe that desktop computers last about 5 years before they are too old and laptops last about 3 years. That typically isn't due to faulty parts as much as it is to computers getting old and software remaining new and always getting more sophisticated.

Because software continues getting more sophisticated, a straight computer repair isn't always the best solution to the problem. Often a small upgrade can extend the life of a computer and make it well worth the price of the upgrade.

Consider for a moment that you have a computer that has a faulty stick on RAM on a computer that runs Windows XP. Now consider that you want to upgrade to Windows Vista. If you only have 256 MB of RAM, you can't run Microsoft Windows Vista. It just won't work. But, if you replace that faulty 256 MB of RAM with 2 GB of RAM, your old PC will probably be able to run Windows Vista. before deciding onWindows Vista, I would recommend checking Microsoft's Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor. This tool will tell you whether you are ready or not.

Always remember, a small upgrade now can often save a lot of money down the road.

Happy computing,
Tim

Labels: Computer Repair, Computer Upgrades, General PC Advice, Hardware, Services Offered, Tech Talk

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Yesterday my wife needed to create and edit some videos for her class (she's an art teacher) on how to work with water-color paints. We have a Sony DCR-DVD 105 camcorder that records to the mini DVDs. It doesn't have a Firewire or USB connection on it so this presents a bit of a problem... How do you get the video onto your computer? Here's what I do.

First you'll need a bit of inexpensive software (sorry, not free this time) called AVS Video Converter. It is only $39.95 right now and it does a great job of converting the DVD files to almost any video format you would like. I usually choose .wmv, but the choice is up to you.

So here are the steps to converting the DVD video to any format you would like so you can edit your videos.

1. When you're finished recording video, finalize the DVD.
   
2. After it is finalized, put the DVD into your computer's DVD drive.
3. go to "My Computer" and Right-Click on the DVD drive.
4. Choose "Explore".
5. A new window will be opened and you will see some files.
6. Copy the files that end in ".vob" to your desktop because AVS Video Converter can't read directly from the DVD.
7. Start AVS Video Converter and choose the file format that you want to convert the DVD files to.
8. Click "Browse" to choose your .vob file.
9. Look under "Output File name" and you will see "... Profile" click on the box there to choose your exact output method within your video type.
10. Now you are almost finished. click on "Convert Now" and it will start it's magic. Obviously the software will take longer to convert larger files but it will do it.

When the program is finished, you'll be able to watch your video on your computer or edit it any way you want.

Happy video editing,
Tim

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Labels: Entertainment, General PC Advice, Hardware, How To, software, Tech Talk

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Recently I was asked how to make a DOS application print from Windows Vista or XP if there is no Parallel Port. This is actually quite easy and takes only a few simple steps.

1. Install the printer on another printer and make sure it prints.
2. Share the printer and note the computer-name and printer's share-name.
3. On the printer that has the DOS program, create a batch file that looks like this:

net use lpt1 /delete
net use lpt1 \\pc-name\printer-name
c:\folder\dos-application

Now in Windows XP, all you have to do is run the batch file and it works.

With Windows Vista, there is a slight catch. when you run it, you may not get anything or you may get an error that asks you for a password. If either of these happen to you:

1. close it out and go back to where the batch file is located.
2. Right-click on the batch file and choose "Run As Administrator".
3. You can now run the program and print to LPT1.

If you need to print to LPT2 instead of LPT1, simply change the commands in the batch file to sat LPT2.

Happy computing,
Tim

Labels: General PC Advice, How To, Tech Talk, Windows Vista Irritations

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As a professional computer technician, I always have people describing different problems to me. Due to a lack of details, I often have no idea what they are trying to tell me and that just makes things more difficult for everyone. In light of this, I want to help you describe your issues to a technician.

Here are a few things to consider when thinking about how to describe a technical problem.

1. How often does it happen? Timing can be a big help when trying to figure out what is causing a problem.
2. How long has the problem existed? This could signal a change to your system that can be removed or fixed. Maybe a new program was installed or a new PC was added to the network.
   
3. Can you reproduce the problem at will or is it random? If it seems random, it is harder to find. If it can be reproduced by following a series of actions, that narrows down the issue quite quickly.
4. Is there an Error Message? If there is, please note exactly what it says, not just the color. The color tells us very little except for the fact that there was an error. The message will usually tell us at least something about the error.
   
5. What caused the error to occur? If you had just opened or closed a program and the error appeared, odds are the problem is with that program.
6. Are there any common factors that make it happen? For example, does it only happen when you're connected to the Internet or when you change your speaker volume?
   
7. Has someone else or another company worked on your computer? Believe it or not, computer technicians often have their own ways of doing things and if we know the other technician, we may know what programs they use and how they do their work.

These are just a few ideas to help you communicate with your computer technician. The more details you can give him or her, the less time it will take them and the less you spend. Being more exact can save you money.

Happy computing,
Tim

Labels: General PC Advice, How To, My Thoughts, Tech Talk

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Yesterday I had a client whose Windows XP computer downloaded the latest patches from Microsoft and the computer rebooted. And rebooted. And rebooted. And rebooted. I think you get the picture.

When we couldn't get it to boot I attempted to do a System Restore to the previous day and the computer froze upon shutdown. Very bad sign. It wouldn't boot after that so I tried booting from the Ultimate Boot CD for Windows and Knoppix. Neither would boot. The UBCD4Win got a BSOD and Knoppix had a Kernel Panic.

Though I haven't yet performed a hardware analysis, I suspect that the repeated reboots caused a hardware problem somewhere. The customer half-joked that the computer had rebooted on its own 400 times.

For your own protection from this kind of problem, perform the following steps.

1. Open "System Properties" via "Start" ==> "Control Panel" ==> "Performance and Maintenance" ==> "System"
2. Select the "Advanced" tab and then click "Settings" in the "Startup and Recovery" section in "System Failure" section.
3. Clear the check box next to "Automatically Restart" Click OK and OK to exit

Happy Computing!
Tim Biden

Labels: Computer Repair, Desktop Support, Free, General PC Advice, How To, Tech Talk, Windows XP

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