How to Maintain Your Android Phone

Your Android phone is a powerful computer. But like any other computer, it won't run at its best without proper care and maintenance. If you've ever owned an Android phone, you probably noticed that it became slower after a few months of use than it was when you first brought it home from the store. There are several reasons for this phenomenon, and in this article I'll explain how to get your Android smartphone back into tip-top shape. You can accomplish a lot of what I'll be recommending here by performing a simple factory reset; but if you take that approach, you'll lose your data and have to reconfigure your phone. So instead, grab your Android phone and follow these steps to get it running like new again. Clear the Cache [Click to enlarge] Android phone maintenance: Clearing the cache; click for full-size image.Android phone maintenance: Clearing the cache.Have an app that's always crashing? Rather than force-closing or uninstalling it, try clearing its cache. This simple step will help resolve most of the issues that troublesome apps may be experiencing--and it won't create new problems, as forcing the app to shut down might. To clear an application's cache, open the Settings menu on your phone and click Applications. Then select Manage Applications and tap the app that's been having problems. Don't worry--all of your data and settings will remain intact; you're just getting rid of temporary files that may be causing difficulties. Uninstall Apps [Click to enlarge] Android phone maintenance: Uninstalling apps; click for full-size image.Check your app drawer for apps you don't use or need.Even though it's my job to love apps (and I do love them), improperly written ones can cause all sorts of trouble for your Android phone. Built-in problems can range from storing critical data as a plain-text file in your memory card to sullying your notification bar with constant updates that can't be disabled. Consider the official Facebook app: Opening it automatically turns on your GPS, in case you want to upload a photo or create a status update that shares your current location. That's fine and dandy, except that the app periodically forgets to turn off your phone's GPS once it's done using it, wasting precious battery power and leaving you scrambling for the nearest outlet. Even apps you aren't intentionally using may be running processes in the background that waste resources for no good reason. Unfortunately, task killers are generally ineffective at combating this problem, so your only practical option is to open your app drawer and uninstall apps that you don't regularly use. Doing so will open up space on your phone for more music, videos, and pictures, and it will help reduce the number of apps that are running in the background. Clean Out Your Memory Card Cleaning out your SD Card may not boost your phone's performance, but it makes sense to remove any old or unused files that are just taking up space on the card. To identify the biggest hogs on your memory card, I recommend installing DiskUsage. This app shows you which files on your phone are taking up the most room, though you'll have to plug your phone into a computer or use a file browsing app (such as Astro) to delete the unneeded files. [Click to enlarge] Android phone maintenance: Cleaning out your memory card; click for full-size image.DiskUsage shows you what's on your SD Card. You should do this whenever you uninstall applications, largely because some apps leave folders of data behind when they're uninstalled. If your phone is rooted, you can download the SD Maid app to automatically clear out old junk files. SD Maid also lets you freeze or remove any bloatware that came preinstalled on your smartphone--so you can finally get rid of the annoying Blockbuster app that continually asks you for updates. Root Your Phone If you don't mind voiding your warranty, rooting can breathe new life into an ancient Android phone. We've described how to root your Android phone countless times in the past, so you can refer to one of those guides when you're ready to walk through the actual process. A rooted phone gives you complete control over your Android device: You can remove unwanted bloatware, install root-only applications, and even load custom ROMs that change the look and feel of Android on your phone. Another benefit of rooting is that you no longer have to depend on your carrier for Android updates. While everyone else is waiting for their phone to receive Android 4.0, you can probably find a ROM for your phone that will give you a taste of Ice Cream Sandwich a few weeks or months before the update officially appears. Rooting isn't without its hazards, however, and a serious mistake can render your phone unusable. In my opinion, though, the benefits are worth the risks, especially if you have an older Android phone; it's definitely an option you should consider if you aren't satisfied with your current Android situation.
By Friendly Computers Copyright: 2010-01-28 Give us a call today: 281-554-5500 or visit Friendly Computers to schedule an appointment. http://www.pcworld.com/article/258295/how_to_maintain_your_android_phone.html#tk.hp_fv

New Airport Express a Tiny Wi-Fi Base Station Powerhouse

The redesigned 2012 model of the AirPort Express Wi-Fi base station has become the mouse that roars. The revisions transform this model into a tiny powerhouse by adding to its previous modest attributes a second ethernet port, simultaneous dual-band Wi-Fi, and a guest network option all in a form factor identical to the Apple TV (except white and an ounce lighter). At the same $99 as the previous two models, the AirPort Express might serve an entire apartment or single-floor home, or act as a main base station to which other base stations are chained via Wi-Fi or ethernet, where previously the $179 AirPort Extreme base station would be required. The Express uses the same configuration tools and options as its bigger siblings, the Extreme and Time Capsule. In testing, performance and throughput are in line with those models. It’s extremely difficult to offer generically useful advice when testing the range for a base station, because every home and office varies in what blocks or reflects wireless signals. The new Express provided excellent signal strength across my 90-year-old house, which requires three base stations to cover its modest size due to materials in walls and the floor between the main story and basement that block signals. The Express compares favorably to two different models of Extreme in use in the same house. As with all base stations, you may need to try out an Express, and even move it to different locations, to determine if it can cover the area you need. (Try the free NetSpot mapping program to help with that task.) While any Wi-Fi device may connect to an AirPort Express network, Apple only allows configuration via AirPort Utility, whether on iOS, Windows, or Mac OS X in Leopard, Snow Leopard, and Lion. Apple currently has two chains of utility software in Mac OS X to provide legacy support for features it removed in a software revision, but which are still available in hardware. With Leopard and Snow Leopard, AirPort Utility 5.6.1 must be installed to configure an AirPort Express; with Lion, the minimum version is now 6.1. (While Lion can still use 5.6.0 to access features in all previous 802.11n base stations, those released from 2007 to 2011, 6.1 is absolutely required for the new Express, and Lion can’t use 5.6.1.) Simultaneous dual-band AirPort Utility: An AirPort Express can be connected wirelessly, indicated by the dotted line in AirPort Utility, to an existing network to provide fuller coverage.While the previous AirPort Express (2008) supported 802.11n networking, you had to make a choice to set the Express to use either the 2.4GHz or 5GHz band available for 802.11n, not both at the same time (known as simultaneous dual-band). All older 802.11b and 802.11g gear can connect only using 2.4GHz channels. This is also true of a fairly large amount of newer equipment that supports 802.11n, but only for 2.4 GHz connections, which includes all iPhones and iPod touch models with 802.11n, many smartphone and handhelds, and even some newer computers. All iPad models, the Apple TV, and all Mac models released since 2006 can use either 2.4GHz or 5GHz. (The 5GHz band offers much greater throughput but only at closer distances than 2.4GHz.) Having both bands available at once in the 2012 AirPort Express (a feature added in 2009 to the Extreme and Time Capsule models) allows your network to perform at the highest possible speeds no matter how distant a device is from the base station while it remains in range of a signal. That’s a significant improvement, and makes the Express a much better value, especially compared with equipment from competing manufacturers, such as Linksys. Competitors have offered relatively inexpensive simultaneous dual-band gateways for years, but those models lack Mac-specific features, such as Wake on Demand. Two streams The AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule models (since 2009) have one advantage in the radio department over the Express. In 802.11n, the radio system can use varying amounts of power across the multiple antennas used to send out data to “steer” a signal (think of multiple cue sticks hitting a pool ball to control how it caroms), and create separate data streams at full throughput across different paths in space. The Express has two streams, while the Extreme and Time Capsule offer three. This approach allows a three-stream router, like the Extreme, to have an effective raw throughput of 450 Mbps in 5GHz and 225 Mbps in 2.4GHz, while the Express is limited to 300 Mbps and 150 Mbps, respectively. In practice, the net throughput might be just 10 to 30 percent higher for an Extreme or Time Capsule over an Express (say 130 Mbps instead of 100 Mbps), and if you’re that concerned about throughput, you may need to use wired connections in any case. Apple’s AFP file-sharing typically peaks at much lower rates than these maximum data rates. The additional antennas required and the additional stream also fill in hard-to-reach spaces with better Wi-Fi coverage. For larger homes or offices, or ones that have dead areas with an Express or other Wi-Fi gear, the Extreme or Time Capsule may be required. Ethernet connectivity Ports: (left to right) Power, ethernet WAN, ethernet LAN, USB, and audio (analog/optical). The AirPort Express once had a single ethernet port, making it useful only to extend networks via ethernet if it were plugged into a broadband modem. Older models could also extend an existing Apple wireless network (that feature still exists) and use the single ethernet port to provide access to wired machines. The new second ethernet port opens up the Express by allowing both a Wide Area Network (WAN) connection to a broadband modem or a larger network, and a Local Area Network (LAN) connection to a computer via ethernet, or to an ethernet switch to which many computers and devices can be connected. The Time Capsule and Extreme each have a built-in three-port gigabit ethernet (10/100/1000 Mbps) switch, while the Express continues to use 10/100 Mbps ethernet on both its WAN and LAN ports. However, the 100 Mbps limit doesn’t affect data exchanges between Wi-Fi devices, which work at the maximum wireless rates available, and it’s easy enough to plug in an inexpensive gigabit ethernet switch to allow the fastest throughput between wired devices. Only two particular situations require an Extreme or Time Capsule because of the ethernet limitation: if you have a broadband connection of faster than 100 Mbps, which is uncommon, but becoming more widely available; or you are determined to have the maximum possible throughput between ethernet and Wi-Fi devices on the same network. More features Guest networking has also been added, which allows a second virtual network with a unique network name (SSID) and security scheme to be available to visitors or others without providing access to the main network. Guest users can’t sniff or have access to Bonjour resources (like shared printers or file servers) or other traffic on the main network, either. This has been in Apple’s full-sized base stations for years, and it’s a nice feature to find in the $99 model. Apple also brings over the option from the other simultaneous dual-band gateways of naming the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz networks separately. That lets you choose to have a device connect to one band or another if it has the option of connecting to either. On some combinations of devices and networks, it can be useful to force 5 GHz for throughput or 2.4 GHz for range. The Express continues to have a unique option in the Wi-Fi base station line-up, which is a dual-function analog and digital optical (Toslink) port which lets it be a target for AirPlay audio streaming from iTunes on a Mac or Windows system and from any capable app in iOS. (Rogue Amoeba’s Airfoil extends AirPlay streaming to any audio output in Mac OS X or under Windows.) Previous models had an integral two-prong power plug (in 110-volt countries) that allowed them to hang directly off a wall outlet or fit into a power strip. The base station was heavy enough that it could easily fall off the outlet, and locating it by an outlet or a power strip could often mean that signals were blocked by furniture. A separate cord with a three-prong plug was only available as part of a $39 A/V kit. The 2012 Express (in the U.S. edition at least) has a 6.5-foot (200 cm) long two-prong cable that allows it to be more easily placed. It’s also attractive enough, unlike the unit it replaced, to sit on top of a TV cabinet or table. The 2012 Express, just like the two preceding models, can only share a single USB printer using Bonjour. The Extreme and Time Capsule use Bonjour sharing for a printer or hard drive (via AFP and Samba) through a USB port, but also allow the use of a USB hub to share multiple devices. Macworld’s buying advice The quibbles about USB and ethernet are relatively minor compared to the features available in this mighty mite. For the money, the Express makes an effective base station for modestly sized apartments or homes, or where access is only needed in a few adjacent rooms in an office. This sleek model is the right choice for many, and at $80 less than the AirPort Extreme, a prudent one as well.
By Friendly Computers Copyright: 2010-01-28 Give us a call today: 281-554-5500 or visit Friendly Computers to schedule an appointment.

D-Link Boxee Live TV Tuner

The Boxee Live TV tuner ($49 as of June 21, 2012) lets you use a Boxee media streamer to watch over-the-air broadcast TV. This digital TV tuner connects to a Boxee USB port on one end, and (via a coaxial connector) to an existing antenna, an existing cable, or an antenna that comes with the product on the other end. However, if you have a digital TV (or an analog set with a digital-TV converter), you already have a DTV tuner--whether you're using it or not. On a typical HDTV, the tuner input is the one that's labeled 'TV' and connects to an antenna or cable the same way the Boxee does, via a coaxial input. (Of course, pay cable services also deliver over-the-air stations, but the point of the Boxee tuner is to fill in the blanks that you'd have without the pay service.) What the Boxee Live TV tuner brings to the party is integration of over-the-air broadcast channels with Boxee's software and features. If you own a Boxee and use your HDTV set's own tuner, you get the same stations, but you have to switch inputs between whatever the Boxee is connected to (for content you stream from the Internet and your home network) and the TV tuner, which also involves fiddling with multiple remotes. On top of that, you can't share your live-TV habits with Facebook friends or use Boxee's electronic program guide (which usually provides some program info you don't get over the air). Another benefit of the Boxee tuner: With some programming, you get easier access to related Boxee content (for example, other series episodes). In other words, paying the $49 cost of the Boxee tuner to enable the Boxee Live TV service buys a measure of convenience--if you're committed to Boxee as your primary TV source. Setup is fairly straightforward. The Boxee Live TV tuner is a USB dongle about the size of a typical cell phone modem or Wi-Fi adapter; it plugs into one of the two available USB ports on a Boxee Box. When you fire up the Boxee after connecting the tuner, with the antenna or cable also attached, on-screen prompts direct you to get a software update that adds Boxee Live to the menu options. The first time you run Boxee Live, it performs a channel scan (much as any TV does during setup if you're using its tuner) based on your input of your zip code and whether you're connecting to an antenna or a cable. This process typically takes 5 to 10 minutes or so. If you're using an external antenna, whether your own or the one that Boxee ships with the tuner, the number of channels you receive will depend a lot on both the location of your home and the situation of your antenna. You can't do much about the former--if you live an an area with poor reception, you may never be able to get some stations--but you can take steps to improve antenna placement. If your set is situated indoors and far away from a window, don't expect to get much live TV unless you invest in a long cable that will let you put the antenna outdoors or at least next to a window. (This problem would be evident whether you used the set's tuner or the Boxee tuner.) In my tests with a TV located some 40 feet from a window, the Boxee tuner and its included short antenna could pick up only a half-dozen or so channels; when I connected the antenna to a 50-foot coaxial cable and placed it next to a window, though, a new channel scan found 53 channels. Quality in some cases was uneven: Stations with weaker signals sometimes disappeared completely. It's worth noting, too, that the Boxee Live TV tuner can't do some things that I've gotten used to as a Comcast subscriber with an HDTV/DVR box; most notably, it can't pause or rewind live TV. That said, it's true that you can save a lot of money by eliminating monthly cable service fees and relying on over-the-air TV and streaming Internet media. If you're happy with the quantity of over-the-air TV that you can receive (you might want to use your TV's built-in tuner first to see what you can get), and if you're already using Boxee for a lot of Internet content, $49 isn't much to pay for convenience. But you should understand that convenience is pretty much all you're getting.
By Friendly Computers Copyright: 2010-01-28 http://www.pcworld.com/article/256409/boxee_live_tv_tuner_review_device_adds_overtheair_to_boxee_lineup.html#tk.hp_new

Recommend: 0 3 4 Email 0 Comments Print Microsoft Surface Tablet: The Keyboard is the Key

Until recently, I've never been attracted by the idea of a tablet. The Surface may change that. By Barbara Krasnoff, Computerworld Jun 20, 2012 9:32 am Complete Coverage Microsoft Surface Windows RT I need keyboards with my computers. There are a couple of reasons for this. One is that I am a writer by profession and by inclination. A large portion of my life has been, and will hopefully continue to be, the act of putting words on a page (whether that page be paper or virtual). For that purpose, a keyboard remains the best method. And that's my second reason: I'm a touch typist. I learned how to type in high school, back in the days when they were still training girls to be seamstresses and secretaries (the boys were sent to auto mechanics and woodworking). My brain is wired for it. I type on a QWERTY keyboard as naturally as I walk. [Click to enlarge] Microsoft Surface Tablet: The Keyboard is the KeyI've tried other methods. For example, I have tried speech-to-text; most recently, with some of the functionality offered by my Android 4.0. However, while I'm pretty amazed by the accuracy of the technology, it still isn't perfect -- and not as fast. As a result, until recently, I've never been attracted by the idea of a tablet. Oh, I know how great they are for a number of tasks like watching videos, gaming and surfing the Web. I have many friends with iPads and other tablets, and I've tried a few review units myself. But I couldn't type on one. I've watched journalists at press events picking out words on the touchscreens of tablets, staring down as they made sure that their fingers connected with the correct keys. It would drive me bananas. Yes, you say, but there are now great, lightweight keyboards that you can buy for your tablet. True -- in fact, we've run two articles on keyboards that you can get for your iPad or for Android tablets, and some of those got high praise from the reviewers. But they added weight, bulk and extra expense to the tablets, and I felt as if I would be simply turning a tablet into a notebook. Sure, I'd be able to detach the tablet when I wanted it for entertainment -- but I'd be carrying it around with the keyboard and the case, and it just seemed like too much trouble and expense simply to be able to join the tablet crowd. [Click to enlarge] Microsoft Surface Tablet: The Keyboard is the KeyNow, Microsoft has come out with its Surface tablet, which comes with a lightweight cover that is also a keyboard -- and one where you can feel the keys. I've been in this business way too long to get enthusiastic about a product that hasn't yet been examined by journalists and other non-Microsoft testers. Especially when there is still so much information that we don't yet have. And I'm definitely not wed to the Microsoft OS -- while my personal laptop uses Windows 7, my work laptop is a MacBook Pro, and I carry a Samsung Galaxy Nexus loaded with Android 4.0. But, as Matt Hamblen says in his hands-on article about the Surface, the keyboard covers that Microsoft introduced are the "secret sauce" that could make these tablets something to be considered -- both as entertainment devices and as lightweight systems on which somebody who writes can get some real work done. I'll be very interested to see what the reviewers have to say once the tablets are available.
By Friendly Computers Copyright: 2010-01-28 Give us a call today: 281-554-5500 or visit Friendly Computers to schedule an appointment.

How to Edit Images for Free

Want to do some serious image editing without spending a lot of cash? Here are a few of the better image editors that you can download for free on your Windows, Linux, or Mac system. By David Daw, PCWorld Jun 18, 2012 8:00 pm Paint.netIf you work on the Web, you've probably been asked to do some simple image editing, even if your job has little or nothing to do with the artistic side of things. The standard image editors that came with your computer are fine for basic tasks, but complex editing typically requires the more sophisticated functions of Adobe Photoshop. This can be a problem, since Photoshop's $600 price tag is rather hefty. Serious artists still need (or at least prefer) to use Photoshop to take care of business. But if you merely have to crop an image on occasion or do some light image editing, you can find tons of free and easy-to-use alternatives that replicate Photoshop's best features without making you pay the price. What Tasks Are These Editors Good For? Free image editors excel at midrange image manipulation. High-end image editing (manipulating individual layers of complicated image files, for instance) is best done in Photoshop. On the other hand, you can perform most rudimentary tasks in the free image editor that came with your computer. For example, if you simply need to crop or resize an image, Windows Photo Gallery and Apple's Preview each have the tools you need. Just look for the proper command: On a Windows PC, both crop and resize are located in the Fix menu, and Mac users should look under Tools. If you need to do more with your pictures, pick up one of the free image editors outlined below. These editors are ideal for tasks such as creating simple multilayer images and exporting them in various file formats. You may not have to do this sort of thing often, but these programs can be useful if you're trying to merge several images into one, or if you need to spice up a boring shot. You could, say, alter the background behind a subject to place the person in a new environment, add a company logo to your images, or construct a new logo out of stock photography. Which Editor Should I Use? Linux: Fans of GIMP often tout it as the "Free Photoshop," and of all the free image editors on the market, it comes closest to matching Adobe Photoshop's capabilities. Not only does GIMP replicate Photoshop's default functions and tools faithfully, but it also has its own plug-in architecture, so (in theory) GIMP can be just as flexible as the "real thing." When in doubt, go with the GIMP. Originally developed for Unix, GIMP has been ported to every major operating system in at least one form (and usually multiple ones), which makes it an easy blanket recommendation for anybody seeking all of the features of Photoshop with none of the expense. I could end this article right here--except for the fact that GIMP is, rather notoriously, as slow as molasses. If you're a Linux user, or if you want free access to a range of tools that's similar to what Photoshop offers, then GIMP is still your best bet. However, Windows and Mac users just looking to remove the backgrounds from images or wanting to do some simple work in layers can turn to alternative free image editors that are faster. Windows: You can find a great free image-editing package in Photoscape. In addition to an image editor, this software includes an image browser and a batch processor for quickly editing groups of photos at once. It's also a fast and stable little application. The problem is that it doesn't support any advanced image-editing features. If you need to color-correct an image, Photoscape is great--but its lack of layer support and its omission of advanced selection tools means that it falls short as a Photoshop replacement. Photoscape for Windows is pretty simple, but it's also free. If you need an application with a little more power behind it, Paint.net is probably the answer. Although it still isn't as complete as Photoshop, Paint.net is much more powerful than Photoscape, and its support for layers and image filters should satisfy all but the most hard-core users. Paint.net is the fastest and most stable Photoshop replacement I tested for this article, too: During my limited time with Paint.net, it didn't crash once, and it loaded and manipulated images speedily. Mac OS X: Though the freeware editor Seashore uses GIMP's image format, it was developed in Cocoa specifically for Mac OS X. That means Seashore doesn't require X11 to run its graphical user interface the way GIMP does for Mac OS X, and as a result it's significantly faster than GIMP. Seashore is like a faster, slicker version of GIMP for your Mac. Seashore does have a few disadvantages, however. First, it isn't as full featured as GIMP or Photoshop. Though it does provide layers and all the basic editing tools, it offers no support for plug-ins, and the filter selection is limited. On top of that, it isn't the most stable image editor; I've had Seashore crash on me more than once while I was in the middle of editing, so I suggest saving early and often. If you're a Mac user willing to shell out a few bucks, the $29 Pixelmator is a solid image editor for the price. But if you're editing images only every week or two, and you're looking for a free program, Seashore is the application for you. Web software: Of course, if you're really unlucky you may not have access to your regular computer when you need to edit an image. If you're tasked with editing images while you're on the road or otherwise away from the office, try Pixlr, an entirely Web-based image editor available for free on the Pixlr website. For a Web editor, Pixlr is surprisingly powerful and feature-rich, with everything from layers and filters to standard tools such as the lasso and magic wand. Unsurprisingly, Pixlr is also fairly poky. If you need to edit a large batch of photos, Pixlr can easily slow to a crawl, and even basic filters take significantly longer to run in Pixlr than they do in a traditional application. Nevertheless, if you're backed into a corner, Pixlr can be a lifesaver. While professional designers and illustrators still ought to invest in the full version of Photoshop, most users should be able to benefit from any of the free image-editing tools and services described here. Whether you're making quick fixes or working on a few modest projects, these programs will meet your needs.
By Friendly Computers Copyright: 2010-01-28 Give us a call today: 281-554-5500 or visit Friendly Computers to schedule an appointment. http://www.pcworld.com/article/257752/how_to_edit_images_for_free.html#tk.hp_fv

Flame Malware Illustrates Vulnerability of USB Drives

While USB drives have long been a security threat, the Flame spying malware brought the use of portable storage devices to a new level of weaponry. Flame, discovered last month in Iran's oil-ministry computers, used USB ports found on every PC as a pathway to avoid detection by network-guarding security systems. The cleverness of Flame's creators in keeping the malware under the radar was one more example of why it is considered among the most sophisticated espionage-software packages to date. [Insider (registration required): Extinguishing Flame malware] Because Flame was looking for highly sensitive data, it had to steal the information from networks without internet connections, yet still be able to connect at some point to a remote command and control server, vendor Bitdefender said in its security labs blog. To do that, Flame would move stolen files and a copy of itself to a memory stick inserted in an infected computer. When the storage device was plugged into another PC, Flame would check to see if it was connected to the Internet and then copy itself and the stolen files to the new host, which the malware used to compress the data and transmit it to the controller's server over HTTPS. Flame would not store stolen documents in the new host, unless it was sure there was an Internet connection, Bitdefender said. "This is how it ensures that it has the best chances to call back home and send leaked data to the attacker." The malware hid in storage devices by naming the folder that contained the malware and stolen data. "Because Windows could not read the name, the folder remained hidden from the user, giving he or she no reason to suspect they were carrying stolen information," Bitdefender said. "The main idea behind this is something that we have not seen before: the information mule is a person who is used to carry information between two systems," Bitdefender said. Flame was capable of infecting networked PCs, but that function was turned off to prevent the malware from spreading too far into a network, thereby increasing its chances of detection. Bitdefender acknowledged that the malware creators might also have had an accomplice who acted as a data smuggler in carrying an infected USB drive from one PC to another. Dangerous Inspiration The success Flame creators had in using USB memory sticks will be studied by hackers. "The technicalities of how Flame uses the USB stick is new and shows that attackers who are determined to penetrate deep inside secure environments are using USB devices to gain that access and to exfiltrate the data they discover too," Liam O Murchu, manager of operations for Symantec Security Response, said in an email Tuesday. "Flamer's use of this USB technique shows that this is an avenue of attack that is highly valuable and will be used again and again." The mode of infection was one more example of Flame's list of sophisticated techniques, which included fooling Microsoft Terminal Services into having its certificate authority generate fake digital signatures. Once embedded in the code, the signatures made Flame appear to be Microsoft software, while the malware altered and updated its code. Flame has been linked to the Stuxnet malware blamed for damaging uranium-enrichment systems in Iran's nuclear facility in 2010. Kaspersky Labs discovered that a component of Flame, which was created in 2008, was also in the 2009-version of Stuxnet. Quoting anonymous sources in the Obama administration, The New York Times recently reported that Stuxnet was the creation of U.S. and Israeli government agents. Because Flame and Stuxnet were highly targeted attacks, neither are believed to pose much of a threat to most corporations. Nevertheless, the vulnerabilities exposed by Flame, particularly the flaw in Microsoft's issuance of digital signatures, were significant. Venafi, which sells key and certificate management technology, reported that more than a quarter of Global 2000 companies were vulnerable to attacker using the exploit. Microsoft has released a patch for the hole.
By Friendly Computers Copyright: 2010-01-28 http://www.pcworld.com/article/257775/flame_malware_illustrates_vulnerability_of_usb_drives.html#tk.hp_pop

How to Keep Your Employees Happy With Their Company PCs (Without Losing Control of Your IT)

If you’re a typical small-business owner, you don’t have a centralized provisioning system that can easily and automatically deploy each desktop or laptop system. You might not even have a dedicated employee, let alone a whole department, to manage your IT resources. And you probably give each user their own local login, instead of using a centralized authentication server. In other words, your employees have the keys to their local computer kingdoms. And that means they can do just about anything on their machines: Install new applications, install undesirable applications, change settings, and perhaps even unintentionally corrupt the Registry or download malware. SIMILAR ARTICLES: How to Carry Any Operating System in Your Pocket How to Run Android Apps on Your PC How to Use Plex to Get Media From PC to Roku Box How to Buy a Desktop PC How To Update Your PC’s BIOS Stream Media From Your PC to Your Roku Box Giving your employees the freedom to try new tools, listen to music while they work, or visit social media sites in their off time will improve their morale and enhance their productivity. But that flexibility can quickly lead to disaster if they wind up ruining their computers, bogging them down with garbage apps, or worse. So how do you balance keeping your employees happy with maintaining control of your company’s assets? The Decision One strategy is to deny your employees all administrative control over their computers. Such a restriction would reduce the risk of your computers being waylaid by buggy apps and malware, because no one would be able to install anything. The drawback is that you--or your designee--would have to do all of the installing for them. That can be a time-consuming process, especially if you’re deploying a new application to your entire workforce--even if it’s just a handful of employees. Then you have to consider periodic security patches, bug fixes, driver updates, and upgrades. And don’t forget the need to install drivers and software for new peripherals, such as printers and scanners. Granting Administrator Access Giving your employees admin control involves a trade-off between control and convenience. Instead of managing everything yourself, you can take a number of steps to bestow administrative rights to your employees without losing complete control over the computers you’ve provided. Before you open up everyone’s computer for unfettered use, establish a baseline software environment that will be standard for each staffer. Set a policy that allows employees to augment their computers with new applications but prohibits them from uninstalling or disabling the baseline programs--especially the antivirus and antimalware tools, a secure Web browser, an office suite (unless you use a cloud app, such as Google Docs), and whatever proprietary software your small business needs to function. Then, use an application such as DriveImage XML (free for private use; a five-user commercial license costs $100) to clone the system drive on each class of computer you’ll deploy. Your goal is to create an image of each type of desktop system in your office, from standard administrative machines to function-specific desktops (video-editing workstations, for example). If disaster strikes or an employee renders their computer unusable, you can quickly restore it to its original configuration. Use DriveImage XML to create a clone of each of your PC environments. You should also establish policies and procedures that employees must follow to minimize the chances that they’ll disrupt normal business operations. For starters, establish a policy that every employee must create a Windows user account, in addition to their administrator account, and that they must sign in under that user account at all times unless they’re performing functions that require administrator credentials. This policy will help prevent rogue applications from gaining privileged access to the operating system. You should also dictate that all employees store their work-related files on a shared network drive (located on a server or NAS box), and that they keep personal files in their personal cloud storage (Dropbox, SkyDrive, and the like). Inform them that the personal data will not be included in the mandatory scheduled backups. The Power of Group Policy Editor Local administrator privileges seem unstoppable, but there is a means by which you can exert fine control over the Windows operating system. The secret is to use Windows 7’s Group Policy Editor. Log on with the user’s admin credentials, and type gpedit.msc in the Windows search box (you’ll find it in the Start menu) and then press the Enter key. From here, you can disable access to critical Windows elements entirely--including the Control Panel--or you can choose which components you wish to allow your employees to modify. For instance, you might give them the ability to switch screensavers, but not to change printers or uninstall programs. Don’t discount the power of the Group Policy Editor. If you’re the slightest bit hesitant about letting employees run wild on their systems, this handy Windows feature offers the ounce of control you need to keep your systems running smoothly. You’ll find all of the settings worth browsing and editing under Group Policy Editor’s 'Administrative Templates' folder in the User Configuration menu. The Group Policy Editor in Windows 7 is a powerful administrative tool. You can also block access to specific programs installed on a Windows machine; just open the Group Policy Editor and navigate to the System folder under Administrative Templates in the User Configuration setting. Double-click the Don’t run specified Windows applications option, enable the policy, click the Show button (it’s near 'List of Disallowed Applications'), and then type in the names of executable application files (such as uTorrent.exe) as values. You can use Group Policy Editor to block specific programs from launching. This method won’t prevent industrious employees from renaming their favorite peer-to-peer programs to, say, “hatemyboss.exe” and running them, which is why you might want to combine your Group Policy edits with some additional changes at the network hardware level. You could, for instance, go into the configuration panel of your primary router and change the firewall settings to block access to all ports for your employees’ systems, save for those required for the computers to actually work--such as traffic on ports 110, 53, 25, and 80, to name a few. This is a nuclear option to prevent employees from turning your small-business environment into downloading central, but it is worth considering if peer-to-peer misbehavior is an issue at your workplace. Finer Administrative Control AppLocker, a Windows 7 tool, delivers precision control. If your systems are running either Windows 7 Ultimate or Windows 7 Enterprise, you can make use of the operating system’s built-in AppLocker feature. Accessible via the Group Policy Editor, AppLocker provides even finer control over the items that system users can run on their machines. For example, instead of just blocking apps by executable name, you can go in and block apps by publisher, file path, or file hash. The file-path option is especially useful if you want to block all access to a digital download service--such as Steam--that puts all downloaded programs into a specific directory. Do you need a third-party application to control your users’ activity on their systems? Not really. However, if you discover that recalcitrant employees with administrator privileges are circumventing your Windows-based access controls, you might want to look into stronger solutions. For example, if you install Faronics’ Deep Freeze ($35.50 per year) on employee machines, the program will restore each system to an identical snapshot every time the PC restarts. Or you could provide staffers with a virtual desktop that would give them the freedom to install their personal programs in a sandboxed environment. As long as you’re willing to invest a bit of time setting up the right configurations, granting your employees administrator privileges on their small-business PCs won’t necessarily lead to chaos. You can even control admins without making your employees feel as though they’re working under parental controls from nine to five.
By Friendly Computers Copyright: 2010-01-28 Give us a call today: 281-554-5500 or visit Friendly Computers to schedule an appointment. http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/257424/how_to_keep_your_employees_happy_with_their_company_pcs_without_losing_control_of_your_it.html#tk.hp_fv

How to Save Money on Printing Costs

By now you’ve heard the claim that at close to $4731 per gallon, printer ink is more expensive than vintage Champagne, rare whiskey, and Russian caviar. PCWorld reported on that almost ten years ago, and not much has changed since. SIMILAR ARTICLES: 7 Ways to Protect Your Printers Save Ink and Paper Every Time You Print Save Paper Costs by Shrinking Prints Cheap Printing: 5 Ways to Save Bucks on Ink and Paper How to Use Less Paper When Printing Design and Create Essential Print Materials for Your Business These days, printer ink will still run you about $20 to $35 per minuscule cartridge, each yielding 400 to 1000 printed pages. In fact, unlike everything else in the world of consumer electronics, ink prices are going up--as much as 30 percent since 2009. In a business where hundreds of pages are being printed each day, those costs are significant. It’s easy to dismiss a single page coming out of the machine as inconsequential, but with a price per printed sheet (per color used) now hitting anywhere between 3 and 10 cents, a business that goes through 500 sheets a week could be spending $2600 annually on printing--and many times that if staffers regularly print in color. Printing is a substantial business expense, but ultimately you have more control over it than you might think. Sure, some printing--packing slips, mailing labels, legal paperwork, and so on--may be unavoidable, but there’s a lot you can do to cut printing costs. Here are some ideas, from the relatively painless to the rather aggressive. Conscientiousness Do those little email-signature 'Please consider the environment before printing this email' notices, followed by a tiny green tree, do any good? (In my experience, when you do print such an email, that message invariably ends up on a page of its own.) Hey, at least it’s a start. The recycling bins of the world’s offices are crammed full of pages that never should have been printed. Instead of printing on paper, save your document as a PDF that you can archive and search easily. Ending that wasteful practice starts at the top. If you’re a small-business owner, lead by example: Don’t print memos, maps, baseball scores, and “interesting articles” to leave on employees’ desks. This is why email was invented. Instead of dropping a 30-page report on your assistant, forward it as a PDF. Word can save documents directly in PDF, and sites such as Pdfcrowd can save Web pages as PDFs (if for some reason forwarding a link doesn’t work). You can even use the print-screen function and the Windows Snipping Tool to create quick screen grabs instead of printing them on paper. The bottom line: There’s virtually nothing you might be accustomed to printing that you can’t reproduce in digital form instead. What’s more, you can archive, index, and search digital files much more quickly than paper files. Paper Tricks Duplex printers save cost by using both sides of each sheet of paper. One of the oldest tricks in the playbook to reduce printing is to cram more information onto each page. This task is easy with a duplexing printer (one that can print on both sides), although the options might be buried in your printer preferences. By the same token, when you're printing PowerPoint slides, use the option to print multiple slides per page instead of just one. In PowerPoint's Handouts mode, you can print up to nine slides on a single side of paper (albeit very small). Another paper-saving possibility is the 'shrink to fit' option in Excel and most Web browsers. This setting keeps orphaned text and columns from being cut off when you print a page that’s ordinarily a bit too large for your printer. Using 'shrink to fit' can save you from printing lots of sheets with just one or two words (not to mention likely having to reprint the whole job).
By Friendly Computers Copyright: 2010-01-28 Give us a call today: 281-554-5500 or visit Friendly Computers to schedule an appointment. http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/257306/how_to_save_money_on_printing_costs.html#tk.hp_fv

Mountain Lion: What We Know Heading into WWDC

With Mountain Lion poised to make an appearance at WWDC next week for developers and eager keynote followers alike, we here at Macworld figured it might be a good time for a rundown of what we already know about Apple's next OS. By Serenity Caldwell, Macworld Jun 10, 2012 3:40 pm With Mountain Lion poised to make an appearance at WWDC next week for developers and eager keynote followers alike, we figured it might be a good time for a rundown of what we already know about Apple’s next OS. It’s showing up this summer (sometime) Apple hasn’t changed its late summer delivery date since the company first previewed Mountain Lion in February, so it’s a good bet that the next Mac OS will be showing up sometime this summer. That said, “summer” can mean anytime from now until September 21, so don’t get your hopes up for Mountain Lion to be ready on Day One of WWDC. It brings iOS closer to the Mac No, you won’t be running your iOS apps on your Mac (at least, that we know of), but Mountain Lion is all about integration with Apple’s mobile operating system. Familiar applications like iCal, Address Book, and iChat have hopped aboard the iOS name-train and will go by Calendar, Contacts, and Messages, while iOS-only apps like Notes, Reminders, and Game Center will make their grand debut on the Mac. It wants to keep you notified iOS apps aren’t the only thing Apple’s mobile operating system has for Mountain Lion—the Mac OS will also receive iOS’s notifications system when it arrives later this summer. Notification Center on the Mac will keep track of your app updates, Messages, emails, calendar invites, and—perhaps—even third-party app alerts. It sports some new looks New names are fun; new features are better. There are a whole bunch of new system options present in Mountain Lion, like improvements to Dashboard and more Accessibility changes. Your system apps will get a few nice features, too: Safari has a unified search bar and new share features; Mail sports inline find, notification settings, and VIPs; and Preview receives a major overhaul. It’s trying to keep you safe(r) In Lion, Apple’s big push toward security revolved around sandboxing Mac apps. With the Mac App Store officially sandboxed as of June 1, however, Apple’s next project is to make sure folks purchasing programs outside of the store can have confidence in their buys. Gatekeeper is Apple’s proposed solution. It allows you to choose one of three settings for running applications on your computer: those only purchased from the App Store, those that have registered with Apple using Developer ID, or any application downloaded from any developer. It’s the middle option—which lets developers code-sign their apps with Apple to ensure that there’s no malware at play—that may prove most popular when Mountain Lion launches; it allows many developers with apps that can’t abide by the Mac App Store’s sandboxing guidelines (Bare Bones Software’s BBEdit, for one) to still have their apps certified by Apple. It still has things to come (probably) Yes, we know a fair amount about this version of OS X, but there's still plenty to discover. As we mentioned earlier, Mountain Lion doesn't ship until the wonderfully-ambiguous "late summer," and for good reason: Knowing Apple, the company still wants to show off a few tricks that it’s taught this big cat—probably on-stage at WWDC. We'll have live coverage of the keynote and information on Mountain Lion as WWDC week progresses, so stay tuned. And if you're dying for more information than even this round-up can provide, check out our Mountain Lion FAQ.
By Friendly Computers Copyright: 2010-01-28 Give us a call today: 281-554-5500 or visit Friendly Computers to schedule an appointment. http://www.pcworld.com/article/257286/mountain_lion_what_we_know_heading_into_wwdc.html#tk.hp_new

Google Warns Gmail Users Over 'State-Sponsored Attacks'

Google believes a subset of Gmail users may be the target of what it calls “state-sponsored” malicious attacks. Certain Gmail users will see a warning message over this issue from now on, although this doesn’t particularly mean your account was hacked. Google is being secretive over the nature of the attacks. Eric Grosse, Google’s vice president of security engineering said in a blog post: “We can’t go into the details without giving away information that would be helpful to these bad actors, but our detailed analysis -- as well as victim reports -- strongly suggest the involvement of states or groups that are state-sponsored.” There aren’t any clues on the source of the attacks either, but Google has been involved in spats with China over the past year, alleging that the country’s government was behind the hacking of Gmail accounts of several high-profile U.S. officials. If you get the warning message, “It just means that we believe you may be a target, of phishing or malware for example, and that you should take immediate steps to secure your account,” Grosse explained. “These warnings are not being shown because Google’s internal systems have been compromised or because of a particular attack.” Google advises a user to go through a bunch of security improvement if that person sees the Gmail warning. This includes a more secure password, enabling two-step verification at login, and making sure your browser and other software is up to date. The company said it would continue to update these notifications based on the latest information.
By Friendly Computers Copyright: 2010-01-28 Give us a call today: 281-554-5500 or visit Friendly Computers to schedule an appointment. http://www.pcworld.com/article/257039/google_warns_gmail_users_over_statesponsored_attacks.html#tk.hp_new

What Separates Business Routers From Consumer Routers?

If you’re in the market for a new router for your small business, you might be tempted by the flashy features, high speeds, and low cost of consumer-oriented routers. The latest models, based on the IEEE 802.11ac standard, look particularly attractive. SIMILAR ARTICLES: First Netgear 802.11ac Router Coming in May How to Choose a Router for Your Business Netgear N600 Wireless Router, $78 How to Buy a Router How to Set Up a Wireless Router Buffalo Shows Off 802.11ac Wireless Router Prototype, Your Router Cowers in Fear But can a consumer router deliver everything your business needs? Is it sufficiently secure? Is it scalable? Does it provide redundant connections to the Internet? If it’s a wireless model, does it provide enough range to cover your entire office? Should you instead invest in a router that’s specifically designed for the needs of small- to medium-size businesses? What exactly distinguishes a consumer router from a business-class model, anyway? Glad you asked. Consumer Router Priorities: Speed, Media Streaming, and Security Buffalo was first to market with its new IEEE 802.11ac router. Walk into your local electronics retailer or shop online, and you’ll find at least a dozen consumer wireless routers selling for $100 or less, from such well-known brands as Asus, Buffalo, Cisco (Linksys), D-Link, and Netgear. The prices are certainly appealing. Even better, all the essential features seem to be in place, including compatibility with the IEEE 802.11n wireless networking standard, a four-port ethernet switch, wireless encryption, and a built-in firewall. Most routers in this class have 2x2 antenna arrays (two transmit and two receive antennas), which are capable of handling two 150-megabits-per-second spatial streams (one on each antenna) for a total theoretical throughput of 300 mbps. You’ll never see real-world performance that fast, however; overhead, distance between the client and the router, and environmental factors can whack that number down. The industry refers to this class of router as "N300." Many lower-end consumer routers are dual-band models, capable of operating wireless networks on both the 2.4GHz frequency band and the 5GHz band. The 2.4GHz band delivers better range--but since it provides only two nonoverlapping channels, and since so many routers have been deployed, the spectrum has become congested. The 5GHz band boasts 23 nonoverlapping channels, so it’s significantly less crowded, but it provides much less range. Many people use the 2.4GHz band for data and Internet access, and reserve the 5GHz band for streaming audio and video over their network. The industry refers to this class of router as "N600," but the term is misleading because it implies that routers in this class can stream data at 600 mbps. They can’t. The N600 claim comes from summing the speeds of the two concurrent but independent 300-mbps networks. You’ll never be able to connect a client to either network and expect it to stream data at 600 mbps, nor can you connect a single client to both networks simultaneously. D-Link markets its DIR-857 as an N900 router. Move up the consumer market to the $200 price range, and you’ll see more-advanced dual-band routers from the same manufacturers. These devices come outfitted with 3x3 antenna arrays and promise a theoretical throughput of 450 mbps on each band. Routers in this class are often described as "N900" models; here again, however, it’s not because they can deliver throughput to a single client at 900 mbps. Typically these routers are also outfitted with a four-port ethernet switch, but they support wired connections at gigabit speeds, versus the 100-mbps switches on less-expensive routers. The IEEE 802.11ac wireless networking standard isn’t likely to be ratified before early 2013, but that hasn’t stopped router manufacturers from introducing routers based on the latest draft definition. We saw a similar pattern of events when the 802.11n standard was being finalized. Only two such routers are on the market right now: The Buffalo WZR-D1800H arrived first, followed by the Netgear R6300. Both manufacturers are aiming their products squarely at consumers, emphasizing the devices' ability to stream media. Thanks to a much-improved modulation scheme, 802.11ac routers can pack more data into each spatial stream: 450 mbps, versus 150 mbps for 802.11n. An 802.11ac router with a 3x3 antenna array can deliver a theoretical throughput up to 1300 mbps (1.3 gigabits per second). Buffalo, for one, is marketing its product as an "AC1300" router. Since there’s an outside chance that these products will be incompatible with equipment based on the final standard, we don’t recommend buying such devices for your business.
By Friendly Computers Copyright: 2010-01-28 Give us a call today: 281-554-5500 or visit Friendly Computers to schedule an appointment. http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/256683/what_separates_business_routers_from_consumer_routers.html#tk.hp_fv

Windows 8's Built-in AV to Be Security of Last Resort

Microsoft's Windows 8 will activate its built-in antivirus (AV) software only if it senses that the PC is not protected by another security program, according to AV vendor McAfee. The new operating system, which last week reached its final public milestone, includes security software, dubbed "Windows Defender," that combines characteristics of both that anti-spyware program of the same name and the free Security Essentials, the antivirus program that until now has been offered as a separate download. Microsoft first announced Windows Defender last September, and included it with that year's Windows 8 Developer Preview, and this year's Consumer Preview and Release Preview. In all three sneak peeks, Defender was switched on, and served as the operating system's default protection against malware. But that's not how it will work when new Windows 8 PCs debut later this year. According to Gary Davis, director of global consumer product marketing for McAfee, Microsoft has given third-party vendors and computer makers first crack at protecting PCs. Computer makers, known as OEMs (original equipment manufacturers), typically include trial versions of major antivirus programs with their PCs. Those trials offer malware signature updates for limited periods, sometimes as short as 30 days. When the trial expires, PC owners are encouraged to upgrade to the full paying edition, which usually offer signatures for a year at prices ranging from $40 to $90. Windows 8 cedes the AV role to those pre-installed trials, said Davis, and will not activate Windows Defender if it detects an active antivirus program that's receiving signature updates. "Looking at the way they're doing things in Windows 8, Microsoft is going to great lengths to let AV vendors keep customers," said Davis in an interview last week. But Microsoft didn't take the tact to please security companies. "It is our understanding that this was mostly because of pressures from the OEM community," Davis said in an email replay to follow-up questions. "A large portion of their profits on PCs come from revenue associated with AV." Computer makers do reap revenue from the pre-installed software, including antivirus tools, that they bundle with their PCs. In the case of AV software, OEMs receive a portion of the money paid to security vendors by customers who upgrade from the trial versions to the full editions. That practice relies on loading the PC with a range of third-party applications -- not just AV products -- that critics scorn as "crapware" or "bloatware." Windows 8 will activate Windows Defender automatically only if there is no other antivirus software on the computer, said Davis. And even when the OS detects that existing AV software hasn't been updated recently, it will only offer Windows Defender as one of several choices. When the PC stops receiving AV signature updates -- most likely because the trial version has expired -- Windows 8 begins a 15-day countdown. During those 15 days, the Action Center, a desktop component that consolidates important system notifications, will warn the user that the AV software is expired, with information about how to renew coverage. After the 15 days, the warning will expand the options offered users. "At the end of 15 days the user has the option to renew what they have, install Windows Defender, select another option from the Microsoft Store or click on a 'remind me later' button, which starts a seven-day notice period," said Davis. The Microsoft Store is the name of the company's online market, where it sells its own Windows software, including operating system upgrades, as well as some third-party programs. It's not to be confused with the Windows Store, the e-mart accessible only from Windows 8 that is the sole distribution channel for Metro-style apps for that OS and Windows RT. Currently, the only AV software sold in the Microsoft Store is from Trend Micro, which along with McAfee and Symantec, are the three largest antivirus firms. Although Windows 8 users will be notified during the 15-day span -- and after that if they take no immediate action -- the protection gap will put those PCs at greater risk of cyber attacks and malware infections. Not that those computers won't have company: Last week, McAfee cited a year-long study and claimed nearly 20% of U.S. Windows PCs lack any active security protection. More than a third of those machines had expired AV software on their hard drives. Microsoft's decision to hold off on activating Windows Defender in Windows 8 is in line with its approach to securing older versions of Windows. In late 2010, Microsoft began offering Security Essentials to Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 PCs via the company's Windows Update service. Since then, Security Essentials has been listed as an optional download from Windows Update only on PCs that lack other working AV software, a category that includes present-but-expired third-party programs. At the time, Trend Micro called Microsoft's move to use Windows Update to offer the free Security Essentials "unfair," and said it "raises significant questions about unfair competition." AV vendors have butted heads with Microsoft several times. In 2006, Symantec and McAfee complained to European Union antitrust regulators about Microsoft's decision to block them from accessing the kernel in the 64-bit version of Vista, and barring them from its new integrated security center. Microsoft bowed to the pressure, and later produced APIs (application programming interfaces) that gave security vendors some access to the kernel and allowed them to mesh their product's on-screen status features with the security center. Major security companies have also regularly dismissed Security Essentials as a half-baked solution, and argued that their software is much more effective in stymying attacks. When Microsoft launched Security Essentials in 2009, for example, Symantec's top engineer called it a "poor product" that was a "bunch of little basic tools." Symantec, and others, continue to use that argument to persuade potential Windows 8 users that they should pay for antivirus software rather than rely on the free Windows Defender. On its website, Symantec uses phrases like "We are the security experts" and "Norton protection includes many layers of security which Windows Defender is missing" to separate its consumer products from the free tool in Windows 8. Although the Windows 8 Release Candidate activates Windows Defender automatically, Microsoft also has built a page that lists the current third-party AV software that works with the new OS. Most of those programs have limited lifespans of between 30 and 90 days.
By Friendly Computers Copyright: 2010-01-28 Give us a call today: 281-554-5500 or visit Friendly Computers to schedule an appointment.