Gulfcoast Networking, Inc. Consumer Services

We Fix Sick Computers

727-847-2424

Archives for May 2014

GEEKNOTE: XP Upgrade

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GEEKNOTE:  Now that Windows XP has been sunset by Microsoft, folks are getting a popup on their Windows XP systems suggesting that they upgrade to Windows 8.  This is a VERY bad idea on multiple levels.

First off, a machine old enough to be running Windows XP is likely too old to run Windows 8 in anything approaching an acceptable fashion.  Add to that the difficulty in finding Windows 8 drivers for older hardware and doing the upgrade promises to be an exercise in futility.

Secondly, Windows 8 / 8.1 is massively different in “look and feel” from an XP system and you’d have to completely relearn how to use your computer.

Finally, the cost of buying Windows 8.1 and having a shop save your data, install Windows 8.1, and copy all of your data back onto the computer is easily going to approach the cost of a brand new machine.

You can find a cheap Windows 8.1 system for under $400.  We’ve got brand new Windows 7 Pro machines for under $500.  Given the learning curve with Windows 8.1, we generally recommend Windows 7.

Save yourself the hassle.  Put your old XP system out to pasture and buy a new system.  You’ll want to do this sooner rather than later if your system connects to the Internet as Microsoft is issuing patches this week for new operating systems, but not XP.

GEEKNOTE: EMail Maintenance

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GEEKNOTE:  While doing a computer upgrade for one of our corporate customers, my partner Tim ran into a bit of a problem converting a Windows Live mailbox to Microsoft Outlook.  The person using the old computer had something well north of 10,000 messages in her inbox.  This, by itself wouldn’t be a major problem except that quite a few of those messages had attachments.  To make a long story short, when we finally managed to get all of her mail into an Outlook PST file, the file was over 17gb in size!

What should have been a 30 minute to an hour project transferring data from the old machine to the new one took hours!

There are several lessons to be learned:

First, when you get junk mail, delete it.  Leaving it in your inbox simply makes it harder to find the stuff you actually want.

Second, when you get something as an email attachment, save the attachment and then delete the message.

Third, make a point of going through your messages and deleting stuff you aren’t likely to need again.  I move important stuff into a “save” folder and, every so often, I  go through and delete stuff more than a few months old in my inbox.

The same applies to your “sent items” folder.  If you haven’t had reason to look at a message for a few months, go ahead and delete it.  Save it or print it if it’s something really important.  Otherwise, nuke it.

One of the nice features of Outlook is the ability to archive everything older than a certain date.  Once completed, the archive file can be burned to a CD / DVD and stored for safekeeping.  This is important if your business requires you to be able to produce old emails on demand.

For most of us, that isn’t a consideration and we should just make a point of regularly cleaning out our email folders.

 

Rob Marlowe, Senior Geek.

 

May 2014 Newsletter

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What will you do in the month of May? Maybe you’ll kick your outdoor exercise routine into high gear. Maybe you’ll share celebrations with the mothers in your life. Or maybe you’ll take your tablet to the patio and explore the world from your own backyard. Whatever May means to you, maybe you’ll get ideas here to enhance your experiences.

This issue starts with a warning about a fraudulent American Express email that’s making the rounds. Take a minute to read about this phishing scam so you don’t accidentally give away your account information. You’ll also learn about the new dinosaur showing up on Facebook and get tips on how to correctly use hashtags on Twitter.

Purely for the fun of it, check out the springtime projects in the Pinterest section, browse around websites featuring everything from the moon to a museum, and view two incredible videos showcasing a natural wonder and man-made special effects.

We think you’ll find the information contained in this newsletter to be a valuable tool for enhancing your Internet experience.

Here’s what’s inside our May 2014 Newsletter:

PHISHING ALERT – WATCH FOR EMAILS CLAIMING TO BE FROM A MAJOR CREDIT CARD

GO PINTEREST-ING! – COOL STUFF TO PIN ON YOUR PINTEREST BOARDS

THIS MONTH’S FAQ – WHAT’S THE STORY WITH FACEBOOK’S NEW PRIVACY DINOSAUR?

SITES OF THE MONTH – GREAT SITES TO CHECK OUT IN MAY

TWO TO VIEW – A COUPLE OF AMAZING VIDEOS YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS

SHORT TUTORIAL – HOW TO USE HASHTAGS ON TWITTER
The Gulfcoast Networking Team

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PHISHING ALERT – WATCH FOR EMAILS CLAIMING TO BE FROM A MAJOR CREDIT CARD

One of the latest phishing scams to turn up in many people’s inboxes is one that claims to be from American Express. This email hoax tries to trick recipients into clicking on a link that will supposedly take them  to a “secure encrypted website” to activate a security feature on the credit card. In reality, that link goes to a phishing site to gather personal account information.

The emails used in this phishing scam may look legitimate at first glance. However, upon closer inspection, you’ll note that it contains no personal information ? a red flag that it’s not from American Express.

The company posted this information at www.americanexpress.com:

~ When you receive an email from American Express related to your account, the email will include the last 5 digits of your account number. If you receive an email regarding your American Express Card Account but it does not contain this information, it may be fraudulent. If you are concerned about the legitimacy of an email from American Express you can forward the email to spoof@americanexpress.com. If the email is fraudulent we will take the appropriate actions.

~ American Express offers a secure email channel for its Cardmembers to use if they have questions about their account. Simply log in to your account and at the Account Summary Page, click “Email” under the Contact Us section. Using this email channel will ensure that your personal information remains personal.

We can’t repeat it too often: Do not click on links within an email unless you’re absolutely sure it’s from a source you can trust.

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NEWS FROM THE SHOP

It seems that folks are finally starting to get serious about retiring their old XP systems.  We’re trying to keep new Windows 7 machines in stock, but they are going out as fast as we get them in.  If you are still using Windows XP, come by and talk to us.

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GO PINTEREST-ING! – COOL STUFF TO PIN ON YOUR PINTEREST BOARDS

Make A Splash With Dog-Activated Fountain
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/173951604331655466/

Help Mom Relax With Bath Salts Just For Her
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/291537775850917876/

Brighten Breakfast With Vanilla Bean Doughnuts
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/56787645275765581/

You haven’t started pinning on Pinterest yet and you want to get started?
To sign up, go here https://pinterest.com/join/signup/

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THIS MONTH’S FAQ – WHAT’S THE STORY WITH FACEBOOK’S NEW PRIVACY DINOSAUR?

Question: When I was on Facebook recently, a “Privacy Reminder” pop-up window showed up with a dinosaur on it. Can you explain what’s going on with this dinosaur?

Answer: Facebook is testing this pop-up reminder to encourage users — who are about to make public posts that all the world can see — to pay attention to who they’re sharing with on its platform.

For those of you who haven’t had a visit from the privacy dinosaur yet, its message reads, “Sorry to interrupt. You haven’t changed who can see your posts lately, so we just wanted to make sure you’re sharing this post with the right audience.” It then asks the user to click on Friends, Public, or Options (for more choices).

It’s a good reminder for all of us to think before we share on Facebook so we don’t overshare with the wrong group of people.

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SITES OF THE MONTH – GREAT SITES TO CHECK OUT IN MAY

If The Moon Were Only One Pixel
http://joshworth.com/dev/pixelspace/pixelspace_solarsystem.html
Just how vast is the solar system? It’s difficult to wrap your head around it so this site does its best to explain. It uses a scale model based on “if the moon were only one pixel.” To explore, scroll through using your keyboard’s right arrow key. Please be patient; you have many miles to cover!

Dive Into Delicious Distractions
http://foodgawker.com
In a nutshell, this is like Pinterest just for foodies. What you’ll find is photo after photo of the most amazing food, from appetizers to main dishes to desserts. We warn you: This site is guaranteed to make you hungry, so think twice about visiting if you’re on a diet!

Stay Home And Visit The British Museum
http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/online_tours.aspx
For the 36th year, the worldwide community of museums will celebrate International Museum Day around May 18. In honor of this, take a look at many online tours offered by The British Museum. Its collection is dedicated to human history and culture, and is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence.

Looking For Government Benefits?
http://www.benefits.gov
Many Americans receive government benefits at some point during their lives, from career development assistance to Medicaid/Medicare to Social Security. This site features the Benefit Finder, a questionnaire to make it easier to find out which benefits you may be eligible to receive.

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TWO TO VIEW – A COUPLE OF AMAZING VIDEOS YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS

http://player.vimeo.com/video/34678075?title=0&

Boardwalk Empire Special Effects
Take a fascinating, piece-by-piece look at how Brainstorm Digital puts together many separate images to create complete scenes in the popular HBO series, Boardwalk Empire. What’s real? What’s not?

http://www.eNewsletterHome.com/_eNewsletter/2014/1405_VIDEO_B.htm

Inside An Active Volcano
Thanks to the drone, KJI Phantom, you can get a very close (yet safe) look at the fiery eruption of an active volcano. This is the Yasur volcano on the remote island of Tanna in Vanuata.

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SHORT TUTORIAL – HOW TO USE HASHTAGS ON TWITTER

The # symbol, called a hashtag, is used to mark keywords or topics in a Tweet. It was created organically by Twitter users as a way to categorize messages.

Check out this advice on hashtags from the Twitter Help Center:

Using hashtags to categorize Tweets by keyword:

~People use the hashtag symbol # before a relevant keyword or phrase (no spaces) in their Tweet to categorize those Tweets and help them show more easily in Twitter Search.
~Clicking on a hashtagged word in any message shows you all other Tweets marked with that keyword.
~Hashtags can occur anywhere in the Tweet – at the beginning, middle, or end.

Hashtagged words that become very popular are often Trending Topics.
Example: In the Tweet below, @eddie included the hashtag #FF. Users created this as shorthand for “Follow Friday,” a weekly tradition where users recommend people that others should follow on Twitter. You’ll see this on Fridays.

Using hashtags correctly:

~If you Tweet with a hashtag on a public account, anyone who does a search for that hashtag may find your Tweet.
~Don’t #spam #with #hashtags. Don’t over-tag a single Tweet. (Best practices recommend using no more than two hashtags per Tweet.)
~Use hashtags only on Tweets relevant to the topic.

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We hope you found this newsletter to be informative. It’s our way of keeping you posted on the happenings at our shop.

Thanks for your business!

Best regards,

Rob Marlowe, Senior Geek
Gulfcoast Networking, Inc
6335 Grand Blvd
New Port Richey, FL 34652

727-847-2424

(We have used our best efforts in collecting and preparing the information published
herein. However, we do not assume, and hereby disclaim, any and all liability
for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors
or omissions resulted from negligence, accident, or other causes.)

©2014 Gulfcoast Networking, Inc
Portions ©2014 Cornerstone Publishing Group, Inc., used with permission.

 

 

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Phone: 727-847-2424

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