Austin Computer Repair and Austin Computer Support in Steiner Ranch and Lakeway, TX

Deal: Epson Workforce 645 on Sale at OfficeMax

TekChicLaurie — Sun, 13 May 2012 23:06:29 +0000

OfficeMax has the Epson Workforce 645 printer on sale for $99. This is currently my favorite all-in-one inkjet printer for home use. It is wireless so all you need is an electrical outlet somewhere convenient, connect it to your router and you’re ready to go. It holds 250 sheets of paper and can automatically print on both sides of paper. Of course it scans, copies and faxes, and it has a 30 sheet document feeder. It’s fast, works with Macs and PC’s and even your mobile devices.

Here’s the link: http://goo.gl/TvMXP

If Microsoft Calls – Don’t Answer!

TekChicLaurie — Thu, 10 May 2012 02:49:26 +0000

This scam has been going around for at least a year now and I’ve written about it before, but this week in 2 days I had 2 clients tell me that they got a call from “Microsoft” saying they’ve detected a problem with their computer. I promise, Microsoft will NEVER call you to tell you there is a problem with your computer. The people calling are overseas and will attempt to frighten you into going to your computer and downloading a file from a website onto your computer, they will then ask for your credit card number. These are BAD guys, don’t do anything they say.

If you want to have fun and play with them by wasting their time and money, then you can play along to keep them on the phone but DON’T actually do anything on the computer or give them a real credit card number. Make one up.

If you don’t want to waste YOUR time, then just hang up on them and if you can, just block the number so they can’t call you again.

There Be Viruses Among Us!

TekChicLaurie — Wed, 09 May 2012 06:16:05 +0000

I’ve have THREE clients this week get viruses on their computers. I’m not typing this because I’m exercising my fingers. PLEASE listen – this is how to AVOID getting infected in the first place, and will save you getting scolded by me about what you DIDN’T do.

Today is the second Tuesday of the month – that means updates from Microsoft will be coming your way, and that also makes it an excellent time to remind you to keep your eye out throughout the month for updates from Adobe (Acrobat Reader and Flash) and Oracle (Java.)

Don’t forget – these are SECURITY fixes. If you DON’T do them, you’re giving the bad guys an easy back door into your system. There are as many as eleven different flaws being patched this month, so be on the look out for them.

Three ways your smartphone can hurt your career

TekChicLaurie — Wed, 02 May 2012 23:04:52 +0000

Tech Republic’s Toni Bowers has written an article on how the improper use of your smartphone can actually hurt your in your business or your career.

Follow this like to the article: http://goo.gl/J9qMd

Order Online at Walmart.com and Pay With Cash

TekChicLaurie — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 00:36:04 +0000

You may love the idea of being able to shop online, but perhaps you HATE the idea of paying online. Well guess what? Walmart is there for you. You now have an option of ordering online, and then within 48 hours going to your local Walmart store and paying for your purchase there. They give you the option of picking up your purchase at the store or having it shipped to your home.

Fix for Largest Mac Malware Infection Finally Out

TekChicLaurie — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 05:57:16 +0000

As many as 600,000 Macintosh computer systems (and up to 13% of all U.S. Macs) have been infected with the “Flashback” Trojan malware, and Apple has finally published a fix for it. Flashback takes advantage of a security flaw in Java. Oracle patched it back in February and most Windows machines were updated at that time. Since Apple runs their own version of Java, they take the responsibility for updating it, and have been very slow to do so. Flashback was designed to steal passwords. To see if you’re infected, download F-Secure’s Flashback detection and removal software. It will check for and remove Flashback from your Mac. For once Windows users don’t need to worry about this one.

If You Don’t Have Dropbox, Get It

TekChicLaurie — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 02:30:47 +0000

Dropbox is a great way to not only synchronize files between two computers, but it also give you online backup (you don’t have to use it with two computers.) Dropbox installs as a folder on you computer and you use it just like any other folder, except that any file you put in the Dropbox folder gets backed up to the cloud (and any other computer also using the same account.) Dropbox gives you 2GB for free, use this link and you’ll get an extra 250MB: http://bit.ly/extradropboxspace

Tell your friends about it and get up to 16GB of free storage!

Keep the Bad Guys OUT of Your Computer!

TekChicLaurie — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 15:22:18 +0000

Deal: Lenovo Laptop with Intel Core i3 for $399

TekChicLaurie — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 03:29:45 +0000

Office Depot has the Lenovo G570 on sale this week for $399. This is an excellent general purpose laptop built by a company with a reputation for quality laptops. It has a 15.6” screen, 4GB of memory, and large 500GB hard drive, DVD burner, hi-speed wireless, built-in webcam and microphone, HDMI port and memory card reader.

Here’s the link to Office Depot’s page: http://goo.gl/t8n2J

Google and Nascar Introduce Self-Driving Race Car

TekChicLaurie — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 17:34:18 +0000

Over the past couple of years, Google has logged over 200,000 miles testing their autonomous cars in both California and Nevada. To comply with legal requirements, they had to have someone sitting in the drivers seat “just in case” something went wrong, but so far nothing has and the self-driving cars have performed amazingly.

Well, Nascar is so impressed that they have partnered with Google and are testing an autonomous car designed for stock car racing. Follow the link to view Nascar’s announcement and see video of the car: http://goo.gl/RVxPs