Author Archives: Trevor

Q. Is there any Internet security threat if I only visit reputable sites?

Posted on May 10, 2011 by Trevor

Yes there is a threat even if you only visit ‘safe’ places.  You could get a virus through emails, which redirects your links from what you thought was a reputable site to a phony site.  Banner ads on a reputable … Continue reading →

Posted in General Computer, Internet and Networking, Security, Software, Viruses and malware | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Q. I received a PDF file but I can’t get it to print

Posted on May 10, 2011 by Trevor

A PDF (Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format) file should be openable and printable on any machine with PDF reader software, regardless of operating system. It is possible that your PDF file was created with a NO PRINT option or a … Continue reading →

Posted in Computer Questions and Answers, Software | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Q. Every time I go to a website from Google, it sends me to some different website with advertising

Posted on May 5, 2011 by Trevor

You have a Google Redirect Virus.  It is a type of virus called a Rootkit, and can be missed by antivirus programs. Restart your machine in Safe Mode with networking (hit F8 at start time) Disable SpyBot TeaTimer if you … Continue reading →

Posted in Viruses and malware, Windows questions | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Q. I have an antivirus message popping up on my machine and it is not letting me use programs or download antivirus tools.

Posted on May 5, 2011 by Trevor

Antivirus 2012, Win 7 Antivirus 2011, Win 7 Total Security 2011, XP Security 2011, BitDefender 2011 Antivirus (some of these viruses use the same names as legitimate programs) and many other variants of these names are fake antivirus scanners that … Continue reading →

Posted in Computer Questions and Answers, Viruses and malware, Windows questions | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Q. I have some RAR files that were sent to me, What do I do with them?

Posted on May 5, 2011 by Trevor

RAR is a compression format, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAR, and the files you have are compressed archives of one or more original files.  First, you have to decompress the RAR archives. Here are some utilities that can do that 7-Zip (Free, Windows) http://download.cnet.com/7-Zip/3000-2250_4-10045185.html?tag=mncol;1 … Continue reading →

Posted in Mac questions, Software, Windows questions | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Q. I downloaded Audacity to edit MP3s, now how do I use it?

Posted on May 5, 2011 by Trevor

Audacity is a great open source audio editor program, available for Windows and Macintosh http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ Here are some learning resources for it Audacity Tutorials http://audacity.sourceforge.net/manual-1.2/tutorials.html Wiki http://wiki.audacityteam.org/wiki/Category:Tutorial Tutorial Videos on YouTube Removing vocals with Audacity http://wiki.audacityteam.org/index.php?title=Vocal_Removal Mixing two songs together … Continue reading →

Posted in Music recording, instruments, hard & software, Software | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Q. How can I tell which computer on the network is downloading huge amounts of stuff through my company’s router?

Posted on May 5, 2011 by Trevor

Excessive bandwidth use could indicate a user who is downloading or uploading movies, torrents of pirated software or streaming video, or it could be malware on the machine. Either way it can impact network performance for everyone, could result in … Continue reading →

Posted in Internet and Networking | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Q. What is the fastest disk setup for Photoshop

Posted on May 5, 2011 by Trevor

Photoshop (as well as other high-end graphic and video production software) is a heavy user of hard drive access.  The speed of the hard drive in a machine and the way that hard drive use is organized can have a … Continue reading →

Posted in Hard Drives and SSD, Mac questions, Memory, Performance, Software, Windows questions | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Q. How can I connect two computers that are 1 km away, without a cable?

Posted on May 5, 2011 by Trevor

Connecting two networks through the air at long distances (100’s of meters to several km) is possible with low power WiFi equipment as long as you have line of sight between the two locations. It requires choosing the correct antennas … Continue reading →

Posted in How-To, Internet and Networking | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Q. I’ve just done a restore on my machine, and the (DVD, printer, video) doesn’t work

Posted on May 5, 2011 by Trevor

Go to your manufacturer’s website, support, drivers and downloads section, and download all the latest drivers for your specific model and install them. Run all the Windows (or other OS) updates. When you do a restore, you are resetting the … Continue reading →

Posted in Windows questions | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Q. Will this new video card work in my machine?

Posted on May 5, 2011 by Trevor

The questions you always have to ask when installing a new video card in a desktop or tower machine are: Is there an available PCI-e x16 slot with space beside it for the video card’s fans? Is there physical room … Continue reading →

Posted in Windows questions | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Q. My iBook or Powerbook battery is not charging or being recognized, yet it works fine in another machine

Posted on May 5, 2011 by Trevor

First you need to to a Power Manager reset PMU reset) on your machine http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1431 Then recalibrate the battery http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1490 Keep in mind that batteries last from one to three years and they steadily lose capacity.  Apple’s criteria is the … Continue reading →

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Q. How can I tell what year a certain website was created?

Posted on May 5, 2011 by Trevor

You can’t know when the actual web pages were created, but you can look up in the WHOIS domain records when the domain was originally registered. Go to http://whois.domaintools.com/ and enter the domain name of the site.

Posted in Internet and Networking | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Q. How can I tell if my hard drive is failing?

Posted on May 5, 2011 by Trevor

If you suspect that your disk is having trouble, make sure you back up your data files to another drive or to DVD-R as soon as possible. One symptom of a failing drive is long pauses to do anything. Another … Continue reading →

Posted in General Computer, Hard Drives and SSD, Mac questions, Windows questions | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Posted on May 5, 2011 by Trevor

Your new router will have a different WPA password and SSID (network name) compared to your old router. Have you set the new router up?  Each WiFi machine will need to reconnect to the new router and have its settings … Continue reading →

Posted in Computer Questions and Answers, Internet and Networking | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment