Category Archives: General Computer

General computer questions and answers, for both Windows and Mac OS machines

Another Phishing Email – “Your iTunes is frozen”

Posted on August 3, 2014 by quill

Online criminals continue with phishing expeditions. Phishing is sending phony emails that mimic legitimate emails from reputable sources, hoping to get you to click on them to download malware, or to steal your login and password when you arrive at … Continue reading →

Posted in General Computer, Internet and Networking, Security, Viruses and malware | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

What are your pictures doing still on your SD card?

Posted on July 17, 2014 by quill

Every week it seems I read about someone who lost their camera, bungled an OS upgrade on their tablet, or had a phone stolen, and they are lamenting “There’s three years of irreplaceable family photos on it, of great sentimental … Continue reading →

Posted in Computer Questions and Answers, General Computer, How-To, iPad, iPhone, iPod | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

NoScript with Firefox gives a higher level of security to web browsing

Posted on April 30, 2014 by quill

Web browsing is full of hazards. Even reputable websites can have poisoned banner ads from third parties, which can attempt to hack your machine or browser settings. You don’t even have to click on a “bad” website to be the … Continue reading →

Posted in Computer Questions and Answers, General Computer, Internet and Networking, Mac questions, Security, Software, Viruses and malware | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Q. What is a NAS drive and how would I use it?

Posted on March 19, 2014 by quill

NAS stands for Network Attached Storage.  It means any stand-alone hard drive or storage unit that is connected to an Ethernet network, and can be shared by the devices on that network. This is distinct from a USB or Firewire … Continue reading →

Posted in Computer Questions and Answers, General Computer, Hard Drives and SSD, Internet and Networking | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Routers – home and small business router vulnerabilities

Posted on March 18, 2014 by quill

We think (a lot) about keeping our computers up to date, virus free and protected with passwords. But stop and consider this: the wireless router that sits in the corner of the office and quietly handles all your WiFi and … Continue reading →

Posted in General Computer, Internet and Networking, Security, Viruses and malware | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Can I build a gaming computer for under $1000 (Feb. 2014 edition)

Posted on February 21, 2014 by quill

Feb. 2014 An exercise in budget computing is to build a computer that will give acceptable gaming performance for under $1000.  In the past year we have seen hard drive prices skyrocket, then come back down to near normal pricing, … Continue reading →

Posted in General Computer, How-To, PC Gaming, Upgrading | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Q. How do I add memory to an Apple Mac Pro tower?

Posted on January 27, 2014 by quill

There are three main generations of Mac Pro machines, each generation has particular RAM types and installation procedures The models from 2006 to early 2008 use FB-DIMMs with large heatsinks in 667 MHz and 800 MHz. These models have two … Continue reading →

Posted in Mac questions, Memory, Uncategorized, Upgrading | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Q. Can I upgrade the CPU processor in my Desktop machine?

Posted on April 30, 2013 by quill

Maybe. And sometimes No. The first thing to know is what CPU socket your motherboard has.  You cannot put an Intel chip in an AMD socket or vice versa.  And within the processor brands, you have to exactly match the … Continue reading →

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

Q. How do I remove Visual Bee or Conduit from my browser?

Posted on April 29, 2013 by quill

VisualBee or VB or Conduit Search are search “aids” for web browsers and a toolbar; but you should avoid these.  They are rogue search engine redirectors that are included with downloads of various shareware installers (you have to be careful … Continue reading →

Posted in Computer Questions and Answers, General Computer, Viruses and malware, Windows questions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Q. Can I get a good gaming laptop? For under $700?

Posted on September 19, 2012 by quill

First things first.  There is no such thing as a real gaming laptop – not if you mean a laptop machine that is portable, battery powered, and has game performance comparable to a desktop machine with a good graphic card … Continue reading →

Posted in Computer Questions and Answers, General Computer, PC Gaming, Upgrading | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Q. Will my computer run games on the highest settings?

Posted on September 19, 2012 by quill

The answer is, it depends. It depends on the graphic card:  Gaming is 90% about the performance of the video card (GPU). As long as you have adequate RAM and a reasonably modern CPU, then the video card Graphic Processing … Continue reading →

Posted in Computer Questions and Answers, PC Gaming, Performance, Upgrading | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Q. What is Ethernet CAT5 cable?

Posted on September 7, 2012 by quill

Ethernet is the most popular standard for transmitting network signals from one computer to another. Ethernet can be carried on a variety of different media Cable types: Coaxial (10Base5) “thick” or “thinnet (10Base2)” which are largely obsolete, optical fiber, power line, … Continue reading →

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

Glossary of memory terms and definitions

Posted on August 9, 2012 by quill

Types of RAM: Memory Terminology: This is a simplified overview of RAM terms and definitions 100 pin memoryUsed primarily in laser printers, 100 pin SIMM memory is not compatible with other formats. CAS Latency:To oversimplify a complex discussion, the main … Continue reading →

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

Q. What is Dual Channel memory?

Posted on August 9, 2012 by quill

Dual Channel memory access is a technique where the computer’s memory controller can access two identical memory modules as if they were one large module.  This gives a theoretical doubling of bandwidth between the memory controller and the memory.  In … Continue reading →

Posted in Computer Questions and Answers, General Computer, Memory | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Keeping clean is cool

Posted on July 26, 2012 by quill

Enemy #1 The number one enemy of computers is heat. Excess heat can damage components outright, or cause accelerated wear over time. Especially with laptops and all in one machines, a great deal of engineering goes into conducting heat away … Continue reading →

Posted in Computer Questions and Answers, General Computer, How-To | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment