ZenPC BlogZenPC Bloghttp://www.zenpcservices.com/home/2011-12-31T23:19:28ZSquarespaceHappy New Year!http://www.zenpcservices.com/home/2011/12/31/happy-new-year.htmlKevin Medeiros2011-12-31T23:19:08Z2011-12-31T23:19:08ZWishing everyone out there a very happy new year! :)

]]>Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!http://www.zenpcservices.com/home/2011/12/24/merry-christmas-happy-holidays.htmlKevin Medeiros2011-12-24T20:04:49Z2011-12-24T20:04:49ZBe safe and enjoy! :)

]]>Goodbye Stevehttp://www.zenpcservices.com/home/2011/10/6/goodbye-steve.htmlKevin Medeiros2011-10-07T04:54:50Z2011-10-07T04:54:50ZRest in peace

]]>The future of mobile computing is probably in your pocket alreadyhttp://www.zenpcservices.com/home/2011/2/28/the-future-of-mobile-computing-is-probably-in-your-pocket-al.htmlKevin Medeiros2011-02-28T22:25:13Z2011-02-28T22:25:13ZWhat's the next big thing in mobile computing? First there were netbooks, next the iPad and the hoard of competitors running Google's Android operating system and now what? Well you might be surprised that you probably already own one, the smart phone. Be it an iPhone, Android phone or BlackBerry you're probably already holding the future of mobiling computing in your hand.

Since the inception of the iPhone we've had mobile computing in our pocket, except now manufacturers such as Motorola are taking this to the next level with phones like the Atrix. A phone with a laptop dock that allows it to function almost as well as a full fledged laptop. With apps like DropBox for file transfers, springpad for online organization and google docs for Microsoft Office like functionality the Atrix could very well be all that most people need in both a computer and a mobile device.

Most users don't need much more than a web browser for their day to day computing needs and would more than likely love the simplicity of having one device that caters to all their online communication and computing needs. We've always liked smart phones but needed to be able to input things faster, look at content through a bigger screen, or just have the option to use our smart phones in a more computer like fashion. I believe we'll have it soon enough as more phones like the Atrix penetrate the market.

This is just one of the many devices that I think we'll be seeing in the near future that will blur the line between smart phone, tablet and computer.

Who wouldn't want to have one device that did it all? I know I would! What do you think?

]]>Cleaning up the Geek Squad's messhttp://www.zenpcservices.com/home/2010/11/30/cleaning-up-the-geek-squads-mess.htmlKevin Medeiros2010-11-30T21:47:28Z2010-11-30T21:47:28ZThis story isn't about assuming that all Geek Squad employees are incompetent or blasting Best Buy as a company. It's simply a tale about what had to be done in order to get a client's very basic home theater setup working after Best Buy's Geek Squad configured it.

I went over to Jim's place to help him figure out how to record television shows on his new DVD/VHS recorder. He had the Geek Squad hook up his cable box from Time Warner and his DVD/VHS recorder to his new Samsung LCD television and could not for the life of him figure out how to record a program with his new setup.

I sat down and quickly skimmed the associated manuals and then looked at his cabling. The cabling of the system was completely incorrect. The Geek Squad had done exactly what the manual for the DVD/VHS outline in bold for them NOT to do. Yes, that's right, they set it up completely incorrect and left Jim $200 poorer and with a non functioning home theater setup. Jim said they told him that he needed "something" from the cable company to record cable TV programs. Really Geek Squad? All you needed to do was connect the DVD/VHS recorder to the cable box via A/V cables instead of RF cables as the manual clearly pointed out.

So what's this mean? Why bother sharing this story with you guys? Well it just means that you DON'T always get what you pay for. How could Best Buy charge so much for a service that left Jim with a DVD/VHS recorder that didn't even record? I'm not sure if he went back to get a refund for this botched service job or not, but buyer beware...you may want to reconsider who you invite over to setup your home theater.

]]>The easy & free way to prevent viruses & spywarehttp://www.zenpcservices.com/home/2010/11/20/the-easy-free-way-to-prevent-viruses-spyware.htmlKevin Medeiros2010-11-20T21:15:47Z2010-11-20T21:15:47ZNow more than ever we use the internet just about every time we turn on our computers. You browse Facebook, check your banking online, purchase products online and so on. The internet is a great resource for information and entertainment but it's also filled with child predators, scam artists and lots of viruses and spyware. How does a person go about staying safe online? How do you protect your kids from child predators or limit their exposure to questionable content on the internet? How do you keep getting infected with all that spyware that ends up costing you a fortune to get fixed at the local PC repair shop?

This guide is intended to help you understand a bit more about internet threats and how to prevent most of them from ever affecting you and your computers.

Let's start at your network. You probably have a broadband connection of some type (cable, dsl or satellite) and hopefully you have a router that grabs your internet connection and lets you share it with all the computers in your home. These routers are usually from manufacturers such as Netgear, Linksys, D-Link, etc. A properly setup router is your #1 line of defense for your network and home computers.

Here are a few things that you must check in your routers configuration in order to be sure that your network is secure. (Please refer to the setup guide for your router, or go to the manufacturers website and download the manual for your specific router)

 

  1. Make sure that you have your routers firewall enabled. Firewalls should NEVER be off, ever. There is absolutely no excuse to not have this vital security feature enabled on your router.
  2. Make sure that if you do have a wireless router that it is password protected with WPA or WPA2 encryption and a strong password of at least 8 numbers and letters. If your router does not support WPA encryption then please check with the router's manufacturer for a possible firmware update or invest in a newer router. WEP encryption is easily broken within a few minutes by anyone with a reasonable knowledge of wireless security.
  3. Setup an account at OpenDNS.org and replace your ISP(Internet service providers) default DNS servers with the ones provided by OpenDNS. There is a great guide here on how to go about changing those settings and getting OpenDNS running on your network. OpenDNS will protect you against phishing sites and malware as well as give you custom control over what sites you want blocked throughout your home and even filter out several categories of sites, such as adult, drugs, etc.

Following those steps should eliminate a majority of your headaches, especially if you block out adult sites and P2P file sharing sites. Most spyware stems from surfing websites in those categories along with social networking website exploits.

Now what about virus scanning and spyware protection on your actual Windows XP/Vista/7 computers? Well that's a good question, here are my recommendations for how to add a 2nd layer of protection to individual computers.

 

  1. Download and install Microsoft's Security Essentials Antivirus. It's free, it's very light on system resources so it won't slow down your computer. You don't need to spend a fortune on Norton, Trend or McAfee as this program works just as well based on independent lab tests. It's a very easy program to understand and unobtrusive as well.
  2. Use a different browser than Internet Explorer. Do yourself a favor and download FireFox or Google Chrome. These 2 browsers are not only faster than Internet Explorer but have wonderful add-ons that will block out web page ads which are known to carry spyware inside of them. ForFireFox please download AdBlock Plus and for Google Chrome I suggest using AdThwart to block ads on web pages and protect against potentially harmful ones.
  3. Download and install SpywareBlaster. It's free as long as you don't mind manually updating it every now and again. The program will inoculate your computer against already known malicious webpages and links. This piece of software is another quick & easy way to prevent that pesky spyware infection before it manifests at all.

 

There you have it! If you follow the steps outlined above your internet experience will be a much safer and less stressful place for you to work and play in. Hope this helps someone out there! :)

 

]]>Excited about Google TV?http://www.zenpcservices.com/home/2010/10/14/excited-about-google-tv.htmlKevin Medeiros2010-10-14T22:00:25Z2010-10-14T22:00:25ZGoogle is partnering with many companies, such as Sony and Logitech to create TV's and internet appliances to with their new Google TV function built right in. Google TV to me is like the resurrection of WebTV but done right. Unlike WebTV it won't be clunky, slow and hard to use, plus you'll have access to the internet, streaming movies, social networking and your TV programming at the same time. The devices are good looking, have solid hardware behind them and from all that I've read work quite well. It's not a new concept really, as Roku, Apple and other companies such as Western Digital have boxes that have been able to stream Netflix, Pandora, etc for a while but Google TV promises to be a whole lot more and integrate seamlessly with your existing TV and cable/satellite service. Google wants to encompass everything you like about the web and television all in a magic box.

I believe that priced correctly, Google TV will do well.

What do you think about Google TV?

]]>Staying safe on Facebookhttp://www.zenpcservices.com/home/2010/9/22/staying-safe-on-facebook.htmlKevin Medeiros2010-09-22T17:18:38Z2010-09-22T17:18:38ZIf been encountering a lot of people that have recently had their Facebook accounts compromised and they always wonder how it happened. Here's what you need to know to avoid being victim to a Facebook phishing or hack attempt.

  • Have a strong password (This means 8 characters or more with numbers, symbols or varying CaSeS)
  • Change your password every now and again (once or twice a year is fine, but change it)
  • Don't "share and verify" just anything, make sure to take a closer look
  • Use an current browser that has built in phishing detection, IE8, Firefox 3.5+, Chrome or Safari
  • Don't punch in your username & password unless you know for sure you're on Facebook.com
  • Don't respond to any emails requesting your information from any source, ever. Go to Facebook.com and work out your issues there, never through email
  • Use pop up/ad blocking software for your browser. For Firefox I recommend AdBlock Plus and for Chrome Adthwart. These tools will keep all those "you have a virus pop-ups & ads" away and also prevent malicious mouse-over ads from displaying

Those tips should keep you safe on Facebook and the web in general.

Happy Surfing!

]]>More iPad goodies FTWhttp://www.zenpcservices.com/home/2010/8/12/more-ipad-goodies-ftw.htmlKevin Medeiros2010-08-13T03:45:04Z2010-08-13T03:45:04ZWell guess what? I found more iPad accessories when I was unpacking and I no longer own an iPad. Do you know what that means? It means I'm going to give them to 2 of my twitter followers.

Your chances of winning some iPad stuff are actually pretty good, just ask @techvudu

I'll be giving away a black skin, a clear hard plastic skin/screen protector combo. You just have to follow @zenpcservices to be entered.

 

]]>Net neutrality & how it affects youhttp://www.zenpcservices.com/home/2010/8/7/net-neutrality-how-it-affects-you.htmlKevin Medeiros2010-08-07T15:50:26Z2010-08-07T15:50:26ZThis is a great video by Rocketboom explaining net neutrality and how it could affect you. This video is definitely a "pro net neutrality" video, but I believe it does a good job explaining what could happen if big businesses had their way with our internet access.

There are several different opinions on net neutrality and the issue is a very hot topic politically right now. Where do you stand?

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