Creating Photo Collages... for FREE

If you are looking for a way to create great photo collages for a social event or promotion but you are running on a tight budget then you've come to the right place.

I found a great program called CollageIT. It is quite easy to use and of course it's Free. You simply upload all the photos to the program, decide what settings you want to use and save it. You can rotate the pictures or have them all print out straight and lined up.



I think this is a great option for anyone who needs to put flyers together quickly and easily.

Spyware & Malware

Are you noticing that your computer seems to be running slower than normal? Has it become a waiting game when you are surfing the internet?

Chances are you have fallen victim to a problem sweeping the internet. Spyware!

Spyware is a type of Malware that is installed on computers and collects information about users without their knowledge. The presence of spyware is typically hidden from the user. The spyware is usually secretly installed on the user's personal computer.  Sometimes spyware programs such as keyloggers are installed on shared, corporate, or public computers on purpose in order to secretly monitor it's users.

There are programs out there that can stop Spyware and Malware from hitting your computer, but the problem is that once it is there, it is quite tricky to remove. Many times it is far more efficient to re-install your operating system. This is a very tedious task, and it is especially difficult if you do not have anywhere to backup your data.

You may want to hire a computer technician to fix it for you. They have the required tools to backup your data safely and restore it back onto your computer.  They can also upgrade all the software for you and give you some of the latest new free gadgets.

How to avoid computer virusses

Of all the problems that can occur with your computer, I've seen that the most common root cause is some type of virus or spyware. In this day an age, it is absolutely necessary to have an up-to-date virus scanner running on your computer. However, there are a few other things you can do to avoid viruses.

1. Don't click on Links in emails AND Messenger
   I know how hard this is... You get an email from a friend that says "is this photo really you?", and curiosity gets the best of you. Sure enough, it turns out to be a malicious website and now you've just sent that message to your contact list.
   TIP: Ask your friend if they meant to send the message before you click on it.
   
2. Update your virus definitions regularly
   Most anti virus software packages will automatically update the virus definitions. DO NOT disable this feature!
   
3. Set up a firewall (windows firewall is fine)
   By default, Windows has a firewall program. Keep it enabled! It will save you a lot of grief.

As for Virus Scanning software. There are some big leaders in this field. I've used both Norton and McAfee for a number of years, and I believe that both are mostly a waste of money. For the last few years I've been using a product called AVG. It is free and it is fantastic. I install it on the computers that I maintain and I've never seen a problem with this software.

How to set up your Hard Drive so that you can re-install or upgrade Windows without losing your data.

One of the most common jobs that I get called for in the residential sector is reinstalling an operating system. Over time, the registry gets all jumbled up and your computer starts to behave very poorly. Even worse, maybe you are running out of disk space and you go on a mission to free up some space... Oops, you deleted a critical Windows file.

I can say that by far, the most complicated part of a job like this is backing up your data before a reinstall. In my office, it's not a problem because I have the proper equipment, but a reinstall of the operating system wouldn't be all that difficult if you had a place to put your data while the hard drive is being reinstalled.

I've been using multiple partition strategies for years on my home computers. I set up 1 partition for the Operating System to live on, and 1 partition for all the personal files (email, documents, music). That way when it is time to reinstall the operating system, all I need to do is wipe the Windows Partition, reinstall and presto... all your files are still there.

I recommend that windows partition be at least 20GB these days. Windows is becoming more and more bloated and I've found that the old 8GB partition is no longer sufficient. However, with the low cost of hard drive space these days, you might as well just set up your windows partition to 1/4 of the disk.

Your Server Solution

I had a service call last week where the client was running a "client-server" environment, but the server was actually running Windows Vista.

Well... Put it this way, this situation simply didn't cut it.

I learned that I'm not the first Tech Support consultant that has recommended that he use Server software for this machine.

So how do you choose the right server environment?

Many people would quickly choose Windows Server, just because they aren't aware of other options... and some others would immediately get into a comparison of Linux vs Windows. However, the first thing you should always do is take an inventory of the applications that are crucial to business success.

This could be a long list, but the bottom line is that the right Server Solution is the intersection of all these crucial business applications. I agree that there is always a solution, and you can make a choice and figure out how to make it work later, but can your business suffer downtime?

The next thing I would suggest is where you are going to get your support. Chances are you will not be administering this server yourself. Find out what your IT Consultant and Tech Support team say. Find out where their strength lies and play to it.

How often do you backup?

Now here's a topic that until a few years ago, I totally disregarded, but as with just about anything, you don't realize how important it is until you need it. Then... It's too late. Fortunately, there is very good (and free) software that you can use to set up your backups automatically and you only need to do the work once.

First, you need to have either two computers or an external hard drive. Otherwise, what's the point! I suppose you could backup from one hard drive to another, but it's more effective if you backup to somewhere other than your computer.  It would be even better to back it up to a different location or use a cloud.

If you want me to take care of this for you then call me Tim, 506-870-8408.

How to do it yourself

Download some free backup software. I use Synch Back. If you know of a free one that is better, then leave a comment.  I use the 'cloud' for my phone backups but I prefer to not give all my private files to a company to hold on to.

All you need to do is set up a profile that backs up whatever directories are important to you. At least backup the "My Documents" directory, if you want, you can backup the whole C Drive.

You can set your profile to run once a week, once a day, or whatever you'd like. Set it up to run over night if you'd like.

This software is very useful because it will copy what it can. If there are files in use, it will skip them and continue. If you use the regular windows "copy" then it quits after an error occurs.

As you can see it is not that hard to get an automated backup setup and you will DEFINITELY thank me later! If you are looking for tech support in Moncton feel free to subscribe to this blog or leave me a comment.

Share one Printer with the whole house

I just did a support call this weekend and found that my client had two printers in his home. One was installed in the office and the other was downstairs for the kids. I asked why they needed two printers, and they said that occasionally the kids want to print something and it's too much hassle to put the file on a disk and bring it upstairs.

They weren't aware that if the computers are networked, it is quite easy to share printers across the network. Here's how it's done.

Go to the computer that is connected to the printer.
Click Start -> Control Panel -> Printers and Scanners
Right click on the printer you'd like to share and click Sharing
Select the "Share this Printer" button and give it a name.

Then go to the other computer
Click Start -> Control Panel -> Printers and Scanners
Under "Printer Tasks" on the left hand side click "Add Printer"
Click Next and then "Browse for a Printer"
If the computers are all part of the same windows "workgroup" then the printer will be found. If not, then you can give a specific path \\computername\printername.

That's it, now you can try to print a test page and voila!

If you need more help, you can always subscribe to this page or simply leave me a comment on this post.