GEEK FREE

GEEK FREE
10 November, 2015
By Joe Callison

Computer reliability data is much like reliability data for automobiles or any other major consumer products. You may get a bad one buying the statistically most reliable brand or you may get a really reliable one buying the statistically least reliable brand. Still, you probably want the odds to be in your favor when considering your purchase. It also helps to know how a brand’s reliability is trending over several years, since any brand can have ups and downs over time. Continue reading →

GEEK FREE
3 November 2015
By Joe Callison

It is that time of year when many of us respond to charitable giving appeals. With so many charitable organizations competing for donor’s dollars, you would think organizations would be motivated to be as efficient as possible to attract donors, but that is not always the case. There are many fundraising organizations with big advertising budgets and high salaries that use a relatively small percentage of their receipts for their own programs or grants to other charitable organizations. Continue reading →

GEEK FREE
1 September, 2015
By Joe Callison

All Windows versions since Windows XP have a hidden shortcut menu to all available Windows settings (except do not use it on Vista 64-bit – it crashes Explorer). It is referred to as the “god mode”, but I prefer to call it “all settings”. To create the desktop icon to access the menu, first create a new folder. A quick way to do that is to right-click your mouse on your desktop background and choose “New” and then “Folder”. You should then see a folder on your desktop named “New folder”. Continue reading →

GEEK FREE
7 August, 2015
By Joe Callison

I recently upgraded a Windows 7 laptop that is several years old and has lots of older programs installed on it. Before doing the upgrade I deleted all of the temporary files, ran the anti-virus and anti-malware software, ran check disk to check for and fix any hard drive errors, and then backed up all of my files to an external hard drive. The upgrade went smoothly and when it reached the stage where it was going to do Settings, there is an option to choose Customize Settings instead of just letting Windows install the default settings. I always choose Customize Settings so I can at least see what the installation is going to do, even if I end up not changing anything from the default setting. Continue reading →

GEEK FREE
4 July, 2015
By Joe Callison

Taxpayer dollars go to so many government agencies and fund so many programs that sometimes we are not even aware of the services they are providing. I did some quick research on federal government resources for consumer protection services and found some web sites that might be useful. Continue reading →

GEEK FREE
8 June, 2015
By Joe Callison

Google recently split the photo feature out of Google+ and made it a separate new app (application) called Google Photos. You can find it by clicking the Google Apps icon in the Chrome browser (9 small squares arranged in a 3 by 3 pattern), and then clicking the word More at the bottom. After reading several reviews by users, I decided to give it a try myself. I already had a Google account, which is free for anyone to create in the Chrome browser. Continue reading →

GEEK FREE
13 May, 2015 (Updated 19 March, 2016)
By Joe Callison

Formatting a Flash Drive or External Hard Drive for System Image Backup

Most Windows XP and virtually all Windows 7 and 8.x computer operating systems are installed with the hard drive formatted with NTFS instead of the older FAT16 or FAT32 file structure used in earlier versions of Windows. The FAT file systems are limited to much smaller maximum hard drive partition sizes and maximum file sizes than NTFS. To keep compatibility with most kinds of operating systems, flash drives (and many older and smaller external hard drives) are normally formatted with a FAT file structure. If you want to back up an NTFS system image on a flash drive, you will need to reformat it with NTFS first.  Note that this will erase all existing data from the flash drive! To do this, insert the flash drive in your computer USB port and open the Computer window.  Continue reading →

GEEK FREE
19 April, 2015
By Joe Callison

Backing up your computer data is essential if you do not want to experience the agony of losing irreplaceable family photos, tax and financial records, and other data that can be gone in an instant if your hard drive suddenly fails or if CryptoLocker type malware locks all of your files. There are so many methods of doing backups and pros and cons to consider that I have hesitated writing on it because it would take a small book to do the subject justice. Of necessity, I am limiting this post to a few of the simplest and lowest-cost methods available. Continue reading →

GEEK FREE
21 March, 2015
By Joe Callison

You may have experienced a pop-up ad while browsing the internet that says you have “X” number of out-of-date or missing drivers, or something to that effect. These ads are trying to get you to buy their driver-updating software that will automatically scan your computer and search the internet for updated drivers. In order to decide if you would benefit from a product like that, you need to understand what a driver is and why it would ever need to be updated.  Continue reading →

GEEK FREE
24 February, 2015
By Joe Callison

One of the easiest ways to fix most software problems with your computer yourself is to use the built-in System Restore feature of Microsoft Windows to roll back any changes to your operating system and programs to a previous point in time when your computer was working properly. This does not affect any user-created documents, pictures, music, etc. that have been added- they will remain untouched.  The following instructions are based on Windows 7, but are similar for Windows 8 and even XP.  Continue reading →

GEEK FREE
1 February, 2015
By Joe Callison

Windows 8, 8.1, 9, 10!

Microsoft recently did their big Windows 10 reveal to the press, and so far it has been received positively. Especially since they decided to make the upgrade from Windows 7 and later free for the first year after the retail release. That was a big deal not only for Microsoft, whose revenue depends heavily on operating system sales but also the manufacturers of PC hardware whose revenues may take a significant hit if people upgrade their existing Windows 7 computers rather than buy a new PC with Windows 10 later this year. Microsoft is doing this to encourage as many people as possible to move to Windows 10, which will be one common operating system for all Windows PCs, tablets, and phones.  Continue reading →

GEEK FREE
20 January, 2015
By Joe Callison

Most of us use a Microsoft Office suite, or at least Microsoft Word. Even though there are some alternatives such as OpenOffice and LibreOffice that provide reasonably good compatibility with Office files, we would probably prefer to use the real thing if we had the option. Keeping current with the new versions of Office has been quite expensive in the past, but now Microsoft has made the most popular applications in their Office 365 suite available through their cloud service, OneDrive at no cost! All you need to do is sign up for a Microsoft Account if you don’t have one already.  Continue reading →

GEEK FREE
11 January 2015
By Joe Callison

I like free stuff, and the computing community is bursting with offers for free stuff. Offers for free scans, free downloads, free trials, etc. are everywhere. Unfortunately most of the time you get what you pay for. A free scan will scan your computer and tell you a multitude of things “wrong” with it, but if you want it “fixed”, it will cost money. A free download is usually similar- you can download the program and install it, but if you want to activate the program it will cost money. A free trial is at least a little clearer- you get to try it for a period of time for free and then if you want to continue using the program, it will cost money.  Continue reading →

GEEK FREE
20 December, 2014
By Joe Callison

Seniors are often targeted by scam artists because we are considered as often easier prey. With the availability of so much personal information on the internet through telephone white pages linked to public records and social media sites such as Facebook, it is easy to identify seniors and find information about us and our families. This information can be used to convince us of the legitimacy of the story being told by the scammer. Just a few of the prevalent scams in 2014 follow:  Continue reading →

GEEK FREE
30 November 2014
By Joe Callison

This first post will address some frequently asked questions from fellow computer users.

Can I Continue to Use My Windows XP Computer?
As long as it continues to perform the functions you need it for. Yes, you are exposed to a higher risk of computer viruses, malware, and identity theft, but on the other hand, no system is going to be risk-free. The most likely end of Windows XP will come when you can no longer access a website that requires a later version of Internet Explorer than you can get for Windows XP.  Continue reading →