You change the oil in your car every 5,000 miles or so and you clean your house every week or two. Your tech devices need regular maintenance as well - especially if you're using Windows or you spend a lot of time on the Internet. There are three little things you should do on a regular basis.

I call it Three Little Words: Cleanup - Update - Backup.

Cleanup

Nothing is more frustrating than a device that stalls or runs slowly. The first step is an general cleanup of the apps you don't use or need. It will help make sure your device perform as fast as possible by deleting unused, out-dated and duplicate apps that rob your device of the resources needed to give you the best possible experience. On your computer, pay particular attention to anti-virus and security software. You only need one good security app. Get rid of the ones you don't need or use. A thorough cleanup will also increase the free space on your computer's hard drive and help it run more efficiently. 

Update

All of your devices, including your Windows or Mac computer, your tablet and your smartphone, have an operating system, or OS, that manages your apps and data and creates the visual space where you interact with with your apps and data. The people that made the OS release regular updates to fix known problems, and to improve the performance and security of the device. Use the software update feature on your device to check for these updates.

The same is true for your apps, including your security apps. Keeping them up to date is the best way to ensure they will work as expected when you need them. Many apps have an update option. Look for it in the properties or preferences.

Some computers will also benefit from a hardware upgrade like added RAM memory or a larger hard drive. Generally speaking, more RAM memory means better performance. 

Backup

How much data can you afford to lose? It's a fact that all devices fail - the only question is when will the failure happen. Now that things are humming along smoothly, you need a plan to guard against a data loss disaster with a regular backup of your data. Experts recommend keeping three copies of your data: one on your device, a second on an external device and the third is an off-site or cloud-based solution. But here's the truth: full system, cloud-based backups can be expensive, and they take a lot of time to create and restore, especially over a slow Internet connection. 

Let's face it. You're busy and finding time for these basics can be an issue. Call us. We can do a system tune-up in about an hour and get everything running up to par and give you peace of mind. 

dbr ~ TeqOne

TeqNotes is a periodic publication from TeqOne intended to help you get the most from your technology investment. We want your technology experience to be as productive and trouble free as possible.

Call us. Talk to real people with proven solutions for your digital world.

More and more malware is being delivered by one of the most common browser add-ons – toolbars. Those are the handy search bars (that seem to come from Google, Yahoo!, MSN, Bing, etc.) at the top of the browser window. Be suspicious of websites that offer to add a toolbar when you download an app or file. In addition to the toolbar, the installer can also add all kinds of malicious software to your system without you knowledge or permission. Beside adding malware to your system, these little buggers slow your online browsing, track your online activity and report it back to the black hats. Even the genuine toolbars from Google, Yahoo!, Bing, etc. are sending your browsing activity back to the mothership for analysis so they can give you targeted content when you search. I have one simple rule: the best toolbar is no toolbar. If you want to search the web, go to your favorite search website and begin your search from there. If you have toolbars installed, use the Add/Remove control panel to get rid of all of the toolbars. dbr

Research by mobile device security app developers shows malware is common on Android phone and tablets and nonexistent on iPhones ans iPads. If you're using an Android phone or tablet, install one of the security apps for a little more peace of mind. And no matter which phone or tablet you have, don't forget to regularly backup your phone or tablet to guard against data loss. dbr

Have Courage — don't hang on to ideas from the past even if they have been successful for you.

dbr

Check out this video on YouTube:

Happy New Year to all.
dbr

Circle November 26 on your calendar and add an event to your smartphone calendar app. It's Small Business Saturday, the Saturday after Thanksgiving. It's a chance to show your support for small business and encourage customers to patronize your business.

American Express launched Small Business Saturday with a campaign to get consumers to "shop small" during Thanksgiving weekend, the traditional kickoff of holiday shopping. Two holidays have become associated with Thanksgiving: Black Friday for big sales and Cyber Monday to shop online.

The event caught on quickly last year. Amex reports a 28% increase in sales from the previous year at small businesses that accept American Express. This year, more than 200 organizations have signed on as sponsors, 1.5 million people have friended Small Business Saturday's Facebook page, and FedEx, Facebook, and Google among other major corporations are participating.

And you know what? Shopping at small businesses is fun. Make it a family event.Use it to learn about the wonderful things small businesses offer in your community and to find some new favorite places to shop year-round. And use it as a way of learning new marketing techniques for your small business.

The Small Business Saturday Facebook page at www.facebook.com/smallbusinesssaturday has a range of promotional tools.

Whether you're a business owner or a consumer, Small Business Saturday is more than a shopping event; it's a values statement. It's a way of acting on our commitment to small business and it's a great tie-in to the 3/50 project, a partnership among the OBPA, small businesses, and the City of Oakdale. The project is committed to saving the brick and mortars our nation is built on. It encourages consumers to commit to shopping at three locally owned businesses each month and spend a total of $50. 

Of course, people should patronize small, independent businesses every day. But having a day set aside especially for small business is a good reminder of the importance that we have in sustaining our communities.

You could make the day a triple header by joining the OBPA's Holiday Helping Hands program. Volunteer to sponsor a family and shop and wrap their gifts. Each year several thousand dollars of gifts and food are donated to help families in Oakdale. Santa and his elves deliver gifts during early December. Applicants' names are supplied by school social workers. Here's your chance to join one of the most rewarding community projects sponsored by the OBPA. For more information contact John Larson, Hope Church, at 651-738-9652 ext. 207 or email john.larson@hopechurchoakdale.com.

Visit the OBPA website at www.obpa-mn.com for more information about the HHH program and the 3/50 project. 

I'm hoping to see my friends and neighbors out there shopping small, too.

Cheers,
dbr

 

SJ is famous for his choice of a black mock turtlenecks. He like the idea of a uniform because of its daily convenience and its ability to create a signature style. According to reports, he had about a hundred of the $175 shirts made by St. Croix, a Minnesota company. dbr

It's Tuesday and time for the next installment of TechShot. As I walked in to the Dunn Bros. Coffee in Oakdale this morning, I noticed a window sticker for the 3/50 Project. DBC is a strong supporter of 3/50 for a good reason. The mission of 3/50 is to encourage consumers to shop at locally owned businesses. Simply put, 3/50 wants consumers to spend a total of $50 each month at three locally owned businesses. That simple act will help keep small local businesses alive and well in our communities. And that's why I do TechShot every week. Stop by, get a $1 off the beverage of your choice, and stimulate the local economy. dbr