Computer Repair Blog / Compudoc Computer Repair Phoenix AZ

I am seeing a rise lately in “pup” software.  By “pup” software, I mean “potentially unsafe software”.  I think in many cases, this is just a fancy term for a virus or spyware.  The difference is that many viruses install silently in the background, and allthough, so do many “pups”, many “pups” are downloaded knowingly by the user, or bundled with other software downloads. Read the rest of this entry »

Microsoft has recently announced that they will no longer be offering the MSN messenger.  MSN messenger was a instant messenger software made by Microsoft that has been around for years.  Microsoft has purchased Skype, and is now using Skype to replace MSN messenger.  Skype is really popular, so most users should have no issues going over to Skype. Read the rest of this entry »

Your emails inbox is an ongoing war on spam and viruses looking to get into your computer.  I have always told my customers to take extreme caution when using email.  I never click on links or attachments in my inbox, unless I know for a fact that that sender is supposed to be sending me an attachment or a link.  Even if you know the sender, it does not mean that they are the ones actually sending you the attachment.  Its too easy for hackers to “spoof” their email address so it shows up as any email address that they choose. Read the rest of this entry »

When you are thinking of data storage on your computer, it all comes down to the size of the hard drive.  The size of the hard drive will determine just how many files, data, and software you can store on your computer.  Often, we hear customers refer to ram as the hardware part where data is stored, probably due to the fact that ram also goes by the term “memory”.  In reality, RAM does not store permanent data, the hard drive is where your data is at. Read the rest of this entry »

Tax time is here again, and you may cringe at the thought of tax season, but hackers are looking to have you help pay their taxes!  According to the Kaspersky antivirus company, there is a 62% increase in hacking attempts during the tax season.  Hackers are trying to take advantage ot the opportunity for identity theft using your tax documents. Read the rest of this entry »

I know this sounds like a silly question…Are you turning off your computer the right way?  Recently, I’ve noticed a few customers that when they are picking up their laptop here, we’ll have it on to show the work was completed.  It surprised me that when we would finish up, quite a few customers would not perform a proper shutdown to the computer.  This can cause hard drive corruption, software issues, registry errors, and even lost files! Read the rest of this entry »

Windows 8 is out and we are already getting calls from customers asking if they should upgrade to the newest operating system.  We still see many computers in the shop using Windows XP, Vista, and Windows 7.  Windows XP was one of the most popular operating systems of all time, but is at the end of its life cycle.  Windows Vista was resource heavy and had some issues at first, but ran well after service pack 2.  Windows 7 was a major improvement over Vista and was quickly adopted and became even more popular than Windows XP!  Now, we have Windows 8, the newest offering from Microsoft. Read the rest of this entry »

If any of you have recently purchased a new computer, Windows 8 is now the standard on all computers.  While Windows 8 has many improvements over Windows 7, such as boot speed, shut down times, security features, and much more, Microsoft changed the user interface and many users are having a hard time finding features.  Now the desktop is not the default landing screen, and the start button is gone.  The new system uses corners and edges of the screen to bring up menus.  Many other features have moved, making Windows 8 a tough transition for some. Read the rest of this entry »

One question that we hear all the time from our customers is,” why do people create computer viruses?”  The answer in most cases, comes down to money.  In the end, anytime a hacker can compromise the security of your computer and gain access to your files, they can usually find a way to make money from you.  Computer hackers have become creative, and are now using many different ways to make money from unsuspecting computer users. Read the rest of this entry »

When we first started offering computer repair services, we wanted to clean out the inside of all desktop computers that we serviced. We also would blow out the fan in keyboard and any other vents on the laptop computers that we serviced. At first, I was buying canned compressed air. This soon got very expensive, it seemed like a full can of compressed air would only clean a few desktop computers before it would run out. We thought about using a vacuum, but you would need a vacuum that would create static electricity, and in the end, blowing air in is more efficient for cleaning computer parts then using a vacuum. Read the rest of this entry »