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Newsletter April 2016

 

Welcome to Spring, I hope you are fit and well. Here’s a roundup of the latest IT news.

VIRUS WARNING!!!

 

One of the most dangerous threats to computer security in the last year, has been the increased amount of ‘Ransomeware’ viruses, which literally hijack your computer and hold you to ransom.

The latest one is called LOCKY, and is really really nasty. Rather than me explaining what it does, click on this link to read the report from BBC news this week. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-35773058

1.       The best advice I can give you is firstly to ensure that you have proper Anti-Virus protection. DO NOT USE THE FREE ONES. You may as well ask the cat to protect you! I ONLY use and recommend ESET NOD32. If you don’t have this, please ask me and I’ll sort it out for you.

2.       You MUST MUST MUST make sure you are properly backed up externally i.e. NOT on your computer. The best methods are by using an external hard drive, or Cloud storage, or even a memory stick. Whichever you use, make sure it’s done regularly, preferably automatic continuous.

I would be happy to advise you on the best way to keep your precious documents, pictures, emails, contacts etc properly protected, just in case disaster strikes.

 

 

Samsung Galaxy S7

I am soon going to order the new Samsung S7 Smartphone. I’ve always been a Samsung boy, using the Galaxy S4 for a couple of years, and currently using the larger Note 4. I find the Android software much better than Apple IOS, and overall I prefer the whole performance and feel of a Samsung.

The new S7 is (in many experts’ opinion) the best Smartphone on the market today. In a nutshell, the best new features are:

·         Water Resistant – so if you were to drop it down the loo, or puddle or even in the shower, it’s absolutely fine.

·         Much better camera than its predecessors, even though less megapixels. Particularly in low light situations. Sharper pictures and lightning quick auto-focus.

·         Expandable memory, so you can add micro memory cards to give you unlimited storage for pictures, music, videos etc. (One of the things I hate about the Iphone is that it has fixed memory, so once you’ve used it up, you must start deleting your files)

·         How clever is this…. It actually has 2 slots for SIM cards, so you can have 2 different numbers in the phone, ideal if you travel abroad, so one could be for a UK number, and the other for a local international number.

·         Always On Display, which sounds like a battery drainer, but it isn’t, in fact the battery life is much better than an Iphone (16 hours compared to the Iphone’s 10.5 hours).

I’ll give my personal review once I’ve had it for a month or 2, but I’m excited to get it.

 

SwiftKey Keyboard

 

 

Are you fed up with tapping out the letters on the built in keyboard of your phone or tablet? If, like me, you have always struggled with mistyping letters on your phone or ipad, then I have the perfect solution. SwiftKey is a free app that allows you to simply swipe your finger across the keyboard, instead of tapping out letters. It is absolutely brilliant, and I find it a much faster way of typing with far fewer mistakes. After a bit of practice you’ll find that swiping your finger is so much easier and quicker than tapping. There is also excellent predictive text as well auto-correct. And it’s free!!!

You can download it from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. Try, it, love it!!

 

Say No To 0870

 

If you have ever been impressed with anything I’ve ever shown you, then what I’m about to share with you will top everything I’ve ever done.

If you ever call 0780 or 0844 or other non-geographic phone numbers, either from your landline or a mobile phone, you will usually be charged for this call. However you should be aware that these chargeable numbers always have a local landline number behind them. In other words the 0870 number that appears in adverts is just a link to a proper local phone number, which on most landline and mobile call plans, are FREE to call.

http://www.saynoto0870.com/ is a fantastic free website that allows you to type in the phone number in the advert, and then if you click on Search to Find an Alternative Number, it reveals the proper local phone number behind it. Try it with any 0870 or 0843 number. For example, John Lewis’s advertised Customer Services phone number is listed as 03456 049 049. However if you do a search on saynoto0870.com it reveals that the real phone number is 0114 452 4003, which on most mobile phones, is a free call. How amazing is that!!!! Don’t thank me, that’s my job!!

And finally….

 

North London Half Marathon

 

 

Many many thanks to all of my wonderful, kind and generous clients, who have donated to my last Half Marathon run, which I did last week, on behalf of Macmillan Cancer Support. It’s the third one I’ve done for Macmillan, and in the last year, through my lovely friends and clients, I’ve raised a staggering £10,000+ for this vital and worthwhile cause.

I crossed the finish line inside Wembley Stadium, and although my time was rubbish, it didn’t matter, I did it.  So thank you everybody who kindly donated, but if you didn’t, and would like to, then my Just Giving site is still up and available at https://www.justgiving.com/henmoss23/

 

That’s it for now,

Please call or email me if you require any further help or advice.