Sorry its been a while since my last newsletter, but better late than never. I hope you fit and well and enjoying what little bit of summer were having.

Here’s a roundup of the latest news.

Continuing problems with AOL, Yahoo & Gmail.

I just don’t understand why these massive companies can’t secure their email servers. I’m still getting at least 2 or 3 emails per week from customers either with a link, which, when clicked on, takes you to a dodgy website, OR saying that they have been mugged or have a medical emergency while abroad, and asking you to send them money to return home.

The advice from these companies is simply to change your password and security information. Unfortunately, this doesn’t always work, but it is good and proper advice.

But what can be done to prevent this from happening? The answer is to change your email address. Don’t panic, it’s not hard to do.

For not a lot of money, you could have your own domain name and personal email address. My email address is henry@henrymoss.co.uk and only costs me about £20 per year. So you could have you@yourname.com or something similar. You could even have the whole family using the same domain name e.g. anyone@thesmiths.com

I’m not saying it’s impossible for a personal domain to be hacked, but it’s highly unlikely. It’s then simply a question of emailing all of your contacts informing them of your new email address.

If the thought of all this worries you, then of course I’d be happy to come over and sort everything out for you properly.

Windows 8.1

When Microsoft released Windows 8 a year and a half ago, it was universally hated by millions of people. The main reason is that they decided to leave off fundamental features like the Start Button, in the bottom left corner, which makes simple tasks like shutting down, not straightforward. Then they recently released 8.1 which was heralded as a major improvement, but quite honestly, it still lacks the basic necessary functions of the Start button, like shutting down, or being able to access your documents, pictures, and recently used programmes. In other words, it’s a complete waste of time.

When I’m setting up a new Windows 8 computer, which I’m doing 2 or 3 times a week, the FIRST thing I do is put in a small programme which is an Emulator, so that Windows 8 behaves like Windows 7 or XP, brings back the Start button with all of its functionality, as well as booting straight onto the desktop, instead of the horrible new Start Screen with the big tiles and Apps. struggling

So if you are still struggling with Windows 8, or thinking of upgrading  to a new computer, please let me know and I’ll help you turn chaos into order, so you can enjoy using all the features of Windows 8 or 8.1.

All In One computers

Many of my customers are now upgrading to a sparkling shiny new All in One computers. The big advantage of them is the fact that they don’t have a big tower box and then a separate screen. The computer is all build into the screen, so you literally get a large screen and a wireless keyboard and mouse. That’s it. And because they are totally wireless, there is no spaghetti of millions of cables and wires. It simply has one lead, the mains cable, and that’s all. Everything else is connected wirelessly.

Prices from Dell start from just £599 and there is a good selection of models to choose from. If you need any help or advice, please call or email me.

Google Chromecast

I recently bought this amazing little dongle for £30 and im sooo impressed with it.

Very simply, if you have a new Smart TV, you plug in the Chromecast dongle into the back of the TV, and set it up which takes a few minutes. Then you can view any web pages, YouTube, BBC iPlayer etc, directly from your laptop, tablet or smartphone. Just have the page you want to view open on your PC or phone, and then beam it directly onto your big telly. Also a lot of DVD movies you buy will have a token in the cover, which if you follow the instructions, will allow you to stream the movie onto your TV instead of watching the DVD itself. You can buy it online by clicking here: http://www.google.com/intl/en_uk/chrome/devices/chromecast/index.html

And finally…..

Sorry but the simple things in life make me laugh. Here’s a video of a conversation from the last G8 summit between David Cameron and Barak Obama about the Ukraine crisis…. Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JmA2ClUvUY

That’s it for now, have a great summer. Call or email me if you need any further assistance.