Quite often it would be nice to be able to take a copy of what’s appearing on the laptop or PC screen. Confirmation of a purchase, or an image that you like, for example. Now, it has been possible for years to take a screen shot using the Print Screen (PrtScr) button, and in fact since Windows 7 there has been a built in “Snipping tool” that offers a lot more flexibility, but hardly anyone that I meet seems to use it.
Following the recent Windows 10 “April 2018 ” update a number of people have had an issue with their keyboards suddenly typing alternative characters. This is mostly seen when someone tries to type an email address and types a ” instead of a @ symbol.
The reason for this is that during the update you would have been given the option to select a keyboard type, and the default is a US one, so if you missed this you will have ended up with this issue.
Passwords please
I think that without doubt the biggest issue that I see when visiting customers relates to passwords. This week for example I’ve had to recover at least 5 users passwords and it’s still only Wednesday!
The problem is that we need passwords for most activities online, and all too often the password is set up using “something that I’m sure I’ll remember” but all too often it is not remembered. Set up a few in that way and I challenge anyone to recall which one is which. If you don’t know your password then they are usually (but not always) ways to recover or reset it, see later in this article.
Many customers have contacted me asking about the widely reported security issues found in Intel processors.
Although Intel processors have been mentioned, the problem is also present in some from AMD and ARM, so could be present in most devices from laptops through to tablets and phones. Since Apple also use these processors in their products the problems apply equally to Apple Macs as well as Windows PCs and laptops.
Microsoft and Apple are releasing updates which will address the issues from the operating system perspective, ie Windows or Mac OS X. However, there may also be updates to
We’ve had several questions from customers about the recent “ransomware” attack which hit many individuals, organisations and businesses including the NHS. Hopefully, you were not affected by it. However, it highlights the need to keep up to date with standard security updates to your system. In fact, Microsoft did issue an update to
The free upgrade period for Windows 10 has now ended. If you did not upgrade then you still can, providing that your PC is compatible, but you will need to purchase a license from Microsoft. If you are on Windows 7 then you should be aware that it will still be supported with updates until 2020 (and WIndows 8 likely a couple of years after that), so there is no need to panic!
One of the most frequent questions we get is from customers looking to upgrade from an old desktop to a new machine, usually a laptop.
In this article we will look at the hardware and basic operating system. Additional optional software will be covered in another article to follow.
There are so many options and variations that this can be a daunting task, especially if you’re not familiar with the jargon and specifications and what they actually mean in terms of what you get for your money!
‘Phishing’: This is where people receive emails directing them to a website where they are asked to provide confidential, personal or financial information. Whilst these emails may appear to come from a legitimate site, these emails are designed to steal your personal information which can then be used to access your accounts. This is known as ‘phishing’
Occasionally you may find that Windows cannot perform automatic or manual updates. This may happen afer an update or after an unexpected event such as a power failure. In any event, it is important to keep your PC up to date with the latest revisions from Microsoft. The following instructions will enable you to perform the most common repairs to Windows update.