Or, maybe not. Yesterday, I went to a website I visit 3-4 times a week. I used a link from within my RoboForm password manager like I always do. When I reached the page, here's what I saw: This warning gave me two options: Go Back or Advanced. Although the Go Back button is the …
Category: Training
Email Archives
Here at Keystone Computer Concepts, we offer as much free training as we can. This blog is a prime source of our educational info. Still, did you know that we have archives of our Question of the Week emails? If you're not on our email list (you should be!) or if you've deleted a QOTW …
The Dark Web
In this week's Question of the Week (click to read) email, we answered a customer's question about his credit card being found on the dark web. We gave a very brief definition of "dark web" but I wanted to expand that definition a bit. I'm actually going to quote and paraphrase from our October 23, …
Reboot, Reboot, Reboot!
NCIS Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs has his rules and I have mine. If you've downloaded your free copy of our Vacation Survival Kit (click on the name to view/download), you will find my Rule #1. Here it is: Whenever something strange happens to our computers, the very first thing to try is: turn the …
Model/Serial Numbers
At our seminar this past Saturday, we talked about my blog series on keeping your laptop secure. (Delete Your Laptop? and Scrambled Eggs & Data) Since one of my suggestions is that you write down the model and serial numbers of your laptop and keep them in a secure place, people asked how they can …
It’s All About Microsoft Office 365 – Part 2
In yesterday's blog post, I gave a brief explanation of Microsoft Office 365 applications. Today, I pick up where I left off. Microsoft Office PublisherThis is my favorite Microsoft Office program! If you want to create flyers, brochures, banners, etc., this is the app to use. Unlike Word, there is much more flexibility in placing …
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It’s All About Microsoft Office 365
Recently, I've received a number of questions about Microsoft Office 365. If you aren't aware already, Office 365 is a subscription service. Currently, it comes in two versions: Personal for $69.99 a year (or $6.99 a month) and Home for $99.99 a year (or $9.99 a month). This post isn't really about the two plans, …
Keyboard Shortcuts Save Time!
Keyboard shortcuts can also save frustration! The real key, though, (pun intended) is remembering all the shortcuts or at least having a handy list nearby. There are keyboard shortcuts for your device's Operating System (OS) and there are ones for individual apps, like Microsoft Office. If I was to list all the shortcuts in this …
Mounds of Paper
If you own a smartphone or a tablet (if not, time to get one!), I'm going to suggest a Microsoft app to help you cut down on those piles of paper in your home or office. It's called "Office Lens" and it's available in the Apple and the Android stores. Here's some good news upfront …
Multiple Browsers – Why?
Whether you own an Apple, Microsoft or Linux product, you should be interested in knowing why it's a good idea to have multiple browsers installed on your devices. (Don't know what a browser is or what it does? See our previous post - What????) Before we talk about multiple browsers, let's explain what constitutes the …
What Do You Mean I Can’t Edit?
In yesterday's blog post (Portable What?), I said I'd share the second primary reason that PDFs are often used instead of plain documents: Creators of the document don't want you to be able to change it! This is the reason lawyers and manufacturers use PDFs instead of Word or WordPerfect documents. Think about it, would …
Portable What?
It's unlikely that anyone reading this blog hasn't heard of a PDF file. In fact, I'm 99% sure that just about every user has at least one PDF file on their device. But, just because you have PDF files doesn't mean you actually understand what they are or how they are used. PDF stands for …
Disappearing Icons?
My Desktop without icons. My apologies to my Mac customers as this post is strictly a Windows thing! It's only Tuesday and already I've had two customers call me this week because, when they turned their computers on, there were no icons showing. Although both of these customer's computers are running Windows 10, this issue …
What’s That Small Port On My New Computer?
Recently, when I've sold and delivered a new computer to a customer, I explain to them that their new device has a small port called a USB-C. As you can see in the picture above, the port and cable are rounded unlike the traditional USB which is more rectangular in shape. Also unlike the old …
You’re In A Deep, Deep Sleep
This blog post applies to you if you meet the following two conditions: 1) you have already read our last post, "Defrag Your RAM" and 2) you are using a computer with Windows 10. If these two scenarios don't relate to you, read this blog anyway just so you can increase your personal knowledge! As …
Defrag Your RAM
A Common Question And Its Answer It's only Tuesday and two different customers have already asked me the following question: "Do I have to turn off my computer every day?" The answer is "No. You do not have to turn your computer off every day." It's okay to put your computer to sleep instead. HOWEVER …
Traffic Alert!
In my post entitled, "In The Driver's Seat," I mentioned that Joyce and I had used Google Maps to get around an accident while driving to New Orleans. Several readers asked us how that works. Here's their answer: In order to see where there's a traffic problem in Google Maps, you need to have the …
Desktop Mystery
One of the things we hear from customers, especially on the phone, is that they can't easily get back to their computer's desktop to log in to us. (www.4kcc.com/rts) They'll tell us that if they close the browser or software they need help with in order for them to get to our icon, they'll lose …
Eject – A How 2
In yesterday's post (Old Wives' Tale), I explained the importance of properly ejecting USB drives and memory cards. I promised I'd explain how to do that in today's blog post. We actually have tutorials covering this procedure on our help page (4kcc.com/help) under Computer Hardware Issues. If you have Windows computing devices, learn how to …
Old Wives’ Tale?
For some of you, today's post will be new information. For others, it will be a friendly reminder! If you perform a Bing or a Google search on today's topic, you'll find varying opinions. But, I'm asking you to forget searching and, instead, rely on my almost thirty-six years of experience working on computers. USB …
Tag! You’re It!
You may not have given it much thought but, perhaps, you have noticed that your photos are often sorted by date-taken on your computing devices. This organization is made possible by something called metadata. Metadata is information that is attached to every picture you take with a camera, tablet, webcam or smartphone. The capability of …
Learning Differences
A long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, I used to be a high school vo-tech teacher. I taught Graphic Arts, Electronics and Appliance Repair. I learned many things while teaching just by observing my tenth, eleventh and twelve grade students. One such lesson was that people generally learn better by one …
Finding The Control Panel
Yesterday, when I was helping a customer with his computer, he watched as I went to the Control Panel in Windows 10. I then went to Programs and Features and removed a program. My customer said, "I looked all over for the Control Panel and couldn't find it. I could always get to it in …
It’s A Process…Or…
In this, the third and final blog post on processors, I'm going to talk about threads. Understanding threads is not an easy task and there's really no reason for us to delve into the technical details. In the simplest of terms, a processor thread is where the highest level of code execution takes place. A …
The Secret Service…
Computers and the devices which have followed were never meant to be just fancy typewriters and searching machines. Right now, I'm reading the Clint Hill book, Mrs. Kennedy And Me. Well, not actually reading it - I'm listening to it. If you're like me, finding time to read books is tough. Climbing into bed at …
Learn Windows 10
With the end of support for Windows 7 in sight, more and more Windows 7 users are looking at Windows 10 for the first time. Many users refused to upgrade for free from 7 to 10 because, well frankly, like most of us, they hate change. However, as Bob Dylan wrote, "The Times They Are …
Xfinity Customers – Missing Emails?
Did you know you might be missing important emails because they are being deleted before they ever get to you? We all know about Spam emails, right? Did you know that all email providers have Spam filters running on their servers? What happens to the emails after they are caught in the Spam filter depends …
Grrrrrr
I love helping people with their computer problems. There's a sense of accomplishment when I can get a computer working again or steer my customer in the right direction. The feeling I get after I've solved a person's computer issue outweighs the stress of being an entrepreneur. Still, there are times during Remote Technical Support …
Deleting Might Not Help
At yesterday's live seminar, I talked about slow computers. One of the things people often say to me is that they removed a lot of pictures and documents in an effort to speed up their computer. Unfortunately, deleting data only speeds up a computer when there is less than 10% of free space. Using the …
Social Engineering: The Weakest Link In The Chain
When it comes to security online, the weakest link in the chain is, unfortunately, the computer user. That's you, that's me. Oh, there are other security issues - hence, updates to our software, etc. But, it's the person in front of the computing device's screen who makes up the most vulnerable aspect of the virtual …
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