Apple

Warning for all Apple Mac Users

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Apple have announced that there is a possible risk of electric shock when using a certain range of Apple wall plug adapters provided with various Mac and iOS devices. Whilst the incidence is low you should check your adapters as detailed in the link below.

Here is a link to a page on the Mac1 site that will assist you in checking if your Apple wall plug adapter may be affected by the warning. If you have one of these adapters please follow the link in the page for assistance in organising a replacement part for free.

Mac1 Apple wall plug adapter warning 

If you prefer you can go direct to an Apple page:

Apple AC Wall Plug Adapter Exchange Program

I have already been through the process myself on the Apple page and it was easy and painless once I had my serial number.

 

 

 

Recovering data from faulty hard disks

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HighComm can help you recover your files, photos, etc from a faulty hard disk (Windows or Mac)!

 

500GB HDD

Hard Disk failure and data loss

If you have owned a computer for any length of time then you have probably experienced data loss due to hard disk failure of some sort. Unfortunately like all technology, hard disks do break down occasionally. In fact hard disks are probably the most common type of computer failure due to how they work and because of the amount of work that they have to do.

 

Hard disks have a number of moving parts and are actually quite sensitive and delicate. They usually sit inside your computer and you really don’t notice them. But when they go wrong, oh boy, do they cause problems! Early indication of disk problems can be things like continuous noise from the disk (often due to disk “thrashing” where the operating system is having trouble reading from or writing to the disk) or system crashes and slow start ups.

So what can you do to avoid data loss? Well the obvious one is to make sure you have a reliable and regular backup regime! Other than that, basic maintenance like cleaning grills and fans on desktop PCs to avoid overheating which can cause damage to all the computer parts not just the hard disk.

Data recovery

So what do you do if your hard disk has failed, or appears to be failing?

First, do you have a recent backup? If not then run one straight away if you can. Then turn off your computer and do not turn it back on until you have spoken with a technician. If the disk is failing then running the PC can cause further damage to the disk and your data.

If you call us about the problem, then we will arrange to pick up your PC and take it back to our workshop. There we will remove the disk from your PC and attach it to a workshop PC and start the data recovery process.

This data recovery will take some time and we usually leave it running overnight. Once the data has been recovered then depending on the amount of data we can put it onto an external disk or some other media for you.

 

The Good News!

OK, in most instances we can recover most data from a failing disk. Even when machines won’t start due to disk problems we can often recover data.

Occasionally, due to major hardware issues we may not be able to recover any data at all.

If we are unable to recover any data and the disk is really sick then it is not necessarily the end of the world. If the data is critical and you cannot survive without it then there are experts in Sydney that can often recover some of the data. These companies specialise in data recovery and often work in clean rooms where they can dismantle the disk and do all sorts of clever things to recover some or all of your data. Of course these services are not cheap and you have to weigh up the cost against the value of the data to you.

And lastly, it is sometimes possible to recover data from thumb drives!

 

So if you have a faulty disk and need to recover the data from it, give us a call!

Microsoft Office 365

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Microsoft Office 365

Microsoft Office 365

What is Office 365?

Wikipedia – Office 365 is a subscription-based online office and software plus services suite which offers access to various services and software built around the Microsoft Office platform.

I hope that explains it, if not keep reading!

To put it simply, Office 365 is Microsoft’s latest iteration of it’s Office suite following closely on the heels of Office 2013. The biggest point of difference with 365 is that it is a online based version of Office and it is also subscription based product only available by download and not supplied on DVD.

In this post I will attempt to supply you with enough information to make the decision whether 365 is for you and which version best suits your needs.

Lets get this main point out of the way first, 365 is an cloud based version of Office and you require a fast and reliable Internet connection to make full use of it. This is nothing new, you really need a fast and reliable Internet connection to use a computer for just about anything these days, so if your Internet connection is not fast and reliable then probably Office 2013 is not for you.

On top of that, Office 365 “encourages” you to use online, cloud based storage to get the best out of it. In this case they are of course referring to Microsoft’s OneDrive cloud storage (previously called SkyDrive).

Lastly, you will need Windows 7 or 8 on PCs and OSX10.6 (or later) on Macs to run Office 365, so if you have any old computers hanging around with Windows XP or OSX 10.5 (or earlier) you won’t be able to run it. In addition, 365 files are compatible with Office 2010 and 2013 and also work with Office 2007 but with some loss of functionality.

OK, so what do you get?

Well, as usual with Microsoft, you get what you pay for and Office 365 comes in a variety of flavours. Most of you will be using the personal/home or the small business versions (there are also Enterprise versions for companies with more than 300 employees). The best way to explain the versions is to send you to the Wikipedia page here where there is a good matrix explaining the different versions. I will assume that you require at the very least Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook applications in which case you will need Office Online, Small Business, Home (for families), Personal (for you) or Small Business Premium. The first two do not include desktop versions of the applications so you won’t be able to use them “offline”, or when disconnected from the Internet. So for now let’s assume you want the ones with Desktop applications.

So do you need it? If you are using Office 2010 or 2013 you can already work in the cloud and you can ustilise OneDrive to share files. However, what these versions don’t offer is the ability to work on your files on multiple devices, such as tablets, that don’t have office.

 

So now we have narrowed it down to 3 options, Home, Personal or Small Business Premium, lets start with Office 365 Home and Office 365 Personal.

Office 365 Home & Office 365 Personal

Cost: Home $12 pm ($119 pa), Personal $9 pm ($89 to pa).

Both come with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Publisher, OneNote and Access.

Both options ensure you have the latest versions of the applications because subscriptions include automatic updates and upgrades for all applications. No more having to buy the new version of Office and installing it on all your devices!

Differences:

Home can be installed on 5 PCs or Macs and 5 tablets (effectively 5 users).

Personal can be installed on 1 PC or Mac and 1 tablet.

Home comes with 1TB of online (OneDrive) storage for each of the 5 users.

Personal comes with 1TB only.

So why would you go for Personal instead of Home?

If you want/need office on more than 1 PC or Mac then obviously go for Home, but if you will only ever need it on one PC or Mac then save $3 pm and go for Personal.

Office 365 Small Business Premium

Office 365 Small Business Premium costs $13.50 per user/per month, for up to 25 users

It comes with the same applications as Home and Personal plus Microsoft Link (whatever that is)!

It also comes with business class email, online conferencing, a public website, file storage & sharing and Office Online.

This product has many more cool features to simplify ownership and management of the product and also to facilitate collaboration and sharing of data online and on the business network. I haven’t fully explored this product yet but it is looking pretty good.

So which version is for you?

Unless you are running a business with many users, i.e. more than 5, then Home or Personal is probably the way to go. If you are only using one device but there is even the slightest possibility you may need to add a second device in the near future then why not pay the little extra and go for Home. If you only use one device and are never likely to get another then go for Personal.

And lastly, Small Business Premium if you have more than 5 employees or if you need/want the added features of this product.

Office 2013

Office 2013 is still available as a one-time purchase if you are not comfortable with a subscription service. Office 2013 is still available as Home & Student ($169), Home & Business ($299) and Professional ($599). All versions are for 1 PC only!

The final word:

Office 365 University

Office 365 University is available for eligible students.

It comes with  Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Publisher, Access and OneNote and 1TB of cloud storage (that is OneDrive).

It can be installed on 2 devices.

It costs $99 for 4 years.

 

As usual, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

 

 

 

 

 

The Heartbleed bug

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What is the Heartbleed bug and should you be worried?

heartbleed-openssl-bugFirst off: Don’t Panic!

I am not even going to pretend that I understand what this bug is or how it works, however I can say that the experts claim it is one of the worst bugs ever seen on the net and that it could potentially infect more than 500,000 web sites.

Now before you do start panicking let’s get a couple of facts straight.

This is not a virus, it does not infect your PC and therefore your anti-virus does not and cannot protect you against it. Also, because it attacks web servers and not your computers this is an issue with all your devices: Windows PCs, Apple Macs and even your portable devices such as smartphones and tablets.

(For those of a technical bent Heartbleed is a security vulnerability in OpenSSL software on web servers that lets a hacker access the memory of these servers.)

What it has actually done is attack thousands of web servers from social media sites to bank sites and opened “holes” in their security systems which could allow criminal elements to access private data such as account details, passwords and credit card details stored on these websites.

Most sites have already patched the vulnerability and many will send you email recommending that you change your password.

A word of caution here, do not click on links in emails suggesting you change your password as this could be a phishing email trying to get more passwords from you! Instead go directly to the website, login the normal way, change your password and immediately log out.

If you use a password manager such as Lastpass they may have a tool to help you check all your sites saved in the manager (Lastpass does). This could greatly simplify your job if like me you have hundreds of sites and accounts! Sites such as the one below also have tools or links to assist you.

See this article for more information:

http://www.cnet.com/news/how-to-protect-yourself-from-the-heartbleed-bug/

Meanwhile, make sure that your Operating System is up to date with all the security and critical patches and that your anti-virus is also up to date and functioning correctly. This won’t combat the Heartbleed bug but it is basic PC security that you should be doing on a regular basis anyway.

I will continue to monitor the situation and publish any further information here or via a newsletter/email and do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.

 

 

Smartphone security and data backup

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With the continuing fall-out from the “News of the World” phone tapping scandal now is probably a good time to talk about security for your smartphone. If you have an iPhone, Nokia or HTC or any one of the other smartphones you should be treating access to this and it’s stored data the same as you would any computers you may own; in fact; taking into account the portability and size of your smartphone, you should be taking this security even more seriously!

Security on your smartphone goes far beyond having a PIN to access the phone, you need the equivalent of PC anti-virus & firewall software at least. And don’t forget about backing up the data on the phone!htc

There are numerous ways that “bad” people can access your phone. Obviously having physical access to it is one way and you may think that a PIN or password will fix this but remember passwords can be cracked. Also, don’t forget the media or memory card inserted into the little slot in the side or back that contains images, videos and other information. Of course your phone can also be remotely “hacked” as in the News of the World story where journalists were able to access a phone remotely and read the messages, etc stored on it.

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AppleMac support

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I often get asked by various people if anyone in the Southern Highlands supports AppleMac. Well, the answer is  “Yes, we do”!

I have owned a MacBook for a few years now, my son has a MacBook Pro and I have a number of clients with iMacs. We also run Windows PCs and laptops at home so I have experience with integrating the two. As for adding them to your network and sharing resources with Windows PCs – no problem! These days Windows and Mac mostly play nice and don’t have so many of the old problems left lingering.

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HighComm computer repair and support services

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Hi everyone,

As you are here you will already be aware that we have a new website! I am particularly excited about this as it is “all my own work” and although it is not perfect I am happy with the way it is going. I hope you like it too and the idea is that it will become a place you visit regularly to keep up-to-date with not only what we are doing at HighComm but what is also occurring out there in technology world!

For those of you who already know me you know I am not a geek or a nerd but just someone who understands more than is probably healthy about technology and computers in particular! I like to put this knowledge to use helping you to avoid the pitfalls, ripoffs and general confusion involved in owning and using computers and everything related to them. I am far from being an “expert” but I do use this stuff everyday and have done so for more years than I care to remember so I have a pretty good working knowledge. One of my main passions is helping you avoid investing in the wrong technology tools and paying too much for it! I will help you navigate the retail minefield when buying computers and try to explain how the industry tries to rope you into buying stuff you don’t need at inflated prices!
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Mac Shield fake anti-virus

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Hi everyone,

First of all, to coin a phrase from Douglas Adams:  “Don’t Panic!”.

As they say, there is a first time for everything and I have just had my first infected MacBook! Yes, that’s right, Macs can be infected even though a lot of people seem to think otherwise.

There is an infection going around called one of the following:

MacShield, MacDefender, MacProtector, MacGuard

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Mac Attack 2!

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Well, is it a sign of the time?

Today a client dropped off a new iMac to replace yet another dead Windows PC. I have to transfer all the data across.

Tomorrow I go to another client to install an iMac and transfer the data across from the old Windows PC.

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Mac Attack!

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Well, Apple is up against it again, this time they are “tracking your every move” with the iPhone and iPad!

Oh come on get real, why would they want to track the movements of the 10s of millions of people who have bought iPhones & iPads? Lets be honest, for most of us our movements are pretty boring anyway: went to work, stopped at coffee shop, went to the gym, went to Woolies! Do we really think we are that interesting? Yeah I know, they may want to collect info to sell to various marketing groups, or whatever, but let’s look at the reality.

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