6 reasons why your PC Repair Guy probably hates you...

I can't take credit for this but am posting a link to it nonetheless...It had me laughing hilariously out loud because it is so true and I deal with this not only at home, but at work, with relatives and clients etc etc etc...Anyway, enjoy the read...I sure did:


http://www.cracked.com/blog/6-reasons-guy-whos-fixing-your-computer-hates-you/#ixzz1VW13wL7D

AntiVirus: Are you protected

Anti Virus protection is the most over rated subject in regards to PC's these days. If you have a thread of common sense it is really pretty hard to "get" a virus. I have NEVER had virus protection on my PC and have NEVER had any issues with Malware, Spyware, Viruses etc...Go ahead, ask my family and/or friends. That being said, Never say Never, I'm sure to go home tonight, plug in to the World Wide Interweb and contract some never been heard of before virus that totally obliterates the files on my PC!!! Keep in mind I am a computer professional and have a better idea than most as to what to look for in regards to Viruses AND I would NEVER advise anyone to go without Virus protection...

That being said...

Companies that create Anti Virus softwares are akin to our president. They employ scare tactics to get you to purchase their product. Not only do they want you to buy their Anti Virus protection but of course they want to sell you a malware component, spyware component, firewall etc etc etc... If you don't buy them something DIRE will happen to you, your loved ones and your PC...I believe that all you really need is a good Anti Virus program. If you do find yourself in need of malware of spyware removal there are plenty of things available for free that work fine. Also, keep in mind that the more components that you install on your PC the slower it will be and generally speaking the more intrusive the program will be. In short I employ the  KISS theory, Keep It Simple Stupid or Less is More...Anyway, if you are frugal and need help with acquiring Anti Virus, here is a website with lots of helpful information AND all of the programs here are FREE. http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/collection/5928/2011_free_av.html  I will add one to the list that I  have been using with my clients over the past many years and it does a very good job as well...AVG 2011. There are also many programs that you can pay for that don't generally give you a better Anti Virus engine, just more bells and whistles. For those of you who feel like you get a better product by paying, here is a list of OVERALL best Anti Virus programs, free ones are compared also... http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2372364,00.asp 

Don't forget, if you find yourself in a situation where you need to have your PC "cleaned" call a professional. Many times the things you try to do to clean it yourself end up making it worse and the longer it goes on the worse it tends to get. The longer your PC runs the more active the virus can become. If you suspect you have a virus, malware, spyware issue contact someone immediately. The sooner you do it the better. Time is data and the longer  you wait the more chance your data will become corrupted.

Arizona It Guys offers a comprehensive Tune Up/Virus Removal for $40 so give us a call in you need to...
(480) 331 5198  http://arizonaitguy.com/

SPEED KILLS!!!

So you've maxxed out the amount of RAM you can put in your system. You've upgraded to the fastest processor that your motherboard will support and you STILL need more speed? Where do you look, what can you do? Have I got a solution for you! Don't waste your time on an expensive 10K RPM harddrive, instead, spend your money on an expensive SSD (Solid State Drive). Well, expensive is relative and I can tell you from experience that it is WELL worth it. There are plenty of reasons to buy one but most of all is SPEED. Harddrives are rated by their access times or read/write times. They can vary greatly but in most cases the read/write times on the SSD's are approx 3-4 times faster than a standard mechanical harddrive. Not 30%-40%. This may not seem like much but just you wait, oh there's the rub, you WON'T be waiting. I have absolutely NO LAG when I execute a Word document or open an internet session. Extremely fast with very memory and resource intensive games also. (CODMW2, BFBC2, MOH) I was a little unsure about spending more than $200 for a 128GIG hard drive but am a great proponent of them now. Why, you ask, are they so much faster than a standard hard drive? Well, it is basically a harddrive made of RAM (flash memory), and we know how fast that is. It's only constraint is the capability of sata technology since that's the interface it utilizes. With mechanical harddrives the drives themselves are bottlenecks because of their design and moving parts. Other benefits of an SSD is they have no moving parts making them "noise-less". Mechanical harddrives have heads, platters, spindles etc and spin at very high speeds, therefore are "noisy" in comparison...SSD's are more durable and less susceptible to shock damage if you accidentally drop them because of this. They are generally cooler also. The only heat is generated by the power supplied to run them. With mechanical drives you have the power input plus the heat generated by the movement of the platters, heads etc so much more heat is involved. They one drawback that I can see is that there is a finite number of times that you can write to flash memory AND there is no warning when it fails. With a mechanical harddrive you usually get warning signs when it starts going bad. If you know to looks for these things you can usually be proactive and start retrieving data before your drive is totally inaccessible. With a SSD you can turn your PC on and NOTHING. That being said, make sure you backup whatever data  you have on them. I use mine specifically for my OS and other program files. I store NO DATA on it. I have a separate drive for that purpose. You want the fast access times with your programs, not necessarily your data. If you want, you can copy the "live"data to the SSD while working on it, then move it back when completed. One of the things I wanted to find out is  how much faster I can install programs on my new SSD, well I have an incredibly fast way of doing so now, however, I'm not sure how much I can attribute to the SSD and how much credit goes to installing from an ISO on my HD. Either way, I installed Battlefield Bad Company 2 in less than 5 minutes. I don't have the exact time of the original install via my DVD drive but I know it was more than 20 minutes. Anyway, I am well pleased with the performance of the SSD and am planning on purchasing one for my wife soon since she does lots of digital scrapbooking via CS5, which is VERY RESOURCE INTENSIVE. Side note, over the weekend I helped a friend build a new PC very similar to mine, INCLUDING the SSD. He called me the next day, couldn't believe how FAST his new beast was. Also, noted that he installed CS5 in approx 10 minutes versus the 30-45 minute standard. I'm SOLD. I won't "pimp" anything that I truly don't believe in. SSD's are something I stand firmly behind. Next time you're looking for something to upgrade, make it you're harddrive, you'll be surprised at how much difference there is between an SSD and mechanical. Enjoy...

My "CRACK" in the morning

I am very fortunate in that my work schedule begins when many are just getting in from a fun night out. I am unfortunate that there are times that getting up at 0300 can be a drag. I am very much a morning person, however, this early sometimes pushes the envelope and at times I find myself dozing, head-bobbing etc. God Bless CZABE. I am not only a computer nerd but an avid sports fan. I tire of the same old mainstream B.S. in music, news, sports...That's were Steve Czaban comes in. He's a breath of fresh air in an otherwise stale universe of sports talk, especially here in the valley. I have to listen to him via the internet. Anyway, he not only talks of sports but is an expert on Hi-Def and an Apple lover, NOT HOMER. He is very irreverent and his topics include current events, 1080p, as well as sports. He is my "CRACK", keeps me going in the early mornings some days, I LOVE HIM, metaphorically speaking!!!
Like Czabe, I too can appreciate what the iPad brings to the table after buying my wife one for Christmas. I also see the merit in his assessment but will reserve judgement as to whether it's the cat's meow until RIM unveils their "Playbook". Anyway, the article is named "Why You Need An iPad. Period."  http://www.czabe.com/  Feel free to peruse the rest of his site, plenty of other things to SEE and/or read about. He has a daily pic that is generally hilarious and sometimes just plain creepy...Anyway, Enjoy...