Getting a Trusted VPN Provider Can Help You Secure Your Web Traffic

Let’s all be realistic about Internet privacy through ISP providers. Recently, the Republican ruled congress has made a big decision about the future of your online data, and many people aren't happy about it.

On March 28, Congress voted along party lines to kill a set of rules adopted by the Federal Communications Commission in October of last year that would have kept all Internet Service Providers or ISP’s, at bay because they needed to ask your permission before it collected certain personal information. President Donald Trump signed the resolution on April 10, turning it into law.

So does this mean your ISP now has free rein over everything you do online? Not really, but it means that it no longer needs your permission to gather data from you that passes through its servers and sell it to other companies for marketing purposes. Also, should any law enforcement or government agency demand for your data, ISP’s may cough it up without your permission?

To counter this, you can get the services of a VPN.

A Virtual Private Network or VPN allows you to connect to the Internet through a server run by a VPN provider and separate from an ISP provider. All data traveling between your computer, phone or tablet, and this “VPN server” is securely encrypted. As a result of this setup, VPN’s:

§  Provide privacy by hiding your Internet activity from your ISP. Your ISP will still receive data from you since they provide your Internet service. However, all data they receive will become encrypted, and thus, rendered unreadable.

§  Allow you to evade censorship by the government or through an ISP.

§  Allow you to “geo-spoof” your location in order to access services unfairly denied to you based on your geographical location, or hides your location when you are on holiday.

§  Protect you against hackers when using public Wi-Fi.

§  Allow you to P2P download in safety.

In order to use VPN, you must sign up for a contract for a VPN service, which typically costs between $5 – $10 a month. Note that using a VPN service does not replace the need for an Internet Service Provider, as it is your ISP that provides your Internet connection in the first place.

How do you know that a VPN is trustworthy?

§  VPN’s are expensive to run so a free VPN makes you the product and can’t be trusted.

§  Inquire from others who use VPN’s and identify which providers they trust the most.

§  A trusted VPN will have a “no tracking” and “no logs” policy, meaning that they don’t gather any data from their users.

§  Trusted VPN’s use “shared” ISP’s so they are not easily tracked.

Immediate Solutions to Some Common Computer Issues

No matter how new your rig is or how powerful its specs are, the time comes when something inside malfunctions or a software doesn’t work properly. But before you contact a technical support representative, take your best shot in solving your computer issue because there’s a chance that the problem is only minor and that it doesn’t require a professional help.

Here are some tips on how you can solve some common PC-related problems.

Try this first…

Before you do anything else, try restarting your computer. Most computer problems are solved with this simple step. This long-standing workaround can do wonders.

And while you’re at it…

Make sure that your operating system is fully updated by running Windows Update. Neglecting system updates could deprive you of important bug and performance fixes. Make sure all drivers are updated as well. You can opt to have Windows automatically update itself and install all updates so you don’t need to check on them from time to time.

Slow computer

Check if you still have plenty of free space on the hard drive that’s holding your operating system. Windows needs room to create files while your system is running. If your hard drive is maxed you’re your computer’s performance suffers. Now is the perfect time to clear some space. Delete all files that you don’t need anymore such as videos, music, and pictures. For more important files, you can transfer them to external drives as backup or burn them into DVD’s or CD’s. Microsoft’s System Configuration tool is your next-best bet for handling slow performance. Many applications launch automatically when your machine boots up and this stretches out boot time. Make a habit of filtering your startup programs to increase the speed of your PC’s boot up time. Checking the Startup Item and Manufacturer columns is the best way to figure out which potential performance-killers you can safely disable. Avoid messing with any of the services and programs that have Microsoft Corporation listed as the manufacturer. Items such as AdobeAAMUpdater, Google Update, Pando Media Booster, Spotify, Steam Client Bootstrapper, and the like can be disabled. However, do err on the side of caution, and so if you’re not sure what the program or service does, don’t disable it.

Slow Internet

Run a speed test to see what your download and upload speeds are. Ideally, they should be at least 50 percent of your ISP’s advertised speeds, with a ping under 100 milliseconds. If the speed seems solid, make sure that you aren’t inadvertently downloading or uploading anything. Many torrent downloading programs run in the background and minimize into the system tray instead of the taskbar. Also, check that your network card’s drivers are up to date, and if you haven’t updated your operating system, this might be the time. Next, try turning your modem off and on again. If it has no On/Off button, just unplug and plug it back in. If none of this helped, call your ISP and have them assist you further with your Internet connection problem.

5 Things You Need to Check Before Buying a Used Laptop

Although it's nice to have a shiny brand new laptop straight out of the box, but not everyone can afford to get one. And that's when going for a fairly used laptop is the only realistic option you have.

To reduce the risk of having a bad purchase, here are some tips that may serve as your guide on what to check for before purchasing a second-hand laptop.

1.    Know Your Needs

Before making any sort of purchase, it is important for you to know what you will be using the computer for and buy something that matches your needs. Think about the sort of applications you will need, how portable you need your laptop to be, battery life, RAM, and storage requirements.

When you spot a laptop that you want to buy, search for the make and model online and print out its specifications to find out if it matches with the product you're about to purchase. Another thing you need to take into consideration before buying one, check for reviews online and see what people are saying about the laptop and its performance over a long period of time.

2.    Inspect the Laptop Body

A thorough body check is non-negotiable. Make sure that the frame of the laptop you're eyeing to buy is free from cracks and any signs of impact. Also, check for any missing screws, loose hinges, and any other forms of irregularities.

3.    Check the Screen's Condition

The next important step is to make sure that the laptop's screen is in good working condition. Check for any dead pixel, flickering, discoloration, as well as the brightness controls if it's still working properly.

4.    Test the Keyboard and Trackpad

The keyboard and the trackpad are the most used parts of a laptop, so it's necessary for you to make a thorough checkup on these as well. Here are some additional tips:

·         Check for any broken keys, pay close attention to key travel, and see if you feel comfortable typing with the keyboard. If you're making too many mistakes, then you might want to check out other laptops.

·         Check what gestures are supported by the trackpad and then try them out (such as pinch-to-zoom, two-finger scroll, three-finger swipe, etc.). If mouse keys are present, make sure that they're easy to press.

5.    Check the Battery's Condition

In most cases, you may not be able to perform a thorough check when it comes to the battery's health. However, you can still get a rough idea of how long the battery lasts by going into the laptop's power management settings of the installed OS to see how much charge the battery can hold as well as the battery health status.

Another thing is, make sure the battery charges properly and doesn't drain too fast. Otherwise, you can ask for a discount so you can get a replacement for the battery in case it wears out soon.

What is the Most Effective Approach in Solving Difficult Computer Issues?

Before anything else, let’s break down what we deem as difficult. If difficult means your screen going blank, the computer won’t boot, or you know it’s a hardware problem, the only sensible advice we can give is that you call your subscribed technical support company. Really major and difficult problems of this level can only be solved by the professionals. Tinkering with your computer will only exacerbate the issue. This is the most effective approach and advice we can give.

Even for less difficult or even basic computer issues, if you’re not really sure what to do, then the best thing is not to do anything at all. Just pick up that phone instead.

But if you know what you’re doing, remember that many different things could cause a problem with your computer. No matter what's causing the issue, troubleshooting will always be a process of trial and error. With some cases, you may need to use several different approaches before you can find a solution, but there are definitely problems that may be easy to fix.

We recommend starting by using the following tips:

Write down the steps you’ve done

Once you start troubleshooting, you may want to write down each step you take. This way, you’ll be able to remember exactly what you’ve done and avoid repeating the same mistakes. If you end up asking your tech support company for help, it will be much easier if they know exactly what you’ve tried already.

Write down the exact error messages

If your computer gives you an error message, be sure to write down as much information as possible. You may be able to use this information later if you decide to call your tech support company.

Always check the cables

If you’re having trouble with a specific piece of computer hardware, such as your monitor or keyboard, an easy first step is to check all related cables to make sure they’re properly connected.

Restart the computer

When all else fails, restarting the computer is a good thing to try. This can solve a lot of basic issues you may experience with your computer.

Use the process of elimination

If you’re having an issue with your computer, you may be able to find out what’s wrong using the process of elimination. This means you’ll make a list of things that could be causing the problem and then test them out one by one to eliminate them. Once you’ve identified the source of your computer issue, it will be easier to find a solution or to properly inform your tech support if you decide to call them.

Remember that most computer problems have simple solutions, although it may take some time to find them. For difficult problems, a more drastic solution may be required, like reformatting your hard drive or reinstalling your operating system. If you think you might need a solution like this, we recommend consulting your professional tech support company.

Google Drive Tips You Really Shouldn't Miss

Google Drive is one of the most used cloud storage services, partly due to the fact that it is automatically integrated with every Google account. The service provides some really nice features, both for file storage, and for creating shareable, cloud-hosted documents, spreadsheets, slides, and a lot more. While Google Drive is used by a lot of people, not everyone might know all its cool features that are offered by the cloud service, and the plethora of add-ons that are available for it.

Here is a collection of some great Google Drive tricks that can be very useful to anyone who wants to make the most out of Google Drive.

View Google Drive Keyboard Shortcuts

If you are looking to expand your knowledge of the keyboard shortcuts that work inside Google Drive's web app, you can simply press "Ctrl+/" and you will be shown a card with all the different keyboard shortcuts that are available in Google Drive.

See Your Files Sorted by Size

Google Drive sorts uploaded files and folders by the "Latest Modified First" rule. This can be useful because it makes sure that the files you have uploaded the most recently are present at the top for easy access. However, if you're running low on available space on your Google Drive account, you may want to sort the files by their size, in order to determine where you can save the most.

To do this, hover your mouse on the Upgrade storage option at the bottom left panel of the Google Drive homepage. This will bring up a window with the breakdown of your usage, click on Drive, and Google Drive will sort all your files by Size.

Automatically Save Emails and Attachments to Google Drive

Save Emails and Attachments is another add-on for Google Sheets that lets you define rules based on factors such as the sender's email ID, the subject, message size, attachments, etc., and the add-on will run every hour automatically, and sync emails from your Gmail account into a spreadsheet. It also saves a copy of the email as a PDF inside Google Drive, along with any attachments in the email.

The add-on can also be run manually if required, by going into Addons > Save Emails and Attachments > Manage Rules > Run Manually.

Add Multiple Rows and Columns to Google Sheets

Google Sheets is a pretty well-rounded tool, and it provides almost every spreadsheet capability that someone might need. Combine that with the plethora of add-ons available for Google Sheets and you will see just how incredibly powerful it can get. However, Google Sheets only allows adding rows and columns one by one, but this can get tedious if you need to add multiple rows and/or columns to the spreadsheet. To resolve this, you can use the add-on called Add Rows and Columns, which allows you to add multiple rows and columns in Google Sheets with ease.

Save Web Content Straight to Google Drive

Google created a browser extension called Save to Google Drive that lets you add documents, images, links, and HTML5 audio and video files directly to Google Drive with a simple right-click.

To enable this on your desktop PC, download Google's free browser extension and authorize it on your computer. Then, right-click on the web content you want to save and then select Save to Google Drive. You'll be able to access that file on the Drive right away.