Many businesses simply call an IT Expert when a problem arises and costs can spiral out of control. This is called Reactive IT Support. A business will only seek help for a problem as it occurs which can cause significant downtime, data loss and more.

A computer support contract provides “ProActive IT Support”.
For those of you who have come from a corporate background and are used to having an IT team on standby when things go wrong – then this will be familiar to you.

Rather than solving problems WHEN THEY OCCUR, a maintenance contract will ensure that your IT Team are working on your systems to provide proactive security updates, system improvements, monitoring and more. They actually become part of your team as opposed to selecting individual computer engineers who are readily available at that time you have a disaster.

See If You Can Save Money – Take The Test

To find out if our business IT Support Contract could help you and your team save money, click the free quote button to the left. You will automatically be sent a no-obligation quote and a full colour brochure of our services.

From time to time, we stumble across the weird and wonderful. Not everything is as straight forward as it may first seem. From the totally wacky to the absolute OMG factor, we list the jobs that made us run for our lives.

January 2012
Computer Repair in Fulham: London, SW6
We had a phone call from a young lady stating that she couldn’t get her computer to start. She had checked the the wires, ensured it was plugged in and asked us to come out to fix it.

CAUSE:- The computer was not plugged into the wall.

Customer Response: “Oh.. does that have to be plugged in to work. I took the plug out last night but didn’t realise it would stop my computer working! “

Broadband Installation: Knightsbridge, SW7
An Arab/Israeli customer had rented an apartment in Knightsbridge, SW7 only to find that his wireless internet wasn’t working and couldn’t connect to it.

CAUSE:- Children’s Vomit.

Customer Response: “Well it was working yesterday but for some reason today it’s just not connecting. My daughter was sick on my keyboard last night so you may want to wash your hands before you leave”

Water damage to the keyboard caused the “Caps Lock” to be shorted out and could not be turned off, therefore the password was being entered in
upper-case.

On the plus side, the engineer received a £50 tip!

Computer Repair Islington: London, N5

Normally, most people are a good judge of character and something just wasn’t right here. The customer, a middle ages primary school teacher kept disappearing into the garden as we worked on her computer system. Each time she came back to check the progress, her attitude had somewhat changed. What started off as an over friendly/eccentric personality seemed to degrade to an abrupt, sharp and somewhat aggressive manner.

At SysFix, we take pride in what we do and the service we provide. Staff safety however comes before any other matter and we’d like to think this is true for any organisation.

The engineer left when the lady in question walked into the room, fell over her cat and the continued to proposition the engineer by taking off several items of clothing for a free service.

Are You Good at Sales or Sourcing New Leads?

Then this may be of particular interest to you!

We are looking for people that can generate new business in the form of IT Support Contracts. Our main target areas are London, Croydon and Surrey however, as these contracts are for remote support, we would welcome any lead in any area of the UK so don’t let that put you off.

IT Support Contracts are designed specifically for small and medium businesses (SME’s) providing  them with unlimited support for a fixed fee per month.

Typically, businesses sign up on a 2 year fixed term contract for the support of,
“on average”, 8 workstations, 1 Server together with mobile devices, routers and printers.

A contract on this basis would earn you around £904.80.
In addition – You also receive 50% of the first months fee.

Interested?

Can a laptop “freeze”?

Believe it or not, but our laptops suffer from cold as much any of us do. Even though, the max drop in temperature, which can damage the average device model is 15 degrees below zero, even the milder weather can be harmful. 

As for the parts in a laptop that are most prone to being damaged by cold, these are i’ts LCD matrix and a battery, with the possible consequences being the change of screen colour and the necessity to recharge up to three times as frequently, as you usually do. As for the processor, this might be slightly deformed because of the frost, which often leads to irreparable damages.

Nonetheless, it doesn’t mean that you can’t take your dearly beloved laptop outside in winter; you should only beware keeping it in the cold for too long. Moreover, even if the device has somehow frozen, make sure to warm it up in the right way, that is leave it in a warm room in a special bag, or even cover it with a blanket for some time.

How about smartphones and tablets?

It’s, certainly, possible to use them, when it is cold outside, at the same time, you should mind that the minimum permissive temperature is around -10 C, otherwise the battery, the touch panel and the whole system may break. The specialists, yet, recommend to avoiding work on the devices, when the temperature decreases to a considerable extent, and to even talk on the phone via headsets, whereas the mobile gadget itself is kept in the warm pocket or in a bag.

The ways to warm up smartphones and tablets are rather similar with the ones, used for laptops, though the experts warn that it’s strictly forbidden to warm the devices directly on the heater not to damage some CPU parts.

Not to lose your data…

You should make sure that you back up all your data on your devices regularly. SysFix Laptop Backup provides constant backup as your files change. It runs in the background sending your important data, encrypted,  to our secure servers. Ensuring you have a good solution in place will lessen the need to use data recovery services in the event of a disaster.

For immediate release

08 February 2012

A new IT support service has launched for London’s small business community, designed with the lower budgets and high technology-dependence of the capital’s thousands of SMEs in mind. The new contract service from SysFix provides unlimited IT support for a fixed monthly fee, with a choice of two flexible service levels.

The IT lifeline comes as the latest data from the Federation of Small Businesses’ (FSB) ‘Voice of Small Business Index’ warns that small businesses are fighting a tough battle in a worsening economy and more must be done to help. Its figures concluded that small business confidence is at an all time low due to rising utility bills, high inflation and low consumer spending power, making it difficult to compete with resource-rich competitors.

Helping small firms to maximise productivity by ensuring better levels of technology productivity and reliability, both the standard and premium London IT support packages from SysFix can be tailored to suit individual circumstances. Optional multi-office location additions, out of hours service, online data backup and bespoke anti-virus solutions for example are all available for a pre-determined surcharge.

A range of ancillary extras can also be incorporated with both levels of cover to ensure business-critical devices such as staff BlackBerry and iPhone handsets and VOIP systems remain in good working order.

Paul Stanbra, Founder of SysFix said, “British businesses lose billions of pounds per year due to IT related issues. Hours if not days can be lost if computers go down or develop a fault, leading to missed deadlines and employee frustration. For small businesses, even having one person unable to go about their day’s tasks due to a faulty machine can mean the difference between profit and loss.

Having a reliable, affordable London computer repair service available throughout the month gives the operational benefits of an in-house IT department without the associated payroll costs. Our IT support contracts have been designed to help keep small businesses streamlined and efficient.”

Removing the need to waste time scouring the internet and business directories in the hope of finding a technician ready and able to attend the place of work, an affordable, dependable  small business IT support service is more than a time saving tool. It also gives the peace of mind that comes from knowing that the highest levels of reliability and security can be maintained around the clock across all computers and servers.

To find out more about the new SysFix IT support contracts for London businesses, please visit www.SysFix.co.uk or call 0203 095 7740.

About SysFix: Established in 2003, SysFix provides unique, affordable IT solutions. It delivers personal service across a range of industries, taking time to get to know clients and their business in order to better understand the IT challenges faced on a daily basis.

Notes to Editors: Please direct press queries to Dakota Digital. Contact Rebecca Appleton, Rebecca@dakotadigital.co.uk or call 01623 428996.

Red love heart shaped USB PC optical Mouse
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If you’re quite brave, there are a few cheeky guides for dating, relationships and sex.

Relationships for Dummies (For Dummies (Lifestyles Paperback)
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There are also the new technology design skins

I Love You Covers for Phones, Laptops, Playstations and more
These covers transform your  partners technology so they will never forget you! (Various prices)

High Price Valentines Day Gifts

Swarovski Crystal Iphone 4s case for £189

You must really love your partner to buy a case half the price of the IPhone!
Nice though!

Up until now, it’s been difficult to jailbreak and unlock your iPhone and IPad easily. Not knowing what software to use, what devices are supported and not knowing the risks involved can often lead to mistakes and many headaches.

Now there is an easy solution to unlock your iPhone and iPad which also includes free 24/7 technical support and also comes with a free iPhone video converter plus access to one of the largest iPhone and iPad download websites for free  Music, TV Shows, Movies, Software, Themes, and much more!
It supports all versions of iPhone and iPad including ios 5.01 and costs just $29.99 , £24 to unlock and jailbreak as many devices as you want.

What is Jailbreaking?

Jail-breaking is the process of removing the restrictions that Apple place on your devices. Both Apple ipad and Apple iPhone are restricted to Apple’s main control set.

Why Would You Want To Jailbreak Your iPhone or iPad?

Imagine buying a laptop computer only to find that you are only allowed to visit the Amazon website and no others. This is a very good reason why you’d wan’t to jailbreak. You’ve paid for your iPhone at a premium cost, so why would you want it restricting to only perform certain tasks.

As a true life example, imagine you’ve purchased your lovely iPhone Accessories and your phone looks gorgeous but on you want to make a few adjustments. You have the icon dock on the bottom of the screen which is Limited to 4 icons. Apple deem that 4 is the maximum allowed. But what if you want 5 icons or 6. Jailbreaking your device gives you more control over your iPhone and Ipad to allow you do what you want with it – Not what Apple say you can.

Is It Legal?

Apple being Apple didn’t like that fact that they were losing control and that people were starting to undo their hard work and customised versions started appearing with different backgrounds, font sizes and god forbid, apps that were not bought from the App Store but from other companies. Apple took the matter to court but failed. The US courts quashed Apples claims and deemed that jailbreaking was indeed LEGAL!

SysFix IT Support have been working hard to expand into South London recently and today marks the official date that Croydon businesses and home users can use the service.

SysFix provide small and medium businesses with an IT Support Contract that allows unlimited use of their IT Support services whilst cutting the cost of their IT spend for a fixed fee per month.

The service is not just limited to business customers and as such, home users can also take advantage. Until the 31st January 2012, SysFix are offering a 20% discount to all new customers.

Computer Repair Croydon

In today’s economic climate, businesses sometimes push IT to one side but forgetting that Information Technology drives the business forward. Without IT – You have no business!

SysFix currently provide support to a wide range or organisations including subsidiaries of  HM Prison Service, Estate Agents, Architectural Firms, High Street Stores and large corporates based overseas establishing UK bases including ComputerCorp Australia and  F5.

---

At SysFix, We keep our overheads extremely low and we can pass on those savings to our customers by offering them an extremely low rate without sacrificing the level of support we provide.

We don’t just fix problems as they arise, we’re also on hand to advise on hardware and software procurement and lend a hand with upcoming projects, moves and changes and even website design.

Most businesses dream of having their own IT department and due to our pricing structure, this has become a reality. Small Businesses, Charities and people working from home now have dedicated access to technical support no matter where they are in the world. Our service is available to any business or individual in the UK.

To top that – Should any customer find a cheaper quote elsewhere which is extremely unlikely, We Will Still BEAT IT!

Paul Stanbra, Head of Operations

For more information, Please see the IT Support Contract page.
SysFix can be reached on (020) 3095 7740

Up until now, using Joomla as a Blog has been quite difficult. There are not many decent blogging components for Joomla and the ones that are available simply don’t provide the vast functionality of traditional blogging software such as B2Evolution or WordPress.

We initially tried to create a bridge between Joomla and B2Evolution and this worked for a short time however many users found it difficult to use. When B2Evolution released new updates, the Joomla blog component faced a few problems.

THE TOP 3 JOOMLA BLOG COMPONENTS

#1. Easy Blog for Joomla 

Easy Blog Joomla Blog Component from StackIdeas provides a different spin on blogging in Joomla. Whilst it’s not one of the major players such as WordPress, it’s ease of use and functionality are absolutely superb. 

• Multiple Blogs
• Remote Blogging
• Media Management
• Scheduled Publishing and Ping-O-Matic Integration
• Professional Themes
• Simple Dashboard
• WYSIWYG Editor
• Micro Blogging
• Compose Now, Edit Later
• RSS Feeds and Tagging
• Rating System and Avatars
• Spam Protection
• 30 Days Money Back Guarantee!

Again, If you want one of the better Joomla blogging products, i’m afraid you have to pay for it. There are several versions of Easy Blog available, the cheapest around $45.00.
This I feel is the best Joomla Blog Extension available.

Easy Blog Community Edition | Easy Blog Professional Edition | Easy Blog Unlimited

#2. WordPress Component For Joomla 

Forget B2Evolution and make the switch to WordPress. This is an absolutely amazing tool and can import all yourposts from an RSS feed into your new blog. The benefit of WordPress is that as it’s the most widely used, it has tons and tons of extensions that allow you to, well, do anything.

You can see how we’ve integrated WordPress for Joomla into our website by clicking here.We’ve kept our blog very simple with just a few extensions but you can download and install any extension from wordpress.com.

The downside:

It’s a commercial product. This is never a pleasing moment when you see that the best component has to be paid for. We made the switch to Joomla WordPress and to be honest, it’s took the pain away of managing the blog aspect of our website.

The Plus Side:
Wordpress for Joomla comes with a year of support. The technical team help you with the install and migration and are always happy to answer your queries.
Installing this component also takes out the headache of managing your blog.
There are thousands of extensions available to customise or monetise your blog.
And lastly, it works with your current Joomla template so it integrates nicely.
Using Joomla as a blog with WordPress brings together 2 great products.

#3. JoomBlog 

Joom Blog starts from around $39 and is another popular choice for Joomla Blogging. This is the cheaper of all options discussed so far but yet still has enough features for most bloggers.

Joomblog comes with a built in commenting system with it’s own CAPTCH to prevent unwanted spam. Each time you publish a new post, social media sites such as Facebook, Myspace and Twitter can be instantly notified and your circle of friends and contacts will instantly be informed.

Generating traffic to your blog is an important part of blogging.

Also included in this package is it’s own built in SEF handling for Search Engine Optimisation. Because JoomBlog is an all in one package, what you pay for here is what you get unlike WordPress which has a vast community of developers creating plugins and extensions.

WordPress is and always has been the major player in the blogging world. Supporting millions of website worldwide, WordPress is the WIDEST USED blogging platform, EVER.

It’s one thing having a great blogging tool but if you’re reading this page, you’re probably looking to blog in Joomla by using a Joomla blog component.

Interesting Reading

With less than 1 year to the Olympic Games, images of London are beamed around the world showing the carnage taking place. Disorder started in Tottenham and Brixton this evening and moved to various districts throughout the capital including Oxford Street, Clapham, Enfield, Islington, Lewisham and Hackney to name but a few. Problems have also spread to Birmingham in the Midlands and Croydon.

Many large and small businesses are being crippled by such disorder and many businesses are sending staff home early due top fear for staff safety.

IT Systems have been brought to a standstill through fire and theft. EPOS systems left smashed and shops and premised ransacked.

This just goes to show that no matter where you live, these occurrences can happen anywhere.  The images shown are taken from the lovely area of Bayswater which is situated within close proximity of Notting Hill, Maida Vale, Kensington and Chelsea.

Apparently, organised groups have been communicating on social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook and the Blackberry network. Is Social media to blame? Does it play an active part in the recent disturbances and should more have been done to avoid this situation by temporarily closing such sites?
What are your thoughts?

Our Advice to Local Businesses in relation to IT
We again bring to light the importance of offsite data backup.

Many businesses fail to adequately put in place, a suitable backup system to protect against such circumstances.

SysFix Backup Pro offers automatic Off-Site backup for protection against numerous threats. In the event of a disaster, data can be retrieved and restored as necessary.

As technology advances, laptops are becoming smaller in size. The demands of users however stay pretty constant. Everyone demands the best for the cheapest possible price.
Smaller laptops have less space for components than that of their larger competitors leading to poor ventilation and air flow. This in turn will negatively contribute to heat generation and poor dissipation.

There are however a few ways that we can show you to help prevent laptops from becoming too hot.

How to Prevent Laptops Overheating

1. Laptop Placement

Always ensure that your laptop is on a flat, hard surface. Heat will usually escape through vents underneath the laptop or from the sides.
Using your laptop on surfaces such as carpets, beds and laps will restrict airflow and the heat will not be able to escape, increasing the temperature of the laptop further.
The heat from your laptop can be especially dangerous when using the device on your lap and can lead to infertility in men.
Processors within laptops are usually programmed to switch off automatically when they reach 95 degrees to prevent damage to hardware but unfortunately, at this temperature,  severe burns to legs can also happen. Always ensure your laptop is free from obstruction.

If you do not have a flat surface or are using your laptop in bed, I would recommend that you invest in a laptop heat dissipation mat. There are a number of different brands available and they are extremely cheap too. The Targus Laptop Mat is a good choice and is suitable for laptops up to 17″.

2. Cleaning Your Laptop Fan

Inside your laptop is a processor, and a graphics chip, both of which can become extremely hot. These components are usually fitted with a fan to dissipate heat from within. Unless you’re an experienced computer engineer or electrician, I do not recommend opening up your laptop to clean your fans. It’s very time consuming and can be very fiddly!

Fans work by drawing in cool air to blow out the hotter air inside. Unfortunately dust and other particles are drawn into your laptop which sit on your expensive equipment and most importantly, the fan. When a fan is covered in dust, it’s cooling performance is diminished, resulting in a much poorer airflow.

If you have a laptop that is overheating, you will probably notice that the fan is making a lot of noise. This is because the aerodynamics of the fan have changed and also because the fan has to work harder to cool the computer because it’s clogged with dust.

The easiest way to clean your laptop computer is to purchase an air duster. These cans of air blast out highly pressurised air into your laptop and dust is then blown out of the vents, increasing airflow which of course decreases the temperature of the laptop when it’s running. This is a very inexpensive way to clean your laptop from dust and the improvement is highly significant.

Links to Retailers Selling Air Dusters

Amazon : Over 20 different brands and prices starting from just a few pounds.
Viking Direct:  Own brand product and various laptop cleaning products under £10.

3. Change The Power Setting on Your Laptop.

By changing the power setting on your laptop, you can place the machine into a lower power mode that will run at a slightly slower speed for an improvement in both battery life and heat generation. Power settings can be found in control panel on a PC or within System Preferences on an Apple device.

4. Check Running Processes.

Sometimes, a program may be running abnormally that causes the laptop to dedicate all its processing power to that application. This means that your laptop will become very slow and the CPU (processor) will be running at 100%. When a processor runs at 100%, it generates the most heat.

To check whether there are any issues with abnormal programs, Press CTRL+ALT+DELETE and then click Task Manager. Then click the button that says “Show processes from all users”. Next, order by CPU by clicking the word CPU in the CPU column. The processes with the highest number are those that are taking the highest percentage of your laptops speed and generating the most heat.

You can then use Google to find out what the process does and whether it is safe to end the process. If you have a slow computer, you can of course call us to look at your machine remotely to resolve any problems.

note: System Idle Process is not a concern. If it’s running at 97%, it means your PC is 97% Idle (ie: Not doing Anything)

5. Run a Spyware Scan

There is a very good chance that overheating is caused by a nasty virus running your laptop into the ground. Chances are you have a very slow machine if this is the case, but not always!

The following programs are useful checking for such nasties.

SuperAntiSpyware claims to remove ALL spyware. We ran a few tests using this software and it’s very user friendly. It detected and removed over 180 spyware items that our antivirus software did not pick up. This software is

MalwareBytes is the most efficient program for cleaning up internet spyware. Although this product is not free, it is highly recommended. A full scan generally takes around 30 minutes to complete on most modern systems. We ran the scan on our own machines and were very surprised at what was found and we have Anti-Virus software on all our computers. As with most products on the market today, it’s better to not rely on one piece of software and instead, a wider view to protection should be encouraged. The benefit of this software is that its relatively cheap and you don’t pay for it each year, it’s a one off cost and then it’s yours forever.

If like myself, you’ve spent Months, trying to find out why a perfectly installed FreePBX/Asterisk system just will not work with an external SIP extension, then I really feel for you!

Asterisk is great “When It Works” , but when it doesn’t, You probably end up with many headaches and increased stress levels.

Well today – FINALLY -
I’ve fixed the issue with no sound on external sip calls and am going to reveal just how I did it.

No sound with SIP | No Sound With Asterisk| No Sound With NAT

To correctly troubleshoot your issue, make sure that the following steps are taken.

1. On you router, open up the following ports and forward them to your asterisk box. Your asterisk box may be in the form of (FreePBX, AsteriskNOW or TrixBox) – They all use the same format

Once these ports have been forwarded to the IP of your Asterisk server, give your router a reboot. Re-Login to your router just to reconfirm that the posts are infact pointing to the correct IP of the Asterisk Server.

The next step is to ensure that you configure your NAT settings on the Asterisk server correctly.
The following image shows how best to set up your settings.

If you’re behind a router with a Static IP but your internal network (including Asterisk) is on a 192.168.x.x network, these settings apply to you. If not, simply change these to work with your network setup.

Another important tip for troubleshooting your sound issue is to make sure that you enable the codecs that you will be using. If you’re using a softphone for example, make sure it supports calling with your enabled codecs. If not – Make sure y otou enable them in Asterisk. If they’re not listed, try a different softphone but generally, you should be okay.

All the other configuration options are not external to Asterisk. This is where I went worng. I tried tweaking and changing asterisk settings for months to no avail.   SAVE YOUR TIME

If you have No Audio – It’s to do with your ROUTER or FIREWALL.
If you’ve configured the ports as I’ve shown above, there are only a few things left to check.

1. Internal firewall. If you’re using a softphone on a machine, make sure the firewall is disabled for testing. If it works, you need to open up the same ports on the machine as you did in the router.

2. Router. Many of today’s commercial routers implement SIP ALG (Application-level gateway), coming with this feature enabled by default. While ALG could help in solving NAT related problems, the fact is that many routers’ ALG implementations are wrong and break SIP.

THIS WAS WHAT WAS WRONG WITH MY SETUP
Everything on my router was in fact correct. I had never heard of ALG before, mainly because there was no mention of it on my routers administrator panel anywhere.  After doing a google search for <my router model SIP no sound” I came across a small post relating to ALG.
Even though ALG was not mentioned in my router page, it’s still there and active, just not visible on the front end.

I had to telnet into my router and login and then issue a command to turn ALG off.

The free server allows businesses to share files internally whilst implementing rigorous security measures which protect business critical data to authorised users only. The server also allows VPN connections allowing staff to work from home whilst still having access to company data and resources securely. Some of the other benefits a small business server could make to a business include;

IDS: Intrusion Detection System.

HTTP Proxy: Speed up internet access and impose viewing and usage restrictions resulting in increased productivity.

Traffic Priority: Give dedicated speed to specific people or services.

Mail Server: Host E-Mail internally.

HTTP Server: Host your own Website internally.

Online Backup: Option to back up all company data.

The offer of a free server is open to all small businesses operating within the UK who have at least 3 machines under a support contract. Installation and configuration is completely free excluding any expenses.

• File Sharing
• Website Hosting and Processing
• Email Hosting and Processing
• Application Sharing
• Remote Working

A Server is often mistaken as specific hardware when infact any computer system can act as a server, even a laptop!
A server is simply a computer system that is dedicated to providing a specific service to a group of users or even a single user.

A server can be a high powered expensive computer system, or an extremely low cost device but obviously, the more people using a server, the more powerful it would need to be in order to provide the service or services at a “nice” speed. Just like a computer – the more you install and the more open programs you have open, the slower and less responsive it becomes.

“My Porn Blocker” is porn blocking software designed to provide a safe Internet access for child. This program keeps track and checks the content of every web-page the child browses through in the Internet Explorer. If the program finds some obscene content (characteristic of pornography, violence, religious sects, etc.), the software will immediately block viewing such pages.

The Porn Blocking software is a whole software package that is integrated in Internet Explorer and consists of some controlling functions. Each of these functions forms an obstacle in the way of obscene information from the Internet (pornography, drugs, graphic violence) providing safe Internet access for child. And before your child sees any page, it is checked by all those functions.

The program will satisfy all your requirements and wishes about Internet parental control. You can easily configure the program for pornography blocking, blocking sites with violence scenes, filtering sites that popularizes drugs, to filter the gambling games, the questionable religious sects and other forbidden materials. The Porn Blocker will filter the content of every visited and viewed pages. You can allow visiting sites only from the ‘White list’ and forbid sites from the ‘Black List’, allow Internet Explorer using only in certain days and hours, write in the special log file what sites your childs visited and receive this log by email.

The program has a prominent advantage over the usual way most of the similar porn blocking software functions. Most of such programs check only the URL of the requested page for being in the database of “indecent” addresses. This way of porn blocking is not effective because there appear hundreds of new sites every minute. Unlike other programs, this has special functions that allow analyzing the page content itself. That is why even if your child comes across a newly appeared site with obscene content, the software will stop your child from viewing the website.

DOWNLOAD PORN BLOCKER

]]> http://www.sysfix.co.uk/blog/2010/08/porn-blocker-how-to-block-porn/feed/ 0 http://www.sysfix.co.uk/blog/2010/08/the-importance-of-laptop-backup/ http://www.sysfix.co.uk/blog/2010/08/the-importance-of-laptop-backup/#comments Mon, 16 Aug 2010 15:59:19 +0000 Administrator http://www.sysfix.co.uk/index.php?option=com_wordpress&amp;p=347&amp;Itemid=184 Continue reading →]]> Laptop computers have come down in price over the past few years , as low as £200 for some models, but these laptops are dangerous. With laptops becoming increasingly light and compact, we’re more inclined to take them with us wherever we go. We now find ourselves in a situation where we don’t have time so sit down and perform a backup to a usb stick or other external device, not to mention where we stored it for safe keeping.

Why is it important to back up our Laptop Computers?

• Laptop computers are light and easily lost or stolen.
• We travel around with our machines more than we used to, increasing the risk of loss and theft.
• Data is stored on Hard Drives. Did you know that ALL HARD DRIVES WILL EVENTUALLY FAIL?
• Data cannot easily be replaced. Treasured moments such as Photographs cannot be replaced.

Laptop Backup is therefore essential!

… but it can be a tiring and cumbersome task and how many of us really perform those all important backups. SysFix Backup Pro automates the entire process through new Laptop Backup Software which backs up your critical data no matter where you are. Your data is encrypted and sent to 2 data centres, one in Germany and the other in London. In the event of a catastrophe , or as simply as mistakenly deleting files, you have the power to click a button and restore your chosen files right to your desktop, it even keeps multiple versions so it keeps all those changes you made to your documents too.

What about PCs and Apple Macs?

SysFix Backup Pro works with Desktop PCs, Servers and Apple Macs too. The Apple Online Backup software is exactly the same as our PC version so it’s very easy to use. SysFix Backup Pro even comes with a web interface so you can restore files for a friend or partner if they require assistance, or from our backup software directly.

For more information regarding Online Data Backup, Please see;
http://www.sysfix.co.uk/IT-Support-London/Online-Data-Backup/laptop-backup.html

Cost: £59.00

Time to Install: 10 Minutes

Time to configure: 10 minutes

This version includes RT3.8.7 + RTFM (latest version) + SLA (Automatic Service Level Agreements)

Cancer has touched the lives of many unfortunate people and I want to do my bit for charity. It’s affected 2 of my own family members so fully understand the upset and turmoil this nasty disease causes. I’ve never actually done anything for charity really apart from those school sponsored walks so here I am, placing my scrawny little  legs on the ground for charity.
Having Asthma – this may be harder than it sounds!

Please sponsor me as much as you can afford. Minimum donation is £2.
It’s through your sponsorship that I will gain my motivation and know I am running for a worthy cause that you all support.

Please donate if you can!
http://www.run10ksponsorme.org/paul-sysfix

Paul Stanbra

 

What if you lose your laptop or even worse, it’s stolen from your person or from the home. None of us have adequate backups and I know from personal experience, it’s not nice when it happens to you.

SysFix Backup Pro is a secure data backup system which stores your valuable data at our remote data storage centres located in London and Germany. The SysFix Backup Pro, online file backup software allows unattended, totally automated backups of your Laptop Data direct to our servers. Offsite data storage comes in 10gb blocks and can be shared with as many machines as you wish. Offsite data backup is extremely important for laptop users as they tend to fail more often.

For more information, see http://www.sysfix.co.uk/IT-Support-London/Online-Data-Backup/laptop-backup.html

However, there is light at the end of the tunnel. SysFix Backup Pro is a new backup service which allows you perform Laptop Backup functions every 15 minutes. Every 15 minutes!!! – surely that would slow down my computer ?  Absolutely not!
We’ve engineered a unique system that only backs up parts of the file that have changed instead of the whole file.

Check out Laptop Backup from Sysfix.
It even backs up desktop computers and servers even on Linux, Apple Mac, Solaris and of course Windows.

It’s been a tough time developing a system which is easy to use yet provides enterprise level stability and expandability , but – we did it.

SysFix Backup Pro is a revolutionary system that backs up your data both onsite and offsite, remotely – to our Data Centre in Germany and our server in London.

This new technology comes at a cost – unfortunately for us, our pockets are a little empty right now after huge investment in this new product. The good news for our customers though is that for them, it costs as little as £35 for a guaranteed data backup service.

There has always been some stigma associated with online backup in that it can take a very long time to do the first backup.
Well – we’ve overcome this hurdle by allowing you to seed your backups direct to USB drive first. We then upload your data to our servers and then any subsequent changes to your data are uploaded offsite afterwards – AND ITS FAST!

The same goes for data recovery. If you need a vast amount of data recovered – we can copy your data to USB and you can then restore the data locally. Of course – you can still download your entire backup over the internet.

This new system is currently limited to 20 users.
Why you ask? Don’t you want to make lots of money?

Our backup system is unique. It offers customers a level of online backup that’s not been seen before. It’s all about service. Sure – we can charge a fortune for data backup, but the key to our success is our guaranteed service level, after all – there is no point having a secure backup if you can’t get to your data when you need it – this is why we currently have a limit of 20 customers. We want to be sure that we can offer the highest level of service  before we roll-out this product worldwide. The initial 20 customers will provide a benchmark and help generate honest product reviews.

As an added benefit, the first 20 customers will receive a Free PC Health Check conducted live by our engineers

With the new age of digital media, we all have many photographs we would rather not lose. I know for me, it’s a story of my life. When I was a teenager, I used to carry a disposable camera around with me and then nip down to my local film processing store to have the pictures developed. It’s a tragedy that all my images from my earlier years were lost during a house move. It’s a shame the digital age came later as i’d have been able to use an online photo backup service and my history would have been preserved

Paul Stanbra, Director

Using an internet file backup service allows anyone to perform a computer backup of their data. File backup is important. Don’t lose what’s important to you.  The computer backup software is very easy to use and we install it for you to make it even simpler. Your data is then backed up online, held securely (encrypted – we have no access to your data).

For more information, visit the official pages here.

*THIS HUGE SELECTION IS NOT FOUND ANYWHERE ELSE*

Over 3000 Channels
100% Money Back Guarantee
Watch TV Anywhere at Anytime

You don’t need a satellite dish, receiver, or any cable or satellite service! All you need is an internet connection and a computer. Watch all these channels anywhere in the world. More than 100,000 users are already enjoying the incredible variety.

Don’t miss the opportunity to watch thousands of TV channels for the one off fee of around £35.  You can even watch the football in a secret window on your PC whilst at work.

Turn your PC into a Super TV today and say goodbye to monthly satellite and cable fees!

100% Satisfaction Money Back Guarantee!

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

• No SHSH needed.
• Works with iPhone 3GS
• Works on New MC Models
• Works with new bootrom
• Totally untethered – You can reboot without needing to jailbreak again!
• Works on iPod Touch
• Installs Cydia
• One click operation

Click here to get the 3.1.3 Jailbreak

A small fee is charged to cover bandwidth costs for hosting this new iphone  jailbreak

You can access the site by clicking one of the keywords below. They all go to the same website but they’re there for SEO purposes. You can also click the image to the right.

Free Sky TV | Watch TV Online for Free | Free Satellite TV PC

In Volume One: PC Tips & Tricks.

1. How to buy the computer you need without getting overcharged by greedy salespeople that just want to line their pockets with commissions. Plus, who you should definitely NOT buy a computer from, and exactly how to configure your new laptop or desktop for maximum performance at the best price.
2. How to know when it’s time for a new computer, and exactly how to tell. Plus, an inexpensive upgrade and some tweaks that will turbo-charge the performance of your computer!
3. The exact maintenance tips to do on a monthly basis to keep your computer running at top speed.
4. The best free tools to BANISH spyware, viruses, trojans, bots, adware, worms and popups from your computer – forever!
5. How to do an inexpensive, automatic backup of your system to prevent against data loss. You’ll be surprised how easy it is to implement a hands off backup to make sure you never lose data again!
6. The easy hardware troubleshooting guide that will show you how to diagnose any hardware problem quickly with just a few quick steps. Don’t pay some condescending nerd at your local big-box store to tell you what is wrong with your computer – figure it out yourself!
7. I have an arsenal of great, free software that will really make your life easier. Believe me, I’ve waded through every freeware and shareware product out there over the years, and this is the cream of the crop. Load these programs on your machine and you’ll be on easy street!
8. And a few extra tips that I won’t mention other than to say they are definitely valuable and will save you time and give you some new ways to do things that will make your life easier

That’s just the beginning! In Volume Two: Home and Small Office Networking:

1. The one piece of networking equipment that you absolutely must own to protect yourself from Internet bandits. I absolutely refuse to let any of my clients go without one of these.
2. Simple, step-by-step instructions to hook up every computer you own – desktop, laptop, wired, wireless, you name it, into your own home or small office Local Area Network.
3. Share files between computers with ease, print to any printer on the network, and surf the Internet from any computer.
4. Easy wiring instructions for every scenario. Whether you have a single computer in one room or multiple computers your home or office, I’ll show you how simple and easy it is to get all your computers talking to one another.
5. Got wireless? No problem – I’ll have you sitting on your couch, securely surfing the Internet in no time. You’ll be amazed how much work you can get done while you relax in front of the TV. (That’s what I’m doing right now!)
6. Are you thinking about signing up for an expensive service like GoToMyPC so you can access your home or office computer from somewhere else? Don’t waste your money! I’ll show you how to set this up using FREE software with NO monthly charges. You can take over your home or office computer from anywhere in the world! Check your email, work on a document, it’s just like being in front of your own computer. (This will save you more in one month than the entire cost of this book!)
7. Is your network growing? No problem! I’ll show you the professional way to add dozens more wired machines, expand your wireless coverage area, and more! Then, I’ll reveal my source so you can buy the supplies and do it yourself for a fraction of the cost!
8. Others tips that will save you hundreds. Seriously, if I came over to and did all this stuff for you, we’re talking big bucks. I charge $100/hr minimum for networking jobs, and let’s just say my car payment would be taken care of for the month.

We’re not done yet! In Volume Three: Downgrading Windows Vista to Windows XP ( many people buy CSU for Volume Three alone!) you will learn:

1. How to zap Windows Vista and install Windows XP on nearly any computer. (If you purchased a new computer and hate it because it came loaded with Windows Vista, this is exactly what you’ve been looking for!)
2. Where to locate and how to install the latest drivers for your computer.
3. How to create a Windows XP Boot CD, even if you currently are getting an error message that Setup cannot detect any hard drives.
4. How to backup and restore 100% of your data from Windows Vista to Windows XP.

Click Here To Go To The Official Website

* This product is not affiliated with SysFix Group in any way,
however, it’s a product we recommend.

I’ve already set this as MyStartPage. It provides me with everything I need as soon as I open the internet whilst still being able to search Google in the usual way.

SysFix provides IT Support to all areas of the UK using their remote control tool. Customers living in London have the added benefit of using the  engineer call out service as well as ongoing IT Support contracts.

www.UKStartPage.com

At the present time, there is no Jailbreak available to 3G and 3GS users who have the newer bootrom starting with (MC).

UPDATE:

Jailbreak now available for all versions of iPhone including MC and 3GS versions. No SHSH needed.
Click here to get the 3.1.3 Jailbreak

This comes as a real blow to the iPhone community, as many are left high and dry with no option but to currently return to Apples forced policies.  There are many ligitimate reasons why you would want to jailbreak your iPhone but for now, it looks like we’re in for a bit of a wait.

This latest version of PwnageTool can jailbreak the original iPhone (Edge/2G), iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS(older bootrom only with baseband 04.26.08) and ipod touch(1G and 2G non-MC model; 2G should also be pre-jailbroken) running on iphone firmware 3.1.3.

If you have upgraded to firmware 3.1.3 and have a neweriPhone, the only option you currently have is to downgrade your firmware back down to 3.1.2, but beware, this is not easy! I gave up trying – which is exactly what Apple want.

Have they actually won this time?

Small and Medium businesses can benefit from our low cost IT Support service by outsourcing their IT requirements to us.
We cover Servers and Desktops, Laptops and Apple Macs.

For a no obligattion quote, Please call (020) 3095 7740 or submit a contact request here.

Charnwood | Leicester | Melton | Harborough | Oadby & Wigston | Blaby | North West Leicestershire | Hinkley & Bosworth
IT Support Leicestershire. Computer Support Leicestershire.

Small and Medium businesses have the opportunity to employ their own IT workforce, or outsource.
Outsourcing allows businesses to release themselves from paying the high, fixed costs, of employing staff members to manage their IT needs and instead, pay a much lower monthly fee for an external company to manage all IT support requests.

The main difference is cost. Instead of paying a single IT member £28-33k per year, instead, you’ll be paying around £40 per machine per month. For a business with 50 machines, you can expect to pay around £1600 per month. This represents a significant cost saving.

• No longer have to pay employer National Insurance Contributions.
• No longer bound by employee rights and legislation.
• No longer have to contribute to Employee Pension.
• No longer have to pay Sick Pay.
• No longer have to pay for Holidays and Time Off.
• No longer have to pay for training costs.
• You can even reallocate or sub-let desk space to offset the cost!

It doesn’t matter how small your company is, even from 1-5 machines, you will still benefit from reduced operating costs by using outsourced IT Support.

The downside is that you will lose your on-site IT Presence, and instead you will simply call a number or log your IT Fault on-line. Engineers can then control your computer remotely or of course, visit you in your office.

SysFix.co.uk provides Outsourced IT Support London

EMERGENCY IT SUPPORT

What’s Covered:

• Internet Issues
• Network Issues
• Server Issues
• Desktop & Laptop Issues
• General Support

What’s Not Covered:
These issues can not be dealt with out of hours as specific parts would need to be ordered.

• Laptop Screen Repairs
• Dead Laptops (Power)
• Physically Broken Equipment

More information on this service can be found here.

In todays fast paced world, businesses require high availability and 100% uptime. With ever increasing demands on information technology, businesses find themselves without adequate IT support after normal business hours. Our premium, After Hours IT Support Service allows businesses in distress, access to technical support staff , without the cost of employing permanent, in-house IT staff after hours.

1 Year Free Antivirus Subscription

eset voucher

From the 1^st of February until the 31^st March, we are providing business customers with 2 years for the price of 1 on Antivirus Software.

Per machine, the cost is £39.99 , however, this special offer means that you get 2 years for the price of 1.
This is a very uncommon offer in the anti-virus world so if you are looking at replacing your current anti virus product or it’s up for renewal, then now is a great time to take advantage of this 2 for 1 offer.

Every machine needs antivirus software, not only to protect from viruses but from hackers, and identity theft. Credit card numbers, names, email addresses are hot targets for hackers. Protect yourself today.
Telephone (020) 3095 7740 to order

Who can use this promotion?
This promotion is only available via SysFix Group (www.sysfix.co.uk).
All enquiries for the promotion will be allocated to SysFix Group.
Date

Start Date: 1st February 2010
End Date: 31st March 2010

NB Orders received after midnight on the 31st March 2010 will not qualify for the Promotion

Product
All ESET Business Edition Products qualify (minimum 5 machines)
Includes Server and Mobile products
Includes Not-for-profit and educational licences
All Home user licences are excluded
The Promotion only applies to sale of new licenses
Renewals are excluded

Order Placement
Orders are to be placed via SysFix Group (www.sysfix.co.uk) to receive this offer.
Place an order for a 1-year licence and automatically receive 2 years
This promotion cannot be retrospectively used against existing orders
Marketing
This promotion cannot be used in conjunction with any other special offers
In the case of any dispute the decision of SysFix will be final

A laptops air intake fan is located at the bottom of most laptops. Setting it directly on your bed, can block the air intake fan. This will cause the processor to heat up past it’s set maximum limit, and shut off. A laptop’s cooling system, is very poor to start with. You have all the hardware components stuffed into a tiny box.
Add to this is a small tube the size of your finger that directs air on the processor, and other components.
Also add to this that since the air intake fan is on the bottom, it sucks up anything in it’s path. Dust, dirt, food crumbs, lint, fuzz, you name it. In time this clogs the small air intake tube, I ‘spoke’ of above, and the cooling capacity drops tremendously.

Not only does using your laptop in bed decrease the life of your laptop, but it’s dangerous too. You can fall asleep and turn over, possibly strangling yourself. It’s also a fire hazard. You wouldn’t sleep with your toaster – would you?

For those of you who sit with laptops placed on your legs, again, this is also dangerous. You’re actually heating up blood passing beneath the laptop. We all know that laptops give off a significant amount of heat, especially when airflow is restricted.  It’s even more detrimental to men who can find that their sperm counts may fall as a result of heat on testicles. The scrotum hangs away from the body to keep sperm cooler than body temperature. Subjecting them to heat is definitely no good.

Protecting YOU and your LAPTOP from heat
damage.

1. Don’t sit with your laptop on your knees or lap, it’s known to cause infertility in men.
2. Don’t Sit in bed with your laptop without a proper surface or heat absorption mat.
3. Do allow your laptop to breath and do not allow the air intakes to become obstructed with bed linen.
4. Do from time to time, use an air duster to blow out the dust inside your laptop. Computer Cleaning helps improve airflow and extend your machines life.
5. Cancer – There’s stories every day in medical journals of suspected causes of Cancer. Don’t leave anything to chance. If you have to use your laptop in bed or on your knee or lap, please use a laptop heat absorption pad.

Laptop Heat absorption pads are available for £14.99 and includes free delivery.

• Heat absorbing macro modular compound
  

  Laptop Cooling Mat. Laptop Heat Absorption

• Permits up to 5 hours of continual cooling
• Crystals automatically reform in temperatures below 25 °C
• Reusable
• Quickly dissipates heat from the under-side of the laptop
• Suitable for all laptops
• Easily fits into a laptop carry case
• Extends laptop life by decreasing its operating temperature

03-02-2012 – Update To Original Post:

Balancing a laptop on your knee can cause permanent discolouration of the skin and in some cases, increase the chances of developing cancer. Before the days of central heating, people would huddle around fires and electric heaters to keep warm which would cause a prickling, nettle like sting or rash on the skin, similar to what is experienced from laptop heat.

{source: DailyMail}

Ann Charleston heads into Central London via Tube.

Ann’s disguised herself by wearing large sunglasses in the middle of winter, on a tube train and stern posture.

Ann, If you ever need any computer assistance, please let us know!
I may have a spare hat and mustache you can wear too.

1. eMail: The most important communication tool in todays business. Ensure that you have a facility in place that allows the inbound routing of all email to a secondary service that allows business continuity. As an optional extra, ensure that current emails are backed up and readily available on the secondary system.
   

   Burnt Server - Disaster Recovery and Disaster Planning is Important!

2. Phone: The second most important communication tool. How will your clients contact you? There is a growing increase in the use of VOIP / SIP technology (making calls over your broadband connection).  VOIP has the benefit that you can easily set up your inbound and outbound numbers elsewhere in the event of an emergency. With traditional analogue lines, you’re at the mercy of providers such as BT. It’s important to delegate members of your team to handle incoming calls by any mean , even if it’s simply bu using a mobile phone. Your main office number can easily be redirected to a mobile -IF you have in place, the procedure and know how  to do so .
3. Bums on Seats – In the event of a disaster, it’s okay having telephones and email, but where will your staff work. As a minimum requirement to disaster recovery planning, a central off site storage area should be established where users can VPN into the server and access company documents.
4. Staff: What if your Staff  have no bums? In the event of a terrorist attack and your entire workforce was wiped out, could another office continue the business? An office handbook should be created, outlining EVERYTHING in black and white.  A guide on how to build up the business from scratch. All documentation, all user guides, contacts. As much as possible should be logged into this book.
5. Connectivity – No Internet access, No Mobile Phone Network, No Land-line – How can you operate under these circumstances. For many, this has happened and must be looked at. Can you afford to have a failover solution outside of your city?

SysFix Group welcomes your comments and views on the new security level announcement and how this will affect you.

The UK terror threat level is being raised from “substantial” to “severe”, Home Secretary Alan Johnson has said.

The new alert level means a terrorist attack is considered “highly likely”. It had stood at substantial since July.
It is in response to the perceived increased threat from international terrorism following the failed Detroit airliner bombing on Christmas Day.

In today’s society, we face a very uncertain future. Since the July Tube bombings, It’s fair to say some of us would rather change seats than sit next to a fellow bearded passenger carrying a rucksack.  Unfortunately, since the attacks, Britons now face an increased risk.

The UK has made itself a terrorist target since taking part in the war against Iraq, but just how prepared are we in terms of Disaster Recovery should the worst happen?

Disaster Recovery

As we come to rely on technology more and more, just how can we protect ourselves and our businesses in the event of a terrorist attack?
If your office was attacked right now – What would happen? Can you honestly answer the questions with a solution?Disaster recovery planning  is an important aspect in todays society, not just in respect of terrorist attacks but from natural hazards such as fire and water damage.  SysFix IT Support provide Disaster Recovery Planning consultations to help get you on the right track to ensuring you have some protection should the worst happen. Please contact us for a no obligation quote.

Some planning is better than no planning at all!

Top 5 Rules of Disaster Recovery Planning

1. eMail: The most important communication tool in todays business. Ensure that you have a facility in place that allows the inbound routing of all email to a secondary service that allows business continuity. As an optional extra, ensure that current emails are backed up and readily available on the secondary system.
   

   Burnt Server - Disaster Recovery and Disaster Planning is Important!

2. Phone: The second most important communication tool. How will your clients contact you? There is a growing increase in the use of VOIP / SIP technology (making calls over your broadband connection).  VOIP has the benefit that you can easily set up your inbound and outbound numbers elsewhere in the event of an emergency. With traditional analogue lines, you;re at the mercy of providers such as BT. It’s important to delegate members of your team to handle incoming calls by any mean , even if it’s simply bu using a mobile phone. Your main office number can easily be redirected to a mobile -IF you have in place, the procedure and know how  to do so .
3. Bums on Seats – In the event of a disaster, it’s okay having telephones and email, but where will your staff work. As a minimum requirement to disaster recovery planning, a central off site storage area should be established where users can VPN into the server and access company documents.
4. Staff: What if your Staff  have no bums? In the event of a terrorist attack and your entire workforce was wiped out, could another office continue the business? An office handbook should be created, outlining EVERYTHING in black and white.  A guide on how to build up the business from scratch. All documentation, all user guides, contacts. As much as possible should be logged into this book.
5. Connectivity – No Internet access, No Mobile Phone Network, No Land-line – How can you operate under these circumstances. For many, this has happened and must be looked at. Can you afford to have a failover solution outside of your city?

SysFix Group welcomes your comments and views on the new security level announcement and how this will affect you.

At SysFix, We provide a unique opportunity that enables anyone the ability to afford Search Engine Optimisation. SEO is a lengthy and labour intensive task but the rewards are great!

SEO is generally something that most individuals and businesses would rather conract out than do themselves, simply becuase of the amount of time it takes and the technical skills required.

With our SEO Package, we only charge you when we actually achieve results. Unless we get you to the top 2 pages of Google, you don’t pay.
All you pay is an initial low set up fee based on your requirements and then when we gain you a high ranking on Google, then you pay us a monthly fee for the work we have done and continue to do on your behalf.

If you’re looking for a more interactive service, you can hire our London SEO Expert on a day or weekly basis.
The London SEO Consultant will guide you through your internet marketing plan and help build a portfolio that will provide long term results.

Our SEO Examples show that we have provided our clients with Top Number 1 positions on Google. We’re confident in the work we do and get the results you want!

RAID provides data redundancy to small businesses.

The data within your computer or server is stored on a device called a hard drive or a hard disk.
Unfortunately, these devices often fail, resulting in significant data loss and downtime.
This is why RAID was developed.
Raid stands for: Redundant Array of Independent Disks

Raid is a collection of disks that are configured in such a way that results in less downtime and less data loss should a disaster occur. There are several RAID Levels or RAID configurations available which all set out to achieve higher redundancy and reliability – all except RAID ZERO that is.

The main purpose of RAID is to provide data redundancy. Typically, if a hard drive fails, you’ll find that you are unable to continue working, With RAID implemented, it’s actually possible to continue working. This is because data is written across several disks rather than just one. Some RAID levels allow you to remove a faulty disk whilst leaving your users unaffected.

RAID is particularly useful for  critical machines and servers.
SysFix Group are able to consult on business redundancy and provide a solution that allows a business to continue working in the event of a disaster.

It’s an all too common scenario that you install a service pack or a hot-fix, only to find out that it actually did more harm than good. Blue screens, degraded device and poor system stability.

There are millions if not billions of different computer configurations in the world. The simple fact is that Microsoft have no way of testing these updates with every system configuration prior to release. Of course – they do release test versions of these updates to a selected bunch in order to gain an overall feel for its effectiveness but by no means exhaustive or conclusive.

It’s many businesses policy to not “automatically” install windows updates as they are made available but instead, take a precautionary step back and let others take the lead. This allows for an “extended testing period” from a broader spectrum of users. When all the bug reports have been logged with Microsoft, it’s usually the case that a service pack update appears a few months after it’s initial release.  It’s usually at this point that companies feel more secure in updating their systems.

Microsoft will have you believe it’s best to automatically download and install updates automatically. Of course, there’s a lot to be said for setting an option that does everything for you, the only downside is, it’s very easy to miss important error messages and of course, you lose that degree of control.

If you’re willing to take a degree of risk, then we recommend setting Microsoft Updates to download and install automatically.

If you’re a small business or work from home and highly depend on your system, we recommend waiting it out a while. Don’t rush to install the latest service pack. Do a little research on-line first to get a feel for what exactly the service pack does and if anyone is currently experiencing problems. If you’re unsure, call us for professional Business IT Support.

(c) SysFix Group, 2009 – IT Support London

Emergency IT Support

SysFix Group will be providing Emergency IT Support this Christmas, allowing Small Businesses and those who have been lucky enough to receive  new computers to function over the festive period.

The whole UK is covered, as support is given using our remote control software that allows us to take control of your mouse and keyboard to fix your issue.

Support is charged at  a reasonable £95 per hour over the festive period , including Christmas Day and Boxing Day!

For Emergency IT Support, Please call us on 020 3095 7740 or 07808 10-20-30

Word 2007 Crashes On Exit
If when you close Microsoft Word, you see an error message saying “Microsoft word has encountered a problem and needs to close” , then simply follow the solution below to resolve the issue.

1. Ensure Microsoft Word , Outlook and any other MS program is closed.
2. Click on the start menu and click Run
3. Type in Regedit, and press enter. If the Run option is not available, click Accessories, and then Click command Prompt. Type in Regedit, then press enter.
4. When Regedit opens, on the left, expand the tree as follows:
   
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Word\Data

5. Right mouse click on the “Data” folder and delete it.
6. Close RegEdit and Command Prompt if open.

If you now start Microsoft Word and attempt to close it, you’ll find your problem has magically gone away.

E1 Whitechapel, Stepney, Mile End SE1 Waterloo, Bermondsey, Southwark, Borough
E2 Bethnal Green, Shoreditch SE2 Abbey Wood
E3 Bow, Bromley-by-Bow SE3 Blackheath, Westcombe Park
E4 Chingford, Highams Park SE4 Brockley, Crofton Park, Honor Oak Park
E5 Clapton SE5 Camberwell
E6 East Ham SE6 Catford, Hither Green, Bellingham
E7 Forest Gate, Upton Park SE7 Charlton
E8 Hackney, Dalston SE8 Deptford
E9 Hackney, Homerton SE9 Eltham, Mottingham
E10 Leyton SE10 Greenwich
E11 Leytonstone SE11 Lambeth
E12 Manor Park SE12 Lee, Grove Park
E13 Plaistow SE13 Lewisham, Hither Green
E14 Poplar, Millwall, Isle of Dogs, Docklands SE14 New Cross, New Cross Gate
E15 Stratford, West Ham SE15 Peckham, Nunhead
E16 Canning Town, North Woolwich, Docklands SE16 Rotherhithe, South Bermonsey, Surrey Docks
E17 Walthamstow SE17 Walworth, Elephant & Castle
E18 South Woodford SE18 Woolwich, Plumstead
SE19 Upper Norwood, Crystal Palace
WC1 Bloomsbury, Gray’s Inn SE20 Penge, Anerley
WC2 Covent Garden, Holborn, Strand SE21 Dulwich
SE22 East Dulwich
EC1 Clerkenwell, Finsbury, Barbican SE23 Forest Hill
EC2 Moorgate, Liverpool Street SE24 Herne Hill
EC3 Monument, Tower Hill, Aldgate SE25 South Norwood
EC4 Fleet Street, St. Paul’s SE26 Sydenham
SE27 West Norwood, Tulse Hill
N1 Islington, Barnsbury, Canonbury SE28 Thamesmead
N2 East Finchley
N3 Finchley Central SW1 Westminster, Belgravia, Pimlico
N4 Finsbury Park, Manor House SW2 Brixton, Streatham Hill
N5 Highbury SW3 Chelsea, Brompton
N6 Highgate SW4 Clapham
N7 Holloway SW5 Earl’s Court
N8 Hornsey, Crouch End SW6 Fulham, Parson’s Green
N9 Lower Edmonton SW7 South Kensington
N10 Muswell Hill SW8 South Lambeth, Nine Elms
N11 Friern Barnet, New Southgate SW9 Stockwell, Brixton
N12 North Finchley, Woodside Park SW10 West Brompton, World’s End
N13 Palmers Green SW11 Battersea, Clapham Junction
N14 Southgate SW12 Balham
N15 Seven Sisters SW13 Barnes, Castelnau
N16 Stoke Newington, Stamford Hill SW14 Mortlake, East Sheen
N17 Tottenham SW15 Putney, Roehampton
N18 Upper Edmonton SW16 Streatham, Norbury
N19 Archway, Tufnell Park SW17 Tooting
N20 Whetstone, Totteridge SW18 Wandsworth, Earlsfield
N21 Winchmore Hill SW19 Wimbledon, Merton
N22 Wood Green, Alexandra Palace SW20 South Wimbledon, Raynes Park

NW1 Regent’s Park, Camden Town W1 Mayfair, Marylebone, Soho
NW2 Cricklewood, Neasden W2 Bayswater, Paddington
NW3 Hampstead, Swiss Cottage W3 Acton
NW4 Hendon, Brent Cross W4 Chiswick
NW5 Kentish Town W5 Ealing
NW6 West Hampstead, Kilburn, Queens Park W6 Hammersmith
NW7 Mill Hill W7 Hanwell
NW8 St John’s Wood W8 Kensington
NW9 Kinsbury, Colindale W9 Maida Vale, Warwick Avenue
NW10 Willesden, Harlesden, Kensal Green W10 Ladbroke Grove, North Kensington
NW11 Golders Green, Hampstead Gdn Suburb W11 Notting Hill, Holland Park
W12 Shepherd’s Bush
W13 West Ealing
W14 West Kensington

IT Support London

For more information: Contact us on (020) 3095-7740

Wondering if we actually know what we’re talking about?
See how we got to position number one in Google –  Click to See Our Position

It is estimated that course prices will cost in the region of £79 per person online or £295
at our SEO conference.

To be kept informed of when we will start these courses, please send a blank email to
seocourse @ sysfix.co.uk

The first edition outlines the importance of data backup, gives an overview of the new operating system, Windows 7, and provides top tips to help speed up your computer.

You can subscribe to the magazine free by registering on the SysFix website.
( htttp://www.sysfix.co.uk )

The demise of the public telephone box comes as technology advances and we all seem to rely on mobile phones and Internet communications such as Email, Twitter and Facebook.

Whilst the humble telephone box serves as a great emergency backup, the stale smell of urine and rubbish in London’s phone boxes is never going to be an attractive one.

However, they are still popular with tourists who seem to love taking pictures of themselves pretending to make a phone call whilst dangling a leg in the air.

Is it time to say goodbye?
Should we still invest in these or simply let them become part of our history?

So why exactly are we using to communicate in the 21st century?

Mobile Phone – everyone seems to have one nowadays, even my gran and she’s almost 80. Mobile phones have come a long way now developed into mobile computers, GPS navigation aids and portable game consoles.

This is simply a gadget none of us van do without. The apple iPhone took mobile communications to a whole new level providing the end user with almost unlimited functionality.

Land-line - I speak for myself here and simply use my land line for broadband only. I never use my land line to make calls anymore simply because I have free minutes with my mobile phone.

Twitter -Let the world see your current status , a kind of mini blog.

Facebook - the greatest social networking site of all time allowing you to contact friends and build up a personal portfolio of yourself including photos, video and blog. A great tool for networking and global communication.

Messenger – Various programs such as windows live messenger, yahoo messenger and icq allow you to send messages, pictures and video to each other from your computer. A great way to stay in intact with family or friends.

Pager – along with the public telephone, these are no longer used as a consumer gadget but more for business use especially in hospitals.

At SysFix, we look to the future and see an increase in Electronic communications.

We help companies adopt new technologies to improve communication within the workplace. Communication in any organisation is key so Investing in new technology really puts you one step ahead.

For more information on SysFix IT Support, Please contact us on (020) 3095 7740

We thought we’d write a review of ZipCar since having tested the service ourselves and found it to be extremely useful. You see, one of our vehicles broke down and we were in a bit of a predicament. Public transport is a nightmare at the best of times, not to mention having to sit next to some traveller who hasn’t washed for the past week.

We needed a quick solution!
After ruling out a taxi due to the cost implications and public transport because of it’s pure nastiness, we opted to try a car club scheme. There are a few of them out there but after comparing schemes, we opted to try ZipCar.

After registering online, we telephoned zip Car and asked if we could obtain a car the same day. We were advised to visit the ZipCar London office after which they would check our eligibility to drive and be handed over with a card which allows you to unlock vehicles. All in all, we were able to register and book a car within only a few hours.

Our experience with this scheme has been fantastic.  Not only can you take cars by the hour but you are given 60 miles of free travelling per journey. After that, you just pay 23p per mile and the cost of a car which is as low as £3.95 per hour.  The best aspect is that you have no insurance, MOTs, Petrol or Servicing to pay for as you would with a normal car.

You can even get a Free £25 Zip Car Voucher which you can use to take out a car. The ZipCar Voucher gives you around 6 hours of free car rental which you can use as and when you want.

We are today conducting an online training session on how to “correctly” and “precisely” find information from google.  Learn how to find exactly what you’re looking for.  The course is conducted LIVE over the Internet and is broadcast with Live Video & Audio.

Most people simple just enter a word into Google or a phrase and end up with millions of results. This is not the way google was intended to be used. We will show you how to bring the EXACT information you require from google and show you some hidden tricks and tips.

Only 20 Places available.

entering endless amounts of information, creating documents and downloading our emails, but what happens when that all important information is no longer available? What happens when our computer fails to start or we accidentally delete an important folder. You’ll probably remember a little later you’ve lost an important email, and then realise, it contained all the latest changes to that document you’ve been working on for the last month, or your Aunt kitty’s new telephone number and email address.

The effects of data loss can be devastating but knowing this, we still say to ourselves each week, &quot;hmm I must make a backup of my files&quot;, and we say it a lot , but there’s just something that stops us completing this task. Is it pure lazyness of the speed of life nowadays? Whatever the reason, we’re all guilty of it.

Without a data backup or disaster recovery plan, your business or personal life can come to an abrupt halt.

The Solutions:

USB Drive:

Most of us own a form of USB Drive, be it a memory stick or a USB powered hard disk. These drives are useful for making backups but unfortunately, they are easily dropped, stolen or misplaced. These drives also are prone to failure and corruption. You also have to perform the backup manually unless you have dedicated backup software. Whilst these drives offer some form of protection against data loss, it’s weaknesses and temptation to unplug them let this method down. High user intervention required. Easily Lost, Dropped or Misplaced.
Low cost -but high cost when things go wrong.

Online Data Backup:

Online Data Backup is the safest, most cost effective way of securing your data. It allows data to be backed up and transmitted securely, offsite, to a central backup server. Running a remote backup service brings several benefits over traditional backup methods. You will never have to change a tape or create a DVD, Data can usually be accessed anywhere in the world and restored instantly in the event of a disaster and online data backups also have a secondary backup – so the data is replicated ot multiple servers for added security. Your data can also be encrypted so even we can’t see your data’s contents.

The downside to Online Data Backup is it’s ongoing monthly cost but when you weigh this up against the cost of recreating the lost data from scratch, then it’s a good deal and brings you added  peace of mind.

SysFix (www.sysfix.co.uk) offer a Managed Offsite Data Backup service from £10 per month which can backup your data at regular intervals. Should a disaster occur, not only do you have the option of restoring your data over the Internet but you can also request your data on DVD or USB Disk and sent to you via courier. With Remote Data Backup, you have the assurance that should your equipment break or be stolen, your data is safe.
Ongoing monthly fee but outweighed by Off Site data so no risk of Theft or loss, None or very little  user intervention required, Safe & Secure.

CD / DVD:

Backing up files to CD and DVD should really only be used if you have the patience of a saint and have very little data to backup.
This backup method is time consuming, requires a manual backup process to be performed each time you wish to backup and of course CDs and DVDs can become scratched, rendering the backup useless. On the plus side, CDs and DVDs are cheap – but when they’re scratched, the damage to your pocket for a professional data recovery service will be quite significant.  Great for backing up photos and storing away in a safe place.
Risk of loss and damage – But extremely low cost. Highest level of user intervention required.

Tape Backup (DLT /DAT):

Tape backup is a great form of backup as it can hold an extremely large amount of data per tape, usually upt0 300GB. However, tape backup relies on the tapes to be changed daily and removed off-site. It’s typical to have a tape rotation such that the same tape will only be seen on site maybe once a week or once a month. A backup cycle can be expensive, if not the most expensive method as a specialist media collection and delivery service is usually needed, not forgetting a tape for every server, every day of the week, plus a weekly and a monthly backup tape, for a period of say 3 months to complete the tape rotation. As you can imagine, managing such a system can become tedious and time consuming. Backup tapes can of course also snap!

The online backup method utilises an electronic rotation and creates &quot;snapshots&quot; of data on the same basis as outlined above,  however all data is held off site at no extra cost.

High cost of Hardware and backup media. Risk of damaged tapes. User intervention required for tape changes. Data held onsite unless a specialist data agent used.  Can hold a lot of data.

The Verdict

Whilst all backup methods have a genuine role to play, there is really one method that stands out and that’s online data backup. It’s held offsite, is cost effective and allows backups to be done without any user intervention.  Online backup will undoubtedly become the preferred backup method by SMEs in the future.

If you have a vast amount of multimedia files such as High Definition images and videos, then DLT would probably be best suited to your business.

The fans inside your computers blow and suck air in and out to aid cooling but unfortunately, also acts as a dust collecting device, but where is all the dust going? The answer is, in your computer, gathering more and more as each day goes on.

Dust inside computers leads to overheating of the CPU, clogs up fans, decreases system performance and speed,  makes the computer a lot hotter than it should be and decreases the lifespan of your machine, not to mention the germs it harvests.

Did You Know -These Bugs and Bacteria Live on Your Keyboard and Telephone

Enterobacteriaceae – This group of bacteria lives in the stomachs of humans and animals.

Coliform – Found in earth, air and soil, these bugs are associated with faecal matter.

E-coli – These are strong indicators of poor hygiene, they are predominantly from faecal matter.

Staphylococcus Aureus – Found on human skin and can cause illnesses like skin infections and food poisoning if it enters the body.

Salmonella typhimurium – Multiplies in the gastrointestinal tract of many animal species where it usually causes no disease, but in humans its growth causes gastroenteritis. Six to 48 hours after ingestion of contaminated water or food (usually poultry or beef), illness may begin with nausea and vomiting, often followed by diarrhea.

We will provide you with essential hygiene tips approved by doctors for you and your staff to read through, we will provide your office with sanitising equipment and we will provide your company with whatever it needs to maintain a hygienic, clean environment.

We only use Eco friendly, non-toxic, asthma friendly products.

Fact: Over 7000 new cases of asthma are reported each year, just for people that work in offices.
Fact: Many germs can be spread by the telephone.
Fact: A keyboard is a tray and catches nasal droppings, food, skin, hair, dust and nails.
Fact: We cover the whole of the UK – Whenever you need us.

A Deep Computer Clean consists of:

• Fact Sheet Providing Essential Germ Combating Information and Swine Flu Prevention Advice.
• Personal Desk & Computer Sanitisation Products.
• A Full external and Internal clean of your Workstation (Laptop or Desktop)
• Keyboard Cleaning & Sanitisation
• Desk Surface Sanitisation
• Telephone Sanitisation.
• Chair Sanitisation

Call 0203 095 7740 for a Quote.

Before the cleaning takes place, you can see that the Fan is heavaily clogged with dust. This is made up of fibres, dead skin cells, pollen and anything else the gets drawn into the unit. The perfect breeding ground for bacteria!

The purpose of internal fans is to draw in cooler air from the outside to reduce the temperature of the CPU and prevent overheating.  The fan in this picture is unable to draw enough air in to keep the system cool because of the thick layer of dust.

As a result, the system tries to compensate for this and turns up the fan speed which means a very loud PC and with still little improvement.

After the machine has been cleaned, all dust from the fans and board is removed, resulting in improved airflow, quieter operation, lower CPU temperature, lower internal temperature all of which leads to a healthier and quieter PC.

]]> http://www.sysfix.co.uk/blog/2009/08/office-computer-cleaning-helps-to-prevent-staff-sickness/feed/ 2 http://www.sysfix.co.uk/blog/2009/08/how-can-i-make-my-computer-faster/ http://www.sysfix.co.uk/blog/2009/08/how-can-i-make-my-computer-faster/#comments Tue, 18 Aug 2009 12:45:48 +0000 Administrator http://www.sysfix.co.uk/index.php?option=com_wordpress&amp;p=66&amp;Itemid=184 Continue reading →]]> Do you have any top tips for speeding up a computer?
Here are our top 10 tips.

1. Uninstall any software you don’t need.
2. Delete Internet Explorer Temporary Internet Files.
3. Move your Swap File to a different drive.
4. Turn off Visual Enhancements.
5. If you use Windows Vista or Windows 7, Use ReadyBoost.
6. Defragment your hard drive regularly.
7. Delete files from the Temp folder.
8. Remove startup items that don’t really need to be started automatically.
9. Use a good Antivirus Product to stop Adware, Malware, Trojans and Viri
10. Perform a  PC Health Check on a regular basis.

Have any good tips? Let us know!!

A PC Health Check Speeds Up Your Computer.

PC Computers, be it a Laptop or a Desktop ,all suffer from a slowdown in system performance as they get older.  The more they’re used, the more temporary files accumilate, the slower the registry becomes, disks become more fragmented and error messages start appearing on your screen. As a result, the system becomes just that little bit slower and can be quite unstable resulting in frequent crashes and errors. Temporary files however is just the tip of the iceberg. It seems Microsoft Windows suffers from a slowdown over time unlike its linux rivals.

Just like humans visit the doctors from time to time, your PC also requires the same treatment and a PC Health Check should be performed ona  regular basis.

A Computer Health Check involves cleaning out files that take up valuable space and are not needed however none of you personal files are touched.

PC Health Check Benefits:

• Improves System Performance
• Improves System Responsiveness
• Free’s Up Valuable Disk Space
• Corrects Annoying Error Messages
• Improves System Boot Time
• Updates Computer Security
• Scans For Viruses, Malware, Spyware and Trojans

Some of the exchanges that will benefit next year are:

Calder Valley, Taffs Well, Chelmsford, Essex,St Albans, Watford, Hemel Hempstead, Leagrave, Luton, Canonbury, Chingford, Enfield, Highams Park, Tottenham, Thamesmead, Woolwich, bury, Didsbury,Failsworth, Heaton Mooor, Oldham, Risholme, Belfast, Balmoral, Dean, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Halifax, Pudsey, West Yorkshire and Humber

Twitter is the latest social networking application that allows you to post your thoughts to the web, but with social networking sites such as Facebook, Bebo and mySpace, is there actually room for another?

To be honest – if you have enough spare time to be able to post “i’m making a cup of tea” and “i’m happy today” , then you obviously have far too much spare time on your hands. What is it with social networking that makes us sit on a computer and post these little messages. Is anyone actually reading them? Does anyone actually give a dam?   Are we as humans simply spending too much time on computers and less time actually socialising with our friends and family.

Twitter just seems like a pointless and absolutely useless invention. Do I care that my mate has just posted the fact that he is watching his favourite TV programme. In fact – why am I sat here wasting my time posting a blog about  – well  – blogging? I guess Twitter is a form of blogging.  Have I just shot myslef in the foot?

On that note – I think I better end this here.
What are your thoughts on the social bloggiong era?

At SysFix, we’ve been testing Windows7 for the last 3 months and are ready to provide technical support to customers. There are lots of new and exciting features in Microsoft’s latest operating system. Not only is it much faster and much more stable than Windows Vista – it’s actually quite painless to use. Windows users failed to be impressed with the Vista release and to be honest – everyone we’ve spoken to about it has had the same thoughts. How many times have you heard “I’d wish I’d have stayed with XP”, but as Microsoft axed further support for this operating system – the only way now is to look forward and leave XP as history. However – Windows XP will always have a place in the IT world and we don’t think it will be going anywhere just yet.

For Windows 7 IT Support, call 0203 095 7740

Defrag or Defragment Your Hard Disk When you save a file on your computer, it doesn’t save in one place. The file is split up and saved in chunks around the hard drive. Why – because when you delete a file, it leaves a hole of empty space on the disk – well lots of them when you detete many files. If the first empty space isnt big enough for the file, part of it is written there and part in the next emply hole… this is a fragmented file! Defragging or Defragmenting a disk moves files around in order to join them all up again which leads to an increase in the file read speed. To use the built-in defrag tool on windows, Double Click “My Computer”, then Right Click the C: drive, then click properties. When the window opens, click tools then defragment now. Obviously repeat this on the D: drive etc if you have more than one drive.

Not too fussed about those fancy animations or screen colours in windows. Not too fussed about how fancy your start menu looks either? Well, you can change these settings in one go to improve system responsiveness dramatically. If you don’t like it – you can simply change it back. This method uses less memory and gives your computer a little kick. To add this speed boost, simply Right click my computer, click properties, advanced, performance, settings button, and then change from let windows manage to adjust for best performance.

PC Health Check Unleashed “Trains You” to manage your own computer system. Follow the procedure every few months or when you feel your PC needs a boost.
We reveal the secrets and “tricks of the trade” to improving your computer system.

We simply cannot perform these PC Health Checks to every customer that requests them. We simply do not have the resources to do so. That’s why we created an online training course that teaches you how to manage your own PC.

It’s an easy to follow course with full HIGH DEFINITION Videos and course notes.

To Get a free Chapter of the course, go to

http://www.pcHealthCheckUnleashed.com

Our Verdict:
If you’re looking to upgrade and you want a Windows based OS – Upgrade. Windows 7 brings a much needed boost to the Windows environment.