Don’t for one moment think this only happens in the home market.  I had a call out (again in the early days) from a company who were having issues with their server running Small Business Server 2011 Essentials.  There was a guy who worked there who thought he was a bit of a wiz kid when it came to computers and had been ‘tweaking’ the settings and cleaning up the system.  During one of his ‘clean up’ operations he deleted the antivirus on the system thinking it was out of date and it was getting replaced with a newer piece of software.  It wasn’t and it didn’t get replaced  Having left the server completely unprotected for two weeks the server contracted a virus which resulted in the whole thing getting reset and restoring from backups.  Needless to say the company was not best pleased!!

So the moral of todays story is do not to touch your computer systems unless you are certain you know what you are doing.  If you are in any doubt then contact someone who does know and leave them sort it and whatever happens DO NOT DELETE ANYTHING OFF THE SYSTEM UNLESS YOU KNOW WHAT IT IS.

About the Author

Hi I am Chris Wakefield the owner of ComTech IT Support. I provide Windows and Linux based IT Support, laptop repairs and computer repairs to both business and personal clients in and around Stirling.

For a list of what I can offer you why not visit my website www.comtech247.net where you will find a list of my services, testimonials, blog and much more.

• Surf and search with confidence
• Keep tough threats out
• Stay protected on social networks
• Download, share files and chat safely
• Support and assistance
• Play games and watch movies without interruption
• Scan smarter and faster

Sounds impressive but what exactly is ‘Stay Protected on social networks’?  It won’t stop people from slurring you or writing things you don’t want people to know about.  What is Play games and watch movies without interruption all about? Does it increase the speed of the internet connection now?

Some suites offer the facility to backup your files to cloud storage and beefier firewalls. Features like these are not really required on a standard PC.  In a business environment there will usually be a network firewall keeping everyone safe who is behind it.  Why do you need another one on your system which, in my experience, can cause problems.  I had a business laptop once which couldn’t connect to a wifi printer because Norton’s firewall kept blocking the connection.  On a home system Windows comes with a good firewall as standard (except XP) so why change it.

As for cloud storage yes it is handy but call me old fashioned but I want my antivirus to concentrate on one thing and that is to stop virus before they hit my system.  If I want cloud storage I will get some.

All these extra features have one big drawback – computing resources.  Have you tried to run any recent Internet Security Suite on a desktop with 1 GB RAM (a lot of home users and businesses with tight budgets still have these).  The system crawls and it is very hard to actually do work so it defeats the purpose of actually having the software in the first place.

So what do you think is antivirus getting too bloated?

About the Author

Hi I am Chris Wakefield the owner of ComTech IT Support. I provide Windows and Linux based IT Support, laptop repairs and computer repairs to both business and personal clients in and around Stirling.

For a list of what I can offer you why not visit my website www.comtech247.net where you will find a list of my services, testimonials, blog and much more.

Welcome to ComTech

ComTech has been helping to solve IT issues for both small businesses and home clients throughout the Stirling area since April 2010.  I am qualified and experienced in both Windows and Linux environments and am always glad to help with any IT queries that you might have.

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COMTECH IS 3 YEARS OLD THIS MONTH!!

As a thank you to all my customers I have decided to give my time away for free!! Anyone (home users and businesses alike) who uses ComTech this month will receive a voucher worth 1 hr of my time FREE which they can use anytime within the next 6 months.

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Here at ComTech I pride myself on offering a service which is very personalised and in plain English.  You will never be charged for work that you don’t need and you will never be left stranded when your computer systems go down.

ComTech was founded on one main principal;

“Provide the customer with the quality and service they expect”

I am based in Stirling which is very convenient to cover all of Stirling, Clackmannanshire and Falkirk.  I will travel out further to Glasgow, Edinburgh and Perth if clients are in need of my services (there is no extra charge for this).

Take a look at what my existing clients think of my services.

When not out and about helping clients I interact with existing and prospective clients through social media making ComTech a very ‘social company’.  Why not drop by on either Twitter  or  Facebook  and say hi.  It is always good to meet new people!!

Terms and Conditions

If you look at Distrowatch there are currently 319 linux distributions listed.  Of these over 70 are Ubuntu based (please correct me if I am wrong).  There is also currently about 29 desktop environments.  How much choice do we need?  At this point people will turn around and say that choice is good and that if you don’t find what you are looking for in one distribution then try another one.  I would agree to a point but it does feel like people are reinventing the wheel to some extent.  For example how many distros do we need based on Ubuntu?

I am asked a lot by both clients and friends which distro would I recommend? Usually Linux Mint / Ubuntu for desktop and Debian as a server but then they talk to someone else and they may get Fedora on a desktop and CentOS on a server.  You can see where I am taking this.  You ask a different person for their opinion and you will get a different distro every time.

It can also be a nightmare from a techs point of view too.  When starting out in Linux it is always best to get a grasp of the universal basics (command line etc) but at some point you will want to go distro specific.  Which one? I have stuck with the deb based distros as this is what I have the most experience with.  If I came across an rpm distro in “the wild” I would not feel as confident in fixing any issues it might have.  If you take Windows as an example a tech could learn Windows 7 and still have a good crack at Windows 8.  This is not usually the case with Linux.

Also look at the resources that are currently being wasted.  If you take all the developers that are currently dispersed across 319 distros and combined them into say 5 it would make a huge difference in the way linux is perceived.  With less distros to support hardware manufacturers would start to pay more attention (more drivers available) and so would the general public.  A streamlined Linux would become a much effective force to do battle with the likes of Microsoft and would certainly start to gain market share.

So what do you think? Would a streamlined Linux work?

About the Author

Hi I am Chris Wakefield the owner of ComTech IT Support. I provide Windows and Linux based IT Support, laptop repairs and computer repairs to both business and personal clients in and around Stirling.

For a list of what I can offer you why not visit my website www.comtech247.net where you will find a list of my services, testimonials, blog and much more.

So I did and what I found was shocking!! Read the full article at your leisure.

Basically a 6 year old kid spent £3200 on playing an iphone game where you purchase food for farm animals in order to feed them. Scary hey!!

It is not only iphones that have this problem though.  If you read on the article states that Blackberry keeps you logged in for 20 minutes after purchasing an app, while Google will take your money without you entering a pin when you have set up your details on Google Play.  Sounds like a childs playground to me!!

So how do you stop kids racking up huge bills.  Hopefully this advise will help:

• Actually use passwords!!!!!

The amount of people who don’t use passwords is shocking.  If there is no password you are giving your children free roam over you device which is not a good idea.

• Use passwords your kids can’t guess

Kids are very smart so don’t use passwords that they can guess and don’t let them watch when you enter the password.

• Ask your mobile provider to cap your bills

You can cap your bills at any amount above your normal bill so you don’t get any nasty surprises.

• Supervise your children

I am as guilty as the next person when it comes to this.  My 2 year old daughter uses my Playbook most days and a lot of the time she does without me watching her.

• Restrict App purchases

Apple

Go to settings – General – Restrictions and then decide if you want your password entered every time you make a purchase or not.

Android

Set up a PIN with your Google Play account.  This is not the default on most Android phones.

Blackberry

At the moment there is no way to disable the 20 minute login after app purchases.  Come on Blackberry get this sorted!!

Windows

Windows has a great feature called ‘Kids Corner’ which allows your child their own phone area on the handset.  It comes with restricted access to your device and also certain apps/websites/services etc.  This is not set up by default.

Remember you may think you are pretty smart but believe me kids are smarter so lock down your phone!!

About the Author

Hi I am Chris Wakefield the owner of ComTech IT Support. I provide Windows and Linux based IT Support, laptop repairs and computer repairs to both business and personal clients in and around Stirling.

For a list of what I can offer you why not visit my website www.comtech247.net where you will find a list of my services, testimonials, blog and much more.

The basis of virtualization is very simple.  It is the ability to run multiple operating systems on the same physical hardware at the same time.  So for example you could run Windows XP and Windows 7 on the same computer or even Windows 7 running on a Linux system.  Now I  hear you cry “Why would I ever want to do such a thing?” Let me give you some examples.

Imagine a business owner who purchases a Mac for his business.  He intends to use it everyday but then releases that he still needs Windows to run some software.  Now by installing a piece of virtualization software from the likes of VMWare, Parallels or Oracle Virtualbox he will be able to run both Max OS X and Windows 7 at the same time on his system and switching between the two when he needs too.  He now has the best of both worlds.

Now take another business that runs a mission critical piece of software on Windows XP. They decide to upgrade all their machines in the office to Windows 7 and then realise that the business critical software only runs on XP.  What happens now? They can install a piece of software from VMWare called VMWare converter and convert their physical system into a virtual one!! Install VMWare onto their new Windows 7 system and then upload the ‘old’ XP system as a virtual machine.

So what are the benefits of virtualization then?

1. You can run any software you want on any system you like.

2. You are able to run multiple operating systems on the same hardware which in turn cuts down on hardware costs and also electricity costs too.

3. Very easy to backup your systems.  If the virtual machine becomes corrupt you just delete it and reload a backup copy.  Very fast and simple to recover your systems.

4. The software is free.  You can use VMWare Player, Oracle Virtualbox, Microsoft Hyper-V, Citrix Xen Server or KVM.  The choice is yours!!

About the Author

Hi I am Chris Wakefield the owner of ComTech IT Support. I provide Windows and Linux based IT Support, laptop repairs and computer repairs to both business and personal clients in and around Stirling.

For a list of what I can offer you why not visit my website www.comtech247.net where you will find a list of my services, testimonials, blog and much more.

I had the same response when talking to another “techie” person this week.  He described it as “cheap and chearful IT” and “businesses only like it because it is cheap”.  As you can imagine I totally disagreed with this.  Even though I love working with Linux, as pointed out in a previous blog, I use whatever tools are available to me.  So if Windows works it gets used.  The same goes for Macs and Linux too.  For small businesses though Linux has a lot to offer such as:

1. File sharing and backups

Linux file servers have less hardware requirements than their Windows counterparts meaning less outlay for the client.  For instance you can set up a Linux file server on a computer with only 512Mb RAM.  Try that with a Windows machine!!  The software is also free so you don’t have to pay hundreds of pounds for licences either.

Linux file servers also require less maintenance.  There is no antivirus software to monitor and less hassle with updates.  You can basically install one and it will quite happily sip electric in the corner of the office with the minimum of maintenance for a very long time.

2. Linux Desktops

Now I would place a wager that most people reading this blog use a Windows system at work.  Now there is nothing wrong with that at all but what happens when you have to upgrade your machine.  Should you go for another Windows machine (Windows 8 maybe?) or can I temp you with another option – Ubuntu.  Now there are literally hundreds of Linux desktop versions but I would suggest new users coming from a Windows environment could do a hell of a lot worse than trying Ubuntu.  It is very easy to use and while yes there is a learning curve it is no worse than going from either Windows XP or 7 to Windows 8.  With all Linux systems you also get the knowledge you will never get a virus too.

This is what your new desktop could look like with Ubuntu.  Not so scary hey?

3. You are probably already using it

There is a good chance that if you own a smartphone you are already using Linux and that is because of Android.  I bet you didn’t know that?

So to sum up depending on what your business requirements are – Windows, Linux or Mac might be better suited to what you need.  Don’t count out Linux because it is “cheap and chearful” because setup correctly it can be a very powerful tool to help your business run smoothly.

About the Author

Hi I am Chris Wakefield the owner of ComTech IT Support. I provide Windows and Linux based IT Support, laptop repairs and computer repairs to both business and personal clients in and around Stirling.

For a list of what I can offer you why not visit my website www.comtech247.net where you will find a list of my services, testimonials, blog and much more

Now I would never say that one operating system is definitely superior to the others but instead I would say that it depends on the situation.  For example if you need a file server for your office then take a look at Linux (in my case either Ubuntu or Debian).  For sharing printers I would say go with Windows (due to availability of print drivers) and if you want graphics then go and get a Mac (I can see the appeal of a Mac but they are overpriced for me).  I could go on and on citing examples but I think you get the point.  However I seem to be in the minority.

Being an IT Engineer when faced with a problem I will use all the available tools at my disposal to fix it.  For example I use Linux Live CD’s to recover data from broken Windows installations while I always carry around (now) a wireless adapter that works on both Linux and Windows systems.  I even have a password cracker (Ophcrack – Linux based) which is very handy when Windows users have forgotten their passwords (non domain)

For me to limit myself to one OS would be foolish as I would be cutting myself off from tools I could use to help my customers.  Windows, Linux or Mac based I don’t really care as long as it does what I need it to do!!

So what do you think? Are you are purist or someone who likes to dabble in the dark side?

About the Author

Hi I am Chris Wakefield the owner of ComTech IT Support. I provide Windows and Linux based IT Support, laptop repairs and computer repairs to both business and personal clients in and around Stirling. For a list of what I can offer you why not visit my website www.comtech247.net where you will find a list of my services, testimonials, blog and much more.

Hi I’m Chris the owner of ComTech.  I am just a regular guy who loves fixing (and sometimes breaking!!) computers for a living.  I have a passion for Linux and all things open source and can quite happily spend hours ‘improving’ my network.  I also like going hiking in the mountains, snowboarding, rock climbing, motorcycles and having the odd kid.  You see I am a busy cookie!!

I believe that to be taken seriously in your chosen field you should be both qualified and experienced in it.  To this end I have studied and obtained my qualifications in Windows, Cisco and Linux which allows me to demonstrate the level of my knowledge.  I would never call myself an ‘expert’ in IT as there is always new stuff to learn but I would say I have more than enough knowledge to solve any IT issue you are likely to come across.  And as for the stuff I don’t know? There is always Google!!

Why not take a look at my professional profile on  LinkedIN

To give you piece of mind I have set up a testimonials page containing comments from some of my existing clients.

Hope to work with you soon!!

Chris

First thing we need to do is create a batch file so open up Notepad.  Name the file anything you like but make sure it ends in .bat so for example mine was virtualxp.bat.  I then inserted the following text into the file:

cd “c:\Program Files\Oracle\Virtualbox”

vboxmanage startvm “ENTER YOUR MACHINE NAME”

The above code assumes that you have installed Virtualbox in the default location, if not alter the text appropriately.  Enter your machine name should be self explanatory!!

Save the file and place it in the Startup folder which is located at C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup.

That is it.  The virtual machine should now start when the host starts.

About the Author

Hi I am Chris Wakefield the owner of ComTech IT Support. I provide Windows and Linux based IT Support, laptop repairs and computer repairs to both business and personal clients in and around Stirling.

For a list of what I can offer you why not visit my website www.comtech247.net where you will find a list of my services, testimonials, blog and much more.