PC Co-Pilots, LLC » Tech Support & Web Services Blog

Facebook Etiquette

Jessica Bowers — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 17:42:59 +0000

Have you ever seen those people that do some not-so-smart things on Facebook? Well, today, we’re going to show you how to not become one of those people. By the end of this lesson, you’ll be a regular Facebook Amy Vanderbilt! (She wrote the book on etiquette. Literally!)

This article is a follow up on yesterday’s post about how Facebook is replacing the resume as a potential employer’s go-to for information about applicants. Following these simple etiquette rules for social media will ensure that your Facebook content won’t negatively impact job prospects for you or your friends.

Easy on the updates. Oversharing on Facebook can be a problem. Every meal eaten, every TV show experienced, and every weather condition observed need not be the subject of a status update. Twitter’s platform is more geared toward this type of constant sharing. Facebook feeds can get pretty cluttered and you may run the risk of being labeled a ‘Spammer’ if it gets out of hand.

Beware of embarrassing photos. Resist the temptation to post every last photo from your party on Facebook, particularly images that may cast your guests in an unflattering light. If you have any doubt, ask the subjects of any iffy pics in advance whether they’d mind your posting the shots; then abide by their wishes.

Tag lightly. The same thing goes for tagging: The people in a picture might not object to its being online as long as their names are not associated with it. You should also make sure your tags are relevant and avoid tagging everyone you know just so they will see something you’ve posted. If they are that interested, they will actively look at your profile and see the post.

Don’t friend someone you don’t actually know. There are many fake profiles created that spread malware to steal data from you and your other Facebook friends. Don’t be afraid to ask someone who they are if they send you a friend request. If you’re sending a request to someone you don’t really know in the real world or haven’t seen in a while be sure to include a little message like “Hi, I’m your cousin’s roommate.”

Know the difference between posting on someone’s wall and sending a message. I have seen many people that post something on someone’s wall that contained private information. A post on someone’s wall will allow anyone who visits that person’s profile to see what was posted. When you send a message, it is a private message that only that person can see.

If you are a business, make sure you have a fan page and not a profile. For more info on this, check out our other blog post “Facebook Quick Tips for Business.”

Be sure to credit your sources. When quoting someone, always make sure to credit the person who actually said the quote. Here’s a good example of this:

This doesn’t just apply to song lyrics. Use this rule when quoting other sources such as TV Shows, Movies, Websites, Articles, or even your own friends. Make sure to give citations to article source, lest you be attacked by the copyright infringement monster.

We hope these tips will mean a positive Facebook experience and help you avoid issues cropping up with employers or friends. Remember to practice safe Facebooking!

PC Co-Pilots is a comprehensive computer and web services company located in Jasper, Georgia founded in April 2008 by Justin Bowers. If you have any questions, comments or need any assistance with your computers or web presence, call (706) 253-6362 or email info@pccopilots.com. Ongoing tech tips and tidbits can be found on our Facebook page.

This article was written by a new face to PC Co-Pilots: Zack Makool. Zack comes to us as an intern looking to expand his computer skills. It was edited by Jessica Bowers.

Jessica runs PC Co-Pilots with her husband, Justin, as an Office Manager and head of Marketing. She graduated in 2009 with a Bachelor’s in Sociology from Kennesaw State University and regularly participates in local business and non-profit events. To contact her directly, email Jessica@pccopilots.com.

How is Facebook impacting Job Hunting?

Jessica Bowers — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 19:04:27 +0000

When you’re gearing up for job hunting there are several things you check off a standard to-do list: brush up that resume, lay out a snazzy outfit, do a little potential employer research. Is checking your digital reputation part of that list?

Have you considered what your Facebook or other social media profiles say about you?

A study done for Careerbuilder.com back in 2009 showed that up to 45% of employers were already checking social networks to screen job candidates! Those platforms have only grown in the years since, so that percentage is bound to be higher today.

It has become unspoken knowledge that everyone from college admissions, company recruiters, and human resource departments make it a habit to check up on applicants and current employees via social media. It’s not just career geared sites like LinkedIn they are looking at. They will follow you on Twitter, troll your Facebook page, and Google your personal blog.

In fact that same Careerbuilder.com survey mentioned above found that of those businesses that conduct online background checks, Facebook was a more popular place to start snooping around than LinkedIn. Why? Because they know that Facebook has cultivated a culture that encourages sharing everything from opinions on the day to those risque photos from last weekend’s party. Your resume and LinkedIn profile is more likely to the polished image you wanted to portray. Plus Facebook has more users, so they are more likely to find information about you there.

Why is this so important? It’s just who you are, right? As many as 57% of those businesses that checked social media said it directly impacted their hiring decisions. Do you really want them basing your career and financial future on those negative posts you made when you fought with your boyfriend, the anti-government posts you reshared a billion times because you feel fed up with the economy, those music videos by scantily clad or foul-language using artists, or the photos a friend tagged you in from that wild Halloween party?

Your online reputation has become so important there are entire companies dedicated to cleaning it up for you! Since you know there are people out there looking at it, make your social media presence work for you as a marketing tool. Be sure to go through your posts and clean up anything that might raise an eyebrow. Some people have gotten really creative, using the new format with photos across the top to display their volunteer work or products they’ve sold. The top entry in this article on oddee.com is a great example of what you can do with a little imagination. There are also Facebook applications like BeKnown that can help you separate your professional from personal life.

If you’d rather keep your Facebook profile personal, I recommend taking steps to keep it private. First, check your privacy settings and make sure it’s set so that just your friends can see anything. You can get to those setting by clicking on the drop down menu in the top right corner as pictured below:

Another precaution you can take is only friend people you know and exclude anyone from your current job. Many employers now have very strict social media policies in place that apply to more than what you do during the work day. Getting familiar with whatever their requirements or restrictions are is always a good idea, but by not having those people in your friends list you avoid potential backlashes from what you thought was a perfectly normal post.

Limiting your accepted Facebook friends coupled with staying on top of those privacy settings will mean that potential employers will be more likely to view the online content you actually want them to see. With the power of social engineering growing globally and an ever growing number of people regularly using social media, this trend in online research may eventually replace that initial interview so many of us prepare ourselves for. Make sure that you look as good on the Internet as you would from across that H.R. desk.

PC Co-Pilots is a comprehensive computer and web services company located in Jasper, Georgia founded in April 2008 by Justin Bowers. If you have any questions, comments or need any assistance with your computers or web presence, call (706) 253-6362 or email info@pccopilots.com. Ongoing tech tips and tidbits can be found on our Facebook page.

Jessica Bowers runs PC Co-Pilots with her husband, Justin, as an Office Manager and head of Marketing. She graduated in 2009 with a Bachelor’s in Sociology from Kennesaw State University and regularly participates in local business and non-profit events. To contact her directly, email Jessica@pccopilots.com.

Q&A: Is my data safe if my iPhone is lost or stolen?

Jessica Bowers — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 18:20:28 +0000

Let me share a horror story with you: A client called us up in a panic. She had left her iOS device on a plane after a red-eye flight! Her only course of action was to frantically call her bank, credit card companies, and reset every password she has. None of her data was secured. To help you prevent this same catastrophe, we’re following up our Android security article with one for iPhones.

How to Enable Passcode Protection & Auto-Lock

The first step is to enable Passcode Protection to require a code before your phone can be used.

Tap the Settings app and go to General
Select Passcode Lock and Tap Turn Passcode On
Enter a four-digit passcode and reenter it to confirm
Go back to General under Settings
Tap Auto-Lock and select the amount of time your iPhone will wait before locking.

Now your phone will automatically enter sleep mode and, upon waking, require that code. For a little extra protection, you can also enable the Erase Data function. This will completely wipe the data from your Apple device after ten unsuccessful Passcode attempts. Great idea in the event of leaving your iPhone somewhere, like a plane.

How to Enable SIM Protection

Locking the SIM card with a PIN will prevent someone from using your iPhone to make calls or removing it for use in another phone.

First, go to the Settings App
Tap Phone. iPad Wi-Fi users will tap Cellular Data.
Choose SIM PIN, then Change PIN
Enter the Current Password. For AT&T users, the default is 1111. For other service providers, contact the carrier.
Now enter your New Passcode and confirm it

Your iPhone will ask for this SIM PIN the next time you turn it on. After three failed attempts, the SIM card will lock and you will have to contact your service provider.

Now that your iOS data is safer, I recommend visiting these past blog posts for more information about your security:

For ongoing tips and tricks, become a fan of PC Co-Pilot’s Facebook Page and, while you’re there, sign up for our newsletter. Let us know how we can make your life easier by calling (706) 253-6362 or emailing jessica@pccopilots.com.

Q&A: Is my data safe if my Android is lost or stolen?

Jessica Bowers — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 17:57:57 +0000

We used to live on our computers, but now the world is going mobile. Our emails, photos, social media, bank accounts, businesses: everything is tied to our phones. All that sensitive data is just sitting there for anyone to peruse if the unthinkable happens. We lead busy lives and things are left on the restaurant table or check out counter. I have heard some crazy stories about bold thieves snatching Smart phones in broad daylight right in front of the phone’s owner. Android users can take many steps to protect themselves. iPhone platforms have protections too, but that’s for another article.

How to Lock your Screen

The very first step you can take is to enable the screen lock. You can choose to input a pattern, PIN, or password into your phone to unlock it. This won’t stop someone from removing your SIM card and accessing the data stored there, but it will make it harder for anyone to pick it up and use it.

To enable the lock screen:

Go to Settings
Location & Security
Scroll down until you see Security
Tap Change Screen Lock and from there you will be prompted to choose a setting

Be sure not to use any common or simple codes for these locks. You never know who may be trying to access your data and what they may already know about you. I prefer the pattern option because it’s trickier than just plugging in numbers.

How to Encrypt your SIM card

Keeping the files on your SIM card safe requires an app since Android doesn’t come with these precautions built in. Lock Files is one of the most recommended free apps out there.

After setting the password, you can browser your list of files using this app and choose which ones to lock with a PIN. Be sure to delete the original copy of the file after your have created the encrypted version. There are other apps to choose from that provide this same service, some free and some paid; so you may want to peruse the Android Market to see your options. Keep in mind that encrypting an entire folder may cause it to be inaccessible in other places on your phone; for example, locking the pictures folder will make it unreachable via the gallery.

Now that your Android data is safer, I recommend visiting these past blog posts for more information about your security:

Facebook Quick Tips for Business

Jessica Bowers — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 19:16:55 +0000

You know your business needs to have a Facebook presence… Now what? Jumping into social media can be confusing and time consuming. We’ve put together a few DOs and DON’Ts to help you get rolling on your company’s Facebook marketing.

Doing it right:

DO have a fan page, not a personal profile. For more information about the differences, check out our blog post: Social Media Marketing: Getting Started with Facebook.

DO let your fans post pictures and comments to your wall. Social media is all about sharing. If you find that you get too much spam on your fan page, you can change the viewing or permissions. To get to these settings, go to your business page and click on “Edit Page” in the top right corner. In the menu on the left, choose “Manage Permissions.” From here you can set parameters for what fans can see and do on your page.

DO respond to each post or comment as often as possible. Sometimes it may not be needed, but your fans will like seeing your responses. It makes them feel like your company cares about what they have to say.

DO make a unique post at least once per day, five days a week. This will keep you fresh in your fan’s minds so you get the call when they need the kind of services you provide. Be sure you’re not posting too often. More than every three to five five hours will start feeling like spam to your fans.

DO regularly monitor your Facebook Insights. These analytics will tell you who your fans are, when your posts are getting the most views, and what content your fans are responding to best. Armed with this, you can craft your posts to get the most mileage from your page. You can access Insights two ways: in the admin box to the right of your fan page or in the “Edit Page” menu.

Not so right:

DON’T automatically delete someone’s negative comments. These public comments present you with a perfect opportunity to show your dedication to problem solving and customer service.

DON’T overtly market to your fans with every post. TiVo is popular because people can now skip over annoying commercials. If you’re always telling your fans how awesome your products are and how much they need them, they’ll get bored and hide your posts. Instead, give them something they find useful or entertaining. For example, I often post neat applications, useful quick-tips, or funny tech comics.

DON’T randomly post. It can be hard coming up with good content every day, but randomly posting whenever you happen think about it can lead to a low-quality page that your fans won’t appreciate. Creating a general schedule of content a few weeks in advance can help keep you organized. Use your Insights mentioned above to strategically give your fans what they want when they will be sure to see it. A schedule can also be helpful if more than one person is in charge of your business’ page.

Because marketing can be so time consuming, it’s important to know how to get the most out of the time you spend with your fan page. To see how we do it, check out PC Co-Pilot’s Facebook Page. If you feel like you may need a little more help, we now provide one-on-one social media marketing consultations that focus on Facebook. To learn more about this service or schedule your consultation, call (706) 253-6362 or email jessica@pccopilots.com.

How To Boost Your Computer Speed

Paul Daly — Wed, 04 May 2011 20:22:55 +0000

What would happen to your car if you never changed the oil in it, never check the brakes, never took it in for a tune-up? It wouldn’t be pretty…or cheap. Just like a vehicle, you depend on your computer to connect you to the world. By keeping up with routine maintenance and small upgrades, you can prolong the life of your computer and avoid technological catastrophe.

Upgrading the RAM, also known as memory, in your computer is a great way to give it an instant speed and performance boost. Most computers use a portion of the RAM to run the video card. This can cause the machine to be slow, especially when streaming something from the Internet. Memory is also the cheapest upgrade you can make to a computer.

Many older systems are running on as little as 512MB of RAM. To give you a comparison, a standard system today would include at least 2GB. That’s almost four times as much RAM! Windows 7 requires a minimum of 2GB to run properly. If you were buying a machine today, we’d recommend at least 4GB of RAM. This will let the computer be useful to you for a longer period of time.

Memory isn’t the only thing you can tweak. Learn more about the hardware in a computer with the Purchasing a New Computer 101 blog post. When you bring your computer into our office for a tune-up, we will identify any performance issues and recommend the best options for your needs and budget. We will also optimize your software.

Keeping up with Windows updates and limiting the number of startup programs on your computer will keep the system running smooth. Temp files, empty registry entries, spyware, and bulkware will slow a computer down. We’ll take care of all of these pests during a tune-up, but there is free software that will help you keep things cleaned up. Our Helpful Software Page has recommendations for anti-viruses, anti-spyware, and other useful programs.

Maintaining your computer isn’t all about replacing parts or keeping up with software. A simple physical cleaning should also be done on a regular basis, ideally once a month. Open your computer’s case and use a can of pressurized air to gently chase away the vicious dust bunnies. Keeping fans and other components clean will keep your machine from overheating, which can damage parts. This cleaning is a routine service preformed on any computer that comes into our office.

We understand that despite all good intentions, life sometimes gets in the way of us maintaining things like we should. That’s why we now offer deals and specials to help you get it done. Bring your computers in for Tune-up Tuesdays to have Diagnostics, Microsoft Updates, Optimization, and Routine Maintenance for just $25! For more information, please call (706) 253-6362 or email info@pccopilots.com. You can find other great tips and deals on our Facebook page at facebook.com/pccopilots.

Extending Your Battery Life

Paul Daly — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 19:22:34 +0000

We’re all going mobile now: Smartphones, iPads, laptops, netbooks, and the list goes on! What do all these devices have in common? They all run on a rechargeable Lithium-Ion batteries. With your life hanging from that rechargeable tether, you definitely want to get as much out of it as possible. Here are some handy pointers to keep your devices going and going and going…

Your battery will last longer if kept operating at a mid-state of charge (20-80%).
Partial, random charges are best. It’s not necessary to allow your battery to fully die before charging. In fact, you should avoid this if at all possible.
If your battery is draining too quickly due to use, consider getting a bigger battery.
Never leave a fully charged device plugged in, even if you’re using it. This will zap its overall lifespan and reduce the time needed between charges.
Temperature extremes should be avoided. Overheating or low temps can drastically reduce a battery’s longevity. So try not to leave a device in your car, especially during summer or winter. Keeping laptops and netbooks running for long periods of time can cause overheating and damage the capacity of the battery.

Most of today’s mobile devices use a Lithium-Ion battery with an average lifespan of 18 – 24 months. But average is boring! Follow these simple tips and let us know how much life you can squeeze out your batteries.

For all your technology needs, PC Co-Pilots is here! You can give us a call at (706) 253-6362 or contact us with all of your questions, comments, or suggestions. Connect with us on Facebook for more tips and tricks you can use to impress your friends and get the most out of your technology.

Google Sync with your iOS device

Paul Daly — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 17:38:37 +0000

With my first iPhone4 came the highs of having access to the world in my pocket and the lows of paranoid what-ifs. What if my phone crashed? What would happen to my vast list of contacts? While I have a laptop and desktop that I use to backup my iPhone, there is always a risk of losing everything. Google, in its vast stretching dominion over the internet, has found a solution. The following guide will show you how to set up Google Sync on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch to sync your contacts, calendars, and access your Gmail.

1. Configuring iTunes

First and foremost, sync your iPhone with iTunes to backup all your data. I cannot stress how important this is. Open iTunes and plug in your iPhone. Under the Info tab, check the “Sync Contacts with” option and select “Google Contacts” from the drop-down menu. Then click “Configure” and enter your username/ password when prompted.

iTunes will talk with Google for a bit. When it’s done, click “Apply” in iTunes to sync your iPhone. You will be asked if you want to replace or merge the contacts that are on your iPhone with your Google contacts. I chose to merge them, as this will combine the contacts on your phone and not erase them, leave you with nothing.

There may be duplicates but Gmail has a tool for that in their contacts menu, which highlights duplicate contacts and merges them.

2. Setting Up Google Sync On Your iPhone

Now on to the actual setup Google Sync on your iPhone. Navigate to Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Add Account > Microsoft Exchange. In the Email field, enter your full Gmail address; leave the domain field blank; enter your full Gmail address again as your username; enter your password, and tap Next.

If you get the “Unable to verify access” error message, just tap “Accept”. A new field will appear to let you enter the server information. Enter m.google.com and tap Next.

4. Select the Services to Sync

Using Google Sync, you can have your Gmail ‘pushed’ to your iPhone. This means the emails will be pushed from the Gmail server to your phone. You can also sync contacts and calendars. After the Exchange account is finalized the following options will appear.

When you enable these options, you will get a message asking what you’d like to do with existing contacts/calendars. You may keep them on your iPhone or delete them. I chose to delete them so it does not create duplicate entries. Tap Done to finish the set up.

Now go back to the Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars. Make sure that the “Fetch New Data” option is set to “Push”. It should appear on your iPhone within seconds after the initial sync. The best part about this is the data entry aspect: If you edit a contact on your Gmail account, it will be changed in your iPhone.

Notes: The time interval for checking for new messages is every 15 minutes, every 30 minutes, hourly or manually. The last two options are the best for battery life.

If you have any other questions, comments or suggestions, please give us a call at (706) 253-6362 or send an email to info@pccopilots.com. Connect with our Facebook Fan Page for more tips and specials.

Facebook Security 101

Jessica Bowers — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 22:19:52 +0000

The number one concern voiced to me about Facebook is security. Your personal and professional data is splashed all over this profile or that page. Even though social media is all about sharing, you want to make sure you’re not over sharing – especially potentially sensitive information.

Facebook comes out with new security features constantly. While this may sound like a good thing, most of these settings are not automatically selected to the most secure options. In fact, many of the defaults are very liberal with the information they share and who is allowed to share it. To make matters even more complicated, Facebook doesn’t make it a habit of contacting their users to update them on any changes they make.

How do you protect your sensitive data on Facebook? The easy answer is to not put anything that could be sensitive on there. Your phone numbers and home addresses should never appear on Facebook. That advice becomes harder to follow with things like photos of your children. What is social media for if not connecting you with all of your friends and family? What’s the point if your aunt in Michigan can’t see those adorable baby’s first Christmas photos?

Changing Facebook Security Settings

Now we’ll walk through checking and changing some settings. First, log into your Facebook Account. Then click on the “Account” drop-down menu in the top-right of the page. Select “Account Settings.”

“Account Security” is the third from the bottom option. Click “change” to the right of this heading. There are two important features under this setting:

The first is the Secure Browsing. When logging into Facebook, the server used is HTTPS encrypted; but then the site directs you to a non-secured version. By checking this box, your Facebook experience will be much less prone to hacking. It may cause some pages to load more slowly and there are many applications that are not yet supported by HTTPS. If you remember from my previous post, The Truth about Facebook Stalkers & Application , I don’t recommend using most of those applications anyway.
The second option under Account Security is to notify you when a device connects to your Facebook account. This is a very useful tool to protect against account hijacking. If someone logs into your account, it will send you an email, date stamp it and logs the ISP or wireless carrier. It’s a great way to keep up with the activity on your account and you have the option of ending unfamiliar activity.

Those settings changes will get you well on your way to a much more secure Facebook experience. As always, if there is anything we can help you with; just let us know by calling (706) 253-6362 or emailing Jessica@pccopilots.com.

You can get more great tips, info or sign up for our newsletter on PC Co-Pilot’s Facebook Page.

Failing Anti-viruses

Jessica Bowers — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 22:16:34 +0000

An anti-virus is your defense against all the maliciousness that floats around the Internet. But just like the cold and flu germs that are more vicious than ever, computer viruses are getting around these defenses with increasing regularity. So who can you trust?

Time and again, one of the most common computer problems faced by our clients are viruses and malware. They tear into you files crashing computers, locking up programs and stealing your data. Now the software that you’ve come to trust isn’t quite up to the task it once was. According to the New York Times (October 2010), Symantec Norton Internet Security has been shown in studies to only be effective 72% of the time!
The researchers stressed their belief that it wasn’t poor development on the part of these companies, but the rapidly evolving capabilities of the creators of these viruses that is to blame. Cybercriminals can have a success rate of up to 97% when using tactics designed to target you. They know the trick is to get your permission to invade your information. Our earlier post, Rogue Antivirus Malware is Running Rampant , shows you what deceitful tactics to be on the lookout for.

Why is this stuff getting through?!

The reason so many anti-virus programs miss the malicious software is the way it detects threats. These programs look at what is coming in to the computer rather than HOW it’s being delivered. This is why so many viruses disguise themselves as anti-virus or computer clean-up programs. Your virus protection won’t think twice about something you’ve given permission to.

So, how can you protect yourself and your computer?

We recommend using a free anti-virus program called Microsoft Security Essentials. You can find it on our Helpful Software page. Its success rate was scored higher by researchers than many other programs that cost, including Norton.
Don’t just rely on an anti-virus. Using an anti-malware program is like having a deputy there to back up the sheriff. You can also find a link to Malwarebytes Anti-malware on our Helpful Software page.
Be sure everything is up-to-date. New threats come out daily along with the updates to fight against them. Most programs can be set to automatically update, but we still recommend checking regularly to make sure the updates are happening as scheduled.

Approach the Internet with caution. It’s an amazing resource, but don’t trust everything that pops up on your screen. When in doubt, don’t click on anything. Just close out of your browser and then start a fresh session. If the pop ups continue, you may already be infected; try running your protection software. If that doesn’t work, give us a call at (706) 253-6362.