IT Support Blog

Virus Warning: Australia Post and courier company package delivery failure emails

Wed, 16 May 2012 04:42:00 GMT

We seem to be having quite a few customers get sucked into this email scam lately. They begin with an email that has a subject line similar to the following:

DHL Package Delivery Status
Package Delivery Status Failure
Australia Post Delivery Information
Track Your Shipment Number 1285676

The body of the email goes on to say something along the lines of

Dear customer. Your package has been returned to the Australia Post office. Reason: Error in delivery address. Information about your package is attached to the letter. Read all information carefully and come to the "Australia Post" office to receive your package.

Thank you.

Australia Post Service.

Or alternatively:

Dear customer.

A courier did not deliver the package to your address.

Reason: The delivery address is wrong Please find the attached document containing detailed information about delivery failure.

Read all information carefully and come to the "Australia Post" office to receive your package.

Thank you.

Australia Post Service.

Whatever you do - DO NOT open the attachment!

If you have a good quality virus scanner on your machine, it should a) mark the email as junk and b) possibly notify you that the attachment has a virus which it will automatically destroy.

If you have opened the attachment, the chances of you having a virus are very high if you dont already have a good internet security program installed. Best to get one ASAP!

If you want a free program - try AVG Free

Our recommended option for a paid program is Kaspersky Internet Security. They currently have a deal on (limited time only) where you get 2 years cover for just $59 for 1 PC! We think thats a bargain!

Tablets – are they worth all the fuss?

Thu, 03 May 2012 06:47:00 GMT

In recent months there has been an explosion in the market in the number of different tablet computers available. So are they really deserving of all the hype ?

Apple iPad –It’s easy to use, has great battery life and has an enormous amount of Apps that can be easily downloaded directly onto the device from the App Store. The latest version, the “New” iPad has only recently been released and its “Retina Display” means you get a screen that offers fantastic quality when viewing movies/photos and more.

The iPad is not designed to be a replacement for a normal notebook or desktop computer. For example, it does not have USB ports or cd drives. If you are thinking of getting an iPad to use for home, school or work and you don’t have another computer as well – I would urge you to consider one of the alternative tablets below.

Both of the next 2 tablets run on Google’s Android operating system.

Samsung Galaxy Tab – this was the tablet that Apple tried to prevent Samsung from selling in Australia. If you want faster web browsing, there is a 4G model available (unlike the iPad which is NOT 4G). If you are “anti apple” this is the tablet for you! Available in 2 sizes, it’s a great option

Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime – a VERY cool tablet! The docking station option (read: proper keyboard!) makes it a superb choice for power users who want a tablet that can be used effectively as a business tool every day. This tablet offers high performance at a good price.

There are also some great tablets on the market from Toshiba, Sony and Lenovo. With the release of the touch screen inspired Windows 8 in the very near future, expect to see some new Windows 8 based tablets released in the coming months that will give the Apple iPad some heavy competition!

Why It's Best To Shop Local

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 03:05:00 GMT

If you go over to the coast and purchase a new computer system from any one of the larger retail stores – yes, you might get a cheaper price. However, in all likelihood, you won';t get:

Advice from a computer technician - Typically you would be talking to a salesperson. These sales people may not have a technical background. In many cases, they will be working on commission which means they may be trying to sell you anything they can.

Data transferred from the old to new computer – simply because the bigger chain stores don’t offer this service.

Our customers can have their old data transferred onto a new computer including emails, documents and more.

You may not get the latest hardware – often the chain stores can sell computers very cheap because they are superseded models that are being run out. If having the very latest in hardware is important to you, it’s best to talk to a specialist.

You won’t get a PC that’s custom built to your requirements – if you are into gaming, graphic design, photo or video editing or anything similar then you will have some fairly specific requirements from your computer. You need to be sure that you are spending your hard earned dollars on a computer that will perform. A custom built system will be a safer bet for your sort of needs.

These are just a few reasons we think it’s beneficial for you to shop local. So next time you need a new PC – come and have a chat to us and at the very least, give us a go at matching the price!

Attention Iphone Users – Have you backed up?!

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 07:35:00 GMT

There are (apparently) over 3.4 million iPhone users in Australia! And this number is growing every day. It seems that many iPhone users don’t back up their phones – even though it is a very simple and easy task!

The benefits of backing up your phone cannot be stressed enough! If your phone is lost, damaged or stolen – your data is gone with it.

Backed up information includes purchased music, apps, photos, videos, device settings (eg. Wallpaper, Mail, Contacts, Calendar accounts), app data, Messages, ringtones and more.

There are 2 ways to back up your iPhone:

1) Back up to your computer

Plug your iPhone in to your PC or Mac and fire up iTunes. Simply click on the device name in the left panel and then the scroll down to the backup section. Click on “Backup to this computer” and hit ‘Sync’ in the bottom right corner.

2)   Backup to iCloud
After you have enabled Backup on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch in Settings > iCloud > Backup & Storage, it will run on a daily basis as long as your device is:
•   Connected to the Internet over Wi-Fi
•   Connected to a power source
•   Screen locked

You can also back up manually whenever your device is connected to the Internet over Wi-Fi by choosing Back Up Now from Settings > iCloud > Storage & Backup.

Backing up to iCloud is free for users with iOS 5 (the latest version). If you have an older operating system on your phone, you will need to choose the first option above.

The Consumer Electronics Show and Laptops in 2012

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 04:01:00 GMT

The worlds greatest tech show – the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) - kicked off on Monday the 9th January. Running until Thursday 12th January, the show sees the entire tech world descend on Las Vegas. The show covers more than 1.8 million square feet and has more than 140,000 attendees from across the globe – so it’s a big deal!

All the big players showcase their new products at CES– both those in production and concepts for the future. The only notable exception is Apple who always do their own thing anyway.

This year, it’s all about thinner and lighter laptops made with premium materials and slick design.

You will see a new type of laptop called an ‘ultrabook’ flood the market from a variety of manufacturers. CES saw introductions of the thinnest laptops the world has ever seen. The Acer Aspire S5 and the Series 9 from Samsung are so skinny that they mac the Apple MacBook Air look chunky! Acer claims the Aspire S5 is the world’s thinnest notebook computer!

These new ultrabooks will feature smaller, faster chips that operate more efficiently than the current Core processors, making them easier to cool in these thin laptops while delivering longer battery life.

While we have seen laptops with touchscreens in the past, we will be seeing much more of these in the future now that Windows 8 is on the way with greatly improved touchscreen capabilities built in.

The industry prediction is for a move away from ‘cheap and cheerful’ laptops and towards laptops that look great, run cool and quiet, and are easier to carry around.

What to do if you spill liquid on your laptop!

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 02:56:00 GMT

It happens all the time! You have the glass of wine, can of coke etc. sitting on the table next to your laptop…. And then either you or someone else knocks it straight onto the keyboard Crisis!!

Taking the following steps will minimize the level of damage to your computer.

Depending on the amount of liquid spilt onto your laptop, and what you do immediately after will affect whether your computer has just been handed its death sentence. The problem occurs when liquid gets into the internals of the computer – although it may appear to work fine in the short term, the process of corrosion has begun and the problems will only increase from there.

Step 1

Turn the computer off, Pull the battery out, unplug your computer from the wall and leave it OFF!

Step 2

Turn your computer upside down as soon as possible. The best place for the liquid to escape is back out through the keyboard. Turn your pc upside down on a towel and leave it for a few hours.

Step 3

Take it to your local trusted computer repair center (upside down if possible). They will disassemble your laptop and assess how much liquid has made its way in and how much damage has occurred.

They may recommend that all data is transferred off the hard drive in case the computer can’t be repaired.

If you are quick enough, you may save your computer.

In some laptops, there is a protective plastic lining under the keyboard which helps to prevent things like crumbs getting into the important bits. If only minimal liquid was spilt, this lining can minimize damage.

In some cases, your computer will require replacement - in these cases... we hope you have insurance! In other cases, you might be lucky and get away with it.

As always, if in doubt - bring it in to us for inspection!

Want a tablet but don’t like Apple? Check out the Gigabyte S1080!

Sun, 06 Nov 2011 23:55:00 GMT

We frequently come across people who want a tablet computer for either business or personal reasons but whom hate Apple. And while there are quite a few tablets available on the market now… some are light years ahead of the rest in terms of practicality and functionality.

The Gigabyte S1080 tablet is our pick of the best ‘non-Apple tablets’ around. It has a 10.1” screen and runs Windows 7 Home Premium (also available in Pro). So for those of you already familiar with Win 7, it can be a good choice.

The S1080 takes advantage of the touchscreen capabilities of Windows 7 – but expect these to improve vastly with the release of Windows 8 (mid to late 2012)

For those wanting to use it for work, it also features a wide variety of ports, including a USB 2.0 and even a faster USB 3.0 one. There's also Gigabit Ethernet, an SD card reader, a SIM card slot, a VGA port and a slot for an additional battery. It only has one front mounted camera, but has there’s a pair of speakers, an in-built microphone and Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 3.0 connectivity. It’s a bit too heavy to be comfortable by tablet standards, but the sheer amount of functionality still makes this a very worthwhile tablet.

It also comes with a 320GB hard disk drive which is massive by tablet standards, but it does contribute to the S1080's weight of 895 grams.

The S1080 can also be purchased with a Keyboard Kit which includes a portable keyboard and carry case. This is designed to transform the tablet into a mobile workstation – and this it does very well.

Help - My Internet Doesnt Work!!

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 10:02:00 GMT

We often get customers asking us “My internet has stopped working – what’s wrong?” or “My internet has suddenly become really slow – what’s wrong?”.

There can be a few simple things to try before you call your friendly, local IT guy!

Power cycle your modem/router

This is the ‘box that has lights on it that gives you the internet’. Your starting point should always be to turn it completely off, wait a few minutes, then turn it on again.

In many cases this will fix the problem. If power cycling your modem does not fix the problem, there is more you can try.

Have you recently had any changes to your phone lines at home?

We had a customer who had a new phone point put in her home. After she moved her modem to the new phone point – the internet suddenly went very slow. After moving the modem back to its original phone point – it was fine again. In her older style home, there were problems with the wiring and it turned out that the new phone point was the problem.

Have you plugged in a new phone? Have you had a power surge?

Any faulty device plugged in to a phone line in your home can cause your internet speed to drop suddenly or stop working completely.

Start by unplugging anything that goes into a phone line (all phones/faxes etc). If you have a splitter on your modem (which you should!) – remove this also. Then plug the phone line from your wall directly into your modem (no splitter for now).

Test your internet – has this fixed the problem?

Then re-add your devices one by one – testing the internet in between each one. If you are still experiencing issues with your internet, the problem may lie with your modem or splitter. A replacement can cost around $75 for a wireless modem-router or $15 for a splitter. If you replace you modem and still have trouble – it could be an issue with your line.

Contact your ISP and ask them to organize a line test for you. Or just call your friendly local IT guy and get them to assist!

ISP's And You

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 13:09:00 GMT

Our customers ask us these questions so often, we thought we would share the answers. If you have any computer related questions, please submit them to us via the contact form on our website - www.totalmicrosystems.com.au

Q: How Do I Choose An ISP?

A: Do Your Research! Ask friends and family about their experiences with their own ISP. Ask about how much they pay per month, how long the contract is, what their data limit is, the reliability of the service and what other extras the package comes with. If you have access to the internet, there are some great websites that let you compare ISP’s side by side so you can evaluate exactly what you’ll be getting with each of them. Remember its not all about price - customer service plays a huge part as well.

Q: My friend lives in Beerwah and has ADSL 2+, I live in Glasshouse and have been told I cant get broadband internet at all - why ??

A: The location of your home or office will often dictate the providers you are able to choose from. You need to be aware that Telstra own the infrastructure and then ‘rent’ out spaces to other companies. Each other company, i.e. Optus, Dodo etc will only have a certain allocation on that exchange. Once their allocation is full with customers, they wont be able to service any new clients in that area.

If you go to a different company and are advised that broadband is unavailable - don’t panic! It may just mean you need to keep looking until you find a company with space in their allocation. In some cases, the only option for you will be Telstra. We do know that the exchange is mostly full in Glasshouse - and is desperately in need of an upgrade - so some of you will need to remain patient.

Warning To Customers Who Purchased A Hard Drive From Aldi

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 02:32:00 GMT

If you recently purchased a four-in-one Fission external hard drive from Aldi – you should return it to your local store immediately. Aldi are recalling the hard drives because they are infected with the Conficker Worm virus.

This virus is quite a nasty one – it will copy itself between your devices and create havoc! The Australian Computer Emergency Response team has warned consumers who had used the drives on their computers to immediately run anti-virus software.

We recommend using Kaspersky as an internet security solution !

Warning: Desktop Security 2010 Virus

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 02:27:00 GMT

This virus has been around for a while now but we see so many customers with it on their computers! It is a rogue anti spyware program that must be manually installed by the user. While installing, it will create numerous fake malware files on your computer that will be detected when the program scans your computer.

This program will be configured to start automatically when you turn on your computer. Once started, it will scan your computer and display numerous fake infections, including the ones it created in the first place. If you attempt to remove these infections, the program will state you must purchase before it will allow you to do so. The reality is that these infections are all fake and some of them are legitimate Windows files that are required for the proper operation of Windows! Therefore, it is highly recommended that you do not act upon any of the files it states are infectious.

Review: Gigabyte M1405 Notebook Computer

Wed, 06 Jul 2011 03:19:00 GMT

This month we are going to review a fantastic little notebook. You may not have heard of Gigabyte as a brand that make laptops – that’s because in previous years, they didn’t. However, Gigabyte have been making very high quality components for desktop computer systems for years… and this experience has translated into a great notebook.

The M1405 combines style with a high level of functionality. It features a brushed metal lid that is available in red, blue, silver or gold. It is also a slim line, light weight model that makes it very portable. It is a 14” unit with 1366x768 screen resolution; it has a low voltage 1.3GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor; 2GB RAM (upgradeable to 4GB); and a 320GB Hard Drive.

There are 2 main features that make this laptop stand out from the rest. The first is that the DVD drive can be completely removed to make way for a second battery. Its standard 6 cell battery is claimed to have a 10 hour run time – and that’s not including the second battery!

The other great feature is the docking station that can be purchased as an accessory. In addition to 3 more USB ports, Gigabyte has put an NVidia GeForce GT220 graphics chip with 1GB of memory in the station, along with DVI, VGA and HDMI ports. This means that the docking station can drive two different desktop monitors while you’re connected to it.

In addition, this laptop has the capacity for a 3G module (an accessory) allowing you to put a sim card straight into the computer. No need for annoying 3G dongles hanging out of your computer!

If the above sounds like it suits your needs, pop in to our store and have a play with the demo unit we have set up – you wont be disappointed!

Reminder – Microsoft/Windows Call Scam Still Doing The Rounds!

Mon, 16 May 2011 02:10:00 GMT

I covered this topic some time back – but it seems it needs a refresh! Not a day goes by in our stores where we don’t have a customer come in reporting a phone call from Microsoft or Windows.

For those who are unaware, this is how the scam works:
1)   Someone from India, the Philippines or similar will call you and tell you that they are from ‘Microsoft’ or ‘Windows’ and they have detected ‘errors’ on your computer.
2)   They will instruct you to do a few things on your computer to show you the error messages.
3)   They will then advise that for a fee, they can remotely access your computer and fix these errors for you.

Facts!
•   Under no circumstances will someone from Microsoft ever call you about your computer.
•   There will ALWAYS be errors in the error log on your computer – this is normal.
•   If you give them remote access to your computer, they can access your personal data.

If you have provided one of these scammers with access to your computer, we would at the very least, recommend taking your machine to a reputable computer repair place for a check up and full virus scan.

If you have provided your credit card to scammers, we would recommend that in addition to the above, cancelling the card immediately and reporting the matter to your bank. These scammers are unscrupulous, and based overseas – providing them your credit card details will very likely lead to other unauthorized transactions on your card.

It is best practice to never provide your credit card to anyone who has called you unless you are 100% confident you know who they are, and who they work for.

Do You Have A Professional Email Address For Your Business

Mon, 11 Apr 2011 03:16:00 GMT

I am always constantly amazed by the amount of businesses I encounter that are not using a branded domain name for their business email address.

Think about how much more professional it appears to have an email address like info@joeblogsplumbing.com.au as opposed to joeblogsplumbing@bigpond.com

Having a branded domain name can be good for several reasons:

It provides reassurance to your customer that you are a business that wants to be taken seriously. A business that has purchased a domain name and set up emails obviously plans to stick around for a while.

It removes the need for changing email addresses if you change your ISP. You can jump between different ISP’s all the time and keep the same email address.

It ensures continuity across all of your business communication which is important from a branding perspective.

It’s very easy to set this up. You simply need to purchase a domain name and email hosting. Domain names can be purchased from any reputable registrar – make sure you stick with an Australian company as there are some dodgy ones out there. We recommend either Net Registry or Crazy Domains.

Often when you purchase a domain name you will be provided with options for email hosting as an add-on service. If you already have a website for your business, having email accounts should be included in the price for your website hosting.

If you need any help – feel free to call the techs at Total Microsystems and they can do it all for you!

Alternatives To Internet Explorer

Tue, 29 Mar 2011 02:10:00 GMT

Many people don’t realise that there are other internet browsers available to use other than Internet Explorer. Many of these other products are faster to use and are far more reliable than Internet Explorer. Below we will list the most popular alternatives and also how to get the most from your Internet Explorer (IE). .

1)Mozilla Firefox Download for free from: www.mozilla.com
Mozilla Firefox has been around for a long time and has proven itself very reliable. This is the second most popular browser after IE. Firefox can be highly personalised with different colour schemes and various add-ons. For a list of add-ons that can add functionality visit – https://addons.mozilla.org

Available on PC and Mac

2) Google Chrome Download for free from www.google.com/chrome
Google Chrome is best for its lightening fast speed! Load Chrome onto your computer and you will instantly notice how much faster it is to load and start searching! Be warned though – many banking and financial institution websites will not work with Google Chrome.

Available on PC and Mac

3) Apple Safari Download for free from www.apple.com/safari/download
This is the popular browser from Apple that is available for both PC and Mac. If you have an iPhone you will recognise this one!

Getting the most from Internet Explorer

1)Remove all the toolbars that you have added on over time.

If you have numerous toolbars all trying to load whenever you open IE – it will take forever to fire up! Delete/remove them all for an instant performance increase.

2)Update to the latest version.

Using an out of date version of IE such as 6.0 will result in many websites not displaying correctly. Updating to the latest version – 9 – will ensure that your websites are working properly.