What you may not have known is that Microsoft themselves suggest you perform a complete PC Tune Up every 3 months. While you can get yourself into the weeds with do it yourself information on using features within Windows 7 such as those found in this blog post; there are also a number of services out there that will take this burden off of your shoulders. Let’s take a look at what these PC Performance Optimization services/tools should include to ensure you get the best bang for your buck.

Deep Dive Anti-Virus, Anti-Malware and Ant-Spyware Scan

With most popular anti-virus software, you run the risk of the application and its virus definitions (the information that tells the software what to look for) becoming corrupt themselves and thus missing major infections during routine scans. It is very important for whatever PC Optimization service you use that it include standalone anti-virus, anti-malware and anti-spyware scan tool(s) – these tools should install and uninstall during the tune up job in order to keep everything segregated and secure!

We happen to use different tools for each of these steps within our own PC Optimization Service, and are always swapping out/upgrading each tool to make sure our PC Tune ups stay ahead of the curve.

Registry and Hard Drive Optimization

While there are a number of ‘free’ tools out there. It is of utmost importance that whatever PC Performance optimization tool you use that is also include a top notch registry cleaning feature. Our opinion is that any tune up that claims to have  both proprietary registry cleaning functionality + proprietary PC security software built into their offering, probably means that one of the two, or sometimes both function very well.

This is why with our Registry and Hard Drive Optimization Tune ups we again bring in various tools to clean various parts of the registry and hard drive to ensure the entire job is completed to industry best practice standards. We feel that using third party tools to supplement the process is the only sure fire way to stay on top of the latest developments, and achieve the best possibly cleaning.

Words of wisdom: Be cautious of any solution that claims to be everything for everyone using their own custom tools. There is a reason why companies like McAfee focus solely on anti-virus, and partner with other organizations for anything outside of that realm. It’s a really, really big job!

Personal Attention over complete Automation

More and more we are seeing completely automated tools marketed as the one stop shop for all of your PC support needs. To be frank, at this stage it is impossible to replace the creative troubleshooting, and analytical ability of a well trained technician. 10 years from now might very well be a different story.

However, for the time being, please make sure that whatever tool you choose includes at least partial intervention from a technician in the form of Online or Remote PC Tech Support via Phone and/or Chat.

We have chosen to build these processes in with our PC Tune Up services, and require our technicians to monitor every tune ups progress as it happens via alerts (in doing it this way a handful of tech’s can monitor, and intervene with literally hundreds of tune ups at a time). After each tune up is marked complete, our technicians receive a notification asking them to analyse the results and suggest upgrades, grade your PC usage behaviour and provide a multitude of other tips and tricks for each customer all in the form of our Monthly PC Tune Up Report (an example of which is shown below)

Best of luck in finding a suitable PC Support and Optimization solution. If there is anything we can do to help, please tweet us @remotetechys or into our team anytime!

Windows 8

Finally, it seems like we can all expect a version of Windows thatseamlessly rides the fence between digital entertainment hub, and productivity. From the product demonstration, and all in one packaged Vizio PC’s (also announced at the show) it seems as though Windows fans can now expect a real competitor to Apple’s tightly controlled hardware/software centric design.

For those of you who may have experienced the downfalls to Windows 7, and its bloated resource requirements – keep your eye out for the opportunity to upgrade! I know we will be.

OLED TV’s

If you were to walk by the booth on the wrong angle (and were oblivious to the never ending crowd gathered around) you could almost pass right by the Samsung OLED TV display. The closest analogy we can make for them is a sheet of glass for a TV, with arguably the crispest picture at the show.

For video fanatics out there – these are worth waiting in line for!

Smart TVs

I think it is safe to assume that the Google TV we purchased for testing, was one of the few units sold in Canada.

Based on the product demonstrations we have seen, manufacturers are expecting Smart TV’s to hit 500 million units within the next few years. Based on the sheer usability and interface design, our vote goes out to Samsung and LG.

While LG (and most other TV manufacturers it seems) is going the way of joining forces with Google TV, the interface and Nintendo WIIesq remote control are a tonne of fun to interact with.

A notably ‘cool’ feature with the LG line – is their In Store Advertising module, which is the best way we can describe the software they have created to allow small business owners to create custom in store promotions, overlaid with TV and web feeds.

Samsung on the other hand has gone a bit more traditional with their remote control technology, but has stepped away from the crowd and created their own App Market for Samsung specific applications and integrations with their version of the Digital Home

3D TV: No Goggles Required

Based on what we have seen to date – dont get your hopes up for a viable solution to be rid of your 3D TV glasses any time soon.

Not to take away from the hype, as the idea of being able to watch 3D TV with the naked eye is simply amazing. The demo’s we witnessed from overseas, independant manufacturers and even juggerant brands fell a bit flat, and seemed to cause a few headaches for quite a few CES guests.

Nexia home/office control

We at Remote Techy have been tracking digital home control technology, and until this years show have been unimpressed with the offerings.

While there were probably about a dozen different solutions being promoted to centralize control of your home/office temperature, security (from alarms to CCTV and door locks) and lighting – Nexia seemed to be the most seamless and intuitive to use.

We of course cannot speak to the setup difficulty or cost – but we cant argue with just how awesome it would be to be able to adjust and monitor your home or office while you are away.

After all, regardless of the PC Security Software you use – the best line of defence is to stay informed!

Here’s the link to the full page and definition on Malware thanks to Wikipedia.

The purpose of Malware is basically to provide the shady characters of the web with access to your personal information, accounts, data and in some cases internet bandwidth for them to exploit. Infections commonly incur when pop up ads are clicked, toolbars, screen savers and even fear tactics promoted PC security software is installed.

To stay safe, it is important to remember that you should NEVER click on any ad’s that are not clearly branded as an organization you know and trust, you should never download and install any software that you do not fully understand the benefits, and risks for and you should absolutely never enter any of your social or email passwords into screen pops that request it for certain access.

Below are sure fire warning signs that you are infected, and that you need to seek help immediately.

• When you first open up a web browser – you are brought to a home page that is not what you usually see (ie. Google, MSN etc.)
• You try to run a search in your main browser, however when you do so another window pops up with the search results and high pressure, fear tactic ads.
• Your PC frequently slows down, shows foreign error message, or even crashes on a regular basis.
• You are constantly bombarded by advertisements when you do not have any web browsers open. These could be ads to install security software, or warning you that your PC might be infected.
• You see new files, new screen savers, new background images – or otherwise unusual changes to your system that you did not make yourself.

Unfortunately, PC security threats are extremely prevalent on the web and represent a huge black market industry. To ensure you stay safe – follow the above safety precautions, keep your security software, and PC up to date with the latest patches and always consult a professional like our Online PC Support team if you suspect anything is amiss.

Using the iPhone App, Desktop App and Chrome plugin, I am able to literally jot down any note and capture any interesting article or idea I come across online, any time and keep all of my data synced across both my mobile phone and PC. Not to mention I can also organize it all in a file structure that makes sense using the Notebook and Tagging features.

Check out the official Evernote walk through on the Web Clipper feature.

If you use you are a mobile heavy user like me – you can even try out recording your thoughts as audio clips – or capturing images of white board discussions. For me the audio is a major plus, as I tend to do an inordinate amount of thinking while I’m driving.

Here’s how I tackle it, hopefully by sharing this it will spark a few ideas of your own as to how Evernote might fit into your lifestyle…

Notebook Structure:

To keep things as simple as possible, I find that I have to rearrange/relabel my notebooks as I go… admittedly sometimes when I create a Notebook, I later forget why I named it what I named it. ah well.

The key I have found is to map your notebooks to the major themes in your day to day. For example…

>Recipes
>Client Meetings
>Prospect Meetings
>Articles about X
>Articles about Y
>Blog Ideas
>Immediate Attention/Follow Up Items

For me this makes sense – as I typically focus on the above day in and day out and am able to populate each, and assign follow up items for ideas accordingly. For really urgent matters I make sure to set a timeline in my calendar or our project management tool, Basecamp, if it is something that I need to delegate – more on this tool in later posts.

Tagging:

Whenever I add an item to Evernote, I always add a tag which summarizes the specific note or idea.

For example, if I read a cool Article about Marketing – specifically say blogging, then I tag it as Blogging and store it in the Articles about Marketing notebook.

Then the cool part is that when I am back at my desktop, and all of my notes are synced up I can view only tags specific to Blogging when I am ready to tackle our blogging initiatives.

Disclaimer: I wrote this blog in Evernote! A lot of our customers also make use of Google Docs, OneNote and similar apps. Evernote is however my personal favorite.

We would love to hear what you use to record your moments of pure genius! Also, if you found this post useful at all – don’t by shy, please share it.

In the name of the illusive New Years Resolution we decided to embark upon preaching the importance of an automated, little to no cost data backup apps.

As I am sure you know, there is no shortage of options out there to choose from, but the main backup options that stand out (and have been thoroughly tested by our team) are SugarSync and Dropbox.

While we have all heard about the security mishaps with cloud based Amazon offerings, there have been no major issues (at least that we are aware of with either of these two options).

SugarSync at a Glance:

Unlike other tools, SugarSync doesn’t require a lot of system power to run in the background. So there is no need to worry about your PC’s performance dipping as your files get backed up.

Every new user gets 5 gb of free storage in the SugarSync cloud which is hosted in the Pheoniz, AZ based Carpathia Data Centers. Click here to learn more about their setup with Carpathia.

Upon signup, you are presented with a fairly simple install process which let’s the app install into your system tray (we want to try to avoid jargon but to clarify this is down by the clock).

You can then select which folders you want to backup, or just have it backup your entire My Documents folder, and perhaps Desktop if you are the type of person who stores a lot of crap there (tsk tsk!)

Once you are all setup you can add a second computer plus a mobile phone and set them to automatically sync across all devices. If you upgrade to the paid version for $5 per month, you can add more even more devices, perhaps each desktop in your office, and expand to 30 Gigabytes of storage.

While there have been reports of file sync errors, and trouble dealing with the support team on these matters – for the most part our clients and our team have not had any major issues.

SugarSync Mobile

Our team found the mobile feature especially cool. If you are on the road a lot and need access to the odd PDF, Powerpoint or Word Doc – you can install the SugarSync App and pull up anything you need pretty quickly. You can also share files with people via email, if say your colleague needs a presentation or report that you have stored locally on your PC at the office.

After playing with the mobile piece, it became apparent pretty quickly that it would be nice to be able to attach files from your SugarSync to your corporate email account on your phone rather then send using your registered SugarSync account and send through the SugarSync email system. For those of you who want to send from your desktop or laptop – there is a SugarySync to Outlook plugin available to make this easier so you dont need to actually attach the file – but can just include a link in the email.

Another down side to SugarSync is that you cannot easily share files with other SugarSync users. You are forced to setup share folders – which make for accessing files and sharing files a bit difficult as it must be done through SugarSyncs file manager and cannot be done right from within the typical file explorer window (show screen shot of the file manager)

The 600lb Gorillla that is Dropbox

To be upfront. For business purposes – this is our definite favorite (and we were not even paid to say that!).

Dropbox is simple to use, gives you 2 gb for free on sign up, and has a similar install process to SugarSync (with the exception of some nicer graphics and instructional information).

The potential downside is that Dropbox uses the Amazon S3 (Simple Storage Service) Cloud to store backups of your data. In our opinion, that mishap earlier this year (read more about this here) is not one worth losing sleep over – any, and just about every tech company has had their hiccups. Especially while pushing the envelope as Amazon has done.

Now for the good stuff.

The major, major benefit to Dropbox in our opinion is that you can easily drag and drop files to your Dropbox storate location right from within your usual file explorer. No apps to deal with – just business as usual!

Admittedly, the Dropbox folder will take some getting used to and possibly a bit of rearranging of your file structure – but once you get it ironed out, all of your files are accessible by anyone who you choose to share your specific folders with – whenever, whereever.

Pretty powerful stuff when it comes to keeping everyone informed and information easily accessible!

Dropbox Mobile could be Better

While the base functionality comes stock with the Dropbox Mobile App, the experience is missing the ability to easily send specific files via perhaps what Dropbox views as more archaic means of communication – like email!

Adding and removing users from Boxes is also only available from the Desktop app. However that said, if you can overcome these two deficienicies – the ease of use and the peace of mind knowing that Dropbox is simply working makes it all worthwhile.

As an added bonus, check out this Lifehacker Article on tips to maximize your free Dropbox storage!

That’s all folks! 

We hope to hear your thoughts, and about your own experiences with either of these services.

If you enjoyed this post, show us by Sharing it!

Here ye – here ye… I would like to formally announce Remote Techy’s foray into the blogosphere!

All kidding aside, our team is extremely excited to start sharing our thoughts with our valued customers, and anyone else out there interested in listening!

With this communication channel, our intent is to provide commentary on the seemingly infinite technologies our customers call in for help on, the tools our own team relies on to manage our business and of course the latest, and maybe not so greatest releases onto the market.

This is also a good time to introduce myself. To keep it brief, my name is Evan White and I am one of the Director’s at Remote Techy and our Parent Company – NeuMarkets.

My focus at Remote Techy is typically data driven, ensuring that the quality of service we are providing remains top notch! However being a relatively small company – just like many of our customers – I tend to wear a number of hats and help out with our Marketing and Development Departments as well.

Thanks for tuning in! On behalf of my team, we look forward to your feedback, commentary and if you feel our content warrants – your shares!