Multi-tasking is only as easy (or useful) as the amount of 'room' you have to accomplish the tasks at hand:  it's pretty tough to work on 2 cars in a 1-car garage, for example, since shuffling them back-and-forth can take more time than the tire changes or tune-up they need!

  Of course, the same is true of your computer workspace-  it can be frustrating to work on a spreadsheet for the boss if it doesn't fit on the desktop next to his email with all that pertinent data you need to enter!  Switching screens can be like moving cars-  not quite as sweaty, but just as tedious.  What to do?

  Adding a second monitor can make a big difference to your daily workflow and output;  we are still surprised that more of our customers haven't already taken advantage of this productivity-boosting upgrade.  With the widespread deployment of the LCD panel monitor, a second screen takes up about 10 square inches of your physical desktop and can easily double or triple your existing 'virtual' workspace.  Best of all, your laptop (and in many cases your PC) will support a second monitor without opening the chassis or adding any new hardware at all!

By the way, we've been seeing a lot of computers come into our Ruckersville shop with Trojan viruses that were picked up from Facebook, so let's be careful out there!  Stay on Facebook's main pages to post and read messages, but try to avoid following links that take you away from Facebook's web site unless you are VERY sure about where it is taking you.

    -PJ

Well, folks, I just received an e-mail this morning informing me that UPS has a package waiting for me, and urging me to click on a link to look at the tracking information.  Even though I actually am waiting on a package from UPS, it struck me as odd because UPS would normally just go ahead and deliver it - why send me an e-mail?  As I suspected, it turns out that the links in the e-mail, which seemed to point to legitimate UPS web site locations, was actually a clever ploy to get me to download an infected attachment.

The subject line was "Your package has arrived!" and the sender was "web29400 [web29400@cgi00.web.eu.clara.net]; on behalf of; UPS Shipments [tracking@ups.com]".  That also seemed odd; why would UPS have somebody sending e--mails on behalf of them?

This is the body of the e-mail (with links removed):

Dear client
Your package has arrived.
The tracking # is : 392869B2DAEB9292 and can be used at :
http://www.ups.com/tracking/tracking.html
The shipping invoice can be downloaded from :
http://www.ups.com/tracking/invoices/download.aspx?invoice_id=392869B2DAEB9292

Thank you,
United Parcel Service

*** This is an automatically generated email, please do not reply ***

Needless to say, I did not click on the links, but instead I looked up the subject line on Google and discovered that this is a fairly well-known virus scam.  If you would like to read more about it, you can click on this link (this link is safe - promise!):  www.snopes.com/computer/virus/ups.asp

As a general rule, if you ever receive an e-mail that just seems even a little bit suspicious, open up your web browser and search for the subject and the sender on Yahoo or Google; if it is a widespread virus attack, you should easily be able to find alerts posted on the Internet.

Have a safe and enjoyable Memorial Day Weekend, and remember to honor those who have died in our nation's service. 

       -PJ

As a Microsoft Partner, PJ Networks is teaming up with the Greene County Chamber of Commerce to present a 2-hour seminar on Microsoft Office 2010 and Windows 7 at the Best Western on Route 29 in Ruckersville.

Here are the details:

Well, folks, we have just recently moved our Ruckersville shop to the Food Lion Shopping Center on route 29, across from Sheetz, and it is looking really nice.  We have expanded our selection of products and services, and you can now find many hard-to-find computer accessories at our new store, as well as the more popular ones.  More importantly, we now have much more room to work on computer repairs and upgrades, so we are able to get computers checked in, fixed up and back out the door faster than ever.

We are having an official Grand Opening ceremony on Friday, April 1st at 3PM, with several community leaders eager to offer us their best wishes and say a few kind words in our honor.  We will be giving away coupons for computer service, as well.  On Saturday, April 2nd we will be continuing the Grand Opening celebration with hot dogs and other refreshments from 1PM to 4PM, and you will have the opportunity to enter our drawings for some nice prizes, including the grand prize which is an HP laptop computer with carrying case.  The drawing for the grand prize will be held at 4PM on Saturday.

So come on over and check out our new store!  We're right in the middle of the Food Lion Shopping Center at 132 Cedar Grove Road in Ruckersville, next to Dominos Pizza. 

Hope to see you there!

      -PJ

Well, I just got a call from a client who got infected with one of the "fake antivirus" infections.  They were just surfing the web at the office and suddenly all kinds of windows starting popping up telling them that they were infected and needed to purchase a particular software package online in order to clean it up.  So, they followed the link, gave their credit card information and got...nothing in return.  It didn't clean up the "infection", it didn't stop the popup windows, it didn't do anything.  And, to add insult to injury, the next time they rebooted their computer they got the famous Blue Screen Of Death and Windows would not start.

As a reminder, REAL antivirus programs do not throw up warnings that you're infected and then force you to go to their web site to buy their software.  Think about it.  If you didn't have their software in the first place, then how could it be warning you that you're infected?  One of the biggest clues that this was a bogus warning is all of the flashing warnings and windows popping up, which causes a sense of panic in the computer user and convinces them that they must immediately purchase the recommended software.  If you ever get infected with something like this, calmly turn your computer off and call somebody who is knowledgeable in these things, whether it is a friend, a colleague or a professional computer support team like PJ Networks.

This is one of the oldest scams in the book.  Now, the client will need to call their credit card company to get a chargeback (refund) initiated, and they will need to keep a very close eye on their credit card statements for the next few months to make sure that their CC number has not been passed along to anyone else.

Please remember to keep your antivirus up to date, and if you can't afford a retail antivirus solution, there are always free programs like AVG Free or Microsoft Security Essentials that you can download from the Internet.

Let's be careful out there! 

     -PJ

First of all, we would like to announce that Bobby Mac was the winner of the PJ Networks' drawing for a 20" widescreen plat-panel monitor at the Boot'vil promotional event for the Sugarland concert a few weeks ago.  Congratulations, Bobby Mac!

Now for the main event:

For no charge, PJ Networks is now accepting computers at their Ruckersville shop for complete and proper recycling.  We will remove the hard drive from each computer and completely erase it, then pull any bits and pieces that might be useful (true recycling!) before we take what's left to a properly state-authorized computer recycling center for you.

As a reminder, it is illegal to throw a computer or monitor (even laptops) into a public dumpster or trash can due to the fact that there are poisonous chemicals (such as lead and mercury) in some of the electronic components.  Over time, those components can break down and the chemicals can seep into the ground and build up to toxic levels in the soil beneath the landfill and any groundwater that may be nearby.

In case you're interested, here's a good Wikipedia article on electronic waste:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_waste

Our Ruckersville shop is located on route 29 just south of route 33, in the Subway parking lot (at the end next to the BP gas station).  If you have more than one or two computers that you want to drop off, please call ahead.  We'll do whatever we can to help you to properly dispose of your old computer equipment.  Unfortunately, we cannot accept CRT (old style) monitors at this point in time, but you can take them to Best Buy to be recycled.  They will charge you a $10 fee, but you will receive a $10 gift card in return.  Most importantly, if you recycle your old computer equipment you will be helping the environment, and you might even free up some room in that closet or basement!

If you have any questions, please call us at (434) 975-0122 or (434) 985-2561.

With a little effort here and there, we can all pitch in and help make the world a little cleaner!

         -PJ

Well, folks, there is another FaceBook scam going around right now, offering itself as an added button in FaceBook web pages.

As most of you know, FaceBook has a "Like" button that you can click on to tell somebody that you like something that they have posted on the web site, such as a photo or a comment.  Many users have asked for an additional "Dislike" button, so that they can express their disapproval of a particular post or a comment.  This new scam is taking advantage of that "missing button" in FaceBook.

According to Stan Schroeder's news article posted today on Yahoo News:

"if you see a status update containing the message "I just got the Dislike button, so now I can dislike all of your dumb posts lol!!" or "Get the official DISLIKE button now" followed by a link, you should know that it's another one of many scams that aim to extract your personal data.

If you click on the link, you'll land on an elaborate Facebook dislike button "install" page (note that if the dislike button were real, you wouldn't need to install it; Facebook would automatically add it to user profiles). If you follow the instructions, you'll be asked to give the app permission to run, after which you'll be asked to complete a survey,similar to the surveys found in many other scams we've seen recently."

So, please be extra careful whenever you are asked by FaceBook (or any other social networking site) to install additional software or follow a link they leads away from the main website.  That is exactly how these hackers and scammers try to lead you away from the relatively protected areas of the main site that you are visiting and then trick you into installing software that can steal your data and/or harm your computer.

Also, please remember to manually run a Windows Update on your computer from time to time in order to make sure that you have the most up-to-date versions of all of Microsoft's security updates and patches.

Let's be careful out there!

         -PJ

THE PROBLEM

Okay, so it's probably no big surprise to anybody to hear that computers and other electronic equipment are very sensitive to heat.  The recent heat wave that we have been experiencing has generated a flurry of emergency calls, primarily due to equipment being kept in closets or small rooms with little or no circulation. In particular, DSL and cable modems can easily go bad if they are kept in environments that exceed 85 degrees for extended periods of time.  Wireless routers and firewalls are also very easily damaged by heat build-up - even the more expensive ones.

The bottom line is that those tiny circuit boards inside the devices generate heat as a byproduct of the electricity flowing through them, and that heat needs to have some way of dissipating; that's why you will almost always find ventilation holes on the side of them.  The better ones will usually have a small built-in fan that will force air across the circuit board, but even then, if the room gets too hot they will still overheat and in many cases, sustain permanent damage.

THE SOLUTION

The best solution is to make sure that any space where you have equipment running is properly cooled and ventilated along with the rest of the building; this is particularly true of small cabinets and closed spaces.  A good short-term fix is simply to leave a door open so that air can move through the space, but eventually you will probably either want to provide air vents at the top and bottom of the door or a side wall so that hot air can flow out of the top and cool air gets pulled in from the bottom.  Placing a small fan that keeps the air circulating around can also help tremendously.  For larger server rooms, installing a small air conditioner with its own thermostat is highly recommended; after all, you're protecting thousands and thousands of dollars worth of equipment!  Besides, when the network goes down, all work comes to a complete standstill for most companies, which can be very expensive.

THE GOOD NEWS

The good news is that electronic equipment works great in cold weather.  In most cases, the colder the better!  So, if you want to save on heating costs during the winter, feel free to close the heating vents to that server room or closet and let it get as cold as it wants. 

So, while we all endure this extended heat wave and do our best to keep ourselves, our families and our pets cool and comfy, take a few minutes and make sure that you didn't forget about your electronic friends that can so easily be taken for granted.

       -PJ

There is yet another new scam e-mail making it's way through the Internet, based on the same trojan virus code that the recent fake "Facebook password reset" e-mail used to infect computers.  Victims will receive an e-mail that appears to come from Microsoft with a zipped (compressed) attachment that you are supposed to install to check your computer's hardware and software to make sure that it is compatible with Windows 7.  When you unzip and install the attachment, your computer becomes infected and gives the new software code control over your PC, potentially giving the scammers the ability to steal personal data or crash your system.

According to an article by Robert McMillan from PC World magazine: "Once a victim has installed the software, criminals can pretty much dowhatever they want on the PC, Cosoi said. That could mean installing akeylogger to steal banking credentials or even gaining full access tothe hacked system."

Users should be aware that Microsoft typically does not e-mail end users directly with software attachments, so if you ever receive a similar message, you should always go to Microsoft's web site directly and download the software yourself.  Microsoft does indeed offer a legitimate Windows 7 Compatibility Checker.  It is called the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor and it can be downloaded from the following web page:  http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en .

Let's be careful out there!

        -PJ

Well, the new shop is now open for business in Ruckersville, in the Boot'vil parking lot over by Subway.  We will offer all of the same services from the new location that we currently offer in Charlottesville, but in honor of the new location we are offering some special pricing for the month of April.

• $75 computer tune-up: Spyware removal, hard drive cleanup and complete system optimization

• $95 virus removal and tune-up: Virus and spyware removal, hard drive cleanup and complete system optimization

We will also make sure that you have up-to-date antivirus software installed, and if not we will help you to renew your subscription or to download and install free antivirus software from AVG. 

So, if you have a computer that just doesn't run the way it used to, or if you suspect that your computer has been infected with spyware or viruses, give us a call at (434) 985-2561 to schedule a Spring cleaning for it!

These specials are good for both locations until the end of April, so dig that computer out of the closet and give us a call.  We have already cleaned up several systems that were supposed to be "beyond repair", and for less than $100 we were able to get those computers running like new again.

We don't normally use our blog for advertising purposes, but we didn't want anybody to miss out on these grand opening specials.  Forward this message on to anybody who you think might want to take advantage of this special pricing.

Thanks!

         -PJ