January 2009 Newsletter

News, Tips and Tricks

How Much Ink is Left in that Cartridge? For years I have been telling customers and friends that you cannot believe your printer when it tells you the ink cartridge is empty. And now someone is actually supporting my view. In the January issue of PC World, their research indicates that when a cartridge is supposed to be empty it can still hold anywhere from 20% to 45% of its ink. The results vary by manufacturer and whether the cartridge is an OEM or a Refurbished cartridge, but the result is the same: just because the printer says the ink is gone does not mean it is time to replace the cartridge. Our habit is that when the printer first warns that the cartridge is low on ink we make sure we have a replacement cartridge ready to go. Then when the print results get bad OR when the printer refuses to print any longer, we change the cartridge. But if you replace a cartridge when the printer first warns the cartridge is low you are throwing away money.

Safe Computing

Unsafe Spam Spikes Again. According to the January 2009 issue of PC World, the bad guys are once again using Spam as the conduit for malware (malicious software). As the article points out, the criminals are in a hunt for cold, hard cash which they hope to get from computer users clicking without thinking, clicking out of habit. This exposes the computer users to hackers who are looking for confidential information and financial information. Our advice is to only open email you are sure is secure; stay away from Spam, or advertising email. And make sure you computer is secure! As always we recommend AVG Free and Windows Defender; both are free and easy to use.

Trifecta Offer to Ring in the New Year

This month we are offering three values to help you celebrate the New Year.

1) Refer a friend and receive a 25% discount on your next hour of service or training, either in-shop or at your home/office.

2) Did you have family in over the holidays and now find your computer is not working quite right? We can help! And you can save 25% on the first hour of service, in-shop or at your home/office.

3) For just $99.00 we will clean, optimize and re-secure your PC. A great way to ensure your computer is ready to face the New Year. All three offers are valid until February 7, 2009. For details on any of these offers or to take advantage of any of them, just call us at 847-859-2727.