Website design: so you've bought the site. How do we get CONTENT up there?

In my last article, I wrote about how to get started with your own web site.  We covered what a domain name and hosting are and how to buy your own domain name and set up hosting for your web site.  Now that your site has a name and someplace to live, it’s time to generate content.

This is client engagement.  In this process, the site developer (hopefully me) meets with you to discuss your ideas for your site.  We’ll get any materials from you that we need, including the following:

• Pictures of products or projects
• Detailed descriptions of products
• Any definite verbiage you want on the site
• Contact information you want published
• Number of pages on the site

Essentially, we’ll collaborate and plan the site.  We can be as involved in the planning process or keep it to a few basic ideas.  I find that the more the client is involved with this step, the happier they’ll be with the final result.  As far as the number of pages goes, I used to charge a flat rate per page, but I am transitioning to a “package” model instead.  This offers more flexibility for clients and helps us both make good design choices. 

After the initial site planning has been done, I will create some site mockups, each witha  different design and feel.  Depending on how complex the site is and how many pages you want, I may do a full mockup of the entire site or I may simply create a few select pages.   

I then meet with the client to go over the mockups.  If I’ve done my job well, the client will usually pick one of the mockups as the final design.  I can then get started on the final product.  After another meeting or two just to get the fine details right, the site is completed and YOUR new web site is ready to go online. 

Remember in the last article when I said a web site is just a collection of files?  Well here’s where I upload the files to the host.  Once the files live on the host’s servers, they can be accessed immediately.  After final approval, your web site can be online in minutes. 

Once the site is online, it’s just a matter of tweaking content according to the client’s ongoing needs.  I typically do this on as as- needed basis with my typical hourly rate, providing an estimate before any work is done. 

So there you have it.  I hope, with these two articles, I’ve demystified the process of creating a web site for yourself or your business and getting it online.  It’s really a collaborative process between you and I that should lead to a great deal of satisfaction for both of us.  Thanks a lot of reading and if you have any questions or if you’d like to discuss getting YOUR site up, please email me. 

User Friendly Computer Services

Website design: how do I get my own website for my small business?

 

So you have a company, or maybe you're starting your own small business, and you need to have your own web site.  The problem is you don't even know where to start.  It can be daunting. 

The good news is this:  It's not as hard as it sounds and with the right help, you can be online advertising your business to the world - or your small part of it - right away. 

A web site consists of three key parts: 

• Domain name 

• Hosting 

• Content 

A domain name and hosting must be purchased by you from a provider.  I typically use GoDaddy.com.   

Domain Name: 

Simply put, it's the name of your web site.  Mine is www.userfriendlysupport.com.  On GoDaddy's home page is a search tool you can use to find out if your desired name is available.  If it is, great!  You can buy it.  

Ownership lasts a term of one or two years, typically, and then you can renew. If your name isn't available, GoDaddy will suggest alternatives or you can search for a different name.  As far a pricing goes, it varies.  .com is a more desirable "top level domain" than .net, .us etc, so .coms usually cost more.  Domain names that might be in demand or are general terms that might get more traffic are also more expensive. 

Hosting: 

A web site is simply a collection of files.  They have to be put somewhere accessible to the outside world.  That's what hosting is.  Your hosting company, GoDaddy in my example, provides server space and bandwidth.  They put your site someplace and give people a way to get to it. 

The best approach is to buy hosting at the same time you buy your domain name.  Sites like GoDaddy will usually give you a price break for buying both at the same time.  Also in the realm of price breaks, consider that buying two years' worth of hosting costs less per month than one year.  You do pay up front, though, so evaluate whether you really want to e in this for "the long haul" or if you're just "testing the waters." 

We can help you get started and walk you through the buying process if you need it.  It can definitely be confusing for some, with options like Windows vs. Linux server, private or public registration and so on that there's not room to go into here.  Just understand that it's not as hard as you might think and if necessary, you can do the whole process over the phone with the hosting company instead. 

The next topic to discuss is content.  You have a name and a place for your site to live.  A "home" for your homepage.  How do you get exactly what you want onto that little piece of the Internet that belongs to you?   That's the next topic, where we'll discuss how the client engagement goes and how you get exactly what you want online on your site.    

User Friendly Computer Services

Speeding up a slow computer

Squeezing extra life out of an old computer: what causes my computer to be so slow?

I recently worked with a client who purchased a computer with Windows Vista for his young son some time back.  The desktop PC was running very slowly, was slow to boot, had lots of pop-ups and more.  He really didn't want to buy a new computer just yet…maybe in a year or so.   

His computer was a perfect candidate for some cleanup and optimization. 

I hate to use the word "optimization" because that's Best Buy's term that means the following:

"Run a free utility (available to anyone) that, with a minimum of knowledge, will allow us to make a few repairs and then we can charge big bucks to the customer." 

Real optimization takes actual knowledge that can't be found at the Geek Squad counter. 

But I digress : 

When you use a computer frequently, it's only natural for it to slow down over time.  It seems every program you install wants to run at startup and keep going in the background, even if it isn't necessary.  Virus scanners, left untweaked, are notorious memory hogs.  This is especially true for bloated AV software like Norton Internet Security.  Also, as you add files to your computer, Windows adds them to a list of items to be indexed by default.  This means Windows is constantly reading and noting the contents of every file on your computer --  for your convenience! 

All these things combine and pile up over time to grind your computer to a halt. 

The computer in question was running Vista, which was not an example of Microsoft's finest hour, and it only had 1GB of RAM.  Your computer NEEDS memory, especially when it's trying to run 28 programs in the background.  With that tiny amount of RAM and that much stuff going on, it was like this old computer was trying to run uphill carrying a refrigerator full of spam.

The good news is, I was able to get it clean enough where it could at least put down the 'fridge and take a leisurely walk up that hill.

Squeezing extra life out of an old computer: how do I speed things up?

The first step to speeding up an old computer is to stop those programs that run in the background from doing that.  If you run MSCONFIG and look at the "Startup" tab (please don't tamper with this if you're not sure bout it), you will see a list of EVERY program that runs at startup. 

These programs a big part of are what makes your computer take forever to boot and run slowly.

A computer repair professional can figure out which of these programs need to run at all times and which don't, and can turn off the ones that don't.   

Once performance has been improved by stopping these resource hogs from constantly running, it's time to see what's installed.  Add/Remove Programs (or "Programs and Features" in Vista and Windows 7) shows exactly what's installed.  Some programs like toolbars should just be removed without a second thought.  With others, I usually talk to the customer to try to figure out what's needed vs. what got installed with some download last week.   

Two notes on uninstalling antivirus programs: 

1) Do not ever have more than one antivirus program running.  They're not like locks on your house.  More is not better.  More AV programs means a slower PC. 

2) If you have anything advertised as a full antivirus suite, like McAfee Total Protection or Norton Internet Security, consider ditching them for something lighter like Avast (free!) or ESET (costs some money).  Antivirus "suites" are usually bloated and take over your computer.  I had one client  whose suite killed his Internet connection completely.  THAT certainly is total protection! 

Once all the junk has been stripped away, it's time for full virus and malware scans.  This might take several passes and a few reboots to full clean a computer, but it's worth it.  There are plenty of free AV and malware programs available online, like the aforementioned Avast, AVG, Spybot S&D and Malware Bytes. 

After cleanup, it's time for some performance tweaks.  First, I recommend adjusting for best performance instead of pretty pictures and animations, especially on an old PC with less memory.  Second, I recommend changing how Windows indexes files.  By default, Windows indexes the full contents of most files.  This in unnecessary and slow.   

Optimizing a computer is more complex than uninstalling a few programs and calling it a day.  But if performed properly, it can get more life out of an old computer.  I've provided some links here but if you're squeamish regarding mucking abut in Windows' guts (and who wouldn't be?), email me or your local independent computer repair professional.  Thanks and happy computing!

Thanks!

www.userfriendlysupport.com 

"This Girl will Never Forget to Turn Her Webcam off Again" and other Facebook spam

It seems that every day, I check my personal Facebook page and see at least one friend or family member posting a link to possible Internet porn. Just today, a distant relative old enough to be my mother posted a webcam voyeur video complete with a screenshot of female anatomy, and I don't mean an arm. Did these friends or family members suddenly get really uninhibited?

Nope, it's spam caused by questionable apps on Facebook. It looks like this (blurred for sensitive viewers):




Everybody loves Facebook apps. I play Scramble pretty frequently to pass the time and Farmville's user base is growing every day. But spammers, malware writers and any number of other Internet baddies can also write apps. Friends pass apps around indiscriminately, allowing these applications full access to their personal information and even granting posting rights, clicking that ALLOW button without a second thought in their quest to "send a hug," support a cause, or some other well-intentioned action.

Then the app uses the rights you have handed over to post porn spam to your profile as you. Your friends see you posting a link to provocative video called "This Girl will Never Forget to Turn Her Webcam off Again," "Girl's Father Walks in on Her," or something like that and believes it's actually you posting it. Their guard lowered, they click the link and get all matter of malware, viruses, etc.

Everybody needs to be more careful with apps. When a friend sends an application request, really think about it. Do you really NEED another "send a heart" or "hugs" application to clutter your feed? While you're at it, now's a good time to clean up your applications. To do so:

In the upper-right corner, click "Account," then click on "Privacy Settings"

Under "Apps and websites," click the "Edit Your settings" link.

Next to the "Apps you use" list, click "Edit Settings"

Find any apps that sound questionable, and ALL apps you really don't need, and click the X on the far right next to each app. This is the "Remove" button.

While you're removing apps, here's one to add: search for "Defensio Social Web Security" on Facebook. It's a Facebook app created by Websense, one of the big names in web security. It will prevent spam from going up on your wall, guard your profile from questionable apps, and more.

Thanks for reading, good luck deleting apps, and be safe!

#hashtag horrors! Tweets not showing up?

If a Tweet falls in the forest...

I just had a discussion about Twitter that led me to do some research into how their hashtag mechanism works. The whole thing came about when my friend (and sometimes client) joined into a discussion but, upon searching the discussion, couldn't see her Tweets. The post was properly formatted, with a space before and after the hashtag mention, but nothing.

I logged in, checked the discussion, and i could see it just fine.

After doing some online research, it turns out that Twitter over-promises and underdelivers on the hashtag feature.

I found this great post that goes in depth about a similar situation. A Twitter rep told the writer:

Due to current resource constraints, not every Tweet can be indexed in Twitter Search at the moment.
...

While I’m not able to force your Tweets to appear in search, your followers should still receive all of your updates and we will still deliver your @replies to other users.

I can interpret this as such: Twitter "indexes" its Tweets, scouring them for hashtag mentions. When it finds a Tweet with a hashtag, it inserts it into the corresponding hashtag discussion. Twitter simply lacks the resources to index every single Tweet. Do they lack the resources to index in almost real time, or do they lack the resources to index altogether? Will the hashtag Tweet show up eventually, or not at all?

In both questions, I'm assuming the latter. Yes, you'll see Tweets in discussions tagged as "one minute ago." So consider this, one minute ago, 30 Tweets were made with that hashtag. You're seeing the lucky Tweet that got indexed. The other 29? You'll see them if you're an active follower of any of those Twitter members, but that's it.

I know this is a First World Problem, but Twitter should at least be more up front with its users instead of promoting a feature whose functionality is hit or miss at best.

Anyway, use the link up there on the right to follow me on Twitter.

If you can!

Thanks!

McAfee Total Protection means "keep the user off the Internet"

The subtitle for this post should probably be: "when the cure is worse than the disease."

I had a client engagement earlier this week with a customer who had installed McAfee Total Protection. Apparently McAfee takes the "Total Protection" part seriously, since the application's overzealous firewall killed his Internet connection. Maybe the McAfee folks saw the film "Wargames" too many times, took the adage "the only way to win this game is to not play" to heart and decided the best way to keep customers virus- and malware-free is to keep them offline completely.

It gets worse.

Before he called me for help, the client spent a few days working with his ISP, who replaced his modem (didn't help). Then he worked with McAfee's technicians over the phone. The McAfee call center employeess technicians walked him through uninstalling their apps and claimed all was well.

He called me because he still couldn't get online.

Checking Add/Remove Programs (now known as the less-negative-sounding "Programs and Features" in Windows 7 because who would want to "remove" programs?), nothing by McAfee was listed. Which was funny, since a glance at his Services showed three McAfee services, including firewall, running. Checkign MSCONFIG, it was also plain to see that McAfee apps were still in startup as well.

It gets worse.

Each of the McAfee services had their Stop, Start and Restart buttons greyed out (unselectable) and the Service startup options were also greyed out. Launching Services specifically as admin didn't help, either. Running "net stop service name" from the command prompt returned an "access denied" error. Unchecking the apps and services in MSCONFIG to ensure they wiouldn't start at reboot also didn't work. As soon as I clicked "Apply," the checkboxes returned! Trying all this in Safe Mode didn't help, nor did trying to simply stop these services from Task Manager.

Wow.

So in this customer's case, McAfee Total Protection "protected" him from the Internet completely by killing his connection AND protected him from himself by taking away any ability to stop the application from running. This is like taking the tires off someone's car instead of installing seatbelts.

To be fair, these difficulties may have been caused by the outsourced call center guys Trained McAfee Specialists who somehow uninstalled the program without really uninstalling it.

The client told me he had already tried System Restore and that didn't help either.

Amazing.

In the end, my only option would have been to take the client's computer back with me, do a lot of research, possibly hack away at the registry (if McAfee Super Total Extreme Protection would have let me), all at $60 per hour. The client elected to put the problem back at McAfee's feet and call them with my findings, which was fine with me.

He called me later that night to let me know that he spent two hours on the phone with the McAfee guys who, after a fair amount of arguing, had him download a special cleanup app to another computer (one he COULD get online with), put it on a thumb drive and install it on the broken computer. Running this app finally removed the firewall and other apps McAfee left behind.

I told him "when you need a separate program from the manufacturer to remove it, THAT is a bad piece of software."

All things considered, he'd probably rather get malware then go through that again.

I just had to share. My next blog post will be more about AV/Malware solutions, some good ones you should check out and some bad ones to avoid at all costs (I bet you already know one). Thanks for reading and please check out my site, right here.

Be safe!

Our lives and our changing technology

Alternate Solutions

I did some work for a client last night who is setting up a seasonal storefront (May - August) and needed Internet and telephone access. It really got me thinking about non-traditional methods of setting up web access, since, in the client's case, calling Verizon for DSL and phone for 3 months would not be a great option. So here, in no particular order, are a few ways to get web connections in different ways.

Broadband hotspots like the Verizon Mifi 4510 are a good way to get Internet access for you and a few friends anywhere or, as in the case of my client, temporary access. Like aircards, a wireless hotspot is a subscription service that will run you around $50 per month and speed depends on coverage in your area. Though designed with business travelers in mind who may need access in short bursts (the unit is rechargeable and charges may only last 2-6 hours), it can be used with AC power plugged in for as long as you need to. It's a decent alternative, especially when you just need a short-term web solution. Beware, though: service providers may cap the monthly data limit, so don't rely on these for huge data transfers and don't run Windows Update when connected to a wireless hotspot.

If you have broadband in your house but would rather have a wired connection a room where there currently is none, an "ethernet over power" solution like the NetGear's powerline series is a great alternative. Simply plug one unit into the electrical outlet by your home's router/hub, run an ethernet cable to it, and then plug the other unit into a power outlet anywhere you need wired connection speeds. Voila! Instant ethernet jack with your network signals being sent over your home power lines. This is an extendable solution as well. I use one of these in my home for the Xbox instead of using wireless and bought another jack when I got a network Blu-Ray player.

These are two different solutions for connecting to the Internet or your home network that are outside of the standard methods you'd normally consider. There are many more out there just like these that go beyond the typical models, so check around! Thanks a lot for reading!

Some quick updates

We've been working on some new things and haven't had a chance to blog in a bit, so here are a few quick things:

We're redesigning our site to make things simpler and, hopefully, more pleasing to the eyes and easy to digest. It should be online when you read this or shortly after that. No later than May 5, we do know that! Thanks for checking it out.

User Friendly is sponsoring the Mount Airy 5K-9 Mutt Run, where dogs and their human pets can run a challenging and fun course and raise money to benefit the Mount Airy Dog Park, located at Watkins Park (where User Friendly staff can frequently be seen running the path). You and your pooch can sign up for the event right here!

We're on Twitter and Facebook, so check us out there. You can never have enough friends!

Thanks, and we'll see you soon!

A question of price

As you might know, I started User Friendly Computer Services late last year, so I'm definitely still ironing out the kinks.  One thing I'm still working on, I'm not ashamed to say, is pricing.  Maybe you, the possible future user of our services, can give some input.

Doing some online research, I see that Geek Squad charges 170-300 just to perform a cleanup/diagnostic.  That's really high to me.  I usually like to charge 50-60 per hour, one hour minimum, and go from there.  If we're nearing the one hour mark, I'll give you an estimate of how long it should take and how long it'll cost.

Are customers put off by this kind of vagueness?  That's the feedback I'd like if you don't mind.  One one hand, I don't want to scare my customers off with a big up-front estimate or huge fixed price.  I mean, $300 is well on the road to "just buy a new computer" land.  But I'm thinking maybe people don't like to hear "50 bucks to look it over, do some light cleanup, diagnose issues, and we can go from there."

So what do you think?

I'm considering publishing a price list on my site advertising some basic computer and networking services with fixed prices.  Would you find that helpful?  Would that be more desirable than calling for an estimate?

Most importantly, would you be more inclined to give me business if you knew the exact price up front?  :)


I really do value feedback from customers and potential customers, so please let me know what you think.  You can add a comment at the bottom of this blog post, or email me directly to let me know what you think, if you don't mind.

Thanks again.

Tech guys could be a little nicer

Doing some online research, I came across a thread on the techspot.com forums where one forum member was asking for help with a slow-running PC.  After posting a listing of the programs running on his PC, he got this response:


Looks like you have downloaded and installed every bit of junk you could get your hands on, sorry to say this.

I could make a list of what you should uninstall, but I can't be bothered really.
My advice: format c: /u and start from scratch.
Then stop installing junk. 


Wow, no wonder non-technical folks are usually wary of asking for help from the people who know computers.  Rather than offer constructive help, the poster is dismissive and demeaning, finally offering a suggestion that says "oh, you're beyond help.  Wipe the hard drive and start over."  The snarky, condescending attitude that is so prevalent in IT industry professionals is evident in forum posts like this.  Would it have been hard for the poster here to not be a jerk?


Working in the information technology field for over a decade, I've seen this kind of thing a lot, and it's easy to understand why everyday people who need help with their computers would rather just deal with problems like a slow-running PC than be browbeaten by a guy just because he knows a little more about computers.


I don't think civility from the person fixing your computer or giving computer advice is too much to ask.  I don't get that kind of attitude from my mechanic or my dentist. But judging by the behavior of many of my peers, it seems my mechanic should roll his eyes because I can't fix my own brakes and my dentist should make fun of me because I don't know how to perform a root canal.


As an IT professional, I don't feel like I should act that way toward the people I'm supposed to be helping.  I don't mock their supposed lack of knowledge; without it, I'd be out of a job!  I've fixed home and office computers for all kinds of people from many walks of life; lawyers, writers, programmers, musicians and more.  They all know more about their respective fields then I do, and I know more about computers than they do.  Mutual respect is a must.  If you take anything away from this rambling entry that's kind of sputtering out here, it's this: there ARE decent computer help people out there.  Some of us actually do have a personality, aren't making fun of you, and are personally secure enough that we don't need to mock the people we're supposed to be helping to feel better about ourselves.


Thanks for reading, and I hope you find one of the good ones!

Computers talking to each other

This has been on my mind a lot lately, because I'm working with a small business client to create a network for them.  Funny thing about the word network...in my previous life as a college Mass Communications major, I learned that technically, boiled down to its essence, a network is two TV or radio stations sharing content.

I figure we can say the same about computers to make the concept less intimidating.  A network is essentially two computers configured to share data.  Sure, it can be more than two, but once you think of it this way, it's not so mystifying.  At home, my 2 desktops, 2 laptops, Blu-Ray player and Xbox 360 can -- on a good day when the stars align and the gods of cat5e smile upon me -- communicate.  So they're a network.

Large businesses usually has networks called domains, where a central server controls accounts, security, etc.  Small businesses and homes can get by with a network called a workgroup, where computers and their humans can share data with no centralized control but also not as much need for ongoing management.

When I tell people I'm a network engineer, I usually get a blank stare.  Really, I just make sure computers can talk to each other, among other things.

That's all a network is.  Computers talking to each other.

The obligatory first blog entry

I started User Friendly Computer Services and Technology Consulting late in 2010. 

I have business cards, flyers, and an ad in the local paper (when I manage to make the deadline).

I have a decent web site that I created myself and update when I feel like I need to (www.userfriendlysupport.com) -- written using Xara web designer because I'm the first to admit when I don't know something and I certainly don't know HTML.  I'm also doing the web 2.0, social networking thing on Facebook (http://on.fb.me/hmGPBs) and Twitter (http://twitter.com/#!/userfriendlymd) -- friend and/or follow me, please!  I offer discounts to friends, virtual and otherwise.

Hey look!  Over there on the right, you can share any interest posts I make on Facebook or Twitter with one click!   There's also a tech news feed.

Anyway, so now, as a natural extension of all this self-promotion, branding and all manner of modern advertising buzzwords, I'm going to blog.

I can tell you this is going to be an adventure as I try to figure out what you'd like to see on a blog.  Do I go the straight tech route and talk about current and emerging technologies?  Be helpful and give hints on everyday computer stuff?  Brag about my cool home network?

Maybe you want personal stories or tales of client engagements -- home and small business folks -- with names changed to protect the innocent?

With the way my mind works, you'll likely get all of the above with a smattering -- just a smidge -- of self-promotion thrown in.  I promise not too much shilling, though.  Did I mention I can help with any computer problems you have?  Okay then.

So please follow this blog.  I promise to make it brief and interesting.  Sometimes more brief than interesting, sometimes more interesting than brief.  On a perfect day, I'll hit the sweet spot.

And give me feedback if you are moved to do so.

Thanks for reading!

Brian