September 2, 2008 by AC.

It is important to keep both your PC’s updated and running with the latest versions of both your operating system and installed programs. The process can be automated for the most part but there are times when your intervention is required.

Posted in Software, All Platforms | No Comments »

June 19, 2008 by AC.

I have been a big fan of Meebo for some time, having written about it before in the blog.  I added a neat little widget to the ACE Computer Services site today that allows guests on the site to IM for service/support at any time.  Check it out:

Posted in Internet, Web Design, Software, All Platforms | 1 Comment »

May 16, 2008 by AC.

If you run into problems starting Microsoft Outlook you can start the application in Safe Mode.  Doing this allows you to get in and attempt to repair the problem.  You can start Outlook in Safe Mode by holding the Control (Ctrl) Key when you launch the program. 

Posted in Software, Microsoft | No Comments »

October 28, 2007 by AC.

ACE Computer Services is now a Protexx reseller. Protexx ensures your privacy when using Wi-Fi hotspots, Wireless, Cable, and Network connections by keeping your personal information safe and anonymous from hackers. It provides the highest level of encryption (up to 2048 bit) due to the recent security breaches cracking SSL, DES, 3DES, CDMA, WEP, WPA. Protexx automatically encrypts all your inbound and outbound Internet traffic (emails, HTTP, FTP, Web, IM and VoIP calls, etc.) and provides Identity Management as “Protexx knows you are who you say you are” by the issuance of PKI Digital Certificates”. It also provides a personal firewall to block Wi-Fi, Wireless, Network and Cable hackers from using your connection to gain access to your computer and stealing confidential files or infecting your computer with viruses. Free trial available.

Posted in Software, New Products | No Comments »

September 21, 2007 by AC.

I recently ran into a problem with a PDF.  It was a large document for a colleague and it had lots of images, characters and scientific text.  In trying to create a PDF, using Adobe Acrobat Pro, the process would fail and spit out a log of errors.  I tried a few different ways to create the PDF and all failed.

Searching around online I found a few strings that suggested the fonts and the images were to blame.  I changed fonts and was able to get a little further in the PDF creation, but still failure.  Short of telling the person to re-create this 50+ page document or lose the images I sought one last solution.  Several of the threads online suggested people try a free program, PDFCreator.  I was hesitant at first but was out of options.

The download for PDFCreator was simple and harmless (available at http://www.pdfforge.org/).  I opened the document and was able to print to PDFCreator.  And it worked.  All 50+ pages, no problems, no errors.  Honestly it looked like it worked much faster than similar documents using Adobe Acrobat.  Best of all it worked and I was able to forward a PDF back to my colleague.  It is worth a look if you need a PDF program or have a problem in Acrobat Pro. 

Posted in Software, All Platforms | 1 Comment »

September 10, 2007 by AC.

ACE Computer Services is now a Protexx reseller. Protexx ensures your privacy when using Wi-Fi hotspots, Wireless, Cable, and Network connections by keeping your personal information safe and anonymous from hackers. It provides the highest level of encryption (up to 2048 bit) due to the recent security breaches cracking SSL, DES, 3DES, CDMA, WEP, WPA. Protexx automatically encrypts all your inbound and outbound Internet traffic (emails, HTTP, FTP, Web, IM and VoIP calls, etc.) and provides Identity Management as “Protexx knows you are who you say you are” by the issuance of PKI Digital Certificates”. It also provides a personal firewall to block Wi-Fi, Wireless, Network and Cable hackers from using your connection to gain access to your computer and stealing confidential files or infecting your computer with viruses. Free trial available.

Posted in Software, All Platforms | No Comments »

August 25, 2007 by AC.

In today’s networked world solid antivirus software is a must.  Many big software companies know this and charge a premium, usual in one-year licenses for software to protect your PC.  It can be cost prohibitive for some people and after a while a good number of people let their software licenses expire.  This makes more networked computers vulnerable to threats lurking online.  It is a cycle that keeps said threats active and spreading around the net.

In trying to find a more affordable solution for people to keep their computers protected I stumbled across something that was the right price - FREE!  AVG Free Advisoris truly free antivirus software.  I am not the first to stumble across this software, but I was surprised to find it.  My initial thoughts were how legitimate is this stuff?  I did some research and the anwer is a resounding yes.  Most reviews were positive and the price is right.  AVG Free Advisor has basic features and lacks the strength of some of the known paid antivirus software titles but it is a good bet for the budget conscience computer user who is generally careful about the sites they visit and the email they open.  There is a paid copy of the software with more features.

I had a chance to use AVG Free Advisor and was impressed by the simplicity and easy of install.  It worked the way I wanted it to - which is to take up little system resource but protect my computer.  The little system resources it uses is a great side benefit of this software.  I have grown frustrated with the size and amount of RAM needed to power many of the commercial antivirus products.  Some just cripple performance of otherwise speedy machines.  Not so with AVG Free Advisor and it is a welcome tip that other antivirus makers consider.

It did get me thinking about other free antivirus titles out there and I came across a good resource listing online.

For more information please see:

http://free.grisoft.com/

http://www.freebyte.com/antivirus/

Posted in Software | 1 Comment »

August 24, 2007 by AC.

If you have ever wondered what type of RAM you have in your PC, or needed more in depth information about the hardware components inside your computer the folks at CPUID have several free tools to help you out.  The utilities offered are small in size and easy to use.  It is a helpful resource for anyone looking to upgrade a computer on their own - these tools will help you get some important information prior to the upgrade.  As always you should backup your computer files and ensure your computer can handle any upgrades (compatibility, etc.).  You are always welcome to call on ACE Computer Services for assistance with hardware upgrades as well.

For more information please see:

 http://www.cpuid.com/index.php

Posted in Software, All Platforms | 1 Comment »

July 27, 2007 by AC.

I am sure almost everyone has had a moment when you delete, lose or misplace a file and you get that pit in your stomach.  I have been there myself having seen whole drives get wiped out due to mechanical failure, user error, etc.  It is not a good feeling.  Most commercial data recovery companies charge a premium ($1000 and above).  They are good at what they do and I am not knocking those services at all, but there are some cost effective solutions out there.

Two software titles I have recently come across put the tools of professionals in your hands.

I just had some experience with EASEUS and the product Data Recovery Wizard Professional (http://www.easeus.com/).  A customer had a boot problem and no access to the hard drive.  To make matters worse, the drive itself was not showing its full size and contents in a working machine.  Not a good sign.  Enter Data Recovery Wizard which found three partitions on the drive and gave me a complete accounting of the drive - helping me locate the data I needed.  The trial version completed the scan and saved the results but would not recover the files or repair the drive.  The full version picked right up where the trial left off thanks to the saved results and completed the recovery.  All told 109 GB of the 112 GB of data on the SATA drive were recovered.

A colleague had some experience and recommended a different software solution, from Active @ Uneraser (http://www.uneraser.com/).  He had a problem with a FAT32 formatted USB (pen/key/stick/etc.) drive.  The data on the flash device was lost and not showing in Windows or DOS screens.  Enter Active which located and recovered the data.  No easy task on a simple flash device.

Both require some computer knowledge and experience but are valuable solutions.  As always you can contact ACE Computer Services (732-801-9310, support@acecomputernj.com) for assistance or visit our site at www.acecomputernj.com.

Thanks for reading!   

Posted in Software, All Platforms | 2 Comments »

May 13, 2007 by AC.

I was working on a PC recently that had been infected by some serious ad/spy/malware that had totally taken over the system.  The machine was running incredibly slow and the infected files were running amok.  I tried of installing updated anti-virus programs and trying to manually kill process both live and in safe mode to no avail.  I was nearly about to give up after fighting this beast when I stumbled across a posting directing a user with a similar problem to a program called SmitFraudFix (http://siri.geekstogo.com/SmitfraudFix.php).  I was looking at rewriting this PC if I could not solve the problem, so I gave this tool a try.

I used it in safe mode and sure enough it located the malware, removed the infected files and cleaned the system registry.  Too good to be true.  Easily one of the best tools I have ever located for these kinds of pesky problems. 

It works with a number of malware issues and desktop hijack baddies.  Definitely worth a try if you are out of options.  It is not recommended for use as a precaution or for a clean system.  Like I said, it is an emergency tool when you are up against a virus/trojan issue where the desktop has been hijacked.  I also do not recommend the causal user using this utility.  Definitely ask for help from a trusted or more experienced source before using this tool.

Posted in Software, All Platforms | 1 Comment »