When using a search engine, there are several types of results that are returned. These results have different purposes. Knowing the difference can help your web browsing and your business. (You can click the images below to enlarge).
 
Paid Results: With most search engines, the first few results are usually paid results. This means that the companies or web pages listed actually paid the search engine for that positioning. Typically, these companies agree to pay a set amount every time someone clicks on the link. This is the largest portion of Google’s income, paid search results.
 
These paid results can also be seen on the margins of web pages and search results. Look at the photo to the left: The paid search results are circled in red.
 
Organic Results:
 
The organic search results can be seen circled in blue.
 
The various search engines have proprietary algorithms to rank web pages. The main purpose is to give the search engine user the most relevant possible results to their inquiry. There are hundreds of ranking factors search engines consider when deciding which result to populate in organic search results. These ranking decisions are controlled by an algorithm — which is a step-by-step procedure for performing calculations often controlled by software.
 
While the algorithm used to control search engine rank is unreleased here are some “suspected” ranking factors:
 
• Keywords: Google, Yahoo, Bing, and others, check to see if the right words appear on the web page for the primary topic. For example, a page about football would be expected to have certain words associated with it. The words quarterback, score, field, weather, players, etc., are all words associated with the topic of football.
 
• Links: Links to and from the website are also examined. The quality of the links is highly relevant. For example, a link from Harvard University likely carries more weight than a link from an unknown community college. In our football example, a link from another football website is probably a more important link than one from a car dealership, for example. This a voting system of sorts and fundamental to the original development of a successful search engine (Google – Founded September 4, 1998).
 
• Media: It’s generally accepted that pictures, video, and audio files increase the ranking of a web page. People tend to prefer a multimedia experience vs. one with only text. Also, it’s recommended to name photos since search engines have a hard time deciphering images vs. text.
 
• Age of the website. Older websites often tend to get more ranking credit than those there were recently created; however, this is not always true. A new site that is highly informative and popular can often outrank an older one with less activity and stale content.
 
• On page Engineering. Factors on the landing page such as readability, page load time, geo-locational information, etc. contribute to how high in search results pages appear.
 
Local Results: If you’re searching for the term “plumber”, you’re likely to get several results for plumbers in your area. Google knows that if you’re searching for the word plumber, it’s likely you’re looking for one that’s nearby. These local results typically include the company name, address, and phone number in a format that is unique when compared to other types of results.
 
See the green-circled area to the left.
 
Those are the three main types of search results. Paid search results are great, if you need or desire fast results. A bidding process determines the cost of paid search results. More valuable keywords will cost more.
 
Organic search results are free and can be even more valuable than paid search results. It means you have a great, relevant, and valuable web page. Getting to the top of the organic rankings can be challenging though. In many cases, expert assistance is required.
 
You’re more likely to appear in your local listings if you manually complete the listings form and fill it out completely to 100%. The search engines will eventually find your website and construct a listing for you. However, a listing that has been claimed by the business owner and filled out to 100% completion usually shows up more often in search results. The option to include photos, and in some cases even video, can improve the odds of appearing in the local listings. For more information on SEO please visit our website here.
 
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All computers require periodic cleaning. This is true for both laptop and desktop computers. It’s not just physical dust and debris; there are also junk files, malware remnants, temp files, program fragments and other computer software that needs to be tidied up on a regular basis. Here are the basics:
 
1. Computer screen: Turn off the monitor and find a dry, clean cloth. The cloth should be non-abrasive and lint-free. Then use the appropriate cleaner and apply it directly to the cloth, not to the monitor. This avoids drips that can damage electrical components. Gently wipe down the screen with gentle pressure. When cleaning a laptop screen, be especially careful not to get drips in the speakers or keyboard. In the absence of a cleaning agent, water can be used, preferably distilled. Otherwise use a non-ammonia based glass cleaner.
 
2. Keyboard: Use a can of compressed air and spray between the keys. In many cases, this is sufficient to clean out the crud under the keys. In most extreme cases, it may be necessary to pop out the keys with a pen. The underlying surface is then easily cleaned. Removing the keys is not recommended with laptops! However, a laptop keyboard can be replaced by your local computer repair shop. The key surfaces can be cleaned in a similar fashion as the monitor. Again, apply the cleaning agent to the cloth, not directly to the keyboard.
 
3. Cleaning Inside a Desktop: Most desktop cases are easily opened with a screwdriver or with the simple twist of a few thumbscrews. A can of compressed air can then be used to clean the fans, CPU heat sink, vents, motherboard, expansion slots, etc. Be sure to blow the debris away from the system when possible. If you have a laptop computer it also needs the inside of the case cleaned out periodically but I strongly recommend you take it to a qualified computer repair professional or computer repair shop for this. Tell them you want the fan basins cleaned out and the heat sink taken up and new thermal paste applied. This should be done once every three years and more often if you smoke or have long-haired pets in the house.
 
4. Clean the computer of‘software debris’: Depending on your preference, Windows has many utilities to keep your computer in good working condition; and, there are also many software programs available to help with this task. These programs tend to do a better job than windows utilities and are easier to use. One example is CCleaner. CCleaner provides a means to fix file problems, registry errors, repair broken shortcuts, delete junk files, etc. Running these utilities once every few weeks is one way to keep your computer running smoothly but it’s not a total solution.
 
5. Remove Malware: Although this may come as a surprise to many — your antivirus is no match for today’s infections. Some (and often many) will inevitably slip through your AV software. I suggest running a stronger aftermarket malware removal utility such as Malwarebytes to remove minor infections. Furthermore, you should take your computer into a qualified repair shop once a year for a professional virus check and removal.
 
Periodic cleaning of your laptop or desktop is a good way to keep your computer running smoothly, extend the life of your machine, and increase your overall computer using experience.
 
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While there are many advantages to using a paid-email service, there are many great options for those seeking a free email service. It’s not always easy to determine the differences, but a little bit of research can go a long way to finding the perfect service for your requirements.

What to look for:

1. Security: Where intentional or inadvertent, most of us store a plethora of personal and confidential information in our email accounts. Passwords, bank account / credit card information, and tax returns are just a few examples. Be sure your free email provider has multiple layers of protection.

2. Features: What does the service in question offer beyond the ability to send and receive email? How much storage is included? Is there a messaging app? A calendar feature? Is the ability to filter and sort your incoming email important to you?

3. Support: Does the provider have a good reputation with regards to help and support? It can be more than a little inconvenient if your email is down and no help is available. If you’re looking for service stability, the more popular services are usually a better bet.

Popular Free Providers:

1. Gmail: Google is everywhere. It’s difficult to not have a Gmail account. At the very least, a Gmail account is required for any real functionality with Youtube. Gmail includes a messaging and calling feature. There is even the ability to get a unique phone number that can be linked to your cell or home phone. Gmail arguably has the greatest functionality, but limits users to 10 GB of inbox storage.

2. Yahoo email: Yahoo email is still very popular, though has fallen out of favor in recent years. Many email users appreciate the ability to avoid the nesting that is forced upon users of Gmail. Yahoo boasts unlimited inbox storage, but lacks the cloud storage feature of Gmail.

3. Mail.com: This relative newcomer also has unlimited storage and the ability to utilize aliases to protect your identity. The maximum attachment size is 50 MB, falling between Gmail’s 20 MB limit and Outlook’s 300 MB limit.

4. Outlook.com: There’s a lot to like about Outlook’s email offering. Unlimited storage, 300 MB maximum attachment size, and 7 GB of cloud storage. While Outlook lacks Gmail’s video chat feature, it does include aliases, an RSS reader, and social media feeds. Outlook is growing in popularity and many users look to alternatives to Gmail and Yahoo email.

There are numerous free email providers, many more than listed above. Be sure to examine all the options before making a choice. Compare features, security, and support to find the one that is the best fit for you.

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In this day and age, nearly every computer user has had the misfortune of dealing with some type of computer malware –although some don’t know it. In my computer service career I have rarely run across a machine I can’t reveal some type of malware infection on. I’d say about 80% of the computers I see at my shop have at least one malware infection. When I tell people they usually respond in shock with “WHAT . . . . but I have antivirus software . . . how can this be?” My answer – very easily.
 
That’s why I wrote this blog post — to shed a bit more light on the subject . . . . and a few other misconceptions surrounding the programs that are SUPPOSED to prevent malware infections.
 
1. There’s no such thing as a 100% effective anti-virus program. There are literally thousands of new malware programs being released each day. It can take time for the developers of your antivirus program to develop methods for dealing with these new programs. In the interim – you can be infected.
 
2. No antimalware program can replace good web browsing and computer management habits. It’s not just downloading pirated copies of expensive software or movies from file sharing sites or pornography where all infections come from. This is a myth. They are often rolled into relatively benign free utilities that most people think will help them in some way, shape or form. It can be difficult to determine if such files are safe, useful utilities (some are) or actually serving as a virus-spreading mechanism.
 
Other popular places to get infected are sites where there are free games, music, apps, movies, recipes, or anything else you don’t have to pay for. Often times malware and virus infections will come in through these websites as drive-by downloads and slip right past your antivirus software.
 
3. Antivirus software is both proactive and reactive. The software available today is able to use heuristics to examine the behavior of a computer file. Even if a specific known virus isn’t identified, the file can still be determined to be malware. This is a great method of early detection when dealing with new malware but not even close to 100% effective.
 
4. Files and software on your computer that have been damaged by malware can’t always be repaired. While it is possible for a highly skilled computer repair shop owner to remove the infections from your computer completely repairing all your files or software to their pre-viral state isn’t always possible. That’s why back-ups are so important!
 
5. One is better than two. Never do this, period. Anti-virus software is very heavy software and running two antivirus programs simultaneously slows system performance to the extent it can actually expose your compromised system to infections.
 
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Cryptolocker is the nastiest virus I’ve seen in my computer repair career. It ups the ransomware stakes by encrypting your files and holding them hostage until you pay the ‘ransom’. Understand that your files can be lost forever. The virus is most commonly spread through email attachments. Phishing attacks have also been used against companies.
 
You might be thinking that someone will certainly break the encryption and put an end to the problem. However, the encryption is an asymmetric RSA that requires both a public and a private key. The public key is used to encrypt the files and the private key is used to decrypt the files.
 
Keep in mind that this is the same type of encryption that the US government uses, and by most accounts, the NSA is unable to break this style and level of encryption! Without the private key, there is no way to unlock your files. The types of files that are encrypted vary with the particular variant of the virus. But the virus appears to target businesses, based on the targeted file types but also affects many non-business users as well.
 
The current cost to release your files is $300 but I’ve seen some variants of the virus seeking up to $500. Paying the ransom might or might not be successful in releasing your files. Many times it is NOT. I would not suggest paying the ransom. The success rate of recovering files this way is not high. The lesson here? Back up your files. Period. The virus infection, like other virus and malware infections can easily be removed by a qualified computer repair shop for around $125. The problem here is the encrypted data. If you data is backed up – although you’re not perfectly protected against the infection – you’re protected against data loss. See my blog for more articles on how to back up your data.
 
A new version of the virus, referred to as Cryptolocker 2.0 was recently discovered at the end of 2013, though the original version is still in full-force. Both versions asymmetrically encrypt files with particular file extensions and then request a ransom.
 
There are a few differences:
 
1. The earlier version uses RSA-2048, while 2.0 uses RSA-1024. However, the latter claims to use RSA-4096.
 
2. 2.0 only accepts Bitcoins for the ransom payment. The previous version accepts Ukash, MoneyPak, cashU vouchers, or BitCoin.
 
3. 2.0 was programmed in C#. The original Cryptolocker was programmed in Visual C++. This strongly suggests that the original programmers were not part of the new version.
 
4. Cryptolocker didn’t attack video and music files; the latter version does.
 
Experts are uncertain whether the same programmers created the 2.0 version or if it is merely a copycat. Though most believe it is was not created by the original programmers. There is one certainty; both can be detrimental to your files. Avoid opening email attachments unnecessarily, back up your files at regular intervals, learn good web-browsing habits — and run an effective and up to date anti-virus program.
 
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