Surprisingly, you could have malware on your computer right now and not realise it.

Malware, short for malicious software, is software used or created to disrupt computer operation, gather sensitive information, or gain access to private computer systems. It can appear in the form of code, scripts, active content, and other software. ’Malware’ is a general term used to refer to a variety of forms of hostile, intrusive, or annoying software.

Malware can steal sensitive information you supply when purchasing items online or filling out forms. This information is then passed back to the creator one way or another.

Over the last decade, the amount of malware infections has risen rapidly and has cost many millions of pounds.

How can I remove it?

Telford Computer Doctor recommends, and uses, MalwareBytes to remove all instances of malware present on your computer. MalwareBytes is user friendly, only requiring a couple of clicks and you can be performing a full system scan.

MalwareBytes scans your documents, operating system files and registry to find any malicious code/software/scripts buried within and then rids your system of them.

It can be purchased for a one-off fee of £19.95, or you can get a FREE edition for home users. The FREE edition is perfect for home users and will detect all the latest malware infections.

We recommend that you perform an anti-malware scan at least once every month, more often if you prefer.

To download MalwareBytes, please visit: http://www.malwarebytes.org/mwb-download/

The post Malware – What is it and how can I remove it? appeared first on Telford Computer Doctor Blog.

When you’ve got an eCommerce website or a website that stored customers information, it’s important to use the highest security options available. This may mean using a constant https connection. You can achieve that by using the following code within your .htaccess file.

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RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{SERVER_PORT} 80
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://www.example.com/$1 [R,L]

Your .htaccess file should be located in the web servers root directory /.

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What is SEO?

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation and is a process of naturally improving your websites rank on the major search engines (Google, Bing, Yahoo, Ask etc.) by optimising your website and building links containing keywords to your website.

Onsite Optimisation

Onsite optimisation includes optimising the meta tags (Description & keywords) to include your websites major keywords. It also includes optimising the title tag, image alt tags and header tags. Google, for example, shows up to 69 characters from the page title and up to 156 characters from the meta description tag, this is why it is important to include your keywords within these tags to ensure they are indexed.

Another plus is search engine friendly URLs, take a look at the example below:

Non SE friendly url: http://blog.telfordpc.co.uk/index.php?id=61
SE friendly url: http://blog.telfordpc.co.uk/how-can-i-speed-up-my-computer/

SE friendly URLs give you the opportunity to include your keywords within the url itself, something which the major search engines like.

Offsite Optimisation

It’s not just about optimising the site itself. A successful SEO campaign requires a link building strategy, but not too many either. They need to come in at a steady pace. They also need to have the sites keywords with them. Google loves backlinks, so the more you have the better you’ll rank for your chosen keywords. One thing to point out though, is that Google DOESN’T like lots of backlinks created in a short amount of time. They can actually penalise you for this which will have an adverse effect on your rankings. Another thing to point out, more important actually, is the fact that organic SEO (as described here) isn’t an overnight process and can take a few months for the effects to show.

Organic SEO or AdWords

Organic SEO is a natural way of reaching high rankings on the search engines and can, usually, work out ALOT cheaper than AdWords or other PPC solutions. The only drawback is the amount of time it takes to reap the benefits. AdWords, or other PPC solutions, on the other hand allow you to be seen almost instantly but come at a higher price and are charger per click of your advert. For more information and a detailed quotation please get in touch with us.

Benefits of SEO

The benefits of a successful SEO campaign include an increase to site visitors, which in turn can lead to an increase in workload. Something which every company wants! So if you’ve got a website but you’re finding the work isn’t coming in, then why not consider an SEO campaign for your website.

Get in touch with us today for more information and a personalised quotation.

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If you’re computer is running slow, there’s a good chance you could be using up all of your free resources. A cheap, quick way to provide more resources is to upgrade your computer or laptop’s memory to the maximum supported.

If you’re unsure of the maximum memory your system will accept, simply check on the manufacturers website.

Memory can be purchased very cheaply in todays market, with 4Gb DDR3 available from just £15 per module.

If it’s all a little too technical for you, then why not get in touch with me for a quote on an upgrade.

The post How can I speed up my computer? appeared first on Telford Computer Doctor Blog.

Finally the new iPhone 5 has arrived, but is it all it’s cracked up to be?

For starters, the CPU chip has been upgraded to the A6 which is classed as “double the processing power of the A5″. It also claims to have upto 8 hours talktime battery life….

The overall size is roughly 9mm taller than the 4s and includes a 4″ retina HD touchscreen display.

It’s packed with an 8MP iSight camera with many features including a FaceTime HD Camera with 1.2MP photos and HD video (upto 720p)

One major change on the iPhone 5 is the new “Lightning” connector, replacing the 30-pin connector for a smaller, smarter, durable connection.

To see more of the features of the iPhone 5 and details on the public release, check out: http://www.apple.com/iphone/features/

You’ll be able to pick the iPhone 5 up shortly, but I’m sure it’ll have a hefty price tag!

The post The new iPhone 5 has arrived appeared first on Telford Computer Doctor Blog.

Telford Computer Doctor Ltd is now separating its computing and web services into 2 separate companies. With immediate effect, we shall now be undertaking all web design & hosting services under our sister company’s name “Pirata Web Design”.

You can find out more about Pirata over at: http://www.piratawebdesign.com

The post 2 companies, 1 great service appeared first on Telford Computer Doctor Blog.

John Lewis has made a sensational move into internet providing; with the upmarket British retailer now stunningly supplying broadband to the UK. If the move itself comes as a surprise, then even more astonishing are the revelations that their service will include fibre-optic broadband.

Fibre-Optic

Fibre-Optic broadband is the latest in internet technology. It relies on using a fibre-optic cable wire as the connection means, rather than a copper wire. This means that whereas with a copper wire, connection gets weaker the further one is from their home to the cabinet; with fibre-optic methods connections stay stable. Fibre-optic broadband is also the fastest internet connection method.

The importance of being supplied the fibre-optic way is not only manifesting today, but is expected to become even clearer in the near future. It is believed that everything from household appliances to cars will soon be broadband wired up, and so the need for the most efficient internet connection cannot be underestimated.

Price

The price of John Lewis’ broadband is respectful, offering speed as well as quality. Their standard package costs just £11 a month, some £2 less than the cheapest BT broadband package. Though, their premium package is at £25 per month for only speeds of up to 38Mbps, which isn’t as respectable. However, it ought to be remembered that both Ofcom and the Guardian have accused Britain’s main internet service providers of lying about their broadband speeds. In this respect it should probably be noted that John Lewis’ respective speeds are likely to actually be correct and true.

Virgin remain the possessors of the fastest internet and with the company upping their connection speeds to 120Mbps, this looks far from likely to change anytime soon. However, what we have in the introduction of John Lewis to the British broadband race is another competitor and another option for consumers to consider when making a valued judgement in acquiring internet. Oh, how times have changed since the days of BT and only BT!

The post John Lewis: Britain’s New Broadband Provider appeared first on Telford Computer Doctor Blog.

Woke up this morning to find that Virgin Media had kindly been ordered by the High Court to block all access to http://thepiratebay.se by all of its customers.

**NOTE: I do not endorse any type of copyright infringement with this post. The Pirate Bay offers a massive amount of free downloads from music promos, to open source software. I believe in a free and open internet, for us all to share **

The easiest way for you to access The Pirate Bay would be using a proxy/mirror site. A list of some examples are below:

1. https://tpb.pirateparty.org.uk/
2. http://www.pirateproxy.net/
3. Google Translate
4. http://thepiratebay.se.proxy.piratenpartij.nl/
5. http://thepiratebay.ee/
6. http://labaia.ws/
7. http://tpb.europeancensorship.eu/nph-tpb.cgi/http/thepiratebay.se/
8. http://all4xs.net/repress/thepiratebay.se
9. http://alt.ragerik.info/
10. http://anonymouse.org/cgi-bin/anon-www.cgi/http://thepiratebay.se/ (adverts)

The post Bypassing the block on The Pirate Bay appeared first on Telford Computer Doctor Blog.

Thinking about upgrading the memory (RAM) in your macbook/pro? Not sure what the maximum memory allowance is?
Telford Computer Doctor Ltd has put this list together to help you out, as we know how difficult it is to find information from Apple!

MacBook
• All pre-unibody MacBooks have two RAM slots for SO-DIMMs (DDR2-SDRAM, PC2-5300, 667 MHz, 200 pins*). Apple default configs are paired. These are the maximum RAM upgrades for all MacBooks:
MacBook with Core Duo (Mid 2006): 2GB **
MacBook with Core 2 Duo and Calistoga chipset (Late 2006, Mid 2007): 3GB / 4GB ***
MacBook with Core 2 Duo and Crestline chipset (Late 2007, Early 2008, Late 2008 white): 4GB / 6GB ****
To find out which C2D MacBook you have you can check the FSB clock or the GPU: If you have a 667 MHz FSB and a GMA 950 you have a Calistoga C2D MB. If you have a 800 MHz FSB and a GMA X3100 you have a Crestline C2D MacBook. Do not confuse FSB speed with memory speed! 800 MHz FSB MBs still use 667 MHz RAM. Check your FSB speed in Sys Profiler.

• Unibody MacBooks have two SO-DIMM slots for PC3-8500 DDR3 RAM, 204 pins, 1066 MHz.
MacBook Unibody with Core 2 Duo “Penryn” and 9400M G chipset (Late 2008): 4GB / 6GB *****

• White MacBooks have two SO-DIMM slots for various types of SO-DIMMs:
MacBook white with Core 2 Duo “Penryn” and 9400M G chipset (Early 2009 white): 4GB / 6GB ***** (PC2-5300 DDR2, 667 MHz, 200 pins*)
MacBook white with Core 2 Duo “Penryn” and 9400M G chipset (Mid 2009): 4GB / 6GB ***** (PC2-6400 DDR2, 800 MHz, 200 pins)
MacBook white with Core 2 Duo “Penryn” and 9400M G chipset (Late 2009): 8GB (PC3-8500 DDR3, 204 pins, 1066 MHz)

MacBook Pro
• All pre-unibody MacBook Pros have two RAM slots for SO-DIMMs (DDR2-SDRAM, PC2-5300, 667 MHz, 200 pins *). Apple default configs are paired. These are the maximum RAM upgrades for all MacBook Pros:
MacBook Pro with Core Duo (Early 2006, Mid 2006 17″): 2GB **
MacBook Pro with Core 2 Duo and Calistoga chipset (Late 2006): 3GB / 4GB ***
MacBook Pro with Core 2 Duo and Crestline chipset (Mid 2007, Late 2007, Early 2008, Late 2008 17″): 4GB / 6GB****
To find out which C2D MacBook Pro you have you can check the FSB clock: If you have a 667 MHz FSB you have a Calistoga C2D MBP. If you have a 800 MHz FSB you have a Crestline C2D MacBook Pro. Do not confuse FSB speed with memory speed! 800 MHz FSB MBPs still use 667 MHz RAM. Check your FSB speed in Sys Profiler.

• Unibody MacBook Pro have two SO-DIMM slots for PC3-8500 DDR3 RAM, 204 pins, 1066 MHz.
MacBook Pro 15″ Unibody with Core 2 Duo “Penryn” and 9400M G chipset (Late 2008): 4GB / 6GB *****
MacBook Pro 15″ Unibody with Core 2 Duo “Penryn” and 9400M G chipset (Early 2009 bump, 2.66/2.93 GHz): 8GB 
MacBook Pro 17″ Unibody with Core 2 Duo “Penryn” and 9400M G chipset (Early 2009): 8GB 
MacBook Pro 13″/15″/17″ Unibody with Core 2 Duo “Penryn” and 9400M G chipset (Mid 2009): 8GB 
MacBook Pro 13″ Unibody with Core 2 Duo “Penryn” and Nvidia 320M (MPC89) chipset (Early 2010): 8GB 
MacBook Pro 15″/17″ Unibody with Core i5/i7 “Arrandale” and Nvidia 320M (MPC89) chipset (Early 2010): 8GB 
*) You can also use 800 MHz PC2-6400 DIMMs if you like. They will work, apparently unless you have a Penryn MB(P). However they will in any case run at the memory bus clock speed of 667 MHz. There will be no performance advantage.

**) The Calistoga chipset supports addressing of up to 3GB, but Apple limited the CD MacBook (Pro) to 2GB in firmware.

***) Although you can install 2x2GB RAM in the Calistoga MacBook (Pro) for a total of 4GB, the chipset has an addressing limitation of 3GB. This is not something software, the OS or firmware could change – it is an inherent limitation of this Intel Calistoga chipset. If you install 4GB in an Calistoga MacBook (Pro) the system will recognize the total amount of RAM, but you actually won’t be able to use the last GB. Unless 2x2GB is cheaper (or more easily available) than an unmatched 3GB, there is no reason to install more than 3 GB in a Calistoga MB(P).

****) Although Apple’s official limit is 4 GB, it has been reported that the Crestline MB(P) can support up to 6 GB of RAM (one 2GB and one 4GB SO-DIMM). Of course that means you lose dual-channel memory access, but you will be able to fully address and use all of those 6 GBs.

*****) Both the unibody MB and MBP are specified by Apple to support up to 4 GB of RAM. The MB and MBP however have already been shown to accept, recognize, and use 6 GB of RAM (one 2 GB and one 4 GB SO-DIMM). It will boot and run with 8 GB (two 4 GB SO-DIMMs) too, but as of right now, it is not stable. It has been rumored that a future firmware update could change this.

A final word on matched DIMM pairs. It is true that memory bandwidth is increased by installing matched memory modules. In actual benchmarks this is something that is most noticed in GPU-dependent tasks (like 3D games) on systems with integrated graphics (like the MacBook). The reason for this is that the GPU has to use RAM as video memory (rather than using dedicated VRAM over a dedicated bus) which means memory bandwidth can become a limitation. Therefore, if you are interested in getting the maximum possible frame rate, you would probably want to install memory in matched pairs. However, this doesn’t mean that less matched memory is better than more unmatched memory! If your system is paging out to disk because not enough memory is available (this is something you can find out by looking at Activity Monitor’s “System Memory” tab) this will cause a huge performance decrease. This effect is orders of magnitude larger than the slight performance reduction due to unmatched memory pairs. Therefore: If you’re paging out with 2 GB of matched memory, DO NOT hesitate to upgrade to an unmatched 3 GB! Of course going to 4 GB would be even better (if your MB supports it).

The post MacBook & MacBook Pro Memory Upgrades appeared first on Telford Computer Doctor Blog.

We’re always looking to make things easier for our customers when it comes to the use of our website. That’s why we feel it is time for a new look. Something that is simple yet fresh and modern….. Let us know what you think!

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