a leap of faith for The Street Soccer Foundation and feeding families in Medway at Christmas
Anyone who knows me personally will know that I live to help people – I always want to try and give something back. Over the last few months Verbo Computers has been raising money for two charities, The Street Soccer Foundation and Grace Kelly from 21st Century Flooring Limited, Member of Medway Sunlight Rotary’s Christmas for the Christmas lunch appeal, by doing a 3,500 feet static line parachute jump and a Christmas raffle.
Static Line Parachute Jump
I have always wanted to jump again out of a plane, so when I got the chance to do another static line parachute jump in October, I ‘jumped’ at the chance!
The parachute jump was a present from my wife, Sharon and doing it for charity was almost an afterthought. A conversation with my daughter made me realise that I could help others, whilst continuing a lifelong dream.
I decided to support The Street Soccer Foundation – they aim to change vulnerable and homeless young peoples’ lives through the power of football. Through the Street Soccer Academy and the Street Soccer Community School, The Street Soccer Foundation is working in partnership with professional football clubs and schools across the country to give young people a positive mindset, a sense of connection to other people and of course, better football skills.
I’m a founding member of the ABC Networking group and received fantastic support from the members. With lots of donations coming in, Rachel from Just So merchandise offered to make some tee-shirts, for me and my supporters to wear on jump day and for fundraising.
On the day of the jump, I didn’t feel at all nervous – I was just excited to get up there and do it. Because of my work with ABC founder Ash Lawrence and his Millionaire Mindset and Make a Difference groups, I just felt calm and more than ready to make the 3,500 feet static line jump. It went really well and the people at the airfield couldn’t have been more helpful and supportive – I raised over £1,000 for The Street Soccer Foundation. Such an amazing experience! I will be doing more of these soon we are out of COVID lockdown.
Go-Karting vouchers Christmas fundraising
I didn’t want to stop at the parachute jump – I knew I could raise more money in the run up to Christmas, so Verbo Computers purchased some Go-Karting vouchers to auction, again in aid of The Street Soccer Foundation. Although sales were good, another ABC member, Grace, was giving up her Christmas day, with a team of volunteers, to cook and deliver Christmas lunches to local Medway residents and families in need.
Grace told me that the number of people needing help had doubled from the previous year, due to the COVID crisis, so Sharon and I decided to donate the rest of the money from the Go-Kart raffle ticket sales to the appeal.
Grace and the team delivered lunch and hampers to over 300 people on Christmas day and Verbo Computers is proud to have supported such an amazing community effort.
Our previous blog highlighted some nightmare scenarios of being hit with a virus, or having a serious IT malfunction whilst you are working remotely from home during the COVID crisis. Hopefully this will have reinforced how important it is to have a remote support package in place, especially when you don’t have the luxury of having your own IT team to call on for back up.
When you take out a remote support package with Verbo Computers, you will be invited to download an application called ‘Team Viewer’; this will enable us (with your permission) to gain remote access to your device. That’s how we can identify problems and get them fixed before they become major issues for you.
All of our support packages include protection software called ‘F-Secure’, which gives additional piece of mind for you, as it provides advanced firewall security, a Software updater which will update automatically in real time and patch the holes. This basically means that you have additional security to stop viruses, malware (software that attacks your computer) and hackers from attempting to ‘break-in’ to your computer to steal your data. It will also let us know if you click on any suspicious or ‘bad’ links, so that we can stop any nasties in their tracks.
Verbo Computers offer three main types of remote support package to keep you up and running, should the worst happen. Here’s a summary of the benefits of each option:
Full Support: Full remote support, including F-Secure protection – Windows and other software updates, removal of viruses/malware/spyware, telephone support, back-up assistance.
Full Support plus Back-up: As above, but with the addition of regular assisted data back-ups and software upgrades.
Ultimate Support: As per the above options, but with the added benefit of a general device maintenance check at the start of the contract, plus up to four instances of on-site labour per year, in the rare event that any problems cannot be fixed remotely. Also includes up to four free workshop visits for any hardware issues.
We also offer a fourth ‘Workshop and full support’ option, details of which are available upon request.
There are no ‘hidden’ costs with Verbo Computers – we are transparent and honest about what we do. When you buy a remote support package with us, you know from the start exactly what you’re getting – along with a virus-free and speedy computer, that’s what makes a happy customer!
Picture the scene; you’re working at home on your Business, quite happy with your cup of tea on the desk beside you, the sun streaming through the window, the cat stretched out asleep on the floor and you’re racing through your to-do list for the day … then suddenly, an unwanted window pops up on your screen. No matter where you click, you can’t get rid of it and you don’t know where it came from, Oh No, I have no one to call, wish I had Remote support with a IT company.
Scenario 2
Even worse, when you turn your computer on in the morning, you could go and make a cup of tea, catch up with the news & take the dog for a quick trot around the block, all before the machine has actually managed to make it to your log in screen, wish I had Remote support with a IT company. #slowcomputer
Solution
Both are these scenarios are frustrating and sometimes panic inducing, but if you happen to be a sole trader or small business owner
working from home with no computer helpdesk to turn to, it can be a nightmare when you have deadlines to meet and clients to please. Add to that mix a global pandemic and the ongoing threat of COVID-19 and the last thing
you need to be worrying about is your IT support.
What can we do
That’s where Verbo Computers can come to the rescue with our secure ‘remote support’ service; this basically means that, with your permission, we can take control of your desktop machine remotely, so that we can see what you’re seeing. We do this using a secure app called ‘Team Viewer’, which is a trusted remote support package widely used in the IT industry. We will identify the problem and fix it for you, without you having to leave the comfort of your own home. When we’ve finished doing what we need to do, we log out and you can get back to that to-do list.
Mobile Devices too!
It’s not only a desktop service either – if you are having issues with a tablet, laptop, Mac or even a phone (either Android or iPhone), we can log on and sort it out, no matter where in the world you are. We can even offer an ongoing remote support contract so that you have peace of mind, knowing that we’re there to help you as soon as you need us.
I’ve noticed a lot of twitter feeds getting hacked on their twitter accounts and then tweets on their twitter feeds like this :-
“Click here to see my picture on Facebook bit.ly/1N7e6bN ”
or
@mytiwwerhandle bit.ly/1N7e6bN
This is fake and will take you to a bad website that will take your user names and passwords or install keyloggers, or worse, on your computer and mobile device.
I would like to show you how to protect yourself against hackers logging on to your account.
Whenever you log on to a new device, Twitter can text a verification code to a chosen mobile number then you will need to enter this before it can gain access to your twitter account.
This is best done from a desktop or laptop device, it can be done from your mobile, however when it sends you the code you will have to switch between screens to get the codes required.
You should look for 2 step verification in all social media sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest ect… This is even available to enable in your webmail like Gmail, Yahoo and Outlook / Hotmail.
Here is our step by step guide to enabling the Facebook 2 Step process CLICK HERE.
OK for the 2 Step on Twitter, log into your Twitter account; click on your photo in the top right of the twitter windows like in Fig 1.
Fig 1.
Now down the left hand side click on “Mobile” and add your Mobile phone number where you want to receive the Verification codes to then click continue – see fig 2.
Fig 2.
You should now receive a text message with a code, this needs to be entered in to the box as shown in Fig 3.
Fig 3.
Now down the left side click the “Security and Privacy” See Fig 4.
Fig 4.
Now select the “Send Login verification request to +4477xxxxxxxx” Fig 5
Fig 5
It will then ask you to click Okay to send you a message like below. Fig 6/7
fig 6
Fig 7
Now Enter your Twitter password to enable the 2 step verification. Fig 8.
Fig 8.
You now have your 2 Step verification turned on and will now know if someone is trying to change your password or login as you somewhere else in the world.
NOTE: Make sure your mobile details if you change your mobile number.
REMEMBER even if you are silly enough to give your login details to a trusted friend or family member without the verification code that will be sent to your mobile phone they will not be able to gain access to your twitter account.
Should you require any help in setting this up please feel free to contact Verbo Computers on 01474 353277.
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How to enable your 2 step verification in Facebook
A lot of people I know are being hacked on their Facebook accounts because all they have is their simple password for logging on. If a hacker gains access to your account they will post on yours and your friends timeline which can have major effects on your credibility on your personal or worse your business pages. Imagine you infect your customers with malware or a virus, I don’t think they’re going to be liking much of your next posts.
Before we start you’ll need to remove the devices that have connected to Facebook already. To do this click the account settings and then on the recognised devices. Now press the cross to remove them all. Now log back into your Facebook account to start to enable your 2Step verification process to stop others logging to your account without you knowing.
So I hear you say how do I protect myself as much as I can against this. We say turn on your 2 step verification in not just Facebook but all your logins that have it. Look for the security tab and in there is normally the part to enable.
I’m going to show you in simple terms and pictures to show you how to turn this on in Facebook.
Click on the top right arrow and click setting. See Fig 1.
Fig 1.
Then on the left click the word “Security” in the tab. Fig 2
Fig 2.
Now look down the middle and click the “Use your Phone as an extra layer of security to keep other people from logging in your account” See Fig 3
Fig 3.
Now click on the box that says “require a security code to access my account from unknown browsers” Fig 4
Fig 4.
This will now pop up, Just click get started. Fig 5.
There are now 2 ways you can have 2 step verification working for protection; there is the way below which is the code generator that’s on a device you already have logged in, or I prefer the text message with a code, see how to setup from fig 9 onward.
Fig 5.
Now tell Facebook what type of device you have, i.e Android, (this would be a Samsung, HTC, Sony Ericsson, or a similar device) while the Ipad, Ipod, Iphone would be a device from Apple.
The other options would be to use a text message which is shown from fig 9.
Fig 6.
Now you need to turn on your security code. follow fig 7.
Fig 7.
Now enter number that your code generator is showing you. This is on the device you are already logged in to this account with. Fig 8.
Fig 8.
So to get a text message rather than use the code generator select the “Other” option from fig 6
Fig 9.
So after clicking on “other,” this box will appear, Fig 9, enter your mobile number not forgetting to leave the 0 from the front i.e. if you number starts 07764 then it should be 7764 as in the UK the country code it +44 See fig 9.
Facebook will now send you a text message to verify this is in fact your correct mobile number. The good news now when anyone tries to log in to your Facebook account you will get a text message with a code tell you someone trying to log in to your account, and they will not be able to verify and access unless they have your mobile.
NOTE! Please remember to disable this if you are changing your mobile number and re enable it soon as you can.
Just a very quick blog (well was going to be) about what is Junk / Spam mail.
It has come to my attention on many occasions when I look through my Junk mailbox in Microsoft Outlook that some very important mail that are new enquiries or even a first reply to your mailshot you sent out last night are in there. Personally, I always look in my junk mail like another inbox, in fact I made a habit of this due to once missing an important client’s message. Yes of course it can and does happen even to me.
This is not just the supplier that could miss out, it could be you too as the buyer that wanted the last item you had held for them.
Let me give you a true example from a customer of mine.
A potential customer, while at a show, ask for a item to be customised but only an email was given as a contact. (Yes another error, make sure to take more than one contact method. This is were your system and process improve along with your customers services.) Sorry I diverse, an email was sent to make sure they were happy with the item – no reply was received. You send another e-mail – you get no bounce back message and no read receipt.
The customer then turns up at a show 3 months later and ask if you had the item they had ordered (embarrassing moment). You tell them you email twice and did not have any response and sold the item previous month as they had not been back.
Now this problem was corrected and they left a happy customer however this could have been a lost sale and customer.
Now the customer should have checked their junk mail too. We should all check our junk mail as there may been very important e-mail in there you may or may not be expecting.
Example no 2.
Most people I meet renew their car or house insurance online now days, rightly or wrongly they email reminders and policies.
Even these E-mails can, and do, end up in your Junk / Spam folder, So our message is check your Junk folder at least every few days before you empty them.
VERBO’ S TIP.
If you find a e-mail you want to normally get in your inbox then right click and add to safe sender.
E-mails you see in your inbox you get that you keep deleting, such as that newsletter you say I’ll read the next one, and then you delete it, this will on it own start to go into the junk folder too.
Now if you like a good Newsletter keeping you up to date that you might need to add to safe sender then click here and subscribe?
You may all have seen this little Windows sign in the bottom right of you screen and wondered or even clicked on this and got the main screen at the top of this page. I’m getting phone call after phone call asking “should I upgrade?”
The long and short of this is Windows 10 firstly does not launch until the 29th of July 2015. This is just a reserve to your Windows 10 to download to your computer to install when its is launch.
We are not saying DON’T do this, just make sure of a few things first.
1. Is your hardware compatible. (This should be if you have Windows 7 X64 installed already) Will you need to download new drivers for your hardware?
2. Do you have a slow internet connection? (This will take time to download and use your internet speed)
I know there are some companies and home users that have 2mb broadband still as BTopenreach have not got fibre to them still.
So think of this, if you all say yes to the download how many 3Gb x how many PC you have will it download. Do you have a capped limited? It so This would use it.
3. The look and feel is still like Windows 8.1, have you seen this? Did you like it? The good news Windows 10 does have a much better start menu and goes to your desktop on log on.
4. Check all your external hardware is compatible, again will there be drivers needed to be found and downloaded and installed?
5, Most importantly, is all your software compatible with Windows 10? This could be very costly to upgrade the software you need for 20 workstations or more. Make sure you check your upgrade status before you proceed.
If your using windows 7 and you had opted to use office starter (Free Version) when you bought your Computers remember word and Excel starter will no longer work.
So if your in doubt wait. Ask a professional to install it, wait for a few months first, Microsoft are offering this for a 1 year period you have time to make you mind up.
If you need advise speak to us.
Please add your comments and experience you have had with the Beta Windows 10 if you have used it. Personally, I like Windows 10 and will be upgrading after the first few months, not had many issues with the Window 10 pre-release.
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Most people purchase their new computer on an impulse buy and just go to a large outlet store and look at a price range they are willing to spend and if it looks in fashion without actually knowing what their buying, they have no idea how their new computer will perform for them.
It could be worse than this if they get no advice and just buy a computer from the internet that they really have no idea what they’re really buying
The advisor will tell them a particular unit will work or they could have spoken to someone that has some idea, and that’s all that matters to most people at the time. Straight from the box it may work well and do just what they need it to but then they start installing all the other software they haven’t been asked about and then the problems may begin; it does not have adequate processing power or memory installed in the device. The other flip to this is they sell them an overpowered unit that will do everything they need plus more than they will ever use, at a price tag five times more than was needed to be spent.
In general (not all cases) store advisers are just sales people with little or no training about the real world application and hardware the customer would need to use the unit for.
Their aim is to sell add-ons after they have reeled the customer in; add-ons will be the extended warranty and security software, then maybe an external storage or cloud storage too. This is all very well, and in most cases may be needed and the correct advise however the main issue is how much professional knowledge they have on all the software out there that may be better for the customer’s situation. Most of these large store advisers are again only trained on the products they sell in-store. They cannot be non-bias on what they offer for the
current situation
OK so you ask:-
What do we advise?
Don’t we sell certain products and brands of hardware and software too?
We would agree with you, we do, but we are also independent and can buy and sell any products and brands. Yes, we are partners with some of the best companies and with that we will offer the best product and advice for these with all the backup support too. When we advise on brands and products we make sure at Verbo Computers we sell you a solution that works for you whatever your requirements.
We will listen to what you need it for and we would give suggestions of other tasks you could use it for too. Time and time again we have seen the pitfalls of customers that come into us after buying in a large store and wishing they had not been so hasty with their impulse buy.
If our customers are not fully happy we do not give up until they are. Verbo Computers are only happy with 110% customer satisfaction, this is our goal every time for every sale.
Ok, so back to tips and question you should be aware of when buying a new Computer,
List every task you use on your current unit and check you can do this on the new unit.
List all current hardware and make sure it will work with the new units, you could have unexpected cost otherwise.
What current software do you still what to run, do you want or need the latest software?
Do you have your current software to reinstall along with product keys?
Is your current software legal to install on to a new machine?
Do you need a new monitor with the computer or is you current one ok?
Which operation system do you have at present, do you have to change to a more current operating system?
Do you want a laptop or desktop?
Laptop or Desktop?
So before you impulse buy come chat with us. Get a no obligation quote with no pressure to buy. We have even been known to advise where to buy if we can’t match on price but remember we give you an after support service. How can you afford not to talk to us first?
We would love to share a few tips to check if the operating system and product software you have installed on your computer is legal.
If you are unclear the difference between an operating system and product software please check out our blog. Click Here
If your computer is a branded computer like Lenovo, HP Compaq, Toshiba, Dell etc. then the operation system I’m sure will be legitimate; you will have a sticker on the bottom that will look like these.
Windows 7 & 8 COA Stickers
What you really should do on a branded Desktop or Laptop computer, if you not already done it, is make sure you burn your system restore CD/DVD’s on a memory stick is case you need to fully restore your computer on a new hard drive; we will tell you how you can do this in one of our next blogs.
If your computer was custom build you should get a windows DVD/CD to restore your computer and an OEM COA sticker with a product key. You will also get a few other CD’s with the software drivers for your system.
If you don’t have this then ask your seller. If they can’t supply them you then may not have a genuine Microsoft licence. Then you may just start seeing this.
So that’s the main system covered but what about other software?
Is your Microsoft Office suite software legal?
We are now talking about your Word, Excel, Publisher, Outlook software etc. There are some simple ways to check, for instance if you have bought a laptop of full desktop for around £300 and you ask the question, what software does it come with? If they tell you Microsoft Office is installed, with a new device at this price it be very doubtful unless the laptop / Desktop is a very slow or a second user computer.
Just for Office Home and Student, 1 year subscription, is generally around £59 and for a full retail product with all programs included can be above £300.
What should I ask to prove it is installed and legit?
Ask to see the Office PKC licence product key.
Ask is it an Office subscription product or full retail product.
Check it is not a 30 day trial. A lot of the large stores show the computer as Office ready but they refrain from saying it’s for a limited trial period and nothing more.
This is an example of what a PKC Licence key would look like.
Office 2013 PKC Licence example
If you don’t have any of the above it could be supplied on a printed sheet of paper with codes and linked to an email address. All office 2013 and on wards software will now be linked to an Email address. You should be able to log on to the web page and see the software that belongs to you. These can be a PKC licence bought through trade portals or Office 365 subscription package bought from Microsoft or partner websites. You will get something if you have purchased a licence and it should not be a photocopy of a box cover and product key, or even worse just someone’s word you have it.
This is the same with most software packages, nowadays in 2015 a lot of products you purchase you can simply log into a web page and install the software from there. You need to be aware of what you have and keep track should it ever need to be re-installed.
Customers come to us and ask can we system restore their computer. When we ask for their software and/or product codes some find they have been mis sold the product or its not legal software. These are the replies we get very often:
I did not get anything, it was already on there when I bought it!
I’ve lost them!
I threw them away, as I didn’t think I need them anymore!
All of these answers can work out very expensive if you can’t find an invoice or receipt of some sort to prove you had it. We won’t reportyou; we just want you to have legal software for your own security. The support you get is worth paying for without any of the other benefits like updates.
It is imperative that you look after your bought software keys. Software can work out more costly that the hardware itself. Should you have any concerns talk to me and I will be more than happy to advise you in the correct direction. Click here to contact us and leave a message. You can also connect with me in LinkedIn and send me a direct message.
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I get asked why do I not have Word and Excel on my new computer when I buy it. Microsoft Office is another product. Read on…..
The operating system is the software that theoretically should always come with your computer for it to load when you power it on. This is the screen that gives you the start menu and icons and windows you’ve heard of. It also comes with programs preinstall like Notepad, WordPad, Paint, and a few games to name a few like, Solitaire, Pinball, and Chess. This also has utilities that can help fix issues with the system and keep it running smoothly.
There are a lot of very good product software available that is free on the internet like Open Office (word process, spreadsheet and much more), Gimp (photo editing software) Audacity (music / sound editing software), Sketch up Google also has some very good product software, like Picasa, and of course Chrome to name a few.
Product software like Word, Excel etc. can be free from the internet or trial software and some vendor’s will install them on to the device before you buy and label it as “office ready” then it expires or asks you to buy it.
You then have the paid for version like Microsoft Office Suite which we’ll explain later in our next blog, Photoshop, Autocad, Cakewalk. Just to name a few of the many thousand’s available. These are leading industry packages that are purchase software and can have starting prices from £59 increasing up to a few thousand.
I hope that’s given you an idea which is which. If not please feel free to contact us on our website or follow us on Facebook, you can even send a twit.
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I have no one to call, wish I had Remote support with a IT company. 
st night are in there. Personally, I always look in my junk mail like another inbox, in fact I made a habit of this due to once missing an important client’s message. Yes of course it can and does happen even to me.
4. Check all your external hardware is compatible, again will there be drivers needed to be found and downloaded and installed?
5, Most importantly, is all your software compatible with Windows 10? This could be very costly to upgrade the software you need for 20 workstations or more. Make sure you check your upgrade status before you proceed.
