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PC Repairs by Pete

Name: PC Repairs by Pete
Address: Gloucester, MA, 01930, US
Telephone: +19782813456
Price range: $$

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PC Repairs by Pete

Serving the Cape Ann area with fast and honest PC repairs at prices you'll love.

08/15/2023

Printer ink - the scam that keeps on scamming.

Printers are wonderful devices that make us more productive, especially if you have an all-in-one device that prints, copies, scans, and more. The biggest thing that everyone complains about is the high price of ink cartridges and how quickly they need to be replaced. If you're lucky, you may get a few hundred pages printed before the ink runs out. Worse yet, if you don't print something for a long while, the print heads dry up and force you to buy new ink again. I solved this problem by getting a color laser all-in-one device (made by Brother) that uses toner cartridges. These types of cartridges can print THOUSANDS of pages before needing replacing, and they never dry out. Laser printers are also much faster, and the print quality is much better as well. So, what's the downside? Price. They cost more up front and replacement toner is also costlier, but in the long run it's totally worth it.

I found this eye-opening video called "Printer Ink, It's a SCAM" on YouTube today. It's only 6 minutes long, but you will be shocked at what he found. The link is below:

EPSON ECOPRINT: bit.ly/3KV4UvJOLIVEUM HOT SAUCE: bit.ly/3s45h0g🔥 🎓 15% off our Professional Photography Tutorials: Use Code YOUTUBE➡️https://fstoppers.com...

04/21/2023

I haven't technically restarted my weekly Pro Tips, but here's a couple of quick updates to previous ones:

Pete's Pro Tips #2 from October 25th covered Spam/Junk Mail.
Here's the latest advice in regard to that problem we all fight: https://www.techradar.com/news/how-to-stop-junk-mail

Pete's Pro Tips #6 from November 22nd talked about Ransomware.
Updated details are found here: https://www.techradar.com/news/a-shocking-number-of-businesses-arent-getting-their-data-back-after-a-ransomware-attack

Here's a bonus tip: "The 24-inch rule". All credit goes to my ex-boss Steve Day who owned Tiny Planet Computer. Simply put, the 24-inch rule means do NOT eat or drink within 24 inches of your laptop! One of the worst things you can do to your laptop is to spill liquid onto the keyboard. Many times, it ruins the keyboard (at least) or ruins the entire laptop (at worst). Be careful folks!

https://www.pcrepairsbypete.com/

UPDATE: NEW PHONE NUMBER IS NOW 978-281-3456 As someone who has lived in Gloucester for over 50 years, I recognize the importance of providing honest work for a fair price. Some of you know me from working with Steve Day at Tiny Planet Computer for 15 years, where our reputation was extremely good.....

04/12/2023

Pete's Pro Tips #26

Phishing, Smishing, and Vishing.

It seems fitting to have my final Pro Tip link back to my very first blog here from October 18th. Scroll way down if you missed it.

Most people are now aware of phishing scams, but how many have heard of smishing and vishing? Not me, so I found the article linked below to be very enlightening. I've said it many times folks: please be careful with your personal info when on your computer, tablet, smartphone, and landline. Scammers are only increasing their attacks, and are getting more clever every day. They are making a ton of money off of good people who fall for bad tactics.

This will be my last Pro Tip for the time being as I have run out of things to talk about after 6 straight months. If you have any suggestions or questions, feel free to reply to this post. Meanwhile, check out this article.

While they might look like funny made-up words at first glance, these terms describe fraudulent activities that steal personal information.

04/05/2023

Pete's Pro Tips #25

The magic of Quick Assist.

Sometimes making a house call to help people fix their computer issues is not always possible due to a variety of reasons. In those cases, if you have Windows 10 or 11 as your operating system, using a remote access program made by Microsoft is the next best thing. It's called Quick Assist. It used to be built into Windows, but now you have to get it free from the Microsoft Store that you access from the Start menu. Once you install Quick Assist, you can open it in one of the following ways:

Type Quick Assist in the Windows search and press ENTER.
Press CTRL + Windows + Q.
For Windows 10 users, from the Start menu, select Windows Accessories, and then select Quick Assist.
For Windows 11 users, from the Start menu, select All Apps, and then select Quick Assist.

Provide remote technical support to students, coworkers, family, and friends. Fast and EASY!!How to use Windows 10 Quick Assist. Instructions tutorial. Remo...

03/31/2023

It's World Backup Day!

Who knew this was a thing? Backing up your personal or business data is of monumental importance, yet very few people bother with it. I wrote about the 3-2-1 Backup Strategy way back in Pete's Pro Tips #5 on November 15th. Scroll down to find that post.

For more about World Backup Day, check out this official website for details:

Be prepared against data loss and data theft. March 31st is the day to backup and better protect your data.

03/28/2023

Pete's Pro Tips #24

Senior training in computers.

One of the most common questions that we received while working at Tiny Planet Computer years ago was "Do you provide any training?" Although we sympathized with those customers, we honestly were too busy with repairs to provide that service. For a long while, we sought to find someone who could fill that need, but ultimately never did. The only option we could find was the free training provided by the Rose Baker Senior Center in Gloucester. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts considers anyone to be a senior who is 60 years of age or older. https://www.facebook.com/RoseBakerSeniorCenterGloucester/

Although I provide weekly tips here about computers, training people is not my primary job. I can do that for some Windows PC users on a case-by-case basis, but usually I'm too busy with repair work to be that resource. One such person who can provide training in the Cape Ann area and beyond is Coleen Magrath at Digital Housecalls. She specializes in helping people over 55 with Windows, Apple/Mac, smartphones/iPhones, tablets, printers, and cameras. Coleen can be contacted through the following link here on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DigitalHouseCalls

No question is stupid! Digital HouseCalls is your local full service in-home technical problem solving and training company.

03/24/2023

Pete's Pro Tips #23

Recovering data from CDs or DVDs.

Many people have moved on from using or creating CDs and DVDs these days. Even most computers sold today do not include an optical drive to read or write discs. I'm an old school PC user who still relies on discs for various reasons, but not as often as years ago. I currently have a Blu-ray/DVD/CD drive in an external USB enclosure for times when I need it. I recently used it to make some legal copies of a DVD for a customer. So, what if you have some discs from a while ago that you need to look at now, but they are not readable? Sometimes it's the optical drive that became defective, and if so, you can buy a USB optical drive for around $40 on Amazon.

What if the disc is the problem? Although they tend to have a fairly long shelf life, recordable discs do deteriorate over time unless stored in optimal environments. Not long ago I discovered that one of my burnt DVDs became unreadable. It wasn't the DVD drive that was the problem as I tested other drives with no luck. I ended up trying about a dozen different apps that claimed to recover data from discs, and they ALL failed except for one: IsoBuster. Obviously, I can't say you will have the same results, but it gets my highest recommendation.

Recover data quickly! Recover data from CD, DVD, BD, HDD, Flash drive, USB stick, media card, SD and SSD with IsoBuster - The award winning, highly specialized and easy to use Memory card, CD, DVD, Hard Disk, SD, Compact CF, MMC, card data recovery software. IsoBuster supports all optical disc forma...

03/15/2023

Pete's Pro Tips #22

Speech To Text Apps.

After decades of using computers, I still can't type. I never took a typing course, and just hoped that eventually it would just "happen". For those of you who either can't type or hate to do so, there are several free and paid apps that transcribe your speech from a microphone into text on your screen. The grandfather of them all is Dragon Naturally Speaking. Some apps like Word have a built-in feature that let's you dictate your documents. Even Windows 10 has Speech Recognition fully integrated into the operating system. For a list of the best paid and free speech-to-text apps of 2023, check out the link below.

Free, paid and online voice recognition apps and services

03/10/2023

Pete's Pro Tips #21

The best VPN services of 2023.

This week's Pro Tip is a bit late as I've been very busy all week. Thank you to all that have found me on Facebook or recommended my services.

A VPN, or Virtual Private Network, is a service that masks your real IP address (basically the computer's location) and allows you to choose almost any location around the world. Most VPN services do not keep logs of your actual location, where you've visited, or what you've downloaded. Why is this helpful? First let me say that I am NOT promoting piracy, but if a person was looking to download a recent Oscar nominated movie through various file-sharing or torrent sites, then using a VPN is essential to protecting yourself from the copyright holders.

How about a more legit reason? Let's say you want to stream a popular British series from the UK. Without a VPN, you get a message saying that streaming to your country is not allowed. Fire up the VPN, choose London as your "location", and stream away! Some sites that I don't recommend using a VPN for are local banking sites or email sites. Typically, these sites know where you usually log in from, so if all of a sudden it looks like you are logging in from another State or country, they may block your access.

Wondering which VPN that I use and absolutely love? Easy, it's ExpressVPN. By far the best I ever tried. The link below will guide you to the best VPN services of 2023.

Get the best and forget the rest!

03/03/2023

Pete's Pro Tips #20

The dangers of using driver updater apps.

A customer called me because he decided to buy a product called Outbyte Driver Updater the night before. After running the app and updating dozens of drivers all at once, it required him to reboot the computer as most similar apps do. Can you guess what happened next? If you said that Windows 11 would not boot due to a blue screen error, then you guessed correctly! I tried nearly every trick in the book to resolve the issue without luck, so I called the customer to tell him that it will probably require a backup and reinstall (always a last resort for me). It was then that he told me that he created a full system backup image right before he installed that driver app. Awesome!

Smartly, he bought a program several years ago called Acronis True Image (now oddly called Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office) which allows you to make a full system backup into a single image file that you store on a separate drive in case of emergencies. Problem was, he lost his bootable disc that is required to restore the image file. Thankfully, I have that disc and used it to restore his Windows 11 Operating System along with all his data and programs intact. For anyone interested in that software, here's the official link for more details: https://www.acronis.com/en-us/products/true-image/

When it comes to updating drivers, my general rule of thumb is "If it's not broken, don't fix it." Microsoft provides updated drivers in the Windows Update section of Windows 10 and 11 under the optional updates section. That is the safest way to update drivers. If you still want to try a dedicated app for that purpose, my ONLY recommendation is still the free version of IObit Driver Booster. However, I highly suggest that you at least make a System Restore point BEFORE you install and run ANY driver update app to save yourself potential headaches. If you need their link, it's right here: https://www.iobit.com/en/driver-booster.php

Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office, formerly True Image - the only personal cyber protection solution that delivers easy-to-use, integrated backup and anti-malware in one

Address

Gloucester, MA
01930

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9am - 5pm

Telephone

+19782813456

Website

https://www.pcrepairsbypete.com/

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