Phandroid has a good Google+ Cheat Sheet (LINK) http://phandroid.com/?p=56477 (http://phandroid NULL.com/?p=56477) . Recommended for anyone who has been trying to figure out Google+
Category Archives: Solutions
Cellular: Sprint Airave (Femtocells) Pt2–Now that I have the device……
The biggest reason I wanted to get this device was because the cell signal at my house was almost non-existent.
As you can see from the screenshot above, 1 bar and that’s barely. The funny thing about my Sprint service is that if I go 1 block in any direction from my house there is “perfect” 5 bar service. It just seems to be that my block is in another dimension (or something like that). So when I discovered that there was a way that I could get my own “Personal Cell Tower”, I jumped on it.
Once it arrived, it was very simple to set up. For one, it was sent configured (Thanks Sprint), so all I needed to do was plug in the provided network cable from the Airave to my Router (If you have a DSL Router there may be an additional step needed to allow the Airave to communicate with your Router). I was advised that you shouldn’t power the unit up until you plug it to your network, so that’s what I did. The Airave device has a built in GPS antenna, which in my case worked, however if your Airave is unable to pick up a GPS signal, an additional external antenna is provided. The instructions say that it is recommended that the Airave be placed in an elevated area or high shelf, so I placed it on top of a bookcase that is next to my pc, its across the room from a window (not next to it).
Once its plugged in to your network and powered on, you will see 4 lights on the Airave. Once the bottom 3 lights go solid (This took about 30 min during the initial boot up), your Airave ready to be used. (The top light turns on when the Airave is being used for make or receive a call)
At that point I didn’t need to do anything else. As you can see, this Airave makes a noticeable difference. The signal strength in my entire house is now 5 bars.
The Airave connected to your internet makes your cell phone into a VOIP phone. Per Sprint, no minutes are used when making or receiving calls via the Airave. However, It is important that you have a quality high speed internet connection. The cell phone automatically connects to the Airave when its signal is in reach (you will know that you are connected as you get 3 beeps on your phone at the beginning of each call), and if you are on a call that started on an Airave and you walk out of its range, the phone will automatically continue that call using the nearest Sprint cell tower. However, if you start a call outside from a cell tower, the call will NOT transfer to the Airave.
Here is my breakdown of the Airave –
PRO
- Its simple to get up and running
- Multiple phones can use the Airave at the same time (Up to 6 phone, I understand)
- For those with weak or no signal, it works.
- Does not use up your minutes while connected to the Airave. This could be an option for those looking to replace their home phone service with VOIP service.**
**Note VOIP and Cellular service does NOT have traditional E911 capabilities, so you do want to make sure you are aware of the limitations ahead of time (and have working alternatives for those limitations).
CON
- Depending on the tech(s) you speak with, the Airave could cost you over $200 to purchase and include an additional monthly fee on your bill.
– If you are in an area that can be proven has weak or low signal coverage. Sprint should really be offering these for FREE without making jump through so many hoops**.
**During a follow up call, I was informed that I would need to pay for the device and a monthly fee, that was higher than what I was originally quoted. I ended up having to speak to multiple agents (including customer retention) and threaten to look at additional options (including giving my cell service to another provider). Finally with the customer retention department, I was given the the device with fees waved.
- Not all the Sprint tech’s seem to understand and know what the Airave is or what it does.
- Sprint does not make it simple to get the Airave
– It took me 3 phone calls, that involved 7 different Sprint representatives and about 5 hours of my life until I was able to get the device.
Final Comment
If you are willing to put up with many unnecessary hoops, the Airave works and will be a noticeable difference. The more times you have called Sprint in the past to report (complain) about the weak signal, so that its already recorded in the Sprint system, the easier it will be to be able to get Sprint to agree to send you an Airave. You will probably get multiple Sprint representatives trying to get you to pay for the device or a monthly fee, if you are trying to get this because your service isn’t what it should be, you will need to make sure you are adamant to Sprint that you need this because of their lack of coverage.
Cellular: Sprint Airave (Femtocells) Pt1–The initial call
I have been a happy Sprint customer for years now. Currently own the EVO 4G. Overall the area I live in has some of the best signal and coverage area (both 3G and 4G). Unfortunately, and unexplainably, this incredible coverage is about a block (in every direction) away from me. On my block the coverage is spotty at best, on a Tuesday in spring, when it isn’t to warm or cold or humid, and with birds singing … well you get the idea.
So I called Sprint today (Here is the number 888-211-4727) to discuss options. (**Note we have done all the profile, PRL, and any other updates previous Sprint techs have suggested in the past).
Today the suggestion to get a Femtocell terminal,which Sprint calls Airave.
So what is the Airave (Femtocell)
The device (which looks like a wireless pc router) connects to your home internet router. Once connected and configured the device acts just like a VOIP system for your cell phone. Once your cell phone is recognizes and connects to the Airave, your cell phone calls are actually routed onto the cellular network via your internet connection. Per Sprint, if your cell phone is connected to an Airave site and you step out of the Airave range, the phone should automatically switch over to the closest Cell tower your phone can fine (assuming you have some signal). However, your phone will NOT automatically switch an active call automatically from a cell tower to your Airave.
The Airave covers up to 5,000 square feet and supports multiple phones connected to it simultaneously. Since it does use your internet connection to route the cell phone calls through, a high speed internet connection is required.
Sprint is offering the device for a one time fee of $100 dollars plus a monthly fee of $4.99 (Per Sprint that’s per Airave not per phone using it) added to your bill. With that being said, Sprint may reduce/or not charge the one time fee to "qualified customer". What is a “qualified customer”, here is something that I think they are using (based on my conversation with the Sprint tech)
- If the Sprint tech sees on their coverage map, which goes down to neighborhood / street level, that you live in an area with weak coverage.
- If you have multiple calls to Sprint to report signal issues
- If Sprint has replaced your cell phone, and the signal issue doesn’t improve (every phone has a antenna with different strengths)
- If you’re a customer that is close to their contract end date and you use the “This needs to improve or I’ll take my service elsewhere” speech.
- If you have multiple phones on your account and can prove that all of them have the same weak signal problems.
My call to sprint
For Starters, if you make this call be prepared to be on with the Sprint tech for a while. My call took 45 minutes on the phone with the tech (that was after 5 min waiting in queue for the tech to answer).
Once you start the conversation be prepared to answer a lot of question, these are the “Checking to see if you qualify” for an Airave. Once you answer all the questions they will ask, you will be informed that your information will be forwarded to another department for review, and that within 72 (business) hours, someone will call you, to confirm if you get the reduced/free rate or if you will have to pay the $100 fee. Once you get the return call from Sprint, your service will be scheduled for install. Apparently someone will have to come out to do the actual install of the Airave hardware.
Since I just made my initial call today, I now end Pt. 1 of this post. As soon as Sprint calls me, I will continue this post with more information.
Software: Removing Skype Add-On EasyBits Go
Numerous users have reported that when they were installing the latest version of Skype, that a 3rd party program called EasyBits Go installed itself, even if you said No during the install process. EasyBits Go software is what is called “trial ware” for games they will try and get you to buy.
Its not unusual for 3rd party software to try and install during the install of major software packages (toolbars come to mind), however, legit software will not install if you say no. That is what has so many people upset, as seen in the Skype forum (LINK) http://forum.skype.com/index.php?showtopic=821535 (http://forum NULL.skype NULL.com/index NULL.php?showtopic=821535) and (LINK) http://forum.skype.com/index.php?showtopic=821491&st=20&gopid=3413723&#entry3413723 (http://forum NULL.skype NULL.com/index NULL.php?showtopic=821491&st=20&gopid=3413723&#entry3413723) . Even worse than a program that you said No to installing, is that the uninstaller for this program doesn’t work so you cant easily remove it.
If you have been one of the unfortunate Skype users who have had this Junk ware installed, Jeff Duntemann has put together a complete step by step on how to remove this Junk on his blog.
You can the complete step by step by visiting Jeff’s blog (LINK) http://jeff-duntemann.livejournal.com/281642.html (http://jeff-duntemann NULL.livejournal NULL.com/281642 NULL.html)
I have used his steps to clear 1 pc already, and as long as you follow the steps exactly as posted, you should be able to clear this junk off your pc.
Facebook: How to Remove Tag (Untag) yourself from pictures in Facebook
Since I just posted about a new way to try and trick people into compromising their Facebook accounts using Tagged Pictures, I figured you may also want to know how to Remove Tag Pictures (Untag yourself) in Facebook.
Use the following steps to Remove Tag Pictures -
- From your Facebook home page, locate the blue bar at the top of the screen. It says Facebook, Home, Profile, Friends, and Inbox. Click on “Profile”. Now you will be sent to your profile page.
- On your profile page, look underneath your profile picture that is located at the top left. Under it, you will see “Photos”. Click on Photos
- Now in the middle section of the page toward the bottom you will find the “Photos and Videos of you” section.
Look at the pictures below this section. Any pictures tagged will appear in this area. Click on the picture you would like to remove.
- Now look under the picture for the section that says “In this photo”. Next to that you will find “Remove tag”.
Click remove tag. The photo will not show up on your profile anymore
Software: What to do Before / During / After a Malware infection.
This Malware thing is becoming such a common issue that its driving me up the wall (In My opinion). I’ve been ask by many customers if its just tech’s creating these malware infections for job security. Let me tell you that I can promise you no tech worth his knowledge wants this kind of job security. (End of my Soapbox)
So what do you do with your computer to give you a fighting chance? Here is what you should do
Now that your pc is not infected
1 – Verify that you have “Fairly recent”* version of antivirus software installed, and that the AV software at is installed is running the latest Definitions possible.
a – *What do I mean by fairly recent, if you find your antivirus software and it says anything less than 2009 in the name (as in Norton 2005, McAfee 2003, etc.) then its to old. Antivirus software that old will just not have the information needed to keep up with the ever changing landscape
b – If its older than 2009, then I recommend just uninstalling it, and downloading a free Antivirus offering. (See the next answer for recommendation)
c – What if you find that you don’t even have antivirus installed or that the one you have is old. I recommend visiting www.ninite.com (http://www NULL.ninite NULL.com). There you will find a selection of Free Up to Date antivirus offerings. There are a couple of offerings, I would recommend MSE (Microsoft Security Essentials), but you would not do bad with any of the ones listed. Its at least better than the situation you were in. All you need to do is put a check next to one you select, then at the bottom select “Get Installer”, and hit run when prompted. It should download and install it for you.
**Remember to uninstall any old antivirus before installing its replacement, as pc’s don’t like to have 2 AV software running at the same time.
2 – Now that we have the AV situation address, you now need to add 2 pieces of free software to your install. It is hoped that you never need to use them but it makes life much easier if you install them now, before you get infected. (Think about it like car insurance, you don’t want to try and get the insurance after crash, same thing applies here for the software).
a – Go back to www.ninite.com (http://www NULL.ninite NULL.com) and select Malwarebytes and SuperAntiSpyware. Click on the “Get Installer” button at the bottom and then click run when prompted. That should install both.
b – Once installed you want to open each of the 2 programs you just installed at least once to make sure they installed correctly, and also to update the programs to the latest definition files. You should also run a full scan with each of the 2 programs on all hard drives. To make sure that nothing is hiding in your system.
c – If either Malwarebytes or SuperAntiSpyware finds anything during its scans it will tell you at the end and very simply help you clean up your pc. (Just select the infected files found and select remove infected)
3 - Lastly, go back to www.ninite.com (http://www NULL.ninite NULL.com) , and select the following files
- QuickTime
- Flash
- Flash (IE)
- Java
- .NET
- Silverlight
- Air
- Adobe Reader
These are all programs that most average users have installed, and vulnerabilities in old versions of these programs are some of the most common ways that many of the bad guys use to infect pc’s. Once you have all of these selected, click on “Get Installer” and then click on run when prompted.
You may notice that I list www.ninite.com (http://www NULL.ninite NULL.com) a lot in the options above. Just to make it clear, Tech Geek and More has no direct or indirect participation with ninite. Ninite is just a TGM recommended site, because they make updates simple, opposed to having to visit multiple sites to get the the updates accomplished. In addition, TGM appreciates the fact that when you install these programs via Ninite, they do not install Toolbars, or other junk that drives all Techs crazy (as we have to constantly uninstall Junk).
What to do once you do get infected
Unfortunately, even with taking every precaution imaginable its still possible to get infected. At the point of being infect here is what you need to do
1 – DON’T PANIC! (Seriously, if you panic you will not remember to follow the following steps and will probably make things worse)
2 – Immediately shut down the pc.
a – Try to do it by clicking on Start – Shutdown – Shutdown on the screen and if that doesn’t work, then just hold the power button on the pc until the pc powers off.
3 – Once the pc is off, power it back on and as soon as pc starts to boot press F8 over and over, until you get to the safe mode screen choices, use the up/down arrow to select safe mode with networking and hit enter
**Keep in mind that in safe mode your pc will look a little “odd”, that is normal.**
4 – Once you get into your pc, Go to start –> settings –> control panel –> and click on internet options –> then go to connections tab –> and click on LAN settings (toward bottom) and make sure nothing in that window is checked, if it is uncheck it, then click ok
5 – At this point if you have not installed SuperAntiSpyware or Malwarebytes, go to Step#2 under “Now that your pc is not infected” (above) and follow those steps to install both programs.
6 – Once installed, start by running SuperAntispyware, and when prompted select yes to update definition files. Once definitions are updated, run a Full Scan on all your Hard Drives (That would be any drive that doesn’t hold a CD or DVD).
The scan will probably take 1 hour on most average sized drives (Average = 320 gig drives). Once scan is completed, select all files that show infected and then click on remove select. That covers part of the process. Now to the next part.
DO NOT REBOOT IF PROMPTED
7 – Now start Malwarebytes, and when prompted say yes to updating the definition file.
8 – Once updated, select Perform full scan and hit select
You will then be asked to select your drives, select all drives that don’t use CD or DVD and press Scan
The scan will probably take 1 hour on most average sized drives (Average = 320 gig drives). Once scan is completed, select all files that show infected and then click on remove select. That covers part of the process. Now to the next part.
IF PROMPTED AGAIN –> DO NOT REBOOT
9 – Now in Windows –> Go to start –> run –> and type msconfig
a – This opens the msconfig window. Under the start up tab –> Uncheck all items listed. (DO NOT touch any of the other tabs) and click ok.
IF PROMPTED TO REBOOT –> AGAIN SAY NO
There is 1 more step.
10 – Open up My computer and go to –> c:\ drive –> windows folder –> system32 folder –> drivers folder –> etc. folder and in that location find a file called hosts and double click it, when prompted select to open with notepad.
Once the file opens look for the following line “# 127.0.0.1 localhost”
As shown in the example anything below the 1st 127.0.0.1 needs to be deleted. Then save your changes by clicking on File –> Save.
Once you have done all this reboot.
After the clean up in safe mode
After the clean up in safe mode, and the reboot, there are still a couple of things you need to do.
1 – You will need to reinstall your Antivirus product. If you were infected, there is a chance that your AV product is compromised, if nothing else, it just makes sure its complete or gives you a choice to pick a new AV package. This is especially important if your AV software is a few years old. Make sure to uninstall then reinstall.
2 – Using the Step#3 in the “Now that your pc is not infected” section. Make sure you update the programs listed in that section.
With that you should be back up and running.
Hardware: How to resolve SD Card issues (In Windows)
I ran into an issue this week when I attempted to format an 8 GB High Capacity SD Card inside of a camera and it failed to format. I then put the SD card in a pc and attempted the format from the pc only to receive and error and be unable to format the SD card.
The pc would report that the SD card was not formatted and needed to be. When I attempted to format on the pc, I would get an error that said “Failed to format the device”
In doing some research on this issue I discovered that there is an SD Association (Link: http://www.sdcard.org (http://www NULL.sdcard NULL.org)) and they have a free Program specially designed to format SD/SDHC/SDXC cards. The program called SD Formatter has the following advantage (From the SD Association Page)
This software formats all SD memory cards, SDHC memory cards and SDXC memory cards that comply with the SD File System Specification. SD Formatter provides quick and easy access to your SD, SDHC and SDXC memory cards.
The SD Formatter was created specifically for SD/SDHC/SDXC Cards. It is strongly recommended to use the SD Formatter instead of formatting utilities provided with operating systems which format various types of storage media. These generic utilities may result in less than optimal performance for SD/SDHC/SDXC Cards.
So I downloaded the program called SD Formatter 3 and tried it on ,my SD card. Here are the steps for using SD Formatter -
- The application initializes with just one small screen.
- First, select the drive containing the card you wish to format. Likely, this will be E or F for most Windows users. Notice that when you select the drive, the size of the SD disk appears just below the selection. For the 4GB card used in this example, the size is recognized as 3.68 GB. (No Matter what size SD card you use, the size will report just a little bit smaller due to formatting requirements).
- Next, click Option to select how you want the SD card formatted. A dialogue box appears with a dropdown menu listing three “format type” options.
- The first, Quick, is simply a standard wipe of the disk—all data currently on the disk will be erased.
- The second, Full (Erase), will put the disk into a proper SD format, be aware that even though this lists as Erase because it does a simple delete vs. overwrite, it may still be possible (Its not easy but could be done) to recover the files that were on the drive.
- The third option, Full (OverWrite),—is the option you will want to use most often, as it formats the card properly, while giving it a fresh start with no old data left on the disk at all. Not all cards support this, but if you choose this and the card does not support the option, the formatter automatically reverts to the second “erase off” option during the formatting process. (NOTE: With this option, when its gone, its gone!)
- Under the Format Type dropdown menu is a second menu called “format size adjustment” that asks if you want to try to increase the amount of space on your SD card or not. Turning this option on will allow you to use the maximum space possible on your SD card. Once you have made your selection, click OK.
- You will be brought back to the original formatter screen where it should display the options you just selected:
- Click Format. If you select Quick you will be informed that “Data may be retrieved after quick format. Meaning that it will not completely overwrite what is on the card. (However, you will need special recovery software to retrieve files from the card as all the pointers that would show you the files when you look at the drive will be removed, so the card will appear blank) Click OK
- Finally after that you will be asked one last time if you are sure you want to do this. If you are sure, click OK.
- A new dialogue box then displays the status of your formatting efforts. For the options selected above, it first erases all files from the disk, then formats it. If you are using a larger disk, as in this example, this process will take a few minutes. Do not turn off your computer or remove the disk until the entire process is complete.
When complete, a dialogue box appears telling you the results of the formatting process.
With that you should now have a very usable SD card.
iPhone: How to capture a picture of your screen
There are many reasons why getting a picture of your screen is helpful. You may want to take a picture of a text or IM conversation, an error, a game score, or anything else imaginable, are just some of the reasons I’m aware of.
The following simple steps can be taken to capture a picture of any screen of the iPhone
Step 1: Navigate to The Screen You Want to Capture
Move to the screen you want to that an image of just like normal. Make sure it appears on the screen exactly as you want it to appear in the picture. Once you see it on the screen exactly as you want it, you’re ready to take a screenshot!
Step 2: Take The Screenshot
Taking the screenshot is an easy process, as you only need to push 2 buttons:
- Hold down the sleep/wake button on the top, right edge of the phone
- At the same time press the home button 2 times (short presses)
The screen will flash momentarily, signifying the picture has been taken. These screenshots are now automatically saved as photos in your camera roll.
How to: Getting the old picture view back on Facebook (workaround)
On Thursday 2/10/2011, Facebook announced on their (LINK) blog page (http://blog NULL.facebook NULL.com/blog NULL.php?post=432670242130) in post called (LINK) More Beautiful Photos (http://blog NULL.facebook NULL.com/blog NULL.php?post=432670242130), that they are rolling out the new picture viewer to all Facebook users.
UPDATE on Thursday, February 10, 2011: We are rolling out the new Photo Viewer to everyone over the course of the next few weeks. Now, you can browse more photos faster without having to lose your place in Facebook. Visit the Help Center (http://www NULL.facebook NULL.com/help/?page=831) to learn more about using the Photo Viewer. Check out our Engineering blog (http://www NULL.facebook NULL.com/notes/facebook-engineering/developing-facebooks-new-photo-viewer/499447633919) for more technical details about how we designed and engineered the new feature.
The new viewer is supposed to give users the following
-
Higher Resolution
We’re increasing the size of the photos stored from 720 pixels to 2048 pixels on the largest edge, for an 8 times increase overall
-
A Better Photo Viewer
The new viewer makes it simpler and faster to navigate photos
-
Easier Tagging and Uploading
With our new uploader, you will be able to tag multiple photos in the same album all at once, as well as tag photos of the same person with a lot less effort
Some Comments made about this new picture viewer (these were posted on the same Facebook announcement by various Facebook users)
- THIS BIG BLACK SCREEN IS MAKING MY PICTURES SMALLER NOT LARGER
- I have a back button on my browser. I think I can handle browsing photos. I’d rather hit back 40 times than use this stupid new photo viewer, what a nightmare
- No, I do not like this new way. I can’t see the photos. C can’t see what I have put on and sure can’t see what other friends have on their site. i guess older people or those of us wit eye problems don’t matter. Why would anyone ever do this so lots can’t see I don’t know!!!!!!
- The new photo viewer is awful. It’s skips pictures when you are clicking on the arrow buttons and when you click on the actual picture. I hate pop ups, and I feel like the new photo viewer is one big pop up. The photos are actually smaller than they used to be. It’s really hard to tag ppl b/c it stays on the tagging function until you click “done tagging” even if you’ve moved on to the next picture. It’s harder to edit the picture info… i.e. caption, rotate, etc. Why mess with a good thing? The old way was SOOO much better. Please change!
So what does the Facebook Picture Viewer look like now / What issues are there
When accessing pictures in the new Facebook viewer they will look like this now.
However as well intentioned as this Facebook change was (as the reasons listed above – given by Facebook sound good), the implementation leaves A LOT to be desired. Here are some of the things that I have directly noticed.
- Pic viewer only shows black screen, no pic sometimes
- Pictures show smaller now than they did
- Browser has locked up more than once while trying to use the new pic viewer (Both IE8 and Firefox)
Workaround to the old version back (It’s simple)