We got our new sign up! Thanks Signs!

For our small business friends – if you're tired of credit card fees that seem to be WAY more than quoted from your processor – consider giving Square a try. We saw a reduction in total CC fees year over year from 5% (despite a quoted rate of 1.68%) down to 2.75% (guaranteed w/Square). The trick is many small business owners don't want to use their cellphone to process cards. However, many 7" Android tablets can be found for $70 or less – like this one. Easy to dedicate to CC processing. Plus you can try Square without having to cancel your existing CC account. Other services like Inuit GoPayment and PayPal's PayPal Here exist and we've tried them all. Square just 'works'…

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Google Android 4.1 OS 1.2GHz 4GB 7" Tablet PC + Free Gift for only $69 on Nomorerack!

Save 68% off Retail.

Shop Here ➜ http://bit.ly/1f4XuSc

Virus infections today are VERY complex – many can 'fool' your Windows Anti-Virus (Norton, McAfee, Security Essentials, etc) by faking data returned from the hard drive. The only way to REALLY ensure you are virus free is an 'offline' virus scan where the anti-virus program runs off a CD or USB Flash drive, scanning your entire hard drive. At IT Xpress, we recommend the award winning Bitdefender AV suite, and any systems we service get scanned with their excellent offline scanner. Our upper tier My ITXpert customers (http://myitxpert.biz/) get Bitdefender included!

Want to make sure your PC is really 'clean'? Bring it in for a physical cleaning (dirt and dust clog heatsinks and slow systems down. We'll clean it inside AND outside) and we'll do a deep offline virus scan. Depending when you drop your system off, you'll generally get it back the same day – often within a few hours. We guarantee it'll be done within 24 hours or the cleaning is free! All for $35! Like if your computer could use a good cleaning and share with your friends!!

Like normal theft, losing access and control of your accounts never seems like a big risk until it happens to you. It can be VERY hard to regain control of them and with that control, hackers can worm their way further into your life and get to things that really matter (bank accounts, credit cards, etc). Passwords are the first line of defense… And if your bank and/or email provider allowed for things like login page 'shields' (so you know the login page is legit), two factor authentication (so you need your cellphone to get in), and the like… Use Them! Like if you've taken steps to secure your online accounts and share with your friends to help protect them!

The Top Ten Commandments of Password Protection
facecrooks.com
Protecting your passwords is a vital component of keeping your online accounts safe and secure. Careless users often find themselves the victim of email or Facebook hacks. Armed with the right information, it only takes a few moments to properly secure your email accounts, social networking profiles…

Some laptop humor from the folks at (mt) Media Temple – our web hosting company. If your laptop seems to get extremely hot, especially if you have pets, the small cooling heatsink inside is probably clogged with dust. We can quickly clean that out and improve your laptop's cooling. It'll run faster and last longer. For $25 we'll clean the cooling system, keyboard, and every external surface of your laptop – while you wait! For $35 we'll add in a deep 'offline' virus scan that is often complete in an hour or two. Just drop it of before breakfast or lunch! Like if your laptop could use a good cleaning and share with your friends!

We updated one of our data transfer drives to USB3 for faster speed. But why go with a plain silver case? This Vantec case looks great, has a VERY quiet fan to keep the drive cool (which you can turn off) and makes drive installation a snap. If you have an external hard drive that is only USB2 and you have a new USB3 capable computer (Look for the USB symbol with SS or SuperSpeed above it) – a simple case upgrade can drastically increase the speed of the external drive.

Even more good advice for keeping Facebook and your info safe. I'll admit I only limit to friends of friends to help expand my network and rediscover old friends. But Public is just a bad idea on all but very specific things (now if you have a *business* FB page – you want that public!). Like if you've taken any of these steps and share with your friends!

5 tips to make your Facebook account safer
nakedsecurity.sophos.com
Help better safeguard your Facebook profile with these 5 quick tips.

Always be on the lookout for phishing attacks like this. Once they get into your accounts, it can be VERY hard to get them out and get your accounts back. And when Google, Yahoo, Facebook, etc ask for your cellphone number as part of an account recovery feature – DO IT. This can make it MUCH easier to get back into a hacked account. Share with your friends!

Beware of Socially Engineered Phishing Attacks on Facebook
facecrooks.com
Phishing attacks are one of the most common scams on Facebook. The goal of these scams is to obtain your Facebook user name and password. If successful, the scammers can totally take over your Facebook account and use it to spread more spam and scams to your friends. They can also mine everyone in y…

Have a broken flash drive? We can often reconstruct the drive and recover your data! We were able to recover gigabytes of academic data for this customer after the USB plug snapped off their drive…

Signs dropped off our proof for the new building sign. Looks great and cannot wait until it's done and ready to hang!

This is an amazing deal if you have an Android phone and especially if you use Google Drive. Install the new free QuickOffice app on your phone/tablet, then sign in to your Google account and you'll get 10GB added to your Google Drive for free (for 2 years). Great deal!

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This is pretty sweet – Google is giving away its formerly $20 QuickOffice app for Android and iOS. If you download it, install it, and sign into your Google account from it, you get 10GB added to your account for free (for two years). http://www.maximumpc.com/google_rewarding_quickoffice_users_10gb_online_storage_2_years

Helpful advice on noticing when things 'are not quite right'…

Defending against web-based malware: Spot the smoke, don't wait for fire
nakedsecurity.sophos.com

If you use Internet Explorer to browse the web – install this 'Fix It' from Microsoft ASAP to plug some security holes that are actively being exploited by hackers. Select the 'Enable This Fix' version and run it… This will keep you safe until Microsoft releases an official patch/upgrade.

Microsoft Security Advisory: Vulnerability in Internet Explorer could allow remote code execution
support.microsoft.com
Provides a link to Microsoft Security Advisory (2887505): Vulnerability in Internet Explorer could allow remote code execution.

Computers built between 1999 and 2007 have been failing at very high rates due to a defective part. Thanks to a faulty chemical recipe (that was apparently based off a stolen trade secret), capacitors like these often fail after a few years of use. They will either 'pop' with crusty material forming along the 'vent', or the vent will 'dimple'. The top of all capacitors should be flat. These very inexpensive parts can cause computers to not power on or behave erratically when in use. So if your computer starts acting strangely – a quick visual inspection can tell you if this is the problem. We have most common types of failed capacitors in stock and have performed dozens of these repairs. You can get your computer back up and running, often for less than $150. For more information, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacitor_plague

Our MY ITXpert service continues to grow! We will soon be able to support and maintain Android devices. In depth process monitoring, application updates, and remote lock/wipe if they are stolen. Mac support is also on the way, joining our current set of supportable devices including Windows PCs, Servers, iPads, and iPhones. http://www.myitxpert.biz/

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As Android has recently passed 1B devices activated, and a new chocolate bar was announced, we wanted to give you a sneak peek to our kitchen and let you see what’s cooking.

Check out our blog at http://blog.soluto.com/2013/09/android-is-coming and email us if you want to be an Android alpha tester at android-is-coming@soluto.com.