How is your SEO?

Is your SEO doing the trick? Are you using Yoast? Are you making a difference? Is your Organic search results giving you the advantage you need? Call us to help get your site optimized for your best search results.

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Sooo Gutenberg, Calypso, WordPress…. you ready for the challenge?

You DIYers…. on your mark, get set, and WordPress is ready to hit the Go button. Are you? Well Gutenberg release is supposed to be happening this month… and well, by November they are planning to have all the bugs worked out of it. Ya, force users to upgrade in August, so that they can have the bugs worked out by November. I think they took a play out of the Microsoft playbook here. If you are having issues with Gutenberg, Calypso, or WordPress in general, contact us, and let us save you hours getting things running smoothly again. Keep in mind, this isn’t going away, and they promise to work out ALL the bugs… its in their release notes, honest.

In the meantime, for those of you who don’t want the headaches, don’t worry, we have plenty of ibuprofen and your Website is safe with us…. we are staying ahead of the game, and waiting for the next curve ball.     -Howste Technical Services, because sometimes you need a ninja

Howste Technical Services - Managed Services - IT - Atlanta

So you upgraded, now what?

So you got new printer, phone, tablet, roku, firestick, chrome case, voice command home technology this Holiday…. Bought some amazing technology in an after Christmas sale? Now what?

Well most people just plug it in and go…. And that works great, some times. Although not knowing what is compatible and what is not has been the down fall of some of the greatest in home networks…

So before you just plug n play… take a minute, do some research, ask a friendly neighborhood Ninja (we can be reached at 470-326-1999)… find out what works well together and what does not.

Remember that time your neighbor plugged in his Christmas lights and the entire sub division went dark?  Don’t be that guy!

Remember the time someone bought a used laptop only to find out that the MAC address was used for illegal torrents, and the guy was slapped with a fine? Don’t be that guy.

Remember that time your 80 year old aunt bought an iphone online only to find out that it was stolen when she received it? Don’t be that guy.

Remember that time Grandpa bought a used laptop and it came with a keylogger pre installed, so all his bank accounts got hacked? Don’t be that guyl.

Enjoy your new technology… have fun, be safe.

 

 

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Is your computer celebrating Halloween without you?

Storm Worm — OSX/RSPlug Trojan — Netsky and Sasser — The Blaster Worm — The Melissa Virus — ILOVEYOU — The Anna Kournikova Worm — CIH — The Concept Virus — The Morris Worm

Are we talking about something I should see my doctor about?
Well, we are talking about the worst viruses of all time, and your computer is at risk.

Why does that matter to me, I’m a smart person, I have antivirus software?
Well for starters, they haven’t all been cured. In fact, some of these are laying dormant on machines across the world. Some of these have been upgraded. And some of these have been modified to work on your phones.

Surely not my phone though, I have an apple it’s harder to attack.
Yes, Apple is more resistant than Android or Windows phone. So, these codes get embedded into the apps.

Into the apps? But I only install apps from reputable companies.
Yep, and just a like a file from an email, an app can have it embedded into it, or it can be part of the download from the app store/apple iTunes.

Wait, iTunes/App Stores run virus programs, they check for this stuff, they should know what they are doing.
Yes, they check for it, after its been reported to them, they go back and retroactively check it out.

Why don’t they look at it first, before it leaves the app store/iTunes?
They have too many apps uploaded regularly and they leave it to the vendors to monitor their work.

Well a vendor wouldn’t intentionally add a virus, that would be counter productive.
You’re right! But app stores/iTunes get hacked, just like the rest of us. Are you sure that you want to make them responsible for your safety?

What can I do about it?
Make sure that your antivirus is set up to run on any downloads, including App store/Itunes purchases. That it is checked before it is installed.

Every time?
Yes, and with Halloween right around the corner… it’s time to be extra careful. Halloween is known as being a hallmark time for new and unusual viruses and malware to hit the market. Halloween pranks aren’t just in your back yard anymore!

If your computer is acting up, call us, call a professional… take it serious. Shut it off, and call someone to look at it. Make sure your backups are complete now.

If your co worker is acting up… well thats a different professional, we can’t help with that.

Happy Halloween

Howste Technical Services

470.236.1999

Severe weather impact on email

We have grown so accustomed to instant access to things like texts and emails. It’s easy to think that you have a computer problem if your emails take 5 minutes to arrive.

Please keep in mind right now that there are severe weather issues. We have 2 states under water. This means that routers and switches will be down all over the US. Normally we are prepared that if the state of Texas went down, emails would be rerouted and we would barely notice a blip. However, Texas and Florida are down. This can mean that your emails are pinging all over the place trying to find a path in a maze that is uncertain. Be a little more patient that usual… if your email takes more than 30 seconds to arrive, it’s OK, it may have to be redirected through Australia…. but it will get there.

If your emails are taking more than an hour, please call us and we will see what options we have to speed up the process.

Howste Technical Services

Because Sometimes It Takes A Ninja

470.236.1999

social 1

What are the top 5 most common social media marketing mistakes?

What are the top 5 most common social media marketing mistakes?

  1. Inconsistency in content – posting about things that are personal instead of business related. Or posting only vague things that don’t really show an opinion either way.
  2. Inconsistency in timing – if you have a good blog with good information, people start to look forward to seeing it. When it comes out on every Tuesday, they get excited. If it comes out on Tuesday this week and three weeks later on Thursday, then they have lost their enthusiasm to read it.
  3. Inconsistency in reaching out – you want people to “like” “reply” “comment” and “share” what you are posting. So make sure that you are talking to your target market and engage them. Why write a post that says “I like dogs” when you can write a post that reads “What kind of dogs do you like?”. Think about what your readers want to read. This will help engage them.
  4. Inconsistency in engaging – If you want people to engage with you, you have to engage with them. Reply to other people’s stuff. Get out there, show that you have an educated opinion and a wealth of information so that when people are looking at what you are saying, they can see that you know what you are talking about.
  5. Inconsistency in grammar – It is really easy to just start talking. But you have to know who your audience is. Are you talking to a teenager or their parent? Are you talking to a new pet owner or an experienced one? Keep consistent with your target market and they will stay with you. You tend to lose people when you change who you are talking to.
cropped ninja

Troubleshoot or Call the Professional?

Well, the answer isn’t simple but it’s not hard either.

Let’s break down the equation…

  • Basic support is about $75 an hour… lets say with some discounts we can get it down to $50 an hour… that sounds like a lot of money.
  • If it takes you (the average person who knows some things about computers) 3 hours to fix it, it should take your IT person 1 hour to fix it.
  • You are a hard working person and have to put a lot of time into your job.
  • You get paid $24.10 per hour (https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.nr0.htm)

So let’s do some math.

  1. A 3 hour fix for a regular person is equal to a 1 hour fix for a professional.
  2. At $24.10 per hour (lets round that up to $25 per hour for simplicity sake), you would be paying yourself $75 dollars to work for 3 hours.
  3. If you are working on resolving an IT issue, you are not working in your business at the same time. Therefore you are losing $75 that you could be making in your business.
  4. $75 paying yourself to fix your problem and $75 that you didn’t get to make at work is $150.
  5. So, at $50 dollars an hour, you could pay your IT guy to come fix your computer. Or you can take the $150 loss and lose 3 hours of time to save yourself some money.

Yes, $50 an hour sounds like a lot, but when you are really breaking it down. It’s not as much as wasting the time that you need in order to get things done. Don’t leave your clients hanging. You have work to do… call an IT guy. Get the job done right, have it documented and keep track of your technology. In the long run, it’s worth it.

We are making the assumption in this model that you would end up fixing the computer and not making it worse. There is always the possibility that you could spend 3 hours on the device. The device will end up worse than when you started. The IT guy will end up spending an extra several hours fixing the original problem and then fixing whatever you did to the machine. Therefore costing you double or even triple to fix the machine.

* The actual numbers may vary. Finding an IT guy that knows their stuff and only charges $75 an hour, is worth holding on to. Don’t let them go…. Odds are you aren’t average, so $25 an hour is just a government estimate, plug your own numbers in, and work the equation, then call us.

Windows 10 Fall Creators Update Ya or Na?

Welcome to the new world of Windows… where the updates are mandatory and the definition of stable is questionable…

Here we have the latest stable update of windows 10. It’s being pushed out to all the windows 10 computers.

How stable is it, you ask?
Funny you should ask me that… today, while I (the computer professional) am rebuilding my computer because the update removed many of my core programs. Yes, that means you (the non computer professional) can be affected as well.

Questions? Consultations are at no cost to you.

call us 470.236.1999 email us info@howste.net or contact us here 

“Blog” Don’t Let the Words Intimidate You.

I’m not a writer…. I’m a doer….

Hey, I get it, writing is hard. Taking time out of your day to write is hard. Taking time to stare blankly at a computer screen with nothing to say is hard….

Have you considered that you really do have something to say? Start with the last question your client asked you…. “How do I light the pilot light?” or “What do I look for when buying a car?” or “How often do I have feed the goats?” all good questions, and all questions that could be answered with a small blog post. So the next time someone asks you a question… take a minute and write it out on your blog…. give them the simple answer, and let them know that you are available for more in depth answers if they call you…. A simple blog post can make a big difference and keep your rankings boosted…. You are the only one that can relate to your clients…. so relate to them. You will be surprised at the difference that it makes.

Ask Me More, We are not only your friendly local neighborhood nerds, we are also your experts on small business IT, Web Marketing, and using your technology to further your business.