Computer Geek gives you tips with substance!

How to create a strong password

2011-12-28T14:52:00.000-06:00

Quite often I get asked about how to create a strong password. Sadly even more often I find people who's email account has been hacked and terrible spams are sent out because their password was too simple.

Most common weak passwords I see are simply their name followed by a number. For example: mickeymouse11.

Hackers have caught up to passwords like this. They have software to try different combinations of letters and numbers over and over until they either succeed or run out of combinations. This can result in your bank accounts being violated, emails being sent to the world on your behalf, or worse.

Here are some simple but great guidelines for creating a strong password that's difficult to hack.

1) Use a combination of upper and lower case letters, numbers and a symbol such as !, #, @, etc...
2) Do not use your name, relatives names, phone number, social security number etc...
3) Substitute certain numbers for letters. For example, 0's for o's. 3's for e's.

A good example of a password would be 55Ch33s3! - instead of 55cheese!. Or Ch00ch00! instead of choochoo!

Make it something easy for you to remember so you won't have to write it down. Your favorite snack, your favorite movie, etc...

The last thing you want is to have your password hacked. So follow these guidelines, don't tell anyone what your password is and you'll be fine.

Parental Controls - You NEED to do it

2010-03-22T13:51:00.007-05:00

One of the most common questions I get from parents is about how to set up parental controls... and if they should. The answer is a resounding YES you should. Why wouldn't you?

A pastor friend of mine once told me that one of the most difficult things for a parent is to realize that your kids are just as susceptible to sin as you are. Porn is absolutely huge. Much bigger than most of us realize. It's terrible, but true.

Boys as young as 3rd grade secretly start passing around the names of web sites to go visit. Fortunately my boys brought these home saying "what is THIS?" before going on the web. This is not an exaggeration folks. 3rd grade.

Girls watch it too. Not kidding. Fathers pull me aside asking me about parental controls because their daughters (not their sons) have a problem with it.

This is a very real threat folks. Don't take it lightly!

One thing you can do is to have the kids use the "family" computer in a main living area or kitchen where you can monitor what they are doing. But for the times when you can't be looking over their shoulder, you need parental controls.

Ok, now for the "how to".

Most ISP's provide you with a very nice firewall with parental controls built in. I'll use Verizon's as the example. I've worked with just about all of them. Verizon's is the best. If your router does not have parental controls built in you can buy one at Best Buy or Frys.

Ok, first step is a little tricky. But after this, it's a piece of cake.

Click your START button at the bottom left of your screen and type "cmd". Then press ENTER on your keyboard. A black box will appear.

Step 1. Type "ipconfig" then press ENTER. A bunch of junk will appear. Here's a picture of mine. The "Default Gateway" is what you are interested in.

Step 3. Write this IP Address down and type "exit" then press . The black box will vanish. The IP Address is the 4 numbers with periods between them. For example "192.168.1.1".

Now it gets easier.

Step 4. Open your web browser. Either Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Safari, etc. In the address bar type this IP Address. Your router screen will appear.

Try one of these links and see if yours comes up.

http://192.168.1.1
http://192.168.0.1
http://10.0.0.1
http://192.168.1.254
http://192.168.0.254

You will see the info they will allow you to see without having to log in. You will need to log in at this point so you can change your parental controls.

For 90% of the routers out there the default user id and password are one of the following:

User Id: admin
Password: admin

or

User Id: admin
Password: password

or

User Id: admin
with a blank password

or

User Id: user
Password: user

Step 5. Change your password. Chances are your kids know these passwords.

Step 6. Once you are in look for the "Parental Controls" link. If you don't see anything like this, then your router does not support it. Go buy one. If you need recommendations just ask. I'll be glad to help.

Step 7. Here you can add web sites and naughty words you don't want your kids to see. When anyone tries to visit these sites they will be blocked. They'll see a page like this:

Every parent's standards are different. But use your imagination when adding naughty words. It's not hard.

If you are a parent with kids of any age, go ahead and set it up. You won't be sorry.

You can do it yourself by following these instructions or we can do it for you.

We can even do it remotely with you watching us. It would take about 15 minutes of your time. We would log into your machine (with your permission) and we would (together) add words and web sites to block. We would then leave you so you can privately add or subtract whatever you choose. We would be teaching you how to do it - if you like.

That's it for today. I hope this helps. If you are doing anything, please do something.

Sincerely,
Matthew Porter
Christian Geeks
(817) 605-1819
AIM:BigTex0
http://www.christiangeeks.com
http://www.twitter.com/christiangeeks

WiMax and Clear - The Review

2009-11-04T20:10:00.003-06:00

My Clear/WiMax gear arrived last night so I took the day to give it a thorough shakedown in a variety of ways. My company is a reseller but I wanted to be sure I knew the in's and out's, pros and cons before selling it to our customers. Clear uses the Spring network FWIW.

WiMax promises super fast high speed mobile Internet anywhere in the coverage area. In your office or home, in your car, in the park, at a ball game, you name it - the promise screaming fast - almost fiber speeds.

In one major area they do deliver 100%. In another major area they do not... yet. I'll discuss both.

The basic package comes with 2 devices. A modem for your home or office, and a USB modem about the size of a flash drive. The USB modem is for people who want to roam and have Internet access.

Setup was VERY easy. Absolutely anyone can do it. It took about 30 seconds. They really did a nice job here.

I have an AC to DC converter in my truck so I can plug in and get AC power whenever I need it. I plugged USB modem into my laptop and plugged in the wireless modem into the AC.

The good: If you are a home or office user and you are within the coverage area it delivers. I drove around NE Tarrant County following the coverage map. I made several stops at different offices, stores and houses of folks that I know to give it a thorough test. Once connected I used http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest for my download and upload tests.

For home and small office people, I was able to get between 2.5 Mbps and 9.4 Mpbs download speeds. Seriously! At 10 different locations in Colleyville and North Richland Hills the wireless modem gets a great signal and and the speed simply flies.

Faster than cable and DSL, but not as fast as fiber.

The bad: The USB modem for roaming is wimpy. Does not get a good signal at all whatsoever. The only way I could get it to connect and stay connected was to be within about 100 yards of the tower and have a direct line of sight. This is not the way it's supposed to work. Or what they are selling us. I do believe they'll fix it however. Remember this is brand new stuff. Clear - so far - appears to be a well managed company and well capitalized for the long haul.

I did get on the phone with Clear's tech support for a while to try to remedy the USB situation. They answered immediately. And an American who spoke perfect English answered. He said basically that the USB antenna is just not very strong.

Also, Clear's service is not available in the Southlake area yet. I did get a signal south of 1709 in Southlake. But I could not get any signal north of 1709 no matter where I went. Southlake is supposed to get service in early 2010.

Bottom line: If you are a home or small office, this is a great solution for you. If you want to wander wherever you want around town, wait a little longer.

If you are interested, please call or shoot us an email. We want you to "try before you buy." We'll come to your home or office, plug it in and let you try it for free.

Prices are between $35/month and $75/month. VERY little or no setup fees. They want to make this extremely easy for you.

Sincerely,
Matt Porter
Christian Geeks - IT Consultant
(817) 605-1819
AIM: BigTex0
http://www.christiangeeks.com
http://twitter.com/christiangeeks

WiMax - Wireless Internet at Fiber Speeds! And it's mobile!

2009-10-19T21:05:00.004-05:00

In the next 2 weeks we'll introduce the next generation of wireless Internet to our area. The technology is called "WiMax."

WiMax basically is this. Internet speeds between 6 Gbps up to 18 Gbps. This is as fast as fiber by current standards. It's extremely simple to set up. And it's not very expensive. Roughly $60/month. And NO setup fee. Seriously.

This is the first "game changing" technology to come along is a very long time. If you are unhappy with your current Internet connection for any reason, I urge you to give us a call.

Starting November 1st, here's what we'll be able to do. We can bring a demo unit to your home or office and hook it up to your network or computer for no cost and let you try it for a few minutes. Compare it to what you have now and see how you like it. "Try it on." If you like it, we'll hook you up immediately or order the equipment you choose. Then you'll be flying at speeds you've never seen before.

You'll be able to surf the web anywhere in DFW at fiber speeds. You can be in the park or in a moving car (passengers only please, hahaha.) If you are in a location that does not have high speed internet this fast, you can share it with the office.

There are endless possibilities. Just think about what you can do with Internet that fast, anywhere anytime. No joke folks.

Get excited about it. WiMax is here!

Sincerely,
Matt Porter
Christian Geeks - IT Consultant
(817) 605-1819
AIM: BigTex0
http://www.christiangeeks.com
http://twitter.com/christiangeeks

Blue Screen of Death - Is it really fatal?

2009-09-25T21:14:00.002-05:00

I brought up the subject of the famous "Blue Screen of Death" in a large group today. And was amazed at the passionate answers I received. All were of great fear and trepidation.

Blue screens usually are not a complete loss. It is normally a driver problem or hardware beginning to fail. Here's 3 examples I've solved very recently:

If your hard drive is failing I would attach her hard drive to another PC an attempt to save your pics.
External drives cause this sometimes. Just unplug your external drive and see if the problem goes away.
This morning's case was a network driver. Just updating some software and problem solved.

Don't panic if you get the infamous blue screen. It's probably not fatal or tragic. Don't wipe your hard drive or do anything drastic. Call us and let us help.

Oh, and keep backups! You won't be sorry.

Sincerely,
Matt Porter
Christian Geeks - IT Consultants
(817) 605-1819
AIM: BigTex0
http://www.christiangeeks.com
http://twitter.com/christiangeeks

Dell Mobile Broadband Error

2009-09-08T12:32:00.003-05:00

I solved a problem today that is very common. But when you read the Dell discussion groups lots of people are complaining about it. And Dell does not have a solution. This is for laptops that have a mobile broadband modem built in.

The error is:

Dell Mobile Broadband Card Utility
Unknown Application Error: 9999

The customer I solved this for today spent 10 hours with Dell and AT&T tech support. Uninstalling, reintalling, letting them have remote control of the computer, the whole 9 yards. The customer was VERY frustrated.

I hooked up my AT&T phone to her laptop and found that the computer would not recognize it.

I went through several steps eliminating possibilities. Finally I found the solution and it was very simple:

1) Download the latest version of AT&T Communication Manager here and save it to the Desktop.
2) Uninstall the current AT&T Communication Manager. Reboot.
3) Install the AT&T Communication Manager I just downloaded.

Then BAM! Everything worked. I was there a total of 1 hour.

I don't know why Dell and HP couldn't figure this one out. But it's an easy solution. Hopefully someone will read this and be helped by it.

Have a great week!

Sincerely,
Matt Porter
Christian Geeks - IT Consultant
(817) 605-1819
AIM: BigTex0
http://www.christiangeeks.com
http://twitter.com/christiangeeks

Computers and Seniors

2009-09-04T11:16:00.003-05:00

Lately we've had a lot of calls from people who are retired. Various ages. 60's to 80's. They really make an impression on me. They really get into the Internet and working with the computer. And feel absolutely cut off from the world when they lose their Internet connection. It's a very lonely and isolated feeling.

Many people of that generation choose to ignore technology altogether and claim ignorance. Reflecting back on my grandparents (who are now singing His praises in heaven) I know my grandfather would have loved the Internet. He was a news and sports junkie. Always in the know about the issues. On top of that he worked the daily crosswords in pen.

My point? I have a special place in my heart for helping retired folks. They have a limited income, and are very insecure about their computer skills. But the computer IS their attachment to the outside world.

This reinforces my point that I preach a lot - the computer is a very personal experience. People customize it, arrange their icons "just so." And when the computer doesn't work right, it rocks their world!

I thoroughly enjoy helping retired folks. Even if it means not making as much money. I get to make a personal connection with them. And truly get to help them and put a smile on their face.

That's what any good business should be about. Building relationships, and reaching other people for His glory.

Keep in touch!

Sincerely,
Matt Porter
Christian Geeks - IT Consultant
(817) 605-1819
AIM: BigTex0
http://www.christiangeeks.com
http://twitter.com/christiangeeks

Reviewing Mini Notebook's

2009-06-02T09:47:00.004-05:00

I've worked with 3 different mini notebook computers in recent weeks. An HP, an Acer and a Dell. In a nutshell I couldn't find anything wrong with any of them. Just know that they are good for a specific purpose.

I will stay away from being to technical. I just want to give you an overview.

All 3 systems were great at browsing the web, doing email and doing light word processing. This is what they are intended for. For the ladies, the mini computer will fit in your purse. When folded up it's the size of a paper back book.

Now, I've hooked up these 3 systems to a network, both wired and wireless. All 3 worked perfectly. All 3 had small hard drives compared to normal sized notebooks. So don't expect to edit any videos or keep any databases on them. But in my opinion this is not what these computers are intended for.

When putting one of these in my lap and using it for a long period of time, I found myself bending over to see the screen. After a while that gets uncomfortable.

All 3 systems do have USB ports. So you can hook up your camera, printer, and - most importantly - your cell phone internet hookup. So you can be traveling, driving, or out around town and have internet access. This is HUGE.

If you are one who travels at all, or just putters around town and you find that you need Internet access from time to time (and you don't want to use your mobile phone for internet access) this is perfect for you.

If you want to use this for your normal everyday computer, and/or write documents with it, this is NOT for you. You will grow tired of the tiny keyboard and tiny screen after a while.

One client of ours said this:

"Works good. Has 1gb memory. Another GB would make it faster. holding it at book to eye level is easy to read. Keyboard has some keys in different places, but if you do any amount of email or text, you get used to it pretty quick."

So that's it in a nutshell. Good for occasional use, can be very convenient. But not for your 8 hour a day computer.

Hope this helps! Have a great week!

Sincerely,
Matt Porter
Christian Geeks - IT Consultant
(817) 605-1819
http://www.christiangeeks.com

The Conficker virus - Read before April 1, 2009

2009-03-30T14:28:00.004-05:00

This Conficker virus is a legitimate virus threat which should be taken seriously. Scheduled to go active on April 1st, 2009 the virus has online communities on alert speculating about potential effects.

Office PCs:

If your system has requested a reboot please do so immediately to apply the latest patches your I.T. team has pushed out to your system.

As is always the case be diligent when opening e-mail attachments from unknown sources or browsing web pages and notify I.T. team members of unexpected or suspicious activity.

Home PC:

To protect your home system, first patch the vulnerability using the link provided by Microsoft which corresponds to your operating system:

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/MS08-067.mspx

Once completed you can download the latest updates for your Anti Virus software and then perform a complete scan.

If you have any problems or questions upgrading contact Christian Geeks and we will assist you to resolve them. Call us at (817) 605-1819 or http://www.christiangeeks.com.

For more info:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conficker

Backups and the Economy

2009-02-19T15:17:00.002-06:00

I've lost track lately of 2 things. 1) How many hard drives we've replaced or had to wipe clean due to system failures, or user error. And 2) How many people I've talked to that are being hit hard by the economy.

1) Backups: We've replaced a huge number of people's hard drives lately for various reasons. System crashes, power failures, viruses, we even had one poor lady who deleted all her photos then defragged her hard drive. Then called us to recover her photos. We were able to recover some of them, but defragging permanently wiped out some of them. She was heartbroken.

Point being here is to keep backups. The most painless solution I recommend is ClubBackup.com. You get 1GB free and it runs automatically. It will back your files up to the web site and to a local external hard drive if you have one. You install the software and never think about backups ever again.

2) The Economy: We get calls several times a week from folks who are truly feeling the effects of the economy. It's bad folks - I know it is. From the bottom of my heart I feel for you, I really do. I talk to people who are close to starving because of a job loss.

If the economy is affecting you and you need computer help we will do what we can to assist you. We've been known to give away free parts and quite a few free complete systems that are 2nd hand. Parts like hard drives, monitors, network cards, CD-ROM drives, sound cards, microphones,... perfectly good stuff, just not brand new out of the box. So if you need help, just call. It doesn't hurt to ask. We keep a stash of parts for this very reason.

What's important to me is making the relationship with you. So that down the road when things improve for you, you'll remember ChristianGeeks.com.

If you are in the DFW area call and let's talk. (817) 605-1819.

I'll be praying for you.

Sincerely,
Matt Porter
ChristianGeeks.com - Computer Service
(817) 605-1819

Sharing a 3G Mobile phone Internet Connection

2009-01-01T21:23:00.002-06:00

We had a fun one come up this week that was rather unique. We have a customer in Springtown, TX - out of range of any high speed Internet services. Not even satellite. He came up with a clever solution.

He is using his AT&T 3G connection for his home network's Internet. He bought a little thumbdrive size device that he plugs into a USB cable, then plugs the cable into his desktop PC. And that allows him to access the web.

He called us because he has a laptop that he wants to share that Internet connection with and wanted to know what to do.

He installed a $40 Linksys wireless router from Wal Mart and we came out to get his laptop going. We set up Internet Connection Sharing on his Desktop. Then got his laptop hooked up to the Linksys just fine. Then viola! Everything started humming. He was able to browse the web on his laptop just fine.

"Necessity is the mother of invention" right? Give high marks to Danny in Springtown, TX for this one. Very clever!

Danny also taught me an acronym. ME, a computer guy, a new acronym! hahaha. Here it is.

P.U.S.H.

P - Pray
U - Until
S - Something
H - Happens

Life has phases that are very difficult. If you aren't going through something right now, you will. So remember "PUSH". And keep praying and listening.

Happy new year!

Sincerely,
Matt Porter
Christian Geeks - Computer Service
(817) 605-1819
http://www.christiangeeks.com

New PC Buying Guide

2008-12-23T08:47:00.003-06:00

Daily people ask for help with buying a new PC. So let me give you some practical tips. I know times are tough for many people right now so I'll keep that in mind.

1) Determine your budget first and stick to it. The bare minimum new PC costs $500. That does not include any bells and whistles. And does not include a monitor or printer.

2) Look at what you already have that you don't need to replace. Many people are happy with (or can live with) their current monitor and printer. If you are, then stick to this before you go to the store. Don't make the emotional purchase if you don't have the cash.

3) What do you want to do with this PC that you don't do now? Make videos? Play games? Photo Shop? If so, then you'll be paying more money. But you'll be thrilled with the results.

I suggest you go to Best Buy or Frys to make your purchase. I've not been a fan of Circuit City for 16 years or so. Best Buy has helpful people on the floor to help you with your purchase. And of course if you want our help you can always call us at 817 605 1819.

If you only plan to browse the web, do email, edit spreadsheets, and letters, then spend between $500 and $800 on a new HP, Gateway or Dell. These are quality machines that will last you for many years and offer great support. DO NOT buy Acer or other "off" brands. You'll be so sorry. They use cheaper parts and they tend to break down more.

If you fall into category 3 then really what you buy is only limited by your budget. You can't load up on enough RAM and disk space. Yes you'll need a DVD R/W (read/write). Most systems come with this anyway. But spend your extra money on RAM, hard drive space and CPU. If you need more precise specs email me and I'll be glad to help.

Also, do spend the extra $150 or so on MS Office. That's the industry standard Word and Excel (word processor and spreadsheet.)

I sincerely hope you have a very blessed and merry Christmas. Be thankful for the blessings you do have.

In Christ,
Matt Porter
Christian Geeks
(817) 605-1819
http://www.christiangeeks.com

These are all things you need to consider.

Protect against computer disasters for FREE!

2008-11-27T10:38:00.001-06:00

This week the AV 2009 virus has done some nasty work. We've had several new customers contact us after having their PC's hit hard. 100% of these folks did not have Anti Virus software or backups. Unfortnately the AV 2009 virus did so much damage that these customers lost most or all of their data.

With every customer we come in contact with we always make sure they have Anti Virus software and some way to backup important files on their PC. If you don't have either of these, consider yourself naked and exposed. You will be hit, it's just a matter of time by surfing the web. Yes that's right, just surfing.

Here's the 2 products we recommend that you install now. And they are both FREE.

Anti Virus & Anti Spyware : AVG Free Edition I've seen AVG solve problems that Norton cannot. And it's free folks. You just can't beat it. It takes 2 minutes to install.

Free Online Backup - ClubBackup.com You get 1 GB of space for free. The software automatically takes care of everything for you. You install it, and your "My Documents", "My Pictures", drivers and Favorites are backed up and protected. Yes it's that simple. It takes 30 seconds to install. Seriously!!!

If you need more than 1GB then you can buy a monthly subscription for as little as $4.95. But really, most people have less than 1GB of important stuff. So that's plenty.

PLEASE take advantage of these folks. It pains me to see people suffer when they lose their hard drive. Especially when there are free and easy solutions out there to prevent this damage.

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend free of computer problems. Wear loose fitting pants today. :-)

Matt

The Vundo virus and ground squirrels

2008-11-22T21:21:00.000-06:00

This week we had a nasty virus to remedy. The "Vundo" virus made a terrible mess of one family's laptop in Coppell, TX. The customer made a very valiant effort to try to kill the virus herself but this one was particulary nasty. So she called us. While working on their PC at their home I was introduced to their pet ground squirrels. More on that later.

The Vundo virus disguises itself very well. It creates other files to do it's dirty work. Here's how we solved it.

1) The customer disconnected their PC from the Internet to prevent any further damage.

2) I downloaded the "FixVundo" program from Symantec and burned it to a CD. I also gave them the latest AVG anti virus software - the free version.

3) I inspected their PC for several key things then ran FixVundo.

At this point FixVundo takes a while to run. She introduced me to their pet ground squirrels. I never had met such a critter. Part squirrel, part rabbit. Truly a very cute pet. No they did not stink. They were just simply cute and low maintenance. I was very impressed.

At this point I let FixVundo run, told them I'd call later that night and come back the next day.

When I called later than night she had run FixVundo a second time and it did make some progress.

The next morning she ran it again and it seemed to clear up the problem - about 99%. There were still some remnants so I made a 2nd trip to their house.

There were some registry entries that needed to be deleted manually. The FixVundo program was supposed to do this, but it failed to do so. Most likely the virus was smart enough to detect FixVundo and tried to work it's way around it.

I was able to nail down and delete the registry entries, the .TMP files and the EXE's that needed to be killed.

When I left she was very relieved that she did not have to completely wipe her PC and start over from scratch. She had info that she couldn't figure out how to back up and didn't want to take the time to recreate it.

Oh get this, the AVG Free anti virus did a better job cleaning up after the Vundo virus than Symantec did. Surprised me too. But it made a believer out of her. Go figure!

That's it for this week. And if you are looking for a rodent pet that's not creepy, and actually very cute in a bunny rabbit sort of way, consider ground squirrels.

Have a blessed week!!!

http://www.christiangeeks.com
(817) 605-1819

Computers and Thunderstorms

2008-11-10T20:25:00.000-06:00

I've learned something the hard way many times over the years. Computers and thunderstorms do not mix!

Yes I use high dollar surge surpressors, and I do highly recommend them. I've lost track of how many hard drives I've lost, how many network cards, power supplies, motherboards, you name it. Power surges are the death of computers and your valuable data.

So what do you do? If you are under a thunderstorm drop what you are doing, shut your computers down and unplug them from the wall. No joke here folks. Simply shutting them down isn't good enough. You must unplug them from the wall. Your network cable, and phone cable too (if you are still on dialup.)

I was with a customer today that described 4 wierd things they had to replace on their new name brand systems that could only be explained by power surges. Some office buildings power lines are not conditioned properly for computer networks. And you get spikes in power from time to time. There's not a lot you can do about it other than have good backups.

But if you have the opportunity, when you hear thunder, start shutting down and unplugging. You won't be sorry.

If you are a victim feel free to contact us. http://www.christiangeeks.com/ We'll be happy to help.

Keeping Email in Sync on your smartphone 24/7

2008-11-06T11:20:00.001-06:00

ChristianGeeks.com is a computer service and repair business based in Southlake, TX. We serve the surrounding area including Keller, Grapevine, NRH, Colleyville, Roanoke and more.

I have several blogs for different purposes but I will use this one to document common computer problems I solve that may help you.

This week the biggest thing was for a client in the area in the Wealth Management business. He wanted to get his SmartPhone email to stay in sync with his Outlook Email 24/7. Regardless of wherether he is in the office, home or traveling.

Let me start by saying this. I like Outlook. It simply works. It manages email well for most people, and manages your calendar and contacts too.

I also have a Windows SmartPhone. The AT&T Tilt to be exact. And I absolutely love it. But that's a story for another day.

This gentleman hired other "geek" companies to get his phone to sync with Outlook 24/7 and nobody could get it to work. He then called us.

I paid him a personal visit to his office and solved it for him. Here's what I did.

1) I backed up his contacts and calender.

2) Instead of having Outlook stay in sync with the MS Exchange Server I changed it to read POP3 email. Yes it's the same server, just reading it as POP3 instead of Exchange.

3) On his SmartPhone I disabled the Outlook account and created a POP3 email account. I pointed the POP3/SMTP to his server with his user ID and password.

So now both his PC and his SmartPhone are reading the same emails. When he plugs his phone into his PC his Calendar and Contacts sync up nicely using Outlook.

Yes he still uses Outlook exactly the same way. But Outlook just reads the email from the server differently. My client doesn't know any difference. Or care.

He gets his email on both his PC and his phone no matter where he is in the world. And he's happy.

Stay tuned for more tech tips in this blog. Let me know if this kind of thing is helpful to you.

Also let me know send me any questions you have. I'm always happy to help.