AVAST! Free virus scanner that will serve your PC well

IF your PC is connected to the Internet, having a good virus checker is of the utmost importance. There are many virus scans available and the more expensive ones are generally better, however there are some free ones available for download that will serve your PC just fine.

Avast! is one particularly good virus scan that is both free to download and easy to use. You can download it by doing a Google search for “avast free download.” As with most free software there may be a few features that are unavailable to you, but Avast! will still be sufficient at protecting your PC from spyware and viruses.

It is also important to update your virus checker periodically to keep your PC protected from new threats. Almost all virus scanners will notify you when updates are available for download. Avast! will give you voice notifications when your virus signatures have been updated. You can also configure it to download these updates automatically, which is highly recommended.

Lastly, have your virus checker scan your PC and a regular basis (once a month is a good window to go by). You can set your virus software to perform such scans automatically too.

That's all for this issue! Until next time.

Kind regards,
That Tech Guy

The home PC has evolved into what is now considered a modern-day home entertainment system. Capable of behaving like a television, home cinema, game station, work station, music player and much more, the home PC is far more capable than it has ever been before. But with all these capabilities come complexities, and there are several things to consider when investing in any form of home entertainment. This is what Easy PC plans to simplify.

• Download Avast! Free Anti-virus

More Easy PC Tech Advice:

1. Wires and Dust
2. Buying a new PC
3. Good old Google
4. Setting up Skype
5. Legal Downloads

DID YOU KNOW ...

Cooking Tips: In the kitchen ...

• Store opened chunks of cheese in aluminum foil. It will stay fresh much longer and not go moldy.
• Heat leftover pizza in a nonstick pan on the stove on medium-low heat. This keeps the crust crispy.
• If you take bananas apart they will not ripen as quickly if you were to leave them connected at the stem.
• Make scrambled eggs or omelettes taste richer by adding a couple of spoonfuls of sour or heavy cream or cream cheese, then beat.
• Before pouring sticky substances like peanut butter or honey into a measuring cup, rinse it out with hot water and don’t dry before pouring in the goo.
• Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating than peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom which are firmer and better for cooking.

Household Tricks: Around the house ...

• Use a wet cotton ball or Q-tip to pick up small bits of glass which are not easy to see.
• Eliminate a foggy windscreen or windows using a blackboard eraser. Works like a charm.
• Hairy legs? Use some hair conditioner to shave. It leaves legs smoother than a baby's nether region.
• To open a sealed envelope without tearing it, place it in the freezer for a couple of hours.
• Wet torn bits of newspapers and layer them around the plants, overlapping them as you place. Cover with mulch and forget about weeds.

And just for fun: 8 amazingly simple home remedies ...

• If you can’t fix it with a hammer, you’ve got an electrical problem.
• Avoid arguments with the females about lifting the toilet seat - use the sink.
• If you have a bad cough, take a large dose of laxatives. then you’ll be afraid to cough.
• Avoid cutting yourself when slicing vegetables by getting someone else to hold the vegetables while you chop.
• If you’re choking on an ice cube, simply pour a cup of boiling water down your throat. presto! the blockage will instantly remove itself.
• A mouse trap placed on top of your alarm clock will prevent you from rolling over and going back to sleep after you hit the snooze button.
• You only need two tools in life - Q20 and duct tape. If it doesn’t move and should, use the Q20. If it shouldn’t move and does, use the duct tape.
• For high blood pressure sufferers ~ simply cut yourself and bleed for a few minutes, thus reducing the pressure on your veins. remember to use a timer.

If you have any of your own cooking tips or household tricks you would like to share, please do!

Related Post: Interesting facts about salt

** More Online Tips & Tricks **

ADSL: Now that you have more bandwidth, what will you do with it?

FIRST there was dialup and ISDN, giving you a trickle of bandwidth for which you paid per minute. If you didn’t watch yourself you could easily pay hundreds of rands a month – and it was suicidally slow. Then there was capped ADSL, which was faster, but your internet usage was restricted to a gigabyte or two each month. After reaching your cap, you either had to top it up with a booster, or be cut off from your internet for the rest of the month.

Today, there is uncapped ADSL at a fixed, low price. And with unlimited internet access there’s so much more you can do online that it’s going to change your life. MWEB recently launched uncapped ADSL starting at R219 per month. Carolyn Holgate, general manager of MWEB Connect, offers ten MWEB uncapped ADSL tips for making the most of cheap, unlimited internet at home:

1. Download music, movies, TV shows and YouTube videos

“It is quite conceivable that a family of four could use 20 gigabytes and more each month downloading entertainment content from the Internet,” says Holgate. “We definitely don’t recommend that you download anything illegal, but for such a family to each  watch ten minutes of YouTube a day, download two MP3s a day, two TV shows a month and three standard-definition movies a month would add up to 20 gigabytes right there."

"Before, this would have been extremely expensive, and almost inconceivable. But now, thanks to low-cost uncapped ADSL, you can pay a flat fee and not worry about exceeding your cap again,” says Holgate.

DStv recently launched “DStv On Demand” and if you are a DStv Premium subscriber with an MWEB ADSL account, you can watch or download premium quality TV content on your PC or laptop – for no extra costs. Go to www.dstv.com to register.

Check out these other sites for cool entertainment content:

• www.mtv.com
• www.hulu.com
• www.zoopy.com
• www.youtube.com

2. Set up web-calling with video

“Most people don’t need any introduction to phone and video calls over the web,” says Holgate. “This technology is what keeps families and friends together, no matter what the distance. Once you’ve got uncapped ADSL, you can talk to other users on the same system for free – and with an unlimited amount of data each month you can talk to your heart’s content. Try MWEB’s Webcall service."

3. Try online gaming

If you possess a sword with Arabic-looking squiggles on it called Slayer in the Realm of Pneimh, the world of online gaming could be for you. We recommend using faster packages for online gaming as it will provide a delay-free gaming experience. Gaming sites such as www.mweb.co.za/games is a good one to start with.

4. Start your own blog

If you want to share your life with others, then a blog is ideal. You can upload content, pictures, videos and music and share it with your friends and family – and never worry about exceeding your data cap each month. Go to MWEB’s blog page at www.blogspace.mweb.co.za to get started.

5. Stay in touch with social media tools online

Like email and surfing the web, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and YouTube have become part of our lifestyle – particularly for the connected youth. MWEB recently investigated South African’s social networking habits, and 82% of the participants are on Facebook. This shows we’re savvy social networkers already and these figures are growing! Chances are your kids are well up to speed with the latest tools; you don’t want to be left behind!

6. Set up a home-based business or access the office from home

Entrepreneurship is one of the best ways to fuel job creation in this country. “Thanks to cheap, uncapped ADSL, you can set up a professional home office that lets you do business from your own space. Alternatively, you can access your traditional office network from home, giving you the flexibility demanded by increasing traffic gridlock and time constraints,” says Holgate.

7. Work more flexibly

Professionals whose core skills can be offered virtually are probably better off working at home. Companies have the flexible use of their services while saving on desk space, and with uncapped ADSL there is no limit as to how much data these virtual workers can access.

8. Why pay unnecessarily for software?

Instead of buying expensive software applications, you can try OpenOffice.org or Google Docs. ADSL lets you access, use and store your data in web-hosted applications – safely and quickly. Holgate continues, “You will also be able to download additional applications to your computer now that you have all the bandwidth you can swallow. And remember, for every application you need, there is a free or cheaper version available online.”

9. Save memory space on your computer

Instead of downloading tools and information to store on your computer, access them online when you need them. You don’t have to worry about the costs associated with accessing files and applications online as your monthly fee is fixed.

10. Get the value-added services you need

You may be happy with your ISP, but prices are plummeting and competition has reached a level never experienced before. Besides cheap, unlimited bandwidth, your ISP should offer a quality network that can withstand the demands of uncapped Internet users, security, support, antivirus, antispam, faxmail, a big free mailbox and value-adds such as free Wi-Fi minutes.

“Broadband is a highly enabling tool, spurring innovation and allowing greater flexibility in communication and entertainment. Uncapped ADSL will allow users to be more adventurous about the sites they visit and how they use the Internet. It’s a very exciting time for users in South Africa,” concludes Holgate.

• These MWEB uncapped ADSL tips were issued on behalf of MWEB. For more information on MWEB’s packages, visit www.mweb.co.za or call 08600 32000 to speak to a sales consultant.

** More Web Development Articles **

PAYPAL: No more need to expose your credit card or banking details

BUYING and selling goods and services online is fast becoming the preferred way to shop and conduct business this century, and it recently became easier with the introduction of PayPal to South Africa.

This enables South Africans to buy from and sell to PayPal’s global customer base of more than 81 million active accounts in 190 markets around the world in 21 different currencies. South Africa is the 190th country to get access
to PayPal accounts and it’s about damn time too!

What is PayPal?

To put it simply, PayPal is a safe and easy way to perform online transactions without exposing your credit card or bank account number. It can be thought of as an extension of your bank account that allows you to send and receive money globally 24/7.

It has always been possible to make foreign payments, but now South Africans are getting a chance to cash in by being able to sell goods themselves within the global eCommerce marketplace. There are currently 200 million people that use PayPal to send and receive money today and for good reason.

You can use a PayPal account to:

• Receive payments in 190 countries.
• Checkout quickly at hundreds of online stores.
• Shop at online merchants or shops in 67 countries.
• Make or receive payments for goods and services online.
• Pay for things and send money without sharing your financial information.

How do I get a PayPal account?

To open a South African PayPal account, visit www.paypal.com and follow the instructions provided. You’ll be asked to fill in your details and link your credit or cheque card to your new PayPal account.

A small charge ($1,95) will then be debited from your account, which will be refunded (in two to three days) once you supply a four-digit reference number that is provided with this transaction to PayPal. This verification method is a security precaution that ensures that only you can access your PayPal account.

FNB’s Top Up and Withdraw service

Currently PayPal is exclusive to First National Bank customers, but no doubt it will soon be offered by other major banks as well. It is also likely that other PayPal options and services will become available once more South Africans get on board and become comfortable with using PayPal.

One particular offering is FNB’s exclusive Top Up and Withdraw service, which allows FNB customers to top up and withdraw funds from a PayPal account via a qualifying FNB account. FNB Customers can simply open a PayPal account and link it to a qualified FNB account and receive PayPal payments in 21 different currencies. FNB will then convert the currency to South African rands once the money is transferred into their accounts. No more lost cheques in the post.

How do I register for this?

To register for such PayPal services you’ll need a South African PayPal account, a qualifying FNB bank account and access to FNB Online Banking. (The following steps are specific to FNB and may differ for other banks offering PayPal services).

Step by step, you will need to:

1. Have a qualifying FNB bank account (FNB cheque, savings or transmission acc).
2. Have an FNB Online Banking profile.
3. Register a South African PayPal account on www.paypal.com
4. Verify your PayPal account on www.paypal.com
5. Login to your FNB Online Banking profile; register for this service and link your PayPal account to your FNB Online Banking profile.

Qualifying FNB accounts include most FNB savings, cheque and transmission accounts. When completing a FNB Top Up or Withdraw with PayPal, a list of all your qualifying FNB accounts that can be used for this service will be displayed.

Remember that they will have to be linked to your FNB Online Banking profile in order for them to be displayed. Also note that a credit card account is not a qualifying account for this service.

How do I withdraw and transfer money into my PayPal account?

FNB’s Top Up and Withdraw services allow you to transfer or withdraw funds from a qualifying FNB bank account into your PayPal account. To do this, simply login to FNB Online Banking and select the “PayPal Services” menu option.

Once you have registered for the service, you can transfer funds (in rands) from your qualifying FNB account into your PayPal account in United States dollars, which can then be used to make purchases from PayPal merchants worldwide.

Note that when completing the FNB Top Up service you will be required to disclose the purpose of your transaction and provide contact information to ensure that you comply with all South African Reserve Bank regulations. A Top Up of funds from FNB to a PayPal account may only be used for the specified reason.

It is also important to remember that according to South African Reserve Bank exchange-control regulations, all funds received into your PayPal account must be withdrawn within 30 days of receipt.

Fees: what does it cost?

FNB charges a transaction commission of 1,5% for each Top Up or Withdraw transaction using a PayPal account. This commission is calculated on the rand equivalent of the U.S. dollar amount requested.

An exchange rate is quoted by FNB on all rand/U.S. dollar transactions and may vary for Top Up and Withdraw transactions.

Certain PayPal transactions may also attract certain fees. Visit www.paypal.com for more information regarding any hidden costs.

** More Online Shopping ideas and Articles **

TAKE2: A great place for safe & secure online shopping

CHRISTMAS has once again come and gone like a seasonal fling — leaving an empty feeling deep down inside, next to the leftover turkey that was for lunch. If you were one of the many that left your Christmas shopping to the last minute, I don’t think anyone needs to remind you how hellish it was driving to the Present Store. All Christmas spirit seems to dissolve away the minute you get on the road. It may not have been the best idea to leave the shopping so late, but if it wasn’t for the last minute nothing would ever get done.

There’s also a good chance that we were disappointed with what we got for Christmas this year — again. All those letters to Santa seem to be in vain sometimes. He must get more hate-mail than wish-lists I reckon.

Nonetheless, we are all adept at acting happy around our loved ones and consider that perhaps it is not the gift that counts but being near a fir tree … Or is it family? No no, it’s the thought that counts; that’s it. But great gifts would have been nice too.

There is a solution to fighting your way through traffic, struggling to find what you want and disappointing family and friends with “thoughtful” gifts that you managed to find at the last minute. The solution lies in the joys and wonders of online shopping. There are many ways to go about ordering goods online, but I have found one specific website particularly pleasing to use.

Online shopping with Take 2

Online shopping at Take 2

Take 2.co.za is a South African website that offers a very similar experience to using Kalahari.net (among others). They have their headquarters in Cape Town, but they will happily deliver ordered goods anywhere in the country.

They also charge a flat-rate deli­very charge of R30, which is the same if you order one item or 20. This is by far the cheapest delivery fee I’ve ever experienced. Take2 will also deliver right to your door and have a very efficient e-mail service to keep consumers posted.

Signing up for online shopping

Signing up is as simple as saying “silly season”. Simply visit take2.co.za and click on “sign up”. You’ll need to provide a name, contact number and e-mail address.

The next step is to create an address list. This could just be one address (presumably your own address) to have any products delivered directly to you, or you could include the addresses of family and friends to have items delivered directly to their doors instead.

The next step involves divulging banking details, which is where people often get itchy. However, you do not need to give out credit card numbers; in fact you don’t even need a credit card! Rather, you provide banking details such as your account number and branch code and they link your account with theirs.

Paying is as easy and stress-free as performing an EFT.

Email notifications and wish-lists

Something that I particularly like about Take2 is their speedy e-mail service that keeps you in the loop. They send you an e-mail when you place an order, a confirmation e-mai­l once you have paid the required amount, an e-mail to say that your products are being acquired, and a final e-mail once they have shipped your goods with the courteous line, “your products have been shipped and will be arriving shortly”.

Another great feature of most online stores such as Take2 is the wish-list. Any products that you come across while browsing around can be added to your wish-list to be ordered at a later, perhaps more prosperous date and time.

If the goods in your wish-list are currently out of stock, Take2 will also e-mail you as soon as they become available to order again. They also let you know if any price reductions occur.

What's available

Take2 is in the business of home entertainment and deals in DVDs, games, electronics, books and music mostly. They also constantly have specials on offer as well as a clearance stock section, which acts as a sort of electronic bargain bin. I have found goods there for half the price that they are labelled with in stores.

The service also has a fantastic sorting feature which allows you to sort products by price, sales rank, release date etc. This is great when you have a budget in mind or want to see what everyone else is buying. Other features are “monthly best sellers”, “top 40 viewed” products, “top rated products” and “current top sellers”. All specials are also clearly marked in red, making them easy to spot.

Customer network

To give you greater assurance that you’re not being scammed into buying cheap crap off the Internet, Take2 offers user reviews and an easy-to-use rating system. Any member can rate a product from one to 10 and an average score is displayed next to each rated product.

People who have purchased or used any of the products available on Take2 are encouraged to write short reviews, which will then appear beneath the products when people are browsing the website. There are often differing views and experiences of the same products, but consumers generally point out the pros and cons — invaluable information to new buyers.

Click click. All done

All that’s left to know is buying. Each time you click on an item an option to “add to cart” will appear (alternatively you can add the product to your wish-list). Once you’ve added all your desired items to your virtual cart, you can “proceed to checkout”, select the address where you would like your goods shipped to, transfer the right amount of cash due (calculated for you) and you’re all done.

Each product also gives an indication of how long it will take to ship the product. In all the time that I have spent using Take2, they have never been more than a couple of days late.

There was one case where an order that I had paid for went out of stock and I phoned Take2 to find out what was happening. They offered to either refund me in full or to place the amount into a credit balance (which has since been used).

And that’s really all you need to know about online shopping (or perhaps where to go). Happy shopping and remember that everything is cheaper online!

*** Visit Take2 now ***

• If you have had any positive online shopping experience please feel free to leave a comment, and let’s do our bit to promote good South African service.

Related posts: • Online shopping tips • The Simple Life (online)

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