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Here Is How To Legally Get Microsoft Office For Free

5/30/2017

Microsoft Office, office 365, office, microsoftoffice, free microsoft office, free, software, computer skills, Computer Concierge NY LLC, Queens Computer Skills, Queens Computer Training, Computer Seniors

If You Qualify You Can Get Microsoft Office At No Cost

Do you wish you could get Microsoft Office legally for the price of FREE? Microsoft Office is probably the best known office suite. More businesses, non-profit organizations, and individuals use it than any other office suite application. However, with costs starting at about $140 for the Home and Student Edition that you can only install on one computer to about $230 for the Home and Business Edition it can get a bit pricey. Note that you can also get an annual subscription for $100 for the home edition to use on 5 computers or $70 to use on one computer. So you have a few purchase options to consider if you are buying or in-effect renting it.

But what if I told you there was a way that you could get this and more for the incredible price of FREE? And legally. Well there is a way to do this. Microsoft offers it to eligible student and teachers Office 365 for just that. Free. This includes Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Publisher. If you are an alumni of a college or university you may be eligible as well. You also can install it on up to 5 computers. You need to have an email address from the educational institution to be eligible for this. And that is not all. You also get 1TB of free online storage at absolutely no charge if you are eligible to get Office 365 for free. To see if you are eligible go to this site and enter your email address from the school in question. I have friends who are eligible and are saving legitimately on Microsoft Office.

So what are your thoughts about using Microsoft Office for free?

If you want to know more about Microsoft Office or other technology, I can be reached at (917) 572-3468 or email me at mike@computerconciergeny.com .

And remember you can get my blog and newsletter right to your inbox by filling out the form below
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Computer Concierge NY LLC provides expert computer and technology services in the Queens, NY area. This includes Albertson, Bayside, Bayside Hills, Bay Terrace, Bellerose, College Point, Douglaston, Flushing, Forest Hills, Great Neck, Jamaica Estates, Kew Gardens, Lake Success, Manhattan, Mineola, New Hyde Park, North Hills, North Shore Towers, Oakland Gardens, Plandome, Rego Park, Roslyn, The Bay Club, Thomaston, Williston Park, Whitestone and Other Areas in the , Bayside and Forest HillsNY vicinity. Our web services are provided worldwide.

Making Your Computer Personal by Mike Klubok - Computer Concierge NY LLC is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

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What Is The Hidden Cost When You Allow Your Security Software To Auto-Renew?

11/1/2016

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Auto renewal, renew subscription, Norton Security, malware, virus, computer repair near me, pc repair, new York computer help, computer skills, Computer Concierge NY LLC, forest hills, computer repair forest hills, computer training forest hills, computer repair in new York

Don't Select The Auto-Renewal For Your Security Software Until You Know The True Cost Of It

You probably noticed it when you created an account to set up your Norton or other security software. Something about selecting “Auto-Renewal” or words similar to it regarding your software subscription. If you’re thinking that selecting “Auto-Renewal” when your security software subscription expires in a year or two will save you time when you renew it, you are correct. But were you thinking about what the price will be when you are automatically renewed? Well you should. Were you thinking that there may be better products to do the job and at a lesser price?

Keep in mind that your credit card information is retained on your account by the vendor. Norton or any other company will usually try to say that auto-renewal is a convenience to you. This is true but did you know that you are paying for this convenience?

Your next question is something along the lines of, “How am I paying for this convenience?” Besides what I just said there is another cost. Many times the same product is advertised for sale on the vendor’s site at a LOWER price than what you are being renewed at. I’ll say that again with different words. The vendor renews your subscription at a higher price than what they sell to other customers.

I have my own story about this. My son and I share the same Norton account for Norton Security. I have it on my computer and he has it on his. He selected the auto-renewal option and I was paying for it being the good father that I am. About 3 months ago I noted a $90 charge from Norton on my credit card. I looked into this and noticed that my software was automatically renewed. I checked Norton’s website and noticed that they were selling the same software for about ½ the price. I initiated an online chat with a Norton representative and after about 10 minutes he agreed to reduce my renewal to the lower price. Needless to say, I also deselected the auto-renewal option.

Recently a client of mine from Forest Hills in Queens, NY was having a problem with her Norton Security program. It required an intervention from Norton who remotely addressed the problem. I noticed that her account was auto renewed for $80. Their website had it for about ½ the price again. I mentioned this to the person I was speaking with and my client got a credit on her credit card for the difference.

So what does this tell you? Don’t select the auto-renewal option. And if you are worried that you will forget to renew when your security protection expires, fear not. You will be getting a combination of emails, popups and perhaps other notices to renew starting about a month before your security protection is due to expire. So you will not forget to renew. Just make sure that you are renewing at the lowest price the vendor is selling it for. You also may find a better security product and at a better price as well.

So who here that is reading this and has selected the auto-renew option will deselect the auto-renewal option?

If you wish to know more about auto renewal or other technology issues I can be reached at (917) 572-3468 or email me at mike@computerconciergeny.com .

And remember you can get my blog and newsletter right to your inbox by filling out the form below.

Making Your Computer Personal by Mike Klubok - Computer Concierge NY LLC is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

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Congratulations On Your New iPhone7 – Here Are 6 Things You Need To Do

10/4/2016

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Computer Blog, Technology Blog, iPhone 7, new iPhone, i phone 7, apple iphone 7,the new iphone 7, computer repair near me, pc repair, new York computer help, computer skills, Computer Concierge NY LLC, newyork, ny, nyc, queens, computer problems, queens ny, queens ny computer, technology services, Queens, forest hills

The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus Are The Latest In A Long Line Of Apple Smartphones

You have just purchased a new iPhone 7 or 7 Plus. Congratulations, you now own Apple’s current state of the art smartphone. If you are going to purchase one, congratulations on your impending purchase. Your setup is not done after you take it out of the box and start making calls with it. There is more for you to do. Note that when I refer to iPhone 7 I also am referring to the iPhone 7 Plus as well.

Here are 6 things you need to do after purchasing an iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus:

Restore from your backup – Hopefully you have been backing up your old iPhone to iCloud and/or iTunes. If you have not been backing up, then do so ASAP and make it a point that you will back up your new iPhone 7. If you have been backing up your old iPhone, do another one now. Before your start the process of restoring your backup to your new phone you want to make sure that your backup is current and not from last week or even less recent. To restore from iTunes, find your old phone and under “Summary” you will see “Backups”. Select the box that says, “Restore Backup” If you are going from an Android phone, then you need to download Move to iOS on your Android phone. Follow the directions to transfer to your iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus.
How does that home button feel? – While the home button is not gone, it certainly has a different feel. And “feel” is the word here. By going to Settings/General/Home Button you can adjust this feel. There are 3 options for “Choose Your Click”. Choose the one you are most comfortable with and tap “Done”.
Headphones anyone? – By now you have heard that the iPhone no longer has a headphone jack. The iPhone 7 does come with an adapter that allows you to use any standard headphones you own on it. If you have a Bluetooth headphone, then you need to go to Settings/Bluetooth to set it up to use on your new phone. If you want to get the new AirPods, they will not be available to October the earliest so you will need to wait.
Set up iCloud – Enter your iCloud account information (name and password). If you use 2-factor authentication, then set it up to send the code to your new phone if you have not already done so. If you don’t use 2-factor authentication, I highly suggest you do so. Click to find out why.
Are Your Apps Current? – If they are not then they should be. You do want the latest version of your apps, don’t you? You also should set your apps to update automatically if you have not already done so by going to Settings/iTunes and App Store and turning the sliders for all automatic downloads to the on position.
Enjoy Your New Phone – Take advantage of an enhanced camera, a more enhanced display, better sound and other enhanced features.

If you wish to know more about setting up your new phone or other technology issues I can be reached at (917) 572-3468 or email me at mike@computerconciergeny.com .

And remember you can get my blog and newsletter right to your inbox by filling out the form below.

Computer Concierge NY LLC operates in Queens NYC. We provide expert computer repair, computer training and other technology services in the Queens NYC area. This includes Queens| Bayside| Bellerose| College Point| Douglaston| Floral Park| Flushing| Forest Hills| Great Neck| Jackson Heights| Jamaica Estates| Kew Gardens| Manhattan| New Hyde Park| North Hills| North Shore Towers| Rego Park| The Bay Club| Williston Park| Whitestone and Other Areas in the Bayside New York vicinity. These include zip codes: 10003| 10017| 11005| 11020| 11021| 11022| 11023| 11030| 11355| 11356| 11357| 11358| 11360| 11361| 11362| 11363| 11364| 11367| 11374| 11375| 11415| 11418| 11423| 11426| 11427| 11432 Our online services are provided in NYC as well as worldwide.

Making Your Computer Personal by Mike Klubok - Computer Concierge NY LLC is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

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You Don't Want To Do This With Windows 10

9/20/2016

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Windows 10, Windows 2010, Microsoft Windows 10, express settings, privacy settings, online privacy, settings, computer repair near me, pc repair, new York computer help, computer skills, Computer Concierge NY LLC

Did You Take A Shortcut When You Installed Or Upgraded To Windows 10? (Picture - mcakins.com)

Did you take shortcuts when you set your computer up? Well if you set up your Windows 10 computer or upgraded to Windows 10 and selected “Express Settings” taking a shortcut then you allowed Microsoft to:

Help improve Microsoft Software, services and location services by sending them (Microsoft) information.
Let Windows and apps use your name, account picture and advertising ID, and request your location from the Windows platform.
In Internet Explorer, use page prediction to preload pages, which sends your browsing history to Microsoft.

The above among other aspects of choosing “Express Settings” come right from the pages when you set up Windows 10 on your computer. My question to you is do you really want to give Microsoft this information about you and give them these authorizations? Think about this if you have used the “Express Settings”. You will set up your computer faster but look at what you are giving up in the process. Many people are selecting “Express Settings” when setting up Windows 10 on their computer. As a matter of fact, I recently helped my son set up his new computer and had I not intervened, he would have used the “Express Settings”

The good news is that your permissions are not etched in stone. You have the ability to change them and hopefully you will take advantage of this.
By left clicking on the Windows icon in the lower left of your computer, select the “Settings” icon above the “Power” icon and also left click on it. The “Settings” icon looks like a spoke on a bicycle that the chain goes around. Find “Privacy” and left click on it. On the left are aspect of these privacy settings such as “General”, “Location” and “Contacts” Go through this list and review the settings that you currently have. Make changes where you feel it is appropriate to do so. For starters do you really want to send Microsoft information about how you write to help them improve future typing and writing? I don’t so I turned it off.

While we have less privacy today than we did 10 years ago, we still have some control over how much privacy we give up. By not using the “Express Settings” when setting up Windows 10 or changing your privacy settings if you have already used “Express Settings” you are taking back some of that privacy. So use this opportunity to take back some of that privacy on your Windows 10 computer. And for any of my clients reading this who are wondering, when I set your computer up I did not use the “Express Settings” when doing so.

If you wish to know more about storing activation codes or other technology issues I can be reached at (917) 572-3468 or email me at mike@computerconciergeny.com .

And remember you can get my blog and newsletter right to your inbox by filling out the form below.

Making Your Computer Personal by Mike Klubok - Computer Concierge NY LLC is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

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5 Valuable Ways To Free Up Space On Your iPhone Or iPad

9/13/2016

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Storage usage iPhone, how to free space on iphone, ways to save storage on iphone, make room on iPhone, iPhone Storage, computer repair near me, pc repair, new York computer help, computer skills, Computer Concierge NY LLC

Both Your Luggage and iPhone Have Ways To Use Space More Efficiently

Apple just announced that their iPhone7 will have a minimum 32GB storage capacity. This is an improvement over the minimum 16GB storage capacity. If you have an iPad or iPhone with 16GB capacity (some of which the operating system uses), you may find if you haven’t already that storage space can be a bit cramped. So what is one to do to free up some space?

Well here are 5 ways to free up space on your iPhone or iPad. Note that when I refer to iPhone, phone, etc I also mean iPad.

Delete unneeded apps – All of those apps that are on your phone. Do you need all of them? I mean do you really need every single app that is on your phone? Before you answer “Yes” to this question, go through all your apps and delete those you don’t need. You may find quite a few that you have not used in a while because you truly don’t need them. Delete those and free up some of that cramped space on your phone.
Delete and reinstall apps – Apps like Facebook and LinkedIn can take up quite a bit of space. To find out which apps are taking up the most space go into Settings > General > Storage & iCloud Usage, then tap Manage Storage under the Storage heading. Wait about a minute or so for this to complete and you will see how much storage your apps are taking up. Your iPhone or iPad does not have an option to clear cache like an Android unit does. To do so you need to delete the apps taking up the most space and reinstall them. I know this can be a pain but you may be surprised at how much space you get back.
Delete Pictures and Videos – Just like apps, you probably do not need to keep all the pictures on your phone. Go through your pictures and delete any you do not need. Keep in mind that videos on your phone can eat up memory depending on its size. You also can install Google Photos on your phone. By selecting your upload size to be “high quality”, you can store an unlimited number of pictures in the cloud.
Clean Out Text Messages – Depending on how many text messages you have on your phone, they can take up quite a bit of space especially if they have attachments. You can set your messages to automatically delete by going to Settings > Messages > Under "Keep Messages" > Set it to 30 days or 1 Year. Don’t leave it on “Forever” You also can delete conversations by periodically swiping on a message thread and tapping delete.
Upgrade to an iPhone 7 or if you are getting a new iPad get one with 32GB or greater storage. I debated whether or not to include this one but yes, buying a new iPhone is a way to get more space on it. You will be getting quite a bit of free space by going from 16GB. If you are running low on storage and know that you will be upgrading soon you would need to free up a minimal amount of space if any. If you are getting an earlier version iPhone, my suggestion is to get one with at least 32GB of memory.

I am sure that there are other ways to clear up space on your phone. What methods have you done to get more space on it?

If you have questions about freeing up space on your iPhone or another computer issue, I can be reached at (917) 572-3468 or email me at mike@computerconciergeny.com

Also remember that you can sign up to receive an email whenever I write a new blog post that will help you to make better use of your technology or send a newsletter by entering your email address below. It may save you some money and we all could use more of that. This is FREE and your email address will not be sold to anyone else.

Making Your Computer Personal by Mike Klubok - Computer Concierge NY LLC is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

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1 Big Reason To Save That Activation Code

9/8/2016

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Activation code, activation key, find code, get activation code, product key, activate product, computer repair near me, pc repair, new York computer help, Computer Concierge NY LLC, computer repair, computer skills,

You Need To Save That Activation Code For Your Software

When you purchase a software program (AKA app) whether it be downloading it online or purchasing a disk containing the software program, many times it will come with an activation code. This may also be called a serial number or product key but in essence it is the same thing. It is a code that will allow you to complete the installation of a program and get the full benefits of it. I have had a few occasions where a program had to be reinstalled whether it be on a new computer or on the same computer. To complete the installation, I needed to have the installation code. For my own computer, I fortunately have these codes where I can readily find them if need be.

I have had instances when working with clients who had to reinstall Microsoft Office whether it be on a new computer or reinstall on an existing one. If they did not have the activation code, they would have to purchase Microsoft Office at a cost of over $100. They could have saved that money for something else had they had the activation code. I have used a program to get this activation code for products requiring one with mixed results. I have not succeeded at this 100% of the time. That said, what if your hard drive fails and you need to reinstall? This program would not work when I have had to do a factory restore due to a hard drive failure. There are at times ways around this. If the issue is with a Norton product and you have your log in information, you can usually get this information. So if you have created an online account related to a purchase of a software program, make sure you save the log in information for it as well.

So make it a small project and put the activation codes and necessary login information for your software in a safe place and as I say, “Not such a safe place that you forget where you put it.” And while you are at it, find your installation disks as well. More and more programs can be downloaded from the internet. You can get more programs that required an installation disk previously online but the installation disk is always a good place to start. Recently I was working with a client in Bayside who had an issue with her printer who did not have the installation disk for it. It was an old printer and I was not able to find online the printer drivers that were needed so keep those installation disks until you know that you will definitely not use the product it was intended for any longer.

If you wish to know more about storing activation codes or other technology issues I can be reached at (917) 572-3468 or email me at mike@computerconciergeny.com .

And remember you can get my blog and newsletter right to your inbox by filling out the form below.

Making Your Computer Personal by Mike Klubok - Computer Concierge NY LLC is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

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Here Is How To Legally Get Microsoft Office For Free

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What Is The Hidden Cost When You Allow Your Security Software To Auto-Renew?

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Congratulations On Your New iPhone7 – Here Are 6 Things You Need To Do

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You Don't Want To Do This With Windows 10

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5 Valuable Ways To Free Up Space On Your iPhone Or iPad

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1 Big Reason To Save That Activation Code

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