Note: This week's column is a compilation of some of our favorite tips from 2011

2011 could easily be called the 'Year of the Tablet' as more companies jumped into the fray (many with little success) and many of my advice columns addressed this highly desirable tech device.

Fresh off our trip to the Consumer Electronics Show in January, we addressed the question 'Do any new tablets compare to the iPad? ( http://goo.gl/nO9q8 ) and after the launch of the iPad 2 in March we addressed the 'Which Tablet PC should I buy & when' (http://goo.gl/G5WWV ).

Motorola's Xoom got a lot of praise during CES and once we had a chance to play with it, we shared our thoughts on the 'iPad 2 vs XOOM' (http://goo.gl/WEvky ).

Since so many folks were first time owners of expensive mobile devices, we shared our 'Tips for tracking your laptop, smartphone or tablet PC' (http://goo.gl/R2psR ) so you knew what to do if your device got lost or stolen.

Since the iPad continued to be the dominate tablet platform, we shared our 'Tips for new iPad users' (http://goo.gl/3zZgy ) with our recommendations on security, accessories and apps.

As the vacation travel season approached we addressed the 'iPad vs Kindle vs Nook Color' question for those that love to read (http://goo.gl/wE85v ) and with many new tablet owners contemplated travelling lighter, we shared our 'Travel Tips for Leaving the Laptop Behind' (http://goo.gl/Sy5OE ).

For first time vacationers abroad, we offered up our 'High Tech International Travel Tips' (http://goo.gl/bNt4M ) to share some of our experiences in traveling with electronics.

As the Back-to-School season rolled up, many students were trying to convince their parents that they could use an iPad for college, which prompted our advice on 'iPad vs Laptop for College Students' (http://goo.gl/umqpz ).

If you've ever heard strange noises coming from your computer, you would be wise to read our advice on 'Computer Noises You Shouldn't Ignore!' (http://goo.gl/5oP4U ) and if you are still using the same password for all of your online accounts, our 'Data Breach Protection Tips' (http://goo.gl/Kpbax ) and 'Perfect Password Tips' (http://goo.gl/8uFhG ) might help you change that dangerous habit!

Social Media continued to be a hot topic in 2011, so we shared 'Our Favorite Social Media Tools' (http://goo.gl/OgFHG ), our '5 Facebook for Business Starter Tips' ( http://goo.gl/HL2Ho ), discussed 'Using LinkedIn to Find a Job' (http://goo.gl/BnMch ) and when Facebook completely overhauled their interface we answered the question of the day: 'Can I go back to the old Facebook? (http://goo.gl/7rFmZ )

As more folks started seeing those funny looking square puzzle-like images popping up all over, we wrote 'How to use & create QR codes' (http://goo.gl/mGl9d ) and with online reviews becoming a huge part of how we make purchasing decisions, we shared our 'Tips for evaluating online reviews' (http://goo.gl/ODlyZ ).

In the smartphone world, Google's Android became the most popular platform so we provided guidance on 'Extending Android Smartphone Battery Life' (http://goo.gl/vFQVf ) and for those without an unlimited data plan, we gave our 'Tips for using less data while mobile' (http://goo.gl/12CNr ).

With the uber-popular iPhone 4S becoming available on three different networks, the natural question arose - 'iPhone 4S: Which Network Should I Use?' (http://goo.gl/WFI7E ) and for all smartphone owners we chimed in on 'Can my Smartphone get a Virus' (http://goo.gl/lmO71 ).

In 2011, Remote computer support became both commonplace and a clever scam, so we addressed both in 'Is Remote Computer Repair Safe?' (http://goo.gl/ECMk4 ), addressed a common threat with our 'Tips for Sidestepping Fake Security Pop-Ups' (http://goo.gl/L7sRR ) and shared our 'Lessons from the LulzSec Hack' (http://goo.gl/D1tgy ).

2012 will be filled with a plethora of new technology, new threats and new complications, so keep those tech questions coming by posting them on our Facebook page: http://facebook.com/datadoctors !
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Do I need to upgrade to a (Wi-Fi) 'n' router from my 'g' router if I want to stream TV & movies from Netflix and Hulu Plus?

- Tom

The alphabet soup of Wi-Fi routers (a, b, g, n) has always been a source of confusion, but if you understand some fundamentals of 'bandwidth' and 'bottlenecks', it becomes a little less confusing to make purchasing decisions.

Your web surfing is only as fast as the slowest part of the chain, so increasing the speed of a component that is already the fastest part of the chain will make no difference.

If we use the old 'information super-highway' analogy and think of this as traffic flow, the basics become a little clearer. Your home network is like the roads in and around your neighborhood while your Internet connection is like the freeway system.

Netflix and Hulu Plus are like your place of work some distance off that you travel back and forth from on a regular basis. As with most of our commutes, the 'bottleneck' when trying to go back and forth to work is the freeway, not the surface streets in our neighborhood.

The speed difference between an 802.11 G and N router is really only beneficial for those that want to transfer large amounts of data between two computers on the same network, or in our analogy only if you have lots of traffic congestion in your subdivision and you travel mostly in your own neighborhood.

Since your primary need is to get back and forth to work far from your neighborhood, expanding the number of lanes in your subdivision won't appreciably improve your commute since the 'bottleneck' is the freeway system and not your neighborhood.

The real value of the 802.11 N MIMO (multiple-input, multiple-output) technology for most consumers is the extended range capabilities and higher resistance to outside signal interference not the 'theoretical' speed difference.

If you look at the data speeds of typical residential Internet connections vs the various Wi-fi router technologies, it becomes even more obvious.

Most residential Internet connection speeds range from 2-20 Mbps with most in the lower ranges (you can test your Internet speed with the tips in this previous post: http://goo.gl/2MtHl).

The theoretical upper limit of 802.11g is 54 Mbps and 802.11n can go as high as 600 Mbps with all 4 channels pumping data, but neither will change the fact that your Internet connection is likely significantly slower.

Another element of upgrading your router to 802.11n is that you must also upgrade the wireless devices on all your computers or they will continue to operate on the 802.11g standard.

Even if you are paying for (and actually getting) a really fast Internet connection, the content servers at Netflix and Hulu Plus aren't necessarily going to provide you with the data streams any faster either.

An easy way to see if the router is slowing down your streaming activities is to temporarily bypass it and connect your computer directly to your cable modem or DSL router to see if you notice any difference in performance.

Having said all of that, routers do have a finite life span and to tend to degrade in performance over time, especially if they spend their entire life sitting on top of a heat-generating cable modem.

If you find yourself in need of buying a new router, spending a little more money to get a dual-band N router will prepare you r home network for future devices that will likely benefit from the technology and still work with your older wireless devices.
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I was told that when a fake warning pops up on my screen that if I click on the X to close it, I will get infected. Is this true?

- Tony

Rogue software that pops up a warning that 'your computer is infected' has become one of the biggest problems on the Internet. We have even started to see this scam aimed at Mac users, so this is not a Windows specific problem any more.

This form of scamming people started popping up in 2005 and has evolved into one of the more difficult attacks to undo.

This type of attack can hit you from just about any corner of the Internet: e-mail, social media, instant messages, download sites and even if you Google search fast breaking news items or salacious images.

The more you or someone in your home or business engages in sketchy activities online, the more likely you will run into this scourge.

Since it isn't an actual virus, your antivirus program will do little to stop the fake warnings, which is why it's really important that you know what to do when you are confronted by one of these malicious pop-ups.

In virtually every case, they are trying to trick you into buying 'the solution' to the incessant pop-ups and repeated warnings, which you never want to do. Not only will buying 'the solution' not fix the problem, you will have given up your credit card information to criminals (if you fall for this scam, contact your credit card provider immediately to have your card numbers changed).

Most of the pop-up windows will have a 'Cancel' button and something that looks like the X that allows you to close a window, both of which are not what they appear to be.

Most of these scam pop-ups are setup so that if you click on ANYTHING, you will essentially tell your computer to start installing the rogue program deep inside your computer's operating system (often including a root kit to take over control of your computer).

The early versions of this scam could be shut down by clicking on the X, but not any more. The bad guys updated their code to take advantage of this natural user behavior and to exploit the early advice given by experts to click the X instead of the Cancel button.

To make things worse, the rogue programmers will often include code to disable your security software and block access to the Internet so you can't download tools that would allow you to clean the malware off your computer.

As of this writing, the best thing to do when you are confronted with a rogue pop-up is to terminate the session with the Task Manager in Windows or Force Quit in the Mac OS.

The Windows Task Manager can be launched by hitting Crtl+Alt+Del which should show you a list of running applications. Locate the pop-up window in the list, highlight it and then hit the 'End Task' button.

Mac users can hit Command+Option+Esc to launch the Force Quit window. Highlight the rogue browser pop-up in the list and click the 'Force Quit' button.

We've posted a video to show you the process in both platforms on our YouTube Channel if you prefer visual instructions: http://youtu.be/LP09QSwKE5Y .

If you fall victim to any of today's fake security scams, unfortunately, the steps for getting the malware off your computer will vary widely based on which of the thousands of programs circling the Internet hit you.

In most cases, you will need to boot from a clean boot device that contains the proper cleanup tools needed for the specific infection that hit you and lots of time to manually clean and/or reconstruct the Registry (Windows users).

If you don't understand what I just wrote, you should consult a tech savvy friend or a professional so that the malware is properly removed and any associated damage is repaired.
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With Windows computers being so cheap these days, how do I know when it's better to repair or replace my computer when I have a problem?

- Glenda

The 'should I repair or replace my computer' conundrum is one of the most common questions faced these days, especially since we see advertisements for cheap computers just about everywhere.

Although we are a computer service company, we also sell computers, so my perspective isn't to try to talk everyone into repairing everything.

It's really important that you completely understand the pros and cons of both repairing and replacing your computer before you make a decision.

If repairing a television or refrigerator costs nearly as much as replacing it, it's a pretty easy decision to make. Computers, however, are not like appliances because they have programs and data that need to be included in your evaluation.

Often times, folks that are in a hurry go out and buy a new computer assuming that it will solve all their problems. It's entirely likely that it won't solve your problem, it simply changes your problem and can come with a few hidden expenses you hadn't thought of.

What I mean is that your problem went from having a computer that had everything just the way you like it but wasn't performing properly to having a computer that doesn't have any of your programs, documents, address books, e-mails, printer drivers, bookmarks, pictures, music, video, Wi-Fi settings or a host of other items that you weren't really aware were important.

What you must evaluate is if the actual cost (and the associated pain) to replace your computer is preferable to the cost of repairing it. This greatly depends upon your ability and/or desire to do all the work to get your new computer to look like your old computer.

Make sure you aren't making your decision based on these common misconceptions.

Misconception #1: The advertised price of a computer is the total price!

Very few people can actually make use of a computer advertised at $300 because it's usually a pretty basic, low-end computer designed to get you into the store so they can upsell you.

Here are a list of items that often add to the 'advertised' price: Upgrades to memory, processor or hard drive space to make it suitable Antivirus or other security programs (watch out for 'trial versions' that expire in 30-90 days) Monitors (for desktop computers) if you need a new one Higher capacity battery (for laptop computers) as some low cost units come with a small capacity battery Transfer of data from your old computer to the new one (up to $200 if you don't know how to do it yourself) Updated versions of your programs (if they are older)

Misconception #2: Microsoft Office comes with Windows, doesn't it? This has been fed over the years by sneaky computer manufacturers that will pre-load a trial or limited-use ad displaying version to trick buyers that aren't paying attention.

This isn't a problem if you have your licensed copy of your old software and it will run on the newer operating system, but this leads to another 'oh %@#$#' moment: you don't have any idea where your old program disks are which means you have to buy new disks (a $50 - $500 surprise) or switch to a free alternative that doesn't work the same.

In early versions of Windows, you could copy programs from one computer to another and they would generally work, but today you must install each program you wish to have on your new computer.

Misconception #3: I have all my important files backed up! This one comes from 20+ years of working with folks that get a new computer; everything I care about is in the My Documents folder right? WRONG!

Depending upon the programs that you have installed, your critical financial files, for instance, could reside within the programs folders far away from the My Documents folder. If you have multiple user profiles for different member of your family, you need to make sure the data that resides in each person's profile has been backed up.

Misconception #4: Copying my old files to the new computer is all I need to do, right? Even if you have done a good job of backing up all the data for each user, your new machine doesn't know anything about your old computer or the various profiles you created on it. If you had 3 profiles on your old computer, you need to recreate what is essentially 3 computers on your new computer if you want it all to work the same way.

Getting a new computer to look and work like your old computer is a lot of work, especially if you make the mistake of getting rid of your old computer before you get your new one completely setup.

I'm not suggesting that repairing your computer is the best decision in every case, I'm simply pointing out all of the things that have caused many a new computer buyer to say 'I wish someone had told me before I bought this new computer'!
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