Author: 911TechMD

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Useful software to edit images

Having software available to edit images is a necessity in today’s world where a picture is needed to tell your story.  We have put together a list of useful applications that will have you editing your photos like a pro.

Basic Editing

Got Windows?  Microsoft Windows Paint is included for free with Windows or Microsoft Paint 3D is available from the Microsoft store, and are both great basic editors for those quick image edits.

Got Mac?  Use the free Photos app to for basic editing needs.

Aviary is made by Adobe and offers a mobile and an online app.

Adobe Photoshop Express is another feature packed application available for installation on iOS, Android, or Windows devices.

Fotor offers an online or Windows download in both a free limited feature version with ads, or a paid ad-free version in monthly or annual payment options.

Intermediate Editing

Pixlr is an online editing tool as well as a mobile app available in both free and pro versions depending on your requirements.

Canva offers an online editor for individuals or teams requiring login to access the many features.  A free account is available with limited features or a team paid account providing more advanced features.

Advanced Editing

Gimp is an open source, or free application that was first developed over 20 years ago and maintained by a large number of contributors.  While a bit daunting at first, there are many great resources and videos available to help guide you when needing to find a particular option when editing your images.

Inkscape is an open source professional vector graphics editor loaded with features and many helpful websites and videos offering helpful articles to use this software to it’s fullest.

Adobe Photoshop is one of the most widely known applications for image editing and is available by subscription directly from Adobe or from many re-sellers and often used by professional developers.

Vectr is another free vector graphics editor available as a download or using online in your favorite browser.

If you have a favorite editor to add to the list please let us know!

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Microsoft Office 365 License Comparison

Microsoft Office 365

Microsoft Office 365 is one of the most widely used applications in the market, to learn more about which license type is right for your circumstance we have provided several links below.

Office 365 for home

Office 365 for business

If you are a student or teacher you may be eligible for a free Office 365 license.   Microsoft also provides a free online only version of Office 365 available to anyone using your browser.

Got Mac?  Microsoft continues to improve offerings for Macs and subscription or one-time purchase options are available.

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Namecheap Products

There are many options for domain name registration and hosting today and it’s very important to use a company that is well respected with good customer service.  That’s why we proudly use Namecheap as our domain name registrar.  The Namecheap customer service is awesome and they recently began including the signature WhoisGuard for no extra cost to safely secure your public registration contact details.  This prevents malicious companies from trying to trick domain name owners into paying money for services never received or fraudulently moving registrations to these crooked companies.

Namecheap WhoisGuard, protect your identity from impostors.

As their name implies, Namecheap provides one of the most cost effective domain name registrations in the industry without the “spammy” advertisements that some other registrar companies use to trick you into purchasing additional unnecessary services.

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HetrixTools

HetrixTools has several software applications that are quite useful for monitoring your server IP Addresses and Domain Names easily and cost-effective for up-time and outages or blacklisting.

HetrixTools also offers a single-use scan on your server checking it against many popular blacklists.

Any number of Contact Lists can be created, which can be assigned to your Blacklist Monitors in order to be notified of changes. Configure notifications via Email, SMS, PushBullet, Pushover, Twitter, Slack, Discord, HipChat, PagerDuty, Telegram, and Webhooks.  Many other features are available so it’s worth checking out this software.

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Apple Mac Troubleshooting

Two quick troubleshoot steps to eliminate many common MacBook issues.  Read all of the details below, or just go ahead and run both reset options to quickly eliminate many common Mac issues.

SMC what??  Problems with your power button, display lid, battery, thermal management, Sudden Motion Sensor, ambient light sensing, keyboard backlight, status indicator light, external display, noisy fan, charging problems, USB-C connectivity, random or not going to sleep…  Reset the System Managment Controller (SMS) on your Mac by following

While this may be quite funny to say if you’re a fifth grader, this is no laughing matter to solve many common problems with sound, display, startup-disk, time zone, and kernel panic, type issues.  Go ahead, it just takes a bit of keyboard coordination when starting up your Mac to reset the NVRAM or PRAM!

Some MacBook and MacBook Pro keyboards may be eligible for free keyboard repair.  If you are experience issues with “sticky” keys or inconsistent typing see if your model is covered for free repairs.

Do you have battery issues in your 13-inch MacBook Pro (non Touch Bar)?  You may be eligible for a free battery replacement by checking your serial number here.

USB-C power cable

Got USB-C?  Some Apple USB-C charge cables provided with MacBooks before June 2015 may be eligible for a replacement.

Still having problems?  Is your data backed up?  Contact one of our technicians for more troubleshooting assistance.

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Microsoft Windows Troubleshooting

Many issues with your Microsoft Windows computer or laptop can be resolved with a few troubleshooting steps.

  • Ensure all Microsoft security updates are installed.  
    • For Windows 10, verify the security update settings. 
    • Click here to check for Microsoft Windows Updates now.
Choose “Open Settings” to automatically check for updates.

Hint: Search for “check for updates” in the Windows search box, 

and choose “check for updates” system settings when displayed.

  • We suggest several changes from Microsoft’s default settings to ensure you have the best experience with your computer.
  • Choose “Advanced Options” in the Windows Updates dialog box, then ensure the options are “on” for “other Microsoft products” as well as to “show a reminder” when Microsoft will restart your computer.
  • Then scroll near the bottom of the screen and choose “Delivery Optimization”, and verify the option to “Allow downloads from other PCs” is turned “off”.  This is typically not desired as this can typically cause performance issues on other computers at inopportune times.
  • Run a virus and malware scan as often times clicking on a malicious email link or browser link when searching online can install unsuspected software or changes to your software configurations.
  • Restart your device at least weekly to ensure that the latest software and operating system security updates have been installed as well as to clear any problematic application issues.
  • Are you backing up your important files to protect from hardware failures, theft, loss, or damage?  Make sure that you have a data backup plan before something disastrous happens to you!

If you need assistance on any of these steps contact us for additional service.