How To Fix and Avoid Printer Paper Jams

Friendly Computers would like to share this article with you.

Printer jams occur when the paper feeding through the printer goes awry. Sometimes the printer ignores the problem, soldiers onward, and extrudes a crumpled mess into the output tray; on other occasions, the printer stops in midjob, and the crumpled mess--or part of it--remains trapped somewhere inside the machine.

When a paper jam occurs, some printers flash lights at you and scream for help. Others sense where the jam is and provide guidance on clearing the blockage. If your printer offers diagnostic advice, follow it. Also, take time to check the printer's documentation for help in clearing jams. Here are the basic steps you'll follow to correct the problem:

1. Turn off the printer. If you're going to be working inside the printer, you don't want any trouble with electricity or moving parts. And if you're dealing with a laser printer, you also don't want the fuser to generate additional heat. If the paper is jammed in or near the fuser unit (you'll feel the heat as you come near it), you'll have to wait for the fuser to cool off before clearing the jam.
2. Open all doors leading to the paper path. If you can't tell which door leads to the paper jam, start by removing or opening the input tray and following the paper path all the way to the output tray, opening every door or panel that you can find along the way.
3. Carefully pull out paper sheets and scraps. Check for paper sheets that are stuck or askew, as well as for paper scraps. Pull paper out of the path firmly but very carefully and slowly. When possible, pull paper in the direction it is supposed to go in under normal conditions--not backward, which could strain the printer's mechanics.Take care to remove all of the paper: As any scraps that remain could cause further jamming. If you have the misfortune of breaking a mechanical piece in the printer, stop what you're doing and call for service.
4. Close all doors and turn on the printer. Once switched on, the printer should reset itself automatically. If the printer reports that it is still jammed, double-check for stray paper scraps, and then close all the doors again. If the printer continues to complain, try turning it off and then back on. If the complaints continue, you'll have to call for service--and hope that a deep-seated piece of paper--rather than a broken mechanical part--is the source of the problem.

To avoid a jam next time:

1. Use only one kind of paper at a time in your input tray.
2. Whether you have a single input tray in your printer's driver or many input trays, tell the printer what kind of paper you have in the tray: Most printer controls include a section or drop-down list where you can pick a paper by name, type, thickness, or other quality.
3. If you aren't sure whether your printer takes a certain kind of paper, check its documentation.
4. When you reload your input tray, pay attention to the tray's needs, such as how the paper should be loaded and whether the length or width guides need adjusting.

Source: http://www.pcworld.com/article/227252/how_to_fix_and_avoid_printer_paper_jams.html

How to avoid or remove Mac Defender malware

Friendly Computers would like to help you to avoid or remove Mac Defender malware.

Summary

A recent phishing scam has targeted Mac users by redirecting them from legitimate websites to fake websites which tell them that their computer is infected with a virus. The user is then offered Mac Defender "anti-virus" software to solve the issue.
This “anti-virus” software is malware (i.e. malicious software).  Its ultimate goal is to get the user's credit card information which may be used for fraudulent purposes.
The most common names for this malware are MacDefender, MacProtector and MacSecurity. 
In the coming days, Apple will deliver a Mac OS X software update that will automatically find and remove Mac Defender malware and its known variants.  The update will also help protect users by providing an explicit warning if they download this malware. 
In the meantime, the Resolution section below provides step-by-step instructions on how to avoid or manually remove this malware.

Products Affected

Mac OS X 10.4, Mac OS X 10.6, Mac OS X 10.5

Resolution

How to avoid installing this malware

If any notifications about viruses or security software appear, quit Safari or any other browser that you are using. If a normal attempt at quitting the browser doesn’t work, then Force Quit the browser.

In some cases, your browser may automatically download and launch the installer for this malicious software.  If this happens, cancel the installation process; do not enter your administrator password.  Delete the installer immediately using the steps below.

1. Go into the Downloads folder or your preferred download location.
2. Drag the installer to the Trash. 
3. Empty the Trash.

How to remove this malware

If the malware has been installed, we recommend the following actions:

• Do not provide your credit card information under any circumstances.
• Use the Removal Steps below.

Removal steps

• Move or close the Scan Window
• Go to the Utilities folder in the Applications folder and launch Activity Monitor  
• Choose All Processes from the pop up menu in the upper right corner of the window
• Under the Process Name column, look for the name of the app and click to select it; common app names include: MacDefender, MacSecurity or MacProtector
• Click the Quit Process button in the upper left corner of the window and select Quit
• Quit Activity Monitor application
• Open the Applications folder
• Locate the app ex. MacDefender, MacSecurity, MacProtector or other name
• Drag to Trash, and empty Trash

Malware also installs a login item in your account in System Preferences. Removal of the login item is not necessary, but you can remove it by following the steps below.

• Open System Preferences, select Accounts, then Login Items
• Select the name of the app you removed in the steps above ex. MacDefender, MacSecurity, MacProtector
• Click the minus button

Use the steps in the “How to avoid installing this malware” section above to remove the installer from the download location.

Note: Apple provides security updates for the Mac exclusively through Software Update and the Apple Support Downloads site. User should exercise caution any time they are asked to enter sensitive personal information online.

Source: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4650

Six Things That Block Your Wi-Fi, and How to Fix Them

Friendly Computers Found this article useful and would like to share it with you.

Does your wireless network seem slow? A recent study by Epitiro, a UK-based broadband-analysis firm, shows that consumers lose an average of 30 percent of the data speed their broadband connection supplies when they use Wi-Fi connections in the home.

Why the slowdown? You've probably heard that some household electronic devices, including microwave ovens, baby monitors, and cordless phones, hamper Wi-Fi performance. To separate fact from fiction, we did some research and consulted an expert on the topic: Nandan Kalle, networking business unit manager for router manufacturer Belkin.

1. Public Enemy Number One: Your Neighbors' Wi-Fi Networks

"I'd say the biggest source of interference today for most people is their neighbors' Wi-Fi networks," says Kalle. The problem is that most existing Wi-Fi equipment operates on the crowded 2.4GHz band. "There are basically three nonoverlapping channels. I always describe it as a three-lane road that's really, really busy," Kalle adds.

If you use a 2.4GHz router and live in a densely populated area, your neighbors' Wi-Fi networks could interfere with yours, hindering the performance and range of your wireless network.

The solution: Buy a dual-band router that operates simultaneously at 2.4GHz and 5GHz. While the 2.4GHz band is necessary for supporting older Wi-Fi devices, 5GHz "is almost like an 11-lane highway that nobody's heard about yet," Kalle says. "There's much less congestion."

Newer Wi-Fi devices, including tablets such as the Apple iPad and Motorola Xoom, Internet-ready TVs with built-in Wi-Fi, gaming consoles, and business laptops, are all dual-band. "They all play in the 5GHz band. They can take advantage of that empty highway, and that's really going to help," Kalle says.

It's important to get a router that supports simultaneous 2.4GHz and 5GHz, such as the $100 Cisco Linksys E2500. Some older dual-band routers allow only one band at a time; that's a problem if you have older Wi-Fi devices (as most people do), because you'll have to leave your router at 2.4GHz. "You won't get any benefit from the 5GHz mode," says Kalle.

When you're shopping for a new router, look for a dual-band, 802.11n MIMO device, which typically has an "N600" label. The "N" refers to 802.11n, an international Wi-Fi standard approved in 2009. MIMO(multiple input, multiple output) technology provides greater range by using multiple antennas to transmit and receive data. And "600" refers to two bands, each transmitting at 300 megabits per second.

2. Household Electronics

Is your microwave oven, cordless phone, or baby monitor sabotaging your Netflix stream? Perhaps.

Most problems with cordless phones and microwaves involve products that use the 2.4GHz band. Many baby monitors operate at 900MHz and won't interfere with Wi-Fi. However, some wireless monitors are 2.4GHz, which can interfere with 802.11g or single-band 802.11n routers.

The solution: When choosing a wireless baby monitor, look for a 900MHz model such as the Sony 900MHz BabyCall Nursery Monitor ($45). Alternatively, get a Wi-Fi-friendly system such as the WiFi Baby 3G ($272), which connects to your existing wireless network.

Newer cordless phone systems like the Panasonic KX-TG6545B ($140) use DECT 6.0 technology and the 1.9GHz band, not the 2.4GHz or 5.8GHz bands.

3. Bluetooth Devices

Older Bluetooth devices did interfere with Wi-Fi networks--but those days have passed.

"Over the past several years, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi manufacturers have implemented specific techniques to minimize interference," says Kalle.

The solution: "Most people replace their phones every couple of years, so unless you have a really old phone or Bluetooth device, it's unlikely that [Bluetooth] will interfere with Wi-Fi," says Kalle.

4. Humans

You might recall from science class that the human body is mostly water, anywhere from 45 percent to 75 percent depending on your age and fitness level. Water can hamper Wi-Fi speeds, too.

"For example, say your room is very crowded and you're having a party. That can actually dampen your Wi-Fi signal--but that's an extreme case," says Kalle.

"When we're doing Wi-Fi testing in the lab and trying to get very accurate results, we have to make sure that we're not standing in front of the antenna, because we'll measurably impact the performance," he adds.

Humidity can affect Wi-Fi speeds too, but not enough for the average user to notice.

The solution: Relax. Don't worry about humidity, or those bags of water called people. After all, you can't control the weather, and it's unwise to be antisocial just to get better Wi-Fi performance.

5. Security Settings

In some low-end routers, a stronger security setting can moderately affect performance. However, that doesn't mean you should turn off security completely, or downgrade to weaker protection.

In recent years, the WPA (Wireless Protected Access) and WPA2 protocols have displaced the older and less-secure WEP (Wireless Encryption Protocol). On inexpensive routers that use WEP, upgrading to WPA may impede performance a bit. In contrast, more-robust devices generally have hardware specifically designed for WPA and WPA2 encryption; as a result, the stronger security protocols shouldn't slow Wi-Fi speeds on higher-end routers.

The solution: Kalle stresses the importance of router encryption. "You always hear about data theft, and it's so easy to enable security these days," he says. Since today's routers have security enabled out of the box, users don't have to worry about configuring it. But don't disable encryption, even if doing so may speed up your Wi-Fi a little.

6. Old Firmware

Why upgrade your router's firmware? Well, for performance improvements and occasionally a new feature or two.

"Whenever you have a problem, check to see if you have good firmware. Sometimes there are little bugs out there, and the router manufacturer may already have a fix," says Kalle.

When you buy a new router, it's always a good idea to check for the latest firmware as well.

The solution: Keep your firmware up-to-date. With older devices, you'll have to access the router's administrative interface--typically through a Web browser--to check for updates. The process is getting easier, though. "Our routers have an application--it's almost like iTunes--that tells you whenever there's new firmware available," says Kalle. "The user can update by just pushing a button."

Although the workings of your router may seem mysterious, following these simple tips can go a long way toward keeping your home wireless network in working order.

Source: http://www.pcworld.com/article/227973-2/six_things_that_block_your_wifi_and_how_to_fix_them.html