F.A.Q.

We hope you find the following Frequently Ask Questions useful.

1: How do I protect my computer and online accounts?

Passwords and security

Check if you have an account that has been compromised in a data breach at haveibeenpwned.com.

Check to see how long it will take to crack your password at haystack

Remembering Passwords

This is such a pain for everybody. Check to review a better way to remember all passwords across every device for free using LastPass

2: What is Ransomware and how do I protect myself?

The following article provides a very good overview

Ransomware explained: How it works and how to remove it

We recommend preventing Ransomware attacks
Among the simplest and best ransomware protection practices and security awareness training, here are a few mentioned below:

Make sure your computer is up to date with the latest version of Windows.
Turn on Windows Defender Antivirus to combat ransomware or use decent Security Software like Norton, McAfee, Eset, Kaspersky etc.
Turn on File History
Back up the content on your computer regularly.
Maintain two copies of your backup. YES, two copies

3: How should I name my files?

When you are sending images to be used on a website or for an email, please use the following format.

Naming Conventions
- When sending files, please follow these conventions.
  - name-of-work.jpg
    e.g. qualicum-beach.jpg
  - All lower case
  - Use hyphens between words, no spaces or underscores
  - Do NOT use # $ * & @ ‘ % : / \ ? ! ; All these characters have special meaning.
Image Size and Resolution
- Send photos in .jpg or .png format please as attachments (1920px wide @ 188dpi is preferred).
- Do not embed them in your document or email.

4: How should I prepare for a Power Failure?

During Storms, Wind or Lightning, we strongly recommend shutting down valuable electronics and then disconnecting surge protector from the power supply. Read a book and wait out the storm.

BC Hydro has an excellent web page on how to prepare for Power Outages

5: What is a Surge Protector and are they any better than a Power Bar?

Surge Protectors can really save your electronics from a Power Surge when power is restored to your home or office but are they any good?

The following article on Why (and When) You Need to Replace Your Surge Protector provides some useful insight.

6: How long do Laptops last and what is their average battery life?

An excellent article can be found here.

7: How do I move my Telus email to Gmail?

For email accounts that end with @telus.net

Be aware that in the conversion process to Gmail you will need to know and keep track of:

your current password with Telus for email and for your Telus account
your new password with Gmail (you will be prompted to create one) WRITE it down immediately when you create it (so awkward when it is immediately forgotten!)
any verification information that Telus has on file for your email account e.g if Telus has your cell phone number can you receive messages (SMS) on your cell phone. If you have no data plan for your cell phone make sure to remove this information from your Telus account before conversion occurs

Be aware that this has caused some difficulty for users, confusion and lost emails. This needs to be handled very carefully. Otherwise expect to spend many frustrating hours with Tech Support from Telus. Once set up is complete you can log into your Gmail account from any browser. Call me if you need help with this process or if you want to have it configured to work from your email client such as Outlook, Thunderbird etc.

Information from Telus can be found here