In This Issue:

• Message from Tammie
• Article: 5 Ways to Spring Clean Your Computer
• Service Spotlight
• Protect Your Data from The Crash!
• Resources
• About Tammie & Staff A'la Carte

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Message from Tammie

Dear [fname],

Thank you for being on my e-zine list. I'm so excited to share information and news with you that can benefit you in your endeavours!

Welcome to June! Can you believe it's almost Summer? This has been a whirl-wind of a spring so far - and I was determined to launch my e-zine in the middle of the fray!

Welcome to the VA Viewpoint. I'm so glad that you have joined me for this journey through the wonderful world of Virtual Assistance, Technology, Tips, and Time Saving Services.

For me - May was crazy - my son has performed in a play 3 times, my daughter completed her year end ballet recital, my husband took some early shifts at work (probably to get out of the way of my flying papers), and I was asked to present a basic training program on becoming a Virtual Assistant.

It's now time to try to begin my Spring Cleaning. One question I have for you - in the business of Spring and all the hullabaloo going on, I'm sure you have also thought about spring cleaning. But have you thought about spring cleaning your computer?

The article in this issue has more information on this important topic. I hope you enjoy it and think about 'cleaning' your system and getting a fresh start to the Summer.

Have a productive day!

PS: If you have questions you would like addressed in my next e-zine, please let me know and I can focus on your queries.

5 Ways to Spring Clean your Computer

By Tammie Neumiller

As soon as the weather changes, and the promise of spring is in the air - do you find yourself wanting to open the windows and start the annual performance of spring cleaning? Clear out the winter dust, air out the staleness, clean the window sills and windows.

Have you thought about spring cleaning your computer system? Many of us use our computers for work, entertainment, and some even for downtime. But quite often we do not think about the proverbial cobwebs inside our system.

To make sure your machine is running at the peak of efficiency and speed, we need to make sure the computer is cleaned in numerous ways. Here are some ways to make sure that it is in top performance.

1. Anti-Virus.
Even if you run an anti-virus software in the background (that means running without you knowing it) to protect your system from viruses and bugs, you should run it on your entire system once in a while. If you do not have an anti-virus program on your system, there are a few that work really well - some for free and some paid.

Open up your anti-virus software and run an scan on your entire system. You just never know what is hiding in the nooks and crannies.

2. Anti-Spyware.
Not all anti-virus software has anti-spyware included. Spyware is a little program that watches what you do on your system and can slow down your entire system and make it very sluggish. Most (but not all) spyware is not malicious - or bad like viruses for your system, but when they are running you usually don't realize they are there, and they use up precious resources. You can use a system like SUPERAntiSpyware which is free to make sure you do not have any spyware on your system. This is one that I personally use for all my computer systems.

3. Unused programs.
You may find that you have installed programs that you never use. They are taking up valuable disk space on your computer. If you visit your control panel and choose "Add or Remove Programs" you will see all the programs that are installed on your computer. From here you can safely remove programs that you no longer use and reclaim hard disk space.

4. Disk Cleanup.
Many times there are random things left on your computer hard drive. This can happen from downloads that do not complete, programs that have been uninstalled, and other random things. If you have a computer maintenance software - you can use the disk or system clean up on this. If you don't - Microsoft has one built into their system.

If you go into "Start", "All Programs", "Accessories", "System tools", select "Disk Cleanup". This will also help you clean up cookies from your system. They are little files that are quite often left over from web sites when you visit them.

5. Defragment.
After a while of using your computer, your files become scattered all over the hard drive. This can slow down the running of your computer as well - since the computer needs to pick up files or programs from all over. Defragmenting your drive is like putting all your files in one place. If you have a box of random paperwork to file - it takes a while to go through it to find what you are looking for. Think of defragmenting as taking that box of paperwork and putting it into coordinating files so that you can find it more quickly. To do this, click on "start" on your computer task bar where you go to open your programs, then go to "All Programs" then "Accessories" then "System Tools". You will find "Disk Defragment" here.

Doing these 5 tasks every few months or more will keep your system running faster and more efficient. If you are using your system for work you should actually do this routine more often to ensure a safe and efficient computer.

Would you like to use this article? You can as long as you keep this resource box with it:

Service Spotlight

I would like to let you in on a little secret. I have a new service which at some point may be beneficial for you to consider.

• Have you ever had a little issue with your computer that drives you crazy but not too sure what you can do about it?
  
  
• Have you felt that maybe sharing information with me can be a little time consuming going back and forth in email - and if you could just show me it could make all the difference?
  
  
• Is finding technical support that will come to you a challenge, or even pricey?
  
  
• Is phone support getting you down because they just can't see what is happening with your computer and they just aren't 'getting it' when you try to explain?
  
  
• Have you wanted just a short tutorial on a function of your computer, but would rather have a live person there to coach you through it?

I have now launched a solution. I have incorporated a system that will allow me to view your computer screen so that either I can walk you through the necessary steps, or I can take care of issues that arise. Or we can even discuss something and visually see it as well as if we were in the same room at a meeting together.

There is nothing you need to do. You don't need to sign up for anything, subscribe to anything, or pay for a membership. This is on an as-need basis. Just keep this in the back of your mind for the next time that something comes up and you wish I could just 'see it' to see what is going on.

Pssst.....if you don't want to do your computer spring cleaning - I can do it with this service too!

Protect Your Data

Tammie Recommends:

This week , my daughter had a head-on collision with a bicycle being ridden by someone else. She crashed big-time and has the bumps, scraps, and a swollen shin to prove it. I don't have bubble wrap to protect her with unfortunately - but what about your computer?

Have you ever had your computer crash and lose days, months, or even years of data, software, and communications?

As you are thinking about spring cleaning your computer - also consider having a good reliable back-up that is not in your office or home.

A service that I highly recommend is Carbonite. It runs quietly in the background of your system and it will back up anything you like. This system is safe and encrypted to back up any information - and it is accessible from anywhere you can access the internet. This way if a disaster happens (ie: house fire, break and enter, or natural disaster) your files are kept safe outside of your home and can be retrieved at any time.

For more information, please view my site.

Resources

Here you will find resources that I have mentioned in my article or other areas of the newsletter. This will help you to see exactly what I am talking about right away instead of going to my web site or searching for it online. I am continuously doing research online and if there is anything you are looking for, let me know. I may be able to offer some information.

SUPERAntiSpyware

Carbonite - Online Computer Backup

Check out our Business Success Tools to view more resources for small business.

About Tammie & Staff A'la Carte

Tammie Neumiller is the founder of Staff A'la Carte, and a veteran Virtual Assistant, working with clients for over 10 years with more than 18 years administrative and office management experience. Check out our Business Success Tools to view more resources for small business.