My favorite App for managing the battery is Battery Dr. Pro (this link will open iTunes iStore to the product page where you can download the app from there).

The key thing to know about extending the battery life on the iPhone is first and foremost USING the battery; it’s OK to let it run down. That said you also want to make sure you have enough sources for charging. You need several cables, a wall adapter, a car adapter (all of these can be USB based) and you can always plug your iPhone into any PC’s USB port to get an extra charge (just DON’T allow it to incorporate itself into another person’s iTunes except for the one on your own computer!)

Additionally turning off unnecessary service is always good too. You can turn off WiFi if you just want to listen to the iPod, play games or read books from the pre-installed apps. If you have no Bluetooth devices make sure Bluetooth is turned off. Setting it to Airplane mode can really extend the battery, it also turns off the phone and Wi-Fi automatically so be prepared for some well-deserved quiet time.

Please let me know if you have further questions or interests. Enjoy!

Viruses are constantly evolving and, at the same time, becoming extremely crafty at finding ways to get into your computer. They have to be more cunning in order for more alert computer users to get tricked. One of the most recent crazes are a collection of viruses that include the words “Anti-Virus” or “Network Tools”, ironically, tricking you into thinking that 1) Your computer is infected with tons of viruses and 2) By the mere name of the software, that they are called by, you might be lulled into a false sense of security, and trust them.

Do not trust them! They are a virus! In many cases they will even do harm to your computer. They also attempt to trick you by claiming that for a fee they will install themselves permanently onto your computer and rid you of all your virus woes. Do not fall for this scam, all they do, when you pay them (into their offshore account where they cannot be traced or prosecuted for their unlawful practices) is send you something that disables their program until the payment time period expires and then the scary pop-ups begin anew.

***IMPORTANT OBSERVATION***

As best as I can tell many of these viruses are taking advantage of a little known issue that may occur while you are working on your computer. Have you ever tried multi-tasking on your computer and suddenly been surprised that instead of the typing you are doing in a document it is actually typing on a web address, or renaming an icon, perhaps?  What happens, oftentimes, is this; let’s say you are web browsing, and have your browser minimized, you are now typing a document and watching more on the document than the screen, suddenly something pops up, which very well may be this virus, however you are not looking at the screen and something else happens and perhaps you just “accidentally” installed the virus by inadvertently typing or clicking on the box popping up from the virus. To avoid this from happening try noticing your screen a little more often. Ironically, just as distracted driving can have unforeseen consequences so too can distracted computing.

Additionally, if you ever see something pop up on your screen rather than actually click on it (sometimes the entire box is not what it seems) right click on the corresponding box in your *taskbar and select the “Close” option.

A quick word about antivirus software, many times, after a virus infection, I am asked “Why didn’t my antivirus catch that?” Antivirus software is a detection based software, they are only capable of detecting viruses that they know about. There are millions, perhaps even billions of virus threats out there which antivirus software is prepared to catch and eradicate, however, new viruses emerge at an inordinate rate and a virus that was created and launched this afternoon most likely is not yet in your antivirus’ capability of detecting and eliminating.

A combination of consistently updated antivirus software along with common “Alert” computing skills can really go a long way in minimizing your exposure to these threats. Closing pop-ups from the taskbar and not clicking on links you are unsure of in emails and instant messages can really help prevent infections not only from getting in to your system but spreading to others as well.

When in doubt, call us, here at Eagle Feather Enterprises. Oftentimes the sooner we get involved the less time and less costly the fix can be.

* The task bar, in Microsoft Windows, is the bar that spans the bottom of the screen and contains the “Start” button on the left side and the little active programs icons on the right. The task bar also includes the current time on the far right side and can hold “Quick Launch”, meaning single clicks to activate, shortcuts to programs directly to the right of the Start button.

If I were to venture an opinion on future products not yet released this would be tantamount to Digital Scrying a practice I try my best to avoid. First of all, regardless of how much beta testing has been done, and no matter how many electronic shows it has received standing ovations at, the product is truly still in a theoretical stage. Beta testers pale in comparison to the real world use of new software or products (gadgets). Once the product is actually launched you can then begin to form opinions based on real-time reviews and other users the world over.

I strongly discourage people, when they ask me about the latest and greatest products to be, from running out and standing in line to get them. These days time is in short demand spend your time productively, using time tested products, there will always be someone else daring enough to try a new product and suffer its shortcomings or enjoy its fantastic-ness. Regardless of any of the digital scrying, which abounds, I have yet to see a new technological product released without initial glitches breaking the hearts of the early adopters.

Call me once the product is out and amongst the general public, then I’ll give you a great review, well educated evaluation, and then you can decide. Speculation, or digital scrying, is just that and gets us all in trouble at some point.