When you’re Skyping or video chatting with someone it’s extremely frustrating when you constantly hear your own voice echoing back through.  All you wanted to do was talk with your friend/family/significant other but all you can hear now is your own voice.  How can you fix your Macbook microphone echo?

The Problem

The echo you are hearing can be a result of a couple of different things.  First of all, it could be because of a delay in delivering what you said to the person on the other end.  The feedback is a natural result of this delay.  It could also be a result of them having their speakers set too loud so that their microphone is picking up what you are relaying.

How to fix this issue

The number one way to fix the feedback issue you are having is to keep your speaker’s volume low and try to use headphones so that what is being relayed doesn’t get sent back through to the other end.  Try to reduce any echoing by adjusting the way you are sitting or the angle of the computer in relation to the speakers.  This echo could also be the result of a faulty application. Try using a different app for chatting such as skype, oovoo, ichat, or facetime.

You can also go into system preferences on both ends to try and resolve the issue.  From there click on sound, then input.  Highlight the microphone and slide it to the left on the input slider.  This will reduce the amount of input the microphone will relay so it will focus less on the background noises such as the echo and try to only send what you are saying through.

Additional Help

If the echoing problem continues throughout this process it may be a more serious issue with the computer, speakers, or microphone.  You should try to talk to a professional so that you can get the best help possible.  The easiest, fastest way to get in contact with reliable local IT service businesses is to use TalkLocal. Just put in your problem and availability and let them do all the work.  Within minutes you will be connected to a professional who will be able to help you out.

Have you just bought a new wireless router? Use these tips for an easy Belkin wireless router setup using the Belkin start-up disk.

 1)     Plug the network cable into the Ethernet port of the router and into the data port of the modem.

2)     Place the security card on the bottom of the router.

3)     Plug the router into an outlet. A blinking blue light will appear on the top of the router. Once the light stops flashing, you may continue.

4)     Insert Belkin’s startup disk into your computer and follow the instructions.

If you do not have the Belkin installation disk, follow these steps:

1)     Make sure you have an Ethernet connection.

2)     You will be prompted for a password. New routers do not have passwords by default, so click “Submit.” If there was a password already in place, then you will need to reset the Belkin router.

3)     On the left side of the page, click on “Connection Type.”

Additional Help

If you need further assistance, contact TalkLocal to help connect you with the best local professional suited to your needs. Learn more about TalkLocal today!

Have you lost years’ worth of important data after a system restore on your Windows computer brought it back to the state it was in when you first bought it? First of all, in the future remember to always back up all of your data, especially before doing a system restore. However, if you haven’t backed up your data, this article will help you to recover data after a system restore.

Things You Can Try to Recover Your Data

The first thing to try is click Start and in the Search box do a search for windows.old. If you find a folder called windows.old (it should be in the C drive), then breathe a sigh of relief, all of your data from before your system restore should be in this folder.

If you don’t have the windows.old folder, all hope is not lost. You may still be able to recover some of your data, but you have to stop using your computer (turn it off): every time you do something you are overwriting any data that might still be left over from before your system restore.

Another option for recovering the data is to purchase a data recovery program. If possible, use another computer to search for and research programs, so you do not overwrite data on the computer on which you are trying to recover data. Once you have decided on a program you can download it on that computer.

Additional Help

Another option is to hire a computer professional in your area to recover your data for you. You can use TalkLocal and receive a call within minutes from someone in your area who knows how to recover data after a system restore and is available whenever you want them.

If you are a computer owner who has ever used Windows, you most likely have experienced the Blue Screen of Death (BSOD). This is also known as a ‘Windows Stop Error’, and is an operating system error that happens whenever Windows senses a software, hardware, or driver error that has occurred. The entire system shuts down and diagnostic information is then displayed to you on the ‘Blue Screen of Death’. Sometimes, it is just a glitch and a soft reboot can fix it. However, if you see “BAD_POOL_HEADER”, you most likely have bigger underlying problems to fix.

When you do get the Windows Blue Screen of Death and simply reboot to get rid of it, you are not really fixing the problem, and you could even be doing more harm than good. This is the same as ignoring the problem.  Over time, this can possibly develop into something that becomes unfixable.

How to get rid of the Blue Screen of Death

Getting rid of the BSOD by hand can be quite complicated, even if you have hours of free time to try and figure it out. A smarter approach would be to purchase registry cleaner software to fix the problem.

This usually works because almost every time the BSOD occurs, the problem is a corrupt registry. The registry is basically the brain of your computer, and tells the operating system how to run properly. A small corruption of data in the registry can start a chain reaction, which leads to the BSOD.

To fix the BSOD “BAD_POOL_HEADER” error, you need to clean out your registry. A good clean will get rid of all the useless information, error logs, and unneeded data clogging up your registry. Your computer will perform like brand new!

Additional Help

If the issue persists after trying all these things, then you should use TalkLocal to get the best help you can get quickly from local IT service professionals. TalkLocal will connect you with up to three local professionals who can help you when you need it.

Google Chrome’s new feature, extensions, provides you with time-saving tools that will improve your productivity and enhance your browsing experience.

Here are the best Google Chrome Extensions that save you time and liven up your everyday, unexciting tasks.

1. Adblock Plus

Do banner ads and constant popups bother you? If yes, AdBlock Plus is your savior. AdBlock Plus allows you to surf websites ad and pop up free by blocking banners ads, video ads and flash game ads. Adblock Plus allows you to customize your filters providing you with a safer and faster web experience by blocking distracting ads.

2. Stylish

Stylish allows you to restyle the web! Using Stylish, you can install themes and skins for your favorite websites including Google, Facebook, and YouTube. You can now design a theme that changes websites’ the color and content. You can also download premade themes from the Stylish extension.

3. Google Dictionary

Looking up a word in the dictionary is simple, but can get distracting and annoying. Google Dictionary saves you time and frustration with an extremely quick online dictionary. This feature allows you to define a word by highlighting it and clicking on the dictionary button. Now you can expand your vocabulary and quickly continue reading with minimal distraction using Google Dictionary.

4. Evernote

Want to save articles, links, and webpages to read later on? Evernote allows you to save links using cloud storage. Cloud storage  allows you to access saved items from your house, office, and even your smartphone!

5. Awesome Screenshot

Awesome Screenshot takes computer screenshots to the next level. Awesome Screenshot allows you to capture any portion of a page, annotate it with shapes or text, and blur your sensitive information. After customizing your screenshot, a one-click upload to awesomescreenshot.com gives you a shareable link you can send to your friends, family, and coworkers.

Additional Help

Extensions can save you hours of time performing the mundane tasks you do everyday. To save you even more time finding highly rated local businesses or service professionals use TalkLocal. Stop wasting hours searching the internet and yellow pages, reading review and then repeatedly calling companies until you find one you like. TalkLocal will save you the time and aggravation by connecting you with 3 service professional in minutes.

Often times, when people create home networks they rush through the installation process in excitement and forget many essential steps to keep their networks safe, secure and long-lasting. Here are a few wireless network security tips that should give you peace of mind.

Wireless Network Security Tips

Create a password for your wireless network. Without a password, the network is open to anyone, which means anyone with wifi can easily connect to your network. Other users on your network will slow down your network speed and make you susceptible to threats from hackers. Hackers can steal personal information (both financial and virtual), steal your identity, plant a virus on your network or create other problems that may be beyond your expertise to detect or fix.

There may be a password option that comes with the installation of your wireless network. Make sure to create your own password, as many hackers are aware of the predetermined passwords.

Make sure the password you choose is strong and hard to hack. While you don’t want your password to be easy to hack, be sure your password is something you will be able to remember! Use something complex and long that has meaning to you only. Don’t use a password that can be found in your wallet or other papers. The idea is to making it virtually impossible for people to guess. Use numbers, upper case letters, and even other symbols. This will ensure security.

Make sure your SSID is hidden. A hidden SSID will eliminate the risk that hackers will even see that you have a wireless network.

Strengthen your wireless encryption. There are actually several free tools on the web that can break through the WEP encryption. There is more than one encryption base to choose from. Currently, WPA is the strongest encryption base for wireless networks. Using WPA is preferred for its strength. Depending on how secure you want to be, there are also secondary layers of encryption you can install.

Shut down the wireless network and router when not in use. Not only will this decrease the time that your network is open for threat, but it will also help preserve the life and longevity of your wireless router.

Additional Help

While these wireless security network tips make it possible for you to install your own network without help, you may wish to call for professional assistance due to lack of time or other reasons. In that case, get in touch with TalkLocal. Within minutes you will be in touch with professionals who can assist you with your wireless network security when you need it.

The hard drive is the brain of a computer. It is where we store our data, from important documents to sentimental photo albums. The hard drive is arguably the most important aspect of your computer. With so much storage and computing power, a failed hard drive can have catastrophic results. Learn the signs that a hard drive is failing so you can back up your data before it’s too late!

Why do hard drives fail?

– Logical failures occur when the electronics or software of the hard drive have a problem. This is the easiest problem to fix, but is usually rare.

– Media failures occur when the hard drive is not handled carefully. You can accidentally scratch the magnetic platters, which may cause lost data, or run into low-level formatting problems. However, this problem is rare.

– Head failures occur when there is an incorrect distance between the read/write head and the magnetic platters, or there is faulty wiring between the logic board and the head. This problem is pretty common.

– Mechanical failures occur when any mechanical part of the hard drive gives out – the motor burns out, the drive overheats, the bearings get stuck, etc. These make up the bulk of hard drive failures, but if the platters are not affected then the hard drive can be saved.

Signs of hard drive failure

– Strange noises may mean that your hard drive is beyond repair, so act very quickly. This could mean a head crash, a failed motor, or noisy bearings.

– Disappearing data and disk errors: You may have hard drive failure if your computer won’t let you save a document or you can’t find a document you know you saved.

– Computer stops recognizing device: If your computer stops recognizing the hard drive it’s probably not a computer problem, but the device itself. Test the hard drive in a friend’s computer to see if this is the case.

– Computer crashes: If your computer regularly blue-screens or reboots, especially when assessing files, you probably have hard drive failure.

– Really slow access times: It should not take an hour to open a folder from your operating system. Slow download and access times are key indicators of a failing hard drive.

What to do?

Back up your computer data while you have time. (You should regularly be backing up data anyway). If time is limited, carefully remove the hard drive and cover it with aluminum foil or plastic wrap until you can send it to a professional. TalkLocal is the #1 place to find a reliable computer repair professional quickly and easily!

Macs are known for their high tolerance and good security against viruses.  However, every once in a while some Mac computers may develop cookies, viruses, and Trojans. Don’t panic if you do have a virus on your mac, because virus removal on Macbook is possible!

The various types of dangers

The main three types of threats to your computer’s security through using the Internet are:

1)     Cookies

2)     Viruses

3)     Trojans

You must take certain steps to diagnose, get rid of, and prevent new versions of each of these risks.

Clear the Cookies off your Mac

Using Safari

Using Internet Explorer

Using Mozilla Firefox

Using Google Chrome

Get Rid of Viruses

Getting rid of viruses is a little more complicated but still do-able. Download ClamXay for your specific Mac OS and install recent apple security updates.

With these two completely up to date, ClamXay will take you through the necessary steps if a virus is detected.

What to Avoid:

Make sure that you do not install Norton Anti-Virus because it can seriously damage your OS.  Furthermore you should be aware of malicious software that attempts to look helpful such as MACDefender.

Deleting Trojans

Trojans are becoming more serious and common in infecting Mac computers. Trojans allow your computer’s DNS records to be modified, hijacked, infected and watched.  The most serious Trojan is called a flashback and infects your computer by downloading malicious components. Flashback tricked users by disguising the installer for Adobe Flash.

What to Avoid:

– Only download Adobe Flash Player from the official site to avoid downloading a Trojan.

– Disable the “open safe files after downloading” option in preferences to avoid automatic installations of potentially dangerous programs.

Additional Help

Virus removal on mac isn’t easy! If you cannot get rid of your virus or are in need of professional , use TalkLocal to be put in contact with reliable local professionals within minutes.  Simply input your problem and availability and TalkLocal will do the rest of the work!

Have you ever looked down to the bottom right corner of your computer screen and completely freaked out because you thought you had lost track of time? Did you then realize that the computer clock wasn’t displaying the correct time at all?

Why is the Computer Clock Wrong?

How do I fix the problem?

In order to fix the time zone issue you will have to go into the control panel, into date/time settings and correct the issue.  Similarly you can fix the daylight savings problem by going to the same place and making sure that the daylight savings box is checked.  Another way to fix these malfunctions would be to simply right click on the time and manually fix the issue on the clock in the panel that pops up.

The shared network issue can be fixed by putting yourself on your own network or simply changing the settings on the network so that someone else’s adjustments do not affect your own computer.

If the CMOS battery that sits on the motherboard and provides power is drained then your clock could be wrong.  The battery chip stores info including date and time so if it goes bad it will lose all of its data and begin to make the computer malfunction. In this case you will have to order a replacement battery and install it.

If the time program is corrupted then the issue is a little more serious and you should consult a professional.

Who should I call?

In order to get your every computer/IT need met you should use TalkLocal. They can put you in touch with the very best local businesses to help you solve your problems. TalkLocal does all the work for you- just tell them your issue and they can save you time, money, and the headache of finding help.

“What kind of charger do I need for my laptop?”

Determining what kind of charger you need for your laptop can be a tricky query. Thankfully, with the technology currently in place, it is much easier to find a solution.

If the laptop charger has the same voltage and the same pin connections as your original charger, you will more than likely be safe to use it and it will be compatible with your computer.

Three Steps to Finding Your Laptop Charger

1. Identify what type of laptop you have.

2. Use the model number on your laptop and search your brand’s website for the correlating charger. You can find the model number by clicking on My Computer >> Properties >> System tab. Within the System tab you will find the model type. If you have a Mac, click the upper left hand apple icon and click About this Mac.  Then click More Info >> System Report. There you will find the model type. Using the model information, a quick Google search will direct you to your charger.

3. Now that you know what to look for, purchase your charger and get your computer running again!

Additional help

If you purchase a new charger and realize that perhaps your charging issue is not with the charger but with the computer itself, it may be time to contact a professional who can inspect your computer and give a reliable diagnosis. If you want a hassle-free way to find a computer repair company in your area, check out TalkLocal. You will be directed within minutes to local professionals that can help you with any computer issues at a time that is most convenient for your schedule! TalkLocal is a simple, free, and easy-to-use service search engine that will save you time, unlike flipping through the yellow pages.