Since we no longer offer cell phone repair and parts, we are offering 50% OFF on all tempered glass screen protectors for Samsung Galaxy S3, iPhone 4 and iPhone 5 protectors!! We also have some screens for those DIY-ers that will go for very little $$!!
Stop targeted ads
If you browse the Internet at all, you've definitely run into targeted ads. For example, you'll be looking at a product on one site, and then see an ad for it right away on another site. We've seen situations where a YouTube video will play an ad for the site you just opened in another browser tab. Creepy! Let's look at how it works and how you can stop it.
How it works
Most websites get their ads from ad networks. Each ad network puts a bit of code called a "cookie" on your computer. When you visit one of the member sites, the site recognizes the cookie and lets the ad network know where you are so it can send you personalized ads.
Even worse, the member sites share what you do on their sites to build a database of what you like and don't like, or even specific items you looked at. This makes it easier for the ad network to send you ads that it thinks you'll click on.
Where it really gets scary is when you add Facebook into the ad network. Most websites have to figure out what you're thinking based on what you do. On Facebook, you tell it exactly what you're thinking.
Every "like," news story click, status update and photo caption you put in Facebook is a bit of information that advertisers would love to add to your file. And you'd be surprised how much money it can make them.
In 2013, online tracking and targeted advertising practice helped Internet advertisers rake in a staggering $42.8 billion. And for 2014, that climbed to $49.45 billion, or a 15% jump.
Naturally, you don't see a penny of it. You're just concerned with what happens to your information if a shady employee or hacker gets a hold of it. Or you just don't like the idea of being tracked.
How to stop the tracking
I've told you in the past about how to opt out of Facebook's tracking and targeted ads though the ad network it's a part of, the Digital Advertising Alliance. However, Facebook has now added this feature to its own settings.
To opt out of Facebook showing you targeted ads from other sites, or from seeing Facebook's ads on other sites, open your Facebook page and click the upside-down triangle in the upper right corner. Select "Settings" and then in the left-hand column select "Ads."
You'll see the new "Ads based on my use of websites and apps" setting. Click the "Edit" link, and then click the "Choose Setting" button and select "Off." You only have to do this once and it will apply to every gadget where you sign in with the same Facebook username.
Now, this won't stop Facebook from showing you targeted ads based on information it collects about you. However, it won't get any of your information from its partners, and it shouldn't send any of your information to advertisers.
While you're in the ad settings area, you'll also want to change "Ads with my social actions" to "No one" so Facebook can't use your name in advertising. You can also change your preferences to control what kind of ads Facebook shows you.
While this is good for dealing with targeted ads on Facebook, however, it doesn't stop the rest of the 120 companies in the Digital Advertising Alliance from collecting your information and showing you targeted ads.
To make that stop, click here to visit the Digital Advertising Alliance's tracking opt-out tool. The tool will scan your computer to see what companies are already customizing ads to target you. It can also tell if you've opted out of any online tracking for those companies in the past.
It's simple to choose a few companies and sites, like Facebook, where you don't want to see targeted ads. Or you can click the "Choose all companies" button at the bottom to opt out of targeted ads for every participating network member. Simple!
Now, opting out also doesn't stop these sites from collecting some information about you, but it does mean they won't share it with other companies. So, you won't see ads in Facebook for things you've looked for on Amazon or eBay. It also limits what any one company potentially knows about you, and keeps a single ad company from building up a detailed profile.
Because tracking is cookie-based, so is opting out. The site will put a cookie in your browser saying you don't want to be tracked. This means you'll need to run the tool in every browser you use so they're all covered.
There are still many companies online that don't participate in the Digital Advertising Alliance, so opting out won't change the way they behave.
Your browser isn't the only way advertisers can track you on your mobile gadget. There are also ads in apps.
You shouldn't only be worried about what advertisers and Facebook can see about you.
Strangers could find out more about you than you think if you have the wrong Facebook security settings.
-Komando 10/4/15
Come visit our store or contact us on our contact page for issues with personal computers... give us a call to schedule an onsite service call for your business!
(662)324-7272
AVG Antivirus has updated it's privacy policy so it can sell your browsing data and information to 3rd parties.
@starkvillecomp Loving our new wreath & sign from @lizatyeco #hailstate
GO DAWGS! BEAT LSU!! #HailState
Thank goodness no one was injured or killed! A big THANK YOU to the first-responders for their quick actions!!
If there is anything we can do here at Starkville Computers, please let us know!!
Welcome Students!
- We fix broken laptop screens! We can usually have you a new LCD installed and working like new in just a few days. Satisfaction guaranteed!
- We have a stock of new computers - laptops and desktops - Windows 7, 8.1, and 10!
- We also stock power adapters for most PC and Mac laptops!
- GO DAWGS!
Windows 10 Upgrade Warning!
Although we have tested Windows 10, and haven't seen any MAJOR problems with the operating system itself (from a clean installation)... we do have one machine in the shop now that has experienced major data loss due to the customer's attempt to upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10. So, before you attempt to do an 'in place upgrade'... if you have data you do not want to potentially lose (pictures, documents, email, etc.)... BACKUP-BACKUP-BACKUP before attempting the free upgrade!!! If you do not know how to backup all your data, or are unsure, we have backup and imaging services and/or can perform your upgrade for you to ensure you have no catastrophic data loss - and to ensure your computer is working smoothly with Windows 10! Call or contact us today for more information!
Microsoft themselves state that with Windows 10, not all 64-bit CPUs will work as expected!
15 Jul 2015 at 10:37, Stuart Burns
Throughout my career I have seen many Windows releases with minimum requirements that were a little bit deceiving. Sure, the machines would boot, but you would sometimes have enough time to brew a fresh pot of coffee before the computer was in a usable state.
That usable state excluded any applications you wanted to run on top of the OS. Around the Windows 95 and 98 era, this experience wasn’t pleasant if the hardware was close to the minimum requirements.
You quickly found out how patient your users were if you didn’t give them a PC that worked at a reasonable speed. In current times, with even the most lowly machines having multiple cores and running at multiple gigahertz, it shouldn’t be a problem... right?
So with Windows 10 round the corner, and Microsoft doling it out as a free (for now) upgrade to users of Windows 7 and 8, everyone should be able to upgrade to Windows 10 with no problems... right?
Setting aside the actual usability of Windows 10 itself, the answer to the question from the hardware perspective at least is: “Probably, with caveats.” What can you, as the administrator, do before Windows 10 lands to make sure you and your company are prepared?
Even machines four or five years old will meet the minimum specs. The hardware minimums are:
1. 1GHz CPU
2. 1GB for 32 bit version, 2GB for 64 bit
3. 16GB free disk space
4. DirectX 9 driver that is WDDM approved
Microsoft has defined the minimum specifications for Windows 10 on their website. Alongside the minimum requirements is a statement that any machine running Windows 8.1 should be capable of running Windows 10. That is quite a bold statement to make. Only time will tell if this statement turns out to be true.
To those people who, by choice or need, are still running Windows 7, no such guarantee or statement has been made. As long as the machine – or machines – in question meet the minimum specifications, it will be the long-used “suck it and see” approach. If the upgrade doesn’t go as planned, however, Microsoft has provided a roll back mechanism. It should prove useful for those machines that don’t work as expected or for users who decide Windows 10 is not for them.
Hello there Windows 10
The new look for your Windows 7 PC?
One problem that I suspect a lot of Windows 7 upgraders may face is the fact that the hardware or peripherals that were purchased when Windows 7 came out almost six years ago will have little to no chance of having the correct Windows 10 drivers available, given the speed with which add-on hardware becomes obsolete. Sure, some Windows 8 drivers may work but even then it would be touch-and-go as to whether they work as expected.
Please contact us for more information on upgrading or purchasing a computers with Windows 10!
Windows Server 2003 End of Life - will your data be vulnerable?!
The Windows Server 2003 end of life is just days away. Microsoft will officially end support on July 14. Yet, despite the fact that Server 2003 is 13 years old, 61 percent of businesses are still running at least one instance of it within their networks.
The small businesses still running it need to understand that while their computers are not going to suddenly stop working on July 15, by continuing to run Server 2003, they’re leaving their businesses vulnerable to a myriad of threats. The implications of failing to migrate WILL compromise your data (possibly to include customer/client data that you are responsible for keeping secured), Starkville Computers and MainStream Technologies, Inc. can help you make it through this change with relative ease. Please contact us for a free consultation regarding if/how this change may impact your business.
