CST News

It is a bit late to say Happy New Year since we are well into February already. However we trust you had a peaceful and relaxing break and have come back ready to rip into 2015. It seems hardly possible that we are half way through February!

Sue and I had a few days away at Haast chilling out. Absolutely stunning! No cell phone, only internet was to let expected visitors know how to find us, weather great. What could be better? Then Sue headed off and walked the Abel Tasman track with a couple of friends while I opened the first full week of January.

Then last weekend Sue and I headed off to Blueskin Bay for a family weekend with our children and grandchildren. It was an important weekend for Sue and I – wedding anniversary and Blueskin Bay cut the distance down for Christchurch family. What a great place and great weekend. It keeps reinforcing to me the importance of family and spending quality time together. The only thing wrong with the weekend was that it was too short. I could easily get used to this retired lifestyle.

We did find it strange too to have the train run by the back of the house – almost sounded as if it was coming in the back door at night it was that close.

And it has been a busy start to the year for the team here at CST. Sales have been buoyant and Blake has been kept busy on repairs and new installations.

Isn’t it nice to see a bit of rain again? The lawns will be freshened up but more importantly, hopefully some grass will be growing for farmers. Also winter crops will get a lift which will also make a difference.

Bogus Callers Offering To Repair Computers

We are suffering from a rash of these bogus callers again. Some are from Microsoft supposedly and the odd one from Telecom. If you get one of these callers, feel free to hang up! Microsoft would not call you and I at odd hours – in fact, they would not call us at all.

The reason for this extra reminder is that it is so easy to get flustered when these people call, so this is advice to follow the normal security procedures when you are not sure. We have recently had a customer get the call. She let the caller into her computer while she spoke with them on the phone and then realised that things were not kosher so she hung up on the caller. However she forgot to pull the plug on the internet connection.

While she was getting over her anger and frustration, the caller obviously continued doing stuff on her computer. As a result, the owner was presented with a password to get in which she knew nothing about.

Blake managed to work around the password and found all her data encrypted. Fortunately Blake is amazing at this sort of stuff and managed to get her data and photos etc back with a bit of work.

The moral of the story is though – hang up on these sods and DO NOT LET THEM INTO YOUR COMPUTER. Another good trick someone told me is to tell them you want to talk to your local service people and to leave their phone number – you will get back to them!

Stop Press

Blake just found this article from the Southland Times – well worth a read.

Fifty Shades Of Hay

This appealed to my warped sense of humour.

For Sale

We have a few second hand items for sale on behalf at present.

Brother HL 1430 laser printer with cartridge. Laser printers are cheap as chips to run and this one comes with an unopened toner cartridge valued at $139.95 inc GST rated at 3000 pages. Our customer is happy to sell the pair for $100.00

These are not liquid ink printers – instead they use the same technology as photocopiers which is what makes them so cheap to run. They will however only print in black and white – no colour.

Epson Inks

A full set of Epson 103 inks – come in and make an offer!
A couple of Epson TO38 Black inks at $25 each.

Hide and Seek Fails.

I am really enjoying my grandchildren as they grow. So these pictures of little ones failing at hide and seek strike a bit of a chord right now.

New Canon Printers

Canon are running an end user cashback promotion until April 12th where the end user – you – can claim cash back on evidence of proof of purchase from us.
To see the eligible models, go here.

But as an example, our commonly sold wireless 5 tank canon printer retails for $139.00 and has a cash back of $70. That makes the printer half price. Where do you get better than that?

Losing Your SmartPhone Could Cost You Bigtime.

Read our tips for helping keep it (and your information) safe

Our smartphones make our lives incredibly easy.
In our new heads-down world, it’s difficult for many to imagine life without their trusty do-anything, goes-everywhere device. Waiting for the train to arrive or for your child to leave school is now so much easier since you can check email, listen to any song from your music collection, and then post your thoughts about it on your favourite social network.
Smartphones open a portal to nearly every aspect of our lives—both public and private.
So what would happen if you lost yours? What information would you pass along to strangers? If you’re like many, practically everything: A map to your home. All of your friends’ contact information. Photos of your children or grandchildren. Everything.
Symantec ran an experiment in 2012 called the “Honey Stick Project.” In it, 50 smartphones were “lost” to see what would happen. One of the key findings: 96 percent of lost smartphones were accessed by the finders of the devices. That’s right, 96 percent.

Here are some tips to help prevent this from happening.

1) Use your phone’s lock passcode – Nearly every phone has this option now, but not everyone uses it. You may think, why bother with the extra step? You’re the only one with access to your phone.
This may be true, but you want to keep it that way. This won’t prevent a master cybercriminal from breaking into your smartphone, but think of it as locking your car doors. It will keep most people out, and it’s such a simple step to take.

2) Consider a bright case for your smartphone – You’re out at your favorite coffee house. Suddenly, a friend you haven’t seen in a while pops in, but she doesn’t see you. You leap up without your phone…and leave it lying on the table.
If it’s in a bright case, it’s likely you or some friendly neighbour is going to spot the mistake and let you know. If it’s black and blending into the background, you can probably kiss that phone goodbye.

3) Think about a carrying case – If you have your phone clipped to your belt, you’re more likely to miss it than if you usually toss it into your pocket. But what if you don’t wear belts? Think about clipping it onto your handbag or backpack. Anyplace where your phone remains on your person and in your sight is better than not.

4) Lock your phone with software – What happens if you follow all of this advice, but you still misplace your smartphone? It can happen to the best of us. At this point, you’ll rest much easier knowing that strangers aren’t going through your private information since you’ve remotely locked your device down.

We have a product called ESET Mobile Security for Android – part of the great NOD stable we have been selling for years. This
• Protects you while you are browsing
• Protects you if your phone is lost or stolen – even takes photos
• Filters callers or groups
• Will track locations
• Will lock remotely
To see the full range of features have a look at the ESET website.

Now This Is Drunk

Thanks to Joyce for this story.

Second Hand Laptops

We have just received a couple of new second hand laptops. These are also in remarkable condition and represent good value for money.

HP 6555b
• AMD 2.8 GHz dual core processor
• 4 GB RAM
• DVDRW
• 320 GB Hard Drive
• 15.6” screen
• Wireless
• Windows 7 Pro

To Finish