With huge experience in the industry, Thomson are the market leaders in the UK. For good late offers and easy online booking, they win this month's award.
New version of AVG free - upgrade now
AVG free users will have noticed an upgrade to a new version has been 'nagging' them for a few weeks now. We have tested the latest version and find it to be stable and an essential upgrade. Support for the old product will be dropped, consequently we are recommending this upgrade to anyone on the old version.
We can carry out this upgrade for you as a paid job but as usual we also offer these instructions which can help you to install the new product on your own. Should you wish to install it, please ensure that you backup all of your important files first and print these instructions for reference.
Download the program
First off, open your browser (Internet Explorer or Firefox). In the address bar at the very top, type in:
and press 'enter' on your keyboard. Alternatively click on the link itself above.
Download AVG free 9 for Windows (NOT the dowload manager) and note where it downloads to. This is a 73MB download so it will take a while.
Install the program
Once downloaded, CLOSE ALL OPEN WINDOWS. Locate the file you downloaded and double click the file to install or click 'Run' from the Internet Explorer dialog box and 'Run' again if the security warning pops up.
Note: I have tested this and previous versions of AVG will be automatically removed during installation. All settings from your old version will be converted to AVG 9.0 for example scheduled scan times.
In the installation:
At the welcome screen choose your insallation language (English)
Click 'Next'
Tick 'I have read the license agreement' and click 'Accept'
AVG will check your system status.
Wen the 'Select install type' box appears, choose 'Standard installation' then click 'Next'
Accept the username and licence number it offers and click 'Next'
Untick the AVG Security toolbar which also unticks accepting Yahoo as your default search engine.
Click Next
If you have not closed all browser windows yet, you will be prompted that AVG will close them. Click on next to proceed if this was prompted, otherwise let the installaton continue.
When you see the box saying 'AVG protection configuration complete - installation was succesful', untick the box which suggests you 'provide anonymous information about detected threats to avg'
Click on 'Finish' and click 'Yes' to restart your computer when prompted.
When restarted, locate the AVG icon on the toolbar (a four coloured square) and RIGHT click on it. Select 'Update now' and click update on any box that appears.
You may be prompted after the installation to 'Optimize scanning'. Do this as it can give you a better scan time.
As mentioned, we can offer an installation service should you not feel comfortable with this.
Video of the month
There is a whole sport of indoor cycling that I never knew existed. This video shows what is possible when you train hard.....
Site update
We're now able to offer you "discount codes" for use on major retail websites. To use these codes, simply copy them from the column on the right, click the link and use them at the relevant website's checkout page.
Identity theft
Because of the increasing amount of identity theft I am seeing on customer PCs, can I urge you all to ensure that your antivirus scans are running regularly and to keep aware of the basic protection methods listed below.
There seems to be a huge increase in fake bank emails and telephone calls at present, so please follow these simple rules:
Never reply to an email from your bank asking you to update your details - this is always a scam.
Never speak to a person over the telephone about your account if they phone you, no matter how convincing. Always ensure that YOU telephone your bank on a known number before giving any details.
Never give out your credit card PIN number (the one you tap into the cash machine) either online or by telephone.
Always logout of any online banking session.
Never use a public PC, eg in a library/hotel/cafe, to access online accounts.
Free insurance quotes in less than 5 minutes
Online comparison insurance sites take the
strain out of renewals (and you don't get earache!), so I've linked to the quickest and most
straight forward of them all. Please look at the 'Shopping' menu above
to find links to cheap car, bike, home and van insurance
Website additions
A restructure to the menus
Added an 'Identity theft' section to tutorials
Added the hilarious 'QWOP' and 'Elf yourself' to the games section
The introduction of another free online virus scanner, Eset's NOD32
A full AVG tutorial in the 'Our services' menu above
Major retailer discount codes for cheap shopping
PC health check
The 'PC health check' is still £95 for previous customers
and £105 for new customers. It remains the most comprehensive check of
your computer that is currently available in the area. This covers all of the following:
Complete scan of the hard drive(s) for malicious code
Antivirus test and update
Antispyware test and update
Trojan and worm scan (including the Conficker worm)
Rootkit scan
Firewall check, update and penetration test
Temporary file removal (accumulated 'clutter' of Internet pages, history, logfiles etc)
Hard drive error scan
Registry clean
Router settings backup
Examination of startup entries for malware
Windows security patches and updates
Advice on backup regimes
All necessary updates will be carried out provided there is broadband
Internet access at your home. Should you be interested in this service
please contact us via telephone or email. Details can be found on the
'Contact us' page of this site.
Parkinsons Disease donations - update 4
We are now concentrating our efforts until the end of 2009 by collecting for the Parkinsons Disease Society. The link can be found by clicking 'Contact us' on the menu above. My
family have been personally touched by this illness and any
contributions to aid the Parkinsons sufferers, present and future, is
warmly received. Donations to date total £497. Thank you for any
donations, however small.
In 2008 we ran a link for donations to
the Leukaemia Research charity fund. Our final total was £142 thanks
to your generous donations. Your money went towards leukaemia
research and the treatment of sufferers of this horrible disease.
Leukaemia Research is the only charity in the UK dedicated exclusively
to researching blood cancers and disorders including leukaemia,
Hodgkin’s and other lymphomas, and myeloma.
