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Website Designers in Kidderminster
Hopefully you may have noticed the new look for Mattian – with our website getting an overhaul.
We are commited to making our website as easy to use as possible, we know that is the first impression many customers will have for us is based on our website, and whether they can use the website easily is a major factor in whether they choose us for their business.
Many of our customers come through search engines, and being high in the rankings is important, so our website designs are always coded up and designed to be as search engine friendly as possible.
Because we have to do all this to make our business work, its no surprise that more and more businesses are using us for their online presence.
We specialise in making websites that are easy to use, yet full of innotive features that will bring customers back to the website, and websites that rank high in search engines to get the visitors there in the first place!
Why not take a look at our Web Design Section, or get in contact and see how we can help your business succeed online!
McAfee to compensate users for update chaos
Recently two major anti virus providers sent out updates which have caused customers to lose data, and incur costs to repair computers.
Bit Defender released a faulty update last month, which meant that files were incorrectly tagged as a fake Trojan, and more recently Mcafee released an update which caused their customers to lose data.
In a unusual move however, McAfee have offered to reimburse customers for any repair costs (through companies such as Mattian) and have even offered to extend customers who choose to stay with McAfee after the balls up with an extra 2 years free subscription.
Well done to McAfee, on a sensible move which will hopefully pay off for them.
Windows 7 Fix it Center comes to Windows XP & Vista
One of the useful features in Windows 7 is the automatic diagnosis system – allowing users to find and repair common problems with PCs .
It also attempts to solve any issues before they appear by ensuring the system has the latest drivers for any hardware.
The free download is currently a BETA software release, meaning its still in its testing phases, and Windows XP users must have SP3 installed, Vista users ideally need SP2.
65p for your hacked email accounts.
Cybercriminals are buying and selling hacked email accounts for as little as 65p.
These hacked accounts are used to infect the hacked accounts contact list with spyware and trojans, and are sending out malicious URLs to the contacts, who, upon seeing an email from their friend or colleague opens the email straight away.
If a cybercriminal gets hold of your account it becomes a propagation vector. If they can get into your contacts lists they can send Trojans or malicious URLs from an account that is trusted,” Con Mallon, consumer director of regional product marketing at Symantec, told PC Pro.
The greater worry is ID theft – with many services offering to send new passwords to email accounts, its not hard for hackers to access services – especially as such services usually email their users offers with forgotten password links included.
The advice as always is to have a comprehensive security solution in place, to keep changing your password and for if the worst happens, ensure you have a working backup solutions.
Help with all these are available from Mattian, visit http://www.mattian.co.uk/itsupport/ for more information.
Microsoft’s support for original Vista ends
Microsoft Windows Vista, without any service packs is reaching the end of its IT support from Microsoft technical support for customers and businesses.
Vista, the disappointing follow up to the widely used Windows XP now requires its users to download and install the freely available Service Pack 1 or 2 for continued support and security fixes from Microsoft.
Installing the service packs is easy, but time consuming, with Vista SP2 taking well over an hour to install.
Users who are running Vista without service packs should use Windows Update to download SP2 and other important security updates to keep them secure.
If you need support with installing updates, please email us for free at talk@mattian.co.
Important new price information
Dear customers,
We have made some changes to our charging structure for repairs and support for both home and businesses.
We hope you agree that these charges make it easier then ever before to be in complete control of the cost with Mattian, with no additional hourly rates!
We provide call outs 7 days a week until 10pm by prior appointment.
Our telephone line is open Monday – Saturday 8:30am – 7pm on 08444 871 983 or you can email anytime to talk@mattian.co.uk
Clear, Simple Prices:
- Repairs/Support at your home up to 30 minutes in duration are charged at £25 + parts- so if its a quick fix, we can be in and out and you can save some money!
- Repairs/Support at your home over 30 minutes in duration are charged at £47 + parts – so you know exactly how much the repair will cost regardless of how long or how many call outs it takes to fix.
- Pick up and drop off from your home/work are charged at £35 – as we can take your equipment to our fully kitted out office for faster repairs.
Pick up and drop off repairs are ideal if you want us to quickly and easily repair your equipment, in our fully insured and secure office. We will pick up the item, drop it off and re-connect/install the item for you at no extra charge.
Repairs/Support at your home are ideal if you don’t want to move the equipment, or would like us to work with you on issues. A technician will be on-site and answer any questions you may have.
We cover: Kidderminster, Bewdley, Stourport, Wolverley, Cookley and other outlying areas. If you live further afield our prices may increase to cover travel expense, please contact us for a quote.
Price Promise: We wont be beaten on price, we believe we offer the best service for the best price. If you can provide a genuine like for like quote we will beat it.
No fix, No Fee and our free 30 day warranty are all provided to ensure you get the most from your mattian repair, please read our full terms and conditions.
If you have any questions on this new charging structure please do get in touch with us.
Best Wishes
Matthew Setchell, Mattian.
Microsoft Browser Choice Screen
Microsoft has released a update this week for Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 which will confuse a lot of users.
The Browser Choice update allows users to choose a different browser for using to go on the Internet.
What is a browser, why do I need a choice?
A browser is the program you use to view websites. Many users use Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 8 which is installed by default.
However many other browsers exist, and due to European law enforcers Microsoft now has to give you the choice between several – even if your happy with your current browsing experience!
Whilst this is good when you first set-up the computer (Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome and Safari just three examples of excellent alternative browsers with different features) – being given this choice through windows update is going to cause massive confusion after a user is already settled with their browsing experience.
It is however worth looking at the other alternative browsers that are available – Internet Explorer has been in the press a lot
recently as several security holes have been found. Don’t be fooled however, no browser is 100% secure or bug free.
Browsehappy provide some good information on why its recommended to move away from Internet Explorer and on the main alternative browsers if your thinking about switching.
If you haven’t already, this windows update will also update to Internet Explorer 8 if you select that as your browser of choice – we really recommend installing Internet Explorer 8 even if you do choose another browser. Because Internet Explorer is built into Windows, it needs to be kept up-to- date even if you don’t use it.
The Browser Choice Update
The actual Browser Choice Screen is shown below, it is installed via Windows Update from March 1st onwards, make sure you have automatic updates turned on to get it (if you want it!)
Many users may be a bit shocked to see it on a restart – as many updates are installed without letting you know what they actually do (dependent on your settings). So below is a little heads up on what to expect:
The screen you will be presented with will look like this once the update is installed and you restart:
Note this screen shot is from Windows 7 – but will look similar on XP and Vista
Users will then be able to choose from a range of alternative browsers, the screen has the most popular 5 browsers first, then a further 6-12 if you scroll right.
All the browsers are randomly ordered (although the first 5 will always be on the first screen)
You can also choose to select later, however this means you will only have to do it next time when the PC restarts.
If you require any further any information please get in touch
Why your website should work for your business.
Websites are seen by many businesses as an add-on to their business, when in fact they should be seen as a key tool in not only getting new customers, but keeping links with their old/current customers.
Its easy to see why this is the case, visit 80% of business websites once and you will never need to go back to them.
But take a look at those websites which entice you to return, and start to ask why you go back. How do they get the repeat visits?
Because its these repeat visits which gives these websites a relationship with their visitors, and once a relationship is in place, its easy for the them to then use the website to sell to you, whatever their product is.
In our minds, when designing websites, its all about the content. Of course design is important – but content is king for any website on the Internet today. Search engine optimisation and a fantastic design is nothing if people look once, and never return, and as a result never buy.
Its a struggle for all small businesses to find the time and resources to keep their websites going as well as their business, and that’s where we can help – utilising content management systems we make editing, updating and managing your website easy – you can do it when you have time, but equally important you can do it to react to your business needs. If you have a special event on, you probably don’t want faff around with contacting a designer to make the changes and the costs that this will incur, but its exactly that type of fresh content that people will return to a website to use time and time again. Being able to easily manage the website yourself and add that content free of charge is surely the best solution?
If this sounds like something that your business could benifit from, please do get in touch or find out more about our Kidderminster based Website Design Services.
Coming soon to a paper near you…
Here at Mattian towers, the irony of only advertising our computer repair/laptop repair business online had not escaped us, and with the last year seeing a huge surge in customers, we felt we were happily at the point where we could take the next step and place some advertisements in our local paper.
So, they are all designed and ready, and for the next 5 weeks we will be in the Kidderminster Shuttle!
Exciting times, we are sure you will agree – and to boot we are also launching our new feedback programme at the end of next week, where if you leave feedback for us on our website, you get a voucher for £5 off your next repair. You can keep this for yourself, or pass it on to a friend (if your really nice!) and benefit from our great support at a great price!
So, stay tuned for more information on how our little outing in the paper goes!
Laptop LCD Screen Repair in Kidderminster
Did you know that we could repair a broken laptop screen for as little as £135?
Whilst the price varies a little with the model of screens required – replacement LCD screens are becoming increasingly more available. Mattian has recently joined up a new supplier, who ensures we get the best quality screens just right for the model of laptop we are repairing.
We saw a steady rise last year in the amount of laptop screens we had to repair. Its actually one of the best repairs to work on, whilst it takes quite a few hours to complete – you can be 100% sure that the result is perfect on completion!
Quite often the damage is caused by children, and sometimes by pets. Some people think this means having to claim off their house insurance, but its usually cheaper to get it repaired yourself by someone local then claim on your house insurance and have to pay an excess and be without the laptop for quite a while. Providing we can get stock of your screen they arrive with us next day – and can be fitted within 48 hours dependent on how busy we are at the time. Much better then being shipped off somewhere!
If you are interested in getting your laptop screen repaired – please get in touch – you can call us on 08444 871 983 or email talk@mattian.co.uk
