MoreThanSolutions   design, hosting, marketing, promotion

You may need a simple online brochure or snazzy graphics and database programming. You define what you need from a website and then we make it happen by drawing from our team of consultants. Whether you are looking for a basic static website, custom programming, or a Content Management System that allows you to easily update your own website, we have a broad range of experience so that we can choose the solution to meet your needs.

Some of the website services we offer include:

• planning, design and maintenance
• content management systems (for blogging, updating, and promoting your own site)
• electronic marketing, search engine promotion, and FaceBook advertising
• database and other programming – PERL, Java, PHP, ASP (VBScript), CGI, SQL
• website and domain name hosting

Our focus is on useful, content-driven sites with professional layout.

For more examples, please visit our testimonials and links to websites by MoreThanSolutions consultants on the side menu.

• Commercial photography on location or in studio for brochures, websites.
• Business and modelling portfolios
• Professional portraits in our studio or on location, print developing, photo quality digital images
• Family Scrapbooks, Memory Albums, Weddings, Maternity – cherish your memories of birthdays, vacations, and special occasions.

For more information, please visit our photography and scrapbooking site (this will open in a new window).

If you are new to needing a website, there are three things that you may need:

1. Website design involves planning the content of your website, as well as the look and feel – we provide these services at hourly rates.
2. Domain name hosting gives you a custom name for your website, like morethansolutions.com – we can arrange this for you, costs range from $10 – $30 per year.
3. Website hosting involves maintaining the computer that actually responds when someone tries to visit your website.

MoreThanSolutions has been doing website design since 1997 and domain name/website hosting since 2002. We offer website hosting ourselves so that our web design clients have reliable hosting available to them with excellent features at an affordable price.

The client’s situation: First Metropolitan has an office with eight employees and no budget to hire anyone full time to manage their computers. Over the past six years, the client has needed a network set up, web site hosting and development, miscellaneous computer troubleshooting, training of staff, advice on buying and upgrading hardware, and a coherent plan for managing computer resources.

MoreThanSolution: We have been able to address all of the client’s needs, without them having to go looking for specialists in each of the different areas. Through MoreThanSolutions, First Metropolitan has had access to over a dozen different professionals, assigned in each case to match the best consultant to each job. This has allowed the client to meet all of their computing needs within a limited budget.

To avoid viruses, be extra careful of the following file types:

1. .exe .bat .com .vbs .pif .scr are program files and should only be opened if someone is actually sending you a program (which is rare); .zip files are compressed and can be any type thus can also be risky
2. .doc .xls .pub .ppt .mdb are Microsoft Office files and should only be opened if someone is actually sending you a file
3. .gif .jpg .png are images and .txt and .rtf are text-only files and are your safest bets (as long as you are up on your windows updates and the extension is the LAST few characters of the file);
4. .pps and .pdf are presentation formats which are generally safe (but you should still save to desktop and scan before opening)

Spam is unwanted email. There are many ways to avoid spam. However, the effectiveness of each methof varies depending on the type of spam you are getting and how you use your email. We offer custom spam solutions that will give you the most bang for your buck and allow you to get on with reading legitimate email. Contact us to arrange a consultation, or use some of the following free tips and tools:

• The best option is to use a learning filter like K9 that learns from its own mistakes as you correct it and results in a custom spam filtering system for you. After 3 weeks of use, I found this program filters ~500 spam messages correctly per week, with only 3-5 corrections (spams not identified as such) needed per week to keep the filters up to date and zero legitimate emails accidentaly filtered. Note: you will need to set up a mail rule to filter your messages into a different folder.
• Set up email filters using unwanted keywords and subjects to sort emails into a “likely spam” folder – you can check this occasionally to ensure legimitate emails did not get filtered unintentionally
• Filter known email addresses into a “safe” folder
• Block senders
• Fight back and report spammers with Spam CSI
• Hide your address with Spam Motel which is of limited use depending on how you use your email. There are other ways of hiding your email address, including replacing email links on your website with contact forms. Search on google to be sure someone isn’t publishing your email address on their website!
• Change your email address and notify your friends, then use spyware removal tools from the start and make sure your email address isn’t on any websites. Set up an automated response from your old address to phone and obtain your new address.
• Server side filtering – depends on your email host but effective methods like procmail and SpamAssassin may be available.
• Make spammers remove you by bouncing emails back to them with MailWasher – note this can have unwanted side effects (check with your ISP if they recommend use of MailWasher or not)

Fake warnings about viruses or public safety etc. are all over the internet. Throw in a few keywords from the email into Urban Legends or Snopes and you should get a report on whether it is real or not. If you get no luck there, try Google before calling in the cavalry. If you still have no luck, pass it along to us and we will sort the real from the hoax for you.

Before responding to any internet email, even ones that purport to be asking for donations to excellent causes, or promise to net you great riches if on you give out your credit card or bank info, always check out Scambusters where you can search their library and join their list.

Spyware is software that is installed without your consent. It can send your internet use patterns, and even worse your email address to companies without your consent, who then may use your address to send you spam. My favourite free tool for battling spyware is Spybot Search & Destroy although Ad Aware is easier to use (but less comprehensive in it’s protection).

Just like your car, computer needs a regular checkup. This should be done occasionaly for a variety of reasons.

If you have been experiencing major problems, particularly with older operating systems, you might need a fresh install of your operating system. Regular system cleanup can actually prevent the need for the more drastic re-installation.

Examples of work we do during a system clean-up visit:

• ensure that you have anti-virus, firewall, and anti-spyware software running properly
• ensure automated backup system is in file for files, emails, address book, favourites, etc.
• prevent rarely used programs that start automatically from hogging system resources
• training on how to more effectively use your computer