It wasn’t so long ago when financing a computer with bad
credit was next to impossible. The option for people with
bad credit was to put a computer on layaway. Of course you
could always rent to own a computer, but how many people
used it before you? If you did rent to own a computer you
would have paid up to four times the retail value.
It took awhile, but financing companies are finally starting
to realize that not all people with bad credit are unable to
afford payments on new products and services. There are many
variables that can bring one’s credit rating down such as
bankruptcy or divorce. It’s not always as simple as failure
to pay.
In todays world it is easy to get your computer financed
with bad credit and no credit check if you know where to go.
There are even a couple of different payment options. This
is because there are people who would prefer to put money
down in exchange for a lower monthly payment, and others who
prefer a no money down option.
Some let you put a laptop or desktop computer on what is
referred to as layaway. Though similar, it really isn’t true
layaway because you get to have your computer before it’s
fully paid for. When you put a computer on layaway like
this, what you’re really doing is showing the financing
company you can be trusted to make your payments. Normally
you’ll make payments for a few months before your computer
is shipped.
To get your computer financed with bad credit, no credit, or
without a credit check, you’ll still need a valid checking
account in most cases. This is to your benefit since you can
actually make payments using your checking account and you
don’t need a credit card. Some computer financing companies
will even help you get a prepaid credit card.
Just remember, when you put a PC on layaway through a retail
outlet, you’ll have to pay in full in about 90 days. If you
rent to own a PC you’re going to be over charged in a big
way, and chances are the computer has already been used
before. When you go through a financing company, your PC
will be brand new, out of the box.
If you can afford a good down payment on a computer, that
would be your best option since you can get your new
computer right away, and the payments aren’t that much
higher than if you would have had good credit. When you
can’t afford a sizeable down payment, the best thing you can
do is make extra payments when you can so you’ll get your PC
sooner.
Bad credit computer financing makes it possible for just
about anyone with an income to get a computer without the
hassle of a true layaway deadline or being overcharged by a
rent to own company. Not to mention, many of these companies
offer name brand desktop and laptop computers like DELL, and
in the end, only you know what payment option best suites
your needs.
By: Daymon Hoag
Posts Tagged ‘Laptop Computer’
3 Home Wireless Network Points
January 27th, 2010Now a days having a wireless network available to you is more normal than abnormal. Many reasons have led to this change, one being cost. It is very cost effective so set up a wireless network as opposed to a wired network.
Because of the rise in wireless network popularity, more and more computer manufacturers are equipping their systems with the right wireless networking hardware. I am going to discuss 3 big points, wireless networking in laptops, desktops, and also the software on these machines
So we start off with a very important question – Is your laptop or home computer wireless enabled? This is how you can check if your computer has wireless capabilities or not.
Laptops
Many newer laptops have wireless networking capabilities already built in to them. If you laptop came with the hardware built inside of it, then all you need to do is make sure it is enabled and the button on the front (usually) of the laptop is lit up. If a wireless PCMI card is needed in the laptop computer, then make sure it is compatible with your brand of computer first. When you install it, make sure you have the driver disk associated with the hardware, and that it’s driver matches what version of Windows you have.
Desktop Computers
If you need to check to see if your desktop computer has a wireless connection, turn off the computer and turn it around and look for a rod sticking out near the bottom of the tower. This would be the wireless antenna just like an antenna would be on a radio. If you see nothing like this then your desktop probably does not have a wireless card installed in the PCI slot. So buy one that matches the version of Windows that you have on the desktop.
Windows to check the Wireless Capacity
Once everything is installed on your laptop or desktop you want to use windows to check the wireless capacity to make sure the settings are correct. Open up the Device Manager in Windows. Look for the network adapters + sign and click it. Look for something under there that should have the term “wireless” attached to it. If you see that there then you know everything has been configured correctly and all you need to do is connect to the available wireless network.
By: mark dewolf
The Top 15 Ways to Protect Your Computer System
December 14th, 2009Most new computer users use the computer for a specific purpose. I know of some people who use it only for e-mail. Others use it to view and print pictures that they took with their digital camera. Some people use it for doing work at home like word processing or spreadsheets. Teachers may use it to develop class plans that they do not have time to do at work.
Even though Identity Theft is in a lot of newspapers, letters from banks, TV, the Internet, most people do not protect their computer and their information. Maybe their attitude is “It can’t happen to me”. I am surprised that more than half of the home computer wireless networks in my neighborhood are not secure. Someone can have a laptop in their car and surf the internet for free. Some households can also borrow the neighbor’s Internet Service Provider (ISP) without having to pay for it themselves.
I have a little gadget that detects wireless networks. I am amazed that some small business and even schools in my area do not have a secure network. I taught an Identity Theft class in a school, and I went right onto their network without any login information. The school assumed that they were secure.
Another security concern is when someone has a laptop and they leave it unattended at the airport. When they look for it the laptop is gone. Some thieves just re-sell the laptop for quick cash. Other thieves see what type of information they can take off of the laptop. Even if the thief re-sells the laptop quickly, your personal information is still on the laptop. If the computer does not have a password on it, then anyone has immediate access to the information on the computer.
I had one customer put her laptop into her luggage and checked it in at the airline. When she arrived at the hotel and opened her case she saw that the laptop was gone. There was also a note inside that the airline inspected her luggage. Did this customer learn? No, she did it again. And to make matters worse, she was traveling with someone else. He saw that she checked her luggage with the laptop in it, and he followed suit. A big surprise here – both laptops were gone.
Home networks is another big security concern. When I see an unsecured home network I leave a flyer on their door and say that there network is not secure and for $25 I will secure it for them. I usually write the name of their network on the flyer so that they know. Four out of five people call me.
Here are some ways to help protect your computer system (they are not in any order of importance):
1. Put a password to access your computer. I would even put a power-on password which means that once you turn on the computer you need to put in a password before the computer starts up. This should not be the same password you use to login to your computer. This advice is needed for laptop users.
2. Buy a surge protector and plug all of your computer items into it. Buy one that works and has a guarantee, and not just a power strip.
3. During a thunder storm, or any storm that looks like it has an effect on power, turn the computers off. I would even unplug the surge protector from the wall. If the home is hit by lightning the house wiring can burn out computer components.
4. If you need the computer constantly on, invest in an Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS). The computer can stay on up to three hours without electricity. If you have a laptop plugged into a UPS, then you have the three hours and the laptop battery time.
5. If you are connected to the Internet, wired or wireless, you must have a router with a built-in hardware firewall. You should also have a software firewall as well. Most times software scans the internet looking for vulnerable computers. It is not unlikely if you have cable, DSL, Satellite, or FIOS that your computer is not scanned 15 or more times a day. A hardware and software firewall prevents this from happening.
6. Get anti-virus software installed on your computer. If you do not want to pay for it, get a free one.
7. Install spyware removal software on your computer and run it regularly. You can just get free ones if you do not want to invest in a commercial product, although the commercial ones are better.
8. Do not have Windows remember your passwords. On my blog I recommend a product for remembering passwords.
9. In Internet Explorer and Firefox have your security settings to at least medium.
10. When traveling keep your laptop in sight. Do not check it in with your luggage.
11. When you go into a wireless café or hotel that has internet access you should have an internet security product. McAfee and Norton are pretty good. There are also a couple of free ones.
One other thing to keep in mind with a laptop is that many of them can transfer through infrared to other laptops or PDAs / cell phones. It only takes a couple of seconds to transfer your information. Credit card numbers for example are 16 characters. There is software out there that can look for a string of 16 characters, or your social security number.
12. Do not open attachments from someone you do not know.
13. If an email does not look right, do not open it. Ebay, your bank, paypal, etc. will not ask you to click on a link to update your account information. They say, log into your account and verify your information. These fake emails are phishing for your information. When you click on them it does look like the right sight, but as soon as you sign into this phishing site they have your login name and password. You should then immediately go to your site by typing in the address and change your login password. If you can change your login name do that as well.
14. Do not give your passwords out to others.
15. If someone requests to remotely access your computer make sure their software is permission based. This means that you will get a pop up window or email and you give the person permission to look at your screen. That way if you do see something wrong like looking at your emails or documents you can stop the connection between the two computers.
I hope you found this article informative. In the resource box below click on the blog link where you will find more useful hints and recommended software and hardware.
John Gontowicz
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By: John Gontowicz
