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Archive for May, 2011

Exclusive Offers for Military Families

Beginning the Sunday before Memorial Day (May 29) and extending through the Saturday after Independence Day (July 9), military personnel and their immediate families will be able to take advantage of two exclusive offers available at their local Best Buy store, online or by phone:

1. 50 % off In-Home Technology Consultation – A Geek Squad Agent will visit your home to understand your technology needs, review your current devices, and recommend integration options, upgrades and purchases. To learn more and print the Geek Squad In-Home Consultation coupon visit www.bestbuy.com/military, then schedule your consultation by visiting any Best Buy store with the printed coupon from the website.
2. 50% off Remote Desktop Support – Geek Squad will help you stay connected with your friends and family at home or overseas by supporting your webcam and communication software (i.e. Skype or MSN Communicator). You will also receive technical support by phone or online for up to three personal computers, connected devices and support for your home network for $9.99 per month with no set-up fees (regular price of $19.99 per month with $69 set-up fee per computer). Go to www.geeksquad.com/military or call 1-800-GEEK SQUAD and to purchase the Geek Squad Online Support Subscription for Military Personnel and Families. (Not available in stores, no coupon necessary.)

While military families support our country, Geek Squad is available to support them and keep them connected wherever they happen to be. These Memorial Day offers are another way Best Buy and Geek Squad hope to help out these families who give so much to all of us.

Skype Set-Up (2MM)

Removing Viruses/Spyware From Your Computer (2MM)

Updating Your Operating System (And Why It’s Important) (2MM)

Using Technology to Effectively and SECURELY Donate

As the effects of natural disasters bring us together to help those in need, Geek Squad wanted to take a moment to share some lessons on how social media and mobile devices can play a role in that assistance.

Products from shoes to bathroom scales have built-in tweeting, and at least one innovator has created an app that tweets everything that he watches around the house via TiVo. It may make your head spin to think that the same microblogging service helped serve as the groundwork for revolution in the Middle East as well as a key tool for finding loved ones after the tsunami in Japan. Obviously, not all tweets are created equal. It should come as no surprise, then, that scammers are always waiting to exploit the next big tragedy via these networks.

Here are a few tips to help you stay safe while assisting others:
- If you are being solicited by a stranger for donations, consider who they may be and what their credentials are. You can never be too careful with your financial information.
- Use reliable and reputable sites to research any charities to which you are considering contributing.
- If you have trouble finding a relief effort that you can verify as legitimate, turn to major organizations such as the American Red Cross. (Best Buy recently donated $100,000 to this group for storm relief efforts)
- If you do not want to donate via credit card, consider a text message donation. (More on this below)
- If you live near an area affected by a natural disaster, such as the recent wave of tornadoes in the south, search Facebook for groups that are organizing volunteer efforts.

Most tweets and Facebook posts soliciting donations no longer redirect you to a website where you enter a lot of personal information, or even to a PayPal link to donate directly through that method. Many of these solicitations now take the form of “Send ‘KEYWORD’ to 12345 to donate $5 to the relief efforts.” The phone number is a “short code,” which is a shortened phone number specifically designed for receiving text messages. This donation method sounds so easy… so how does it work?

Text message donations have been around for several years, but only recently came into the mainstream after the Haiti earthquake. The way these work is simple. First, you send a specific word to a specific phone number. Then, the donation will appear on your cell phone statement. This is an easy way to donate from the road if you can’t get in front of a computer, and most major charities and disaster relief funds have this capability. As always, make sure you check the legitimacy of the campaign before donating! We’ve included two resources below to help you get started.

RESOURCES:
http://www.bbb.org/us/charity/ – The Better Business Bureau’s U.S. charity division, a repository of information about legitimate and illegitimate charity efforts .
http://blog.charitynavigator.org/2011/04/us-tornado-disaster-relief.html – A list of some charities and what they are doing to help with the storm relief efforts.

Geek Squad & Someecards Partner for Mother’s Day

Afraid your Mom won’t be able to open the e-card? Have no fear – each e-card is accompanied by a 20% off coupon for any Geek Squad Online Support service.

Although your Mother may not accept the e-card as a substitute for an in-person greeting on May 8th, she’ll be slightly less disappointed knowing you care not only about her, but her well-being online. So check out all the cards at http://www.someecards.com/geek-squad-cards/most-sent-today and select one to send to your mom before you help her celebrate her big day.

2 Minute Miracle: Geek Squad iPhone Email Set-Up