You’ve seen the ads on television; Everything from a USB flash drive to solve all of your computing woes to inexpensive remote service techs. These sound like great tools when you are watching a thirty second or sixty second ad because they squeeze a lot of fantastic words into the delivery and the end result is that this flash drive or service will solve your problems instantly and forever! Remember that anything that sounds too good to be true probably is not.
So let’s break this down by the two different classes. The first class is the all-in-one USB stick. You purchase this product and insert it into a USB port and it is suppose to solve all the issues on your computer. There will be interaction by you, the consumer. This is a suite of tools that will need to be run individually to do certain functions of cleaning and disinfecting. But when you’re finished how do you truly know that the infections are gone? How do you know that your computer is actually clean? What if your infection was a root kit? Wait..what is a root kit? That is a lot of unanswered questions, right. Guess what, all you really paid for there was a glorified cookies and browser cache cleaner. It did nothing to eradicate the viruses, Trojans, spyware or anything else.
The second class is the over-the-telephone experts. Call them now and get your computer running faster in 30 minutes only $19.99! Well, the $19.99 is apparently a fee you give them to allow an unknown person remote access to your computer. Once in they tell you that you have $300-$1000 worth of necessary work to be done to your computer. Believe it or not many people will fall for this and the headaches that ensue afterwards are anything from even slower computers to more viruses to have pictures and documents stolen from your computer. What is that worth to you? Scary isn’t it? The end result is that you have to hire a professional anyway to undo the damage that was done when you could have hired a qualified technician in the first place to take care of your needs. Several know cases to me on this are that after not allowing the additional work to be performed, strange things happen after the “tech” logs off the computer.
So as you can plainly see there are problems with both of these classes of computer hope. The facts are that only a qualified technician can actually diagnose your computer and tell if you have a serious problem and how serious. No two viruses are the same; some keep regenerating after software or a tool gets rid of them. A USB stick will not tell you if you have legitimate problems lurking in your system. It takes the care and expertise of a professional who knows what to look for and the end result is that you are treated kindly and taking care of in a manner that is much more guaranteed than a flash drive you purchased off the television. Look into the guarantees that come with these other products and services. Trust your computer to an expert and develop a relationship with that individual or business. You will be much happier in the end.
Showing posts with label DIY. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DIY. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Free Tech Support
Let me tell you about my favorite word. This word jumps out at you. It calls your name. The word is FREE.
Now let me tell you how you can get FREE tech support for your PC products. Starting Tuesday July 12th and every second Tuesday of each month you can listen to The Behind The Mike Show where I will be taking calls and answering your computer questions. You can call the toll free number (866) 417-4359 and check in with your questions regarding viruses, spyware, software and hardware. It's Tech Tuesday and the show runs from 9:00 - 10:00 PM Eastern.
So come on and listen right on your computer at any of the following links:
WBTM Radio
Reality 1 Radio
SRN One
TyneFM
Star Radio NY
Hope to hear ya there!
Now let me tell you how you can get FREE tech support for your PC products. Starting Tuesday July 12th and every second Tuesday of each month you can listen to The Behind The Mike Show where I will be taking calls and answering your computer questions. You can call the toll free number (866) 417-4359 and check in with your questions regarding viruses, spyware, software and hardware. It's Tech Tuesday and the show runs from 9:00 - 10:00 PM Eastern.
So come on and listen right on your computer at any of the following links:
WBTM Radio
Reality 1 Radio
SRN One
TyneFM
Star Radio NY
Hope to hear ya there!
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Computer Maintenance: Part Three
Welcome to the final installment of the Computer Maintenance series. Part three will discuss a small battery of defenses that can be installed to help round out the protection to your computer. These are merely suggestions. Many IT professionals have patterns and techniques that work. This article lays out a plan that has proven successful in 99.4% of computers serviced by the author’s consultation firm, Delaware Valley Tech Rescue.
The computer has been physically cleaned and firewall and anti-virus are installed and running. Now it’s time to place the finishing touches on the computer utilizing the following FREE utilities.
SpywareBlaster – SpywareBlaster is an invaluable tool and is available through Java Cool Software (http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/). After installing the program, be sure and run the updater so that the definitions can be updated. Then be sure to enable protection for all items. SpywareBlaster does not need to be opened to run and it will work completely unnoticed by the user. It protects the computer from a database of malicious websites that contain content that could be harmful to the computer.
Spybot Search & Destroy – Created by Safer-Networking (http://www.safer-networking.org/), Spybot S&D also maintains a database of big bad websites. Besides updating the database regularly, you also must run the immunization module to place the new databases into effect. This program also comes with a scanner so if you feel that you might be infected then you can scan the computer. The added bonus is that this program builds a HOSTS file automatically to be sure that the websites in the database cannot push their wares through to your environment.
MalwareBytes Anti-Malware – MalwareBytes is a great addition to your protection scheme and like Spybot S&D, it needs to be updated regularly and then scanned if you feel there is a problem. It can be downloaded by the vendor (http://www.malwarebytes.org/). MalwareBytes has actually been known for finding issues that other scanners do not pick up and therefore has become an industry favorite. Keep in mind that MalwareBytes and Spybot S&D should be updated and scanned about once per week just to be sure that there are no issues brewing. There are many malicious packages out there that will not load immediately and can lay dormant.
There are no guarantees that any program will win over all the malicious objects floating around the Internet and sometimes, it takes different combinations of resources to rid the computer of the infestation. If used properly, these three programs can aid the anti-virus and firewall in keeping the operating environment safe and efficient. If a more severe problem is discovered then consult with a professional computer technician as most cases, severe as they can be, are able to be cleaned without drastic measures.
The computer has been physically cleaned and firewall and anti-virus are installed and running. Now it’s time to place the finishing touches on the computer utilizing the following FREE utilities.
SpywareBlaster – SpywareBlaster is an invaluable tool and is available through Java Cool Software (http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/). After installing the program, be sure and run the updater so that the definitions can be updated. Then be sure to enable protection for all items. SpywareBlaster does not need to be opened to run and it will work completely unnoticed by the user. It protects the computer from a database of malicious websites that contain content that could be harmful to the computer.
Spybot Search & Destroy – Created by Safer-Networking (http://www.safer-networking.org/), Spybot S&D also maintains a database of big bad websites. Besides updating the database regularly, you also must run the immunization module to place the new databases into effect. This program also comes with a scanner so if you feel that you might be infected then you can scan the computer. The added bonus is that this program builds a HOSTS file automatically to be sure that the websites in the database cannot push their wares through to your environment.
MalwareBytes Anti-Malware – MalwareBytes is a great addition to your protection scheme and like Spybot S&D, it needs to be updated regularly and then scanned if you feel there is a problem. It can be downloaded by the vendor (http://www.malwarebytes.org/). MalwareBytes has actually been known for finding issues that other scanners do not pick up and therefore has become an industry favorite. Keep in mind that MalwareBytes and Spybot S&D should be updated and scanned about once per week just to be sure that there are no issues brewing. There are many malicious packages out there that will not load immediately and can lay dormant.
There are no guarantees that any program will win over all the malicious objects floating around the Internet and sometimes, it takes different combinations of resources to rid the computer of the infestation. If used properly, these three programs can aid the anti-virus and firewall in keeping the operating environment safe and efficient. If a more severe problem is discovered then consult with a professional computer technician as most cases, severe as they can be, are able to be cleaned without drastic measures.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Computer Maintenance: Part Two
Computer Maintenance Part One explained how to get the case of the computer cleaned and free of dust and debris. Now that the very essential of the project is complete, it is time to ensure that the system will be safe from the outside intruders. Part Two will focus on Anti-Virus programs and Firewalls.
Looking first at firewalls, what exactly is a firewall? A firewall is a software utility or hardware device that limits outside network access to a computer or network by blocking ports. Though firewalls are very simple to use and plug and play ready, they can also be customized and tuned to block additional port requests or control every port if the user wishes to do so. Windows comes with a built in firewall that for most users, will do the job necessary without issues. When a program that you install, an instant messenger program for example, requests outbound or inbound traffic the firewall will notify you and also allow you to determine if you want to be notified each time the instance occurs. The only time it may be necessary to install a more comprehensive firewall is if you have very serious attacks on your system frequently. In that case, good recommendations would be Comodo, Sygate or Zone Alarm. These are the top rated firewalls and are also the simplest to use and the least demanding of your computer’s resources.
The single most important piece of software that every user should have in the computer is anti-virus software. There is no excuse for not including this as a basic strategy to combating the horrors of the internet. When choosing a solution, be sure that the program has the most complete protection for your overall security but do not allow it to go overboard. Simply put, there are some products on the market that will run amok with the computer’s resources and that will slow the performance down. For the purpose of this article, look at AVG Anti-Virus Free available from Grisoft. AVG comes with a complete protection package including email scanning, link checking, real time scanning of downloads and basic spyware protection built in plus much more. The price of $0 makes it all the more attractive. AVG is extremely customizable and allows the user to select how often and when the computer is scanned. One very nice feature of the free version is that the program must update virus definitions everyday and cannot be customized; an easy feature to live with.
Firewalls and anti-virus; two critical items in the computer maintenance department and should not be overlooked. Look for Part Three of this series which will square up on the balancing factor of protecting the computer, spyware and malware protection.
Looking first at firewalls, what exactly is a firewall? A firewall is a software utility or hardware device that limits outside network access to a computer or network by blocking ports. Though firewalls are very simple to use and plug and play ready, they can also be customized and tuned to block additional port requests or control every port if the user wishes to do so. Windows comes with a built in firewall that for most users, will do the job necessary without issues. When a program that you install, an instant messenger program for example, requests outbound or inbound traffic the firewall will notify you and also allow you to determine if you want to be notified each time the instance occurs. The only time it may be necessary to install a more comprehensive firewall is if you have very serious attacks on your system frequently. In that case, good recommendations would be Comodo, Sygate or Zone Alarm. These are the top rated firewalls and are also the simplest to use and the least demanding of your computer’s resources.
The single most important piece of software that every user should have in the computer is anti-virus software. There is no excuse for not including this as a basic strategy to combating the horrors of the internet. When choosing a solution, be sure that the program has the most complete protection for your overall security but do not allow it to go overboard. Simply put, there are some products on the market that will run amok with the computer’s resources and that will slow the performance down. For the purpose of this article, look at AVG Anti-Virus Free available from Grisoft. AVG comes with a complete protection package including email scanning, link checking, real time scanning of downloads and basic spyware protection built in plus much more. The price of $0 makes it all the more attractive. AVG is extremely customizable and allows the user to select how often and when the computer is scanned. One very nice feature of the free version is that the program must update virus definitions everyday and cannot be customized; an easy feature to live with.
Firewalls and anti-virus; two critical items in the computer maintenance department and should not be overlooked. Look for Part Three of this series which will square up on the balancing factor of protecting the computer, spyware and malware protection.
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