Most people who say “I’ve got a slow computer” can get really frustrated with it. Well, who could blame them? With the fast paced world of today, everything needs to be done fast. There are now fast foods, fast ways to get money (ATM machines), and now, fast access to information: the internet. But eventually, after several years of frequently using your computer, it will slow down.

Saving documents, accessing your files and running programs will become a painful time consuming experience. And soon, if you do not do any precautions, your computer will stop operating. Aside from frustrating you, these problems will also need you to spend money in order to fix them. But fortunately, there are some things you can do on your own so that the computer’s performance can be sped up.

1. Remove Viruses and Spyware. Computers which are running slow can sometimes be because of a spyware or virus. Because of this, it is important to have a reliable anti virus software program. In addition, you must make sure that such programs are regularly updated so that your PC is protected from the new versions of these troublemakers.
2. Clean your Registry. If your registry files get corrupted, you will experience a slow start up and shutdown of your computer. In order to fix this problem, you will need to use a registry cleaner.
3. Defragment the PC. From time to time, make sure that you have defragmented your hard drive. This will repair malfunctions to the performance of your computer.
4. Free the Space of Your Main Drive. Remove the files and programs which you do not need on your C drive. This is because this drive stores every program which is important to the operation of your computer. You can choose to transfer games and the other software programs into the other drive.
5. Remove the Computer’s Temporary Files. Every time the computer is being used, it keeps storing temporary files in the hard drive. And once the hard drive gets too crowded, the quickness of your computer will be affected. This action can be done using the program called Disk Cleanup which you can quickly access in your Start menu.

By following the above mentioned tips, you will no longer cry out “I’ve got a slow computer.”

How Can Techie Now Help?

Many people enjoy using their computers but after using them for several years, they slow down for some reasons. Of course, we prefer using a fast computer. If you want your slow computer to be fixed, contact Techie Now. Techie Now provides PC support services at your convenience: virus and spyware removal, performance optimization, installation and configuration, and general repair. Techie Now will do it quick and safe, and your PC will work like it’s brand new.

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Worm attack

The Internet is very useful to our everyday lives. However, we must know how to protect our PC from any online attacks. Viruses are one of the threats for PC users nowadays. Some send worms in chat message displaying a link to a web site which is also infected with a Trojan horse. Worms spread through programs exposing new vulnerabilities, then report them back to the hackers. The hackers will create the malware that will exploit the vulnerability before the people can download a fix.

Do you know what malware can do to your PC? Malware exposes your PC to online attacks. It also gives hackers direct access to your PC. It enables the hacker to get your personal information or control your PC remotely and be used in a criminal activity. Viruses are commonly found through peer-to-peer (P2P) networking. Spyware, Trojan horses, viruses and worms are being integrated into free downloads. Many users don’t know the danger of using the “browse host” feature of the P2P applications. It is very risky to use because it allows others to directly connect to your computer and browse through file shares.

Through using P2P, hackers can access your logins, user IDs and passwords, personal information such as letters, chat logs, cookies, and emails and other private and accessible folders on your PC. When it comes to email and instant messages, viruses in P2P files can steal your information, give it to cybercriminals to forge your identities and commit fraud.

You must protect your PC, follow these rules:

1. Protect your computer with updated security software. You need a security software that will protect your PC from hackers. Your computer should have an anti-virus, anti-spyware, anti-phishing, anti-spam and firewall to fight online attacks. It should scan any files including disks, email attachments, files downloaded from the web, and documents generated by word processing and spreadsheet programs.
2. Use a secure Internet service provider (ISP). It should have anti-spam and anti-phishing procedures.
3. Always update your Windows automatically or to prevent your PC from any known vulnerabilities. You can install patches from other software manufacturers. A fully patched computer behind a firewall can prevent lessen the risk of being infected with a Trojan and spyware installation.
4. Be careful when opening attachments. Set your anti-virus software to scan all your email and instant message attachments automatically. Don’t open unwanted emails, or attachments even from people you know.
5. Be cautious when using P2P file sharing. Some Trojans are just hiding within the programs and waiting for users to be downloaded. Also be careful in downloading files through email and instant messaging like files with the extensions .bat, .bin, .dll, .cmd, .exe, .lnk, .scr, .com and .vbs.
6. Use security protections for your cell phone, PDA, and Wi-Fi devices. Viruses and Trojans can be attached through email/IM, downloaded from the Internet, or are uploaded along with other data from a desktop. In time, cell phone viruses and mobile phishing attacks will be popular especially now that more people are accessing multimedia services and Internet content using their phones. It is advisable if you always use a PIN code on your cell phone. Don’t ever install or download mobile software from unknown source.
7. Set your instant messaging application correctly. Don’t set your instant messaging to open automatically as your computer opens.
8. Watch out for spam-based phishing schemes. Never click on links in emails or IM.
9. Always back up your files. So if ever you become a victim of a virus attack, you can recover all your important files.

How Can Techie Now Help?

Virus and worms are easily spread over the Internet. With all these threats, you have to protect your PC to prevent online attacks. As soon you become their victim, it will risk your personal and business life. If you need help with anti-virus software installation or virus removal, Techie Now is the best PC support provider that can help you. We do it fast, safe, better and with lower prices than others do. Contact Techie Now and get your PC protected.

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Computers are widely used by people nowadays. With everyone being hooked up with Internet, computers are of big help for having fun, gaining knowledge and earning a living. Everyone is just eager to have their own computers and enjoy the benefits of these high tech equipments. Having a computer is not that easy especially when it comes to maintenance. Computer owners have to deal with malware. Do you know what a malware is?

Not techie people are not familiar with this malware thing. Some people are just concerned in how and where they’re going to use their computers. For a start, a Malware is software made for penetrating a computer without the informed consent of the owner. It is also called malicious software. It is one of the causes of annoyance of computer professionals. In other words, Malware is a program or file that is harmful to the user.

Ever heard of “computer” viruses? They are also types of malware. Also include worms, Trojan horses, rootkits, spyware, dishonest adware, crimeware and other malicious and unwanted software. Viruses and worms are the best-known types of malware. Any computer is always at risk of becoming infected with them. Some malware are made to do serious damage to the computer causing harm or data loss. Some are not harmless but annoying.

Malware is not faulty software.  The difference lies in the intent. Malware is written with an ilegitimate purpose. They can be accessed through the Internet, by World Wide Web or be sent in e-mail or instant messages. As a computer user, you must follow the below steps to reduce the risk of getting infected:

1. Be careful in opening e-mail messages or IM attachments. Make sure that they come from a trusted source.
2. Scan e-mail attachments before opening them.
3. Don’t read unwanted messages.
4. Don’t click links given by strange people.
5. Terminate your IM session if someone is sending you suspicious files, links or messages.
6. Scan all your files before transferring it to your computer.
7. Use a updated malware software removal for your computer security.

How will you know if your computer is infected with a malware?

Most times you can tell that a computer is infected with a Malware as it malfunctions and slows down. It also displays repeated error messages. You always experience having problems in shutting down and restarting the computer. A lot of pop-up ads always appear when you are and not surfing the web. However, sometimes you ay not notice anything as the malware cleverly hides itself while it performs ilegimate actions as such steal or sype on your information.

As soon as you know that your computer has acquired a malware, you must not do shopping, banking and other online activities that required getting personal information from you because you might be victimized by thieves online. It is advisable that you have active and current security software – anti-virus, firewall or spyware software – installed to protect your computer.

Always monitor your computer. Take immediate action if you find something unusual happening in your computer. Malware can be a big problem but it can be prevented if you want to. Prevention is still better than cure. Don’t let Malware be a threat to your system. Protect your computer now!

How Can Techie Now Help?

Your computer is not safe from being infected with the increasing malware over the Internet. They are everywhere! So you better protect your PC now with a good antivirus. If you need help choosing antivirus or if you think your antivirus is not effective then come to www.TechieNow.com. Techie Now is the PC support provider you can trust in for your computer security. We can assist you in any PC support services that you need. With us, you can be sure that your PC is protected 24/7.

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People invest their money on computers and enjoy using them as long as they want. After using them for months, your computer may be running slower and taking time before responding to your activity. Internet files and cookies are some of the causes why your computer slows down but it can be easily removed. Another important cause is the unnecessary or unused programs. If your computer runs slower than the unusual, don’t worry. You don’t need to buy a new one or throw them away! Your computer just needs some cleaning. Clean your files now and you will be amazed with the changes of your computer.

It is easy to remove unwanted things from your computer. If you are using it for several years, you have installed and uninstalled different applications and written, copied, moved and deleted files, For a start, go to START, click MY COMPUTER, then ADD OR REMOVE PROGRAMS , right-click the files that you want to delete. What are the files that should be removed?

To clean files from your computer, start removing programs that you no longer use. It may include old versions of your upgraded programs, computer games you have downloaded that you don’t want to play anymore and more. You can also delete your temporary Internet files. These are files saved in your computer every time you use the Internet and visit a website. They should be deleted because they really take a lot space and slow down your machine. Perform a “defrag” or disk cleanup and free disk space for the better performance of your hard drive and computer.

Run a virus checker or spyware checker on your computer. Your computer might be infected that’s why it’s having a slow performance. Nowadays, computers can be infected easily by Malwares through e-mails and web browsing. Be careful in the web sites that you visit. Avoid clicking pop-up ads. You can also restrict access to some dangerous or dirty sites. Always make sure that you have an updated virus scanner program in your computer. If you don’t have, install it now to protect your computer.

Remember that slow computers prevent you from doing your online activities such as downloading files or watching videos. Who would be happy to face that problem? It is advisable to clean your files off your computer and enjoy the experience using your computer again than see yourself irritated and screaming at your screen because of it.

Finally, also check out your music and photo files because they really consume a lot of space. Although this not necessarily means your PC will be quicker but in some cases in can help. You can delete songs you no longer feel like listening and remove unnecessary or duplicate pictures. If you have the money, you can buy an extra hard drive where you can have all your music and photos stored. You can also enjoy music through online streaming sites. If you want to save space, you can upload your photos to an online storage space. In this way, your computer will have a very large of space and runs as smoothly as new again. It’s like giving your computer back to life.

How Can Techie Now Help?

It is very frustrating to know that your computer is running slower than the usual. Some even decide to throw it which is not an advisable thing to do because maybe it just needs some cleaning, optimizing and upgrading. Don’t give up on your slow computer. You just have to clean up your system and bring back your computer’s good performance again. If you don’t have the time to clean or deal with your computer, Techie Now can speed it up for you. With our performance optimization services, we will make your computer run smoothly like it’s new again. That’s what Techie Now is here for, contact us now.

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Peer to Peer progras

Many of us have been using peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing applications in our home for a while now.

What is peer-to-peer?

A peer-to-peer network, also called P2P, is composed of participants who share a portion of their resources directly available to other network participants without the need for servers or stable hosts. It was popularized by file sharing systems like Napster. It allows users to connect and transfers or shares files directly with each other’s machine.

Nowadays, P2P applications are very popular. People often use P2P to search for and download songs and movies that they like. P2P has a big impact to the people socially and economically.

File sharing is not the only type of P2P application, most of the instant messaging applications are P2P too like Skype. Forums and distributed databases are some of other examples and so on. Here are some the popular peer-to-peer applications:

• BitTorrent – One of the most popular peer-to-peers file sharing used on the Internet involving a significant amount of traffic. It distributes large files, popular files and files available for free which includes films, videos, music, television shows, computer applications, etc.

• LimeWire – The free, simple and popular P2P file sharing program which offers unlimited simultaneous searches of MP3s, documents, software, videos and more. It also has family filters and integrated chat. Other features include improved privacy features, elimination of spyware, and support for podcasts, BitTorrent, iTunes, parental controls and extended file information.

• Kazaa – The single most popular P2P file sharing system of all time which is very easy and fast to use. It has been said that it causes more network compared to any other application.

• Morpheus – A safe and secure file sharing tool that permits you to search multiple P2P networks for MP3s, documents and videos.

• Bearshare – A file-sharing program that connects you with other users letting you to find, download, share and publish audio and video files.

• Tribler – A social community which helps the users to find, enjoy and share content such as videos, audio, pictures and more.

• Pando – A free P2P software which offers a fast, easy and fun downloading, streaming and sharing of large media files.

• Babelgum – A free revolutionary Internet and Mobile TV platform supported by advertising that professionally produces content and prevents piracy.

• Joost – Using P2P, it distributes TV and other video shows for free over the web.

• LiveStation – Runs on a peer-to-peer software created by Microsoft which delivers live TV and radio news as it happens.

• Mashboxx – The peer-to-peer software currently unreleased which promises to be the first to be authorized by major record labels, Sony BMG Music, and EMI Music.

• Ares – A free and open source P2P file sharing program that allows you to search the shared folders of other users for documents, images, sounds, videos and more.

P2P applications have been facing some issues dealing on how dangerous it can be to everyone. Since P2P allows the sharing of files with other peers, your computer might take the risks of being infected or damaged. A user might send you a harmless file, like a music file, only to find out in the end that it is a malicious program. One example of this situation is when Kaspersky Lab discovered the Worm.Kazaa.Benjamin virus. It is also known as Kazkaz which overwrites any file that is sent to Kazaa. Through P2P, files are everywhere and people can share and distribute them to everyone without asking the permission of the person or company who has the copyright on it. It is a violation of the law to download or provide available download for copyrighted files. Music files are one good example of these copyright protected files.

How Can Techie Now Help?

Nowadays, transferring of files is normally done by people every day. That’s why so many people are hooked using different peer-to-peer applications to exchange music, video and other files over the Internet. Even though many are taking advantage of these P2P applications, it is still risky to use because it might infect your PC. You have to configure your peer-to-peer applications correctly to prevent others from accessing you. You might be surprised one day that the world is accessing your PC and downloading your files.

If you encounter problems and gets your PC infected with viruses and other Malware while using P2P applications, Techie Now is here to give you a hand. Contact Techie Now and we will give you fast and safe services that will keep your PC protected from everything.

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