Techie Now Articles – Virus Removal Services and Computer Repair

source: www.pcmag.com

Passwords are our first line of defense in securing our information online. Using simple passwords or having uniform passwords can put you at a significant higher risk of identity theft.

When you create a password, it follows that you have to remember it. However your greatest concern is securing your information. Here are some guidelines in creating a password that’s a little tough to crack.

1. Don’t state the obvious

• Don’t use your name, a relative’s name, your husband/wife’s name, your pet’s name
• Don’t use personal numbers like birthdate, social security, driver’s license, telephone
• Don’t use a common dictionary word

2. Play around the characters

• Use at least one upper or lower case letter
• Use at least one number
• Don’t use spaces
• Use a symbol (not the ASCII codes, just the symbols found on the keyboard)
• Use at least 6 characters (or 8, if that’s prescribed by the website)
• Don’t use repeating or sequenced characters (e.g. aaaaaaaa, 99999999, 12345, qwerty)

3. Password maintenance

• Change your passwords often. Set a reminder to yourself to change your passwords about every quarter.
• If you must write them down, be responsible to keep them in a safe place and be sure not to include any URL’s on the text

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One day you get an email from your bank. You usually get emails from them however this particular email asks you to “verify” the email address you registered and if you don’t do it asap, it threatens to close your account. It sounded urgent, but you have your doubts about it. What do you do?

Emails like this are examples of Phishing, a method of online identity theft. What it does is to deceive you to give your credentials by sending bogus emails that redirects you to a fake website set up to be identical to the official site.

This not only steals personal and financial date, but it can also infect your computer with malware and unintentionally participate in money laundering.

Pretty scary isn’t it? A single phishing email can actually cause a lot of trouble. Here are some tips to avoid getting reeled:

• Always remember that a comapany will never ask your login credentials via email. If you do get an email asking you to “verify” your account and provides you a link to login, do not click on the link. If you hover your mouse over the link, you may notice that it directs to some other website, not the official website of the company.
• Watch out for grammar and typographical errors. These are obvious signs that its a fake/phishing message.
• Generic openings like “dear customer” or “dear player” should sound a warning that it might be a phishing email.
• Make sure that your bank’s website (or any other website for payments or financial transactions) is encrypted. Check the website address, it should begin with Https://www rather than Http://www.
• Update your browser frequently. New browsers like Internet Explorer 9 and Google Chrome have an anti-phishing feature. It helps detect fake sites.
• I’d recommend using different passwords for every online account that you have. If you use the same password it can be a pot of gold if a hacker gets your login credentials.
• When in doubt, don’t click. You can ignore or delete the message or better yet, contact the company directly.

How can Techie Now help?

Phishing emails does not only steal information but it can also be a gateway for malicious software to invade your computers. When in doubt and you needed a professional advice, feel free to contact us at TechieNow.com. Our techies are ready to give you sound recommendations and if a malware removal is needed; our techies will take care of that as well. Check out our virus removal services for more information.

Every new years day reminds us of a fresh start, of a new you. This certainly applies as well to your computers. Just like ourselves, we have to unload some stuff from our computers to last another year.

These simple maintenance tips will help you and your computers start the year right, avoid computer issues and boost your computer’s total performance.

Clean your computer from yester-year’s clutter
As we use our computers, bits and pieces of temporary system files are being stored. Whenever we surf the internet, temporary internet files are continuously downloaded and stored into our hard drives; when we install programs, temporary system files are also kept; when we create documents or presentations, temporary files are stored as well.

Collectively, these bits and pieces of temporary files eat up a large chunk of space in our drive.

The easiest and simplest way of cleaning this is by using Windows’ Disk Cleanup utility that is usually found under Start>>All programs>>Accessories>>System Tools>>Disk Cleanup. Alternatively, you can use your preferred third party cleaning tool to do the job for you.

Audit your programs list
It can be very healthy for your computer as well if you uninstall programs that you don’t really use. Most especially additional anti-virus software that can cause software conflicts on your system.

Common unused programs as well are your browser add-ons like toolbars, not only that it makes your browser look crowded, it slows it down too. Make a rundown of your programs at Control panel>>Add/Remove programs or Programs and Features.

Update programs, virus definitions and windows hotfixes
To spare yourself from annoyances coming from program bugs, it is recommended that you install all updates whenever they are available. Make it a habit to install important Windows updates so as to make your computing more stable and hassle free.

Look into your computer’s security
Ensuring security is always part of your computer usage hygiene. Antivirus software or any other security software has to be kept updated, ongoing (not expired) and working.

Daily scans are recommended, weekly is a must. In the event your paid antivirus subscription had expired (or is almost expiring) please ensure that you see to it that your computer is continuously protected.

There are limitless possibilites for a malware intrusion on your computers and and expired antivirus software may give hackers an easy access to your files.

Clean your computer inside-out
Your computer is a machine that can accumulate a lot of dust over time. Keeping it physically clean allows air to flow, and this helps keep your computer’s temperature levels down.

If you’re using canned air, please follow the instructions listed in the can. If you’re with an expert or you’re knowledgable with computer hardware, also reseat your hardware peripherals and your memory sticks.

Be careful when dealing with computer hardware; mishandling can cause serious damage to your computer.

How can Techie Now help?

These simple computer maintenance tips should be done on your computer every 6months to keep your computer in good working condition. If you’re not very comfortable in doing these yourselves, our techies would be more than happy to help you out with our PC Performance Booster. We’ll take care of your computer as if its our own.

Its not new knowledge that there are a lot of malware trying to invade every computer there is connected to the internet. We all wanted to be certain that our system and files are protected. Probably like our houses, security is probably on top of the list.

And yes, just like every other security measure, basic rule is to have layers of security. Double locks, gates, sensors I’m pretty sure if not everybody, almost everybody has it.

Same with our computers, we wanted to make sure that we are spared from the terror of getting a virus infection. We wanted to make sure none of the bad stuff gets into our files. So what do we do? We put layers of protection to our computer, so if the virus gets to bypass the first antivirus, the other will probably catch it.

However in most cases, this does more harm to your computer than good. And why is that?

Installing 2 antivirus programs on your computer can cause serious software conflict. This conflict not only decreases the efficiency of the program, this eats up a huge chunk of system resources as well. So it does not only increase the risk of getting infected, but it slows down your computer too.

Surely there isn’t any 100% assurance that our system’s safe from getting infected. Most cases are caused by irresponsible usage. Always be on guard for threats; your antivirus program needs your help too.

How can Techie Now help?

There isn’t a 100% guarantee that our computer systems are spared for any malware intrusion. Getting too anxious not to be infected might cause more harm on your computer. Techie Now’s techies are available everyday to help your computer become more secure and efficient. We’ll take care of your computer as if its our own. Check out our online virus removal page for more information.

SOURCE: AllTechNews.org

Malware is no strange thing for computer users nowadays. Several computers all over the world get infected every day and it grows more and more. With this increasing number, it can surely raise a question: how do cyber criminals spread malware?

Simple. Thru infected websites. All the hackers need to do is to place some infecting codes in a webpage and somehow entice computer users to visit that site.

Cyber criminals take full advantage of a raging Facebook addiction or a top trending tweet. Official looking emails and irresistible enticements that feature fascination with social networking sites are hard for some people to resist.

Social networking scams are very effective in getting users check out a link that gives them an access to the infected website.

So the next time you think you will see a funny video on Facebook, you get a fake anti-virus offer that just doesn’t go away. Some link, huh.

So, its not just email attachments that can expose a user to malware. Even links do. So as responsible computer users we must continue being careful on the stuff we click. Again, think before you click.

How can TechieNow help?

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With the growing number of ways to infect computers, we can’t necessarily conclude that not clicking on email attachments makes our computer secure. We have to be responsible computer users that are not easily deceived by cyber criminals. However in the event that you slip, do not worry, TechieNow specializes in malware removal. We can assure a better, fast and safe service for a very affordable price.

Hackers never seem to run out of ideas on how to infect computers.

It has been a huge buzz about Apple’s big iPhone 5 reveal this month 3and this is the virus’ ticket to the computer.

Reports of an email of what seemed to be coming from the official Apple camp shows a preview of the much awaited iPhone 5 apparently are infected with malware.

The email will try to attract the reader to click on a button to pre-order iPhone 5. For those who can’t resist clicking on the button, they will be exposed to Mal/Zapchas-A virus.

Mal/Zapchas-A is a virus whose purpose is to allow hackers to have an access to your computer thus stealing personal information.

This only affects windows PC’s so lucky Mac users are ignored by this virus.

Think before you click. I don’t think we’re ready for a see though phone just yet.

How can TechieNow help?

Its always nice to cope up with the latest changes in technology. Although the same interest is normally used by hackers to corrupt your system. Let TechieNow’s expertise protect yourself from harmful technology. Not only we remove the infection; but we give you tips as well to prevent future virus intrusion.

Related TechieNow Service:

Virus Removal Service

When your hard drive dies an untimely death,  that’s when you realize how vulnerable your  files (photos, videos, documents, music, etc)  are after wiping off clean the entire drive. And  I’m not kidding when I say that once they’re  wiped off; there’s no way of getting them back.

Most of the severe virus infection cases we’ve  handled left us no other choice but to wipe off  the hard drive clean after several unsuccessful  attempts to remove the infection.

On a lighter note, prevention is always better than cure. There’s a simple way of saving all of your precious mementos by storing your files in multiple locations.

Backing up your files ensures that your files are secure in the event of crashes, virus infection, and some technology disaster. In line with this I’d like to discuss your options for backup:

Local Backup

This is saving a copy of your files to a separate folder or partition on your hard drive. This serves like a backup just in case the file is accidentally deleted or infected by a virus; however this too will be affected if your hard drive crashes.

External Storage Backups

Backup and restore is easy and relatively safe to use; however this is at risk for data loss due to fire, theft and other physical accidents. Storage media like disks can be bulky in large quantity and can be expensive if a huge amount of files are involved.

This is the most common form of backup. This is simply creating copies of your files and storing them in an external media like external hard drive, usb flash drives, CD/DVD’s, magnetic tapes, etc.

Cloud/Online Backup

This type of backup is already having an increasing number of popularity due to its security and convenience. Also known as remote backup, this is uploading/saving your files on a remote server with a network connection and securing it with a password.

This method eliminates the external storage backup risk however it is highly dependent on internet speed and connectivity to backup and restore. Normally, subscriptions are required for this to get a large capacity allocation, so it can be a bit expensive too.

Performing a backup only involves copy/paste of files; or better yet, you can use software that can automate the process. Several things you to get u started are:

How can TechieNow help?

Backing up files should be regular hygiene for all computer users. This eliminates data loss in the event of computer crashes mostly brought about by severe malware infection. Let Techie Now give you our expert opinion about the options you have to secure your data while we clean the virus off of your computer.

General Computer Repair

It has been featured with our previous entries that a computer cannot have 2 or more antivirus programs installed. Now, how do you uninstall of the other antivirus programs? Simple, thru “add or remove programs” or “programs and features” in control panel. It is pretty simple and it works in most cases.

A previous case had issues with his programs after uninstalling his free antivirus software.  He also mentioned that a lot of icons in his desktop went missing and that several startup programs stopped launching; when all he did was to click on the uninstall button at the Programs and Features list in control panel.

Here’s the problem: there are other add ons on your antivirus program that may not be listed in the programs and features list. Some are, but you can’t uninstall them; thus causing problems like inability to browse, error messages on startup up to losing internet connectivity.

Even I, as a technician, get problems after uninstalling some antivirus program. Most commonly when removing an antivirus software bundle. I’m not saying that these bundles are not good; they are actually good and gives your computers security from all sides. Just like what I’ve previously mentioned; some add-ons are not that easy to remove because they are all over your system – your browser, your firewall, your registry. More often, these components are related to each other and if a component is removed it would just crash down altogether, causing damage on other components of your computer.

I’m pretty sure that this side problem has been raised to antivirus software developers. Some don’t really know this but each antivirus software has its own removal tool. Some of the popular ones I’ve listed below:

• Norton products
• McAfee products
• Trend Micro prouducts
• Kaspersky products
• AVG products

Instructions on how to use them are also included on the page.  Its quite simple really, all you have to do is to download the tool, install it and run it.

However, in cases where problems are encountered, most especially when network drivers need to be reinstalled or the firewall and/or the browser add-ons need to be reconfigured.  Depending on the situation; in worst cases, you just end up reinstalling everything.

End result: not only did we successfully remove other components of the antivirus program; but we also made sure that everything was in good working condition.  Another happy customer with a working computer.

How can Techie Now help?

Antivirus programs can be very tricky when you’re trying to uninstall them.  There are several components scattered all over your PC to give you all around security.  At most cases all components cannot be simply removed by the built in windows uninstaller and may cause instability to system crash on your computer.  Let Techie now take care of the hassles so you can ensure a working and safe pc.  We’ll also give you our expert opinion because we care for your computer as if its our own.

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I have been working on cases for problems on not being able to play in Yahoo!games, PoGo games, flash games. If not everybody, I would say that 98% of computer home users use their systems for gaming. It may be just the pre installed games, or installed games; but the most popular would be browser games.

Browser games are simple online games that are played using the web browser. You can either play against the computer (server) or other human players (thru the internet, of course). Popular examples are Yahoo!Games, PopCap games, AOL games. These games rely solely on common browser plugins like java or flash player. Now when these plugins encounter a problem, you can’t play the game anymore.

My recent customer had problems playing an online card game. There no problems logging in to the site, but it just stops at the loading page. Initially, we had to check it out on my side to see if its just a typical downtime from the website. But no. I checked the browser add-ons, and even reset the browser to no avail. Tried to reinstall java and flash player but it didn’t fix it. Since it wasn’t a plugin issue; I thought it may be another Internet Explorer problem after a recent windows update. Tried to load on another browser.. voila! It loaded!

But that isn’t the end of the story. The next thing I found out is after restarting.. we’re back to square 1; this time with two browsers. The way things are going its seems like its more than the brower in itself… it has something to do with the system files.

It is a possibility that when we install/uninstall toolbars, addons and cracked software, that system files are being replaced. Sometimes, when we try to bring in unregistered software, it may replace good system files with corrupt ones. Good thing that Windows has a built in tool that checks and replaces old or broken system files with good ones in the form of SFC (system file checker). It works in conjunction with Windows File Protection that keeps the system file cache updated with the latest approved Microsoft system files. It works something like a tool that takes off the bad stuff and brings back the good stuff in… like a full body workout!

End result: the browser game loaded and worked on both browsers; thus another happy gaming for a happy customer.

How can Techie Now help?

Playing games is one good way to relax; but it can be more of a frustration when things don’t work out well. Just like in browser games. You can be clueless as to where the problem is at. Let Techie Now, take care of the hassles so you can go back and play your favorite online game in no time. We’ll also give you our expert opinion because we care for your computer as if its our own.

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One of the most surprising cases I’ve worked on was setting up a home network. Quite frankly I’m surprised not because its a one in a million case, but I’m surprised that there are computer users that use it. In my home, for example, we have 5 computers systems at home but never even thought of it. Most computer users (myself included) have overlook the convenience of being in a home network. File and printer sharing, for one. Like I can view pictures on my brother’s laptop without me going over to his room or print documents without physically going over the printer at the family room or wherever the printer is installed.

I must say for this particular case that it’s simple and complex at the same time. What makes it more special is that I have to set it up on a Windows 7 machine (the simple part) and a Windows XP machine (the complex part). Why simple? Windows 7 has a feature of “Homegroup” where setting up a home network was made so easy that you just have to type in an access code to join the network. A “homegroup” link is found in Network and Sharing center, and a wizard that guides you in the process. (ref.http://blogs.msdn.com/e7/archive/2008/12/30/at-home-with-homegroup-in-windows-7.aspx)

And as I’ve mentioned, the complex part is when you would want to add an earlier version of Windows in the network. For this case, my task was to add a Windows XP machine to a Windows 7 homegroup. This is not as simple as the above because “homegroup” only works with Windows 7 computers. In this case, the group’s name on both machines must be the same. (i.e. change the workgroup name to “homegroup” since that cannot be renamed in windows 7) In addition to that, whoever wants access must have a user account on the Windows 7 machine that matches the user name and password on the XP machine.

End result, we had a working home network between 3 computers, 2 on Windows 7 and one in Windows XP. Another happy customer with a working home network.

How can Techie Now help?

There are some some computer related activities that can be complex no matter how simple it sounds. Some may even sound impossible, but not really if you know how to work around it; however that will get you confused in the process. Let Techie Now handle the confusing stuff. We’ll also give you our expert opinion because we care for your computer as if its our own.

www.TechieNow.com