Posts by admin_name

By admin on May 26, 2012 in Backup | 1 comment

Hi everybody. I am always preaching to our customers about how important it is to back up your files and pictures. Backing up should be part of your regular maintenance. There are many ways to do this but if you do not use a method you are comfortable with, you will probably not perform the backups as often as you should. I generally recommend backing up weekly or more often if you add a lot of pictures or music. I will describe some of the best ways to achieve this in this column. One of the easiest ways to do a basic backup is by using a simple flash drive. These simple devices plug into your USB port on your computer. The drive will then show up as a removable drive in you’re my Computer folder. You can then simply drag and drop or copy and paste your photos and documents from your main drive C to your new removable drive you just installed. Once you have backed up the files you want to save, you can remove the flash drive from the computer and put it in safe location. If you do not like the idea of using a piece of hardware to store your files, there are online options as well. If you want to do a full backup of every file on your computer, Carbonite is probably a good bet. The program is installed on your computer and once you create an account, you can go through the options and choose what folders you want to back up. This process can take a very long time to complete. It is not uncommon for the program to run days at a time to get all your information in the “cloud”. One drawback of this program is that it will slow down your system. This is especially true if the backup is running while you are trying to work. We have seen some older or slower computers really bogged down while running Carbonite. Bear this in mind when making your back up decision. I would like to introduce you to one more backup solution. It is called Sky Drive. One of things I like best about this product...

By admin on May 26, 2012 in Windows Browsers | 0 comments

Hi everybody. Every time you turn on your computer and you want to surf the Internet, you open up your favorite browser and go to your home page. Most of us don’t think much about the complex task that is actually taking place to display all those crisp images and text. All this work is being done by the interaction of your browser and the operating system. In the early days of Windows when Windows 95 was introduced, Netscape was the main browser that was used with almost 85% of the market share. Once Microsoft started integrating the Internet Explorer browser with its operating system, the tides started to turn. Internet Explorer started to gain in popularity over its rival. Netscape eventually became Mozilla, which is the distributor of the famous browser called Firefox. In late 2004, Internet Explorer enjoyed its highest usage, which was at almost 93%. Since then, there has been a slow but steady decline of its use. Browsers such as Chrome, Firefox and Maxthon have all increased browser security and in many cases speed as well. The early versions of Internet Explorer had plenty of security flaws. In fact, if you are using anything less then IE 7, you are at a very high risk of getting hacked or acquiring viruses. In our tests, we have found that the newest versions of Internet Explorer including version 8 and 9 both appear to have problems viewing certain websites. In addition, we have found a flaw where both IE 8 and 9 loose it’s connection with Flash and even though Flash is installed as expected, the browser has trouble connecting with the movie or game you are trying to display. One of our favorite browsers to use is Mozilla Firefox. In our tests, the browser is fast, functional and has lots of bells and whistles to play around with. It is secure as well. One thing nice about this browser is the safe mode function. If you hold the Shift key while clicking the shortcut, Firefox will open in safe mode and that will allow you to reset many of it’s functions in the event you are having problems with the browser. There is one more browser...

By admin on Nov 8, 2010 in Virus | 0 comments

If you are the owner of a computer or laptop, you have heard about the many different viruses that can infect your computer and destroy your computer while stealing your personal information.  Any virus out there can be deadly to your computer, but the virus that you need to watch for is the Trojan Horse Pakes virus.  This is a virus that will attach to your computer without your knowledge, making a deadly virus that will be hard to detect and remove from your computer. How the Trojan Horse Pakes virus works.  The virus will be attached to different websites that you may view, pop ups that are associated with websites, links that are included on websites and links that are on emails you receive.  When you click on any of these options that the virus is attached to, you are inviting the virus onto your computer.  The hacker that has created the virus, created a program that will “piggy back” itself to the link or program you click on.  As you download the links information, you are also downloaded the virus onto your computer. The virus will download itself without you even suspecting it.  The Trojan Horse Pakes is a silent virus that will bundle itself within the programs and files that you have on your computer.  As you search for the virus, you will have a hard time finding it because it knows how to dig deep into your files and hide.  When the virus is linked with your programs, the virus will become active when you select the program to use or the hacker access the virus.  This is why it is called the silent virus.  You never know when it will be activated. Most viruses will attach to your computer and start to duplicate as the virus infects your computer.  As the normal virus attacks your computer, you will notice the signs sooner and have the virus removed quicker.  As the Trojan Horse Pakes viruscan move slowly, it can also do the most damage to your computer.  Some of the signs to watch for to know if the Trojan Horse Pakes virus is on your computer are: Your computer will take a long time to...

By admin on Mar 4, 2010 in Fix DLL Errors | 0 comments

Among various computer errors that frustrate computer users, DLL errors are some of the most common. This is not surprising because of the sheer number of DLL files on a computer. However, unlike other computer errors, DLL errors are easy to resolve. All that is required is some knowledge of these files and a bit of patience. Patience, we can’t impart, but knowledge we can and that is exactly what the objective of this article is. We will share simple steps that will help you troubleshoot common DLL errors on your own. To begin with, let’s look at common causes of DLL errors: Missing DLL Corrupt DLL file Registry Issues Incorrect installation of a program Outdated device drivers Perform the following steps in the sequence they appear, to resolve common DLL errors such as ntdll.dll error, mfc80.dll error or connapi.dll errors. Download the DLL file from an online DLL Directory In case the DLL file is missing, you may procure a new copy of the DLL file by downloading the DLL from a free reliable online DLL Directory. Always check the authenticity of the source from where you are downloading the DLL file or for that matter, any other file or software. Various sites are infamous for pushing harmful programs like spyware by attaching them to the files and software they list as free downloads. Run a malware scan Malware infection is often found to be the root cause of common DLL errors, such as ntdll.dll or mfc80.dll errors. To repair DLL errors that are the result of malware infection, weed out the malware from your computer and sanitize the infected DLL file. To achieve this, perform a malware scan on your entire computer using advanced security gear, such as Antivirus Plus and XoftSpySE. Also, keep your protective tools up-to-date with the latest malware definitions and security updates. Make sure that you run regular malware scans to prevent any future malware infection. Clean your registry The Windows registry stores information related to your DLLs, which is accessed whenever a program or process needs to load any DLL. In case these entries become corrupt or invalid, you may receive recurring DLL errors, such as “connapi.dll not found” or “file ntdll.dll...

By admin on Mar 4, 2010 in Common Errors | 0 comments

What can the average computer user do to rid themselves of common Windows errors like the dao350.dll error, the msvcrt71.dll error, and the msvcr80.dll error? In this article, we will briefly discuss some of the things that you can do to combat common Windows PC errors. Virus removal – This might not be something you’d expect, but too many people ignore the importance of a good anti-virus software and end up paying the price later on. A very simple solution is to have a very good anti-virus installed on your system, and update it regularly. This will keep harmful viruses at bay and prevent the loss of important DLL files. Spyware and adware removal – Spyware and adware are unwanted guests that feed off your system’s resources. They also display undesired advertisements on your desktop and at times, steal your personal as well as confidential information to use it for malicious purposes. If you’ve been a victim of spyware or adware, there’s a very simple solution. Get a trusted anti-spyware program and run a scan every now and then. This will weed out many of the unwanted spyware and improve the speed of your system. Driver update – Outdated drivers are a source of innumerable computer problems, including frequent crashes, missing DLLs, and performance bottlenecks. You must ensure that the driver software you have are up-to-date, and a good way to accomplish this is to install a reliable third-party driver update software to automatically update and repair your drivers. System updates – You also need to make sure that your Windows operating system stays up to date with the very latest releases. You can do this by going to the Control Panel and activating the Automatic System Updates option, which will connect your system to Microsoft’s website and download the updates whenever they are available. It is all very easy to do, and takes only a single click of the mouse. Resolving common Windows errors does not have to be a daunting task. We hope we’ve been able to convince you of that in this article. Using these very simple tips, you can keep in check all the common nuisances found on a Windows computer, and deal with them...