When you are a computer technician, you get just about every type of question and problem that could ever sneak into a computer system. The vast majority of our calls are because unwanted borderline Malware programs were downloaded to the host machine. In almost every case, these programs were left in and allowed by the computer user. It is human nature to want to try different advertised programs that promise to speed up your computer. The truth be told almost every program will do the opposite and slow it down instead. The running process of the program will offset any realized speed increase. Once a system is compromised by one of these Malware programs, you will need expert help in removing all the garbage that came into your computer. In almost all cases, you will get a full recovery of your system. Now that we talked about a problem that can be resolved, we are going to discuss a few that have nothing to do with your computer and are usually not fixable on a local level. One of the items on the top of the list that we get many calls about is that a website like MSN suddenly looks different. Since we are creatures of habit we like things to be the way that we want them. Unfortunately in the digital world, this is just not going to happen. Website designers are always trying to look for ways to change the way their website looks. The new format for many new websites will look very much the same, as they are often composed from some very similar templates. So when you go to a site like MSN that you have become used to and loved for many years and it is suddenly changed, there is nothing you or anybody else can do to change it. At this point you have a choice either to stay with the new design or change to a new website. This includes many online e-mail programs. These venders are continually changing the page formats making it difficult to find many features after the change. Another issue that we often get calls about has to do with the inability to navigate...
Read MoreIt has happened to all of us at some point in time. You start up your computer and low and behold, you have no task bar. Since the taskbar contains links to many of the everyday tasks that you perform on your computer, if it is not present it can present many challenges. This can be especially true with Windows 8 if you have not added a third party start menu. Sometimes the fix is just a simple reboot while other times it can be a symptom of a more serious issue such as a virus or a corrupted windows file. One quick test to see if you can “unhide” the taskbar is to simply use the CTRL+ESC keys in sequence. If the task bar is simply being stubborn and is hidden, this will allow you to view both the taskbar and the Start Menu. If it opens but very slowly, you could have Malware or simply a labor-intensive program running on your system. Try to reboot the system and see if the issue still exists. If the issue is still there, run a scan with your anti-virus software to rule out an infection that might be draining your system of resources. If the above procedure does not allow you to view the taskbar, more intensive measures are needed. Since the taskbar requires that explorer.exe is running, this is the next thing we are going to check. This time we are going to use the CTRL+ALT+DEL sequence to start the task manager. If you are still using XP it will appear right away. If you are using any other OS, you will have to choose Start Task Manager from the list. Once the Task Manager is running we will want to open the Run command so we can attempt to manually start explorer. To do this, go to the File menu option and click on New Task. This will open the Run command in the box that appears type explorer.exe and hit OK. If explorer not opening properly is causing the problem, this will correct the issue. Even if the issue is corrected, you still might have a virus or possibly a corrupted windows file. Try...
Read MoreThe beginning of this year was riddled with all kinds of threats by security experts that when XP was retired you were most certainly going to be hacked. I am here to say that all the drama that was drummed up never happened. In fact, we are seeing very few problems with any of our XP customers. If anything, the only issues we are really seeing are some of the machines dying a natural death as the older hardware fails. Personally, I still have a couple well running XP machines and I have been carefully monitoring the operating system for any issues. Most hardware, even if XP is not listed as a supported OS, is still working fine with the operating system. There are also still many video cards that are still backwards compatible with XP even though XP is not always listed on the box. Of course Microsoft was one of the main driving forces behind the XP retirement. That is understandable since as a company it is their best interest to sell you the newest and shiniest operating system that they have to offer. One of the biggest issues that many of us were worried about was if anti-virus programs were going to work with XP. Almost every security choice will still work with XP. I do recommend hardening your system by adding Malwarebytes Anti Malware and also Malwarebytes Anti-Exploit to your existing security solution. In fact, adding these two tools is a great idea no matter what operating you might be using. In addition to security, there is actually a way to get updates to your XP operating system. There is a program called Cachman that actually has an option to add security updates to XP for 5 years. Whet this option does is changes a registry entry that makes your system appear to be a POS system. The updates will not install as usual. I have been testing all the updates and they all have installed perfectly without any issues what so ever. The small price for the software is worth the extra piece of mind. This does not mean that you will be able to use XP indefinitely...
Read MoreToday, Smart Phones rule. Almost everybody has one. There are as common as PC computers were just a couple of years ago. The sad part is that most folks do not take the same security precautions that they did with their computes. This lax attitude will lead to more and more security related events such as identity theft and Malware. Some of the simple things you can do to help protect yourself include many practices that are simply common sense. One of the first things you need to do is to review the apps that you installed on your phone. All apps require some sort of permissions in order too run. Some will go so far as to have the ability to mess with your connection. One such app is the new Facebook Messenger. This app basically takes over your phone with all the permissions that it must be given in order to run. Essentially, if you want to use the Messenger feature in Facebook mobile, you need the separate Messenger app. My recommendation is to only use Facebook Messenger on your PC when you are logged into your Facebook account. While using an Android device, I use the Maxthon Browser, which allows Facebook to work without the app. You can access and use Facebook just as do on your PC. The only exception is that you will most likely not be able to play your Facebook games. You will need to download the separate apps for the game you would like to play. If you use a Smart Phone for any type of banking activities such as accessing your bank account or depositing checks, make sure you have anti-virus software installed on your phone. Having this protection on your phone is just as important as having it on your computer. Most people are under the impression that you cannot get infected if you own an I Phone or Android device. This is certainly not true. You can get infected and your information can be stolen just as it can be on a PC. You need the same protection on your phone as your computer. One thing you should periodically do is take an...
Read MoreFor years we have been recommending you use third party browsers for your Internet surfing. We have always recommended using browsers like Firefox, Chrome and Maxthon. Now even more then ever this is still the case, or is it. It seems wherever you go people are telling you to stay away from IE. In 2014 alone a record number of vulnerabilities were found in regards to Internet Explorer. In fact at one point, Homeland Security advised against using it until a major security flaw was patched. The patch was issued for all versions of Internet Explorer including folks who were using the retired XP operating system. This was supposed to make everything great in paradise again. The fact is, when Homeland Security tells you not just once but twice to stop using a browser, it really gets you thinking. There is another angle to look at, however. It seems there is another browser that is getting infections almost just as much as IE. That browser is Chrome. We are starting to see more and more cases where Chrome has been compromised and corrupted by Malware to the point to where it has to be removed from the machine. We are seeing this more and more as time goes on. We are also seeing similar issues with Firefox but not near as much as with Chrome. Now, lets look at Exploits. This is essentially a horse of a different color compared to virus and Malware infections. It appears that IE is the looser in this category. There were fewer exploits in third party browsers then there was with Internet Explorer. The one g=big disadvantage you have with IE is that is not just a simple task of uninstalling and reinstalling a new version when something goes a muck. There are times when the only fix is to reinstall the operating system. When you use a third party browser, all you usually have to do is uninstall and reinstall the software when there is a problem. The one browser that was never mentioned in the tests is Maxthon. This is our browser of choice and we have been using it for years. We have never contracted a...
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