Does your Anti-Virus protect you from Drive-by viruses?

Does your anti-virus tell you of infections after the fact.

9 out 10 home user’s free or low cost anti-virus software works this way. Only to allow the same infections back on your computer. Why trust your priceless photos and files to something that cost’s $19.99 on a Best Buy shelf or yet free.

IntegraTech’s complete protection plan, stops this before it happens. We even guarantee our product, by including 1 hour per month of remote cleaning, FREE 

Be Aware

You don’t install anything to contract a virus.

This type of virus is called a “drive-by” virus because it can install itself on a user’s computer when the person visits a website. You don’t necessarily have to open an attachment or download anything.

You can pick up this virus just by visiting a compromised website. Any site can be compromised. Some of the sites that spread this virus are pornographic, illegal downloading, and gaming sites.

The FBI Virus is one of these types of infections:

In general, there is nothing scary about working on your computer.

You may, however, get a good scare if your computer tells you that the FBI is watching your activities, that you have broken the law, and that you will have to pay a fine immediately.

The screen that pops up on your computer is disconcerting because it is very realistic. Both the FBI logo and the alert are very well done. They give the article number and section number of the law that was broken. Illegal use of downloaded media, under-age porn viewing and computer-use negligence are a few of the violations that are stated.

There are instructions for paying the fine, which must be done with by purchasing a prepaid credit card and entering the card code. The screen lists your computer’s IP address and says that you are under FBI surveillance.

What really scares people is when their webcam turns on and they see themselves on the screen with a notice that the FBI is watching them. Also scary is the fact that the computer is completely locked up and will not perform even the simplest of tasks.

Do Not Pay, It’s A Scam

Of course, as you may have surmised, this is all a scam. However, because it is so invasive and scary, some people are being fooled.

This virus is being called the FBI Ransom Virus or the Reveton Ransomware Virus because it tries to hold your computer hostage for payment. The virus promises to release your computer when the fine is paid, but as you might expect, even if you pay, your computer remains infected.

There are many variations of this virus. There is a wide variety of different infractions stated and an equally wide variety of fines, which seem to range between $20 and $200. There are also many variations of what you see on the screen and how the virus is actually infecting your computer.

Although most infections happen by visiting websites, there are rumors that this may develop into a virus that can also be spread by email attachments.

Because of the number of variations of the virus, the anti-virus companies are having a tough time keeping up with detecting and eliminating this virus. The virus is well-written and very invasive.

Although some people have been able to get control of their computer back by doing a Windows restore, portions of the virus may remain hidden deep in the bowels of the computer. It is recommended that if your computer is infected, you take it to a computer professional for a thorough cleansing.

1. Password protect everything: It may be annoying, but it only takes two seconds to put in a password. If you leave your keys in the car all the time or your doors open to your home, you are just asking someone to steal your things. Do you really think your Gf/Bf doesn’t look at your text messages.
2. Use Google Alert to protect your name:  Here is a easy way to see whats being said about you online. Goto: http://www.google.com/alerts enter a few variables and your done.
3. Sign out of your social networking and email sites each time: Not only will this slightly reduce the amount of tracking of you as you surf the Web, this prevents someone who later sits down at your computer from loading one of these up and getting snoopy. If you’re using someone else’s or a public computer, this is especially important. Many people forget this and have terrible consequences.
4. Don’t give out your email address, phone number, or zip code when asked: Obviously, if a sketchy dude in a bar asks for your phone number, you say no. But when the asker is a uniform-wearing employee at Best Buy many a consumer hands over their digits when asked. Stores often use this info to help profile you and your purchase

Change Your Facebook settings to “Friends Only: You’d think with the many Facebook privacy stories over the years that everyone would have their accounts locked down and boarded up like Florida houses before a hurricane. Not so. There are still plenty of facebookers that are as exposed on the platform as Katy Perry at a water park. Visit your Facebook Privacy settings. Make sure this “default privacy” setting isn’t set to public, and if it’s set to “Custom,” make sure you know and are comfortable with any “Networks” you’re sharing with.

Photo by By Clashmaker

I hope the freezing rain goes away.

I know that, hoping that the freezing rain to go away, or for the sun to come out and dry everything up, is not going to affect the weather either way. But we often do just that in our business. Perhaps at a time when you realize your two backup solutions failed that you carefully set up. You know how important your data is to you and you’re down to one failing hard drive that you “hope” might magically give you that measly 140 megabytes of data to keep your business going forward and not one big giant leap backwards.

This didn’t happen to my data but I had the experience firsthand to attempt a data recovery for this business. After exhausting other alternatives, I was left to trying something that I used to come across over and over online and in forums and was so desperate that I dove in and actually tried it. I used to think it was so bizarre, but I was down to the last resort – popping it into the freezer! Thinking about it, it did kind of make sense that since metal contracts when cold – it just might loosen the mechanical insides enough to get what was needed.

So I gave it a go and wanted to share my experience:

Up until this point I could not even obtain a drive letter from this dying drive. So I stuck it in paper towel and 3 heavy duty zip lock freezer bags and stuck it into my freezer. (This was to avoid moisture from gathering on it). Some people online would say a couple hours and some would say up to twelve hours, so I started with a couple. After a couple hours was the closest I came to retrieving that data, I took it out of the freezer, hooked it directly up to a PC via sata and after a few seconds a drive letter appeared.

I clicked on the drive letter and all the folders populated! I clicked on the folder containing the crucial data and waited……………….…and waited………………….… and it was frozen, not temperature wise anymore, but “locked up” frozen.  That was the closest I had ever gotten to that important data, because I then tried to put it in for 5 hours and then 12 hours at a time, which neither one brought me even a drive letter.

This was my experiment, I would suggest not trying this as it might effect a professional from recovering your data. But you should find a back-up solution that works for you and then make sure you verify it often so that you never face a situation like this with your data.

image by Marco Bellucci

Backing up your computer isn’t on most people’s top ten list of things to do when they want to have fun. It is also something that you tend to forget unless you have a system.

Here’s my top 3 reasons to have a back up system for your computer:

1. If you ever have a hard drive fail, you definitely want a back up in place.
2. If you need to reformat your hard drive, you will want a back up in place.
3. If you are moving your information to another computer, you will want to have a back up in place.

Yes, I know you can transfer from one hard drive to another quite easily and so #3 isn’t as urgent but it is still a good policy.

What kind of back up plans should you have?

There are as many options as there are people. But much of it depends on how much you need to rely on your data and what amount of time you might want to invest into backing up your system.

1. There are plans like Carbonite that cost about $55 annually and can be set up to automatically back-up every time you change a file. I had a business client whose operations depended on using Microsoft Word to create documents and she needed to have access to those files even years later. Her laptop was running incredibly slow and I suggested we reformat the hard drive. Fortunately, she was using Carbonite and every one of her files even dating back to the mid-1990′s restored perfectly.
2. You can also use an external hard drive and schedule your back-ups. The catch with this option is that your computer generally needs to be on at the scheduled time and some of the back-ups will slow down your computer. And they are known to fail without notice.
3. Another similar option is the jump drive that many students use to carry information from class to home and back again. Risks include potential failure or even loss since the jump drives can easily be misplaced.

There are many other options available but I think you will agree that there are very good reasons to have a back up system in place. Do you have more reasons you think you should have a back up system?

image by microraptor

Is your computer feeling like a dinosaur and making everything you do feel like slow motion? You’re wondering if you should buy a new system. Before you invest in a new system, maybe you should assess whether or not you need to reformat the hard drive.

Just the thought of reformatting your hard drive can strike fear in some people but sometimes this is the only solution to solve your system problems short of buying a new one.

What are the signs that might suggest you need to reformat?

1. Is your system slowing down, or getting annoying error messages?
2. Are you struggling to do simple tasks like opening or closing documents?
3. Is your software dragging?

When is reformatting a good solution?

1. If your system is less than four years old or very lightly used and five to six years old, reformatting may solve your problems.
2. If you find applications hanging up and a reinstall of the applications like Microsoft Office doesn’t change anything, it may be time to reformat.

What steps should you take in advance of reformatting your hard drive?

1. Make sure you have a complete backup and a back up that works! Nothing is worse than thinking you  will restore from an external hard drive or a cloud application like Carbonite and finding out that your back up isn’t viable.
2. Locate all of your software so that you can rapidly reinstall.
3. Keep a list of your passwords so that when you have a clean slate you can access all of your applications and accounts online.

Reformatting can be scary but partnering with an expert can help you work through the experience. Suddenly your dinosaur of a computer will feel like a brand new system!

Image by Marc Wathieu

Have you had trouble with your laptop battery charging? Intermittent power or no power is a common problem with laptops these days.

Almost every week we get calls from people having trouble with this and the most common cause is that the “power jack” can become loose and the solder points don’t always connect.   This is where the AC adapter plugs into the laptop.  When the AC adapter is improperly removed or bumped repeatedly the connection can become loose.  On rare occasions the power jack itself will break.

How do you fix this intermittent power problem?

Fortunately this is a fixable issue.  Replace with a new power jack (about $25) and re-soldering it in. Since the power jack is inexpensive, we always replace it.  Nothing more upsetting than putting the laptop back together again and finding out the power jack itself is bad .

This is a pretty big job that takes about two hours.  It requires taking the laptop apart and removing the motherboard completely.   Then re-soldering (usually 6 – 9 points) in the new power jack and putting it all back together again.