How to Choose a computer?

What is the number one question we get at the water cooler? "I need to buy a new computer what should I get?" Well computers are a lot like the vehicle you drive. There is a lot of personal preference and style that goes into the decision. We have noticed that when people buy computers they most likely buy twice the machine they need and basically throw money away.

So we ask you "what do you need to do, exactly?"

Keeping with the vehicle analogy: Soccer moms are famous for their mini-vans and construction workers can be found in their pick-ups or 4X4s.

With computers it is the same thing. Traveling sales staff will prefer ultra thin laptops that weight 1.5 lbs and the graphic designer will enjoy the biggest, fastest Mac with a 27" flat screen.  However, you might already know that, just as the construction workers know they need a truck.

We can help you with the finer points. Things such as: Memory, CPU, Disk Size and Internet Connections. (Or: gas tank, horse power, trunk space and 4, 6 or 8 cylinders.)

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Common Problems

• Viruses and trojans

• Spyware

• Failing or failed hard drive

• Power and lightning damage (power supplies, damaged boards and processors)

• Missing or mismatched hardware drivers

• E-mail configuration problems

• Lost passwords

• Failing or failed CD/Hard drives

• Registry corruption

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Is your machine suddenly running slow?

Spyware is are taking over

Memory leaks, fragmented hard drives, and bad connections used to be the main culprits of slowing PC's. But today's day and age it is usually the result of some malicious and maybe not so malicious program, application or applet.

In a day and age where SPAM has made email almost a nuisance we now have even another delinquent that slows down our productivity. Tiny applications buzzed "Spyware" or "Adware" can grow like a fungus and suck the lifecycles out of your CPU.

These programs initiate pop-up adds, track your web surfing, steal email addresses and can even record the keystrokes you make. So the next time you type in your password or credit card number you might just be handing out information that could turn your life upside down.

Many of these applications come from the "freeware" or that 30 day trial you download. But the real malicious ones come in through a backdoor and have their way with your PC. Imbedded in webpages or that dreaded spam, scripts load other files and programs that report back to the mother ship or pop up an ad every x amount of seconds.

It has been said that 90% of all PCs have some sort of these applications on them. One or two of these may go unnoticed but it is very common for PCs to have 10, 20 or even 30 unnecessary applications running in the background. They start up on there own and run as soon as you boot your PC and don't shut down until the PC does. So before you even open your email, web browser or game; 50, 60 or even 70% of your system resources could be taken. Worst case scenario is that the program is so poorly written and it might even crash your system or stop other applications from working.

So why not just go into "Add and Remove Programs" and uninstall them?

Well the programmers that build these programs don't allow for this type of uninstall. You will not even find an icon for them in your start menu. They are pretty much incognito and go to great lengths to not get uninstalled or even identified.

Where does this leave you?

There are many spyware/adware scanners and removal programs and many of them charge $40 to $80 per use. Others are free or at least the scan is free but the removal cost money. Also, these programs only "help" you identify the programs that could possibly be doing the damage. There is never any guarantee that what it finds is the culprit. You still need to know what you are removing or you could end up removing something that you need and do more damage than the spyware/Adware itself. We suggest running our Adware detection tool and then contacting us to setup an appointment for one of our consultants to come onsite.

In the meanwhile, here is some software to help you.

Ad-Aware SE Personal Edition 1.05

With the ability to scan your RAM, registry, hard drives, and external storage devices for known data-mining, advertising, and tracking components, Ad-aware SE easily can clean your system, allowing you to maintain a higher degree of privacy while you surf the Web.

Ad-aware SE Personal Edition boasts a number of improvements. Extended memory scanning now scans all modules loaded by a process. Scanning uses the all- new CSI (Code Sequence Identification) technology to identify new and unknown variants of known targets. Extended registry scanning now scans registry branches of multiple-user accounts and performs additional smart checks to detect dynamically created references. Scanning speed is noticeably faster, and this version offers an Extended Scanning mode for known and unknown/possible browser hijackers.

Spybot - Search & Destroy 1.3

This software can detect and remove a multitude of adware files and modules from your computer. Spybot also can clean program and Web-usage tracks from your system, which is especially useful if you share your computer with other users. Modules chosen for removal can be sent directly to the included file shredder, ensuring complete elimination from your system. For advanced users, it allows you to fix registry inconsistencies related to adware and to malicious program installations. The handy online-update feature ensures that Spybot always has the most current and complete listings of adware, dialers, and other uninvited system residents.

Version 1.3 adds enhanced immunization features, an improved interface, and integration of BrowserManager for spyware detection, plus the new Hosts File feature and bug fixes.

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