Replacing The Power Jack On A Laptop

Laptop DC Jack Soldered Type

 Okay so you dropped your laptop and broke the power jack or also know as the dc jack. Either way it can be a daunting task to try and replace it. First of you will most likely be removing a good amount of small screws. Yes it it very easy to break or damage the plastic standoffs that these screws are in, so be very careful. Also be aware that there may be different size screws. Make sure to have a very good computer repair kit.
 The next issue is what kind of dc jack are you dealing with. One of them has a pigtail and a small connector. This type is easier to install and can be done by most anyone. The second type is soldered right to the motherboard and can be tricky to remove. You will need a very good soldering iron station, solder and a desoldering vacuum tool, also known as a solder sucker. I would definitely practice soldering and removing various types of components. I have seen many technicians damage the multi-layer feed throughs and ruin a motherboard.
 I would also make sure to use good esd protection. Use a wrist strap and an esd mat that is properly grounded. Okay so first determine your model of laptop. Next go on either amazon or ebay and look for the dc jack for your model laptop. Generally the cost is not bad, but will find that most resellers jack the price up quite a bit to make a profit. So if you can buy it yourself you will save a few bucks. Usually the killer part of the repair is the labor. This happens when the technician has to totally dismantle the laptop and remove the motherboard.
 So if you can do this repair yourself or have a relative or friend do it you can save a good amount of money. If you do have someone replace the dc jack make sure to check for good and bad reviews. You can save yourself a lot of headaches.
             
                 This a little easier due to being the pigtail type dc jack



             
              Different language, but gives a good description on what you go through.

Computer Viruses Going Strong In 2016

 I have at least 8 computers on the bench cleaning up viruses, malware, spyware and adware. It just seems that no matter where you go you can get infected in one way or another. I have had many times where I have gone to a website and all of the sudden I am being told I am infected and they want me to click on something. Well the best thing is don't click on anything. One choice is to just plain shut the computer down properly. Next reboot and run some free programs like rogue killer and free malwarebytes. I would also suggest running adw cleaner and the junkware removal tool. These are all free from bleeping.com. I would suggest running all these in the safemode with networking.
 Many people always ask why didn't my antivirus software catch the virus. Well the simple truth is that no virus is 100% at stopping an infection. The best protection is what you as a consumer can do yourself to prevent a virus from infecting your computer. That old saying an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure still holds true. Basically make sure you have good up to date antivirus software such as kaspersky or webroot antivirus software. I would also make sure you are backing up your data and system in one way or another.
 When choosing to back up a system you do have some different choices. One choice is to use something like carbonite where your system backs up to the cloud. Just make sure what package you have with carbonite. Generally choose a package where it makes a system image and backs up your data as well. The other choice is to purchase a 1tb or 2tb external hard drive and use the backup program in the control panel for windows 7 or windows 10. If you are using windows 8 or windows 8.1 you can use the file history in the control panel. You will also find in the lower left corner of that window there is a choice to manually make a system image of your particular system. One item to be aware of is that the system image is only for your computer. It can not be installed on a different computer. This is because all computer have different motherboards and different chip sets. I have seen technicians try this and fail almost every time.
 So remember to make sure you have good up to date antivirus software and have a good back up plan.

8 Simple Free Tools For Cleaning Viruses

 There are some simple tools to have if your computer has a virus. I would recommend a 4gb or 8gb flash drive, access to another computer, dvd disk and internet access. Go online and search for Hirens 15.1 and 15.2, so you can download the  iso files to a folder you created. Run a program such as Nero or Roxio to burn the iso image file to the cd. This will create a bootable cd with a number of valuable programs.
 I would then download the following programs: tdsskiller.exe, combofix, malwarebytes, spybot 2.1, RogueKiller and ADW Cleaner as well as portable and super anti spyware portable. If you can access the hard drive, copy these to the root drive c:.
 Boot into the safe mode with networking by pressing the F8 key on the keyboard during the post test if possible. Then go to the folder where the programs are stored and run them one at a time in the order mentioned above. The computer will have to rebooted during the use of the programs. Make sure to update the malwarebytes, combofix and spybot 2.1 before running the scans.
 Malwarebytes places the found items in a quarantine and they can all be selected, then deleted. The same can be done with spybot 2.1 when it has finished running.
 A couple of other programs that can be run are eset online scanner and trends housecall online scanner.
 Always make sure when you are done that your other programs such as Microsoft Office run properly. Many times viruses may corrupt these and they will have to be re-installed over themselves  to correct any corruption from the viruses.
 Remember that Combofix does not run in Windows 8.1 and Windows 10.

3 Excellent Laptop Computers

Gaming Laptop

ASUS Gaming Laptop

  I am a computer technician and I repair computers all day long. They can be desktops or laptops. The majority of repairs seem to be virus related. We have also seen a lot of customers wanting to upgrade their old windows xp computer to windows 7 and even a few to windows 8. The problem that most people run into is that their desktop or laptop is just too old to support the newer operating system.





  In general if it is at least 3 to 4 years old then it most likely will be able to run windows 7 home premium 32bit. You may also be able to run windows 7 professional 32bit. I would not suggest going to windows 8. If your computer is 1 to 2 years old it may be able to run windows 8 or 8.1. The only real issue is that windows 8 was made to run on touch screen systems or tablets. The windows 8.1 update was supposed to help with this.

Dell

  Now as far as laptops go there are quite a few different brands to select from. From a technicians standpoint I do see certain brands come through more than others. These brands tend to be Hewlett Packard's and Toshiba's. Now I do not believe that they are bad brands, because most of the problems are associated with viruses, water spills, damaged lcd display and damaged dc jack. My best advise to anyone purchasing a laptop is to look into an extended warranty or an accidental damage warranty. I have seen way too many times where the motherboard becomes damaged for some reason and the laptop is out of any warranty. The cost of the repair exceeds what the laptop is worth. The DV series of Hewlett Packard Laptops were known for defective motherboards.

Lenovo

  Now as for the laptops I prefer there are a few different brands. The Dell laptops seem to be pretty good and have some decent prices. Yes we do sometimes see a good number of them, but I believe that may be due to the large number of them being sold. I have some dell computers and they still run just fine. I like some of the Sony Laptops except they can be a little pricey. The Toshiba laptops are usually pretty good on cost as well as the Lenovo and Acer Laptops.

ASUS

  Another Laptop that I tend to like are the ASUS Laptops. They seem to hold up pretty well from abuse. Once again I would suggest to look into an extended warranty or accidental damage warranty. I only say this, because I have seen so many laptops damaged by liquid spills of some sort. The ASUS Laptops are rated right up there at the top of the list.
 There is also another category of laptop that we don't see to often. This would be the gamer type laptop. The brand that I see generally in this category is the Alienware Laptops. They tend to be very big, bulky and heavy. They can also be on the expensive side. This would be one that I would recommend the extended warranties on. For that kind of expense it would be worth it.
                          
                 
                          

3 Best Antivirus Programs For Your Desktop Or Laptop Computer

I Hate Viruses, Malware, Spyware and Adware

 With Viruses on the rise causing lots of problems for home computer users as well as business computers what is the best Antivirus Program. Well there are 3 antivirus programs that seem to do a good job. Here are the programs that seem to work the best.

1. Kaspersky Antivirus
2. Webroot Antivirus
3. Eset Smart Security

 Now there are other antivirus programs such as Nortons Antivirus and it does not do a bad job. The problem is you will not find and antivirus program that will stop all kinds of viruses, malware, spyware and adware from getting into your computer. Believe me I hear this all the time from customers saying you mean my antivirus program did not stop the infections. Yes I have to go through the same explanation over and over again.
 What I explain to the customers is that your best protection comes down to three things.

1. Keep Your Antivirus Program Up To Date
2. Save Data To A USB Flash Drive or and External Hard Drive
3. Use the Back Up Program in Windows to Back Up On A Regular Basis To An External Hard Drive

 Believe me the people that make the viruses don't care about you at all. Some want to ruin your day or give you a reason to get you to pay money to put in their pockets. So follow the 3 steps above and you should not loose anything. As far as backing up goes you can also use something like carbonite to back up to the cloud. Just make sure to go with a full system back up.
 One thing that everyone needs to realize is that no antivirus will stop viruses 100% of the time. If any company tells you that they are just out to get your money. Also remember that the back up programs in windows or the cloud are only for the computer you have. The data such as documents, pictures, music, email and downloads can be transferred to a different computer, but the system image is only for the computer you have. If for example the motherboard went bad you will have to replace it with the exact same motherboard. There are some with chipsets that are close enough, but it does not happen too often these days.
 Below You Can Search and Buy Your Favorite Antivirus Software:
 

Free Windows 10 Is Now A Thing Of The Past

 Yes windows 10 is no longer free. I am sure there will be those that try to get around it. Yes more than likely there will be those dishonest people that will try and get past not being able to install windows 10 free. I had just read the other day that if you had upgraded to windows 10 on an oem system you will not be able to reinstall if you replace the motherboard for example.
 Apparently you will have to purchase the software due to not having a product license key. The only way you could reinstall windows 10 is if you had upgraded to windows 10 from a retail version of say windows 7, 8 or 8.1. Then you would have to wipe out the system and reinstall the previous operating system and then install windows 10. I have not seen this happen as of yet, but this is fairly new so only time will tell.
 So when some of these older computers die and software has to be reinstalled what will you do. It looks like you will have to reinstall your old operating system provided that you have the software and the product key. I guess it looks like Microsoft has all of us coming and going. My best advise to anyone is back up your entire system while you can. If disaster strikes you may be forced into a new computer and windows 10. If you can afford it I so go for it and bite the bullet.

Buy A Computer From Amazon Or Ebay

 There are many different places to buy a computer from these days. It seems like there is a computer store around every corner. One thing I have noticed with quite a few computer stores is that they put down any computer they don't sell. One of the most popular is putting down dell computers. The problem is that they can not compare the small amount of  computers they sell compared to dell.
 The funny part is that alot of the time the small computer store is basically putting the same parts such as an Intel motherboard that dell is using. I don't know about anyone else, but I have been using dell computers for years and I have not had any problems. I guess it's just some kind of selling technique where they put the competition down to make themselves look better. Well shame on them, because most people will see that and hopefully walk away.
 Okay so what about buying a computer whether laptop or desktop through either Ebay or Amazon. Well as I have said before there is nothing wrong with buying from either of these places. The nice feature is that you can read the reviews and check out the ratings. This way you are getting the information good or bad right from the people that bought the item. So why not make an educated purchase and don't do any guessing. You can search the amazon ads below.
Click Here To Search Ebay Now For Some Awesome Deals 

5 Things That Matter When You Are Mastering Computer Repair

 Generally there are five things that you should do when repairing computers.

1. The Customers Data Is Always Important.
2. Use a program such as Acronis to clone the customers Hard Drive to a bench drive - this preserves data if things go bad.
3. Have a good set of programs to clean up viruses.
4. Have good access to parts for repair.
5. Always be honest with the customer.

 Yes there are other things that you should know if you are going to repair computers. First I would always use some kind of esd or electro static discharge protection. It's way to easy to damage a component with static electricity and never even know it. The customers computer will end up coming back and now you will be working on it for free. One this does not look good for a company, two you will have an unhappy customer and the result will be a loss of business. Remember customers keep you going.
 In today's world  of computers I would make sure that you are at least a+ certified. Most good companies will want their employees to have this certification. It indicates that you know what you are doing. Believe me I have seen some technicians do things that would make your hair stand on end. One key phrase to look out for is "That Is My Educated Guess or That Is My Uneducated Guess" The key word is guess. No successful decent service center should be making guesses. If they are walk away and don't come back otherwise they will have your money and you will end up with a boat anchor.
 There are plenty of excellent programs out on the internet that are free for cleaning up viruses, spyware, adware and malware. One of the most popular is Free Malwarebytes and is available from malwarebytes.org or it can be downloaded from bleeping.com . My advise is to use google.com and search for problems with any given program before using it. I have seen first hand where infections come in or malicious programs come in.
 Another thing that I would not practice as a computer technician is talking down to the customer. I have heard other technicians refer to customers as stupid or they don't know anything. I think the technician needs to go look in a mirror, because at some point they will be a customer and that must make you stupid. I would also not try to use crazy analogies when trying to explain something to a customer. This tactic will make you look ridiculous and it may make the customer feel like you are treating them as if they can't comprehend anything. The result in the long run will be a loss of business. I have had more compliments from customers when I put myself in their shoes.
   

Hard Drive Is Infected And You Have Very Little Hard Drive Space Left

COMPUTER REPAIR HELP

 Okay so your desktop or laptop computer has become infected and you have hardly any hard drive space left, what do you do ?
 Well for some people they will take it to their nearest computer service center. There is absolutely nothing wrong in doing that. What I find is most customers do not have a clue as to what they should or could do on their own. This does not make them stupid or anything like that. No it just makes them an uninformed person and we all fit into that category at some point in our lives.

Okay so what can you do ? What I would do is determine exactly how much space you have free on your hard drive. If you have a few gigabytes or more you could download free malwarebytes, roguekiller, adwcleaner and JRT junk removal tool. These can be downloaded to a folder and run. Free malwarebytes will have to be installed and updated before you can scan with it. The other programs are executable programs and can be run by clicking on them. They are all available from bleeping.com, which is an excellent website. The best course of action is to run them from the safe mode with networking by pressing the F8 key on the keyboard when the system first boots up. Windows 10 has little different method.
 If you have windows 10 you can enter the safe mode one of two ways. If you can boot into the system right click the start icon in the lower left corner, then click run and type msconfig and press enter. You can then click boot and make sure network has a dot in it. Next click apply and reboot the system. Then you can run the programs to clean the infections.
 The other way to enter the safe mode with networking in windows 10 is to start to reboot the computer, press the power button and hold it until the computer shuts off. Do this two or three times in a row and it should say preparing automatic repair. Now select troubleshooting and you can select start up options. The system will reboot and have choices associated with the F-Keys. Generally pick F5 for safe mode with networking. Next update the programs and run them.

 Now if you are in a situation where you have no more space left on the hard drive you have a few choices. You may clone the existing infected full hard drive to a new larger hard drive. There are some free programs available like mini partition magic or I would suggest buying the current version of Acronis. You will need an extra power connection and sata cable unless you are using a usb dock. Once the cloning is done install the virus cleaning programs and clean the system. There are other programs that can be run as well such as adware removal tool, super antispyware, a-squared, spybot and others. Just make sure they are good programs by checking forums and reviews before installing.

Once the cleaning is done make sure windows updates are working properly. I would then connect the old hard drive as a second drive and use disk management to re-partition and reformat it. It can be used as a back up drive if it is 250gb or larger. I usually recommend 500gb or larger. Otherwise it can be used for data storage.
 If you have any questions or suggestions feel free to leave a comment.
   

How To Be A PC Builder

 Okay your computer is getting old, so what is your next move ? There are two questions that come to mind.

1. Is my computer too old to update ?
2. Should I buy or build my own computer ?

Well for the first question, I look at two things. First how old is the computer. If it is three years old or older I would recommend buying a new computer and transferring data. The second question is how much did you pay for your computer. If you payed over $1000 I would say look into upgrading it. Generally you will find that you may be able to upgrade the cpu, memory, hard drive and operating system. I would determine what cpu is in the computer by checking the specifications for the motherboard. Second you may be able to add memory and go to a faster memory speed. The hard drive can either be upgraded to a larger size or at least a 500gb solid state hard drive. Just remember games will not increase in speed.
 Okay so your computer is older and not worth trying to upgrade. So now you have the choice to build a new computer or buy a new computer. If you are buying a new computer make sure not to let the salesperson talk you into anything. Believe me I have seen sales people firsthand spit out all kinds of information trying to make themselves come off as the all knowing expert. Mostly what you will find is that they are trying to make a buck by getting a large commission . In reality they are full of hot air and are mainly a know it all. If they use strange comparisons to get a point across find a different place. Another key phrase is this is my best guess or my educated guess. My advise is leave, because they should not have to make a guess.
 If you are going to try and build a computer you need to have good knowledge of how parts go together. I would also look at places like Amazon.com and look at the reviews. You will be able to find out just what customers are saying about a particular piece of hardware. I would also get some books about building computers, get your A+ Certification and watch youtube videos on building a computer. Total up all your prices and compare them to the price of a new computer. Now you can make a good decision. I would also stress to use good esd protection when handling any components. Have well grounded esd wrist strap and a well grounded esd mat to work on.

One Click Fix Utility For Removing PC Infections

  Okay so what is the number one problem that we see in the computer service department these days. I would say it has to be the rash of various computer or pc infections. Things to be considered are what kind of virus infected your computer and what operating system do you have. For example if you have windows 7 or 8 an excellent program called combofix will run on it. Now I have seen the one click fix utility advertised and it seems to work pretty well. I know even where I work they were trying to figure out how they could use it in the virus cleaning process.
 Now I would not use just this item in the virus cleaning process. I would use other programs such as Free Malwarebytes, Roguekiller, JRT Junk Removal Tool, ADW Cleaner, Super Antispyware portable and Spybot Portable. These programs can be downloaded from bleeping.com and pendriveapps.com . There are other programs that work very well in cleaning infections, but make sure to check them out before installing them. Just do a google search for the program causing problems.

 If you are interested in the one click fix utility just click the picture below.

Enjoy Those Computer Games

 If your a pc gamer you will not enjoy your favorite computer games if your pc isn't running properly. I have so many customers with the same complaint that their computer isn't running properly. I had one fellow who said he used the computer the night before, turned it off and turned it back on in the morning and now it does not work. Of course I have to explain that this could be alot of things that can cause this problem.
 The only thing I can do is tell him he has to bring it in to determine exactly what it could be. Nobody really wants to hear that news. Many customers just want their pc to be diagnosed over the phone. Unfortunately we can not do that due to the rules. So I have to convince them they need to bring it in. Now are there a few things the customer could do to narrow down what's going on.
 The first thing I would do is reboot the computer and see if you can start the pc in the safe mode with networking. If you can do this I would recommend downloading Free Malwarebytes, Rogue Killer, ADWCleaner and JRT Junk Removal Tool. All of these can be downloaded from bleepingcomputer.com, installed and run. The best part is they are all free. If you run the scans and find infections, make sure to clean them. Most programs are pretty straight forward.
 The other problem could be with the hard drive. This can be a physical problem or software related. What I would do is download hirens off the internet and burn the iso file to a dvd disk. You will need a good working computer with internet connection to do this. Another favorite is the Win7 or Win8 PE Disk. Both of these programs are free and work very well. On Hirens you can run the western digital hard drive test or you can run checkdisk. Checkdisk will correct problems, but I would recommend cloning to a new hard drive after running it. A good program for this is acronis or mini partition wizard. These programs would have to be purchased.
 The other problem may be a software corruption from a bad windows update. In this cae you would have to boot off the windows operating cd and try restoring back to a previous good date. With windows 10 you do have the reset and refresh choices. One may cause the programs and apps to be reinstalled and the other will completely wipe out the system. There are occasions when none of these will help and the only choice is to save the data, reinstall windows 7, 8, 8.1 or 10 and then move all data back. If you are nor comfortable take it to a professional pc service center.

Free Malwarebytes Is My Favorite For Cleaning Up Infections

 When it comes to what programs to use for cleaning computer infections I recommend using Free Malwarebytes. It is one of those programs you can download and install on your computer. Make sure to update it and then run the complete scan on all partitions from the safe mode with networking. I have also run it in a clean boot environment, but I prefer safemode with networking.
 There are of course other free virus cleaning programs I like to run as well. One of them is Rogue Killer. They have come out with a new version and it does a good job. I also like to run Junk Removal Tool and ADW Cleaner. All these programs and more can be downloaded from bleeping.com . One other programs I like is combofix and it can be downloaded from bleeping.com, remember it does not run in windows 8.1 and windows 10. I primarily use it on windows 7 systems and it does a good job. I have heard some people say it takes out too much and messes up a system. I myself have never had this problem.
 I do have one bit of advise for anyone out there cleaning up viruses. If you see a virus cleaning program make sure to use google and do a search on the program for any problems with it. There are plenty of junk programs and malicious programs that do nothing. Some of them will bring in viruses, spyware, adware and malware. So always play it safe and check it out before downloading and installing anything.

Fight PC Viruses With Good Virus Software

 In today's world of computers you need to have good virus software on your computer. Many customers still ask what is the best computer virus program out there. Well one good answer is it's better to have some virus program protecting your data than none at all. Believe me I see all the time where a customer has no virus software on their computer. Usually these are computers prior to windows 8. Windows 8, 8.1 and 10 have windows defender installed by default. When you install a virus program such as kaspersky, nortons or webroot it stops windows defender.
 Okay so which virus program is best to use on your pc. Well I prefer Kaspersky and Webroot Antivirus, but there are many more out there to choose from. You can search on the internet and find many websites rating various programs. The problem is that usually you will find that the website may be selling a certain program and it happens to have the highest rating. So my advise is to go on Amazon and check out the various programs. Check the ratings and the reviews written by people. You see people are more than likely going to give the best information on a particular program due to them using it.
 I know that some websites are honest about their ratings and reviews, but I prefer listening to customers. The next question is should I buy it from a local store or computer store or should I go with Amazon or Ebay. Well if you go with a local store you are sure to get a suggestion due to what they are selling. I know from past experience that they push what they sell and are getting the best deal on in their favor. So I tend to go with Amazon or Ebay, but if I go with a store I look for one that sells a large variety and I research it first with Amazon before making a choice.
 If you are going with Amazon I would use the Search Ads below and do some researching before making a choice. Oh yes one more point of thought and that is between free and paid versions of antivirus software. The free is not bad, but only gives so much support as well as protection. The paid versions seem to have more protection choices. You also get the tech support that you generally do not get in the free versions.
  Okay so use the search ads below and find a good antivirus software program.

 

Computer Hardware 2016

 What Computer Hardware are you looking for in 2016 ? At some time we will all need to add or upgrade our desktop computers, laptop computers or tablets. With desktops it may be a new larger hard drive, memory or video card as well as many other kinds of computer hardware. Laptop computers can also be upgraded with many of the same components as desktops with the exception of video cards and sound cards. There are very few laptops that have video cards and the ones that do are usually a gaming laptop.
 My best advise is to check out your computer for the current components and values. I would also go to the manufactures website and look up the specs on your particular model. Then inspect the motherboard for free slots and sata ports. I have seen way too many times when someone quotes a customer memory or something without looking inside the computer. We the technicians get it on the bench and find out there isn't any free space. We notify the customer and they are not too happy.
 The best thing to do is let the technician inspects the computer and quote the upgrades and costs to the customer.
 It's better to have a happy customer then an unhappy or angry one.

What Is Bigfoot PC

Bigfoot PC

 Bigfoot PC is a place where you can find information, help and all kinds of Computers, Laptops, Tablets, Phones and Hardware. If you would like to leave comments that will help others be my guest. We are a family and family helps each other. My motto is If I Can Do It So Can You.

ALL COMMENTS ARE ALWAYS WELCOME !!!

Computer Virus And How To Avoid Them

 Almost every customer that comes in with a computer infected with viruses, spyware, adware and malware asks why did I get infected. Well most customers assume that because they have some antivirus program on their computer such as Mcafee, Norton, Kaspersky or Webroot or any pc virus software they should not get infected. They constantly ask why did the antivirus software not protect me. Well the answer is fairly simple.
 The answer to the customers question is that no computer virus software is 100% at keeping away viruses. The sneaky person who writes the virus can and usually are ahead of the people that create the antivirus software. The antivirus software does not recognize it as a threat and therefore does not stop it. The virus gets in to your computer and does whatever dirty work it is supposed to do. You have the possibility of losing everything and that can be quite costly.
 Okay so what antivirus software is the best one to use. Well the problem is that when you visit a website you may find that the one they are promoting is to them the best. For example if they are trying to sell Norton Antivirus or Kaspersky it will be the top rated. I myself like Kaspersky and Webroot as well as paid Avast and AVG. They all seem to do a good job and I run them with the exception of Kaspersky. I like it due to hearing many customers saying how well it has worked for them. As far as Mcafee goes I hear that fairly soon they will be going out of business, so I would avoid purchasing it.

       
 Virus Advisory: CryptoLocker - How to Protect Yourself by LinuxTechShow
 The CryptoLocker is still around in 2016 as well as the CryptoWall and there are other viruses that will encrypt your hard drive resulting in the loss of all your data.

    So if no antivirus software is 100% effective, then what are we supposed to do. Well the first thing you should do is make sure your system is backed up either to a external hard drive or to the cloud with something such as carbonite. If you are using an external hard drive make sure it's only connected when it's performing the back up, then disconnect it when it's done. That way if your computer becomes infected your back up is safe.
 So what other things should we all do to protect our computers from all kinds of infections. The first thing is make sure your antivirus software is up to date and not expired. So many customers don't realize this and their computers go unprotected for months and I even seen a few for a couple of years. Second I would use some programs such as free or paid Malwarebytes and Spybot. Both of these are excellent programs. Just remember the free malwarebytes is manual and does not run in the background by itself. Another good program is super anti-spyware and it does run in the background.
 Some other important things to remember are dealing with email and with downloading programs off the internet. The best thing with your email is if you don't know where it is from, don't open it. Usually when something looks good it's not. I would also make sure that the preview reading pane in programs such as Microsoft outlook and windows live mail are not set to open the first email in the inbox list or any list. If it is infected and opens your the lucky winner and not in a good way. The next thin is if you are downloading a program check it out before you download it. I like to use google and search the internet for any problems with the suspicious program. You may find forums where someone has had a bad experience with it. The next problem is when you are installing any program off the internet watch the fine print. Alot of the time people will try and install other junk and malicious programs with it. Usually there are small check boxes that you can uncheck. I have been bitten by that one myself.
 Just remember it's better to be safe then sorry so stay protected.
    

Keep your Components Safe From Electro Static Discharge ESD

 I have never seen so many technicians not realize how static electricity can damage your components in your computer.Yes some of these technicians are what I would refer to as old school. In other words they just believe that placing your hand or arm on the metal computer case will prevent any esd damage. Well yes it can help to somewhat as a preventative measure. Will it make working on components totally safe ? The unfortunate answer to that is no it will not make it completely safe.

                    
 The best things to do to prevent damage to your computer components or any electronic device is to use a esd wrist strap connected to a esd mat and have the esd mat properly grounded. That brings me to my next point. I remember going on a tour of one company and they had esd mats, but they were not connected to any ground. Then they wonder why they have so many failures out in the field. It would be much better if the company first realized what they need to do by getting a proper education on esd from a professional. Next the company needs to provide the proper education to each of their employees and have them certified. I was always amazed at what I saw during a good esd education.

Here are some dos and don'ts on how to handle your electronic components.

1. Always Use A ESD Wrist Strap
2. Always Use A Properly Grounded ESD Mat
3. Keep Your Component In The ESD Bag Until You Are Installing It
4. Keep Your Environment Clean 
5. Practice ESD Protection Even When Your Components Are Installed In The Case
6. Always Watch Out And Help Fellow Employes

Things That You Should Not Do.

1. Never Carry The Electronic Component Not In The ESD Bag
2. Never Carry The Electronic Component Sandwiched On The Outside Of The ESD Bag
3. Never Sit Your Electronic Components On Top Of the ESD Bag
4. Never Sit a Component On Any Surface That Is Not ESD Safe
5. Never Eat Or Drink Beverages While Working On Components
6. Never Use Metal Objects Near Any Component With Out Any ESD Protection

  It should be noted that when I refer to an Electronic Component I mean a Motherboard, Memory, Hard Drive, Video Card, Sound Card and really any electronic device.
 
 

Got A Favorite Antivirus Program For 2016

 This is always a popular question from my customers. It always happens where they are not sure what antivirus program they should have. There is so much malware, spyware and adware on the internet that people are getting infected with these and viruses left and right. Almost everything in for repair is a associated with a virus. So once again the question is what is the best antivirus software to install on your computer.
 So what are the best pc computer virus programs available ? Well you can surf the internet for the best pc virus programs and you will find all kinds of them. Generally I have found that the most popular pc virus program is the one that the particular website sells. It's funny how that seems to work. In my quest for finding a good antivirus program I just go by what I have seen and how they work. I have found that there are at least five good paid versions of antivirus programs and at least three good free versions of antivirus programs for your desktop or laptop computer.

My Favorite 5 paid antivirus programs:

1. Kaspersky Internet Security Antivirus
2. Bitdefender
3. Webroot Antivirus
4. Norton Internet Security
5. Paid Avast Antivirus

My Favorite Free Antivirus Programs:

1. Free Avast Antivirus
2. Free AVG Antivirus
3. Microsoft Security Essentials

 There are many other paid and free antivirus programs that will work very well on your computer. Here is just a little advise. One make sure you only have one antivirus program running on your computer. If you have two installed they will fight each other and slow the computer down. Second always make sure that your antivirus program is up to date and has not expired or close to being expired. I can't tell you how many computers I have worked on that the virus software has expired or just has not been working for six months to a year.
 Now you can use the free or paid version of Malwarebytes with your Antivirus Program. Many people use the paid version of Malwarebytes, but it's really meant to work along side of your virus program. Now I have seen a few occasions where the virus program indicated the malwarebytes should be uninstalled. I would try and see if you can set your virus software to allow malwarebytes to be installed. Some programs have exclusion choices.
 One of the most important things I can advise anyone on besides virus software is make sure you are backing up your computer on a schedule. If you are using windows 7 or windows 10 you can use the back up program in the control panel. If you are using windows 8 or 8.1 you can perform a manual image back up and also run file history. Just make sure you are backing up to an external hard drive and disconnect it from the system when the back up is done. The other choice for backing up is to use carbonite and back up to the cloud on a regular basis.
 The main objective is to keep your data and computer safe from harm.

Here are some excellent antivirus programs below that you can choose from at Amazon.com
 

Keep That Computer Running Properly

 Yes the complaint from customers is still my computer is running very slow these days. Well as the customer there are a few things I would suggest to do. First you can download the free western digital life guard software and test your hard drive. You will be looking for bad sectors, bad clusters or corrupt files. If this software can not correct those run the test from the system itself. You could run the system file checker by running a administrator command prompt. At the dos screen type sfc /scannow and press enter. It will let you know if it finds problems and if it corrected them. Chkdsk /r can also be run as well and it will correct problems. Just remember if it finds bad sectors and or bad clusters I would replace the hard drive, because it will get worse.
 The next thing I would do is download free malwarebytes, spybot and rogue killer. Update them and scan the system. This can be done from a clean boot or from the safe mode with networking. There are other programs such as combofix, adcleaner and other programs. There are links to these in some of my posts. They can be downloaded from bleeping.com and run. If you are finding lots of infections I would suggest that you take the computer to a good computer service center in your area.
 Most customers always will say I have good virus protection. Their next question is why did it not work. Well the problem is no virus protection is 100% effective. That is why you should always have a current back up of your system and data. Current versions like windows 10 have the backup program in the control panel that was used in windows 7. This is actually a good program, but make sure to disconnect the back up drive when the back up is done. There are infections that can effect the back up drive. Also have a standard account and save data to it. Viruses like the cryptowall, crypto-locker and other ransom infections go for administrator accounts.
 Stay safe and keep your computer running smoothly.

Check The Reviews Before Buying

 This is just a little advise from a computer technician before you buy anything. Make sure to search the Internet for any reviews on any particular computer service center. I will tell you I have seen some sneaky things done that would make you turn and walk away. You are the customer and you need to protect yourself, because it's your money.
 Make sure to open the computer case if there isn't any warranty void sticker. You don't have to handle any of the boards inside the case. Just take a look and see if any screws holding the cards of motherboard are loose or missing. If you do touch anything inside the computer case make sure to ground yourself properly. This way you will not damage anything with static electricity.
 Another good practice before buying anything is to see if you can get a tour of the business you are thinking of buying a product from. Pay close attention of the surrounding areas. Look at the benches where Technicians are working or where someone is building computers for example. Look to see if they are practicing good esd protection. I have seen companies where they are working with carpeting on the bench. Another thing to check is do they have components such as a motherboard right on the Formica Counter top . Another trick I have seen companies use is to have the esd mat on the work surface, but it's not connected or grounded properly. Watch how someone carries a component, do they have it in a esd static bad or are they sandwiching the component in the bag.
 Pay close attention to what the person giving the tour says to you. Companies love to make it sound like they are doing tons of business. They will throw out numbers at you as to how much work they put out. Count the items on bench and waiting to be worked on. Look at the number of Technicians working. Do the math and you may realize that they are lying and just trying to impress you and get your business. There are alot of companies that will use these techniques. Once again always protect yourself and your business.