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