Keep Your Computer System Clean

CLEAN UP THAT COMPUTER

 The viruses are becoming a big problem for people with computers. Every day we get desktops and laptops in with viruses, malware, spyware and adware. I have even seen a few computers coming in with the cryptowall and cryptolocker viruses. It is the worst when you have to tell a customer that they have lost all their data. Especially when someone has saved all their family photographs and now they are gone.
 What are the tell tale signs that your computer has been infected. Well the obvious are the ransom messages that you need to pay a price to get your data back. The other popular signs were the fake microsoft and fbi messages. Other popular signs is that your computer is running very slowly. However this can also be a sign that your hard drive had developed bad sectors or bad clusters. It is also possible that a windows update did not go through properly and has corrupted your system.
 Okay so if you have any of the signs above what are you to do ? Well if you have no other system to access some programs, then I would take it to your local computer service center. Remember to check them out first for any bad reviews. You can always go to your local library and use their computers to go online. If your computer can still run I would try entering the safe mode with networking selected. Do this by starting the computer and pressing the F8 Key on the keyboard. This is useful for windows 7 systems. If you have windows 8, 8.1 or 10 then it becomes a little trickier. Have the computer off, turn the computer on and see if you can get to the logon screen. Once there hold the shift key down and choose restart and don't let go until the blue troubleshooting screen comes up. From there you can choose start up options. Next follow the instructions to get to safe mode with networking. Another way is at the desktop click the start up and type msconfig in the run window. Select startup tab and choose safemode with networking, then reboot.
 When you are in the safemode, download free malwarebytes, tdsskiller, spybot, combofix (only windows 7 and windows 8), adware cleaner and junk removal tool. These can all be downloaded from bleeping.com and are safe to run. One all are done see if the computer will boot into the normal mode. You will have to run msconfig again and select the normal mode, then reboot. If there are further problems then you may have to take the computer in for repair. Always remember to save your data. If you have done a back up to an external hard drive you may be able to run that and get your computer up and running to before the infection. Just don't keep the external hard drive constantly connected to your computer. Connect it only while the back up is running or it may become infected.

What To Do Before Going To Windows 10

  I keep seeing customers bringing in their desktop computers and laptop computers with windows 10 installed that just are not working properly. Some of them will just keep rebooting and never get into windows. There are others where various programs just will not run and keep having errors. Other computers are running so slow it is just ridiculous. So in the next paragraph I will give some things to do and check before upgrading to windows 10.
 The first thing you need to do is determine how old your computer is. Sometimes you can look up your system for example from dell. You can then see when it was purchased. If the system is more than five years old I would not suggest going to windows 10. The next thing to do is to go to the manufacturers website and see if there are software drivers for windows 10. If there are no drivers for windows 10 I would suggest not going to windows 10.
 Here are a few more things to check before upgrading to 10. Either run you system diagnostics or test the system with some software such as Hirens, Win7 PE or Win8 PE. Run tests on the hard drive and on the memory. Western Digital  WDLG and Memtest86+ are a few programs that may detect problems. Also physically look at the motherboard and check for any physical signs of damage such as popped capacitors. If you have any hardware problems do not upgrade to windows 10.
 The final thing I would check for is any infections. The infections could be Viruses, Spyware, Malware and Adware. You can check out some of my other posts or blogs on how to clean viruses. I would download free Malwarebytes, Spybot, TDSSkiller and Super AntiSpyware. Install them, Update then and scan the system. Clean up any problems that you find. If you do find anything I would also run combofix only on windows 7 and windows 8.
 The last thing I would do is make sure the windows updates are all up to date. I would then run the back up program in windows 7 to a external back up drive. With Windows 8 and 8.1 you can run the file history and do the manual back up image of the system. This way if windows 10 goes really bad you can restore the system back. You may find that the recovery in windows 10 does not always work. My final advise is if you do not need to go to windows 10 stay with what is working.

Laptops, Tablets And Kindles Oh My !!!

 I see so many laptops and tablets come through for repair it's crazy. I do have to say that most of the time it's due to infections of some sort. They could be Viruses, Malware, Spyware or Adware. You can check out one of my other blogs for help on cleaning viruses. I am sure I have a few posts on this blog about cleaning viruses. I would make sure your system is always backed up. If your working with a tablet I would always save data to a good size flash drive. If you use a Kindle I generally don't think the infections will be a problem. If something becomes corrupted I would just reinstall the system to correct it.
 As far as laptops go there are plenty of good systems to choose from. One safe idea is to read any reviews you can on what ever laptop you are interested in. I would also look into extended and accidental warranties. Usually the warranty is only a 1 year manufacturer warranty and most likely will not cover accidental damage from a liquid spill or a cracked lcd display. Always make sure to back up your system in case Murphy's Law strikes. Remember anything bad that can happen will happen.
 The same theory applies to tablets and kindles. Especially if you have a very expensive tablet or Kindle. Most of the time these may not be expensive, but if you have to repair one it may cost more to repair it then it's worth. Always ask the service center if they have an authorized technician and do they have the proper equipment to do the job. I have seen some places use entirely the wrong tools. The result is more damage to your item then it came in with. I have seen various Laptops, Tablets and Kindles look like they went through the war or maybe a dog chewed on them. You should not have to pay more for someones inexperience.