Watch Out For Antivirus 2009

Masked as an antivirus, this malware (software with evil purposes) product installs Trojan viruses which are harmful to you.  Called Antivirus 2008, Antivirus 2009, Vista Antivirus 2009, XP Antivirus 2009 and such, this program really is a wolf in sheep's clothing.

A client's daughter installed it on her father's laptop trying to get out of a mess that she had created.  Things only went from bad to worse.  The client and I restored the computer to an earlier date (after checking for online solutions to this problem) and updated the antivirus for a complete system scan.  Antivirus 2009 is a hard program to get off your computer, so watch out and avoid it.

If you have been hit by Antivirus 2009 and you are not sure what to do, contact your local computer repair shop for expert help.  Make sure your antivirus is up to date.  Watch out for strange pop up screens, especially those telling you that your computer has been infected by a virus.

Click Happy: It Can Get You Into Trouble

Clicking on everything you see can get you in trouble.  You might start something that you wish you had never started. 

For example:

•  Those blue hyperlinks (hyperlinks are blue text in your E-mail that can be clicked on to perform an action or take you to another place) in your E-mail may be dangerous. You might launch a virus onto your computer or you may be directed to a fake web site that wants to steal your personal information. 
• If you are surfing the web and a pop up appears, you may launch a virus onto your computer by clicking the X button in the upper right part of the pop up box.

So before you start clicking on everything, make sure you think about what you are doing.  Don't be afraid to use your E-mail or surf the Net, but don't get click happy and click on everything you see.

Cold and Your Electronic Equipment

Transporting electronic equipment, such as a laptop, in the cold weather poses a risk of damage if you immediately turn it on when you get into a warm environment.  You should allow the equipment a few moments to warm up before turning it on.  Open up your equipment case and allow the warm are to bring the electronic equipment to room temperature.  Then turn it on.  Plan for this when the weather is cold.

IPod Touch For Christmas

My daughter received an IPod Touch for Christmas and it was an extreme hit. But when it came to setting it up, all eyes went my way.  It was the same way with the TomTom navigation device as well as the new video camera.  When you know something about electronics, you become the go to guy.  One of the key things for all these devices, especially the IPod Touch was to read the set up instructions.  It's not good to fly by the seat of your pants when it comes to electronics.

I had to set up the Internet access for the IPod Touch as well as the general set up.  After it was all completed, I must say that I was impressed with the IPod Touch.  My daughter went right to YouTube and she was Instant Messaging with all her friends.  My thought summarized for this section is: as much of a pain as it is to read the set up instructions/manual, you will save yourself a lot of grief by using them.

By the way, if you received a wireless router this season, make sure you password protect it so that others can not get onto your Internet connection.  Have a great break everyone.

Looking for more information, check out my web site at: http://www.alphacomputer.ca .

New Laptop Must

Once you turn on your new laptop and go through the set up screens and enter the required information, the next thing you should do is make your recovery CD's or DVD's.  This recovery disks give you a way to recovery your laptop to the original factory condition should something happen.  And chances are that this is only a matter on time.

To help you, there maybe an icon on the desktop screen to start the process. If there is not, consult your manual or material that came with the laptop to find out how to make your recovery disks.  The Recovery DVD's or CD's are important and making them should not be over looked.

For more computer training info, visit: http://www.alphacomputer.ca

Avoid Automatically Opening Your E-mails

If your Preview Pane or Reading Pane is opened in your E-mail program, you run the risk of automatically opening an E-mail with a virus.  You should shut that feature off in your computer based E-mail program.

You should have the choice of which E-mail you open or not.  Having the Preview Pane open always what ever E-mail is highlighted to automatically open.  If you want to view an E-mail, open it by double left clicking.  Don't play Russian Roulette with your E-mail.  Check your Help menu for instructions on shutting this feature off.

Here is a link to a video I put on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-iPxzyr5Wo&feature=channel_page

Laptop Battery Best Practices

Your laptop battery will work a lot like your cell phone battery.  Make sure you allow your laptop battery to be drained right down.  This allows you to get the most time out of your battery charge.

If you only keep letting the battery drain to 1/2 mark, when you use it on battery, guess how long your battery will last.  The 1/2 mark.  So make sure you allow your battery to drain right down.  You'll appreciate it next time you travel with your laptop.