Beware of this Rogue Antivirus

There is another virus going around, and it’s called “SpywareRemover2009”. If you see it pop up on your screen, I suggest you hold in the power button for 10 seconds, performing a hard shutdown.

System Restore

Your computer is already equipped with the ability to turn back time (not quite like Cher’s song: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/cher/ificouldturnbacktime.html). The good thing is that not all malware programs have found a way to disable it. There could be a possibility to restore your PC to a time before you received the infection.

Go to “Start”, “All Programs”, go up to “Accessories”, “System Tools”, then click “System Restore”. You will see this:



Choose, “Restore my computer to an earlier time”, then click next.



Choose a date that is in bold numbers, and then click next. It will look something like this:



Click next and follow whatever it says. After the computer reboots, it will notify you whether or not the process was successful. Click OK.

When you are done, check to see if your computer seems to be working correctly. Make sure you run Spybot Search and Destroy and CCleaner in order to clean up any remaining files. Just a Note: Once your computer has become infected, it can be hard to tell if the PC still has vulnerabilities on it. Unfortunately, the only way to know the computer is clean is to back up your files, re-format the hard-drive (totally wipe the PC clean), and re-install the operating system (and all your software). I hope I didn’t scare you too much.

Maintaining Your Computer’s Performance (Part Two)

The following link will help you understand what “Cookies” are and if you need milk with them. http://computer.howstuffworks.com/cookie1.htm

More Temp Stuff

Another place you can clean “without deleting anything important” is the main “Temp” folder. You may not have the ability to delete all its contents because some programs may be actively using them or hidden. Go to “Start”, “Run”; and then type

%temp%

And press “Enter” or “OK”. You can safely delete everything in this folder. Remember, some items may not be removable.

Another Way In (Windows XP):

Go to “Start”, “Run”; then type (or cut and paste)

C:\Documents and Settings\%UserName%\Cookies

And press “Enter” or “OK”. Delete all you can delete in here. Also, do the same in (Windows XP):

Go to “Start”, “Run”; then type (or cut and paste)

C:\Documents and Settings\%UserName%\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files

And press “Enter” or “ OK”.

Running CheckDisk

CheckDisk basically checks your hard-drive for problem areas and then quarantines those sectors. Go to “Start”, “My Computer”. Right click on your “C” drive, choose “Properties”.

Choose the “Tools” tab, and then the “Check Now…” button.

Choose both check boxes, click “Start”, then OK, Close everything, then Reboot. This will run the "CheckdDisk" process once it restarts.

Run Defrag

Defrag basicaly resorts the files on the hard-drive (like a filing cabinet). When the files are sorted, they are quicker to find (faster hard-drive access). This may not speed your system up all that much, but it does cut down on hard-drive thrashing.

As above; go to “Start”, “My Computer”, right click on your “C” drive, choose “Properties”, choose the “Tools” tab,  and then the “Defragment Now…” button. Now click “Defragment”.

That’s all folks!

Now after all this hard work, we hope you are running a bit better. If anything, your computer will be happier. Kind of like giving it a foot massage. 

Maintaining Your Computer’s Performance (Part one)

Have you ever noticed with some computers, as time goes on they get slower and slower. Well, chances are it is not a hardware problem. Personal computers are great for remembering things like web pages visited, recent downloads, and installations. The problem is, as this stuff accumulates all the data begins to bog down performance. Some of these leftovers can be malicious or just break things. Moreover, malware likes to hide in your computer’s “Temp folders.
You can technically clean your “Temp” folders and “Cookies” as often as you like. Personally, I do it once a week. I will also show you how to run a “CheckDisk” and “Defrag” (run both of these probably once every three months or when you get the dreaded “one time” Blue Screen of Death).

Temp Files

Each logon profile has a series of temporary folders for managing a person’s experience. A good practice to get into is cleaning these folders out. Now, if you are cleaning up your work computer you may have only limited ability to do some of what we are discussing here. If you are cleaning your personal machine, you should have more permission available to you.

Empty the cache

1. In Internet Explorer, click Tools, then Internet Options, and then click the Delete Files button.2. A Delete Files window will appear. Select the option to Delete all offline content, and then click OK.3. Click Settings and reduce the size of your cache to, say, 50 MB to 100 MB (more if you routinely download very large files).

Other similar links:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/260897

http://www.pctipsbox.com/how-to-manually-clean-out-the-temp-folder-in-windows-vista/

http://pcsupport.about.com/od/maintenance/ht/manualtempxp.htm

Anti‐Virus - Prevention

If there is anything we have learned from the Internet, it is that our computers can get sick, betray us, and become minions at the hands of evildoers. Viruses, worms, and spyware have grown to overlap in their divisiveness. Today, these programs can take‐over a computer and use it to (to name a few):

• Send spam

• Resend viruses

• Make illegal transactions from the infected computer

• Hide stolen data on the system

• Install a key‐logger (records your keystrokes)

• Access all the data on your computer

• Steal your Identity

Moreover, if you are able to cleanup an infected computer, there may still be backdoors and other vulnerabilities left behind. Gone are the days when teenagers were the offending malware programmers. These days, malware is serious business, preying on the average computer user. Just perform an Internet search on "the cost of malware" (with and without the quotation marks). The best way to approach this problem is through prevention. Don’t get infected in the first place. “Best practices” will be a follow‐up Helpdesk tip. For now, we want to give you the ability to protect yourself, your family, your friends and your workplace. The following is a list of free programs to assist you in the information war.

AVG Anti‐Virus Free Edition: Great product; does a wonderful job at keeping you aware of potential threats. The only bother is that it sometimes starts scanning at inopportune times (but remember, it’s free) http://free.avg.com/  

Avast Home Edition: Also great; works behind the scenes. You won’t know it’s there. Just don’t be too startled when  you hear voices though. If you have your volume up, when Avast finishes its updates (I think it does it daily), it lest you know in a man’s voice. http://www.avast.com/eng/download-avast-home.html  

Avira AntiVir Personal: I don’t know too much about this one, but I hear it is very good. http://www.free-av.com/