Wondering what specs you’ll need in a new computer?  I found an excellent blog post by a computer repair shop owner in San Diego on just that. Here is the link. It is more like an article than a post.

Computer Virus Removal

I’m often asked what free anti-virus I recommend.

Unfortunately no one anti-virus can remove all viruses. In our Calgary computer repair shop we use many different ones and each finds different infections. Some that we use are AVG, Avira, Avast, Kaspersky, Dr. Web Cure-it, E-set online and off, among others. If we relied on only one, we wouldn’t be able to do an adequate job of fixing computers. So it rankles when an anti-virus company wants to be the only one used by people. It’s not realistic and would mean that a lot more computers would have to be reformatted to get cleaned.

If you’re asking which one I think you should keep resident on your computer, I like both Avira and AVG best. Both are really good at catching viruses. Google (search on Google for) either one and find the result that includes “download.cnet.com” in its address. I recommend both Avira and AVG. Of course, I don’t mean both at once. I mean choose one of the two.

I used to prefer AVG over Avira until AVG stopped working with Combofix of Bleeping Computers. I loved AVG and put it on every computer in close proximity. I liked AVG better because of its easier user interface. Being “easier” meant more effective, because people were able to use it more effectively. Now I prefer Avira since you don’t have to uninstall it to run Combofix, which is, unfortunately, the only solution sometimes to an infected computer.

By the way, whoever the creator of Combofix is, whoever sUBS is, he ought to receive knighthood or hero-hood for the amount of computers he saves on a daily or even an hourly basis, and for which he does not even receive payment. He really makes a huge difference in people’s lives without much recognition or money. I respect him enormously and hope he lives a long time because we will be all be sunk without him.

Only people who are experienced techs should use Combofix, however. Very, very occasionally it will cause a computer to stop booting and if this happens and you don’t know how to undo the changes it makes, you may have to reinstall Windows.

Both AVG and Avira ought to take note, their new default of having scheduled scans disabled upon install is dangerous. Many people think they are protected when they are not. If you have Avira or AVG make sure they’re scanning on a daily basis.

If you have a virus and live in Calgary, come to our Virus Removal Lab and will be able to help you out without losing your data or programs or even changing your computer except to speed it up. We would love to see you.

PS. We enjoy all kinds of people and computers and viruses…and aren’t judgmental.

You’ll need:
1. A really, really soft cloth, think baby’s bum.
2. A small spray bottle
3. Isopropyl alcohol

It’s very easy. Just mix the alcohol with water in a 50% solution. Turn off the monitor and unplug it from the power source. Spray your water/alcohol on the cloth and wipe the monitor. Don’t use a dirty or coarse cloth as this might scratch the fine surface of the lcd monitor. Don’t spray the screen directly.

Now you’re looking good. And so is your monitor!

A Clean Monitor is a Happy Monitor

I used to buy this really expensive stuff ($7.00 a bottle) until I read the label..for the ingredients see above.

Last night a business owner had a severe problem with his laptop. So I made a quick after hours stop at his business. He’d lost all of his icons from his desktop and the computer was unresponsive. The problem turned out to be that he hadn’t turned off his laptop for several weeks. Once it was turned off and on again, it was back to normal.

Microsoft has designed Windows to be turned off occasionally. This lets the computer reset its operating system. If you allow it to stay on or in standby too long, it will get more and more sluggish and eventually stop working correctly. Rebooting can work wonders.

If you have any computer problems, give me a shout at Calgary Computer Repair.

Laptop going through airport security

12,000 laptops are lost in U.S. airports every week most at airport security, according to a report published Monday.

A study published by the Ponemon Institute and Dell Computer, reports 12,000 laptops are lost in airports each week. The study surveyed 800 business travelers and 106 major U.S. airports for their findings. 70 percent of travelers never recover their computers. Almost half of the business travelers report their laptops contain customer or sensitive information or confidential business data. Forty-two percent travelers reported they don’t backup their files. Most left their laptops at the airport security.

If you travel with your laptop, leave your business card in an transparent, plastic enclosure or a prominent pocket of the case and another taped to the keyboard. If you don’t have a business card then write a note with your name, address, and phone number. Make sure your cellphone number is included. Then, if you walk away without your laptop, airport security staff can call your cellphone before you board. Also, keep the amount of carry-ons to a minimum, so you’ll notice if walking away light or empty-handed.

Before you leave, backup your files. Some people like to encrypt their files. I’m a little leery of encryption because if your hard drive or computer has problems or needs to be repaired, encryption makes it difficult for techs to transfer or backup your data to another computer or hard drive. However, if your data is especially sensitive you should encrypt. Most thieves or other computer users aren’t going to see any value in your company data or be sophisticated enough to use it to malicious purposes, but it could happen.

Also as you leave airport security, do a mental check and make sure you have all your belongings, tickets, purse, passport, jewelry, change, keys, laptops, carry-ons.

Here are the top eight ways to make sure your computer goes into the shop on a frequent basis:

1. Use P2Ps like Limewire. You’ll be on a network of thousands of computers and will get a lot of viruses quickly. Some of the viruses will not be discovered by your anti-virus if you have one. A couple will be downloaders or droppers and will suck in even more viruses from the evil virus-creator’s server. Soon you’ll get hundreds of viruses and your Internet won’t work. Don’t use the Limewire Pro that scans downloaded songs for viruses. You’ll have to call your computer tech quite soon.

2. Don’t get your adult movies from the movie store. Instead visit online porn sites frequently. You’ll get even more viruses than the users of p2ps. And while you’re there download the porn site’s video codec. It will be chock-full of viruses.

3. Don’t keep your laptop in a soft cushy case protected by jolts and bumps. Soon the metallic circuitry will chip and your motherboard will malfunction. Leave it on the couch or floor to suck in little bits of lint and pet hair. The fan will give out.

4. Let your house-sitter or teenager and his friends have access to your computer.

5. Let your desktop computer accumulate dust. Never open it and clean it out with canned air. Eventually the cpu fan and the power supply will clog up and you’ll be able to take your computer to the shop.

6. Keep your computer in the kitchen and let it accumulate cooking grease along with the dust. This will make it harder for the computer tech to clean.

7. Don’t use an anti-virus or anti-spyware. Your computer will be in the shop in a few days or weeks.

8. When your computer does succumb to a virus or accumulated dust and makes you lose your temper, give it a punch or a kick. This may break it immediately or make the screen have a permanent dark spot.

Seriously, if you’d like help with your computer and you live in Calgary, visit http://www.ducktoes.com or if you are a business visit http://www.ducktoes.com/calgarycomputerrepair.html.

There’s a new USB worm about. It loads on your computer when you stick an infected USB drive (Flash memory drive) into a USB port or an infected CD into the CD drive. Since it installs through the Autorun function on Windows, this type of worm is easy to prevent. Simply turn off Autorun.

To turn off Autorun do this:

1. Go to Start button then Run.
2. Type in “gpedit.msc” without the quotes.
3. The Group policy window will open.
4. Choose “System” under “Administrative Templates.”
5. Find “Turn off Autoplay” and double-click it.
6. You’ll see three choices with radio buttons (round check boxes) in front of them: Not configured, Enabled, Disabled. Pick “Enabled.”
7. Underneath the radio buttons you’ll see the words “Turn off Autoplay on.” Choose “All drives.”

Not only will this prevent the USB worm, it will also let you play some CDs without all the manufacturers’ restrictions.

At Ducktoes we try to get rid of spyware without reformatting your hard drive. But once in awhile a reformat is the only thing that will work–it’s not nearly as often as many techies will have you think–but occasionally it’s the only solution. A reformat is so much easier and cheaper if you have your installation and recovery disks. That is what they’re for. It’s much more difficult to go on-line and search for all the drivers, a process that can take hours, depending on the make and brand of your computer. So protect your investment and save your disks. Keep them in their original sleeves, since sometimes the product key is printed on the sleeve. You may end repurchasing the operating system software without the disks, or spending more than necessary on a reformat.

Also keep your disks for your printer, scanner, video card, or any new devices you buy for your computer. Keep them all in one place and remember where they are.

If you live in Calgary, use Ducktoes for all your computer repair and services. Ducktoes to the rescue!!