Don’t take the bait

In phishing scams, criminals send email messages that appear to come from legitimate sources like your bank or some other reputable company. They can also appear in the form of popups caused by spyware infections on your PC. The messages which can look very authentic, instruct you to follow an enclosed web link usually to “confirm your account” or “verify your information immediately.” But the link actually sends you on to a counterfeit website that looks like the real one.

Whatever you do, don’t click that link! You could be giving away the keys to your financial accounts, your personal information, and your computer. Your bank would never ask you to enter your username and password via an email link or popup window so ignore any requests to do so. This goes for other large organisations such as eBay and Amazon too. Never enter your personal details unless you are absolutely sure you are dealing with a genuine website.

Spyware Infections

In May of this year, Google surveyed billions of sites, subjecting 4.5 million pages to “in-depth analysis” and discovered one in 10 web pages contained malicious code that could infect a user’s PC. This shows that it is therefore possible to infect your computer by simply visiting a website! Such infections can result in phishing popups as already discussed. Worse still, if not attended to, spyware can seriously damage your operating system. The best way to deal with this problem is to cleanup your system with anti-virus and anti-spyware programs. Hopefully, you are already protected with an anti-virus program but it is also very important to have anti-spyware protection.

An excellent and free anti-spyware product is Spybot Search & Destroy. This is an excellent program that can deal with the majority of spyware infections. It can also ‘immunise’ your system against thousands of potential threats. It’s recommended that a PC or laptop is scanned for spyware at least once a month.

If you care about the environment, here are a few tips that can help your computer be more eco-friendly.

Leave it on or switch if off?

Many people wonder whether or not to leave their PC on when it’s not in use. Some of us actually leave our computer on overnight. There is a notion going around that says switching the computer on and off will put undue wear and tear on it’s components. Would you leave your car running all the time? For the same reason, it’s unnecessary to leave your computer on all the time too. It makes sense to switch it off when it’s not in use. It saves energy and money. My general rule of thumb is, if I’m not going to use my computer for another hour, I power it down. This goes for all peripherals too such as monitors, printers and scanners. I don’t know about you but I have forgotten to switch off my printer on more than one occasion in the past. I recently found a clever device that automatically controls the power to all peripherals when the desktop computer is switched on and off.

Intelliplug - 3 Way Automatic Power Switch

Please note this NOT suitable for laptops. The manufacturer claims that with all the electricity you save, the device will pay for itself after a year. It contains surge protection too. There is also a plug board available for more peripherals.

8 Socket InteliPanel

Bin it or recycle it?

Finished with that old computer or printer? Don’t send it to the tip. Recycle it instead. Some local charity shops will happily take them off your hands. A word of caution; if your giving away your computer make sure your hard drive is wiped. There have been many horror stories about credit card numbers being stolen from old computer hard drives. This does not simply mean reformatting the drive or reinstalling the operating system. The drive should be wiped with a data wiping program to make sure all sensitive data is permanently removed. Contact me if you need help with this.

Eco printing

Consider using recycled paper for your printer. If possible, do duplex printing i.e. printing on both sides of the paper. Rather than throwing your cartridges away, take them to your local inkjet refill shop. This causes less pollution and saves you money.

For the uninitiated, Vista is microsoft’s new operating system. Introduced at the end of January, it promises to “wow” its users with new new features and functionality. If you purchase a new system today it’s likely to have Vista already installed. Vista contains some great new features but if you are considering just upgrading your operating system you should make sure that your current system can handle it. You need to make sure you have enough power and that your hardware and applications are compatible.

Got enough power?

Vista is very powerful and therefore uses more system resources than Windows XP. It’s basic version, Vista Home Basic, requires at least a 800 MHz processor, 512MB of system memory (RAM) and 20GB of hard drive space just to run the core functionality but to fully utilise its features a 1Ghz processor, 1024MB of system memory, 40GB of hard drive space and support for DirectX 9 graphics is required. There are also 3 more “flavours” of Vista all requiring increasingly more resources.

Hardware/application compatibility

Whenever a new operating system comes out there are always in compatibility issues. If you have a device such as a printer or an application that you frequently use on your Windows XP system, don’t just assume it’ll work in Vista! Check the manufacturer’s website support area and make sure there’s Vista compatible drivers are available.

If your system can handle Vista or you decide to upgrade to a Vista machine, here are some of the benefits:

So Vista has a lot to offer but make sure you’re ready before taking the plunge. To learn more, click on the Windows Vista symbol below:

There are literally dozens of keyboard shortcuts that can save you time and energy. They work with virtually all windows programs including internet software.

The Control or Ctrl-keys are usually located in the bottom left-hand side of your keyboard and bottom right-hand side of the main keyboard area.

Oops! I didn’t mean to do that!

Probably the most common use of the Ctrl-key is the Undo function. If you are editing a file such as a Microsoft Word document and inadvertently delete a block of text or make an error, don’t panic! Simply undo your last action by holding down the Ctrl-key and pressing the Z-key (Ctrl+Z). Depending on the software you’re using, you’ll be able to undo many times by repeating the action. Want to undo the undo!? Simply hold down the Ctrl and Shift-key then press the Z-key (Ctrl+Shift+Z). These shortcuts act like a rewind and fast-forward function for windows.

Cut & Paste

Here are some commonly used keyboard shortcuts that also manipulate text or files.

Cut (Ctrl+X): Cuts a selection and places it on the Windows clipboard.
Copy (Ctrl+C): Works like Cut but without deleting the original data.
Paste (Ctrl+V): Use this after you move the cursor to the place where you want to Cut or Copy.
Select All (Ctrl+A): Selects the entire page or section.

For the multi-tasker

If you often open more than one window at a time, hold down the Alt-key with your thumb and repeatedly press Tab with your left index finger to jump to any open window. You’ll see a dialog box similar to the one below.

I’ve only scratched the surface of the subject of keyboard shortcuts here and encourage you to explore your system or search google to discover new tips and tricks. Gradually introduce these useful shortcuts into your windows skillset and before you know it they’ll become second-nature.

The Problem

One of the most important and often overlooked functions that computer users should perform on a regular basis is Microsoft Window’s Disk Defragmenter. Imagine that you work in an office with a large filing cabinet and each time you pull out a file, instead of filing it away when you’ve finished, you throw it across the room! Naturally, next time you need the file, it takes ages to locate it! That’s exactly what Microsoft Windows does with your computer files. Over time, it slowly fragments your files, storing parts of each file in random physical locations spread out across your hard drive. As a result, your files will take longer and longer to access. The solution is to defrag your hard drive.

Putting it back together

Defragmenting the hard drive will keep your hard drive running efficiently. It speeds up your computer and should be done at least once a month to keep the computer working at maximum efficiency. It works by rearranging the files so that each file is stored in a contiguous collection of disk sectors on your hard drive. This makes reading and writing files much faster.

Defragmenting your drive is not difficult. Simply select Start => All Programs => Assessories => System Tools => Disk Defragmentor and then select the disk you want to defrag which most likely will be the “C” drive.

The Disk Defragmenter displays two options, Analyze and Defragment. Analyze will tell you if you need to defrag the hard drive, but if you haven’t done it for a while then it’s probably time to do so.

Once you start the process, it’s best to leave the computer alone. Defragging your drive uses up a lot of system resources and will slow the computer down. Although the defrag process can be paused or stopped, it’s advised not to. it can take up to a few hours or more depending on the size of the drive and how much information is stored on it.

The cost of internet access varies considerable so you may be paying more than you need to. Broadband prices currently range from £12.99 to £30.00 and higher per month. There are numerous broadband ISPs (Internet Service Providers) competing with each other to vie for your business so it’s probably a good idea to see what’s on offer and whether it’s worth your while to switch.

What can you get?
BT, NTL, Orange, AOL, Bulldog, Tiscali, Virgin, Supanet, UK Online, and many more offer broadband of varying speeds from 512Kbits/s at the lower end, all the way up to 16Mbits/s. The actual speed you can have will depend on a number of factors, the most important of which is the internet service providers operating in your area. Other factors include your location in the UK, and whether you are on a cable network or use a BT phone line.

Still using dialup?
If you still use a dialup service, it’s worth considering switching to broadband because most starter broadband packages are now cheaper than dialup plans use to be. If you haven’t experienced broadband yet, believe me, once you switch you will never go back.

‘Free’ internet
A few ISPs are now offering ‘free’ internet. They’re not technically free because a condition is that you buy into a bundled package. Talk Talk are offering ‘free’ internet if you buy their telephone service; Orange do so as well if you buy a mobile plan. There have been reports of long delays for the Talk Talk service. I suspect there are also many happy customers also.

A good way to find a cheaper deal is to use various price comparison search engines such as uswitch.com and moneysupermarket.com.

http://www.uswitch.com/Broadband

http://www.moneysupermarket.com/broadband

If you are considering switching, it’s important to make sure you’ve fulfilled your contract (usually 1 year). If you do switch and need help setting up your new service, call PC Supporter. Let me know if you have any questions.

Jon

There seems to be a lot of confusion about what is necessary to adequately protect your computer from the gremlins of the internet so I thought it would be a good idea to outline the 3 main methods we should all implement to make our computers safer from attack. Namely antivirus, PC firewall and anti-spyware software.

Make no mistake, there are literally thousands of menaces out there designed to make your life a misery. What motivates somebody to create a virus that wreaks havoc on computer networks is anyone’s guess but I want to concentrate on how we can safeguard our systems. And don’t worry about costly software because all my recommendations are free.

Antivirus Software To protect yourself from the majority of threats, it’s absolutely imperative that your system has antivirus software installed and running at all times. If you suspect your system is infected, you should perform a full system scan immediately. The longer you put it off, the more damage can occur. If your system takes longer to boot up, longer to open programs, displays unexpected pop-ups and generally performs sluggishly, chances are you have a virus or spyware infection. One of the most popular antivirus programs is AVG Anti-Virus Free which can be downloaded at:

http://free.grisoft.com/softw/70free/setup/avg75free_432a861.exe.

PC Firewall Connecting to the Internet is a two way exercise. While you visit your favourite sites, hackers can visit your computer. Hackers want to steal your personal data, such as bank account numbers and passwords. They also want to hijack you computer to launch attacks on other computers, even on entire networks. All this can be done without your knowledge.
You can prevent hacker attacks by installing a PC firewall. This will stop unauthorised access your computer and at the same time allows your computer complete, unrestricted access to the Internet. Although antivirus software protects you from known viruses and can help clean up after a virus attack, a PC firewall is needed to block unauthorised access to your computer and protect against malicious software and Internet threats. One of the most popular PC Firewall programs avaliable is ZoneAlarm which can be downloaded at

http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/company/products/znalm/freeDownload.jsp.

Anti-Spyware Many people underestimate the harm that spyware can do to their computer. Spyware has surpassed viruses as the #1 threat to identity theft. Spyware sometimes referred to as Malware performs a range of behaviours such as advertising, collecting personal information, or changing the configuration of your computer. Symptoms include pop-up adverts when you are not online, your browsers home page changing, unwanted toolbars appearing on your browser, a general slowdown in performance and sudden increase in erratic system crashes. Spyware can be introduced to your system when installing new programs or via Phishing. Phishing is when a fraudulent email encourages you to supply personal information such as credit card numbers or usernames for bank accounts. There are a few popular Anti-spyware programs available.

Spybot-Search & Destroy can be downloaded at:

http://www.safer-networking.org

Microsoft Windows Defender can be downloaded at:

http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx

LavaSoft’s Ad-Aware can be downloaded at:

http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/.

In closing, I cannot stress more the importance of installing antivirus, PC firewall and anti-spyware software on your system. I hope this post gives you enough information to protect your system from harm. As always, please contact me if you have any questions.

Jon

PC Supporter provides computer support for homes and small businesses in and around Edgware, North London.

www.pcsupporter.co.uk has been up and running for a while now and provides information about the services I offer. I decided to create this blog to compliment the main site and provide a place where information can be exchanged relating to computer support.

I don’t intend to reinvent the wheel in terms of computer support information. Instead, I’ll supplement my posts with links to places on the net containing useful information that will help you and your PC.

Although the blog is looking quite empty at the moment, with time, it will contain a host of information relating to computer support which hopefully you will find useful.

In the meantime, here’s a warning about the importance of backing-up your data:-