If  you get an email from United Parcel Service notifying you of a delivery DO NOT Open the attachment!  It’s probably a nasty bit of MalWare that will make a mess of your Windows computer. It has been circulating for a little while now and is on a roll right now.  Some anti-virus and anti-malware software will catch this but better to be safe and just delete the email.  This is not how UPS notifies people.  The other clues to realizing this is a bogus email is the bad grammar and spelling.  This attack has already duped many people so don’t take a chance and just delete it.

Now, if you already infected yourself the best advise is to use system restore and restore to an earlier date.   Here’s some more on the topic.

http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2011/02/04/outbreak-united-parcel-service-notification-malware-attack-spammed-out/

Dropbox is a great way to backup important files off site so they are safe and also accessible from any computer.  You can install Dropbox on your computer and then just copy files into your Dropbox folder for safe keeping.  They are automatically uploaded to your online Dropbox Storage account.  Use the link below to sign up and get your own FREE Dropbox account.  Free accounts come with 2 gigs plus a little extra for using the link below.  Then you can refer your own friends and get even more free space.  They also have very reasonable paid accounts for even higher backup storage needs.  Use the link below and check it out.

CLICK HERE TO CREATE YOUR FREE DROPBOX

The question came up.  How do I partition an external hard drive?  This is a good thing to know especially if your external drive dies and you replace the drive inside the case with a new one.  Or if you just want to break that huge new drive into seperate logical drives.  This way you’ll have two 500 Gig drives rather than a 1 TerraByte drive.   Do this with a NEW drive or at least a drive that is empty and doesn’t contain files you want to save.  All data is lost when you partition a drive so if there are files on it copy them somewhere else.

Partitioning USB drives can be done using Microsft Management Console which is built into Windows.  To start MMC enter mmc in the Start Search box or with XP the run box.  This will open the program.   Click on File and then Add/Remove Snap In.   Click the Add button and then double click on Disk Management.  Click Finish and close the selection boxes.  Now you should see the Disk Management program in the Console Window.

Now double click on the Disk management program and you will see the drives connected to your computer.  Your drives will show the current partitions and unallocated space.  Your new drive will show the entire drive as unallocated so right click and select create partition.  You will be able to set the amount of space you want to use.  To split the drive into two logical drive you would only allocate half the space.  If you want one big drive you select all the space.  You can also assign drive letters.  You can then use MMC to format your new partitions and make them ready for use.

If you have an old small external hard drive you can put a new higher capacity drive in to that case.  Bare drive prices are pretty low.  We always find good deals at TigerDirect.  Click the banner below and check them out yourself.

Sometimes you may want to grab an image that is on your computer screen.  Like an image in a .pdf file or part of a web page.  Maybe details or instructions.  Do it using a “screen capture”.   Hitting ” Alt – Print Screen ” will copy your active window to your clip board.  Then open your favorite graphics editor, or MS Paint, and start a new document,  pasting your copied screen image into it.  Now you can crop out and save any piece of the image you want to keep.

Simple and very useful.

We have serviced quite a few computers lately infected by Antivirus 2010 Malware.  It started as a simple looking pop up while browsing common websites.

This is a nasty, rogue anti-spyware program that displays totally false security messages to trick users into purchasing a full version of Antivirus 2010 software.  Antivirus 2010 was designed by Russian hackers to steal your money and install even more malware.  Antivirus 2010 is a rogue anti-spyware scanner that can seriously damage your PC.  Once you are tricked into clicking the Antivirus 2010 deceptive ads, you’re taken to a purchase page where you are prompted to download the Antivirus 2010 software.  Antivirus 2010 will hijack your browser, display fake security warnings, and slow your computer to a crawl.

Antivirus 2010 behaviour

• Antivirus 2010 displays fake spyware detection reports
• Antivirus 2010 can slow your computer
• Antivirus 2010 can download and install other malware
• Antivirus 2010 floods internet connection
• Antivirus 2010 displays a fake Blue Screen Of Death (Windows fatel error screen)
• Antivirus 2010 is difficult to remove

We did find some manual removal instructions on the web and they seemed to work.  On the first computer we saw we removed it manually by deleting files and some registry entries as per the instructions we found but then we installed Malware Bytes on the others and did a full scan.  It also seems to have worked.

So if you see any kind of pop up about AntiVirus 2010 Beware!!!  Don’t click it.  Right clicking the icon in the task bar and selecting “close” is a probably good idea so you don’t accidently click anything on that pop up window.

Some tips..

• Surf and download safely. Only go to websites you trust. Free, file-sharing programs are often bundled with sneaky spyware.
• Read all End User License Agreements and Privacy Statements carefully before installing new software.
• Never click “agree” or “OK” to close a pop-up window because that can trigger spyware. Only click on the red “x” in the corner or click on Alt + F4 to close the window safely.
• Update your software regularly to make sure you have all the latest critical and security updates.
• Adjust your browser security settings to Medium or higher (click on Internet Options under Tools. Select the Security tab).
• Do not let other people use your computer.
• Do not open spam e-mail messages or attachments from people you do not know. It is even wise to check with those you do know that the attachment actually came from them.
• Be aware of sophisticated phishing scams via e-mail (messages that actually look like they are from your bank, internet provider, etc).
• Choose passwords with both numbers and letters, or to be even more secure pick a “pass phrase”. Never use birthdays, family or pet names.
• Never log into your bank or other financial accounts from public computers or from wireless networks where login information can be stolen.

Be Careful out there!

It happens to the best of us now and then. From somewhere, somehow your computer gets infected with “Malware”. Little programs that work in the background to collect information about you and send you ads.  Or worse.  Send you to unasked for websites.

Or maybe your computer is running real slow all of a sudden and you can’t seem to get to web pages you want.   Maybe Malware is your problem.

Recently we found some great free software to scan and clean your computer of this nasty stuff and MalWare Bytes seems to be pretty thorough.  We run a couple different MalWare programs but this one found 42 things the others didn’t.  And got rid of them for me.  Check it out and see what you find.

http://www.malwarebytes.org

Helpful Site Pick Of The Week

There are places on the internet to find all sorts of helpful information.  Finding good computer tips and fixes for problems you may be having is usually not hard.  Now finding one place, that seems to have it all, can be a problem.  Here’s a place that seems to cover just about any PC topic you may be interested in.   This is our Helpful Site Pick of the week!  The How-To Geek.  Check it out!!

The Blue Screen Of Death–Your Computer Has Crashed

By: John Mowatt

Some kinds of computer errors will completely shut down your computer. An error of this kind is called a Stop Error for obvious reasons. There are a number of different kinds of Stop error and one quite well known and feared example is the blue screen of death or BSOD for short.

In the case of a BSOD error you will be shown an error code and a message on the blue screen. The error code and the message will help you find a starting point for correction of the problem. A BSOD problem can be the result of either a hardware or software malfunction. A hardware problem is however the most likely cause.

Examination of the BSOD will show the error description such as KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED along with a decimal number error code. The BSOD screen will tell you how to undertake some troubleshooting of the problem under the error details.

This troubleshooting process will tell you to

1. Make certain that any new hardware or software which you have recently installed has been properly installed.

2. Remove or disable the newly added software or hardware item to see if this resolves the problem.

This error description will show the eight digit decimal numbered error code. Four more numbers in parentheses will usually be present and give more information about the error.

Here are some ways you may go about repairing the BSOD errors:

A. The first thing you should do is to use your antivirus program to scan and remove any viruses which could be causing your computer problem.

B. To check your hard drive for malware you can use an antispyweare program. There are some free and very good applications such as ADAWARE and SPYBOT which you can find on the internet. These do a good job of scanning for and removing malware.

C. Check the memory sticks in your computer to ensure that your RAM is working properly. If you find any evidence of damage it will be necessary to remove and replace the damaged memory stick.

D. If the BSOD happens soon after you have installed new software try uninstalling the software to see if this resolves the error.

E. If you have just installed or updated a driver use the Device Manager which is installed in your computer to uninstall or reinstall the driver and the update.

Finally if none of the above have corrected the problem there is a good probability that the crash has been caused by a corrupt registry.

The registry is a huge databank which contains all the files used by the operating system to run the computer. Over some time as the computer is used many fragments of data can accumulate in your registry causing it to bcome corrupted. The operating system then has difficulty in accessing the data it requires to run the machine.

The result of this is that the computer runs slow and you need to obtain one of the top registry cleaners which can quickly fix registry problems. You can find several Windows XP registry cleaners available for download on the internet.

A good windows reg cleaner will first offer you a free scan to determine whether or not you actually need to fix registry problems.After you have viewed the report from this totally free scan you can decide if you want to undertake registry repair. Actually it is highly advisable to use the Windows registry repair software to do the job for you. If you attempt it manually and remove just one essential entry by mistake you may disable your computer.

A good PC registry repair application will do the job quickly and easily. This is registry repair the safe way. We obtained and ran tests on a number of the popular Windows XP registry cleaners and found that some of them are better than the others although they all do the work. We found one in particular which provided superior results.

About the Author:

Would you like to have an absolutely free scan of your computer to fix registry errors? Would you like to know which of the Windows XP registry cleaners we found to be by far the best? Check out our website for lots of free information and resources: Computer runs slow

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – The Blue Screen Of Death–Your Computer Has Crashed

Solid Ink – How Does it Compare With Color Inkjet

If you want to buy a color printer, there are three choices: color inkjet printer, color laser printer or solid ink printer. Both color inkjet and color laser printers have been around for a long time while solid ink printers are relatively new to most people. So what are the differences among solid ink vs color inkjet vs color laser printers?

Color inkjet printers require a low initial investment but the liquid ink runs out quickly and the replacement ink cartridges are expensive. Color inkjet printers print slowly but there is no warm up time. The ink may smear on some papers and the printout is not resistant to light and water. In general, color inkjet printer can produce good quality text and excellent images on special paper.

Color laser printers are more expensive than inkjet printers. The replacement toner cartridges are also costly although they can usually last for a long time. Color laser printers have a high print speed but they do require warm up time. Because of the complex design, laser printers are bulky and take up a lot of space. Color laser printers can produce excellent text quality but unless you buy the high end color laser printers, they are less capable of producing high quality images. Unlike inkjet cartridges, it is less common to refill the toner cartridges. The empty cartridges produce lot of waste and take a long time to decompose in landfill.

Solid ink printers use ink sticks instead of cartridges. The ink sticks are in solid form at room temperature. When they are heated to a specific temperature, they are melted and applied through the print head. Once printed on the media, they return to solid form immediately. The way solid ink works give them some distinct advantages over color inkjet and color laser printers.

1) The wax based ink produces good quality text, vivid colors and bright images on a wide range of media.

2) The ink sticks can be used up entirely for printing, there is no empty cartridge left.

3) Solid ink printers have simple design, so they are more compact and affordable than color laser printers.

4) Unlike color inkjet printers, solid ink printers can print at a high speed and are good at high volume printing.

5) Replacement solid ink sticks are more affordable than color inkjet or color laser cartridges.

6) Solid ink sticks are easy to use and handle, there is no leaking and spillage.

However, solid ink printers also have some disadvantages, such as longer warm up time, higher power consumption as the ink has to be heated even at standby mode. The wax based ink is difficult to write on and is not resistant to sunlight.

In summary, if you want to buy a color printer for occasional color printing at home, a color inkjet printer will be a good choice for you. However, if you are shopping for a color printer for office use, you should do some research on the solid ink printers. The relatively low investment cost, affordable consumables, compact design and good print quality for both text and image make the solid ink printers an attractive choice for small businesses.

About the Author:
Kwan H Lo owns a review site promoting high quality discount ink / toner cartridges including dell printer cartridges and Xerox Phaser 8500 / 8550 ink.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Solid Ink – How Does it Compare With Color Inkjet

Setting up your home network is not as hard as you may think.  All you need is a Cable/DSL Router to plug into your cable modem or other high speed Internet service.  You plug the router into your cable modem just like it was a computer.  After it negotiates with the modem and sets itself up you can plug your computer into one of the  routers  LAN ports and after your computer does a little negotiating you should connect to the internet.  Routers normally will have 4 ports that you can plug computers into.  With wireless capability you can plug in 4 computers or devices and also connect with Wireless Computers and Laptops.  You can also plug your internet ready game system into your router or a Network Ready Printer.  Routers are usually setup by default to do everything automatically so you normally don’t have to do any configuring.  With the exception of wireless.  If your Router is a Wireless Ready Router you will probably have to access your router’s setup screens and set up some parameters like security keys if desired.  Wireless functions are usually off by default and you have to log in to the router and turn it on.  Instruction for logging into your router were probably included with your router on paper or on a cd in PDF format.  If not most manufacturers website have all you need.

Need a Wireless Ready Router to set up you home network Click the Banner below.  Search for Routers and you’ll finds lots of good deals!!

We’re also available to help if you need it.

So many people don’t know this simple but useful Windows trick!!

Suppose you need to include a picture of a particular Web site in a newsletter or memo. There’s no need to go to a lot of trouble. All you have to do is press Alt + Print Screen. This will capture the active screen and save it to the Windows Clipboard. Now, you can run Paint or another graphics program and press Ctrl + V to paste the picture into the paint program. There you can crop and edit to get exactly the part you want. Or, if you’re currently working on your newsletter and you want the whole image, you can just paste the picture directly into your word processor.

 There are still old DOS based programs being run today on many computers. Mostly older retail systems or custom systems that were created many years ago and they just keep running. Here’s some info on network printing in a DOS enviroment with Win XP or Windows 2000.

Printing from DOS Programs under Windows XP or Windows 2000

In Windows 9x, there was a button in the printer properties to “capture printer port”. Windows 2000 and XP don’t have this button, so to print from a program running a Command Prompt window or an emulated DOS environment you may have to use a subterfuge. There are three cases:

- The printer is a Local Printer and the print device is connected directly to a parallel port (e.g. LPT1).

In this case, you should not have to anything to be able to print from a Command Prompt, from an emulated DOS prompt (command.com) or a DOS (16 bit) program.

- The printer is a Local Printer and the print device is connected to a USB or some other kind of port (e.g. a Standard TCP/IP port).

In this case, you need to either:

pool the port the printer is on with the LPT1 port

or

create a share for the printer and map the printer to an emulated local port that DOS knows about (e.g. LPT1). Do steps 1 through 7 below

- The printer is a Network Printer or is a Local Printer on a port with a UNC name (see When installing Additional Drivers doesn’t work).

In this case, map the printer to an emulated local port that DOS know about (e.g. LPT1). Do only steps 6 through 7 below.

If your computer is running Windows XP and you are not an administrator, you may not be able to map the printer to LPT1. In this case, if your DOS program allows you to specify printing to LPT2, do steps 6 through 7 and use lpt2 instead of lpt1 in step 7. If your DOS program will only print to LPT1, ask your administrator or support staff to implement the devcon work around described in the second bullet in the Resolution section of the article at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/313644.

Here’s the detailed steps:

(Create a share for the local printer.)

Open the printer’s Property Page (right click, properties)
Select the Sharing tab
Select the Share this printer radio button
In the Share name: box, key the name you want to use as the printer’s share name. The default is the same as the printer’s name, but you may want to change it so that it is short and doesn’t have any embedded spaces. This will make it easier later.
Click OK

(Map the printer share to an emulated local port. If you also have a Local Printer on your parallel port, use a different emulated local port (e.g. LPT2). In step 7, use this other port’s name (e.g. lpt2) instead of lpt1.)

Open a Command Prompt (Start, (All) Programs, Accessories)

key: net use lpt1: \\computername\printersharename /persistent:yes and press Enter

for computername, use the name of your computer

for printersharename, use the share name you keyed in step 4

The /persistent:yes parameter makes the mapping of the printer to the emulated lpt1 port persistent, so you don’t have to issue this command every time you logon.

Pain-Free Steps For Setting Up A Wireless Network In Your Home
By: Adrian Adams

If you have multiple computers in your home – and multiple people who need internet access, for business, school, or social matters – you’re probably tired of the hassle of sharing the one computer with internet or if you already have a wired network and are tired of dealing with wires running up and down the stairs, across the floor, and through the wall you’re definitely a prime candidate for a wireless internet network in your home!

While it may sound like something complicated and difficult to set up, the truth is that is doesn’t take years of technical expertise to get started. Here are four pain-free steps to follow to set up a wireless network in your home and then enjoy surfing the net on your laptop while relaxing on the couch! 

1) Buy Equipment

You’ll need a wireless router, a Broadband internet connection, and a computer that has either a wireless network adapter or an internal wireless card. Make sure the router box tells you there’s a built-in firewall – you don’t want neighbors stealing your internet, and a firewall also protects you from anyone else gaining access to your internet history or passwords.

2) Connect Your Router

Turn off your DSL or cable modem by unplugging it. Then, connect the wireless router to the modem.

Plug the modem back in, and turn it on. Walk around and do something else for a few minutes – the modem will need this time to reconnect to the internet – and then you can plug in and turn on the router. After another minute or two, you should see the WAN light come on, letting you know that the router has connected to the modem.

3) Configure Your Router

Your wireless router came with a networking cable, which you will need to use to connect your computer or laptop to an open network port located on the router. This is only temporary, so don’t worry about seeing a wire!

The router and your computer should connect automatically, so open your internet browser – Internet Explorer seems to work best for many computers – and type in the web site address from your router’s instructions or documentation. It will be a string of numbers, and you’ll then be prompted for a password which will also be inside the router documentation or sometimes right on the router casing.

You’ll then be shown a screen which is your router configuration page. You’ll need to configure three things on here:

- Add your wireless name, the SSID. Choose a name that your neighbors wouldn’t use, as this will be the identifier for your personal wireless network.

- Turn on WEP, wireless encryption that will protect your network. This is what keeps people outside the house from breaking into your internet history or hacking passwords to important sites. This needs a password or phrase.

- Add an administrative password. This should be a combination of numbers, letters, and symbols – you’ll need to remember it, but it should be obscure and uncommon. If you have to change the router settings at any point, this is the password you’ll need to get in.

Make sure you hit ‘save- after you change the settings, or else the configuration will revert to the default settings. You can now remove the network cable from your computer.

4) Connect Your Computers

First, download and install Windows XP Service Pack 2. Then, head into your computer and select ‘view available wireless networks- after selecting the wireless network icon at the bottom of your computer screen. You should then see your wireless network listed as an available network. You may have to hit refresh once or twice, but once it appears, you can select your network and hit ‘connect’.

You’ll be prompted to enter your encryption key/password from earlier, and then you can hit ‘connect- again. Windows should show you that it is attempting to connect to your wireless network, and once you’re connected – that’s it! Enjoy your wireless internet access.

Article Source: http://www.fresh-article-directory.com

Looking for Wireless Routers? Try www.wireless-routers.org/

The article above describes the basics.  If you need help with your wireless network at home or office please contact us.  A contact form is on our “About Us” page.