Mon, 21 May 2012 14:56:52 -0500WeeblyWed, 30 Nov 2011 10:40:28 -0500http://www.thecomputerhealer.com/1/post/2011/11/how-to-uninstall-cloud-av-2012-malware-spywarecloud-av-2012-is-a-fake-anti-virus-scanning-tool-made-to-look-like-a-legitimate-windows-programtle-click-and-type-to-edit.htmlHow To Uninstall Cloud AV 2012 Malware / SpywareCloud AV 2012 is a fake anti-virus scanning tool made to look like a legitimate Windows program. Once installed to a computer Cloud AV 2012 will configure itself to start automatically when Windows starts up. Once the program runs it will begin to do numerous scans that come up with virus entries that it found on your computer. These warnings and scans are problems it finds are not actual threats but made up ones the program creates. If you attempt to remove the issues with Cloud AV 2012 it will ask that you pay for the full version. You should never purchase this program, Cloud AV 2012 was created to trick users into purchasing a fake program in an attempt to steal credit card information.



Manual Removal of Cloud AV 2012:First to avoid any further infections caused by internet browsing redirects users will need to go to their Internet Options; this can be done by going to the start menu followed by control panel. Once in Internet Options choose the “Connections” tab followed by “LAN Settings” uncheck the “Use a Proxy Server” Option. Once done click “Ok” to save these settings.

Next users need to disable the process from running, to do this press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to open up the task manager, once opened choose “Processes” and look for .exe, click on the process and then click the “End Process” button. This will disable the program from running and will allow the files to be removed. The following is a list of files that need to be deleted:

• %AppData%\<random>\
• %AppData%\<random>\
• %AppData%\<random>\
• %AppData%\ahst.lni
• %AppData%\dwme.exe
• %AppData%\<random>\
• %AppData%\<random>\<random>.exe
• %AppData%\<random>\<random>.46D
• %AppData%\<random>\
• %AppData%\<random>\Cloud AV 2012.ico
• %Desktop%\Cloud AV 2012.lnk
• %ProgramFiles%\<random>\
• %ProgramFiles%\LP\
• %ProgramFiles%\LP\<random>\
• %ProgramFiles%\LP\<random>\027.exe
• %System%\Cloud AV 2012v121.exe
• %Temp%\dwme.exe
• %StartMenu%\Programs\Cloud AV 2012\
• %StartMenu%\Programs\Cloud AV 2012\Cloud AV 2012.lnk

Remove Privacy Protection Registry Entries :

• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run “<random>”
• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run “<random>”
• HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon “Shell” = %AppData%\<random>\<random>.exe

]]>Wed, 30 Nov 2011 10:03:13 -0500http://www.thecomputerhealer.com/1/post/2011/11/common-server-slowdowns.html“My server is slow”A lot of the general server slowness I’ve been seeing recently has been with clients who use SQL daily.

How can you tell it’s SQL slowing the server down?Go into the processes in task manager and look for sqlservr.exe. If it’s taking up a lot of RAM, then it usually is part of the problem. For example, theirs is running at 2gb total between 2 processes. Normally it should be under 500mb but it depends on the system. There are cases when this is not true and they are fully functional with huge databases, but it is something to consider as part of diagnosing a slow server.

Open SQL DatabasesRun MSSMSE (Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio Express) and connect to a database. Sometimes they are listed automatically. Server type should be Database Engine. Server name should be server_name\database_name such as APPSERVER\SBSMONITORING. Authentication should be Windows Authentication. Sometimes you can’t find the right names in the GUI and you can literally type them in and see if they open. You can also go into Services and check for database names in the SQL and MSSQL areas (for example, SQL Server (SQLEXPRESS) would be one). Sometimes you can click the dropbar for Server name and go to Browse and find them that way as well.

Once you connect, expand Databases to see the names. You can ignore anything that says System, master, tempdb, model, or msdb.

Shrinking SQL DatabasesShrinking databases is sometimes a good thing. It acts like defragmenting a hard drive and can help the server get to data quicker and easier. This should be done on large log files or databases if there are complaints about a program being slow.

First, view the log files by clicking on the database name and then clicking the New Query button. Type dbcc sqlperf(logspace) and then press the Execute button. Below the log file sizes are listed in the results tab. Anything over 20mb can be considered large. Take note of the names of the large databases.

If any log files are large, then run the following on it, replacing database_name with each database name:

• backup log database_name
• with truncate_only
• dbcc shrinkdatabase(database_name, truncateonly)
• Run dbcc sqlperf(logspace) again to see the new size, it should be under 1mb.

You can also use the GUI in MSSMSE to shrink the databases themselves. They can take minutes to hours to complete, depending on size, so give yourself adequate time to do this after hours, or just stick to weekends.

Right-click on the database name and go to Tasks, Shrink, Database. Click OK and let it execute. It should disappear when it completes. If you get any errors, it might be too large to shrink or busy at the moment. Like defragmenting, sometimes it requires space to shrink so you may have to increase the Initial Size and try again, which will be covered below in Optimizing. You can try again after shrinking the files. Right-click on the database name and go to Tasks, Shrink, Files. Under File Type, choose Data or Log and then click OK to shrink them. Make sure to go back and do BOTH Data AND Log. Do these same steps for each database that is necessary.

Optimizing Databases For SpeedThere are a couple settings that will make databases slower or are bad in combination. Normally these settings can be ignored for small databases (under 50mb) since they don’t make a huge difference in speed for those, but large databases can be very slow because of them.

First, open MSSMSE and open the appropriate connections. Right-click on the database name and go to Properties. Under Options, we want to set Auto Close to False and Auto Shrink to False. Auto Close keeps the database closed between access and can make it very slow when it is constantly opening and closing. Auto Shrink is good for saving space on the hard drive but it can slow down a server if every time it expands the database to make room, this process shrinks it back down and they battle for size.

Next, go to Files. Here you can change the Initial Size (MB) to larger if you are unable to shrink a database down (see above) because the database is 500mb but it says 25mb as initial size. Increase it to over 500mb in that case so it have some room to shrink down. Normally this setting can be ignored. Autogrowth is the focus of this section. I suggest setting the Data File Type to By 100mb, unrestricted growth and the Log File Type to By 10mb, 25mb, 50mb, or 100mb in either restricted or unrestricted. If the log file is very small (< 5mb), then it doesn’t need to increase by 100mb each time, 10mb would be fine.

Corrupt SBS Monitoring DatabaseIn MSSMSE, open SBSMonitoring, expand databases, right click it and go to Properties. If the size is over 2gb then it might be corrupt. Once it reaches 4.5gb it will be impossible to shrink down, and you know for sure it is corrupt.

Every SBS 2008 server has the database SBSMonitoring running, which can get corrupted and grow up to 4gb big. As your database is completely filled up, then you can replace it with a clean empty one, to install your new clean database, please follow these steps:

1. Run services.msc.

2. Stop the Datacollectorsvc service(Windows SBS Manger Service), SQL Server(SBSMONITORING) service (To be able to unlock monitoring database files)

3. Change the name of those 2 files in case you will use them in the future:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL.1\MSSQL\Data\SBSMonitoring.mdf

C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL.1\MSSQL\Data\SBSMonitoring_log.ldf

to

C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL.1\MSSQL\Data\SBSMonitoring-bak.mdf

C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL.1\MSSQL\Data\SBSMonitoring_log-bak.ldf

4. Download http://cid-6ca40dd0d4c9caa6.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx/.Public/sbsmonitoring.zip file. (I have these files now if we need them in the future)

5. Unzip the zip file and copy those two files to C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL.1\MSSQL\Data\ folder

Note: you don’t need to do detach or attach database in SQL Management Studio. And that database has already been tuned by the SQL command above.

6. Start the SQL Server(SBSMONITORING) service

7. Start the Datacollectorsvc service(Windows SBS Manger Service)

]]>Wed, 30 Nov 2011 10:01:58 -0500http://www.thecomputerhealer.com/1/post/2011/11/small-office-and-home-routers-vulnerable-to-web-hack.htmlWho is affected with Small Office and Home Routers Web Hacks?
Anyone with a router or firewall is advised to make sure you are using something other than the default password or a simple password.

We have heard of this type of security risk before but until this week we have never seen the problem first hand. We have had 2 cases of routers being hacked and DNS entries being changed in 3 days and I expect that number to grow.

How It Works
What happens is malicious code is used to exploit DNS setting on routers with weak or default passwords. Once these DNS settings are changed, any PC attached to the device that uses those DNS records will be redirected to sites other than the site they were looking for.

What To Do
The best action to take is to prevent the attack by changing your router password to something secure using letters, numbers and special characters. Simply adding a “!” to an existing password makes your security exponentially better. We recommend your password be at least 10 characters long with a combination of letters, numbers and special characters.

If you are already affected you will need to contact your internet provider and see what DNS servers to use and then use those settings on your router. You will also need to change your password or you will risk having the same problem all over again.

If those settings are correct and you are still having problems it may be caused by something else. You can also contact us and we will help you.

We suspect that the attack is coming from a website that was visited but it could also come from spyware already on your PC. It is highly unusual to get such a rare attack on two completely different systems so close together and I expect the problem to grow over the next few weeks. Even if you are not affected, it is still recommended to improve your security by updating your password.

We secure all routers and firewalls we install for both our home and corporate clients but if we did not install your device you could be at risk and as a precaution we will be logging on to our corporate clients firewalls to confirm the security. If you need help or want more information feel free to contact us.

]]>Wed, 30 Nov 2011 10:00:18 -0500http://www.thecomputerhealer.com/1/post/2011/11/windows-7-peer-to-peer-setup-fix.htmlIf you are using Microsoft Windows 7 Peer to Peer as a file server to share files to other XP or Windows 7 Computers on the network you may find that the network slows down or fails to connect after a short amount of time. You may also fin the following error in the Event Viewer of the Windows 7 Peer to Peer File Server:

Source: srv 
Event ID: 2017 
Level: Error 
The server was unable to allocate from the system nonpaged pool because the server reached the configured limit for nonpaged pool allocations.

If you need to share files off a Microsoft Windows 7 Computer to other PCs on the network you need to tell it to allocate resources correctly or you may experience problems after the share has been active for a while or when transferring files.

To fix the problem you need to set the following registry key to ‘1′ on the Windows 7 Peer to Peer File Server:

HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\LargeSystemCache

and set the following registry key to ‘3′:

HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanServer\Parameters\Size

Reboot after making these changes and you will find the problem no longer occurs.

]]>Wed, 30 Nov 2011 09:58:53 -0500http://www.thecomputerhealer.com/1/post/2011/11/windows-7-slow-to-login-to-domain-enviroment.htmlSymptoms: Win7 machines appears to take a very long time to log into their desktop.

Search Terms: Win7 x64, windows 7 64 bit, slow log on, slow logon, slow domain, long welcome screen

Fixes:

Solution 1: Registry Hack

1. Run gpedit.msc.
2. Go to computer configuration.
3. Go to Administrative templates.
4. Go to System.
5. Go to User profiles.
6. Enable “Set maximum wait time for the network if a user has a roaming user profile or remote home directory” and set to 0 seconds
7. Source: blog.bigsmoke.us/2010/03/17/fixing-extremely-slow-domain-logon-windows-7

Solution 2: Desktop Background

1. Change the background from a solid color to an image.
2. If a solid color is necessary, create a 1×1 pixel of the color and save it as a bmp and use that image

]]>Wed, 30 Nov 2011 09:57:17 -0500http://www.thecomputerhealer.com/1/post/2011/11/post-title-click-and-type-to-edit2.htmlSolution: 
Upgrade to one of the following versions:

6.0.12 or higher
6.5.5 or higher

These versions increase the time allowed for the copy process to five (5) minutes.

 

If this issue persists increase the copy timeout using the following steps:

1. Run regedit.
2. Create the following DWORD registry key:

64 bit Operating System: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Symantec\SMSMSE\<version>\Server\DefsUpdateTimeInSecs
32 bit Operating System: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Symantec\SMSMSE\<version>\Server\DefsUpdateTimeInSecs

NOTE:  Replace <version> with the version of SMSMSE installed.  For example on a 32-bit system with 6.5 installed the key is: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Symantec\SMSMSE\6.5\Server\DefsUpdateTimeInSecs.

3. Set the value of the key to be the timeout in seconds.  For example to set a ten (10) minute timeout set the value to 600.
4. Close Regedit.
5. Restart the following SMSMSE service:

Symantec Mail Security for Microsoft Exchange

]]>Wed, 03 Nov 2010 01:44:13 -0500http://www.thecomputerhealer.com/1/post/2010/11/10-tech-mistakes-small-businesses-make-and-how-it-consultants-can-help-clients-avoid-them.htmlSmall businesses must concentrate their time and energy on knowing their own industry — and that often means that effective technology practices get overlooked. Erik Eckel explains the most common tech missteps he’s encountered, along with preventive measures to protect businesses and prevent serious problems.
In today’s microwave society — in which just-in-time manufacturing models, heightened customer expectations, and 24×7 accessibility demands burden both manufacturers and service providers — little time remains for much else. Small businesses often don’t have the resources or inclination to track the latest computer news, security threats, or even common break/fix tips. And not all small business owners are adept at maintaining best technology practices.

As a result, small businesses frequently make certain technology mistakes. Here’s a look at these mistakes, along with specific steps IT consultants can take to assist small businesses in correcting these common failures.

#1: Insufficient technical support

Many organizations go without technical support, relying instead upon an employee whose love of Warcraft may make him or her the local office “computer guru.” Other organizations may depend upon a staffer’s friend or relative (who’s “interested in computers”) to provide technology advice or assistance when critical systems fail or slow unacceptably.

Some turn to their hardware manufacturer’s telephone support line for help, only to be disappointed when the solution to many problems proves to be performing a reinstallation (thereby resulting in the loss of all the business owner’s data). Some rely upon a big box electronic store’s service arm, never receiving the same (novice, often undereducated, and inexperienced) technician twice. And still others locate a student or individual who provides computer support “on the side.”

These support methods are not cost-efficient. Nor are they effective information technology investment, troubleshooting, or administration options.

Small businesses need knowledgeable, trusted technology partners who are proficient with current technologies and willing to help learn their industry’s operations requirements. Once a qualified technology expert is familiar with a client’s needs, appropriate services and solutions can be recommended and deployed. The result is almost always more cost-effective, more efficient, more profitable operations for the client.

#2: Hardware/software issues

Smart organizations set PC service lives at three or four years. There’s a reason.

“When you look at costs — particularly around a four- to six-year lifecycle — it may seem like you are saving money,” says Info-Tech Research Group analyst Darin Stahl. “But really it’s costing you.” That’s because support expenses increase. Retaining PCs longer than three or four years often results in repair and support costs that meet or exceed the price of new systems.

This is the second common tech mistake businesses make: They fail to standardize hardware components and software applications, where possible. The result is a mishmash of components that complicate troubleshooting, repair, and deployment and require companies to support a variety of programs with different license terms and renewal dates. Incompatibilities often result.

Worse, older and obsolete hardware is less efficient, increases downtime likelihood, feeds staff and customer frustration, endangers sales, and threatens other lost opportunities.

Small businesses can overcome common hardware and software issues by:

Retiring equipment at proper lifecycles, typically three to four years.

Standardizing hardware components.

Standardizing software applications.

Working with an IT consultant to leverage vendor relationships and reduce costs/negotiate more attractive pricing.

#3: Insufficient power protection

A single power outage, surge, or spike can damage expensive electronic components and result in critical data loss. Consistent surges and brownouts, meanwhile, shorten the lifespan of computers, printers, network components, and other equipment.

Many businesses deploy simple power strips. Others continue depending upon surge suppressors deployed five and even 10 years earlier. When thunderstorms, electrical outages, and other disasters strike, the damaged systems and corrupted or lost data — not to mention downtime — resulting from insufficient power protection prove costly.

Organizations should deploy quality battery backup devices (with built-in surge suppression) for all critical desktop PCs. Further, technology professionals should connect all servers to uninterruptible power supplies and test them regularly to confirm adequate failover protection is in place.

When deploying battery backups, businesses should properly install and configure corresponding cables and communications software. Network protections should be leveraged whenever possible, as well, in attempts to remediate cable modem, DSL, and other surge sources that can destroy telecommunications and computing equipment.

Since surge suppressor quality varies, organizations should purchase such equipment from trusted vendors. And since surge suppressors (and batteries) wear over time, businesses should replace them regularly.

Simple power strips should be avoided whenever any computer, server, network device, or other important component is present.

#4: Illegal software

Possessing illegal software may be the easiest trap into which many organizations fall. The issue is widespread (the Business Software Alliance estimates 22 percent of all North American software is unlicensed), making it our fourth common tech mistake plaguing small businesses.

Certainly, licensing issues quickly prove perplexing. The differences between OEM, retail, and open license software escapes the understanding of many business owners. Yet manufacturers are becoming more aggressive in locking down licenses (via product activation technologies) and prosecuting offenders (often via the BSA, which has collected more than $81 million in settlements).

Many organizations don’t recognize they do not “own” software, since programs and applications are commonly licensed. Worse, some firms use “borrowed” applications or pirated programs. Problems arise either in the form of audits and penalties or challenging delays (due to product activation conflicts and other licensing issues) when returning failed systems to operation.

Businesses must understand there are no shortcuts to running legitimate operations. All software, applications, and programs must be properly licensed.

With more manufacturers implementing product activation features, in which software programs report their installation and usage back to the manufacturer, overuse or outright piracy is becoming more difficult or impossible, anyway. But violations still occur.

Businesses can protect against licensing errors and penalties, and help ensure the fastest recovery times when failures occur, by carefully documenting and tracking all software license purchases and deployments.

Further, software licenses (including for operating systems, business line, and office productivity applications, accounting programs, security tools, and other utilities) should be purchased only from reputable technology partners. License sales on eBay that look too good to be true are.

Finally, when installing new programs, organizations should pay close attention to the license agreements they accept.

#5: Insufficient training

Mention software training in most any conference room, and you’re likely to hear groans. Boredom, bad classroom experiences, lack of interest, or complexity all contribute to employees’ resistance to learning new applications. But that doesn’t change the fact that insufficient training ranks as the fifth common tech mistake impacting small businesses.

How bad is it?

It’s estimated that office staff understand less than 20% of the available features in the software applications they use. That means 80% of the features, time-saving capabilities, and cost-reducing functions remain unused.

Gross inefficiencies result. As a consequence, many processes — including repetitive data entry, complicated calculations, and automated data selection and reporting — are completed manually, which introduces a greater likelihood of errors entering the process.

Tasks that could be completed in moments often consume exponentially more time. Considering that many of those tasks are repeated each business day by multiple workers, it’s easy to see how the costs quickly become significant.

Most small businesses don’t employ full-time trainers. Therefore it’s imperative that small businesses identify technology partners, training centers, or other programs that assist staff in maximizing software applications.

Even when training resources are present, there’s no guarantee staff skills will improve. For that to happen, businesses must make computer and software training a priority. Tap technology partners or other consultants to conduct regular lunch-and-learn sessions. The business can spring for lunch and, for a few hours of consultant’s fees, expose entire departments to important new features and capabilities.

An organization’s technology training commitment can be reinforced using performance reviews. Businesses can add specific course, off-site training, and even certification requirements to staff education programs and performance review objectives. When partnering with a local training center, businesses can create customized instructional programs or select prepackaged modules.

Organizations with limited budgets, meanwhile, can leverage self-paced instruction manuals and computer-based training aids to assist employees in improving their skills after hours or in their own homes.

#6: Security failures

Small businesses frequently fail to accommodate security issues. Organizations either don’t recognize the risks or don’t take them seriously.

The costs are staggering. Large U.S. organizations lose some 2.2% of their annual income due to security attacks, according to an Infonetics Research “Costs of Network Security Attacks” report. That’s expensive. The FBI estimates such computer crime costs U.S. industry in excess of $400 billion.

Organizations don’t need to have a high profile to become a target, either. Hackers have created innumerable automated programs that scour the Internet 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, seeking poorly secured systems, servers, PCs, and networks to infect and exploit.

Unfortunately, businesses everywhere are falling victim to compromised systems, robotic attacks, identity and data theft, and more. Organizations that fail to properly secure client and customer data often find themselves in the middle of security crises that result in bad press, lost sales, and forfeited customer trust.

Fortunately, completing simple steps assists small businesses in preventing security failures. Here are several best practices all organizations should adopt:

Implement and enforce strong password security policies for all PCs, servers, network equipmen, and software applications.

Regularly update operating systems, network equipment firmware, and applications with the latest security patches.

Deploy business-class firewalls in all locations; connect no systems directly to the Internet.

Secure all wireless networks.

Disable guest accounts.

Implement Internet and e-mail usage policies that preclude personal use of those technologies.

Prohibit file-sharing programs.

Deploy proven antivirus, anti-spyware, and anti-rootkit applications and update them regularly.

Regularly perform security audits and correct all deficiencies.

#7: Poor backup strategies

Despite numerous choices, methods, and options, many organizations fail to adequately back up data — a mistake that can be unrecoverable.

Statistics reveal there is a 50% chance an organization will cease operations immediately when critical data is lost. Worse, an organization’s odds of failure rocket to 90% within two years when critical data is lost. Data losses cost an average of 19 days’ productivity. Recovering data from damaged disks, meanwhile, is incredibly expensive.

Even organizations that believe their data is properly protected may find themselves at risk. Occasionally, incorrect data (as in the wrong data) is backed up. In other cases, tape backups prove unreliable. (Gartner Group estimates only half of all tape backups restore successfully.) Fortunately, small businesses can follow simple steps to securely protect their data.

Since data backups are so critical to an organization’s livelihood, small businesses should work with proficient IT consultants or technology partners to ensure the right data is being backed up and that it’s being backed up as frequently as required. In addition, technology professionals should regularly test backup sets to confirm the data can be recovered in its entirety.

Consultants can work with small businesses to determine what data, files, and information should be backed up, how often to create the data sets, where to locate the backups, and how often to test the sets’ integrity. Consultants also prove invaluable in updating backup routines when software upgrades, migrations, and other updates change critical file locations. Further, technology professionals can ensure business data remains secure, which is a critical concern for physicians, financial institutions, and even retail outlets.

#8: Virus exposure

Viruses not only remain a major threat, but their dangers are increasing. The BBC reports that unprotected PCs become infected within eight seconds of being connected to the Internet.

Infections are proving expensive, too. In the book The Dark Side of the Internet, author Paul Bocij estimates the average virus incident costs organizations $2,500 in remediation and data recovery expenses. A report by ICSA Labs places businesses’ costs even higher (at $99,000 per incident).

And the numbers, varieties, and types of threats only increase. Malware programs are evolving at such a clip that many security software vendors have eliminated daily updates in favor of distributing patches every four hours.

Often, businesses and users simply fail to implement protection. A survey conducted by the National Cyber Security Alliance revealed that 67% of the respondents did not have up-to-date antivirus software. Worse, some 15 percent had no antivirus application installed.

#9: Spyware exposure

Before we address virus solutions, let’s visit spyware, which is an equal threat — and potentially even more daunting.

Spyware differs from viruses in its nature (spyware typically aims to track user behavior, collect user information or sensitive data, and display unwanted advertisements, whereas viruses often destroy data, corrupt systems, or enable hackers to remotely control a system). But spyware’s business impact has reached epidemic levels.

The respected trade group CompTIA estimates spyware infections require two-and-a-half days to resolve and cost small and medium-size businesses $8,000 a year, which doesn’t factor lost revenue. As evidence businesses aren’t doing enough to protect themselves from the threat, CompTIA pointed to the information its research recently uncovered. More than a quarter of business users reported their productivity suffered as the result of a recent spyware infection, and more than a third reported being infected multiple times within the last six months, with some reporting being infected as many as 10 times!

No virus or spyware strategy is foolproof, but most technology consultants recommend the following steps:

Install reputable antivirus and anti-spyware applications.

In high-risk environments, a second standalone anti-spyware application is warranted.

Regularly update antivirus and anti-spyware programs.

Do not let antivirus and anti-spyware program licenses expire.

Perform regular automated antivirus and anti-spyware scans.

Regularly review security program log files to confirm proper operation.

Further, businesses should avoid deploying “free” security products in businesses. These products are often deployed in violation of the license agreements (which require licensing the software in businesses, academic facilities, and nonprofit organizations) and don’t support frequent updates, real-time protection, or automated scans.

#10: Unsolicited E-mail

Most every business and user is familiar with the problem of unsolicited e-mail, also known as spam. Spam messages have become a serious issue, particularly for small businesses that often misunderstand the problem and fail to take effective countermeasures.

The Radicatti Research Group estimates spam costs businesses more than $20 billion a year. Further, almost half of all e-mail is estimated to be spam.

Thus, small businesses are investing valuable time, money, and system resources processing, delivering, and even storing these unsolicited e-mail messages. In addition to lowering productivity (staff must regularly sift through hundreds or more junk mail messages, deleting the spam, in search of legitimate e-mail), spam takes a toll on an organization’s servers and workstations, which often must dedicate processor cycles, disk space, and backup media to untold gigabytes of unwanted mail.

Technology consultants wield several weapons in the war on spam. In addition to network filtering software, consultants can deploy server-based spam protection. Some organizations choose to outsource e-mail processing to a vendor that can monitor e-mail streams and filter out unwanted messages.

But such filters can generate false positives. And they’re not cheap. Therefore, it’s often a good idea to begin by adopting effective methods for managing unsolicited e-mail messages. Here are several first steps all e-mail users and small business owners may take to minimize spam:

Do not publish e-mail addresses in plain text on Web sites; instead use form-based tools that prevent robotic harvesting.

Avoid forwarding chain e-mail messages.

Ignore credit repair, get-rich-quick, and other common e-mail solicitations.

Use reputable e-mail filters (such as those included in Microsoft Outlook, Google Gmail, and other programs).

Read all terms before ever submitting your e-mail address to another party.

Review privacy policies before ever providing an e-mail address.

Consider creating a free e-mail account (Yahoo, Hotmail, Gmail, etc.) for submitting to third parties.

]]>Mon, 21 Jun 2010 06:27:57 -0500http://www.thecomputerhealer.com/1/post/2010/06/choosing-the-best-computer-network.htmlYour business is growing. Is it time for a computer network? You've added 2 new staff members in the past year, and all 5 employees are complaining about the increasing difficulty of sharing files. Your billing database is on a computer which can only be accessed by your administrative assistant and you are concerned about not having a centralized backup of the files being saved on each employee's computer. If all this sounds familiar, it may be time to implement a computer network.

In this blog, we'll look at two main computer network solutions for small and medium businesses. We'll explore the pros and cons of each type so that you can gain an understanding of which type might be the best solution for your business.

Network Basics

Networks begin when two or more computers are connected so that information can be shared. In order to connect to any kind of network, a computer requires a network card and CAT5 or CAT6 cables. (If the computer has a "wireless" network card, radio signals can be used in place of the cables.) A network also requires a piece of equipment called a switch, which acts as a central routing "hub" for the information being shared. A switch is kind of like a mail room in a large company. It makes sure the addressed messages get to the right recipient.

You may have heard the term LAN or WAN. LAN stands for Local Area Network, and usually denotes a network of computers which are fairly close together, say in the same building or office. WAN stands for Wide Area Network. WANs usually connect local area networks which are separated by great distances. (For example, a larger company may have an office LAN in Seattle, and an office LAN in Boston. These two LANs could be connected via a WAN data line.)

Peer to Peer Networks

The most basic type of network is a called a peer to peer network. This type of network consists of several computers which are connected to each other. The "network" consists of shared folders located on computers within the network.

These folders are set to a "shared" status, so that other people connected to the network can access them. Each shared folder is accessed by the users of the network, who set up a certain drive letter (say H:) as a "pointer" to the shared folders on other computers. In addition, any printers connected to any computer can be shared to other network users.

Here's an example. Susan and Joe work together in a small office and need to look at files on each other's computers. Susan creates a folder called "SusansFiles" on her computer and sets it up as a shared folder. Joe can then use the network connections to "see" the folder called "SusansFiles". He sets up a permanent shortcut called "H:" drive to the folder called "SusansFiles". Now when he turns his computer on, Windows Explorer will show the folders on his computer's C: drive, the CDROM D: drive and the shared H: drive as his available file locations. Susan can do the same with a folder that Joe shares out from his computer.

Benefits of a Peer to Peer Network:

• A peer to peer network is inexpensive to set up. It uses the built in networking capabilities of Windows XP Professional (or Vista Business), so no special software is needed. It allows for file and printer sharing, and can be an adequate choice for a very small office.

Limits of a Peer to Peer Network

• Peer to peer networks are dependent upon the computer knowledge of each employee, as certain rules must be followed in order to minimize network interruptions. If a user shuts down his machine in the middle of the day, other users on the network lose access to the files in that machine's shared folder. In the picture provided above, the laptop might only connect to the network when an employee is not traveling. Any files stored on that laptop are not available (and may not be backed up) when that employee is out of the office.
• Network and data security are weak.
• Files are not centralized, so getting a back up of all critical files is more difficult.
• Ongoing tasks like anti-virus scanning and Windows updates are localized on each machine. Updating virus definitions and patches has to be done manually at each machine, which is time consuming.

Client Server Networks

A more common type of network is called a client server network. This type of network uses a central server and specialized network software. The server is dedicated and is only used to store files and run server tasks. The computers which connect to the server are called clients and these are the machines the company staff would use.

The server acts as the "hub" of the network, and does most of the "behind the scenes" maintenance and storage. Common server network operating systems include Windows Small Business Server 2003 or 2008, Windows Server or Linux.

Benefits of a Client Server Network

• The server stores all of the shared files for each user.
• The server runs the file backups which can be scheduled in the middle of the night, minimizing network interruptions.
• The server manages user security, and insures that all users who access the network are authorized to do so.
• The server manages printer sharing and acts as a central repository for the printer drivers and settings.
• The server manages other common tasks such as internet access, email routing, Windows updating and anti-virus definition management.
• The server can also share software applications out to multiple users.
• The server can also provide for an "Intranet", an internal website which holds shared company information such as news announcements, HR policies, training documents, and more.
  
  In short, a client server network provides for easier network administration, and provides a much more robust environment in which provide secure and manageable access to company data.
  
  Limitations of a Client Server Computer Network The benefits of a client server computer network are substantial, but there are some limitations.
• A server based computer network is more expensive to implement. Server computers are powerful machines with built-in redundancy and other hardware to provide data safety. Hence, they cost much more than a simple desktop computer.
• The server network software is also much more powerful, complicated, and must be installed correctly to run all of the required tasks, and so the cost is higher for both the software and installation charges.
• The server is a critical point of failure. If it goes down, the entire network comes to a halt. This drawback can be minimized with the installation of redundant drives in the server (so that if one fails, the others will still be working), and even a second server that can take over if the primary server fails completely. Cost then becomes the only issue.

Which Computer Network is Best For Your Business?

Peer to peer computer networks
are reliant upon the computer users, so employee behavior is a major factor. Peer to peer networking could work for your business if you have the following:

• Computer savvy employees whom you trust.
• Low employee turnover.
• Five or less employees.
• Newer desktop or laptop machines with lots of memory and hard drive space.
• A large capacity portable data storage unit for backing up files and taking them off site.
• Time and motivation to keep the computer patches and maintenance up to date.

A client server computer network
 is more secure, easier to manage, and would be a better solution for your business if the following is true:

• You want to secure your company data and provide access to certain files and folders to only a few employees.
• Your business experiences high employee turnover.
• You have more than 5 employees.
• A secure, complete backup of all of your critical business data is needed.
• A central information repository for your employees would be helpful.
• You want to have a cohesive email solution using a single domain address (i.e., jack@yourcompany.com, megan@yourcompany.com).

Think of the cost of implementing a network as an investment in your business. As your business grows, implementing a computer network will help your employees share information and resources, and in the long run, will play a major role in the successful growth of your business.

For enterprise solutions, there are a number of network assesment services that provide complete needs analysis and can create a custom solution to meet business objectives.]]>Thu, 10 Jun 2010 06:07:40 -0500http://www.thecomputerhealer.com/1/post/2010/06/computer-terminology-for-the-non-tech.htmlEver been confused by computer terminology? I have, and I’m in the technology business!

I believe strongly in using plain old English to explain technical concepts to my customers. I think it's important to give people as much information as they want about computer concepts, mostly because it empowers the user to become independent in their use of the computer.

If a computer support person uses computer terminology during a training session with a user, I think it makes it much harder for the user to learn, because they are thinking about what the term means, instead of listening to the instruction.

Some PC techs will use computer terminology anyway, maybe because it makes sense to them. More likely, some techs use computer terminology to make it seem like they know more than they do. It seems to me that if you know a subject really well, you can speak about it plainly. That’s the mark of a true computer professional, in my opinion.

Here’s a basic computer terminology dictionary that will help you in those situations when someone is trying to obscure the facts with computer speak:

Application: Application is another term for software program; basically a program you use on a computer, like Word, TurboTax, Outlook, etc.

Bandwidth: A measurement of a data line's transmission speed, or the amount of data a network can transfer from one computer to another in a given amount of time.

BIOS: Basic Input/Output System. This term is used to refer to ROM BIOS chip inside the computer. This chip starts and manages the computer bootup process.

Bootstrap Loader: A small program that manages a computer boot up process until the operating system can take over. The bootstrap loader’s only job is to load other software, usually in a sort of sequential chain up to the point when the operating system can get loaded into memory and start. The name "bootstrap loader" comes from the idea that the computer is pulling itself up by its "bootstraps".

Broadband: A bandwidth term that means a data line that will allow large amounts of data to be transferred very quickly. Basically a broadband line will be much, much faster than an old dial-up line.

Burn: To “burn” a CD or DVD means to write data files to it using a special piece of hardware.

Bus: A collection of (usually copper) wires through which data is transmitted from one part of a computer to another. You can think of a bus as a "highway" on which data travels within a computer.

Computer terminology is confusing to users sometimes simply because it uses everyday words to mean something completely different. Burn and Bus are two examples.

Cable vs DSL: Cable and DSL are types of broadband data lines. Cable internet access uses the same lines that bring cable television cable to your house, and DSL (Which stands for Digital Subscriber Line) is a type of high speed data compression which runs over plain old telephone service (POTS) lines.

CMOS: A type of computer chip which is able to operate with a very small amount of electricity from a battery. The term also refers to the contents of a CMOS chip within the computer, which holds information about the computer boot devices, the date and time and its peripherals even while the system is turned off.

Computer Resource: This is a general computer terminology for the components that comprise the processing flow of a computer, including the memory, CPU, etc. You might hear someone say "this program is a resource hog", meaning it takes up a lot of the computer processing ability, and might make the computer run slower overall.

CPU: This stands for Central Processing Unit, and it can mean the box that holds the guts of the computer, or the processor “brain” of the computer. The CPU is the place where all the computer calculations happen.

CPU Sink: CPUs heat up as they work. A CPU sink is a mechanism to keep the CPU cool while it does its calculations. It usually consists of a cooling fan and an aluminum heat sink which draws the heat away the CPU chip.

Defrag: Computers write information to a hard drive by filling in open places on the drive. They don’t write files all in one big block, which means your Word document might be spread out all over your hard drive.

To defrag your computer means to basically rearrange the files on your computer’s hard drive so that file parts are closer together. Once rearranged, the computer will take less time to access the files. Defragging is usually recommended to speed up a slow computer.

DVD+RW: A DVD drive which can not only play DVDs (movies!), it can record and write movie files to a DVD disc.
Hard Drive: This is the central storage space for your computer. Almost always, the hard drive is designated as C: drive. If the drive is partitioned (i.e., split up into different sections), there might also be a D: drive.

The hard disk is comprised of stack of magnetic disks that record and store information. Because the data is stored magnetically, information recorded to your hard drive stays put after you turn your computer off.

This is the difference between hard drives and RAM, or memory.
RAM is dependent on electricity, meaning it is cleared or reset when the computer's power is turned off. That’s why when your computer loses power or freezes up while you are writing an unsaved document, the document is lost. My advice is to get in the habit of pressing Control + S to save your documents when you are working on them. Saving documents writes them to the hard drive magnetically.


IP address: IP (Internet Protocol) addresses are assigned to each and every computer on a TCP/IP network. They work like your home address. Mail or any other package could not get to you if you had no address. IP addresses basically insure that data on a network goes where it is supposed to go. IP addresses look something like this: 192.168.1.25.


Did you know that the Internet is really just a HUMONGOUS TCP/IP network? When you are connected to the internet, your computer has access to literally BILLIONS of computers all over the world.

Isn't that mind boggling? I just thought I'd throw in some trivia with the computer terminology.


ISP: Internet Service Provider: This would be the company that provides your internet access.

Malware: a general term for any malicious piece of software, such as a virus, worm, or trojan.

Mother Board: The green board inside of a computer that allows all of the internal computer components to interact. Some would call it the "heart" of the computer. It routes data to and from all the other parts, including the CPU chip, the RAM, the power supply, etc.

Sometimes computer terminology can be really obscure.. I have NO idea why it's called a MOTHER board. Why not a father board, or a master board? Hmmm..

Network Interface Card (NIC): This is a part of the computer that allows it to talk to other computers (aka, a network) via a network “protocol” or language like TCP/IP.

Operating system: This is the basic software that a computer runs on. Windows 98, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Linux, Unix, and Apple’s Mac OS X Leopard are all operating systems.

Peripherals: This is a general term for computer add-ons like printers, mice, keyboards, scanners, monitor, etc..

POST: This stands for Power On Self Test. When you first turn on a computer, it checks to make sure all its parts are working; it makes sure a keyboard is attached, that memory loads, and that in general, its hardware is working and ready to load the operating system. This test is called the POST.

Processor chip (or just processor): This is the brain of the computer. You’ve probably heard the commercials for the "Intel" chip or the "Xeon" chip. They are talking about the "brain" of the computer, which does all the calculations and task processing.

RAM: this stands for Random Access Memory and is used generically as “memory”. This is the memory on a computer that allows you to hold and run a program so that you work with it on the monitor. More RAM is better.

At the risk of repeating myself, RAM is dependent on electricity, meaning it is cleared or reset when the computer's power is turned off.

So when your computer loses power or freezes up while you are writing an unsaved document, the document is lost. Train yourself to remember to press Control + S to save your documents when you are working on them. Saving them writes them to the hard drive where they will stay when the computer is turned off.

ROM: Read Only Memory. Usually seen in conjunction with BIOS, as in ROM BIOS. Usually a chip onto which the information is permanently burned. Also denotes memory that can be accessed and read, but not written to.

Routine: A series of instructions written to complete a specific but limited computing task.

TCP/IP: Transmission Control Protocol and Internet Protocol. These are the basic data transmission protocols on which the internet and most commercial networks run.

Uninterruptible Power Source (UPS): A constantly charging battery which will act as a fail safe if the electricity shuts down while you are using your computer.

In the event of a total power failure, a UPS usually has just enough charge to power your computer for the time it takes you to save your work and shut down safely.

URL: Universal Resource Locater. The address of any website on the internet. For instance, my website home page has a URL of http://www.thecomputerhealeronline.com.

Worm: A worm is a virus that does not infect other programs. It makes copies of itself, and infects additional computers, usually via network connection. It does not attach itself to other programs, but it might alter, install, or destroy files and programs. It's also used in computer terminology as a short word any malware in general.

See? Computer terminology is like any other industry specific language. You just have to know what the terms mean, and then it all makes sense.

If you want to know the meaning of a specific computer term, send me a request via my contact form. Computer terminology is no mystery to me, and I'm happy to share with you what I know. ]]>Sun, 30 May 2010 06:42:52 -0500http://www.thecomputerhealer.com/1/post/2010/05/email-etiquette-look-like-a-pro.htmlEmail Etiquette.. what is it? It involves knowing how to communicate properly and professionally via email. This is especially important for business communications, but the home user can benefit from these suggestions as well.

Even if you are newbie email user, following these suggestions will go a long way towards giving an impression that you’re an internet pro. Suggestions for Proper Email Etiquette:

1. Don’t type your emails using all capital letters. Using all caps is the same as YELLING in email land.
   
2. Know your attachment sizes: This is an especially important email etiquette tip!
   
   Check the size of your attachments before you send them. If they are over 200K in size, compress or zip the file, or resize it, if the file is a picture.
   
   This is usually a problem with digital camera pictures. Right out of the camera, most digital pictures are very large, usually over 1Mb.
   
   Use an editing program like Paint or Paint Shop Pro to cut them down to below 200K, or here’s an easier way: install Microsoft’s Image Resizer Power Toy.
   
   Then you can just right click on the picture and choose resize from the menu.
   Sending an email that is over 600K in size makes the process harder for the person receiving it. They have to wait for all that data to download.
   
   If you send a file that big to person who only has dial-up (modem) based internet service, it will really clog up their email, and they will want to hurt you.
   
   Better yet, if you want to share digital pictures, upload them to a photo sharing website. Google offers free Picasa software, and a huge amount of server space for you to do just this, and it comes with an (also) free Google mail account.
   
3. Read your email, and check it for grammar, spelling and punctuation before you send it. Just because you are sending email doesn’t mean you can forget all about proper writing techniques. It’s just as difficult to read bad writing on a screen as it is in a book. Practice good writing along with good email etiquette.
   
4. Don’t forward chain letters. I know some of them say you’ll have 7 years of bad luck if you don’t send them on. Ignore this. Just delete it. It will help out so many people, and you'll be practicing really good email etiquette. :)
   
5. Leave the message thread on your reply. I personally find it annoying to get a reply back from someone without the message thread. Your message arrives and just says Yes. Yes? Yes to what? I send out lots of emails. How am I supposed to remember what we were talking about 6 days ago? google_protectAndRun
   
   If you are writing a long email, here’s some advice that will save your sanity.
   Write long emails in some other word editor like MS Word, or Works, or even a plain old text message window. Then when you are done, and it looks good, cut and paste it into an email message window.
   
   I can't count the number of times users have come to me with a story about how they were in the middle of long email when the computer froze or crashed. They then ask me if they can get the email back, and I hate having to tell them the bad news that all that work is gone, and they will have to start over.
   
   If you use another word editor, you can save your message as you write, and avoid losing it if the PC freezes, etc.. (This assumes that you periodically save a document that you are writing on a computer. "Periodically" means every time you make a large change you want to keep; you do, right?).
   
6. Keep your email format simple. No loud background, no funny colors, etc.. These additions makes it very difficult to read your email message; practice good email etiquette, and just leave the background white, please.
   
7. Don’t leave the subject line blank. This will cause the receiving ISP to target your email as spam, and your email may get deleted.
   
   Also, avoid using all caps, or short, general terms such as Hi, Help or Please Respond in the subject for the same reason.
   
8. If you are sending an email to a group of people who don’t know each other, put all of the email addresses in the “BCC” line of your message window, not the “To” line. BCC stands for Blind Carbon Copy, and it will keep each person from seeing all the other recipient addresses.
   
   NOT doing this opens up all the addresses in the email to someone who could grab and sell them to an spammer. VERY annoying and very bad email etiquette in internet land.
   
9. Never give out your phone number or other personal information without confirming you are communicating with a reputable party. Legitimate businesses will NEVER ask you for your credit card and bank account information via email. And never give out the personal contact information of others without their specific permission.
   
10. Don’t click on any email attachment, especially those with an .exe or .vbs or .com suffix (i.e, christmas.exe) without making sure that attachment has been checked for viruses. It could infect your PC, and you don't want the headaches that would cause you. Most reputable ISPs have virus checking turned on automatically.
    
    This holds true even if the email appears to come from someone you know. If the attachment is virus generated, it's capable of picking up your friend's email address off of another infected computer.
    
11. Set a rule for yourself about forwarding emails to your friends and family. If the subject isn’t interesting enough to print out, put in an envelope, and mail via the Post office, it probably isn’t interesting enough to send via email.
    
    If you do decide to forward an email that has already been forwarded several times, here's a nice thing to do:
    
    Click Forward on the email. On the new message window that opens, remove all the forwarding email address information from the beginning of the message, so that only the joke or actual message is left to send. The next person you forward it to will thank you because they won't have to scroll through all of that extra info to get to the actual message.
    
12. If you use email to market your business and track communications, you might want to look into SMTP services. SMTP stands for Simple Mail Transfer Protocol and there are services that will manage email campaigns for you.
    
    Special Note about Hoax Emails:
    
    If you get an email with some kind of dire warning in it, don't automatically assume it's true. Practice good email etiquette, and check to make sure it’s not a hoax before you send it on.
    
    I hope this email etiquette information has been helpful to you. If you have any questions on this subject, please contact me.

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