It’s a new year and you need to make some changes.
You’ve started back at the gym, started eating like a rabbit and quit ________________ (fill in the blank as you see fit), but you haven’t made any changes to your computer habits. The folks at Defence Intelligence have put together a simple set of resolutions that you can begin using today.
There isn’t really much need for explanation here – just read, rinse and repeat!
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Regular PC maintenance is as important as routinely changing the fluids in your car. Without this regular upkeep, your computer can become a slow, draggy, unusable box that has you thinking about a trip to your local electronics retailer.
In today’s article, we’ve posted links to the tools you need and a simple “5-Point Maintenance Plan” that you can follow to keep your PC running like new (or better). The average user can perform these tasks in 30 minutes to an hour, depending on the size (hard drive) and speed (RAM and processor) of the computer.
An increasing trend in malware is the “fake anti-virus” program. There are hundreds of names for these programs, but the story is always the same. You are essentially locked out of your computer by a program that promises to help you remove….. itself. Unsuspecting PC users are forced to fork over $50 or more to simply regain control of their computer.
Possibly the most frustrating part of these malware programs is that there are tools out there to help you remove them IF you could gain enough control of your PC to install and run them. Unfortunately, you have no control. Whether you are tricked by one of these “fake anti-virus programs” or your real anti-virus program simply lets one get by, you are going to need some help. Luckily, the folks at Avast have developed a FREE Rescue CD that can be used to scan your system and remove these pesky programs with ease. (more…)
March Madness kicks into high gear today, March 18th, 2010, with the first games taking place at 12:20 PM EST. From now until the end of March, millions of fans will tune in to watch as the field of 65 teams quickly dwindles down to the famous Final Four. During this ten day stretch, many of the games will take place during traditional “work hours,” forcing a majority of the fans to turn to the internet for schedules, updates, scores and even FREE live streaming of the games. Unfortunately, criminals and hackers are aware of this increased interest and have turned their malware all the way to 11 to take advantage of unsuspecting basketball fans.
As with any other spike in a particular search topic/interest, the criminally minded will attempt to capitalize on the frenzy surrounding this event by bullying their way into your search results and (with any luck) your computer. Many fans will be rushing to news sites and unfamiliar web sites to find out how their favorite team is doing and, in this rush, users might not be focused on the security of their computer. A great article, titled Don’t Let Malware Score This March, was posted by Lockergnome yesterday afternoon. The blog post points out the potential dangers facing fans and offers up a solution for the problem (WinPatrol Plus). While this software might be a great solution, I am unfamiliar with it and I see that it will run you $29.95. So, I thought I would bring you some of my own suggestions on preventing Malware Madness this March.
Are you a parent? Are you a teacher? Are you concerned about the well-being and education of our children? Do you know what computer classes are being taught at your elementary, junior high and high schools? Many of us can answer yes to one of the first 3 questions, but that 4th one…. You might be aware that there are classes, but what is being taught? The sad truth is, not much.
A recent study by the National Cyber Security Alliance titled 2010 State of Cyberethics, Cybersafety, and Cybersecurity Curriculum in the U.S. indicated that less than 25% of our students are being taught about safety on the internet (social networks, scams, fraud, safe passwords) and more than 75% of teachers reported receiving less than 6 hours of professional development on these topics. This basically means that one quarter of the children of America are being taught by untrained professionals about the dangers of computers and the internet. Very scary numbers. I think that a similar poll of American adults would reveal the same lack of understanding, so who is going to educate these young minds?
I recently stumbled onto a blog from Panda Security that focuses on “emerging threats” on the internet. Typically, with this kind of site or blog, the terminology and explanations are a bit over my head. Shockingly, the authors of the PandaLabs blog have managed to relay information on these threats in bite-sized, easy to understand articles that I don’t mind reading. When a threat is uncovered, they write a blog post with the information, including screen shots and a few details about the threat and then update their Twitter and Facebook accounts. I follow them on Twitter and now I have a better feel for what is going on in the ever-changing threat landscape.
If you are interested in this type of information, I strongly urge you to follow PandaLabs. However, I know how busy most people are and that they probably haven’t scheduled much time for following the latest malware threats of the world, so I plan on using Panda Security as a resource and relaying the information to you via the JumpstartMyPC.com blog.
“Malware Peddlers Look to Exploit Olympic Luge Tragedy“ That is the title of an article posted on mashable.com yesterday. Yes, the sad truth is that cyber-criminals are using a man’s death to find a way into your computer and your wallet. Many were interested in the details of the Winter Olympic tragedy and, in their search to find the video of the accident in question, were tricked into installing malicious software on their computer.
Scams like these are becoming more and more common. As PC and internet users we have just a few choices. We can avoid using the internet completely (not likely) or arm ourselves with the right tools to prevent malware attacks, spyware trickery, phishing scams, etc. Anti-virus and anti-malware programs can detect and prevent most malicious software when it gets to your computer, but what about preventing this malware from ever getting to you. This is where My Web of Trust (WOT) comes in.
It isn’t as if we needed another reason to perform regular maintenance on our computers, but a recent development in the world of Windows XP has proven our point once again. A recent article on engadget.com, titled Windows XP patch fiasco gets even crazier, Microsoft now scrambling for solutions, indicates that some recent Windows XP security patches resulted in BSODs (that’s Blue Screen of Death) for a small group of PC users. We’ll quickly give you the rundown on this development and show you how to prevent the issue on your PC.
First thing’s first: if you have a yellow shield in your system tray (the icon that indicates a Microsoft update is available for your PC) don’t update just yet. This goes against everything we have ever told you here on JumpstartMyPC.com, but it’s OK just this once. Why? Microsoft recently reported that existing malware on a “limited number” of computers caused those machines to blue-screen when the update was applied. There is a technical explanation for all of this (available in the engadget article), but all we really need to know is that our PCs must cleansed of any malware before any updates are applied. Microsoft has already “yanked” the patch, but some of you might have already downloaded the files without knowing it.
Spyware. Malware. Viruses. Trojans. The list goes on and on. There are as many terms for harmful threats to your computer as there are computers. It’s unfortunate that we live in a time where so many people strive to tear down our advancement and entertainment. As a result, some live in fear and limit their online lives to very simplistic activities, like checking email and playing simple games. Others brave the deep waters of the unknown and simply take a chance on their computer’s safety. The smaller, more advanced crowd spends countless hours preparing and protecting their system to create a digital Fort Knox so that they can breathe easily while surfing the web. No matter which category you fall into, you will at some point encounter one of these threats. Are you prepared for that day?
The JumpstartMyPC.com Tools page has been unchanged as of late, with the exception of updates to existing applications. Although we research a great number of programs and ideas, we rarely find the gems that are easy to use, effective and FREE. When we do find something that matches these criteria, we test it before adding it to our toolbox and make sure that we would indeed use it ourselves. Today, we have updated our Portable Applications section with the introduction of a new, portable tool called SUPERAntiSpyware Portable Scanner.
Hopefully the title says it all. Have you performed any routine maintenance on your PC lately? My guess is that the answer is no. Unfortunately, most people are never educated about regular PC maintenance and are doomed to follow the same destructive pattern that keeps PC manufacturers rolling around in money.
Buy a computer -> use it for a year or two -> have trouble -> repeat
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