We can now beat Dell's prices!

How would you like the following computer?

• Windows XP Home SP3
• Intel Core 2 Duo processor @ 3.16GHz
• 2GB DDR2 RAM
• 20x DVD Burner
• 320GB Hard Drive
• ATI HD3450 Video Card
• 500W Power supply

Sounds pretty good right? If you were to order this system from Dell today it would cost you $814 and that's if you could find the best deal hidden deep in their site. Well today from Computer Mechanix, Inc. we're offering the same system with higher quality components for only $700!

Computer Mechanix, Inc. would be proud to help you with any computer related problems or services. Simply call us at 828-281-4379 or make an appointment online.

Maleware, Spyware, and Viruses OH MY!

This is probably the single most confusing subject for most computer users. What are the differences, how are they the same, what do I need to protect myself and how do I get them are the most common questions I get regarding these three computer bad guys. My next three installments will be about each type. Where they may come from, what to look for and what to do if you find yourself infected.

The first on the list is going to be Malware. Which today really is the most prevalent of the three. It is also the easiest to become infected by and can be the hardest to get ride of. Malware is defined by Wikipedia as such;

Malware, is a relatively new word formed from the words malicious and software, is software designed to infiltrate or damage a computer system without the owner's informed consent.

Malware is also often transmitted along with viruses and trojan horses. They work together to infect your system, to spread to other systems and to elude detection from your security software. It is transmitted almost exclusively through websites and files you may or may not know that you are downloading from websites. It's rare for you to get maleware from a disk, or through an email. One of the worst and currently one of the most prevalant types of maleware is called Smitfraud. Though it may also be known by any one of nearly 100 names as Smitfraud is the underlying nardowell, while what you may see on the surface appears to actually be a legitimate program.... confused? Perhaps it would be simpliar if I walked you through a potential infection. Where you may have gotten it and what it will come across looking like.

Imagine yourself browsing through the wide web looking for funny and interesting videos. You end up at a site you may be familiar with, and while trying to get the video to play you're instructed to install a program so that you can watch it. The program is called Adobe Flash which you've heard is a safe program. You click the link offered to you, install the program and your video plays.

The next day you get on your computer and there is a little shield that may look like either of these.

It's accompanied by a pop up warning that you've been infected, that you're in danger, that you must act quickly to save your computer from damage. You may see a box come up showing you that your computer has been scanned and it's infected with dozens or even hundreds of viruses or spyware. Then once you're good and scared a very official program will come up telling you that your Antivirus program needs to be activated, renewed or in some way paid for to protect you from this assult.

And this is when you run and grab your credit card, type the number in as quick as you can and before you know it you've just paid the person who infected your system in the first place. Granted the pop-ups and scary notices may go away, but you have in effect just paid a ransom.

The best thing you can do at this point is call your credit card company and dispute the charge. Most companies will remove it as nobody will dispute your charge back. The second thing you should do is make sure your antivirus software is up to date and run a full system scan. I'll be honest with you here, that probably won't fix it, but depending on the varient you have it just might. You can also try running a system restore to several days before the problem started. This also has limited effectiveness but again it can't hurt, and it might save you further costs.

If your Antivirus is expired, many years old or you just don't know, it's time to call a professional. Unfortunatly with the broad variety of malware out there, repairs can be as simple as a 30 minute visit, or as complex as requiring that your entire system be backed up and wiped clean to banish every trace. There really isn't any way to know the answer to that question until the simple fixes have been exhausted.

The best way to protect yourself is to pay attention. Here are a few ways to be proactive in protecting your computer.

1. Don't install programs from websites you don't know. If www.flashmoviesforfun.com wants you to install Adobe Flash, go to Adobe's webiste and install it there. Don't trust a site you aren't familiar with to download safe products.
   
2. When you're surfing the internet and a box pops up don't just click yes because it's there. Read the pop up and try using the X in the upper right hand corner if you aren't comfortable with the pop ups legitimacy.
3. If it's too good to be true, it probably is. There is a lot of good free software out there on the net, but if you know Microsoft charges $400 for it's Office 2007 program, and you find it for free somewhere else, there's probably something not right there.
4. Keep your antivirus updated! Too many people let their antivirus program expire. If you can't afford a great paid software program like Norton's latest Internet Security 2009, try a good free program like AVG, or Avast. They may be slower, or not as customizable but they're better than a paid program 2 years out of date!

With these thoughts in mind and a little common sense you should be able to stay maleware free! Stay tuned next time for information on spyware.

Computer Mechanix, Inc. would be proud to help you with any computer related problems or services. Simply call us at 828-281-4379 or make an appointment online.

If you think you might have any of the Smitfraud varients, check this list for some of the more common ones:
Advanced Antivirus, AdwarePunisher, AdwareSheriff, AlphaCleaner, AntiSpyCheck, AntiSpyware Expert, Antispyware Soldier, AntiVermeans, AntiVermins, AntiVerminser, AntiVirGear, Antivirus 2009, Antivirus 2010, Antivirus 360, AntiVirus Lab 2009, Antivirus Master, Antivirus Sentry, Antivirus XP 2008, AntivirusGolden, AVGold, Awola, BraveSentry, IE Defender, IE-Security, Internet Antivirus, MalwareCrush, MalwareWipe, MalwareWiped, MalwaresWipeds, MalwareWipePro, MalwareWiper, Micro Antivirus 2009, MS Antivirus, PC Protection Center 2008, Personal Defender 2009, PestCapture, PestTrap, Power Antivirus, Power-Antivirus-2009, PSGuard, quicknavigate.com, Registry Cleaner, Security iGuard, Smart Antivirus 2009, Smitfraud, Spy Protector, SpyAxe, SpyCrush, SpyDown, SpyFalcon, SpyGuard, SpyHeal, SpyHeals, SpyLocked, SpyMarshal, SpySheriff, SpySoldier, Spyware Guard 2008, Spyware Vanisher, Spyware Soft Stop, SpywareLocked, SpywareQuake, SpywareKnight, SpywareRemover, SpywareSheriff, SpywareStrike, Startsearches.net, System Antivirus 2008, TheSpyBot, TitanShield Antispyware, Total Protect 2009, Total Secure 2009, Trust Cleaner, Ultimate Antivirus 2008, UpdateSearches.com, Virtual Maid, Virus Heat, Virus Protect, Virus Protect Pro, VirusBlast, VirusBurst, VirusRay, Virus Remover 2008, VirusResponse Lab 2009, VirusTrigger, Win32.puper, WinHound, Vista Antivirus 2008, WinDefender 2009, XLG Security Center, XP Security Center, XPert Antivirus, XP Police Antivirus, Brain Codec, ChristmasPorn, DirectAccess, DirectVideo, EliteCodec, eMedia Codec, EZVideo, FreeVideo, Gold Codec, HQ Codec, iCodecPack, IECodec, iMediaCodec, Image ActiveX Object, Image Add-on, IntCodec, iVideoCodec, JPEG Encoder, Key Generator, LookForPorn, Media-Codec, MediaCodec, MMediaCodec, MovieCommander, MPCODEC, My Pass Generator, NetProject, Online Image Add-on, Online Video Add-on, PCODEC, Perfect Codec, PowerCodec, PornPass Manager, PornMag Pass, Pornovid, PrivateVideo, QualityCodec, Silver Codec, SearchPorn, SexVid, SiteEntry, SiteTicket, SoftCodec, strCodec, Super Codec, TrueCodec, VideoAccess, VideoBox, VidCodecs, Video Access ActiveX Object, Video ActiveX Object, Video Add-on, VideoCompressionCodec, VideoKeyCodec, VideosCodec, WinAntiSpyPro, WinMediaCodec, X Password Generator, X Password Manager, ZipCodec

Macs don't get viruses!

First let me start out by saying that I'm actually writing this blog on a gorgeous Unibody MacBook, and that I find OS X to be superior to Windows Vista in many ways. Tomorrow though I could be updating from my PC running Windows 7 Beta saying that there are just some things you can't do on a mac like you can on a PC.

With that said, Macs have been hit heavily recently by a new bug known as OSX.Trojan.iServices.A found in pirated copies of iWork '09. Granted this isn't a "virus" persay, it's a Trojan Horse that connects to remote servers over the internet, so a malicious remote user will know that the program has been installed. The malicious user will be able to connect to the infected Mac and perform various actions; the Trojan horse may also download additional components to an infected Mac.

For a full explanation of the how, why and fix check out Macworld's article

Computer Mechanix, Inc. would be proud to help you with any computer related problems or services. Simply call us at 828-281-4379 or make an appointment online.

Data recovery, it works... kind of.

From time to time I'll post experiences with new technology or services that I run into while performing my job. I can't say that they'll be often but when I do run across interesting or informative information I'll be sure to pass it along here so keep your eyes peeled!

The first thing I have to talk about is data recovery services. For years now I've been aware of companies that will recover data from damaged hard drives that have simply stopped working or were dropped, burned or even just erased. The companies all seem to charge about the same and all of those prices start at over $1000!














Recently I had the opportunity to put the biggest and most well known company Kroll Ontrack to the test. One of my clients was running a web server through a third party who forgot the server was on this computer and wiped it clean and reinstalled windows on it. YIKES! Now this is probably the worst case scenario for data recovery as not only does the information get deleted but when you reinstall everything it overwrites the old data making much of it unrecoverable. Unlike drives that simply stop working where the data is safe and secure inside the now defunct enclosure. Kind of like a car with no wheels, the engine, AC, radio and everything else work just fine but it's not much of a car if you can't make it move.

So I was tasked by this client to work with Ontrack to attempt recovery. The service was very professional, and quick. They partner with UPS stores to ship the drive to them for free overnight. The data is analyzed and a report is emailed showing what files they can recover. We gave them a go ahead to retrieve the data and 5 DVD's were overnight shipped back to me.

Unfortunately for us the data they recovered was not what we had hopped it was and after a short conversation with my contact at Ontrack to verify everything had been recovered that could be they issues a credit for the total of $1550.

My thoughts on the whole experience are positive even though the end result was that the client did not get the data they needed. I knew from the beginning that their situation was the worst possible and didn't have high hopes for recovery. Ontrack was very helpful, quick courteous and really my only complaint was that they made me fax agreements to them 3 separate times. Faxing? Really? You'd think that a technology company would offer other options besides faxes.

I will use them again, well that is if I ever have another client who doesn't pass out at the thought of forking over $1500 for the data they didn't backup.

Computer Mechanix, Inc. would be proud to help you with any computer related problems or services. Simply call us at 828-281-4379 or make an appointment online.