Archive for July, 2013

Tips for choosing a new laptop

Posted by South City Computer

Deciding to purchase a new laptop may seem like an easy choice but once you get assaulted by an army of technical terms you may have second thoughts. If you don’t feel like spending a few hours to research terms and look up reviews you can always contact us at South City Computer and we will be happy to pick a laptop that would best suit you and set it up for your specified needs. But if you do want to put in the time I will give you a few things to look for when making your decision.

I will first give you a list of terms and a brief description of what you should expect in terms of specs. The main components you will want to compare are:

Hard Drive size- 300GB to 1TB is ideal
Amount of Ram- Between 4GB and 8GB is ideal
Screen Size- 14″-17″ average, affects portability
CPU- Quad core is the norm, speed depends on manufacturer
Videocard/GPU- mainly for visual intensive applications
Reviews- Nothing will tell you more about a product

A combination of your CPU and RAM will determine the speed of your laptop and your multitasking capabilities. If you are picking a laptop for gaming/rendering then you will want to make sure that it has an adequate video card. Most laptops with video cards come with an Nvidia 6 series or 7 series.

Remember, nothing is more helpful when choosing any product than customer reviews.

Once you choose which laptop suits you best bring it in to South City Computer and we will run the first time Windows setup for you and install Anti-virus software and ensure your computer is up to date. We can also install and set up any needed software.

Signs your Hardware is failing

Posted by South City Computer

No computer lasts forever. Just like parts in a car, each component of a computer has a lifespan and, also like a car, each component usually gives off signs of failure before it goes. Being able to see these signs can mean the difference between having your computer down for few minutes and losing all of your data on your hard drive. You should always backup your data to an external drive or even to cds. I’ll be showing you a few signs that your hardware may be failing.

HARD DRIVES

First, we will go over the Hard Disk Drive. The Hard Disk Drive, or HDD as we will call it, is where your operating system and all of your data is stored. Due to this the HDD can cause the most damage if it fails but it also has some of the most obvious signs of failure.

One of the easiest ways to tell if you HDD is failing is to just listen. Hard drives make very distinct noises mostly of whirring and ticking. If you hear any strange grinding noises it means that your HDD is very close to failure and you should back up important files immediately. Learn the sound of your hard drive when it is healthy and it can save you later.

Another sign of hard drive failure is if you drive is unrecognised by your computer. If you get this error more than once, test it in a friends computer to see whether it is your HDD that is the cause or your computer.

Your HDD can also cause your computer to crash or blue screen. There are many things that can cause your computer to crash, but if it happens particularly when rebooting your system or accessing files, this may indicate that it’s your hard drive.

The last sign of hard drive failure I will go over is slow access times when opening files. This means when you click on a file it takes takes a while for the file to open. This is one of the beginning signs of hard drive failure.

MOTHERBOARDS

The motherboard is the board in which every other component plugs into and communicates through. Signs of motherboard failure are far more subtle than hard drive failure because most of them are visual and you must open your computer to look at the motherboard.

A good indication that your motherboard will fail soon are the capacitors. If the capacitors look swollen or there is a liquid leaking out of the top it’s a good sign your motherboard is ageing.

Some other symptoms would be, if you smell burning semiconductors, if you see anything burnt on the motherboard, if your ports stop working, or if you randomly get blue screens.

PROCESSORS

Troubleshooting a CPU is fairly easy. If the computer boots, it’s not the CPU. Mainly the only thing a CPU will do is overheat and either turn off your computer, or it will blue screen and then turn off your computer.

RAM

Random Access Memory, RAM, is what the computer uses as temporary storage that it needs to access quickly.

If you notice your computer getting slower and slower throughout the day it could mean that your ram is on its way out. Bad RAM can also cause your system to randomly reboot in the middle of a task.

The best way to tell if your RAM is going bad is to run a bootable program called memtest+. Usually running this for 10+ hours will tell you exactly what is wrong with your ram or if you have a problem.

POWER SUPPLY

A power supply is also called a PSU. Most of the time a PSU will suddenly stop working and gives no signs. PSUs can go bad for a number of reasons. The main causes of failure are lightning, overheating, and, age. Keeping your computer clean and dust free will ensure that your PSU gets proper ventilation and will not overheat, and it will also help it last a while longer. The best way to protect it from lightning is to just unplug it whenever you hear thunder.

GRAPHICS CARD

Many computers have a built-in graphics card that is integrated with the motherboard. While most higher-end desktops have a separate card that plugs into the motherboard.

The main signs of a failing Graphics Card, or GPU, will be tearing or artifacting while running graphic intense programs, randomly freezing/crashing your system, or the card will not be recognized by your system. Always test your GPU in another computer before declaring it dead.

Conclusion

As you can see, not every component has its own unique problems. Correctly matching the symptom to its corresponding component is not always easy and can sometimes lead to unnecessary replacement of hardware. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms bring your computer to a professional.

FBI Virus now infects MAC OS

Posted by South City Computer

Mac FBI VirusMost Mac users will gloat to their Windows using friends that they use MAC because there are no viruses, malware, or in this case ransomware for MAC. Well those days are long gone! The FBI virus has found its way onto the MAC platform. Now NO Operating System is safe (::cough:: except Linux ::cough::), not even the blessed Mac OS.

The ransomware gets pushed onto unsuspecting users by browsing high-trafficed sites. The FBI virus locks down the Safari browser accusing the user of illegally viewing disturbing pornography, and that the user must pay a fine of $300 to regain use of their computer. The message will not go away by leaving the page or closing the browser. The user is unable to even “force quit” the browser. The ransomware uses the browsers “restore from crash” feature to reload the ransomware page each time the browser is restored.

You should NEVER pay the ransom, and should to bring your Mac to South City Computer today to get this virus correctly removed.

How to link your Facebook to Twitter

Posted by South City Computer

Today I’ll be showing you how to link your Facebook statuses to post on your Twitter account.

First, go to Facebook.com/twitter
Next, click “Link My Profile to Twitter”

It will then prompt you to enter your Twitter information.
Enter the information and then click “Authorize App” or “Allow Facebook Access.”

It will then give you a list of specific things you can post such as pictures and videos.

Once you hit “Save Changes” you are all set and ready to post Facebook statuses to Twitter!

How to import your old Outlook data

Posted by South City Computer

If you ever get a new computer or if you install a new version of Outlook you will probably want all of your old emails and files. I will show you how to import that data.

So before you do anything make sure you have your old data file from Outlook. If you still have the old Outlook installed you can go to
  File>Account Settings>Account Settings>Data Files
Here you should see a few files usually named “Outlook” and “Archive” you may have multiple of each.
Click on “Outlook” first and select “Open File Location”.
You should see the file selected ending in .pst or .ost.
This file will be located in:
  Windows 7 and Windows Vista
  drive:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook
  Windows XP
  drive:\Documents and Settings\user\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook
You will want to save every file you see in this location that ends with the file extension .pst or .ost.
.pst files are you main Outlook files
.ost files are you offline outlook files
Go ahead and either put these files on your Desktop or anywhere you can easily find them next time or, if you are going to a new computer or are reinstalling your Operating System, save them to a thumb drive.

If you are going to a new computer or are reinstalling your Operating System, you can now install the new Outlook.

Once your Outlook is installed and ready to go (all of your server info is entered) you can import your file.

Go to File>Account Settings>Account Settings>Data Files and select add file. Browse to the location where you saved your previous Outlook files and select those. Or you can browse to the following file paths and paste the files manually.
  Windows 7 and Windows Vista
  drive:\Users\user\AppData\Local  \Microsoft&nbsp\Outlook
 Windows XP
  drive:\Documents and Settings\user\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook
Then go back to
  File>Account Settings>Account Settings>Data Files
And select the files from the previous file location and then add them.

If any of this was confusing or you had trouble doing this you can always bring your computer in to South City Computer and we will be happy to do this for you.

US agency discovers new way to get rid of viruses

Posted by South City Computer

In December of 2011 the Department of Homeland Security alerted the Economic Development Agency (EDA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that their networks may be infected with malware.

The NOAA had isolated the infection and cleaned itself up in a few weeks. The EDA on the other hand decided to pioneer the malware destruction field and gave us a few new ways to rid ourselves of viruses.

To start off with, the EDA shut off their e-mailing system which devastatingly crippled its regional offices since they could not access centrally located databases.

It the enlisted the help of an outside security contractor to scan their network for malware and give them assurances that their network was impregnable to further malware infections. The contractor initially found a few small problems but concluded that the system was largely uncompromised.

However, that was not enough for the CIO of the EDA.

The CIO insisted that the EDA was under attack from a foreign entity and, having a PHD in great ways to remove viruses, ordered all mice, keyboards, printers, and cameras destroyed, leaving that malware no place to hide.

The total cost of this incident in taxpayer money was $2,700,000: $823,000 went to the security contractor for its investigation and advice, $1,061,000 for the acquisition of temporary infrastructure (requisitioned from the Census Bureau), $4,300 to destroy $170,500 in IT equipment, and $688,000 paid to contractors to assist in development a long-term response. This entire process took a little more than one year.

The malware that was found was common stuff. There were no signs of persistent, novel infections, nor any indications that the perpetrators were nation-state attackers. The audit does, however, note that the EDA’s IT infrastructure was so badly managed and insecure that no attacker would need sophisticated attacks to compromise the agency’s systems.

Is Your Phone Safe From Malware?

Posted by South City Computer

Everyone has an anti-virus on their computer. Afterall, you can get a virus from opening emails, visiting websites, downloading programs, and even just viewing pictures.

So why don’t you have an antivirus on your phone? You open emails on your phone, you browse the web, and you download apps. All of these are ways that malware can infect your phone and send costly $10 premium text messages or erase all of your contacts. Remember that along with all of your contacts, you also have logon information to websites and you may even have your credit card information saved on your phone.

When downloading an app you should always look at what permission it is requesting to use. An app for playing games shouldn’t be asking for permission to send text messages or make calls. Never download from third-party marketplaces. For the most part GooglePlay is safe, but everyone once in a while they do allow an app to be uploaded with malware.

As always, if you suspect your phone could be compromised, you should bring it in to South City Computer and we can scan it and remove any malware that is on it.

Keeping your computer virus free

Posted by South City Computer

The best way to deal with a virus is to not have to deal with one in the first place. However, in the event that your computer does get infected you should always have the tools to deal with it. In this article I’ll go over several tips to help prevent you from getting a virus.

To start off with, you’ll want to find an anti-virus program. If you have any Windows operating system installed I would recommend downloading the Microsoft Security Essentials anti-virus. It’s free and works very well with Windows. Other anti-virus programs that are popular and offer free versions are AVG, Avast, Kaspersky, Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and my personal favorite SuperAntiSpyware. The aforementioned anti-virus software will scan and remove viruses, malware, and spyware. Spyware will sit on your computer and send information about you to a website. Malware is defined as any “mal”icious software that tries to harm your computer. No matter which program you choose, always remember to update it! An anti-virus with definitions from last year will be pretty useless.

Next, we will talk about tips to prevent your pc from getting infected.

  • Don’t download anything from a site you don’t trust
  • Don’t click on a link in an email from someone you don’t know
  • Make sure to click the correct link when downloading something
  • When entering login information on a site such as Facebook or the very popular Google+ look to make sure that you are on the correct site. “www.facebook.com/login” and “www.plus.google.com” respectively

The last tip on the list is a method known as “phishing” where people trick you into thinking you are on a site you trust by making them look similar and getting you to type in your login info.

One of the most common ways I’ve seen people get viruses lately is from couponing. Never download coupon software and try to avoid going to coupon sites.

Overall just be wary when on a site you do not commonly browse and you can save yourself the time and headache that comes with getting a virus.

In the event that your computer does get a virus simply running a virus scan may not actually remove the virus. A lot of the time it will only get part of the virus or the virus will keep reinstalling itself. If you do suspect that you have a virus it’s always best to bring it to a professional, like any tech at South City Computer, and we can remove it for you. We can even recover data from a hard drive if the virus is bad enough.

// //
//