What should I name my new on-site computer repair company?
By admin at 6 December, 2009, 9:59 pm
I’m opening a new On-Site Computer Repair company in my area. I live near the beach but I would like to stay away from “Atlantic Coast XYZ” or “Coastal XYZ”. The company will pride itself on being friendly, honest, and responsive (same or next day turnaround within reason). I’m also not looking for things that [...]
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Loading ...Secure Home Wireless Network
By ComputerRepair.com | Computer Repair Help and Information at 13 August, 2009, 1:42 pm
Protecting users from the dangers of the internet who connect via Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs) and Wi-Fi requires several layers of security.
First of all, users should choose a strong administrator password for their router. This ensures that anyone directly accessing the router’s configuration settings will be challenged. If a user gains access over these important settings they can essentially hack into your computer, which is not good… Most routers default passwords are generally weak, if there is one at all. Most routers have an option to reset to default factory settings, in case you forget your password. A strong password helps to ensure that your private information is safe.
Another way of protecting yourself is by disabling remote administration on your router. Remote administration settings allow internet users to connect to connect to and change router settings. Unless you have a very specific need for this option to be turned on, it is a good idea to disable this option. You can alter these settings through your router’s admin panel, which you should be able to find under Start > Programs.
Lastly, users can protect themselves by changing their default SSID or Service Set Identifier. The SSID is the name of your network. Most routers have a default name such as “Linksys” or “Netgear”. You should change this name to a robust combination of letters and numbers. Your SSID should never contain any personal information such as your name or address.
Follow these steps to change your SSID.
By employing these layers of security, you can be sure that your network will be protected from outside threats.
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(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Control Applications That Launch At Startup
By ComputerRepair.com | Computer Repair Help and Information at 11 August, 2009, 11:01 am
Having too many programs running on your computer can drain system resources and reduce productivity. There are a few ways to reduce the number of programs that launch at start up. The methods listed here are general and for the most part will work from Windows 98 to Windows Vista. Keep in mind that disabling programs that start with you computer will affect the functionality of your computer. You need to be clear on what programs you use for what as making these changes could affect functionality that you are used to.
The first thing to do is to start the computer and then look in the system tray – that’s the area right to the left of your clock. If you see things in there – and you don’t know what they are – not to mention there are too many to count, then it may be time to change what launches at startup. Most of the icons there will have a menu accessible from the system try by right clicking on the icon and searching for an ‘Options’ menu or something similar. Typically you’ll be able to find a way to disable the program from automatically starting with Windows. This is different for every program and outside the scope of this discussion. However, by addressing each one of these icons, what the program is, and altering its settings you can prevent many of them from loading at start up.
The next place to look is the folder called ’startup’. This is accessible from your start menu. As you mouse over the folder called ‘Startup’ it’s possible that you will see some icons there. If you right click on these icons, and select delete, they will not be launched at startup any more. Conversely if you’d like something to start that’s not here, you can put a shortcut to the program here by dragging the shortcut onto the start menu and releasing the icon when you’ve got it over the ‘Startup’ folder.
The next option is a bit trickier and so proceed with caution:
- Click the Start Button
- Select ‘Run’
- In the box type ‘msconfig’ without the quotes
- Click OK
You’ll see a panel – click on the tab called ‘Startup’. There will be a list of programs here that run at start up. Un-check the ones that you don’t want to have run at start up. Please remember that if you don’t understand what you’re doing, you might affect your computer in a way that you wouldn’t expect. That being said, it’s very easy to find out what these programs are with a tiny bit of research online. You’ll see the names of the programs ending with “.exe” if you do internet searches for all of these you can find out if you really want them running or not. Just click ‘OK’ when you are done.
At this point, restart the computer and see the results of your labor. These steps should give you some direction to removing a lot of the programs that run at startup and consume system resources. As cautioned above, if you don’t know what something is, don’t disable it – first find out what it’s for, then proceed accordingly.
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(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...A Motivation for the Twitter Attack?
By Randy Abrams at 7 August, 2009, 2:53 pm
Some people are speculating that the motivation for the Twitter attack was to try to silence one person. There are really good signs that the attack against an individual was what took down Twitter, but still we really don’t know. I speculated that it might be a show of force to try to sell botnet [...]
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Recycle Old Printer
By ComputerRepair.com | Computer Repair Help and Information at 7 August, 2009, 12:14 pm
So your printer has kicked the bucket and you want to be green and recycle that old printer instead of sending it to the landfill?
Most major manufacturers offer recycling and trade-in programs for their old equipment. The best thing to do is to google for your “recycle xxxx printer” where xxxx is the name of the printer manufacturer.
Here are some quick links for popular brands:
If your old printer works, but you don’t want it anymore because you got a newer model or you just hate it and never want to see it again, you can donate it to your local Goodwill or Salvation Army or to a local school.
What should you NOT do with your old printer? Please do not throw it out in the regular trash.
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(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Twitter and the Corridors of Power
By David Harley at 7 August, 2009, 7:40 am
I was amused (and not the only one, either) to notice that the UK’s Cabinet Office has recently launched a "Template Twitter strategy for Government Departments": I wonder if they’re thinking of reconsidering in view of the proven fragility and security-shakiness of Twitter, but I suspect not.
I am tempted to make a cheap shot related to the [...]
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Collateral Damage (continued)
By Francois Paget at 7 August, 2009, 7:36 am
While Dmitri Alperovitch wrote his blog entry about the recent DDoS attack against Twitter and some other platforms hosting accounts of a pro-Georgian blogger nicknamed cyxymu, I browsed the Internet, searching for malicious websites taking advantage of this topic.
In second place in my google search request, I was attracted by a link proposing to add the blogger [...]
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Crisis? What Crisis?
By David Harley at 7 August, 2009, 6:31 am
In the AV industry, we’re not unaccustomed to security scare stories met with a debunking response. For example, Peter Norton was quoted in 1988 in Insight as saying that computer viruses were an urban myth, like the alligators supposed to inhabit the sewers of New York. (He did change his mind around 1990 when he gave [...]
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Collateral Damage
By Dmitri Alperovitch at 7 August, 2009, 5:23 am
Twitter, LiveJournal, FaceBook, Youtube, Fotki–what do they have in common? They all hosted an account of a pro-Georgian blogger who went under the nickname cyxymu (taken after Sukhumi, the capital of Abkhazia, one of Georgia’s pro-Russian breakaway republics and the city he professed to flee from in 1993 during the republic’s war with Georgia). And [...]
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Firefox: More Security, Less Privacy?
By Randy Abrams at 6 August, 2009, 3:28 pm
Perhaps I imagined it, but a few days ago when I allowed Firefox to update to fix security vulnerabilities my privacy settings were reset to less private settings. I had Firefox set to clear the history on exit, and prompt me. I also had it set not to accept third party cookies. After the upgrade [...]
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