April 26, 2010

LET’S GO! HOW TO SPEED UP YOUR COMPUTER

Filed under: Computer Performance, Data Doctors, PC — Tags: computer professional, computer virus, Microsoft Windows, optimization service, PC, PC Users, speed up your computer, Windows, Windows Desktop — admin @ 8:56 am

When you first logged on to your new PC, you felt like you were flying down the Autobahn in a tricked out German sportscar.

Today, your once-speedy vehicle seems to plod along like a Model T with a hand crank.

A slowed-down computer is nothing unusual. With time, PC users with Microsoft Windows watch their speed decrease. The system simply requires more time to respond to your commands to open files, surf the ‘net and perform other tasks.

There are a few steps you can take to boost your speed. It may not return to its original pace, but you may see significant improvement.

First, and most critically, make sure you have sufficient and proper hardware to support Windows.

Next, consider making time for some simple housekeeping. Is your Windows Desktop littered with files? How many of them do you really need or consistently use? Several dozen files on your Desktop use lots of operating memory, and that slows the computer down significantly–and needlessly.

Make sure you keep alert to those nasty viruses. They can create havoc beyond speed issues.

In addition, keep on the lookout for spyware and adware. They can be loaded into your computer (without your knowledge!) by companies that want to find out more about you. These programs are seldom created for malicious reasons, but they can slow down your computer. If you just purchased a new computer and it seems slower than it should, you could be right. When one buys a computer from a supplier like Dell or HP, the standard computers come with ‘bloat ware.’ Trial ware that companies pay to have on the computer in hopes the user will buy it. With each of the trial programs it may add to the number of processes at startup.

This remains true as you install and uninstall programs some pieces of the program may remain on your computer, even after it tells you it fully uninstalled.

Remember that it’s easy to get over your head as your deal with these issues. A computer professional can help you address the speed issue safely and effectively.  Data Doctors optimization service tunes up your computer, getting it back up and running. Due to Data Doctors not believing in the ‘quick fix,’ our optimization service includes scanning of all hardware and software. This ensures that we get to the root of the problem.

April 19, 2010

Not Protected After All: Antivirus Infections Strike Despite Your Security Software.

Filed under: Computer Performance, Fake Antivirus, Viruses, data recovery — Tags: anti-spyware, anti-virus, antivirus, Antivirus 2009, computer infection, computer recovery, computer security, data recovery, firewall, firewalls, Pro Antivirus, Safe mode, security software, Software, System Antivirus, Ultimate Antivirus, Vista Antivirus, Windows registry, Windows repair, XP Antivirus, XP Antivirus 2008 — admin @ 3:10 pm

You got your polio and whooping cough shots as a kid and you never came down with either of these dreaded diseases.

You might think that your security software on your computer works the same way. You took the preventative measures to avoid the infection, so you should be safe.

But, surprisingly, security software does not always provide the kind of protection to your computer that your childhood vaccines provide to your body’s immune system.

Your anti-virus/anti-spyware programs and firewalls can be made vulnerable through fake antivirus program scams that fool even savvy computer users.  The fake antivirus program scams arrived last year as “XP Antivirus 2008.”  It lives on in many variations, including “Antivirus 2009.” This scam is successful because it cleverly mimics Windows warning screens and legitimate antivirus programs. Virtually every legitimate antivirus company has a product called Antivirus 2009, so it’s no wonder so many computer users are confused–and duped!

Here’s how the infection scam works. You get an official looking popup warning or an e-mail message telling you that you are infected. To remedy the situation, you are instructed to click on a link that takes you to a website. Then you are told you need to download software.

As a result, you click on links that generate malicious code or downloads and runs questionable files. You will inadvertently override your own installed protection. In some cases, you will actually disable your protection programs! Even worse, the scam will make it look as if your protection programs are still running, so you will be none the wiser.

Any popup or error message that refers to Antivirus 2008 or 2009 (including System Antivirus, Ultimate Antivirus, Vista Antivirus, Pro Antivirus or XP Antivirus followed by a number) should be considered extremely suspicious. If you see any reference to a virus that is not specifically from the product that you have installed in your computer for protection, you should consider it a fake–and dangerous.

Windows won’t ever alert you of a virus infection.

Getting rid of the code once it has infected your system is quite involved. In our service business, we use a combination of several manual detection and removal processes, along with multiple scanning programs to recover your data. This ensures that all potential re-infection avenues (temp files, restore points, modified dll files, etc.) have been removed or restored. We routinely warn novices not to attempt this without help.

Depending upon how long and which version of the malware you have been infected with, you may also need to run a Windows repair after you remove the code. Certain Windows files become corrupted as a side effect.

If you know how to work with the Windows registry, operate in Safe Mode and have a current backup of your critical files, you should be able to find instructions online for removing the exact version of the infection that you have. If not, consult a tech savvy friend or a professional. Again, removing this infection so that you don’t re-infect is technically complex and not for the novice.

February 10, 2010

What files should I delete to speed up my computer?

Filed under: Computer Performance, Data Doctors, PC — Tags: beware third party cleanup programs, computer hard drive, Computer Performance, computer's hard drive, Data Doctors, data doctors mpls, data files, delete programs, deleting files, hard drive, improve computer performance, minnesota, not enough memory, shorewood, technology help, uninstall programs, wayzata — admin @ 11:44 am

There is a major misconception amongst non-technical computer users that deleting files from your computer will somehow improve the performance.

A computer that has 100 data files will run no faster than a computer that has 10,000 data files stored on it purely based on the number of files. The only impact that a large volume of files will have on a computer is that it will fill up your computer’s hard drive. Think of it like your refrigerator; it stores the ingredients that you use for cooking, but has little to do with how fast you can prepare a meal.

If your computer’s hard drive is getting close to full, then getting the ‘urge to purge’ makes sense but don’t expect any tangible performance gain.  If you are seeing a Windows error that indicates “not enough memory,” your hard drive may be so full that there is no more room to store the file you are creating. That will affect performance.

You can easily check space availability on your hard drive by opening up My Computer and right-clicking on the C: drive, then selecting Properties. A pie chart should come up with the blue section representing your data and the purple section representing your free space. If the purple section is a tiny sliver, then it’s time to start removing unneeded items; if not, don’t get too concerned about deleting old files.

The quickest way to free up large quantities of disk space is to uninstall unnecessary programs, which take up lots more space than documents and spreadsheets. Pictures, music and especially video files are the most common ‘data’ files that can take up significant space only if you have large quantities of them.

To remove unneeded programs, start by looking for an Uninstall option in the Programs section of each application from the Start menu. If you don’t find an option there, you can open the Control Panel, click on the Add/Remove programs icon and work from there.

A Word of Warning!

Removing items can be very dangerous. We constantly see customers in our stores that are suffering from ’self inflicted deletion wounds’ because they started mass deleting files and programs that they didn’t recognize. Honestly, if you do not know what it is, do not delete or uninstall it!

A more relevant cleanup process that can improve performance is built into the Windows operating system and should be performed at least every couple of months. The Disk Cleanup utility (Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools) will track down lots of extraneous files that build up as a natural course of using your computer and get rid of them all at once.

Beware of companies that may try to sell you a magical program that will clean up your computer for you. A Windows based ‘Registry’ system is extremely complicated, so these ‘cleanup programs’ must guess what needs to stay and what it thinks it can remove. If they guess wrong, you end up with a much bigger problem that can be very costly to fix. All too often, we see folks bringing in crashed systems that say ‘everything was working fine until I installed XXX cleanup program’ so be very mindful of any third party programs that claim to perform miracles for only $29.95!

To get more information or to have help cleaning up your computer, contact your local computer help center!

photo credit: HowardLake