 Computer Scams 
We are not talking about email or even credit card thieves but your local computer repair person (Geek). You know, that person who comes into your home or business to fix your most prized form of entertainment or business access. That person who, for a little while you entrust all your valuable information like your pictures, music, bank accounts or all those private documents you really don't want anyone to see.There are, unfortunately, some very evil computer jockeys out there that can and will take advantage of your trust. Thus the reason for this article because we know of one such case in our immediate area. All the other PC places in our area maintain very high standards and we do not want the "Bad Apple" effect to spread our way. The Horror Stories 1. A lady takes her PC to a "so called" PC repair person and leaves it for repairs. After a couple weeks she finally made contact (let's just call him Dr. Evil for name and liability sake) with Dr. Evil they discovered that he had sold their PC to someone else. Being a nice person and not wanting to press charges she agreed to allow Dr. Evil to build her another PC minus, of course, her grandbaby's pictures. She had a PC with new technology in it and got one back with (PC133) old technology. 2. Another person brings in a slow running PC. Dr. Evil does a simple clean up and actually steals memmory cards out of it leaving one in as to allow the machine to continue running at a slower speed. 3. My favorite. Dr. Evil has gone to businesses for repairs, placed "LogMeIn" software on machines then accessed those computers late at night and not for repairs either! We know of one case where this goober had been storing personal files on a business computer whithout the owner's knowlege OR permission. When he could no longer access these files (thanks to me..tadaaa) he went down to the store and demanded to extract them  from the machine (not the brightest lightbulb in the box). In other episodes Dr. Evil has deliberately sabataged machines so he could be ready to spring into action when clients called complaining of PC problems and has even passworded people's PCs without their permission or knowlege. 4. The elderly are one of his favorites - need I say more? There are more episodes of these events than there are computer parts. So how do I protect myself?? A very good question indeed! While there is no single way to to this you will stand a much better chance if you follow a few simple rules. 1. Know Thy Computer You don't have to have a degree in Computer Magic but if you are aware of a few basic things reguarding your PC it will be alot harder to get ripped off.
2. Ask for your old parts We always insist that our customers take their old replaced parts. This might make Dr. Evil a little nervous 3. Check your program files for unexplained new programs. If you just had PC repairs over the internet by a tech and you don't plan on doing it on a regular basis then for the love of Pete DELETE the software that was used to make the connection possible. LogMeIn is a great system to get into your computer from any other computer but is just you or someone you trust and nobody else. Once installed it can be used by the installer to access your machine whenever they want. So, unless you use this software DELETE IT!!! Well, if anything else comes to mind we will post it here. If you can think of anything just let us know. Remember that there are some very good computer people in our area so don't be afraid to explore. All the good guys enjoy a little compitition it keeps us crisp and willing to work harder for business NOT STEAL IT! ............ Inside the Box 
There are a couple of reasons to NEVER keep your PC on the floor. The first, is ESD. That is Electro Static Discharge. When weather conditions are just right and you slide accross the floor in your socks and touch someone the resulting shock can be quite amusing for you (maybe not the recipient). That "shock" can be the kiss of death for your computer. Although grounding precautions have been taken it only takes one time for that to fail and ka-boom you've just lost your motherboard, hard drive, CPU or worse yet, your information.Second Reason: Your desktop computer is like a little vacuum cleaner. It will suck up every little thing around it especially dust. When dust accumulates inside the box and settles on components like your CPU heatsink or anywhere on the motherboard it causes more heat. We all know that heat is the biggest enemy to electronics (or at least we know now). This is why your PC should be cleaned out from time to time by a very highly trained professional. We clean about 90% of all the PCs that come into the shop. Either a vacuum cleaner extension or a very small compressor can be used (take it outside for the compressor method - trust me on this one). To prevent or at least put the odds in your favor merely place your PC off the floor. It doesen't have to be completely off the floor-maybe on a block of wood or something plastic so long as it is not touching the carpet or floor and high enough to keep it away from the surface and any particles that may be laying around. Just a few minutes of precaution can save alot of headaches (and money) in the future. This brings up a similar topic that we see all the time concerning your laptop computin' machine. These little monsters generate enough heat all by themselves and do not need any more help from you. On a laptop, the cooling fan generaly sucks the air up from the bottom and shoots it out the side. So, when you have it sitting on a pillow the airflow is cut off and things just run much hotter. If it gets too hot the CPU will shut down. (CPU - Central Processing Unit - The computer brain..the guy in charge..the head cheese..well, you get the messege) Always keep it on a flat surface so things can run as God and Microsoft intended. .......................... Backup Memory 
Generally speaking, most PC users never think about backing up files until their computer crashes.The best and easiest way that I have found to prevent loss of important files is to run two hard drives. The cost of hard drives is not that much any more and you can get quite a bit of "gigage" for low dollars. OK, here's the deal, once the second hard drive is installed on your PC 1. go to "My computer" and find the new drive (take note of the letter that was assigned to it). 2. Open it up and create a new folder called "My Documents". 3. Then go to the desktop and right click on the My Documents icon and then click on "Properties". When the splash screen comes up either type in the path to where your new "My Documents" is or you can click on the "Find Target" button and find it that way. If you choose to type it in, make sure you use the correct letter that your computer has assigned the new drive (ie.D:\My Documents). After you click "OK" a new screen will pop up and ask something like "Do you wish to transfer the existing files to the new folder" and, of course, your answer will be "YES". How easy was that?! Hence forth, your PC will recognize this new "My Documents" folder as a system folder even though it's on a separate hard drive. So when you save your work into "My Documents" you are, in reality, putting it on another hard disk. About 99.99% of the time computer crashes are software related (viruses, programs not being able to play nicely together and things like that). Of course we're talking about the main hard drive..you know, the one with the operating system on it...the one that takes most of the beating(C:). Sometimes you are able to retrieve information even if a system cannot be brought back up. Alot of times you cannot and those are the times you'll be glad you had that second drive with all your precious work tucked safely away. From there, just reformat your C: Drive,(I like to call it cleansing) reinstall your programs and such, do the icon thing mentioned above, and bada-bing...your back in business AND with a very clean hard drive. Please note that we don't live anywhere near Perfectville nothing is 100% and it might not hurt to use a rewritable CD or DVD to occasionally back up those really really really important files anyway. The odds, however, are way in your favor with a double drive PC. Here are a couple more ways to back up important documents. Flash Drive 
Insert a 2 or 4 gig flash drive into one of those unused usb ports in the back of your machine and just leave it there. Go to "My Computer" and you will see the new drive. Right click on it and "Place shortcut on Desktop". That's it! Granted 2 or so gigs might not seem like a whole lot of storage space but most documents are not that big and you can probably cram alot of stuff on one of those little monsters. If you feel that size makes a difference then purchase a 32 gig flash drive for about $60 ish. You can certainly stuff alot of images or mp3s on one of those! From time to time just burn the contents to a CD and store in a safe place.External Hard Drive This, by far, is probably the easiest way to get large volume storage for backup without even popping the hood on that machine. You can get external drives up into the terabyte range. That'a ALOT of storage. And easy to install. Just plug the power unit in, plug in the USB line to an empty usb port on your machine and you've got tons of backup storage. Some even come with Firewire support. Same drill...Go to "My Computer" and look for the new drive, place a shortcut on the desktop and ...bada-bing! The only downside - These little monstors are a little spendy. More so than your "C" Drive. From as little as around $60 for an 80 gig to $200 for a terabyte (1000 gigs). Prices are coming down. So there you go and now you know. Happing Computing ----------------------------------------------------- Keep Your PC Safe for Free Most of the time when you buy a new PC you get a virus protection disk with it (back in the old days they used to give you realy good software packages like Word, Publisher and stuff like that but now all you get is trial versions and crap). The protection software could be Mcaffe or Norton or whatever. AND most of the time people don't realize that these are merely trial versions good for a certain amout of time. Plus, these two packages contain way more than you actually need. Over the years Norton and McAffe have not really improved their software that much but instead have added all kinds of extra stuff that slow your PC down more than help it. And at the end of the trial period the updates stop. These are called pattern files and they are downloaded to your PC on a regular basis to compensate for new viruses and spyware. Sooo at the end of the trial period you are not getting the very best protection as new viruses spring up every day. The software may or may not work anymore but even if it does, it's not very good anymore unless you purchase the full versions and generally the price is quite reasonable. This all well and good but there is a couple of companies still out there that has free versions of their virus protection software and is not only lightweight but only gives you what you need...virus protection. One of them is Grisoft and the software is AVG Free. CLICK HERE Just because it's free dosn't mean that it is bad. On the contrary, it updates daily and has great protection for your PC and email. If you get a bug in an attachment, it won't let you open it up. Grisoft does this to promote their line of virus/spyware products and like the other guys, their prices are pretty good too. Buy the way, you should probably take your Norton or Mcaffe off as they are quite cumbersome and you really don't need 'em anymore. What about spyware? Same deal...a company called Malwarebytes.org will give you a spyware program called Malwarebytes. This is one of the best we've seen. CLICK HERE to get there. Please note that this particular software will not run automatically so you will have to run it manually. I think the paid for version runs automatically. Malwarebytes does require that you register (name and email is about all). Word of advice - These programs will not work at all if you don't use them. I, too, am guilty of this sometimes so do as I say and not as I do. You should run Ad-Aware at least once a week and for heaven's sake scan anything you download from Kazaa or Limewire and the like as about 50% of all those files have bugs in them. It's easy and only takes a few seconds. At least scan with your virus protection software. It's OKAY to download them as long as you don't open 'em. Just right click on the file and you should see your defalt virus program in the dialog box. It might say "Scan with AVG". Just DO IT. It's easy and you'll feel good about yourself when a "Threat Found" box pops up. If it does, just delete it and go on to the next file. Here is a boring but true story. I was once called to a home where the kids' PC was running really slow. After running my magic software for about two and a half hours we cleaned up over 5500 adware scripts. I think we got them all but their PC ran like a new one. Here's the kicker...they had Ad-Aware on their machine and just never used it. Their spyware program is free...I'm not(close to it, though). There ya have it. If you got it use it and you won't be calling some geek to fix it. Happy computing! |
 LamarTV LamarTV was started in December of 2008 to provide local Sports and Event information for Lamar and surrounding area. We currently broadcast all Lamar Community College sports and events LIVE on LamarTV. We offer the least expensive and best coverage for advertising at a low rate of $25 a month. For questions or comments email us at support@lamartvcolorado.com. Website Friends Here is a list of some of the websites that have been created by this company. Cruikshank Realty Civis Auctions Amache Studio Crop Risk Advisors Weatherking in Colorado OldStone Your website name could be here, too. Technical Support For: Colorado Mills Carder, INC. DoubleD Construction Crop Risk Advisors My Wholesale Lamar Civic Credit Union Old Stone Reflections Cruikshank Realty Civis Auctions High Plains Builders Bison Title Country Acres KLMR Sportsman Campground Plus hundreds of our home customers Thank You  AVG Free provides you with basic antivirus and antispyware protection for Windows and is available to download for free. 
A while back AVG upgraded to the 2011 version. So, if you're still using 8.0 you may be in some trouble as the old version may run scans but is not up to date.We have been using AVG free for some time now and have had very good luck with it. Not only a virus protection but this software will check for rootkits and has some capabilites for spyware protection as well. The best part, AVG is not as bulky and full of junk you don't really need like some of the more popular pay-for brands. DownLoad from AVG Site Anti Virus/Microsoft Security Essentials Microsoft Security Essentials provides real-time protection for your home PC that guards against viruses, spyware, and other malicious software. 
Microsoft Security Essentials is a free* download from Microsoft that is simple to install, easy to use, and always kept up to date so you can be assured your PC is protected by the latest technology. It’s easy to tell if your PC is secure — when you’re green, you’re good. It’s that simple.Microsoft Security Essentials runs quietly and efficiently in the background so that you are free to use your Windows-based PC the way you want—without interruptions or long computer wait times. We have been testing this software for some time now and have to give it a two thumbs up rating as it picks up alot of malware, easy to use, and is a little heavy but if you have 2 gigs or more of RAM you'll be just fine. DownLoad from Microsoft Anti Virus/Avast Free antivirus software providing desktop security and data protection. avast! detects and removes all forms of malware, including spyware, rootkits and trojans. Free for home users. 
Us geeks have tried this software and have found it to be quite capable of living up to its claims. You have to register every 12 months or so but it's still a freebie for home users. DownLoad from Avast Site Anti Spyware-Malware/Spybot Spybot - Search & Destroy detects and removes spyware, a relatively new kind of threat not yet covered by common anti-virus applications. Spyware silently tracks your surfing behaviour to create a marketing profile for you that is transmitted without your knowledge to the compilers and sold to advertising companies. If you see new toolbars in your Internet Explorer that you haven't intentionally installed, if your browser crashes inexplicably, or if your home page has been "hijacked" (or changed without your knowledge), your computer is most probably infected with spyware. Even if you don't see the symptoms, your computer may be infected, because more and more spyware is emerging. Spybot-S&D is free, so there's no harm giving it a try to see if something has invaded your computer. Spybot will run scans and updates by itself. We use it and like it and so does PC World and PC Mag. DownLoad from the Spybot Site Anti Spyware-Malware/MalwareBytes Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware is considered to be the next step in the detection and removal of malware. In their product they have compiled a number of new technologies that are designed to quickly detect, destroy, and prevent malware. 
Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware can detect and remove malware that even the most well known anti-virus and anti-malware applications fail to detect. Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware monitors every process and stops malicious processes before they even start. The Realtime Protection Module uses their advanced heuristic scanning technology which monitors your system to keep it safe and secure. In addition, they have implemented a threats center which will allow you to keep up to date with the latest malware threats.
This is the best malware protection we have seen yet. You can use this in conjuction with most other virus/spyware software. You will, however, have to run and update it manually. For a mere $24.95 you can unlock the fearures that will do it for you. Free for home use - businesses have to pay. DownLoad from Malware Bytes Site 
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