Today, Google issued an update of an earlier post “Using Data To Protect People From Malware” where they noticed that there was unusual patterns of search activity.

Recently, we found some unusual search traffic while performing routine maintenance on one of our data centers. After collaborating with security engineers at several companies that were sending this modified traffic, we determined that the computers exhibiting this behavior were infected with a particular strain of malicious software, or “malware.” As a result of this discovery, today some people will see a prominent notification at the top of their Google web search results:

According to Google, the “Fake AV” malware causes infected computers to send traffic to Google, of course for the author of the malware’s gain. we can help them update their antivirus software and remove the infections.

Again Google comes to the rescue with this notification bar when you search Google and your computer is infected with this type of malware. If you receive this alert, be sure to scan your system with a trusted and qualified Anti-virus program such as AVG Anti-Virus 2011 – 20% off, which offers a FREE Trial or another that can remove this pesky malware! There are many Anti-Virus programs out there, but just like insect repellent, not all insects can be removed! So, check that your Anti Virus software can remove “Fake AV” like AVG Anti-Virus 2011 – 20% off, !

Note: if you need remote Anti-Virus removal or any other computer tune-up performed, contact us!

When you first start up your computer you may a screen that looks similar to the one below.

This type of virus or malware is designed to get you to install an anti-spyware program when you continue to “register” from the “fake registration” screen. Another sign that your computer may be infected with Win 7 Anti-Spyware, the program will generate a lot of pop ups which are displayed when you log in to Windows and even when you try to run a program such as Mozilla Firefox, as shown in the images below.

These messages will become very irritating as you will not be able to control them and they will disturb all your computer sessions. The purpose of such pop ups is to convince you into believing that your system is so badly infected that make you want to purchase a commercial version of Win 7 Virus Protection program immediately!

DON’T PANIC! If you want to keep the Win7 Anti-Spyware program from infecting your system more when trying to use Mozilla Firefox or other browser to access the internet, click “No, Continue Unprotected”. Do not activate because your system could be saved in most cases as long as the Win7 Anti-Spyware have not spread it’s infection to widely throughout your system. So take a deep breath and let’s get this thing out of here!

First thing is to make sure your “real” Anti-Virus and Anti-Spyware security software is up-to-date. If your internet security software is out-of-date or you do not have any, one of the most reliable and dependable available is AVG Anti-Virus 2011 – 20% off. I have used this software for years and spend a lot of time surfing the internet without problems.

One the simplest method of removal is as follows.

1. Disable the Win 7 Anti-Spyware or various Fake Anti-Spyware alerts by entering the key below in the registration section 1147-175591-6550 for the Fake-Anti-Spyware. Important: this only stops the popups and fake alerts, you have to continue the removal process with other steps.
** Thanks to our friends http://www.2-viruses.com for this latest code information**

2. Reboot into safe mode with networking, and launch your updated “real” Anti-Spyware software and let it remove this pest automatically! I have used other methods and software, but suggest AVG Anti-Virus 2011 – 20% off, which offers a FREE Trial!

3. Reboot, check for updates to your Internet Security software and scan again to be sure that you have removed all of the trojans.

Although this method of removal have worked for many, we do not assume that it will work for every person and every infection of this type! If you need more info, please leave a comment below or contact us. Stay tuned for updates!

NOTE that not All Anti-Spyware, Anti-Virus and Internet Security programs do the complete job of protecting you from these types of pests! So if you spend a great deal of time surfing and downloading on the internet, you may want to use a complete Internet Security Protection software like
!

When trying to backup a Mozilla Thunderbird compatible email client in order to transfer the email and email settings to Thunderbird using MozBackup, something went terribly wrong in the restore process, the original Thunderbird default profile and emails were overwritten completely by the new profile! Now what do to do, all of the important email settings are GONE?

After a moment to take a deep breath, the solution was to simply restore the backup of the original Thunderbird profile from a previous MozBackup backup of the original before transferring. Remember to always backup the current version of any files before restoring or transferring any data! MozBackup creates a .pcv backup which is actually a compressed zip file. The profile data that have to be manually restored if using Windows Vista is located in folder C:\users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles\, in XP profiles are located in C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data\Thunderbird\Profiles\. The difference in XP, is that all of the Thunderbird Profile data is in one place. Whereas, in Windows Vista, Thunderbird profile data is stored in AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles\ and the profile master list is located in AppData\Local\Thunderbird\Profiles\ which we will not alter in this process.

Now, to begin to restore the Thunderbird profile that may be corrupted or overwritten, we will copy the data from a previous backup to the Thunderbird Profile folder that has been damaged. The steps listed in the post assumes that you have a previous profile backup of good mail data! Go to the folder where your MozBackup saved a previous profile backup. In my case, MozBackup saves the backups to the “MyDocuments” folder. Copy the latest good backup , for example “Thunderbird 2.0.0.23 (en-US) – 2009-10-23.pcv“, and paste it back into the MyDocuments folder as “Copy of Thunderbird 2.0.0.23 (en-US) – 2009-10-23.pcv.” Rename the copy extension, .pcv to .zip so as to keep the original backup untouched, and extract the folder using your favorite zip file unzipper, an archiver like 7-Zip ,which is free. Once the folder have been extracted, copy all of the contents in the folder and paste into the Thunderbird profile folder where the damaged data is. It should completely overwrite the previous files with good data. When you open Mozilla Thunderbird, you should see your familiar email accounts and data as if they never left.

WordPress makes many of the tedious tasks involved in building and maintaining a web site or blog easier with the use of plug ins. The WordPress blogging platform have many plugins that can do almost anything you would want to do to customize your site. These plugins are contributed by members of the WordPress community that they share with all of us who use WordPress. Thanks to them for their great contributions of plugins which makes WordPress more than just a blog!.

One of the the most valuable plugin available to WordPress is WP-BACKUP! For this explanation, WP-BACKUP Version 1.5 is used. Upload the files in the wp-backup plugin folder except readme.txt and backuprestore.php to the wp-content/plugins folder in your site. Copy backuprestore.php to your wp-content/plugins directory. Also, create a folder named backup in the wp-content folder where your back up files will be stored. Then go to the plugins page from the admin screen and click activate to start using wp-backup.

Once activated, go to the admin and select backup/restore and start the wp-backup admin panel.

Select Backup Database to back up your mysql database structure and data which will have a file name that includes the date and ends in sql. To back up your entire site with all folders and files, select Backup WordPress Files to download and save to your computer. This file, although compressed, is quite complete and can be used to not only restore a broken web site, but also can be used to move the files to a new host.

There are many WordPress plugins that perform the same functions, for example there is also WP-DB-BACKUP with a few more options to back up the WordPress website, which we will discuss later.

This is version 1.5 of WP-BACKUP that you can download here WP-BACKUP 1.5

I know this sounds like soo 20th Century, but until a recent move, connecting to the internet has become a top interest. After over five years of using DSL service to connect to the internet, Verizon does not provide DSL at the new location, despite it being only four miles down the road. Their reason given was that “the service center to that location is different and currently does not have DSL capability”. So why all of the advertisements that fill up our television time, boast about DSL and other broadband services as if they are available in that tv service area? What about people who live in rural America, are they not a market deserving of prime communications products?

One might think that the major telecoms would be expanding broadband into every part of the U.S., but it appears they are only interested in serving places like Bangalore and not Barstow. As technology becomes more affordable for average people, the services are unavailable and this is not 21st Century communications. Now, when I hear these large companies, AT&T, Verizon and others speak about their “Global” reach with their prime internet products, a little buzz in my ear, says “Globally Limited”. There is more to this episode in the next post, come back and check it out!

Let’s try to break down the differences between a virus, spyware and adware.

Adware, spyware and computer viruses are alike in many ways, in that each is a major
pain in the neck for computer users. Let’s point out the differences of the three.

Spyware is software, that once it gets into your computer, does not always harm your computer. What spyware does is that they create pathways on your computer that somebody else other than the computer owner can communicate with the computer. Generally, spyware can record the different types of web sites you visit or keystrokes you use. This data can be used later by web advertisers and others to keep track of websites you visit and possibly data that you type. Many times spyware can be the source of unwanted emails, pop-ups and sadly identity theft .

This is why spyware is highly frowned upon and greatly avoided. They are more intrusive than adware. Spyware have their own separate executable programs which allow them to record your keystrokes, scan files on your hard disks and look at other applications that you use including but not limited to chat programs, cookies and Web browser settings. This is why it is very important that you limit the amount of private data you type on a public computer. Also, be sure not to download programs on to your computer that you are not sure of what it is, or programs that you did not purposely seek to install.

The spyware then will send the information that it had gathered to the spyware author. The agent will then use this information for advertising, marketing purposes and possibly accessing private accounts. They even sell the information to advertisers and other parties.

Adware, on the other hand, is a more legitimate form of freeware which is free software. To be clear, not all freeware is adware or contain spyware. Similar to spyware, adware is advertising materials packaged into software or a program and installed automatically once that particular program or software is added into the computer system. Some forms of adware download advertising contents as a particular application is being used such as a browser. Have you ever noticed that when you visit some websites, that a pop-up appears promoting other products and websites? If it were not for the annoyances of adware, this method of advertising can be useful in some cases. It is quite unfortunate that most of the adware programs take the form of spyware, in that they track and report computer user information to program authors.

Some signs of spyware infections include pop-up ads that seem to be not related to the site you are viewing. More often than not, spyware pop-ups are advertisements or images about adult website contents. Also if you notice your computer slowing down, there’s a big chance that spyware and its other components have found their way into your operating system. When the Windows desktop also takes a longer time to load, its best to scan your computer for possible spyware infections. These are just some indicators that your computer may have spyware and time to run your spyware removal software.

As a little introduction or a refresher to computers, we will present some basic computer tips and information. Below are 7 basic parts that make up a computer. Even though there are many add ons that make up a computer , here are the simple and basic components that a computer must have.

• Motherboard
• CPU – Central Procession Unit
• RAM – Random Access Memory
• Hard Disk Drive – Hard Drive
• Monitor
• Keyboard
• Mouse

The four items listed at the top of the list, are located inside of the computer housing, also known as the case. The case is the box that you would plug your monitor keyboard mouse and printer into.

Motherboard –

The motherboard is like the engine of an automobile. It provides support for the internal components and also passes information between the computer parts. Just like an engine in a car which interacts with the spark plugs, pistons and fuel, the motherboard is the block that the other components plug into. If the motherboard is the engine, and like most modern cars today there is a brain. On a computer you could say the CPU is the brain.

CPU – Most of the mathematical manipulations that make computers operate are done by the CPU. Other components like high performance graphic cards, may also have their own processors, but their results still have to be passed through the CPU. The speed of the computer is usually measured by the speed of the CPU. Even though other factors also affect overall speed, the CPU rating is generally seen as the single most important measure of performance. For instance, 3-D computer games would run better on a computer with a higher CPU rating than a computer used mostly for office applications that have a lower CPU rating. CPU in most computers today, are usually rated between 2.0 GHz and 3.0 GHz allowing for a wider range of computer programs from computer games to movies. This measurement refer to the number of calculations the processor can make in 1 second. The higher the number, the faster (better) the computer. CPUs generate a lot of heat doing this work, so they need a heat sink and fan attached to them to keep them from overheating.

Heat is a major enemy of the computer and directly affects its life span.

You will notice that there are many free hosts out there, but not as many as in the past. Free hosting can be a good deal to get your feet wet on the internet, but for websites like the ones mentioned above, here are a few reasons why free hosting may be a drawback.

• Free Hosting may contain advertising that drives attention from your site
• Lack of control of design with many free hosting services
• Limitation on bandwidth or the amount of traffic allowed
• Not allowed to use your domain name like “www.mydomain.com”

For the most versatility and flexibility you will need to purchase hosting. The rules to choosing a paid host are many, but we will point out some basics that will minimize costs and maximize productivity! In other aspects, anything free is more often preferred over having to pay for something, but not the case with web hosting. Remember the phrase, you get what you pay for! Some things to look for in a paid web hosting service are listed below.

• Storage Size – The amount of data in gigabytes you get with the package
• Email Accounts – Number of email accounts to meet your business or project needs,
• Bandwidth – How much traffic per month you can have included with package. Important!
• Features – Web Site Builder, Databases, PHP, Domains and more!

Often times, you will receive more useful features with paid hosting. Technical support will be much better with help available when you need it. In most cases, paid hosts will have much faster connections to the internet so your site will load faster. There are excellent hosting packages starting from $6.99 per month like 1and1 hosting. There should not be any reason why you shouldn’t go with a paid host.

Some of the services include spyware and virus removal as well other computer problems. In order to use these services, internet connection is required. Currently we support Windows systems, but look forward to expanding to other operating systems.

Check back for our launch!