October 30, 2012 By Mark Computer Techs

Windows 8 released – should you update?

The successor to Windows 7 – appropriately named “Windows 8″ – was released on October 26, 2012. It can be purchased as an upgrade for Windows Vista, Windows 7, or pre-installed on a new computer. A common question that we receive is “should I update to Windows 8?”

I’ve been using the final release of Windows 8 since August, 2012. From my experience I recommend that people DO NOT upgrade to Windows 8 nor purchase a new computer with it installed – unless you like change. It has been described as “revolutionary” and “reimagined”. That also means “unfamiliar”. Two of the biggest changes in Windows 8 are the new tiled Start interface, and the removal of the “Start” button and associated menu from the Desktop interface.

Windows 8 new tiled Start interface

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January 1, 2012 By Mark Computer Techs

“As Seen on TV” Repair Scams

You’ve probably seen the TV ads or computer pop-ups for websites such as CyberDefender, PCMatic.com, MyCleanPC, FinallyFast.com and others. They promise to speed up your computer by fixing registry errors, reducing clutter, tweak settings, etc. Their websites promote a 100% guarantee, 5-star ratings from well-known web sites and user reviews that make their claims seem believable. But doing a little research shows the truth about many of these quick-fix programs and websites: many can be classified as scams.

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January 1, 2010 By Mark Computer Techs

PC Repair Shop Dangers

Why take your computer to a shop?
Watch the videos below about the dangers of taking your PC to a shop…

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January 1, 2010 By Mark Computer Techs

How to spot email “phishing”

Phishing emails attempt to gather personal information such as passwords, account information or credit card numbers. The emails appear to be from a legitimate source – your bank, internet or email provider for example. They are often designed to mimic the appearance of a legitimate business including company email addresses and logos. But with a closer look, you can often spot phishing emails from some of the characteristics which I list below.

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January 1, 2010 By Mark Computer Techs

Junk e-mail (spam) prevention tips

One of the most common questions we hear from customers is how to reduce the amount of junk e-mail or “spam”. In this article I answer why you get spam, how to avoid getting it in the first place, and how to manage the spam you already get.

Why do get spam? Do you recall when you first got your e-mail address – you probably got little or no spam. The longer you have an address the more likely you are to get spam – and the amount increases over time as your address gets stored on in an increasing amount of people’s address books, databases and in other computers. If one of those computers gets an e-mail virus or spambot or if an e-mail database is hacked, you’re going to get spam. Also if you post your e-mail address on a website, computers that search the internet looking for e-mail addresses will add your address to its list of active e-mail addresses, and you’ll get spam. It’s a cat-and-mouse game as the e-mail providers tune their spam filters to recognize the words and patterns that junk e-mail usually contains, while the spammers are devising new methods to not be detected by the filters. New methods that the spammers are using include:

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January 1, 2010 By Mark Computer Techs

Help prevent your email accounts from being hacked

We’ve had a lot of support calls recently where the person’s email or other account has been hacked. In the case of email accounts, the hackers have copied the person’s contact list and is sending  spam messages out to the contacts and forging their name and email address. After their account got hacked, people usually ask us how it happened. Below are usual ways that hackers are able to access accounts.

1. Guessing an insecure password to access your account.

2.  Guessing the answer to your account security question, then resetting the password so that the account can be accessed.

3.  Insecure web site databases are being hacked and the usernames and passwords are being used to log into accounts at the different web sites. For example, here’s a common scenario that could happen to you:

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January 1, 2010 By Mark Computer Techs

How to avoid malware and viruses

What is malware/virus – and how does it get on the computer?Malware is short for malicious software and includes viruses, spyware, scareware and similar programs installed on your computer that is installed without your consent or knowledge. Most malware mimics legitimate software in an attempt to get you to purchase something and divulge your credit card information. Malware usually comes from 3 main sources:

  • Malware can come as an e-mail attachment such as a file with an .exe or .zip attachment that you are not expecting to receive.
  • You can be tricked into installing malware from an infected web site that you go to via a link in an e-mail.
  • Malware can be installed automatically or via prompt if you unintentionally go to an infected website. Such web sites are usually unfamiliar, lesser-known web sites that you may find by doing a web search.

How do I avoid getting viruses and malware? No security software is going to protect you from all viruses and malware. Changing your behavior is your best defense:

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