Among the Realm

Browsing some websites within google I stumbled upon this page.

Being on a Mac sites like this do not affect me… but on a windows computer it would have been a different story. As you can tell from the picture above it resembles a windows machine and wants you to download a scanner to scan your “so-called” infected pc. This is not the case… if you continue to do this it will load spyware on your pc instead of removing it. I would close firefox  (yes I know all of you use firefox, if not grab it here.<– click here) to prevent infection, I would even close it from task manager and sometimes might be forced to close it this way.

If your computer does get infected by one of these nasty boogers, it will most likely need professional help. I posted a spyware removal guide for basic cleanups that could help you on your way to restoring your pc back to a healthy system.

Spyware Cleanups, ver. 1 <– Click Here

Spyware Cleanups, ver. 1.2 <– Click Here

Microsoft  released its new free anti-virus program which has received good reviews. In most cases instead of using AVG anti-virus this will become my program of choice.

Microsoft Anti-Virus <– Click Here

And for those of you who need some help understanding how to troubleshoot computers and what a tech does refer to this picture below.

I got my Mom good today with an April Fools Joke!

I printed off a paper that I just turned in and wrote the grade “F” on it and showed it to her and told her the reason why I got an “F” was on the back of the paper.

She was mad…but at first at the professor because she thought he was playing an April Fools Joke on me by giving me an “F”!

My mom did attempt to get me, she told me as I was on my way out the door for school that something was wrong with the tire on my car. I think she used the same joke last year.

UPDATE ON CONFICKER – The Conficker worm has not made its attack today. Does that mean we are safe from it? Not entirely. There could be future attacks, and it defenitley won’t hurt to keep current with the latest tools on defending this virus.

5 Things you Should do to Protect Your Computer:

• Make sure to use Windows Update weekly, Tuesday is usually the day they release fixes. Make sure update MSO8-67 has been applied on your system.
• Update your anti-virus software regularly and run full scans.
• Make to sure to use strong passwords (Lifehacker’s guide to making strong passwords).
• Disable the autoplay feature on your cd/dvd-rom drive.
• Be sure to backup all your data (Lifehacker’s guide to windows backup tools).
• Use OpenDns. It is easy to setup and there are good instructions.

To read more about Conficker check out this article.