Computer Doctor of Hampden

Microsoft seems to hit the mark with operating systems about 50% of the time. Going back to when I first installed windows, Windows 3.1 worked remarkably well and having just repaired an old 486/dx33 computer running 3.11 last week , it was amazingly fast. I was lucky enough to attend one of the Microsoft launch conferences for Windows 95, while it was the biggest GUI leap to date, it was not without it’s bugs and performance issues. By the time the Windows 98 Second Edition came along the operating system was a stable and well supported platform.

The next release for consumers was Windows Millennium, this version was also very short lived and plagued by driver issues and continual freeze ups. Microsoft hit it out of the park with Windows XP, by utilizing the core file system of Windows NT the NTFS file system the OS was more stable and user friendly. XP is like an old friend, still deployed in millions of computers world wide the OS will no longer be supported in 2014, once that happens it is pretty much useless. Keep that in the back of your mind if you are still clinging to XP.

Microsoft’s next faux paus was Windows Vista, responding to the increasing market share of Apple OSX, Microsoft tried to incorporate the “eye candy” of OSX and a layer of security by adding the user access control layer, all those wondefull little pop ups that ask you if you want a program to do something. What Vista brought along with it was a huge jump in system requirments, both processor and ram. If you are running a Vista system with anything less that 2 GB of ram you are really dragging your heals. Along with the elegant Aero interface  Vista brought along extened start up times, unforeseen freeze ups, failed critical system updates which can render the system useless, the “black screen of death” is much more lethal than the XP “BSOD”.

So my theory is that everyone who purchased a computer with Windows Vista was no more than a beta tester for Windows 7. As we ponied up the cash to buy new laptops with Vista, we logged complaint after complaint about it’s short comings and Microsoft had all the feedback it could ever want to put together the next version, which really could have been Vista SP4,

the one that actually works. Instead of fixing it’s Vista mess Microsoft sold us Windows 7 and we seem to finally be back to a stable operating system for the moment.

Good news is that if you purchased a laptop with Vista, it should run better with Windows 7. Hardware wise the operating system manages resources better so it can breathe life into your relatively new Vista machine.

To maximize the upgrade, I recommend doing a clean installation, this means backing up your data, formatting the drive, installing the operating system, applying updates, reinstall your programs and transfer your data back. If you would like to rid yourself of the Vistas nightmare, Computer Doctor offers an upgrade service, the process can usually be completed within 24 hours. We can also evaluate your current hardware and make recommendations if you are ready to upgrade.

As a technology tech, I receive many inquires about every conceivable gadget from folks with all levels of technical expertise. I am an iPad owner and a Mac user, but I also have my share of PC’s and android devices, so I try to give recommendations on experience and not solely on brand preference.

The iPad is a great device, the biggest flaws I have found is the lack of flash and limited printer support. Where apple shines is the GUI or graphical user interface. It is polished and well thought out and rather intuitive. The touch experience is implemented with precision and with each new ios release becomes more functional and feels  very natural to use.

The touch interface is in my opinion a major leap forward in how we interact with our data. We will see in the next decade a change in how we input our information. Speech recognition and touch will continue to grow, not that the mouse and keyboard will disappear any time soon, but as we develop a level of comfort with the new interfaces, more advances will lead us to a new user experience.

Will we find ourselves screaming at our future devices and using gestures that may not be acceptable in polite company, you bet. I am sure we will be looking back in 10 years at the iPad with as much nostalgia as we remember the palm pilot of 10 years ago. You do remember the palm pilot?

The end is approaching for Windows XP… in 2014. The already decade-old operating system is still the main base for much of the world’s PCs, despite Microsoft’s efforts to hold those users away from Internet Explorer 9 (though the latest Firefox and Chrome work just fine) and the other latest Microsoft software.

In its latest push, Microsoft has made and published “Windows XP End of Support Countdown Gadget” – essentially a desktop gadget with a countdown clock until the classic OS is no longer supported.

Microsoft gives it the following overview: “Looking to get off Windows XP? Use this handy gadget to count down the number of days until Windows XP End of Support (EOS) in 2014.”

The desktop gadget, however, is only supported by Windows Vista and Windows 7, which makes it somewhat puzzling as such users have obviously eradicated Windows XP from that particular system.

Sure XP will work after April 8th 2014, but with out any security updates, it will be open season for malicious code writers. Not that it isn’t already, but without the patches from Microsoft any XP machine connected to the internet will be a huge target.

So if you were lucky enough to skip the Vista debacle, it might be time to consider getting familiar with Windows 7…The clock is ticking.

Here is something to think about, generally as long as the computer is working, we don’t give it much thought. When a virus strikes many jump into action as their data may not be backed up and they run the risk of losing pictures, music, video, documents, spreadsheets, tax info Quickbooks, you get the idea. Something else to consider is disk space. Modern computers generally come with much larger hard drives then those we say even 5 or 6 years ago. As the computer becomes the catch all for our memories and in some cases business life we need to keep an eye on how much storage we have. Windows itself, takes more and more space with each update, compound that with the files that may get stored from emails, programs you install and may never use space disappears rapidly. If you have large video/music collection that is stored on your main hard drive and/or have an older XP machine that may only have a 40-80 GB hard drive you run the risk of running out of space.

What can happen? On older machines with limited physical memory (RAM) as you open more programs windows needs more resources to keep things going and it tries to use hard disk space (swap file) to execute your commands. When this is limited windows grinds to halt, some folks will delete a few files here and there to try and keep things going, what happens is the drive becomes more and more fragmented, slowing you down even further. I recently ran into a situation that required extensive data recovery due to file system corruption from running out of space.

What are some of your options?

• When purchasing a new computer go for a big hard drive! Setting up a second partition for data files can simplify things for data management and if you need to recover files.
• For desktop computers there is usually space and accommodations for multiple hard drives.  Hard drives can be “cloned” to the larger drive to increase space or transfer the data files to the new hard drive.
• Laptops generally have space for one drive, again we can clone the drive to a larger one, or set up an external drive or network storage drive to store the files.
• Cloud storage is an inexpensive way to back up or store data files.

A good rule of thumb is when your free disk space is less than 30% of the total drive it is time to start looking into options.

Need help? Call, email or check our website, we have a live chat feature and can help find a solution that works for you.

Don’t Panic! First off there is a good chance your files are still there. A variation of the rogue antivirus programs that have been plaguing Windows and now Mac operating systems is playing hide and seek with your data. The tough part is when people can’t see their files, they assume all is lost and subsequently reformat their drive and reinstall their operating system in order to have a functional computer again. Before you take that drastic step, which will destroy your data call us at Computer Doctor and we will diagnose the problem and secure your data, then remove the Virus for you.

Did we mention now is the time to start a disaster recovery plan! There are many ways to implement a successful disaster plan to recover from hardware failure, loss or software corruption. Don’t roll the dice with your files, all hard drives fail we just don’t know when…

Mac "Rogue Antivirus" Malware

While virus’s for mac’s have been around for along time, they are generally few and very far between. I have said on countless occasions one of the best ways to prevent a Virus infection on your computer is to use a Mac. While I still stand by this, for now, the tide may be turning. Mac Defender is rogue antivirus program which has been running rampant as of late. These programs have been infecting PC’s for years and work by trying to get you to purchase a fake product and enter your credit card info. Your information is compromised, the program is now embedded in your system and can cause a host of issues, from performance issues to hard drive corruption and data loss.

There is nothing I have found as of yet that will offer 100% protection from all virus infections, barring of course staying off the internet and never connecting a usb drive or installing any software or sharing files. Given the connected nature of business and the ever growing social aspect of inter connectivity staying off the web is out of the question for most of us.

So what are we to do? Look before you click! Question everything! Read the URL for your search result, crank up your spam filter. Keep your antivirus program up to date, your windows/mac os updated and the nagging adobe and java updates, just do them…

This is a wake up call, back up everything you don’t want to lose, put data on a separate drive, not inside the computer! Use an online back up service such as carnbonite or mozy and once again, there is no such thing as a free lunch, free programs exact a toll on your system, whether poorly written, or worse, being laden with spyware or carrying a keylogger or virus. Your browsing habits are valuable, as is the information and business you do online. Be smart and when you run into problems. Call me…

Computer Doctor will be on vacation starting May 5th and returning May 23rd. I can be reached via email kevin@oldersite.hampdencomputer.com. Please check in with my travel blog England 11′ to follow my adventure in England. I will be traveling with my brother and father through the midlands of England. We will be exploring the canal system on a Black Prince Narrowboat holiday.

So your hard drive just died, and you didn’t back it up. I’m so, so sorry. You can expect to go through the following five stages once you discover that all of your photos, files and music are gone forever.

Stage one: Denial
“No. No, there’s no way. This is probably just a software issue, maybe if I try rebooting again it’ll work. I’ve only had this hard drive for two years, there’s no way it just died. I’ll get all that stuff back. This silly computer always freaks out but is fine after a reboot. Even though I’ve tried rebooting five times and it sounds like a fork is stuck in a garbage disposal in there, it’s probably just the CD drive.”

Stage two: Anger
“Are you kidding me, Western Digital? I’ve lost everything! I trusted you, and for what? How does a company that sells such crappy products stay in business? I will murder the first WD employee I see. And what the hell is wrong with me that I didn’t back this stuff up? I am the biggest idiot in the world and I want to punch myself in the face. I hate myself and don’t deserve to be happy.”

Stage three: Bargaining
“OK, so maybe I can download some software and boot this drive as a secondary drive and try to recover some stuff. I mean, I’ll have to go buy a new hard drive and install it and then figure out how to hook this one up as a secondary drive, and I’m not sure where my OS discs are, but hey, I’m a smart guy, I can figure this stuff out, right? Or maybe professional data recovery services have gotten much, much cheaper lately. Yeah, I’ll bet they’re affordable now, they’ve gotta be.”

Stage four: Depression
“All those photos. I’ll never, ever get them back. I’ll never see those faces again. And my essays from college, I was going to share those with my kids someday. And man, all that music, it’s taken me years to collect all that. Why did I even bother? It’s like the last ten years of my life have just been erased.”

Stage five: Acceptance
“Ah, none of that stuff was that important. Most of it was uploaded to various sites like Flickr, anyways. At least the really important stuff. Regathering all that music will be fun, too! And hey, you know what? Maybe it’s good to start fresh every once in a while. And man, hard drives have gotten a lot cheaper since I last bought one. This is really just a good way to put things in perspective; none of this stuff was all that important. Except for those photos. Why the hell didn’t I back them up?”

Below is some excellent information provided by the US Department of Homeland Security US-CERT Security TIP

What does anti-virus software do?

Although details may vary between packages, anti-virus software scans files or your computer’s memory for certain patterns that may indicate an infection. The patterns it looks for are based on the signatures, or definitions, of known viruses. Virus authors are continually releasing new and updated viruses, so it is important that you have the latest definitions installed on your computer.

Once you have installed an anti-virus package, you should scan your entire computer periodically.

• Automatic scans – Depending what software you choose, you may be able to configure it to automatically scan specific files or directories and prompt you at set intervals to perform complete scans.

• Manual scans – It is also a good idea to manually scan files you receive from an outside source before opening them. This includes:
• saving and scanning email attachments or web downloads rather than selecting the option to open them directly from the source
• scanning media, including CDs and DVDs, for viruses before opening any of the files

What happens if the software finds a virus?

Each package has its own method of response when it locates a virus, and the response may differ according to whether the software locates the virus during an automatic or a manual scan. Sometimes the software will produce a dialog box alerting you that it has found a virus and asking whether you want it to “clean” the file (to remove the virus). In other cases, the software may attempt to remove the virus without asking you first. When you select an anti-virus package, familiarize yourself with its features so you know what to expect.

Which software should you use?

There are many vendors who produce anti-virus software, and deciding which one to choose can be confusing. All anti-virus software performs the same function, so your decision may be driven by recommendations, particular features, availability, or price.

Installing any anti-virus software, regardless of which package you choose, increases your level of protection. Be careful, though, of email messages claiming to include anti-virus software. These messages, supposedly from your ISP’s technical support department, contain an attachment that claims to be anti-virus software. However, the attachment itself is in fact a virus, so you could become infected by opening it (see Using Caution with Email Attachments for more information).
How do you get the current virus information?

This process may differ depending what product you choose, so find out what your anti-virus software requires. Many anti-virus packages include an option to automatically receive updated virus definitions. Because new information is added frequently, it is a good idea to take advantage of this option. Resist believing email chain letters that claim that a well-known anti-virus vendor has recently detected the “worst virus in history” that will destroy your computer’s hard drive. These emails are usually hoaxes (see Identifying Hoaxes and Urban Legends for more information). You can confirm virus information through your anti-virus vendor or through resources offered by other anti-virus vendors.

While installing anti-virus software is one of the easiest and most effective ways to protect your computer, it has its limitations. Because it relies on signatures, anti-virus software can only detect viruses that have signatures installed on your computer, so it is important to keep these signatures up to date. You will still be susceptible to viruses that circulate before the anti-virus vendors add their signatures, so continue to take other safety precautions as well.