Computer Doctor of Hampden

I have come to appreciate the Apple Macbook Pro as one of the finest notebook computers I have ever used. I currently have a 2012 model that I run both OSX Mountain Lion along with Windows 7 Pro. From the fit and finish to the solid aluminum unibody construction, great backlit keyboard and excellent track pad the machine is top notch running Mac or Windows. That being said as with any machine they require maintenance and care and occasional repair. At our repair center Computer Doctor of Hampden we deal with both Mac and PC issues everyday. From liquid spills to broken screens, software glitches and hard drive repairs we see it all. First and foremost your Macbook Pro is hydrophobic! It does not like water, beer, wine, soda,coffee, tea, milk, dog urine or pickle juice and yes I have worked on all those scenarios! The adage an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure rings true even more with the base price for a Macbook pro @ the $1200 mark. Life can be hectic, you can bring your portable Mac so many places, think about the risks you run, from loss of the system, data corruption and at least a loss of productivity and repair costs.

Broken Macbook Pro Computer Doctor of Hampden Apple Repair

What is your back up plan? OSX has a very simple back up plan that can aid in both data and system recovery for the price of an external usb drive you can have peace of mind and the ability to find deleted files as well as recovering from a crashed hard drive . Please follow the instruction on Apples website to set up your back up plan sooner than later, consider it insurance for your digital life. Need help getting started? We stock external hard drives and can configure your back up plan as well as optimize your Mac for top performance and check for potential problems.

Given routine maintenance, reasonable care and proper usage your Macbook Pro can give you years of faithful service. Feel free to contact us with questions or submit a service request now.

This is a scam that won’t quit. It looks real enough and has some people opening their wallets and checking with the police. At Computer Doctor of Hampden we deal with computer virus infections everyday. The FBI Virus or Moneypack Virus is another example of ransomeware, typically ransomeware is disguised as a fake antivirus program, this rotten piece of code would start a fake scan saying that you had numerous virus infections and for a fee this program would activate and remove the infections. This scanner was itself the infection and not only would they take your payment, your credit card number would be stolen and a nightmare of trying to stop false charges would begin.

The FBI Virus claims that they have been monitoring your moves on the internet and you have downloaded illegal files and your computer has been locked. If you don’t pay, your computer will stay frozen and legal proceeding will be brought against you. They make in look convincing, some even pop open your webcam to snap a picture.

As you guessed this is also a scam, the virus itself continues to morph and take on characteristics of a rootkit infection. Nasty stuff… If you need help feel free to contact us @207-862-7019 we know how to get this off your system and will evaluate your security and tune up your computer at the same time.

As a Computer repair specialist in the Bangor Maine area, I find myself in need of specific parts for PC’s and Mac’s and given the urgency that customers want their system’s back, I utilize every resource to get the right part ASAP. This brings me at times to Craigslist. I want to preface this by saying, not all craigslist deals are bogus, but I have found a disturbing trend of Spam generating specifically from replies I have made to craigslist. The ones I have seen are primarily sent from Russia and because I am responding to computer related sales, the Spam I am getting is for discount software. The way I was able to discern the Spam was coming from Craigslist specifically is actually the solution to the problem.

I started my online adventures in technology at a time when the internet for commercial use was in it’s infancy, so, yes right after Al Gore invented it! I was screaming across the internet at blazing speeds on my 14.4k dial up connection on my way too expensive 386/16 machine with 4 megabytes of ram, that was when someone actually published a hard copy yellow pages of the internet. As time passed I eventually opened up a yahoo email in 1997 and still have it to this day, it is now the repository of tens of thousands of Spam emails as over time I relegated this account as my garbage email address. Any online forum or inquiry that doesn’t have something to do with someone or some entity that I know or do business with gets replied to with my yahoo address.

This kind of tactic has kept my main email addresses on my own domain relatively spam free, not to say I never see an ad for a “genuine rolex” or queries on my need for Viagra or Cialis, which thankfully at 46 I am not in the market for. No I still get the occasional offer of ex Soviet block single ladies looking for Mr. Right in America, but in comparison my daily Spam intake is minimal. Out of haste one day I made the faux pas of replying to a Craigslist ad using my “good” email address. It took me a few days to make the connection that my new found techno based russian originated spam was a direct result of my craigslist responses, how I nailed it was to start another throw away account on my own domain. I quickly set up craigslist@oldersite.hampdencomputer.com and responded to a few ads, within 24 hours I had no replies to my inquires on items for sale, but started receiving  the russian based software selling spam 3-4 times a day.

My advise is to create your own “throw away” email specifically for correspondence with unknown entities. Save yourself the hassle of a spam filled inbox and possibly risking a virus attack. When you do make a connection with someone for a purchase here is what Craigslist recommends

• Insist on a public meeting place like a cafe
• Do not meet in a secluded place, or invite strangers into your home
• Be especially careful when buying/selling high value items
• Tell a friend or family member where you’re going
• Take your cell phone along if you have one
• Consider having a friend accompany you
• Trust your instincts