Saturday, February 28, 2015

Protect Your Computer From Malicious Intent


Malicious intent
There area unit many sorts of malware, malicious software system designed to disrupt the conventional use of your laptop. Some sorts of malware area unit merely nuisances to the one sitting behind the keyboard whereas others will really hurt or destroy the pc itself. Another threat expose by malware is that the invasion of your privacy and it's the potential to cause you wide personal and/or money hurt. Most sorts of malware tumble your laptop via internet browsing, instant electronic communication, or peer-to-peer file sharing. Malware may be a self-inflicted injury. you are doing it to yourself by mistreatment the web. many of us use the subsequent terms interchangeably however there area unit definite variations within the sorts of infections you'll “catch” on your laptop.

SPYWARE — Spyware is a program that has been downloaded, usually unbeknownst to you, because it can be piggy-backed with some other type of desired program, usually freeware or shareware. Once this spyware is secretly installed on your computer it can do such things as change computer settings, track viewed websites, collect passwords, history and private information, and can even record your keystrokes. This information is then sent back to the program’s originator or to a third party. Spyware is extremely difficult to eradicate.

A particularly annoying type of spyware is called adware which generates a tremendous amount of advertising in the form of pop-up advertisements or banners scrolling across your screen. This program can actually track your activities and cause similar ads to pop up hoping to interest you in related products. It can be quite intrusive and distracting but hardly as malicious as other types of spyware.

VIRUSES — A computer virus, also rides on the coat-tails of other programs when downloaded, and can reproduce and run itself when the host program is executed. It can infect and corrupt files and sometimes causes hard drives to ‘crash’ depending on its design. A virus can infect other computers through the sending of email and/or file exchanges.

WORM — A worm is a self-contained program that can replicate itself and uses a network to infect other systems on your computer. Depending on how the worm was designed, it can secretly send documents though email and even delete necessary files. Unlike a virus which causes harm to the computer and its files, a worm causes harm to other computers on the network and consumes bandwidth, thus slowing down your environment.

SPAM — Spam is electronic junk mail, usually unsolicited. It uses up tremendous amounts of network bandwidth. Spam is usually trying to sell you some product or service and is sent to generated mailing lists and newsgroups. Though it cannot cause you or your computer much harm, it is extremely annoying and time consuming to delete. It is estimated that more than 60% of all email on the internet is spam.

WHAT CAN YOU DO? — Visiting Geeks technicians strongly urge all owners to install an anti-virus software program on their computers. We also recommend at least one anti-spyware program, if not more than one. Depending on Internet usage, you should set both programs to automatically scan on a regular basis. These programs can actually find and remove unwanted “infections” and can also prevent their future installations. It isn’t enough, however, to simply install these programs and think yourself entirely protected thereafter, because new spyware and viruses are constantly being designed. You must update your anti-spyware and anti-virus programs daily in order to pick up on these newest threats.

Though no one program can be relied on to keep your computer completely clear of sypware and viruses, there are many reputable anti-spyware and anti-virus programs available on today’s market. When our customers need an anti-spyware program our technicians install Counter Spy by Sunbelt Software. For those customers with no anti-virus we will install PC-Cillin Internet Security by Trend Micro which even has the added benefit of Parental Control Features.

It is much easier to prevent your computer from being infected with these above-mentioned malware than it is to try to get rid of them, so browse the internet wisely. To clean a computer of unwanted spyware and viruses can be a costly and lengthy process. “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” so the saying goes.

Saturday, February 21, 2015

About USB

USB icon




USB (Universal Serial Bus) has revolutionized the way we connect peripherals to our computers. Replacing standard serial connections, USB has become the standard for connecting everything from printers to fans to toys to memory drives. With advancements in modern operating systems, USB devices are almost always easy to install. These devices are low power, reliable, and versatile.

In this article, we will explore some of the benefits of USB devices and how to make using USB devices even more convenient.

Ever since Windows 98, USB devices have been automatically detected when plugged in. The computer’s operating system will automatically try to find the drivers needed for the device and install them. If the drivers can not be found, a simple google search will often pull up what is needed.

The devices you choose are up to you and what you are trying to accomplish. Many people have very standard USB devices like printers, a mouse, keyboard, etc. These are great, but what if you want to do more with that little rectangular port? Fortunately, there are a lot of options out there.


One thing many people find useful is a USB snake light. These flexible lights plug right in and can provide your nighttime work area with a little light to help you see the keyboard and your work area. Getting even more wacky, USB toys such as small anti-coworker missile launchers, shavers, and more.

If you plan on having many USB devices at once, it is a good idea to get a hub. Not only will this give you more ports than what your computer provides on its own, but it will allow you to provide your devices with more reliable power. This is because many USB hubs are externally powered. With many USB devices hooked up to your computer, sometimes you can get power surges or other power problems, and these are never good for the delicate electronics inside USB devices. A powered hub alleviates this problem and makes sure your devices are getting clean, constant power – especially power hogs like USB-connected disk drives.

Sometimes you may want to share one USB device with many computers. There are several ways that you can accomplish this. One way is to use a device server. Device servers make your USB device available to anyone on a network. This a great solution for a printer that is used by more than one person in an office or home.

The main drawback of USB device servers is their cost. These servers are not cheap as they combine a USB hub and network connectivity in one box. Still, despite the cost they are the best choice for some people.


Another solution is to use a USB peripheral switch. These switches work locally between two or more computers and allow you to switch your devices between those computers. You could, for example, connect a printer to a peripheral switch and then connect the peripheral switch to two computers. Computer “A” can print transparently through the switch without any problems. When computer “B” is ready to print, the switch is simply activated and now that station is connected to the printer.

A switch is great for people who don’t need the solution of a full blown server, but still need to share USB devices. They are expandable and reliable. Many switches are even automatic. They will switch between the connected computers whenever one tries to access the USB device and the user will never need to touch a thing.

USB peripheral switches are a good choice because they are inexpensive and reliable. They start at around a third of the price as a USB device server and often solve the same problems. USB peripheral switches are also available with ports for several devices or several computers, depending on what is needed.

No matter what you situation, there are always solutions out there for you. USB peripheral switches and USB device servers will help you solve many USB device sharing problems around the home, home office, or small business.

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Best Passwords

Best Passwords
Someone reading your email or login in to your Facebook account. Or for that matter some other person using her password and breaking into a financial institution. You should, therefore, choose a strong, secure password in such a manner that would be a hard nut to crack for others and easy for you to remember. The more random and mixed-up you make it, the harder it is for others to crack. Mind you, if your password is compromised, the password crackers will even take over your identity.

A password, if too short, is vulnerable to attack if an attacker gets hold of the cryptographic hash of the password. Present-day computers are fast enough to try all alphabetic passwords shorter than seven characters. We can call a password weak if it is short or is a default, or which can be rapidly guessed by searching a subset of all possible passwords such as words in the dictionary, proper names, words based on the user name or common variations on these themes.

On the other hand, a strong password would be sufficiently long, random, or which can be produced only by the user who chose it, so that ‘guessing’ for it will require too long a time.

For maximum security, the user should follow some simple guidelines:

1) Passwords should preferably be at least 8 characters long and not more than 14.

2) Passwords should contain a mix of numbers, letters, and special characters (%&3ac_ht4@m7).

3) Passwords should not contain a dictionary word from any dictionary, be it French, Spanish, medical, etc.

4) Each password should be different from the user’s User-ID and any permutation of that User-ID.

5) New passwords and old passwords should differ by at least 3 characters.

6) Avoid picking names or nicknames of people, pets, or places, or personal information that can be easily found out, such as your birthday, address etc.

7) It’s wise to stay away from common keyboard sequences, such as dfgh678 or abc345 .

8) Never form a password by appending a digit to a word. That can be easily guessed.

9) Avoid writing your password down or storing it on your computer.

10) Never share your password with anyone else.


Copied with permission from: http://plrplr.com/50724/best-passwords/