| Everyone has a computer, right? And in Orange | | | | Malicious code that can replicate itself without any user |
| County, people just like things to run smoothly. | | | | interaction. Only about 5% of viruses 'in-the-wild' are of |
| Something about the proximity to the beach, and the | | | | the old-style 'virus' category. |
| wind that blows that people would rather enjoy the | | | | You may also be dealing with a slow computer. The |
| day, then spend it online trying to fix computers | | | | best way to handle all of these situations is to first |
| themselves. | | | | download and run Spybot Search and Destroy. This |
| But when OC inhabitants are online, they are typically | | | | will automatically remove most common mal-ware and |
| running Microsoft Windows, or Linus, or Mac's. And | | | | spyware. It's best to do this from Safe Mode if |
| odds are, you probably have 'near misses' with viruses | | | | possible. |
| every day. Versions of Windows include Windows | | | | Also, you should be sure that your anti-virus software |
| XP, Server 2000, NT, or even 98. Not a problem, these | | | | is up to date and active. If you do not have anti-virus, |
| techniques are valid universally (sometimes with only | | | | Avira, Avast!, and AVG all have free solutions available |
| minor adjustments.) | | | | to you. Anti-virus software is the first line of defense |
| Even though Orange County is associated with wealth, | | | | against threats, and once that line has been breached, |
| that doesn't mean tech savvy. As such some of us | | | | recover is 10x more difficult, up to impossible. (Backup, |
| are not as savvy as others, so I will try to be as helpful | | | | reformat, and hope your personal documents are not |
| as possible. Let us start with some of the basics. | | | | infected.) |
| Viruses, mal-ware and spy-ware. | | | | The final step is to download HiJackthis (v2) and |
| Mal-Ware | | | | analyze the data. If you are unfamiliar with Microsoft |
| Any software that is unwanted or malicious on a | | | | Windows internals, you should post the log file to the |
| users computer, regardless if impact is noticed. | | | | internet and ask for help. Orange County Computer |
| Spy Ware | | | | Services can help get you running if none of the other |
| Software that monitors your online activity, most often | | | | options work, of you just want it done fast. |
| to send targeted advertisements, but sometimes for | | | | Over all, computer repair the Orange County way is |
| purposes such as identity theft. | | | | easy. Step-by-step, or have somebody else do it! |
| Viruses | | | | Classic Southern California! |