PC Tip of the Week 

PC Malware....the story of my life for the last....well when did computers and the Internet get popular household appliances?

It's a cat and mouse game...the viruses are introduced; a fix developed by an anti-virus software company. A vulnerability is discovered and exploited, a patch is written to plug the possibility of explioiting the flaw.

I'm going to harp a bit here, and you've probably heard this before; but it bears repeating. Keep your system patched. Whether you use a PC or a Mac, updates are offered on a regular basis. These are offered to you for your protection and the security of your computer. Purchase and subscribe to a reputable antivirus product. For consumers Norton is our software of choice and Sophos for corporate and commercial users. They're a known quantity and effective.

For all the harping we've done over the years; I'm going to add to your list. A disturbing trend in PC Malware is out there. It's called scareware, fake antivirus and well, that's all I can call it and still keep the site family friendly.

Here's How it works: You're merrily cruising the Internet and a pop-up comes up that looks like a normal windows dialog box....It tells you something that may tell you your machine has a virus, registry problem or some other malady. It looks legitimate so you click OK....you have just been infected....you click cancel....you have just been infected. The same pop-ups and others continuously take over your screen and/or background image. The computer runs slower and slower. You're offered a fix....and they want your money.

Note that the message did not come from your antivirus program and Windows will never tell you that you have a virus or registry issue...

To avoid getting infected, DO NOT click anywhere in the unwanted pop-up. Use the ALT + F4 keyboard combination to close the window without clicking in it. If you can't do that shut the computer down. Click inside the ad once and it's too late....come see us for a clean-up.

If you've been fooled into paying for the product. You'll probably have the same pop-ups and garbage as before. You've been scammed! Take heart you're not the only one; but do call your credit card company and watch your statements as these are usually sponsored by criminal organizations.

Come to us as soon as you can and get us to clean up your machine and do educate other computer users. Pass it on.....