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Data Recovery for Laptops, Computers & Mac’s

Computer Laptop Repair — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 16:06:56 +0000

If you have ever lost your data due to a hard drive crash, whether it be hardware or software related, you know what a helpless feeling that is not to mention the frustration of not being able to get to your documents, pictures, etc. A Computer Wiz-Nerd can help you recover your data in many cases.

Consider this laptop. It was in a car fire. Yes, you read that correctly, in a car fire. They called us thinking all their files were gone. Since this laptop belonged to a musician and writer there were many music files and documents that needed to be saved.

I am glad to report that all the data from this laptop was recovered and moved to a new computer!

So if you have data loss call us to recover the music, pictures, documents and other data from your Mac, PC or laptop hard drive.

Fake Security Software Operation

Computer Laptop Repair — Tue, 10 May 2011 13:59:59 +0000

Operation

Once installed, the rogue security software may then attempt to entice the user into purchasing a service or additional software by:

Alerting the user with the fake or simulated detection of malware or pornography.^[11]
Displaying an animation simulating a system crash and reboot.^[3]
Selectively disabling parts of the system to prevent the user from uninstalling them. Some may also prevent anti-malware programs from running, disable automatic system software updates and block access to websites of anti-malware vendors.
Installing actual malware onto the computer, then alerting the user after “detecting” them. This method is less common as the malware is likely to be detected by legitimate anti-malware programs.
Altering system registries and security settings, then “alerting” the user.

Developers of rogue security software may also entice people into purchasing their product by claiming to give a portion of their sales to a charitable cause. The rogue Green antivirus, for example, claims to donate $2 to an environmental care program for each sale made.^[12]

Some rogue security software overlaps in function with scareware by also:

Presenting offers to fix urgent performance problems or perform essential housekeeping on the computer.^[11]
Scaring the user by presenting authentic-looking pop-up warnings and security alerts, which may mimic actual system notices.^[13] These are intended to use the trust that the user has in vendors of legitimate security software.^[3]

Sanction by the FTC and the increasing effectiveness of anti-malware tools since 2006 have made it difficult for spyware and adware distribution networks—already complex to begin with^[14]—to operate profitably.^[15] Malware vendors have turned instead to the simpler, more profitable business model of rogue security software, which is targeted directly at users of desktop computers.^[16]

Rogue security software is often distributed through highly lucrative affiliate networks, in which affiliates supplied with Trojan kits for the software are paid a fee for every successful installation, and a commission from any resulting purchases. The affiliates then become responsible for setting up infection vectors and distribution infrastructure for the software.^[17] An investigation by security researchers into the Antivirus XP 2008 rogue security software found just such an affiliate network, in which members were grossing commissions upwards of $USD150,000 over 10 days, from tens of thousands of successful installations.^[18]

Fake Security Software Propogation

Computer Laptop Repair — Mon, 09 May 2011 18:44:52 +0000

Rogue security software

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Rogue security software (or rogueware^[1]) is a form of computer malware that deceives or misleads users into paying for the fake or simulated removal of malware, or that installs other malware.^[2] Rogue security software, in recent years (2008–2011), has become a growing and serious security threat in desktop computing.^[3]

Propagation

Rogue security software mainly relies on social engineering (fraud) in order to defeat the security built into modern operating system and browser software and install itself onto victims’ computers.^[3] A website may, for example, display a fictitious warning dialog stating that someone’s machine is infected, and encourage them through social engineering to install or purchase scareware.

Most have a Trojan horse component, which users are misled into installing. The Trojan may be disguised as:

A browser plug-in or extension (typically toolbar)
An image, screensaver or archive file attached to an e-mail message
Multimedia codec required to play a certain video clip
Software shared on peer-to-peer networks^[4]
A free online malware scanning service^[5]

Some rogue security software, however, propagate onto users computers as drive-by downloads which exploit security vulnerabilities in web browsers, pdf viewers, or e-mail clients to install themselves without any manual interaction.^[4]^[6]

More recently, malware distributors have been utilizing SEO poisoning techniques by pushing infected URLs to the top of search engine results about recent news events. People looking for articles on such events on a search engine may encounter results that, upon being clicked, are instead redirected through a series of sites^[7] before arriving at a landing page that says that their machine is infected and pushes a download to a “trial” of the rogue program.^[8]^[9] A 2010 study by Google found 11,000 domains hosting fake anti-virus software, accounting for 50% of all malware delivered via internet advertising.^[10]

Laptop Hardware Repair

Computer Laptop Repair — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 21:49:35 +0000

Just like a desk computer a laptop can have all the major and minor hardware parts changed, repaired or upgraded. Here is a list of laptop repair parts that typically falls into these categories:

* Hard Drive Laptop

* DVD R/W or CD-ROM Player

* LCD Screen

* Inverterboard

* Backlight

* Motherboard

* Motherboard Fans

* Wireless Network Adapter

* Memory or RAM

Some items are soldered onto the motherboard or “integrated” as we usually say. Some items that you might find in this category are:

* Graphics Card

* Power Jack

* Card Reader

* USB Ports

These laptop parts can be replaced, but you will need a computer technician that is also a pro a soldering.

So the next time your laptop breaks or you accidentally step on the lcd monitor screen call us at 770-674-4644 and see what is the cost of repairing verses replacing.

Should You Repair Your Old Computer or Buy a New One?

Computer Laptop Repair — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 21:42:29 +0000

Most of you have probably been in the situation of deciding to repair or replace your existing computer. There are no hard rules on making the decision but you will need to consider the age of your computer, cost of repair vs. cost of replacement and what is your budget.

If your computer is 5 years old or older definitely look at the cost of replacement. Say a new computer will cost you $700.00 and the repair is going to be $350.00. This is where your budget will determine what you do. If the repair is over half the cost, and your budget allows, go ahead and get a new computer. If your computer is less than 5 years old your are safe to put money into repairing the computer.

Some other factors to consider are the specifications of your existing computer (processor speed, RAM, etc.) – in other words, was it top-of-the-line when you bought it or just a cheap get-by-for-now computer. Has it performed well or was it a lemon from the get go? This is where getting an expert opinion can help you make the choice.

All that being said, your budget will probably be the determining factor.

Optimize Your Slow Computer

Computer Laptop Repair — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 21:39:37 +0000

“My computer is so slow I am about ready to throw it out the window!” We hear this all the time. One thing you might try to get more speed out of a computer that has slowed down is to remove programs from starting up when Windows boots up. This can be used with Windows XP. Windows Vista is a bit different and we will cover that in another post.

Click on the “Start” button in the lower left corner of your screen.

Click on “Run”.

In the box that comes up type in “msconfig” without the parenthesis.

Click on the “Start” tab in the window that comes up.

Go down the list and uncheck any un-necessary programs from starting.

Click on the apply button.

Let your computer restart – but save any work you are doing first.

When it has restarted check the “Do not show this message” box in the window that pops up.

Now you are done.

If you have any doubts as to what the programs are for you can Google them to find out.

BSOD – Blue Screen of Death

Computer Laptop Repair — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 21:07:17 +0000

By now most everyone will have experienced the blue screen of death fondly acronymed as BSOD. You could get frisky and make up your on words when this happens. The first two letters will give you a clue. There are many different reasons this can happen so it is important that you take the time to write down all the cryptic numbers and letters that appear on the screen. This will help you troubleshoot your computer problem. At the top will be something along the lines of what is truly wrong and the rest will be important in your research.

Once you have everything written down use your favorite search engine and begin at the top searching the terms. It will take some time, but you will be able to at least narrow down what your issue is about. It is also a good idea to use a flow chart that tells you what to do if this or if that. These are easily found online at various computer repair forums.