Please read this! I return to you again to warn you of the fake antivirus programs. The imminent danger your computer is up against will cost you money and may possibly destroy or steal your data. The fake antivirus program has become commonplace on PC’s around the world, fooling everyone and their mother. These programs look real, act real and usually come bundled with infections and file-corrupting software. They also have many different names and they look very professional.

Many fake AV’s look just like some well-known antivirus programs with similar interfaces, names and features. There is not any one way to acquire this type of infection because we’ve heard many stories and they’re all different. I will provide some examples after this segment of what could happen when an attempted attack is made. These criminals (call them what they are) are very tricky and deceptive. You must be extremely careful while surfing the Internet today and you must not accept anything you see pop up at you as the truth. Once these fake antivirus programs are installed, they will become very persistant in telling you that your computer is infected in an attempt to scare you into buying the program. Do not buy it! It will not clean your computer or leave you alone! As I stated in an article last year, “It has been reported that rogue (fake) anti-virus sales are earning criminals $34 million a month!” That money figure is astounding and is sure to be on the rise.

These particular infections are becoming increasingly difficult to clean, which leaves most computer users at a loss. The techs at Esh Computer Center can guarantee a clean machine and also give you tools to assist you in the battle against these infections. I hope you heed my advice and do not get infected but, if you do, we have several techs ready and willing to get you back on your feet.

Examples of Fake Anti-Virus attack attempts:

(Please note: these attacks may occur on well-known sites that have been randomly hit by hackers)

• A fake webpage of your computer and its drives may appear, showing infections on your Local Disk (C:), your DVD drive, etc. It may also prompt you to run or save something. Hit Alt-F4 to close out of these Windows and do not go back to that webpage.
• A drop-down menu or information bar may appear, stating that your computer is infected and you need to click on the bar in order to clean your computer. Do not click on the bar. Close the browser or hit Alt-F4.
• An e-mail may arrive with a “.exe” file attached. This e-mail may be a fake greeting card, fake UPS tracking, etc. Delete the e-mail and do not open the attachment.
  You may click on a link to a video from a possibly unknown source. This link may take you to a place that states the need to upgrade your flash player. Do not continue. This is also an attack. Close out and go to Adobe.com to upgrade your flash player. Then you will know for sure if your flash player is up to date.
  
• Some people have run into these attacks by searching page after page after page in a Google search or other search engine query. You never know what you are going to come up against when you are searching through thousands of web sites. Use search tools such as McAfee Site Advisor  (SiteAdvisor.com) or F-Secure Browser Protection.

These attacks come in many shapes and sizes and the list could go on forever. I will say this again and I cannot say it enough. Be aware, think twice, and use security software! If you are getting warnings, make sure they’re coming from the security software you have installed.

We are here to help you and we do not want you to get infected. If you would like to be sure your PC is in good shape, leave it with the professionals at Esh Computer Center. We will take great care of your machine, keep your data secure and provide you with tools to assist you in the war against Malware.

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When Windows 7 was released on October 22, 2009, Microsoft saw initial sales of Windows 7 surpass Windows Vista’s sales by 234 percent in the first few days. Now that Windows 7 is out and everyone is using it on their computers, consumers are starting to see the big differences between the new, Windows 7, and the old Microsoft operating systems like Windows Vista and XP. Some of these differences are major improvements, while others are just minor, either way, they are good improvements and that is what we like to see when working with computer technology and software.

One of the big improvements is the performance boost with Windows 7. Windows 7 has been reworked to address the core problems that made Vista slower. It has also been improved to work on older hardware and even lower end hardware like the new popular netbooks. Another performance increase comes from the fact that it does not load all of the unneeded services and software during startup that came with Windows Vista. By doing this Microsoft has increased productivity by decreasing the time it takes for your computer to start up, therefore, improving your ability to start working faster and quicker than ever before.
Microsoft has really cleaned up the user interface in Windows 7. The new taskbar allows you to pin programs to it so you can open them quicker. This is faster than going through the start menu and then into the All Programs menu to find a program. The pinned items also provide the ability to create “Jump Lists.” Let’s say you pin Microsoft Word to your taskbar, with these new jump lists you are able to create a list that will show up once you right click the Microsoft Word icon. In the list you can display the most recently opened Word documents, or you can pin specific Word documents that you use frequently so you can access them right from the list. You can do the same thing on the start menu as well.
 
Another visual enhancement is the new “Aero Peek.” This offers two functions: one allows you to “peek” behind all of the open windows on your system as you look through a ghosted view of the desktop, the other allows you to find a specific window that might be open but is possibly hidden behind other windows. You can also hover your mouse over open programs in the taskbar to see a preview of the windows and then choose which one you want to open from there. With these new visual enhancements you can also “shake” an open window to minimize other windows that are open and distracting you. By clicking and holding your mouse button on the title bar of any open window, then shaking it with your mouse you will see all the other windows, except the one you are shaking, minimize to the task bar.

Windows 7 now includes the ability to allow the user to “snap” an open window to the side of your monitor. You can do this by clicking and dragging the window to either the left or right and it will fill half of the screen on the chosen side. You can also drag a window to the top of the screen to snap it in place and maximize the window.

There are also new themes that will allow you to change the color and appearance of the system. With these new user interface features and enhancements, Windows 7 allows you to get more done and manage open windows and programs more efficiently.

The Action Center is a new part of Windows 7 aimed at consolidating all system notifications in a single place. Action Center replaces the old Windows Security Center feature that came out with Windows XP Service Pack 2. It notifies you of any issues regarding system security, like Antivirus being out of date, or your Windows Firewall being turned off. It also notifies you about Windows Updates, whether there are new updates and patches or to let you know you haven’t checked them in a while. Action Center is customizable in the fact that if you do not use a Firewall or any other program that it monitors, you can turn off alerts for that program. If there are any alerts or messages it will display a white flag down in the system tray. If it is a more serious or urgent problem it will display the white flag with a red “X” on it as well as pop up a message alerting you to the issue.  The Action Center will also remind you about backing up your computer to save important data in case of a system failure or crash. This is a great new addition to Windows 7 for allowing users to see when there are potential problems or security risks with their computer. In doing so this should help fix problems or issues that would arise due to out of date software or antivirus definitions.

The search functionality of Windows 7 has been greatly improved.  This allows you to search for files or programs faster than ever before. You can simply go to the Start Menu and you will see the search text box. This is where you type in what you are searching for and then it is displayed above in the Start Menu. Another new feature is improved networking between Windows 7 machines. With the new “Home Group” option you can create a group at home or the office and then share files and printers between computers with ease. Windows 7 also adds improved energy saving abilities for laptops and desktop computers by decreasing the sleep and wake up times. This also saves your battery by going to sleep when the computer is on and not being used.

So, is Windows 7 all it’s cracked up to be? I would say yes. With all of these improvements like the performance increase, the new visual appearance, Aero Peek and Snap enhancements, it is much easier for the average computer user to operate. Options like the Security Center allow the user to feel secure while using their new operating system and are able to have peace of mind that their computer is being monitored for problems. Home owners with multiple computers should feel at ease when creating a network to share their files and printers with the added Home Group option. With all of these new features I believe Windows 7 is the best Microsoft operating system yet.

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