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Burbank Computer Repair

Saturday, September 26th, 2009

Repairs in Burbank

Virus and Spyware Removal in Burbank

Reinstallation of Operating System in Burbank

New Computer Setup in Burbank

Upgrades in Burbank

Memory Installation in Burbank

Hard Drive Installation in Burbank

CD/DVD/CD-RW/DVD-RW Installation in Burbank

Internal/External Device Installation in Burbank

Data Migration in Burbank

Wireless Networking in Burbank

Preventive Maintenance in Burbank

Optimization in Burbank

Personal Technician Service in Burbank

Monthly Maintenance Plan in Burbank

Drive Imaging in Burbank

Other Services in Burbank

Tutoring in Burbank

Telecommuting in Burbank

All prices subject to change. Call for services not listed. i.e. Software Installation, Motherboard Installation, Screen Replacement.

A $49 service fee is applied to each on-site service for travel and diagnosis. Hardware is not included in any of these services.

E-Geniuses does not assume liability for data corruption or loss at any time. Customer must backup data prior to service call. E-Geniuses is not a reseller of computers, parts or accessories. Returns for all products purchased and installed for clients is the responsibility of the client and the reseller of that product. E-Geniuses is only responsible for the delivery and installation of that product. Parts can only be returned to the reseller if within the seller’s return policy. Charges for the visit and reinstallation will be incurred by the client. If a part is found defective during the initial installation the E-Geniuses will only charge for the extra visit, but not for the additional installation. E-Geniuses assumes no responsibility for the products purchased on the client’s behalf.

*Any additional visits are $49 per visit and each additional hour is also $49.

**Payment options for Monthly Maintenance Plans include: $19 a month if pre-paid for 6 or more months; $20 a month if paid monthly through PayPal; $25 a month if paid monthly through check or money order. Avast home an optional install.

Beware of Fake Antivirus Programs. 3 Quick Tips by E-Geniuses.

Wednesday, August 19th, 2009

Could you tell the difference between your anti-virus program and malicious website attempting to install viruses into your computer?

Real (Windows Security Center)

Fake (Antivirus 2008)

Studies show that cybercrooks have a 3.4% success-rate infecting users’ computers. Chances are high that you will eventually come across an infected website. It would definitely be a good idea to make sure that you can spot the good security suites from the rogues.


Tip #1

The first thing you should do is find out which antivirus you are actually using. Remember the name of the program and what the application windows and interface look like. You should do the same for your antispyware and firewall applications as well. You will therefore be able recognize when a hacked site is attempting to lure you into a trap using scare tactics. Here’s an example of a rogue antivirus program using the scare tactic, “found infections, now buy me or else!”

Fake “Virus Detection”

Real Virus Detection by Windows Defender


Tip #2

Use Firefox and the Web of Trust addon. The main reason we recommend Firefox to our clients is because of the wide variety of addons available for it. When setting up a new computer, one of the first things I install is Firefox and the Web of Trust (WOT) addon. WOT shows you ratings for websites before you even click on them.

Let’s say you do a Google search for an anti-virus program. From my experience using WOT, I have found that at least one of the links on the page will receive a bad rating from WOT. Here’s one of the links WOT shows as having a poor reputation when searching for “anti-virus” in Google.


Notice the red warning circle next to the link.

What this means is that other WOT users have checked the site out and have found it to be unsafe. WOT even allows you to see other peoples’ comments about the site. You can rate sites and comment as well. In fact, the WOT community relies on users like you and I.

Here’s what you will see if you enter a site that WOT users have deemed as having a poor reputation.

Of course, websites are constantly being infected so there may be some newly infected sites that have not yet been detected by the WOT community. In these cases, you will need another layer of protection.


Tip #3

Malwarebytes, The Best Free Anti-Malware Program That You Really Should Buy.

Malwarebytes is a free program that has excellent detection rates. It is able to find and remove viruses, spyware and malware that many security suites cannot. It is maintained by a small group that regularly browses forums looking for infection trends and stopping them early. Like I said, the program does an excellent job of removing viruses, but for $24.95 for a lifetime subscription, the full version can actually prevent threats from infecting your computer. Prevention is really the key to safe browsing. (Buy Full Malwarebytes by Clicking Here.)

So lets just suppose you visit a website that was just infected a few hours ago. Since it has just been newly infected, the WOT community has not yet rated the site negatively in order to warn you. So you go to the site and a window comes up saying that your computer is being scanned for viruses and that it is infected with numerous trojan viruses. Assuming you didn’t follow Tip # 1 and cannot differentiate between the rogue anti-virus and your real anti-virus, you download the “fix”. Many times, I have found that Malwarebytes will actually block the download based on the IP address of the website. If it doesn’t, it will detect that the file you’ve downloaded is malicious once you try to install it. Malwarebytes will block these attempts by the virus to infect your computer.

Malwarebytes detecting and removing infections.


Summary

1) Familiarize yourself with your security programs and what they actually look like.

2) Use WOT, Web of Trust addon for Firefox so that you know whether links are safe or not.

3) Use Malwarebytes to prevent malware from infecting your PC.

Preventive Maintenance Plan

Tuesday, June 16th, 2009

When is the best time to get a maintenance plan on your computer? When you first purchase the computer! If you wait until you have problems with it, then you will have to pay to repair the problem first before starting the maintenance plan. It is best to get the preventive maintenance computer plans when everything is working well.

When you first buy your computer, you can be sure that it is virus free. The best thing to do is to keep it virus free. Although viruses and spyware can be removed from infected computers, once they are infected, the possibility that they have caused irreversible damage (without reinstalling the operating system completely) is high.

Unsecured Wireless Network Risks

Sunday, May 17th, 2009

You have your laptop, you need get online but you don’t have a broadband card with you. The system is telling you that an open wireless network named “default” is available. Lucky you right? Wrong.

Common Unsecured Wireless Network Names: default, linksys, Wireless, WLAN, 1234, any

Common Unsecured Wireless Network Names: default, linksys, Wireless, WLAN, 1234, any.

Anytime you try to connect to an unsecured wireless network you cannot be sure who else is on the same network.

One of the main dangers of connecting to open wireless networks is that other users may be able to browse your shared folders. This can be prevented by making sure that folder sharing is turned off and a software firewall is installed and properly configured.

Windows XP File and Print Sharing Screenshot

Windows XP File and Print Sharing Screenshot

Mac OS X Sharing Preferences Window

Mac OS X Sharing Preferences Window

When connecting to these open hotspots, you also run the risk of having your data intercepted. It is possible for someone to read the wirelessly transferred data if it is not properly encrypted. Your emails, your chats, and your passwords can be captured by a hacker using a relatively simple setup.

We recommend that you only connect to secured networks. This greatly decreases the risk of being hacked. Even then, you will still want to have the added protection of a software firewall, encrypted email, and share settings turned off until you are on a wired network.

You might also want to consider subscribing to a broadband connection if you need have high speed Internet access on-the-go on a regular basis. This will give you a dedicated secure connection to your ISP.

USB Wireless Broadband Card

USB Wireless Broadband Card

Now that you know the potential dangers of connecting to unsecured wireless networks, you can make sure your friends and family are aware of the risks as well.

To secure your wireless network, call us to talk to one of our E-Geniuses Technicians.
www.E-Geniuses.com.

Computer Repair in La Puente

Saturday, April 25th, 2009

Repairs in La Puente

Virus and Spyware Removal in La Puente

Reinstallation of Operating System in La Puente

New Computer Setup in La Puente

Upgrades in La Puente

Memory Installation in La Puente

Hard Drive Installation in La Puente

CD/DVD/CD-RW/DVD-RW Installation in La Puente

Internal/External Device Installation in La Puente

Data Migration in La Puente

Wireless Networking in La Puente

Preventive Maintenance in La Puente

Optimization in La Puente

Personal Technician Service in La Puente

Monthly Maintenance Plan in La Puente

Drive Imaging in La Puente

Other Services in La Puente

Tutoring in La Puente

Telecommuting in La Puente

All prices subject to change. Call for services not listed. i.e. Software Installation, Motherboard Installation, Screen Replacement.

A $49 service fee is applied to each on-site service for travel and diagnosis. Hardware is not included in any of these services.

E-Geniuses does not assume liability for data corruption or loss at any time. Customer must backup data prior to service call. E-Geniuses is not a reseller of computers, parts or accessories. Returns for all products purchased and installed for clients is the responsibility of the client and the reseller of that product. E-Geniuses is only responsible for the delivery and installation of that product. Parts can only be returned to the reseller if within the seller’s return policy. Charges for the visit and reinstallation will be incurred by the client. If a part is found defective during the initial installation the E-Geniuses will only charge for the extra visit, but not for the additional installation. E-Geniuses assumes no responsibility for the products purchased on the client’s behalf.

*Any additional visits are $49 per visit and each additional hour is also $49.

**Payment options for Monthly Maintenance Plans include: $19 a month if pre-paid for 6 or more months; $20 a month if paid monthly through PayPal; $25 a month if paid monthly through check or money order. Avast home an optional install.

Computer Repair in La Puente

Saturday, April 25th, 2009

Repairs in La Puente

Virus and Spyware Removal in La Puente

Reinstallation of Operating System in La Puente

New Computer Setup in La Puente

Upgrades in La Puente

Memory Installation in La Puente

Hard Drive Installation in La Puente

CD/DVD/CD-RW/DVD-RW Installation in La Puente

Internal/External Device Installation in La Puente

Data Migration in La Puente

Wireless Networking in La Puente

Preventive Maintenance in La Puente

Optimization in La Puente

Personal Technician Service in La Puente

Monthly Maintenance Plan in La Puente

Drive Imaging in La Puente

Other Services in La Puente

Tutoring in La Puente

Telecommuting in La Puente

All prices subject to change. Call for services not listed. i.e. Software Installation, Motherboard Installation, Screen Replacement.

A $49 service fee is applied to each on-site service for travel and diagnosis. Hardware is not included in any of these services.

E-Geniuses does not assume liability for data corruption or loss at any time. Customer must backup data prior to service call. E-Geniuses is not a reseller of computers, parts or accessories. Returns for all products purchased and installed for clients is the responsibility of the client and the reseller of that product. E-Geniuses is only responsible for the delivery and installation of that product. Parts can only be returned to the reseller if within the seller’s return policy. Charges for the visit and reinstallation will be incurred by the client. If a part is found defective during the initial installation the E-Geniuses will only charge for the extra visit, but not for the additional installation. E-Geniuses assumes no responsibility for the products purchased on the client’s behalf.

*Any additional visits are $49 per visit and each additional hour is also $49.

**Payment options for Monthly Maintenance Plans include: $19 a month if pre-paid for 6 or more months; $20 a month if paid monthly through PayPal; $25 a month if paid monthly through check or money order. Avast home an optional install.