Does Your Computer Need Chicken Soup?

2010-09-05T09:50:00.000-07:00

Does Your Computer Need Chicken Soup?

Even for the novice computer user, the threat of a computer virus attack is well known.

When it comes to our own health, people know there are measures to take to prevent and treat the onset of illnesses spread by viruses that make us ill.

Some of these include washing our hands and taking medicinal remedies, getting rest and eating homemade chicken soup to get back to good health. If the condition persists, then it is time to make a doctor's appointment to see what else can be done that even the best chicken soup and bed rest failed to do.

So what is a computer virus anyway? Is it contagious? The surprising answer is that it is highly contagious if you do not have the knowledge to prevent it from happening.

You see, a virus is a set of instructions in the form of code that is written as a software program. Unfortunately, the function of the software program is to attack your healthy computer.

The reasons for the malicious attack is either to gain notoriety for the anonymous software developer or to infiltrate your computer to steal information that is usually financial in nature.

These programs are widely spread by exchanging information by either opening infected emails or by downloading programs from the Internet. Your computer will always ask you if you want to download the program if the author is unknown. But if you are a risk taker, you are vulnerable.

That said, knowledge is key to prevent the onslaught of these attacks. Many of these infected programs come in the form of worms, spyware, malware and trojans. Trojans are the worst.

Installing popular anti-virus software programs on your computer is your best bet to stop the attack before it happens and to remove the infected program from your computer altogether. As mentioned, this is not always enough.

Sometimes you may get fooled into thinking it is safe to open an email or to download a file. Sometimes the anti-virus software on your computer is not updated to identify and stop the attack. In that case, the anti-virus company will provide instructions on their website.

These instructions will walk you through the highly technical and tedious process of removing the infected files that have rendered your computer inoperable.

The Catch 22 to this solution is that you need your computer to access the instructions. Even if you can access the information, it is nearly impossible to follow the steps, which often include performing a full system backup. This is a standard procedure to take in order to protect your data in the event you knock out your entire operating system in the process.

When you are faced with a serious virus attack, it is highly recommended to consult a professional computer repair service to remedy the problem. Chances are they have done numerous system repairs identical to yours because, unfortunately, you're not alone.

Many local computer repair services will come to your home or will allow you to drop your computer off at their location. In the time it takes to figure out what you need to do, you will have your computer back up and running without the risk of data loss.

As a side note, it is always a good idea to backup your important data either daily or weekly in case anything should ever happen to your desktop or laptop such as spills, impact or theft.

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Article Source: Shore Thing Computers and Networking, Inc.

http://www.stcomputerrepair.com

Are You Keeping Pace With Today's Technologies?

2010-09-05T09:28:00.000-07:00

Are You Keeping Pace With Today's Technologies?

A senior citizen in today's day and age either keeps clear of computers with a ten-foot pole or uses one to send and receive email and conduct minimal Internet searches. For the rest who have become accustomed to using many applications in the workplace until retirement age, they are more comfortable with today's advanced technologies.

Whether senior citizen, teenager or any age in between, members from all of these age groups will agree on one thing - technology changes like the wind.

Ten to fifteen years ago it was extremely expensive to keep pace with the ever-changing advances in software development. Many of these new and improved programs were more than the next best thing that everyone had to have - they were mandatory if you wanted to function at the same pace as everyone else.

This has primarily been the case with software upgrades. This problem persists even today. If a person sends a document file to a recipient who uses a different type of word processing software or an earlier version or the same, there will be an incompatibility issue.

This means that in order for the recipient to open that file, they need to obtain that version of the software. This is very frustrating when either time or money is of the essence.

Once upon a time there were separate machines for standalone functions such as printing, faxing and scanning. Then the computer industry came out with multifunction machines that combined all of these features in one machine. This turned out to be cost effective and space saving at the same time.

As the demand for portability increased, today's manufactures of many devices continue to produce sleeker products that are multifunctional in ways that were unimaginable a decade ago.

For example, when laptops came out more than a decade ago, they were considered a luxury product used by traveling businesspersons who needed to have portable technology solutions. As such, these systems were priced very high, making them unavailable to most individuals.

Today, almost every household has at least one laptop. In fact, laptops are used more than desktops because teenagers and college students enjoy the portability and comfort they provide.

Mobile devices have been the rage for a while now. But, cell phones have become very dynamic. They include so many features such as Internet and email capabilities, software applications, multimedia, personal information managers. Today's cell phone is more like a minilaptop than anything else.

So where is technology headed now? In addition to having movies on demand from the comfort of our homes to online banking and vehicle navigation systems, touch screen technology seems to be the newest thing.

Today's all-in-one desktops and laptops include touch screen technology, multimedia and television! Just think - all of this has evolved in just a few short years. With advanced technologies such as voice and body movement recognition fast becoming the norm, it is anyone's guess where technology will take us in the next several decades.

No longer is technology a luxury reserved for the technically astute or for those who can afford it. Today's technology is easily available and affordable, and is quickly becoming a means to survival. Moreover, it will leave those in our society who do not keep pace at a clear disadvantage.

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Article Source: Shore Thing Computers and Networking, Inc.

http://www.stcomputerrepair.com

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Does Your Computer Need Chicken Soup?

Are You Keeping Pace With Today's Technologies?