Page 12 - July 21, 2011


Nome and Paul Van Middlesworth - owners -


The Computer Factory How to Avoid Malware


Most Virus infections result from a user’s acceptance (clicking on) of a “Trojan Horse” invitation. A “Trojan Horse” is a piece of malware that tricks the user into activating it by masquerading as something impor- tant or useful to the operation of the PC. It then begins the process of shutting down the PC’s defense sys- tem. The anti-virus program cannot save you if it’s shut down. With over a million viruses and their variants in existence, and new variants appearing every day, the best protection is not to rely only on anti-malware pro- grams, but also to educate yourself and those who use your computer on safe Internet practices.


Once a system has been infected, it is nearly impossible to know the extent of damage done to the operating sys- tem (Windows), or to be 100% sure that every last malware remnant has


‘Chuckles’ Cont. from Page 10


'What?' sputtered the doctor. 'You tried to commit suicide by shoot- ing off your finger?'


'No, silly' the blonde said. 'First I put the gun to my chest, & then I thought, 'I just paid $6, 000.00 for these implants...I'm not shooting myself in the chest.'


'So then?' asked the doctor.


'Then I put the gun in my mouth, & I thought, 'I just paid $3,000.00 to get my teeth straightened, I'm not shooting myself in the mouth.'


'So then?'


'Then I put the gun to my ear, & I thought: 'This is going to make a loud noise. So I put my finger in my other ear before I pulled the trigger.’ •••••


been removed. Any technician who tells you otherwise is either lying or a fool. Running a cocktail of malware scan programs from an external source will usually eliminate the bad guys but it may be difficult to deter- mine whether or not the operating system has been compromised. The only way to be absolutely sure that the baddies are gone and the operat- ing system is intact is to reinstall the operating system; if your data is backed up and you don’t mind re- installing your applications and user files. A reformat and reload is the surest and least costly option.


If, after you’ve suffered an infection, you don’t change your usage habits, sooner or later you will likely be re- infected. The best defense against any infection is to practice safe com- puter use. The following are some precautionary measures.


Avoid pornography, online games, gambling, file sharing, P2P, and ille- gal software, music, and video sites like Limewire and Frostwire. These sites are infested with viruses. Avoid opening emails from people you don’t know and people you do know when the subject doesn't sound like something they would write to you about. Usually opening the email won’t hurt but be very careful about opening any attachments or clicking on any links unless you are certain that the email was written by the sender, not their infected computer. Before downloading anything you’re unsure of, Google it to see what oth- ers are saying about it. If still in doubt, after downloading, but before


dents would pop out.


So, the blonde went home, got down on her hands and knees and started blowing into her tailpipe. Nothing happened. So she blew a little harder and still nothing happened.


Her blonde roommate saw her & asked, 'What are you doing?' The first blonde told her how the repairman had instructed her to blow into the tail pipe in order to get all the dents to pop out. The roommate rolled her eyes and said, 'Uh, like hello! You need to roll up the windows first.' •••••


A blonde was shopping at Target and came across a shiny silver thermos.


She was quite fascinated by it, so she picked it up and took it to the clerk to ask what it was.


A blonde was driving home after a game and got caught in a really bad hailstorm. Her car was covered with dents, so the next day she took it to a repair shop. The shop owner saw that she was a blonde, so he decided to have some fun. He told her to go home and blow into the tail pipe really hard and all the


The clerk said, 'Why, that's a ther- mos ... it keeps hot things hot, and cold things cold.'


'Wow, said the blonde, 'that's amaz- ing.....I'm going to buy it!' So she bought the thermos and took it to work the next day.


Her boss saw it on her desk. 'What's that?' he asked.


opening the file, scan it with an anti- virus program.


Avoid clicking on banner ads and come-ons. There are no free I-pods, Laptops or TV's. You are not the 1,000,000,000th visitor to anything, Microsoft will not pay you for surfing the WWW and the grieving widow of the Nigerian Finance Minister does- n’t really have a dime. These are all links to malware or scams. If it looks like a scam, it probably is. Avoid using other’s disks or USB devices. USB drives are a popular way to spread viruses. Disable auto-run and scan any new disks with an anti-virus program prior to opening anything. Know the name of your chosen anti- virus and anti-spyware programs and what their warnings look like. Make sure the rest of your household knows as well. If you see a virus warning that is different, close the window immediately by clicking the red X in the top right corner of the screen, not the one in the warning. If it comes back try deleting it in the applications tab under Task Manager. Do not ignore warnings from your real anti-virus.


Some positive thing to prevent virus infections are:


Use a good Anti-Virus program in combination with an anti-spyware program. We use free versions of AVG and Avast for virus protection and Malwarebytes for spyware. For heavy Internet users or those who frequently access social networking sites like Facebook, have small chil- dren or take part in any of the high


'Why, that's a thermos..... It keeps hot things hot and cold things cold,' she replied.


Her boss inquired, 'What do you have in it?'


The blond replied......'Two popsi- cles and some coffee.' •••••


A blonde goes into work one morning crying her eyes out.


Her boss asked sympathetically, 'What's the matter?'


The blonde replies, 'Early this morning I got a phone call saying that my mother had passed away.'


The boss, feeling sorry for her, says, 'Why don't you go home for the day? Take the day off to relax and rest.'


'Thanks, but I'd be better off here. I need to keep my mind off it and I have the best chance of doing that here.'


The boss agrees and allows the blonde to work as usual.


A couple of hours pass and the boss decides to check on the blonde. He looks out from his office and sees the blonde cry- ing hysterically ...


risk activities listed above, we recom- mend upgrading to paid or profes- sional protection versions. Our favorite paid versions are Panda, Kaspersky and NOD 32.


Be careful on social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter. The core systems are safe, but a lot of apps and add-ins are not. Google before you download. The same rules for emails apply to every- thing in social networking. If it does- n't sound like something your friend would say, he/she probably didn't. When in doubt, ask your friend about the message.


Supervise children when using the Internet. They will click on anything, especially the big flashy banner ads that lead to viruses. There are many good kid-safe browsers that are free and go a long way to protecting your computer from your kids.


Once your PC is infected, you prob- ably can’t fix it yourself. Your mal- ware defense software won’t run and the infection won’t allow you to get help from the Internet. You need professional help.


When you bring your PC to The Computer Factory we help you decide what approach to take. There are several scenarios:


Scenario #1 There is nothing on your hard drive that you care about.


Approach#1: Reformat and reload


‘The Computer Buzz’ Cont. on Page 13


'What's so bad now? Are you gonna be okay?' he asks.


'No!' exclaims the blonde. 'I just received a horrible call from my sister. Her mother died, too!'


Puns for the Literate


King Ozymandias of Assyria was running low on cash after years of war with the Hittites. His last great possession was the Star of the Euphrates, the most valuable diamond in the ancient world.


went to Croesus, the pawnbro- ker, to ask for a loan.


Croesus said, "I'll give you 100,000 dinars for it."


"But I paid a million dinars for it," the King protested. "Don't you know who I am? I am the king!"


Croesus replied, "When you wish to pawn a star, makes no difference who you are."


•••••


A man rushed into a busy doc- tor's office and shouted, "Doctor! I think I'm shrinking!" The doctor calmly responded, "Now, settle down. You'll just have to be a little patient."


Desperate, he


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