Another type of threat that we are going to discuss is actually us ourselves. That’s right, us. What I mean by this is just simply the fact that we get on our computers on a daily basis. Whether we do our banking or have a web-site or blog that we update daily or just simple web-surfing. We get on our computers pretty much on a daily basis and it would be hard to live without these machines.

Now I am going to come out and say that the problem isn’t really all of our fault. At least it is not our fault all of the time. Sometimes we do everything we can to protect our machines because unless you are a PC technician, you are going to have to take it to get repaired or pay for someone to come to your location to fix it.

The problem really stems from us using these machines everyday. That’s right. Just using our machines can cause problems in a dangerous place (if you don’t know what you are doing) called the registry. If we install a program or uninstall a program we change the registry every time. If we install a plug-in in firefox then it changes the registry. Almost everything that we do in one way or another changes the registry. Now the registry for some of you who don’t know is kind of like a book keeping of all the settings for all programs on our computers. Now the registry does go a lot deeper than this, but I am trying to keep this as simple as possible as I know the general public will be reading this.

The registry itself can go through so many changes that literlally a few clicks of a mouse can really mess up a computer. Now you might be asking how can we fix this. Well, there are programs out their that do just that. They look for and fix registry errors. Now, they don’t get every single one, but for the most part they do a pretty effective job.

Now, a program that I really like and use a lot is ccleaner. Another reason I like this program so much is because it is free and they update it almost on a bi-monthly basis. You can get a free copy of it from filehippo.com or just simple search for ccleaner in yahoo or google.

Now, this program does a lot more than fixing registry errors, but that is mainly what it is used for. At least that is mainly what I use it for. Once you get this installed and running, you do a scan and tell it to repair all errors. What I like to do is do a scan and repair the errors, then do another scan and repair those errors. I keep doing this until no errors come up in the scan. The reason I do this is a lot of times when you fix one registry entry, there are others that were dependent on that entry and so it itself becomes a bad registry error. So you need to keep checking for errors and repairing them until you don’t get any at all.

www.ccleaner.com – It’s Free! Also great tool for cleaning temporary internet files, etc.

Also the USB 1.0 format was relatively new back in the day, devices that took advantage of the technology were relatively thin on the ground so if you were really lucky you did not have to get involved with larger files that often required spanning across many disks which was even more fraught with frustrastion.

But as computing power grew at a fast pace the size of files seemed to grow exponentially and the floppy drive was simply not up to the job meaning many people were left having to burn very expensive CD’s as burning technology came into play in the nick of time.

USB was making rapid gains fortunately and manufacturers were coming up with many new uses for this very user friendly (operating system permitting) plug and play capability, and the pen drive was borne not a moment to soon in my opinion. Mobile data transfer capacity rocketed upwards from a humble 2mb and it did not seem too long until the capacity of USB pen drives surpassed that of the CD.

The Computer repair and IT industries where some of the first serious adopters of pen drives primarily due to the fact that system tools could be easily carried on a flash drive and with the larger capacities reduced the need to carry around a number of CD disks used for diagnostics or computer maintenance utilities.

As capacities grew though faster data transfer speeds were needed and this led to the emergence of the second generation of USB …USB 2.0.

The USB interface and standard is now nicely matured and USB interfaces are common across a range of consumer devices from phones to cameras and even video players although it was and still is to a degree questionable as to whether USB or Firewire would win the day as the dominant data transfer protocol.

The USB pen drive has really risen to the challenge to take advantage of the USB interface and storage capacities are enormous and far beyond most peoples requirements, What were almost in the beginning icons of your technical prowess have now become a mainstream device and sales are said to exceed 150 million units per year just for pen drives alone. The USB interface is also said to be present in over 6 billion consumers devices and this number is growing at over 30% per annum.

Increases in drive capacities has raised a number of issues across many industry sectors including the Data recovery industry, which has had to evolve new USB memory recovery techniques for recovering data from these flash based devices.

Transferring data has become so easy that scant regard has been paid to data backup and equally in the drive to manufacture cheaper products manufacturing standards appear to have slipped resulting in memory controller errors, which of course in turn has led to an increase of lost data.

Some Data recovery companies have of course stepped up the mark and the pen drive recovery industry is now alive and well.

Another problem area with plug and play devices is that of data security and the sheer ease of file transfer has given many business and government bodies severe data security headaches resulting in extreme cases to the USB interface being disabled on computers, Pc’s and laptops in security sensitive environments.

As it seems with all technology every development brings us even greater speed and the new USB 3.0 standard is no exception promising data transfer speed 10x greater than current specs which will give us transfer speeds around 5Gbps.

This very fast transfer speed may of course signal the end of the older firewire standard which has been falling behind more recently.

The USB 3.0 standard has now been rolled out and accepted by most mainstream technology players but it may be still be some months before we see any consumer based products or reasonably priced motherboards supporting this latest standard.

The first thing to do is to do a search of your folders to make sure you have not saved it in the incorrect folder and if this does not fine the elusive file you can also try having a look in the recycle bin to make sure you have not accidently deleted it. If the file can still not be found then this may be indicative that you are suffering from a degraded drive.

Much as we would like to believe a hard drive will not last forever but has a definitive life expectancy which is often referred to as a mean time between failures (MTB). MTB can often be used as a reference to a drive future reliability and calculations would put expected drive failures at less than 0.1 percent.

But oh if life was so simple!

So the big question is when is the best time to renew my hard drive so it does not suffer from any failures?

This is a very difficult question to answer and also opens up a whole host of other factors that need to be taken into consideration as well.

The first major aspect is of course the use that a computer is put through during its lifespan. Many home users only use their Pc very occasionally and store relatively small numbers of files or photos. In this scenario it would be nice to expect a drive to last over 5 years (don’t assume this though).

The same expectation could be applied to the many mid range computer users which includes office Pc’s laptops and home desktop systems, where users have a small number of programs in use and small amounts of data or if data is stored on a central server.

But for power users it is an entirely different story. Extreme gamers and users of high end commercial applications will be driving their systems very hard indeed and the amount of data that is shifted into swap files or written back to the disk is huge so its only reasonable to expect disk life to be shorter and the chances of drive failure or disk degradation to be far higher.

High end computer users using high end applications will often have a much shorter expected life of their system, and desktop refresh tends to be around 3 years or so to avoid disk failure and to keep them at the cutting edge of computing productivity which is important for a business.

For business critical applications extended use sees a ramp up of hard disk degradation and also an increase in mechanical drive failures.

The time between desktop refreshes is often stretched during difficult economic climates but this is not without the greater risk of critical data loss due to failed or degraded drives especially where there is no disaster recovery plan in place.

Any business should in this day and age have effective online server backup and disaster recovery policies in place especially if postponing a business system upgrade.

Another prime factor affecting the longevity of the drive is of course disk maintenance. If your hard drive is allowed to become fragmented then it will have to work an awful lot harder to pick up information and in extreme cases of hard disk fragmentation drives can get very stressed to the point of failure.

Your lost file should be easily recoverable but you do need to bear in mind that any further information written to your hard drive can over write the file you are trying to save. This often happens with data recovery software so if diy recovery is your choice be warned.

Most data recovery services will be able to restore your deleted or lost files even if your drive has degraded and even if your drive has bad sectors that are unreadable data recovery and file recovery are often very successful.

Hi, my name is Chad. I am a computer repair technician from Portland. I repair all sorts of computer related issues such as viruses & spyware, slow computers, lost data, network issues and so on. I wanted to write an article that will educate you on how to make sure your computer is running in optimal condition. There are a few key things that you should pay attention to when maintaining your computer. Make sure you cover the following items and you should have a sound working computer.

• Active and effective anti-virus protection
• Dust free computer – dust kills many computers
• Good onsite or offsite backup plan

I will discuss the items mentioned a little more in detail and provide you some know software names that are proven to work affectively in achieving these results. Computer repair can be kept at a minimum if you just give your computer a little TLC from time to time.

Active Anti-Virus Protection

It is vital that you have active anti-virus protection on your computer to prevent hackers from installing spyware, malware and viruses. I highly recommend the anti-virus software Kaspersky. Kaspersky is by far the most effective solution on the market. You should always pay attention to your anti-virus software’s icon in the system tray. A lot of times the anti-virus icon will change colors or something to notify you of any issues. Make sure you also do a nightly scan of your entire computer with up to date virus definitions for your anti-virus scanner. Your anti-virus scanner will automatically update the virus definitions daily.

Dust Free Computer

I recommend that you disconnect your computer and open the case once every month or so to clean the dust. I personally just use a vacuum cleaner and suck out all the dust around the CPU fan and other fans in the computer. Some computer repair technicians prefer to use canned air. I never understand why someone would want to blow dust in their face.

Good Onsite or Offsite Backup Plan

I highly recommend that everyone have a backup plan of some sorts. There are several ways to achieve this. One is to backup to an external hard drive with some sort of software. I prefer to backup my data to a service online called Carbonite. Carbonite is an online backup solution that backs up your data in the background with little to no interaction from you. The great thing is, if someone steals your computer and external hard drive or your house burns down, then all your precious pictures and other files are safely online for you to re-download.

Too be continued…

Virus & Spyware Removal Tutorial

Today viruses and spyware can be very destructive and cause you not to be able to even access Windows. Other viruses are designed to invade your privacy by stealing your passwords, credit cards, social security numbers and more. But the worst viruses are the ones that do not allow you to access your Windows Operating System.

If you can boot into Windows but still have an infection. I would highly recommend you download Kaspersky Internet Security by Clicking Here. Kaspersky is the most affective virus & spyware removal software on the market.

Kaspersky, one of the leaders in Anti-Virus software offers a way to repair your computer without needing to boot into Windows. Kaspersky has a downloadable Rescue Disk that helps you with your Virus & Spyware Removal.

Kaspersky Rescue Disk offers a safe way to remove avirus & spyware from a computer without infecting other files on your computer. You will need a blank writable CD and a copy of Deep Burner which can be downloaded at DeepBurner.com by Clicking Here, they offer a Free Trial. You can use any other CD burning software that is capable of burning ISO images.

Here’s the detailed step-by-step on how to use Kaspersky Rescue Disk.
1. Download Kaspersky Rescue Disk ISO image from http://ftp.kaspersky.com/devbuilds/RescueDisk/

2. Burn the ISO with your CD/DVD Deep Burner or your favorite burning software. You can visit Deep Burner’s website for a how to Create ISO Image tutorial. The help page is located here http://deepburner.com/help_files/html/deepburner_pro/.

3. After finished burning Kaspersky Rescue Disk to CD, insert the CD to your CD/DVD-ROM, and boot up your computer with it. You may be asked during the boot up if you would like to boot to the CD, press Enter or the Space bar on your keyboard.

4. You will get a screen that looks like below. Hit the ENTER key to start booting the Anti-Virus using linux.

5. Once everything is loaded, the latest Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2008 will load. Simple check the hard drives that you want to scan which will be the main hard drive letter C and click Start scan. If you have multiple hard drives you may select them also.

Once Kaspersky has completed a scan then any virus & spyware that was on your computer should be removed and you should be able to reboot your computer normally. I highly recommend that you install the full version of Kaspersky to prevent future infections. You can download Kaspersky Internet Security by Click Here.

* Secure Backups — All of your data is encrypted before it leaves your PC.
* Automatic Backups — Operates silently in the background to ensure your backup is up to date.
* Unlimited Storage — Backup as much of your data as you want for only $54.95/year.
* Hassle Free Recovery — Recover your lost files anytime, anywhere with the click of a mouse.

Each year, Nearly 50% of PC users lose priceless data. Even the ones who use onsite backup methods such as CDs, flash drives and external hard drives are at risk. Fires, floods, theft and other disasters can destroy your onsite backups. Carbonite Online Backup eliminates the risk of losing files by automatically backing up the irreplaceable photos, music, e-mails, financial records and other valuable files on your PC to a secure, offsite location. Carbonite takes less than 5 minutes to install and begins working right away to protect your most valuable files, constantly updating your data backups while you work without slowing down your PC. The best part is you can test drive for FREE for 15 days. Try Carbonite FREE today.

How Does Carbonite Work

After you install Carbonite, then Carbonite scans your hard drive looking for files to back up. Carbonite automatically backs up all file types except executable files, operating system files, temporary internet files and video files. However, any of the excluded file types can be manually added to the backup by right-clicking on the file and selecting “Back this up” from the Carbonite menu. Upon setup, Carbonite offers a wide array of options for customizing your backup, but most users stick with the default settings. Try Carbonite FREE today.

With the default settings, dots are placed on files and folders show their backup status in a glance. A green dot on a file or folder means it is selected for backup and is up to date. A yellow dot means that the file or folder is selected for backup but awaiting backup due to modification since the last backup. A green dot with a hole in the center (a “green donut”) on a folder means that the folder’s backup is up to date, but there are some files in the folder which are not selected for backup. If a file or folder has no dot, it means it is not selected for backup. Try Carbonite FREE today.

Backup

Carbonite is designed to automatically back up most files in the Documents and Settings folder, which includes “My Documents” and “Desktop”. Some users choose to manually select files for backup, or decide to back up files that are stored in different locations. Any file or folder can be added to the backup by simply right-clicking on the file or folder and selecting “Back this up” from the Carbonite menu. Once files and folders are selected for backup, they will be continually backed up silently in the background so that your backup is always up to date. Try Carbonite FREE today.

Restore

If anything ever happens to your PC, restoring your lost files is easy. If you need to restore a specific file or folder, simply open the Carbonite Backup Drive from your desktop. Files and folders are organized in the backup drive exactly as they are on your PC. Locate the specific file or folder, right-click and select “restore.” The file will be restored to its original location on your hard drive. You also have the option of restoring the file to a new location, by selecting “Restore to…” or recovering a previous version of the file by selecting “Restore previous versions…”

If you need to restore everything in your backup to a new or repaired PC, go to carbonite.com and click the Restore tab to log in to your account and restore your files. The Carbonite Restore Wizard will help you restore all of your files to your new PC with just a few clicks of the mouse. Try Carbonite FREE today.

Security

Carbonite is one of the leaders in online backup, not only for its ease of use, but also for its strong security. Carbonite uses the same technology as online banking and credit card purchases, Your files are encrypted to protect your privacy. Files are encrypted before leaving your PC and sent to Carbonite’s data center over a secure connection. In the data centers, files are stored on RAID arrays, which are much more reliable than single hard drive configurations.

Carbonite Online Backup is the secure, simple and automatic way to back up your PC. Try Carbonite Online Backup FREE for 15 days — and never think about losing your data again.

Here are a few pictures that will help you identify the keys.

General Windows Shortcut Keys

F1 – Universal Help key
F2 – Rename files or Folders
F3 – Opens up the Find dialogue
F5 – Refresh contents in current application

Windows Key & D – This will minimize all windows you have open and take you to the desktop. by pressing it again this can be reversed
Windows Key & E – This will open up the Windows Explorer file browser window
Windows Key & TAB – This will cycle through open programs through the taskbar.
Windows Key & F – This will open up the windows search feature
Windows Key & CONTROL & F – This will open up the search for computers window.
Windows Key & F1 – This will open up the Microsoft Help and Support Centre
Windows Key & R – This will bring up the run box dialogue
Windows Key & L – This will lock the computer and take you to the sign in screen

General Editing Keys

ALT & F – Opens up the file menu
ALT & E – Opens up the edit menu

Control & A – Highlights all text
Control & C – Copies highlighted selected text
Control & X -Cuts highlighted selected text
Control & V – Pastes text from clipboard into document
Control & Z – Reverses last action
Control & P – Brings up the print dialogue
Control & B – Creates bold text
Control & I – Place text in italics
Control & U – Underline text

Insert – Toggles between overtype mode and normal mode
Control & Insert – Copies selected text
Shift & Delete – Cuts highlighted selected text
Shift & Insert – Pastes text from clipboard into document

Shift & Home – Selects the text from current cursor position to beginning of line
Shift & End – Selects the text from current cursor position to end of line
Control & Left Arrow – Move the cursor backwards one word
Control & Right Arrow – Move the cursor forward one word

Home Key – Goes to beginning of current line
End Key – Goes to end of current line
Control & Home – Goes to top of document
Control & End – Goes to end of document

Other Keys

Alt & Tab – Cycles through current open applications
Alt & F4 – Closes the current open application
Control & Escape – Brings up the start menu
Shift & Del – When deleting a selected highlighted item – this will bypass the recycle bin
Holding Shift Key – While inserting a CD/DVD will bypass the auto play feature
F8 – While pressing this key on boot up will bring you to the boot up options screen – handy for entering safe mode

If your computer is making a lot of noise, you may need to replace your computer fan. There are certain types of computer repair that you might want to undertake yourself. There are several minor fixes that can be handled with a bit of instruction and attention to detail.
A computer repair that you might be able to take care of yourself is the replacement of the computer’s battery or fan. Every desktop computer has a fan inside of it. The computer fan is used to keep the computer’s components cool. It’s essential that the fan operates efficiently to ensure that the computer doesn’t become overheated.

The very first and most important step when doing any computer repair is to unplug the computer from the electrical outlet. You’ll need to examine the fan to see how it’s connected. The computer fan will probably be attached by a few small screws. When you loosen the fan screws, you’ll need to disconnect the fan from its power supply. Take the fan to your computer repair shop and purchase a new one. After replacing your fan, reattach the cover and plug the machine in. The fan should operate perfectly after replacement and the noise that you were hearing will have disappeared.

Is your computer getting slower and slower? Is this occurring despite not using any more memory? Are you having frequent freezing or spontaneous shutdowns? You may have tried erasing all the programs that you don’t use with no success. You may even have tried anti virus software thinking that you had been infected by a virus, and were disappointed to find that this didn’t improve things. It’s possible that your registry is corrupt.

Keeping your computers registry clean and repaired is essential to having a healthy system. The registry can also be manipulated with virus code to give up sensitive information and to cause malfunctions in the operating system. Just like any tool you use your computer needs regular maintenance and repair including a good thorough registry repair.

You need to keep your computer free from viruses. Viruses can harm not only your own files, but your entire system as well. A virus is usually located in a file, and it can be in one of these two states: active and inactive. When the infected file has not been executed, the virus is in an inactive state, and is not necessarily harmful. In cases where the virus is inactive, it is enough to delete the file. When the infected file begins execution (when started by user, by operating system, or by another program), the virus changes its state from inactive to active, and begins to perform harmful activities on the system

Once the virus has been identified, the best thing to do next is to run an anti-virus software, scan and clean the system. If you have anti-virus software on your computer (most users do), make sure the software is up-to-date. Most anti-virus software run periodical, scheduled or manual scans on your computer according to preference, and if fully updated, will promptly identify any malicious activity or files on your system. You will have the options of deleting, quarantining or analyzing the virus depending on the type of antivirus you employ. If you’re not too acquainted with the software, the only recommendation is to immediately delete the file, thereby eliminating any threat posed to your system’s security.

If all else fails, you can reformat your computer and start with a clean slate. To save data, you can install Windows again alongside the existing operating system. This is not the option we want but would not be recommended none the less. You need to choose the format option. With Windows XP you can choose either quick format or regular format. With a 120gb drive a quick format will take about 10 minutes while a regular format can take up to an hour. Quick format would be the preferable option.

Re-formatting a computer is quite simple with Microsoft Windows XP. The first step is setting your computer to boot from the CD-ROM. This can be done in the BIOS. For most mother-boards, pressing delete while the machine is booting will get you into the BIOS menu.

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