Microsoft to Deliver Automated PC Health Service
Microsoft is now offering a test version (beta) of their automated protection, maintenance and performance tuning as an all-in-one package for Windows-based PCs. The product named, “Windows Live OneCareTM”, will be a subscription service that will include an automatically update anti-virus, anti-spyware, and two-way firewall protection; periodic maintenance tasks; Backup and restore capabilities; and one simple point of reference for checking the overall health of their system. The software is being offered as a free download, but Microsoft plans to charge consumers for the subscription service. The target price is $49.95 per year for protection of up to 3 PCs.
You can get more information at: ( http://www.windowsonecare.com/ ).
WinFixer (WinAntiVirus 2006) Pop-up Ads
WinFixer has started to use corrupted web sites to install changes to your System Registry that can cause pop-up ads for their software and a program called “WinAntiVirus Pro 2006”. The spyware invades your system and creates a BHO (Browser Helper Object) that generates pop-up box with a false virus alert like “your system has been compromised by a virus” with and “OK” button to click. DO NOT CLICK on that OK button, but use the upper right “X” or press the ALT+F4 key to close the Window. (Note: Using the ALT+F4 key combination is the safest way to close a pop-up window.) You’ll then probably see a pop-up Window with a multi-colored shield icon similar to the one used by the Microsoft Security Center prompting you to download anti-virus software. This is a devious trick to make consumers think that this is a legitimate warning from the Microsoft Windows Security Center. Again, use the upper right “X” or press the ALT+F4 key to close the Window.
The instructions to completely remove the spyware are complex and can vary from system to system. Usually you can remove the spyware by downloading “HiJackThis” ( http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/downloads.html ) and “VundoFix.exe” ( http://www.atribune.org/ ). Using either of these programs without following the specific instructions can cause damage to your system, so be very careful if you attempt this repair on your own.
You can perform a variety of on-line security checks by going to the One on One Computer Consultants Home page at: (http://www.1on1cc.com) and clicking on the link to Symantec Security Check. You can perform a Virus Check, Security Check, and/or Trace a Potential Attack on your computer system. This can be a lengthy process even with a high speed Internet connection.
Open Office Suite v2.0.2
In my opinion, this
is probably one of the best downloads that is available on the Internet.
OpenOffice.org is a multiplatform and multilingual office suite.
Compatible with all other major office suites, the product is free to
download. This software package is “open source”, which means that you
are free to modify and distribute this software free of charge. There
are other criteria for “open source” products that you should be aware
of. You can get more information at (
http://www.opensource.org/docs/definition.php
).
Open
Office Suite contains a word processor (Writer), presentation software
(Impress), a formula creator (Math), a drawing program (Draw), an
all-purpose spreadsheet (Calc), and a database tool (Base).
The software requires JRE (Java Runtime Environment, which can be
included in the download. The basic program is about 90 Meg in size and
about 140 Meg with the embedded JRE. Get more information and download
the suite at: (
http://download.openoffice.org/index.html ).
Caution: Downloaded software has the potential to install “spyware” software on your computer which can compromise your system security and decrease system performance. Always restart your computer and run an updated spyware removal program to check your system after installing any downloaded software. There are links on my download page ( http://www.1on1cc.com/downloads.htm ) for the most popular spyware removal software.
Automate Your PC Hard Drive Tasks
It’s difficult to remember to run diagnostic tests on a regular basis. One way to make sure that these important tasks are run is to use the Windows Task Scheduler to automate the process. There are three important hard disk drive utilities that should be run to optimize the performance of computer systems; Disk Cleanup, Check Disk (Scan Disk on older systems), and Disk Defragmenter. With older operating systems like Windows 98 or ME, it’s an easy process to setup all three of these utilities to run automatically in the Task Scheduler. With Windows XP, it takes a little more work.
For Windows
XP/2000, you can visit the following web site for specific instructions
on how to setup your computer to automatically run these tasks.
Go to: (
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/moredone/maintenance.mspx
).
For more computer
Tips & Tricks go to the One on One Computer Consultants Tips Page at:
(
http://www.1on1cc.com/tips.htm )