Example System Tray Balloon Pop-up False Alerts

People that were scammed downloaded the rogue programs by choice after being tricked into believing it was legitimate. Web users fall prey to the scam when they click on links, pop-ups or flashing adverts warning them their computer was infected. The fake program then appears to run a virus check which tells the user their PC is infected and asks them to pay for it to be cleaned up.

But downloading the software can give criminals access to bank details and computer files. Symantec found 250 rogue programs were downloaded 43 million times in the 12 months to July 2009.

Analysts believe a small number of people run networks of more than 1,000 distributors whose earnings are linked to the number of machines they infect. The distributors, most of whom are in the United States, may not even realize they are acting illegally. The software may be developed in one country and then distributed in another so it is hard to track them down.

There are very few things the consumer can do. If you go to the site and try to get your money back, you will often find that it has been removed from the web or the contact information (if any) is not valid information. In so many cases with scams, there are hundreds, if not thousands of people that were infected. You can try and do a “search” by entering the website name and/or the software name. You may get lucky and find forum topics listed under your search that may contain valid contact information for you.

There are ways to spot a fake site. You should be protected from this type of malware if you keep your browser and anti-virus software up to date. If messages telling you that your PC has an infection pop up when you visit a website, simply close your browser down and use your existing anti-virus software to scan your PC.  Also, if you think a warning message on your PC is suspect, carefully check spelling and grammar — there could be a tell-tale mistake.

When you think a warning message or any pop-up is suspicious, we recommend that you run a full system scan using SuperAntiSpyware. It’s free to use and is a great addition to any anti-virus program.

Additional Information: Pop-Up Windows May Lead to Trouble [Safest way to close a pop-up ad]

Microsoft will patch 13 vulnerabilities this Tuesday. Eight are rated as “Critical” and the other five are marked “Important.”

TweakNow PowerPack is a fully-integrated suite of utilities that let you fine-tune every aspect of your computer’s operating system and Web browser. Computer manufacturers recommend that you run the built in system tools to maintain your operating system. Often times these tools are difficult to locate and that leads to neglect on regular maintenance. TweakNow PowerPack eliminates the hassle and confusion when it comes to performing regular maintenance on your computer. TweakNow PowerPack will do everything that the pre-installed manufacturers system tools will do, plus a whole lot more. Running the TweakNow PowerPack once a week will keep your computer clean, tuned and operating at it’s top performance.

The Registry Cleaner module provides you with a safe and simple way to clean Windows Registry. To keep your computer always at top performance, we recommend to clean your registry at least once a week. For Windows tweaking lovers, the suite provides more than 100 hidden Windows settings in the Windows Secret section. Using modules included in this section, you can easily customize your Windows like guru’s do. The Virtual Desktop module lets you run as many as four custom-designed desktop configurations simultaneously, allowing you to tailor your computer screen to your mood and your work requirements. Last but not least, the suite also gives you a complete picture of all aspects of your computer’s hardware, including detailed information about your motherboard, processor, video card, memory, hard disk and network.

This is a great tool that eliminates the need for multiple programs. TweakNow PowerPack puts all of the tools that you need to maintain your computers performance all in one easy to use program. The best part of TweakNow PowerPack is that it is 100% FREE.

Download TweakNow PowerPack Here

Important Tips:

• After downloading, close ALL running programs before proceeding with setup.

• Before running TweakNow PowerPack, it is recommended that you create a “System Restore” point.

• Read the “Help” section on the TweakNow PowerPack interface before running for the first time.

System Restore: Click  Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > System Restore

RAC Services does not receive any incentives, payments or rewards from TweakNow for our recommendation of their product(s)

Is your computer running slower then normal? Don’t worry just yet. No matter how new a computer is, the performance will decrease over time. The good news is that in most cases, you can easily increase the performance of your computer to “like new” speed. Below are some free programs along with a few simple steps to get your computer running smooth again.

Computers require regular maintenance. A lot of the maintenance tips and the factory installed system tools are often overlooked or ignored. There are a lot of factors that can slow down a computer. Spyware, Malware and Adware are probably the biggest culprits. The Anti-virus security software just isn’t enough these days. No matter how good an anti-virus program claims to be, it never hurts to run a second program that specializing in anti-spyware.

Problems with the Windows Registry are a common cause of Windows crashes and error messages. Registry problems can occur for many reasons, including references left behind after uninstallation; incorrect removal of software; missing or corrupt hardware drivers; or orphaned start-up programs. This will significantly increase the Registry size and slow down your computer, because Windows will need more time to load, search, and read data from the Registry.

Disk Fragmentation is another culprit in slow PC performance. As you add and remove programs, files and documents, the disk will get fragmentated and require a defragmentation in order to reorganize and optimize the disk.

A slow computer and browser can also be caused by the temporary files. As you work on the PC and browse online, the pages that you visit are stored in a temporary folder. As that folder gets bigger, it causes a noticeable reduction in performance.

The key is maintenance. Regular Maintenance will help your computer last longer, plus increase its performance.

If you are interested in using factory installed programs to maintain your computer, then please click here.

Below are four programs that RAC Services uses and recommends for maintaining a computer. All four programs are available in a free version. Upgrading to a full-version is optional. Honestly, the free versions work great, and you do not need the full-versions in order to see an improvement in your PC performance.

Click on the name of the program to read the details and download.

SuperAntiSpyware

Advanced System Care

Smart Defrag

Eusing Registry Cleaner

Once you have downloaded and installed the four programs above, proceed to the steps below.

First time steps and these steps should be performed once a month.

Step 1 – Open the SuperAntiSpyware. Click on “Scan Your Computer” then make sure that there is a green check mark in the box next to the “C:/”. Next, select “Perform Complete Scan”. (Run the “Complete Scan” once a month) A complete scan will take sometime to finish. You can continue working and let it scan in the background. Once the scan is complete, follow the on screen steps to remove the spyware.

Step 2 – Open the Advanced System Care. Click on the “Care” in the center of the screen. The Advanced System Care will automatically scan, detect and repair any problems. Once it is finished, close the program.

Step 3 – Run the Eusing Registry Cleaner. Click “Later” when asked to register. Next, click “scan” and once it has finished scanning, click “Remove”.

Step 4 – Run the Smart Defrag. Make sure there is a green check mark next to the “C:/”. Next, select “Optimize” in the drop down box. Then click “Start”.

Normal Maintenance:

The SuperAntiSpyware and Advanced System Care should be run weekly, ideally daily.

*the Smart Defrag will run automatically in the background when the PC is in Idol.

Remember to check for updates on a regular basis for these programs. Some of them allow you to select automatic updates.

If your Internet connection seems slow, the first step is to benchmark it using an Internet speed test site. An Internet speed test can give you an accurate indication of how much bandwidth is available to you at the current time.

Whether you have high speed broadband or a dial-up Internet connection, an Internet speed test can help determine if you’re speeding along the Information Superhighway as fast as you should be.

Of all the Internet speed test sites out there, this one is the winner by a landslide! It’s fast, free and graphically appealing with a speedometer-like display. A huge list of worldwide test locations are available making for very accurate results. The nearest one is automatically calculated based on your IP address which is very handy.

Description

• Speedtest.net can test the bandwidth between your PC and any of a huge number of test servers from around the globe.
• The speedometer-like display at Speedtest.net shows your bandwidth during the test in a format familiar to almost everyone.
• Speedtest.net automatically calculates the nearest testing server to your location helping you begin your test faster.
• Test results at Speedtest.net are saved to allow you to compare results over time, helping to spot slowdowns and upgrades.
• Saved results also allow comparisons to others based on ISP, state, Earth and more.
• Global Stats feature shows test statistics from all over the world.
• Each test at Speedtest.net generates a graphic displaying your personal results that you can email or share online.
• Speedtest.net tests both upload and download bandwidth along with latency, providing a complete picture of your connection.

Check your Internet Speed here

CPU-Z is a great program that gathers information on some of the hardware and devices on a computer. CPU-Z will list the motherboard, processors and graphic interface along with other hardware that is on your system. This tool takes the guess work out of determining what replacement parts and model numbers that you need for your system.

CPU-Z is a freeware that gathers information on some of the main devices of your system, including;

CPU

• Name and number.

• Core stepping and process.

• Package.

• Core voltage.

• Internal and external clocks, clock multiplier.

• Supported instructions sets

• Cache information.

Mainboard

• Vendor, model and revision.

• BIOS model and date.

• Chipset (northbridge and southbridge) and sensor.

• Graphic interface.

Memory

• Frequency and timings.

• Module(s) specification using SPD (Serial Presence Detect) : vendor, serial number, timings table.

System

• Windows and DirectX version.

CPU-Z is FREE and easily installs on most operating systems. Click Here To Download

Sometimes when troubleshooting a Windows XP issue, you need to enter Safe Mode. Typically, you would press the F8 key during the boot process to enter Windows XP Safe Mode, but that can be very difficult in some cases depending on the problem you’re having.

This simple tip will get you into the Windows XP Safe Mode a whole lot easier using the System Configuration Utility, sometimes called “msconfig”.

Difficulty: Easy

Time Required: Less than 10 minutes

Here’s How:

• Click on Start and then Run.
• In the text box in the Run window, type msconfig and click OK. This will open the System Configuration Utility program.

Note: Do not make changes in the System Configuration Utility other than those outlined here to avoid causing serious system issues. This utility controls a number of startup activities other than those involved with Safe Mode.

• Click on the BOOT.INI tab located at the top of the System Configuration Utility window.
• Check the checkbox next to /SAFEBOOT and click OK.
• You will then be prompted to either Restart, which will restart the PC immediately, or Exit Without Restart, which will close the window and allow you to restart the PC manually.
• After the restart, the PC will automatically boot into Windows XP Safe Mode.

Note: Windows XP will continue to boot into Safe Mode until the System Configuration Utility is configured to again boot normally.

• When your work in Safe Mode is complete, click on Start and then Run. Type msconfig in the text box and click OK.

This will again open the System Configuration Utility program.

• Choose the Normal Startup radio button and click OK.
• You will then be prompted to either Restart, which will restart the PC immediately, or Exit Without Restart, which will close the window and allow you to restart the PC manually.
• After the restart, the PC will boot into Windows XP normally and will continue to do so.

]]> http://racservices.net/2009/09/enter_xp_safe_mode/feed/ 0 http://racservices.net/2009/08/4-easy-steps-to-reset-an-ip-address/#utm_source=feed&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=feed http://racservices.net/2009/08/4-easy-steps-to-reset-an-ip-address/#comments Sat, 08 Aug 2009 03:19:20 +0000 admin http://racservices.net/?p=223

Sometimes you have connection issues with your internet provider and resetting your IP address will correct this. This is how you reset your IP address manually.

Step 1

Go to your start menu and select “run” from the programs menu. In the open line type in “command” and press enter.

Step 2

You will soon see a black box pop up and a blinking cursor will appear. Do not be scared because you have a box you have never seen before. Everything is normal. Type “ipconfig” and press enter.

Step 3

The box will display your current IP settings. If you need to know this information, there it is for you to see. Now it is time to reset the IP address. Type in “ipconfig/release“.

Step 4

You will notice your internet connection will be lost. Now you will need to renew it. Type in “ipconfig/renew“. You have now renewed your IP address. Type “exit” to exit the window. Your internet connection should now be back up.

Like a car, your computer needs regular maintenance. Regular maintenance for your PC is extremely important and should not be overlooked. Proper maintenance can prevent many computer problems down the road which will save you time, money and probably a headache or two.

Keeping your computer updated:

A very important part of maintaining your computer is updating your Windows, anti-virus software and manufacturers updates along with a couple of weekly tasks.

• Updating your Windows. Microsoft makes keeping your Windows updated very easy.

Here’s how:

Click on “Start” – “All Programs” – Then click on “Windows Update”

Once on the Update page, you can choose “Express” or Custom install. Express is recommended. Choosing Express will update all of the high priority updates and security patches. While on the Update page, you can also change your setting. I would recommend “Automatic Updates”. Doing so will allow Windows to automatically update your computer so you do not have to manually update your system. It also ensures that you get high priority updates in a timely manner.

• Updating your Anti-Virus software. Most all anti-virus programs offer automatic updates.

Because anti-virus programs vary from program to program, you will have to locate your settings. Another method is manually updating your anti-virus. If you have an icon in your system tray, you can “right click” on the icon and choose “Update”. You can also open the program from the “Start” – “All Programs” “your program”. Once open, normally under “Tools” or “Help” you will find an update option.

• Manufacturers Updates.

Most computers have a sticker located somewhere on the body that lists the serial number, model number and often times a support website address. You can also go to the website of your computers manufacturer. Locate the “support” page. Websites vary on their layout, but you should be able to locate your model number and information related to your computer. The manufacturer will list any updates (if any) that are available for your computer. Just follow their directions on the download.

• Defragmentation

When a file is written to your hard drive, it is often stored in pieces, creating a fragmented file. Defragmentation software can organize these split-up files which can sometimes dramatically improve system performance. Windows has a built-in defragmenter. Click on “Start” – “All Programs” – “Accessories” – “System Tools” – “Disk Defragmenter”. Highlight (C:) then click on “Defragment”. It can take anywhere from a few minutes to much longer to defragment your drive, depending on how often you proform this action. It is recommended that you do this at least once a week.

• Disk Cleanup

When you browse websites and do any activity online and offline, your computer stores information in temporary files. If these temporary files aren’t cleaned out, it can cause your computer to run slower and slower and even cause problems with how programs run. Windows has a Disk Cleanup built-in that empties these temporary files and also cleans your drive of “junk” that is not needed.

To access the Disk Cleanup Click on “Start” – “All Programs” – “Accessories” – “System Tools” – “Disk Cleanup” – choose (C:) drive then click “OK”. It is recommended that you run the Disk Cleanup at least once a week.

Get simple, step-by-step solutions and troubleshooting tips for your D-Link Routers. View the Setup Video for the D-Link Routers.

D-Link has so many products with separate support pages, that we just can’t list them all.  You can go to the D-Link Support Site to choose your device for the proper support documents.

D-Link Router Setup Video