The Blog Of PC Doctor
Start Menu Icons Removed From New Virus
We recently ran into a couple of strings of these new fake antivirus viruses that wipe out the start menu icons and leave some of the folders in “all programs,” empty.
Initially, we thought we could go over to Kelly’s corner, a well known website filled with fixes for Windows XP, but as it turned out, none of those fixes worked.
I think, as a technician, you have to develop the eye to know when it’s time to back up as much data as you can, and reformat the machine. Yes, we want to solve problems and let the big scary hackers know that we have the savvy to combat their attacks, but in the interest of time and resources, know when to reformat the computer.
If you’re running into this problem, or a problem similar to this, head over to Kelly’s corner to check out some of those fixes. See if any of them work. In many cases, the registry fixes they provide work wonderfully to solve major problems but sometimes these new trojans wipe so much out and damage so many critical parts, reformatting the machine is your only option.
Changing IP addresses for mail hosting
If you are hosting mail in-house and you need to change your ISP, you of course need a new WAN static IP address. This static IP address need to be entered as an A record at your domain registrar. For example, in Network Solutions, you would create a A record pointing mail.xyz.com to IP x.x.x.x
Your Router need to have the WAN IP set up to that same IP address. Also set up the router so it can respond to ping requests. Be sure you can ping the address and it replies.
Your ISP needs to create a DNS Pointer pointing mail.xyz.com to IP x.x.x.x
Propagation can take up to 48 hours, especially if you are also using an on-line spam filtering system such as Postini.
Antivirus And A Red Flag Awareness – The Only Approach To PC Security
Antivirus is great, we need it. Some of the most effective programs out there (programs like Vipre), catch most viruses and trojans before they become a huge problem.
However, what we’ve noticed over the last year, and growing rapidly, is the fact that a lot of the newer viruses have built in capabilities that shut down some antivirus software.
Certainly, having a pc without protection is asking to get attacked, but also knowing the red flags of the internet will help you to avoid infections. So here’s a couple things we suggest:
- First, stay on the sites you know. If you’re venturing to a new site, be careful what you click on, which leads us to:
- Don’t click on anything you don’t know is safe. The reality is, a lot of these new “fake antivirus” viruses, are user induced. You either click on a “scan now” button or opt in to do something. The internet, unfortunately, is not a click friendly place. Be conscious of your clicks.
- Avoid anything that tries to tell you that you NEED something. A lot of these malware filled websites will try to make you believe you need some new special software to speed up your computer, or that your computer needs a scan right now. How would they know that? RED FLAG. Stay away from it.
The best defense against malware, spyware viruses and trojans is the combination of awareness of the red flags and a good antivirus program.
On-line Backups
How do you choose a best of breed on-line backup solution?
A great solution must not only provide backup and restore capabilities; it must be fast, reliable and simple to use.
Using a company to assist you in selecting a solution will not just eliminate the confusion of selecting the right backup. A specialized backup solution provider will set up the backup with you, monitor it for consistency and accuracy, and will perform routine restore tests.
When you do need a file or entire system recovered, you should rely on the people who set up your backup solution to help you with the process; this will reduce downtime and eliminate headaches for you.
Real Hardware Troubleshooting
Today, in the laboratory of computers, myself and Charles were faced with a bit of a challenge. Here’s the scenario:
- We had a malfunctioning laptop that was torn apart, in terms of software, by a virus.
- Our first approach was to install an operating system upgrade to essentially reset/reinstall drivers, and give it an entire new build.
- That sounded great, except for the fact that now the DVD player wasn’t working and the driver was non existent.
- Ok, fine. Go to the manufacturers website and download the driver right?
- The network connection was damaged.
So, to fix this problem that kept getting deeper, we took out a DVD player from another laptop (one we had in the cemetery of dead laptops) changed the face covers and put it in the computer we were working on.
Fixed. Then we could install programs if we needed to, the DVD player worked and we were on our way to a final solution.
We would like troubleshooting to be a quick process of finding out the problem, and then moving right to fixing it. But, unfortunately, real hardware troubleshooting sometimes requires us to go through many levels of tinkering, trying, observing and trying something else.
About Us
PC Doctor LLC has been serving the Lehigh Valley and New Jersey for over 20 years with IT and computer support