Fortunately, antivirus makers are updating their products to help deal with these new threats.  It use to be that virus activity was focused on email.  Now most virus plagues are spread from downloads from the internet and social networking sites.  Personally I’ve banned MySpace and have the entire site blocked since they were so lax in preventing any viruses from being uploaded to their site.  No wonder Facebook is kicking their butt.

The bottom line is that you always have to be careful about what you click on or download.  You can have a super antivirus system but if you accept a strange download and install it then it’s like unlocking your front door and asking the burglar dressed like a repairman into your home.

This type of activity has been out there for some time but it’s always worth repeating.

2) Sell online – Once you have people coming to your site you can treat them like they came into your store and show your goods and services for sale.

3) Customer Service – A website can help to service your customer base by answering frequently asked questions, making documents available for download, and news updates.

Tis the season to send your friends and family emails.  You probably have more than you can read along with a few emails from people you don’t even know.  Some of the ones that I always receive are forwarded emails that someone wants me to check out because the information in it is so scary.  Here is an example of one that was sent to me last month 11/2009.

Subject: READ IMMEDIATELY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
HI ALL THIS was sent to me by our son who is in charge of the computers for the state of Florida whenever he receives anything like this it is a warning to the State as well as all us little people.

VERY IMPORTANT , PLEASE READ THIS

Anyone-using Internet mail such as Yahoo, Hotmail, AOL and so on.   This information arrived this morning, Direct from both Microsoft and Norton Please send it to everybody you know who has Access to the Internet. You may receive an apparently harmless e-mail titled ‘Mail Server Report’ If you open either file, a message will appear on your screen saying: ‘It is too late now, your life is no longer beautiful…’Subsequently you will LOSE EVERYTHING IN YOUR PC, And the person who sent it to you will gain access to your Name, e-mail and password.   This is a new virus which started to circulate on Saturday afternoon.   AOL has already confirmed the severity, and the anti virus software’s are not capable of destroying it.The virus has been created by a hacker who calls himself ‘life owner’.

PLEASE SEND A COPY OF THIS E-MAIL

TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS, And ask them to PASS IT ON IMMEDIATELY!

THIS HAS BEEN CONFIRMED BY SNOPES.

Did you count how many things are wrong with this warning? Fortunately, this email threat is a bunch of junk.  Not only that, it’s very old junk which has been around since 2002.  Snopes has only confirmed that it is as you might have guessed….junk.  The best thing we all can do is not forward virus hoaxes unless they have credible sources.  Usually emails like this one will not have any sources, such as the actual person who is in charge of “the computers for the state of Florida” and that is because there is no person in charge of all the computers for the state of Florida.  Also, look for bad spelling and grammar.

So, if you want to read more about this hoax it I’ll provide some actual links to real sites, including snopes.com.

http://www.snopes.com/computer/virus/lifeisbeautiful.asp

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_is_beautiful_virus_hoax

http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl_life_is_beautiful.htm

Get a decent anti-virus program on your computer, even a free one like free AVG and keep it updated.  Lets not make the silly people that make up this hoax stuff any happier.

For the record, I am a computer networking expert with a MCSE (Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer) credential along with 2 decades of computer experience in technical support and software.  I use to live in Florida and never met the person in charge of all the computers there.

Van Kirchhoff

MCSE, CompTIA A+, Novell CNS

I have extensive computer experience which started out when I was 13 years old.  My school just got a Radio Shack TRS-80 and I thought it was amazing.  Later on it got the nickname of Trash-80 but for my first pc experience it was anything but trash.

I purchased a computer kit a few months later called the Sinclair ZX-81 for $100 along with a 16k (that’s k as in kilo, not mega or giga) memory expansion for another $100.  I started to learn programming in BASIC and one of my first was a program to solve quadratic equations.  This helped me a lot since during the same year I had an Algebra I/II honors class and the teacher gave us a big project to make a mathematical device.  Most of my classmates made simple things like an abacus or new designs on rulers to help with graphing.  My turn came up and I unveil the ZX81 which I also hardwired into a new case for easier typing.  I hooked it up to a TV and started solving quadratic equations in seconds.  The teacher was amazed and my classmates were amazed/plotting my death so overall it was a success.

Since that time I’ve become an MCSE (Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer), CompTIA A+ certified, and worked in technical support for a few different companies.  I’ve fixed thousands of desktops, laptops, and servers so I’ve included some questions and answers below that are pretty common in today’s pc world.

PC FAQ

Q.  What is a good free antivirus program?
A.  Remember, in this world you get what you pay for.  Even so, I’d recommend Avast for a free antivirus solution.  You can download the latest version from  FREE AVAST

Q.  I upgraded to Windows Vista and I keep getting problems using my applications, especially ones that use the internet.  What’s wrong?
A.  Let’s face it.  Any new operating system is going to have issues.  The first thing you should check before upgrading is whether your programs will be compatible with the new OS.  A great place to start is  Windows Vista Compatibility Center  and see if your hardware and software is listed.  Another possibility is the dreaded and hated User Account Control.  This little Vista feature wreaks havoc with all sorts of programs in the name of security.  Do yourself a favor and go to control panel – user accounts and family safety – user accounts and see if it is on.  If it is then turn if off, restart your pc, and see if the problem is fixed.

Q.  I can’t save anything on my hard drive and my programs keep crashing when I open them, is it possessed?
A.  Before you call in the PC Exorcist, check the free space on your hard drive.  You should ideally have at least 20% free space but I’ve seen plenty of people with 0, that’s none, free space on their hard drive.  This will cause all kinds of issues such as inability to save new info, slow opening and closing of programs, pc crashes, and overall demonic behavior.

Q.  I’ve seen the commercials and ads but what’s better, a PC or a Mac?
A.  I’ve owned lots of different computers and used even more computers.  Some of them were a Sinclair ZX-81, an Atari 800,  Apple IIe, Apple Macintosh, original IBM PC, and so on.  I also did not invent any of these PCs nor do I work for any PC company so my advice is better than any you would get from Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Sir Clive Sinclair, or your Uncle Bubba who knows everything there is to know about computers.  My advice is this…ready???…here it comes….GET WHATEVER RUNS THE SOFTWARE YOU NEED….If more than 1 does then GET WHATEVER ROCKS YOUR BOAT.  Don’t listen to someone saying you need this, that, and the other thing.  Computers get better and cheaper all the time so get what runs the software and keep it until it doesn’t run it well anymore.

Q.  Any good place to buy hardware/software that you can tell me about?
A.  I’ve found that different places have their specialties so I use around a dozen different online and retail vendors.  Some of the overall best are  Newegg ,  Walmart ,  Sam’s Club , and  Tiger Direct . You can’t beat Sam’s 3 month return policy on almost everything, oh how they love me so.

Netflix is a DVD rental service and Roku is a device you connect to your TV to watch Netflix movies instantly.  These two things are well worth getting.  You will get a huge amount of knowledge and entertainment for only $79.99, which is the price of the Roku player and $8.99/month for the lowest priced Netflix service that includes unlimited instant movies.  The possibilities are endless!!!!

After the initial purchase of the player you get the following:

1)  Child care for only 30 cents a day.  Kids love TV so give them unlimited instant educational programs.  Elmo and Caillou can be your in-house day care (diapers and baby food not included).

2)  Date night for 2 with drinks, popcorn, Milk Duds, gas, and dirty seats costing $40 or more?  I think not!  Show her a good time in your comfortable living room with Orville Redenbacher, 2-liter coke, and no gum on the seats for less than $5.  If the movie sucks you can even switch to a better one while getting refills on your drinks.

3)  Got insomnia?  Here’s a quick way to help.  You can watch something exciting for entertainment or watch something boring to cure that sleeplessness.  With over 50,000 instant movies to choose from there’s going to be something on there that’s better than the late night infomercials.

4)  Anyone collecting a social security check probably doesn’t like much of the crap on TV these days.  I still have a few decades to go before that time and even I don’t like the crap.  Instead of paying for high priced premium cable, you can find old time classics like Lucy, Dick Van Dyke, and The Honeymooners.  You even get a nice simple remote to use also.