You've probably heard it before. Why are you using Internet Explorer? Or Why aren't you using Chrome? Maybe you're annoyed that Windows 10 came setup for Microsoft Edge. Whatever your reason is, you should give Chrome a shot. There's also a way to import your bookmarks from IE/Edge in to Chrome. I'll be covering that in a later video.
I personally think that Google Chrome is currently one of the best web browsers available. If you're ready to try it out, watch this video to learn how to download and install Google Chrome. It only takes about 2 minutes, and if you don't like it you can still use IE or Edge.
This video is designed for Windows 10, but it's pretty similar on Windows 7 and 8.
Press the "F" key after you push play for full screen.
I can't stress enough how important it is to have adequate virus/malware protection on your computer. It's really easy and affordable to get up and running. I've been using this software for a very long time and it keeps getting better. Every single computer that comes through my shop gets scanned with Malwarebytes. If I had to guess I would say that 98% of the computers I scan end up having some type of infection. I made a quick video that shows you how to download and install Malwarebytes AND start scanning and protecting your computer in about 2 minutes! You'll notice that this machine doesn't have any infections. If it did, there would be a prompt at the end asking to remove the infections and typically, reboot. Free vs Premium - The MOST IMPORTANT reason you want to buy the premium version is for real-time protection. This means that Malwarebytes will intercept known malware and bad webpages before you get infected. The free version only works when you manually run a scan and AFTER you're already infected. You might be thinking: "I have 'xyz' from my internet company." or "I already bought 'xyz' antivirus." That's great, but in my experience the free software from your internet company isn't good enough. For example, a local college uses a paid version of "Norton Antivirus" and had to upgrade to Malwarebytes because they kept getting virus infections. If those reasons aren't good enough then you're a lost cause. ;) Sometimes your computer is too badly infected to even get Malwarebytes installed. If that's the case, it's probably time to call me and bring it in to the shop. Good luck!
So it has been quite some time since my last blog post. I'm not sure why I got out of doing them. Before I get started, if you filed your taxes online and have a copy of the return on your computer, you shouldn't. Buy a flash drive and store it on there and keep it somewhere safe. Not plugged in to the computer unless you need to review it. It's basically your identity. Here we go... Same stuff different year It's funny how some things with computers never really change. People are still getting viruses, but a lot of us are calling it malware, or the other way around. Hard drives are still unreliable and fail on a regular basis and most of us don't have a solid backup solution. Scammers are still scamming. Here's what you need to keep your computer safe, protected and speedy in 2016. Don't believe everything you read. I see a ton of computers come through my shop with goofy software installed on them. Sometimes people even buy this junk in retail stores. It's not all bad stuff, but do your homework before buying/downloading/installing any software that claims to fix, improve or otherwise manipulate your computer.
Backup, Backup, Backup - OH MY GOD. Seriously. BACKUP your stuff. Save to google drive, or Microsoft OneDrive, or Box, or seriously pick one. If you're afraid of the cloud, buy some backup software or use the built-in software that comes with windows. You're going to need an external hard drive too. I recommend something at least three times as big as what you're currently using, or twice the size of the entire drive. Failed hard drives are the #2 most common reason for computer repairs in my shop. Occasionally I can sacrifice your files, more often than not, I can't. There's some companies out there that charge over $1,000 for data recovery. Don't put yourself in that position.
Malwarebytes Premium - This is what I'm calling a next-gen antivirus. I know there's lots of IT people that want to argue the difference between viruses and malware; the fact is they're both software we don't want. The premium edition is a yearly fee, but it's worth it.
CCleaner Free - (CrapCleaner) You should run this software before running a full virus/malware scan. It will remove temporary files and internet caches and greatly improve the overall speed of the scan. Be careful removing things like cookies, they're not really that bad of a thing. Removing cookies can reset your personal settings on pages like weather and news sites. It's up to you.
AVG Performance (Tune-Up Utilities) - This program used to be a lot smoother before AVG bought them. Overall, it's a pretty decent piece of software. I would recommend you check out the trial edition before making the purchase. It does system optimization and I feel it does a pretty good job. I don't really trust any other program to 'clean' my registry, this one has never failed me.
One more thing. Microsoft or any other "support" company is not going to call you and fix your virus. Hang-up the phone. The foreign prince/princess is also not going to send you money. Delete the e-mail.
Nick Murarik's PC Repair - How to defragment your hard drive.
Okay, don't make fun of this. I made this a long time ago for my computer store. Some of the terminology I use has been extremely watered down, so tech guys take it easy on me.
I was just browsing around some old files and happened to stumble on it. I didn't even plan on having a post tonight.
It will open in a new window, so hopefully your pop-up blocker doesn't block it.
Hi ! Nick Murarik here with a great new product! Here's how to order. Just kidding. It's not new, and it's FREE!
MemTest86 is a bootable (ISO) image that does memory diagnostics. If you made the UBCD from my last post you're ready to go. If not, you need to go do that, or head over to memtest86.com and download the iso and burn it to a disc. You can always order one from those guys too. (But it's free to download.)
I say in the video to let this run overnight. I'm serious. Do it. It might be the difference between a good and bad diagnostic.
If you do get an error, I'll explain tomorrow how to troubleshoot and figure out which module is bad. (If I can find a firewire cable to hook-up my video camera to my computer.)
P.S. I might have fibbed about the ten seconds. It takes ten seconds to start the test. Not run it. Har har har.
Okay, so hopefully you've ran chkdsk on your computer or are at least familiar with locating it.
The next test we'll want to do is boot from CD to a diagnostic tool. We have to boot from CD to ensure that the hard drive isn't being used by Windows while we're testing it. Booting from CD means that we'll burn data from a disc image (ISO) to a CD-R. (So get a blank CD-R or a bundle of them. Also make sure you have a drive that can write CD-Rs.)
Then we'll take the disc that you burn, put it in the disc drive, and reboot. Hopefully it will automatically load. If not we'll have to tinker with settings and hot keys. :P
I spent fifteen minutes trying to figure out how to handle this situation. I've made my final decision as "Ultimate Boot CD 4.1.1". This disc contains WAY more than just free hard drive diagnostics. It has memory testers, burn in tools, drive management, etc. That link goes straight to the download page from a mirror site. [homepage with more info: http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/index.html]
So download that. It will take a while.
This is the sucky part. You have to know how to burn an ISO image to the CD-R. The best way I can explain this is by downloading a lightweight FREE burning software, InfraRecorder. It's my everyday burning software. I recommend YOU download the first installer. Everyone else should know what they're supposed to be clicking.
So download and install that. It should download pretty fast.
Okay this is taking way too long. I made a video start to end 2-minutes long that walks you through opening firefox (or IE) downloading and install InfraRecorder, and downloading and burning UBCD. Watch it. Make sure you have a blank cd in your burner. Click OK at the end of the cd burning process.
OKAY YOUTUBE FOR THE WIN - Watch the following 1st video in HQ on full screen. Very good.
Now that your disc is burnt, reboot your computer LEAVING the disc in the drive. It should load the UBCD menu. If not check to see if there's any messages on the screen that say "boot options" "boot from cd" "alternate boot options". If you find yourself somewhere you probably shouldn't be, just reboot and try again.
You have to press enter to boot the ultimate boot cd, when it asks you to. You will use the arrow keys and enter key to make your selections. When you get to the menu, choose Hard Disk Tools. Then choose diagnostics tools. Gateway's GWSCAN 5.11 works great! Try that one out. You're going to see a bunch of stuff come up on the screen don't press any keys unless you're sure you want to change something. [tech tip: you can hit enter on the prompts to accept the default values]
Then choose extended scan. This will run a quick scan to determine if the drive is already badly damaged. Then an extensive scan will run afterward testing each sector. That's it. Hopefully your drive isn't bad. Be sure to remove the disc before rebooting your computer.
Good luck! :)
[According to Wikipedia."ISO image files typically have a file extension of .iso. The name ISO is taken from the ISO 9660file system used with CD-ROM media, but an ISO image can also contain UDF file system because UDF is backward-compatible with ISO 9660." ]
