Threat of computer hackers during NATO summit

Posted on May 18, 2012 by admin

Nato Summit Threat of computer hackers during NATO summitJust yesterday it was reported that there is concern at the NATO summit that hackers will be very active.  The main targets are big companies; however, tablet users ad smartphones are also warned that these devices are susceptible to being hacked by vigilantes who are determined to get their message out into cyberspace.

As we enter the summer tourist season, Myrtle Beach residents need to remember that where there are crowds there is always an increased potential for crime.  This includes crimes from pickpockets to identity theft to cyber crimes. Many security experts, including PcRx Computers, are warning people to be conscious of how they are accessing the internet from personal devices such as cell phones.  This weekend in particular there is a heightened alert for cyber hacks looking for your personal information due to the Summit and increase news attention.

Jason Shah works for Mediafly, a Chicago company that assists business with moving their documents to iPhones, iPads and other personal devices has demonstrated how easy it can be to monitor what people around you are doing in their surfing of the internet.

Shah says there are easy to install software programs that will allow for “internet sniffing” on public networks.  This allows anonymous surfers the ability to track what other users are seeing on their personal devices and computers.

“Be careful of the kind of sites you access,” said Shah. “Keep the personal and private sites for when you are at home… There is less of a chance of getting hacked in that scenario than when you are sitting in a public area on the Wi-Fi connection.”

As the NATO Summit unfolds this weekend, protesters will utilize social media sites to galvanize and organize crowds into action.  Through social media people in the crowds are encouraged to access the internet via a secure channel such as password-protected sites or encrypted subscriptions.

Although Myrtle Beach is a long way from the NATO Summit, there are lessons that can be learned from these events.  Businesses near high traffic areas on holiday weekends such as the upcoming Memorial Day weekend may want to consider shutting down their Wi-Fi devices.

“People are looking to get at them, and the publicity, so denial of service attacks are probably their biggest concern,” said Prescient Solutions’ Jerry Irvine. “Hackers like Anonymous and Stuxnet (a computer worm) are going to come in and try to make a name for themselves.”

The FBI recently told ABC that it has seen malware installed on a traveler’s laptop via the software update on local hotel internet connections.

Unfortunately, there is no way to keep yourself completely protected during the summer vacation season but having good Virus Protection installed on your laptop or notebook computer will go a long way to keeping your safe.  As we have pointed out on our Facebook page, there are numerous threats that usually come through email.  By being aware of what you are opening you can prevent a lot of problems.

If you suspect that your system has been compromised, bring it into PcRx for a free virus scan.

PCRx Computers
315 Kingston Street, Conway, SC 29526
(843) 488-4100

 

A portion of this article was taken from a story on ABC Channel 7.

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=8666267

Share and Enjoy:
  • services sprite Threat of computer hackers during NATO summit
  • services sprite Threat of computer hackers during NATO summit
  • services sprite Threat of computer hackers during NATO summit
  • services sprite Threat of computer hackers during NATO summit
  • services sprite Threat of computer hackers during NATO summit
  • services sprite Threat of computer hackers during NATO summit
  • services sprite Threat of computer hackers during NATO summit
  • services sprite Threat of computer hackers during NATO summit
  • services sprite Threat of computer hackers during NATO summit
  • services sprite Threat of computer hackers during NATO summit
  • services sprite Threat of computer hackers during NATO summit
  • services sprite Threat of computer hackers during NATO summit
  • services sprite Threat of computer hackers during NATO summit
Posted in Computer Security | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Notebook Computers: Who Are They For And How Do They Compare To Laptops?

Posted on May 9, 2012 by admin

Notebook Computer Notebook Computers: Who Are They For And How Do They Compare To Laptops?Notebook Computers are Becoming Increasingly Common

Notebook computers such as the Dell Ispirion or the Apple MacBook are becoming the all the rage for business people and college students alike. Yes they look very cool, however, they are extremely useful at the same time. In today’s world, many homes have multiple wireless notebook computers that can be taken all over the house for homework, checking email, gaming – even watching TV!  The new models of smaller notebook computers make it easy for everyone to have less weight to carry around. As we learned with cell phone, smaller is not always a better solution.  It is always a good idea to know what you are buying and decide for yourself if the functionality of  notebook computers will meet your specific needs.

If you are someone who does a lot of traveling either for business or pleasure,  notebook computers can be an ideal choice.  The small size and weight of notebook computers makes them great for portability.

Notebook Computers Are Smaller and Lighter

In order to make the size of notebook computers smaller, the components must be smaller than their desktop equivalent.  Many notebook computers come equipped with a 10 to 11 inch LCD screen and some are even smaller.  For those of us that have trouble seeing a normal screen this can be a detriment.  Another factor in a notebook computer is the thickness.  There has been a greater demand to make notebook computers even thinner than the current 1 inch.

The average weight of a notebook computer is between five and seven pounds.  This makes it ideal for carrying to meetings, classes and client consultations.  You can take notes right on the spot, even create a contract for review or give a quote while you are in your meeting.

Things to Keep in Mind when Considering a Notebook Computer

Are you considering a notebook computer and comparing it to a handheld device such as your phone that offers many of the same capabilities?  If so, you will want to keep in mind the screen resolution will be considerably better on the notebook computer.  Tasks such as checking your email, browsing the internet and taking notes will be much easier on a notebook computer. Performing this simple tasks can be difficult on a phone but are much easier on a notebook computer.

Don’t let the small size of a notebook computer fool you.  If you are carrying around the computer, adapter and extra battery, you still have a lot of weight to carry. The other thing to consider is that a notebook computer is more fragile than a standard laptop or desktop computer.  Don’t throw it in your backpack and expect it to last.  Even though typing tasks such as responding to emails and searching the internet are easier on a notebook computer than on your phone, they are still not as easy as on a laptop computer.

Although you will have to sacrifice ease of use and durability with a notebook computer, they are up to speed with hard drive capacity and memory storage of a laptop computer. You will want to make sure that your notebook computer comes equipped with Bluetooth technology and you will be ready to travel.  Be sure and read our article on keeping our data safe while traveling.

PcRx Computers handles repairs on all brands of notebook computers.  If your notebook is damaged while traveling, just bring it in and we will get you back up and running.

We can also help you with the repairs to your cell phone.

PCRx Computers
315 Kingston Street, Conway, SC 29526
(843) 488-4100 ‎

Myrtle Beach Computer Repair solutions for businesses and home users alike.

Share and Enjoy:
  • services sprite Notebook Computers: Who Are They For And How Do They Compare To Laptops?
  • services sprite Notebook Computers: Who Are They For And How Do They Compare To Laptops?
  • services sprite Notebook Computers: Who Are They For And How Do They Compare To Laptops?
  • services sprite Notebook Computers: Who Are They For And How Do They Compare To Laptops?
  • services sprite Notebook Computers: Who Are They For And How Do They Compare To Laptops?
  • services sprite Notebook Computers: Who Are They For And How Do They Compare To Laptops?
  • services sprite Notebook Computers: Who Are They For And How Do They Compare To Laptops?
  • services sprite Notebook Computers: Who Are They For And How Do They Compare To Laptops?
  • services sprite Notebook Computers: Who Are They For And How Do They Compare To Laptops?
  • services sprite Notebook Computers: Who Are They For And How Do They Compare To Laptops?
  • services sprite Notebook Computers: Who Are They For And How Do They Compare To Laptops?
  • services sprite Notebook Computers: Who Are They For And How Do They Compare To Laptops?
  • services sprite Notebook Computers: Who Are They For And How Do They Compare To Laptops?
Posted in Myrtle Beach Computer | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Buying A Laptop On A Budget – Five Important Things That You Must Consider First

Posted on April 18, 2012 by admin

Laptop Checklist Buying A Laptop On A Budget – Five Important Things That You Must Consider FirstLaptop Purchase – A Checklist

With the introduction of iPads and notebooks, laptop computers are getting more advanced and thinner.  These innovations have also driven the price of a laptop down. Even with a reduced price, a new laptop can be a major expenditure for the average consumer on a budget.  You want to get the most for your dollar while at the same time getting the features that you need.  Add to that getting a computer that is not outdated the minute you walk out the door of the reseller.

Five Main Areas to Consider When Purchasing a Laptop

The Size of the Laptop

In most instances, the size of the laptop is a personal preference.  If you have a specific size in mind, you may have to pay more than if the size doesn’t matter to you.  The most economical laptops in today’s market weight around 8 pounds.  There are laptops that are ultra portable weighing in at 3 pounds, however, you will pay a higher price for these sleek new systems. Your budget will go much further if you stick to a mid-size laptop.

The Screen of the Laptop

The size of the laptop and the screen size tend to go hand-in-hand.  In most instances, a 15 inch screen that comes with a standard laptop is more than adequate for most users.  Be cautious with purchasing a laptop with a larger screen such as a 17 inch screen.  One of our customers came in looking for a case to carry their computer and we had to special order a case due to the size.  The savings they received from purchasing a larger screen was over shadowed by the additional cost of the case.  You can always attach an external monitor if you are using the laptop as a replacement for your desktop computer.

The GPU of the Laptop

The GPU is the video card for the laptop and controls how the images appear on the screen.  If you are purchasing a laptop on a budget, you will want to go with a shared video card as opposed to a dedicated video card which will produce better results however, it will also increase the price.  A shared video card shares the RAM of the computer and is usually fine for the average user and will bring down the cost of the laptop.  If playing video games on your laptop is important to you, then you will need to spend the additional dollars for a dedicated video card.  Most of today’s games will not play on a shared device.

The CPU of the Laptop

Here is where you can really save money on a new laptop.  In most cases you don’t need the newest processor out on the market so don’t get pressured into buying the latest and the greatest.  The CPU is the central processing unit of the laptop.  You can easily step down from the most current processor and save on your laptop purchase. Unless you are working with very large graphics files or need to do some heavy calculations, a processor that has been out on the market for awhile will work just fine.

The RAM of the Laptop

RAM stands for random access memory.  This is what gives your laptop the ability to “think.”   I am sure that you have experienced a time when your computer seemed to freeze when you were multi-tasking or noticed a slow down when trying to load a program.  These are all indications that the system doesn’t have enough memory.  The average laptop comes with 1 GB of RAM.  Fortunately, this is one area that you can add to your laptop at a later date if you notice that this is not sufficient.  If price is an issue, you may want to step down on the amount of RAM initially and add more later if needed.

Buying a new laptop should be fun and exciting, but in today’s economy it can be discouraging trying to purchase a laptop on a budget.  You will want to shop wisely and have a list of items on which you can negotiate if you need to bring down the price of a new laptop.  Take your time and do your research.  Then you will feel comfortable when talking with a technician about what you need.

We would love to help you with your purchase of a new laptop.  Stop by our shop and let us help you stay within your budget and still get what you need.

We also have used laptops that can easily be modified to fit any need and budget.

PCRx Computers
315 Kingston Street, Conway, SC 29526
(843) 488-4100

‎bestmyrtlebeachcomputerrepair.com

Share and Enjoy:
  • services sprite Buying A Laptop On A Budget – Five Important Things That You Must Consider First
  • services sprite Buying A Laptop On A Budget – Five Important Things That You Must Consider First
  • services sprite Buying A Laptop On A Budget – Five Important Things That You Must Consider First
  • services sprite Buying A Laptop On A Budget – Five Important Things That You Must Consider First
  • services sprite Buying A Laptop On A Budget – Five Important Things That You Must Consider First
  • services sprite Buying A Laptop On A Budget – Five Important Things That You Must Consider First
  • services sprite Buying A Laptop On A Budget – Five Important Things That You Must Consider First
  • services sprite Buying A Laptop On A Budget – Five Important Things That You Must Consider First
  • services sprite Buying A Laptop On A Budget – Five Important Things That You Must Consider First
  • services sprite Buying A Laptop On A Budget – Five Important Things That You Must Consider First
  • services sprite Buying A Laptop On A Budget – Five Important Things That You Must Consider First
  • services sprite Buying A Laptop On A Budget – Five Important Things That You Must Consider First
  • services sprite Buying A Laptop On A Budget – Five Important Things That You Must Consider First
Posted in Myrtle Beach Laptop | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Windows 7 Tricks

Posted on April 10, 2012 by admin

Windows 7 Windows 7 TricksWindows 7 Giving Your a Headache?

Windows 8 is in beta and many of you will probably upgrade.  However, there will be some of you that hate the thought of learning another operating system.  If you have had a few issues with Windows 7, here are a few tricks that might help make you more content to stay where you are.

 5 Windows 7 Problems and The Solution

#1 Your system is slowing down.   No matter what you do to solve the problem, you system seems be getting slower with each passing day.  You have used a cleanup program, installed antivirus and every other program that promises to make Windows 7 faster but to no avail.

Solution – Don’t install any more programs. To speed up your system you will want to remove any programs from Startup that run automatically.  Many users are not aware that every time they install a program it automatically sets itself to start when you start Windows 7.  Even programs that you are not using. When you first setup your computer it was fast – remember those days?  Well it can be again.

Not sure what is running automatically?  Follow these steps

  • Click Start and then type “msconfig” (without the quotation marks) in the search box
  • Click on the Startup tab and uncheck all items that you don’t need
  • Click OK and reboot your computer

Next you will want to uninstall any programs that you are not using or don’t need.  This scares people because they are not sure what some of these programs actually do.  If this is you, then you will want to do a Google search and read up on the program and what it is for.  Simply to go your Control Panel under the Start menu and select Programs.  Look at the list of installed programs and uninstall any program that you are not using.   If you have owned your computer for more than a year, you will be surprised at how many programs you installed and maybe used once and never used again.

#2 Windows 7 Will Not Load.  Obviously this is important since you will not be able to operate your computer.  There are a many reasons for this: a program that was deleted instead of using the uninstall feature, a virus or using a registry cleaner that went too far, whatever the reason, this can scare any computer user.  You start thinking about all the valuable information that is stored on your computer and start to go into hyper ventilation.

Solution –  Turn the computer off.  Wait a few minutes and then push the power button and at the same time you want to repeatedly tap either the F8 or the F5 key at the top of your keyboard.  Keep tapping and don’t stop until your see the Options for the Boot Screen.  If this process does not give you this screen, try pressing the space bar when powering up your computer and your screen will display the “F” key that you need for the Options Screen.

Once you see the options screen, you will want to select “Last Known Good Configuration.”   Once your computer is again in Windows 7, you can then give some thought as to what may have caused the problem.

#3 Windows 7 Continues To Hangup.  This is when programs won’t close or open or you can’t navigate where you want to do.  This could be caused by a virus or a conflict between two programs.  In either case, you will want to be careful with how you deal with this problem.

Solution – We will discuss the problem of conflicting programs first. To see the programs that are currently running on your computer, press the Ctrl/Alt/Delete keys all at the same time.  This will open up the Task Manager.  Close each program one at a time to see which program is causing the problem.  This could be a temporary problem or an ongoing issue. You will want to contact the developer of the conflicting problem to seek a solution.

If you type a web address into your browser and notice that you are sent to another address, this is a serious problem referred to as a redirect and is usually the result of a virus on your system.  You will want to run your anti-virus program to determine what has infected your system and remove it.  If you are not sure how to remove the virus, you will want to contact a computer technician to assist with this problem.

#4 Nothing Is Working In Windows 7.  Has this happened to you? Yesterday my computer was fine but today nothing seems to be working.  I can’t get onto the Internet, programs are acting funny, and even your email seems to be sporadic.

Solution – Restore Windows 7.  Click on the Start menu and type Restore in the search box.  You will want to click on “System Restore” and then simply follow the prompts you are given.  This will restore Windows 7 to a previous time when things were working.  If you are not successful the first time, you can try again with different restore points.

#5 I can’t find …… I can’t tell you how many times I have downloaded a file or saved an attachment only to not be able to find it later.  Has this happen to you?  Windows 7 has a great search feature that will allow to you find almost anything.

Solution – You can use the search feature under Start/Computer to search through a specific drive.  If you have your computer partitioned, you will need to search each drive separately.  As an alternative, there is a great free program called Everything that is an easy to use program to find anything on your computer regardless of what drive it is located.  Beware, if you are on a network, it will search all systems on the network.

These are just a few tricks to help you keep Windows 7 running smoothly.

Give us a call if you need help with cleaning up your system after a virus attack or if you would like to upgrade your system to Windows 8 and would like some advice.  We are here to help you.

PCRx Computers
315 Kingston Street, Conway, SC 29526
(843) 488-4100
‎bestmyrtlebeachcomputerrepair.com

Share and Enjoy:
  • services sprite Windows 7 Tricks
  • services sprite Windows 7 Tricks
  • services sprite Windows 7 Tricks
  • services sprite Windows 7 Tricks
  • services sprite Windows 7 Tricks
  • services sprite Windows 7 Tricks
  • services sprite Windows 7 Tricks
  • services sprite Windows 7 Tricks
  • services sprite Windows 7 Tricks
  • services sprite Windows 7 Tricks
  • services sprite Windows 7 Tricks
  • services sprite Windows 7 Tricks
  • services sprite Windows 7 Tricks
Posted in Myrtle Beach Computer Repair | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment