APCUG's blog

More Free Utilities to Clean Hijacked PCs

Hardly a week goes by that I do not get a call from a friend or co-worker asking for help with a computer that had been hijacked by one of the thousands of variants of a type of malware generically known as "Rogue AntiVirus". Last weekend was busy for me in this respect in that I received multiple frantic calls for help on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. All of the computers I was asked to clean had been totally hijacked by this rogue antivirus operating under the names "Vista AntiVirus", "Windows 7 Antivirus", and "Microsoft Antivirus".

Using Windows Task Manager to Get Out of Potential Harmful Situations

There is an easy method of getting your computer out of two situations of potential harm. To do this, we will use the operating system's built-in program called the Task Manager.

The first situation is when you have too many programs running at one time and the computer locks up. This lockup can also be caused by a single program that for one Reason or another, fails to run properly. Reaching over and hitting the power button may seem to be your only option but there is a much better choice.

Web Browsing 101

Do you know the difference between a browser and a search engine? If not, it’s time to learn the jargon! At the same time you can learn all about Web browsers and what they can do for you.

Often when I ask people which Internet browser they are using, they respond “Google.” Yet, Google is not a Web browser. It is a search engine. This is a confusing concept for many. When you go to the store you may be browsing through the aisles while searching for a certain item. You can’t be searching for a certain item unless you are already in the store browsing through the displays.

File Recovery Strategies

Using home computers affords many opportunities for errors and malfunctions. You probably have experienced at least one of these mishaps.

Computer Password Tips and Strategies

Most of us have several computer or internet “accounts” which provide us with many free services such as email, movies (Netflix), video communications (Skype), photo printing (at Wal-Mart, Walgreens, etc.), music (I-Tunes), banking, shopping, games, entertainment, books, and many more. In fact, your computer is the perfect window to the world and all the people and services in it! But each account you set up requires some sort of “ID” and a password. For example, your email account is your email address and it requires a password to access your email.

What are File Types?

Did you ever try to open a file and the computer wouldn’t let you?  Did you ever wonder what those three or four letters mean after the dot (i.e. period) in a file name?  Well, it all has to do with “file types” also known as file “formats”.  And the purpose of my article is to give you a good basic overview of “file types”.

Tuning Windows 7

Recognize first that there is little to be gained by tweaking Windows 7, as it quite effectively tunes itself to your hardware. Most likely, the major benefit of doing this is that you will be better educated about your PC.

Staying Connected While Working Remotely

While telework and telecommuting—usually just different terms for the same practice—have been discussed widely for years, rarely have they been practiced successfully. In fact, many mainframe-centric companies have had distributed employees for decades, allowing the best experts to support customers worldwide. Still, some organizations and managers steadfastly resist even considering this job-enhancing flexibility, no matter the benefits to them and their employees.

Why? Two main reasons emerge:

Streaming Music – An Alternative Method

With Windows 7, Microsoft has provided a great way to share music on your home network. Each computer (using Windows Media Player), can share the music from every other computer within a Windows7 “homegroup.” This is accomplished by allowing “streaming” when the homegroup is set up. If streaming is turned on, then the music from another computer in the homegroup will show up in Windows Media Player as available music to play. If you don’t see the other computer’s music, you probably did not turn on streaming.

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