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Drop Off Locations
True Value, St. Henry
Ace Hardware, Coldwater
Wangler Ace, Ft Recovery
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To speak to someone directly,
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Josie Wendel Project Manager
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Bonnie Homan Business Manager / Controller
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George Staver Sr. Systems & Network Engineer
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Tony Westgerdes Service Manager/Systems Engineer
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Pat Adams Business & Applications Engineer
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Lisa Niekamp-Urwin, PMP President
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September
2013
We’ve all heard the saying that the best things in life are free, but I’m not sure they were referring to software.
Freeware (free software, not to be confused with open source software) such as the AVG anti-virus free edition, Spybot, and Ad-Aware are all programs you can download to your PC for the ultimate discount: free. However, you get what you pay for.
While these programs may work just fine for someone’s home computer, they are not business class tools and should not be trusted to completely protect your computer or network from viruses, spyware, hackers, and other problems.
Every month we receive calls from clients whose computers are infected with a nasty virus or a boatload of spyware who had these programs in-stalled and running, and were under the false as-sumption that they were protected.
Why Freeware Doesn’t Protect Your Computer
In most cases, freeware is a light version of a software program that you pay for. Take the AVG free edition for example. AVG offers a free edition of their licensed product as a way of introducing you to their fully-featured product. However, this software does not come with any online, e-mail, or phone support. It is also illegal to use it on multiple machines or in a commercial, non-profit, or educational environ-ment (single home users only).
You’re On Your Own
As you might expect, freeware comes with zero guarantees or promises to function correctly, to be compatible with your system, or to safeguard you from threats. You’re not a paying customer so you’re on your own to resolve any technical prob-lems you encounter, and you certainly won’t get support if your computer gets in-fected.
Since many free applications are plagued with bugs and incompatibilities, you may end up with a mess on your hands and no one to blame but yourself.
Additionally, freeware programs are not always current with the most up-to-date protection, and don’t always update themselves automatically or perform scans and tasks on a regular schedule. That means you could be operating with a false sense of security; and since the sophistication and number of threats circulating are only in-creasing, you need a comprehensive solution that you can trust especially if your computer or network holds data and files you don’t want to lose or make available to a cyber-criminal.
Bottom line: you get what you pay for. If the files, data, pictures, and functionality of your computer or network is of high-importance, then investing in a trusted, in-dustrial-strength software program to protect it is a smart and worthwhile invest-ment.
Check out our deal at the bottom of page 3 that will help keep you protected!!
Is Anything in Life REALLY Free? Warning: If You’ve Downloaded Free Software
From The Internet, Your Computer May Be At Risk For Viruses, Hackers, and Spyware!
TTechT News 9 Warning Signs
Your Computer Is Infected With Spyware
Spyware is Internet jargon for hidden programs that advertisers install on your PC with-out your permission to spy on you, gather information, and report this information about you and your online activities to a third party.
Spyware is NOT harmless; it can be responsible for delivering a boatload of spam, alter-ing your web browser, slowing down your PC, and serving up a bounty of pop-up ads. In some of the more extreme cases, spyware can also steal your identity, passwords, e-mail address book, and even use your PC for illegal activities.
Most spyware finds its way onto your computer via file downloads including free pro-grams, music files, and screen savers found everywhere on the Internet. These nasty pro-grams piggyback the download and run undetected on your computer collecting information about you and sending it out to a third party until they are removed. Alt-hough spyware has malicious components, it is not illegal, and it is not considered a virus because it doesn’t replicate itself or destroy data.
If you are experiencing one or more of these warning signs, chances are your com-puter is infected and you will need to seek professional help in getting the spyware removed.
#1. Your browser has been hijacked. If you open your Internet browser and a strange-looking homepage pops up and won’t go away, chances are you have a spyware pro-gram installed on your computer. You may also discover that you cannot modify your browser settings and that your favorites folder has been modified.
#2. You conduct a search but another (unauthorized) browser completes it for you. For example, you type a search term into Microsoft IE but another browser pops up and lists various websites tied to your search term. This is a surefire sign of a spyware infection. You’ll also notice that if you try and remove this program, it comes right back.
#3. Your computer is unstable, sluggish, locks up, or crashes frequently. Spyware pro-grams run in the background taking up disk space and processor speed which will cause serious performance problems.
#4. You constantly get pop-up ads displayed on your screen, even if you aren’t browsing the Internet. Some of the ads may even be personalized with your name.
#5. You receive expensive phone bills for calls to 900 numbers that you didn’t make. Some spyware programs can use your computer to make calls on both a broadband and dial-up line.
#6. The send and receive lights on your modem blink actively as though you are surfing the Internet or downloading files online, even though you aren’t. More than likely this is due to spyware programs sending and receiving information via your computer without your permission or acknowledgement.
#7. Mysterious files suddenly start appearing on your computer, your files are moved or deleted, or the icons on your desktop and toolbars are blank or missing.
#8. Your CD drawer starts opening and closing by itself.
#9. You find e-mails in your “Sent Items” folder that you didn't send.
Because spyware is so prevalent on the Internet, it’s a good idea to scan your system once a week to clear out any potential infections. Most spyware programs are designed to run undetected by the user. That means you could be infected and not even know it.
Check out our deal on the bottom of page 3 that will help you keep you protected from spyware!!
COMPUTER USER ALERT!
If you spend a lot of time online, share music files or pho-tos with other users, or if you download shareware or other Internet “freebies”, chances are your computer is infected with spyware.
Spyware is Internet jargon for hidden, undetected programs advertisers install on your PC to gather and report information about you and your online activi-ties to a remote person. This program is usually installed with-out the user’s knowledge by pig-gybacking on another program or file being downloaded.
While some spyware is harmless, there can be serious consequences of unidentified spyware which include spam, identity theft, corruption and slowing of your PC, and annoy-ing pop-up ads. These programs can also profile your shopping preferences, hijack your browser start page, and alter important system files without your knowledge or permission.
Unfortunately, Spyware is not illegal. However, if you are like me, you might not like the idea of a complete stranger monitoring and storing infor-mation about you and your online activities; especially since there is almost no way for you to control what data is being sent.
Free Spyware Audit Will Detect
If Your Network or Computer Is Infected
During the month of Sep-tember, we are offering all cus-tomers a FREE spyware detec-tion and removal when you hire us for ANY new project or repair. All you have to do is call our of-fices and mention this newsletter article.
For no additional charge, we will do a deep scan of your hard drive and all files to uncover hid-den malicious spyware that is tracking and reporting infor-mation on you. Don’t become a victim to online crime! Call us today for your FREE spyware screening.
Call Lisa at 419-678-4600 ext. 105
Or e-mail her at [email protected]
Common Types of
Electronic Infections
Free Remote Installation
With a 1 Year Purchase
Our Price: $45.00
E-mail [email protected] for more details!
Or give us at call at
419-678-4600 ext. 105
Security Manager AV Defender
Deal of the Month
TTechT Refer a Friend Program…
If you refer a friend for SMaRT Services,
and if they purchase the SMaRT
Services, TTechT will give YOU a $50
Amazon Gift Card!!!
Refer your Friend TODAY!
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (419)-678-4600 ext. 105
When you listen to the news, you hear about many different forms of electronic infection. The most com-mon are:
Viruses: A virus is a small piece of software that piggybacks on real programs. For example, a virus might attach itself to a program such as a spread-sheet program. Each time the spreadsheet program runs, the virus runs, too, and it has the chance to reproduce (by attaching to other programs) or wreak havoc. E-mail viruses: An e-mail virus travels as an at tachment to e-mail messages, and usually repli cates itself by automatically mailing itself to doz ens of people in the victim's e-mail address book. Some e-mail viruses don't even require a double- click -- they launch when you view the infected message in the preview pane of your e-mail soft ware. Trojan horses: A Trojan horse is simply a computer program. The program claims to do one thing (it may claim to be a game) but instead does damage when you run it (it may erase your hard disk). Trojan hors-es have no way to replicate automatically.
Worms: A worm is a small piece of software that uses computer networks and security holes to replicate
itself. A copy of the worm scans the network for another machine that has a specific security hole. It cop-
ies itself to the new machine using the security hole, and then starts replicating from there, as well.
How to Detect a Phishing Email
Around 500 million phishing emails are sent per day and they are effective. Every 60 seconds, 250 computers are hacked. These breaches cost companies $388 billion a year in stolen business secrets and intellectual proper-ty. What is Phishing? Phishers typically create fake emails that appear to come from someone you trust, such as a bank, credit card company, or a pop-ular website. These emails typically try to trick you into giving away sensitive information, such as your username, password, or credit card details. They may also try to get you to inad-vertently install malicious programs on your computer, which can happen when you click on an infected link or open an infected attach-ment. Once infected, the phisher can monitor all of your activity, including all your key strokes. The Anatomy of a phishing e-mail:
Emails are sent from a public email ad-
dress (ex. @gmail.com).
The email contains unsolicited attach-
ments.
They have generic greetings.
The content has spelling and grammar
mistakes.
There are links to unrecognized sites or
slightly misspelled sites.
There are threats or enticements that
create a sense of urgency.
There are toll free numbers in suspicious
emails that do not match known num-bers.
What to Do: First, you should never give out per-sonal or sensitive information based on an email request. If they really need the infor-mation, they will contact you by phone or in person. Second, don’t trust links or attach-ments in the unsolicited emails. If you have hover over the links in the email message, it can show the link’s actual destination. Make sure you verify the link even if it comes from a trusted source. It is recommended to type in the website addresses, rather than the links that were put in the unsolicited email. Finally, be suspicious of phone num-bers in the emails. Use the phone number found on your card or in a statement, or in a trusted directory instead.
September’s Shiny New Gadget
Samsung Galaxy Camera Review By: George Staver
We would like to be Friends!
Follow us!
I am that father who wants
to try to capture every moment of
his son’s active life as possible. My
son just started playing Pee Wee
Football so I decided it was time
to upgrade my still camera and
camcorder. One of the features
that I was looking for was the
ability to get the pictures and vid-
eo to my Windows Home Server
for safe keeping. Enter the Sam-
sung Galaxy Camera.
The model that I purchased is the AT&T version, model EK-
GC100ZWATT. It has a 16 megapixel sensor, Exynos 1.4 GHz Quad
Core Processor, 4 gig built in storage, Wi-Fi connectivity, AT&T Sim
card slot, MicroSD Card slot and comes installed with Android Jelly
Bean 4.1. The back of the camera has a huge 4.77 inch touch screen
that is very responsive. I describe it as a Samsung Galaxy S3 phone
that is a high quality camera. The real kicker here is that this camera
has a 21x optical zoom that results in crisp and clear pictures. It will
also record Full HD 1920 x 1080 – 30 Frames per Second video.
Since the camera has Android for the operating system, most
of the apps in the Google Play Store can be installed. There are apps
preinstalled that allow you to edit the pictures you have taken and
add filters. The Paper Artist app will allow you to transform your pic-
tures into personalized works of art with over 30 different styles as
well as frames.
The app that I use the most though is Dropbox. It is setup so
that once the camera connects to
a Wi-Fi hotspot, it will automati-
cally upload any new pictures and
videos to your Dropbox account.
And if you have the Dropbox app
on your computer, all of your new
pictures and videos will automati-
cally appear there as well. This is
a really nice feature and makes it
easy to get your newly captured
memories to your computer.
After a week with this camera I absolutely love it! There are many more features on this camera that I have not discussed. But I will say that the Samsung Galaxy Camera has replaced both my point and shoot still camera as well as my camcorder. The Samsung Galaxy Camera offers the best combination of optical zoom, image quality and ease of use.
