How to Protect Your Computer from Viruses
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- Published on Saturday, 02 June 2012 16:34
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Without your knowledge, a computer infection known as a virus, trojan, worm, spyware or by any other name could be crawling through your computer attempting to corrupt your file system, steal your personal information or even enslave your computer. People are often aware that they may have a computer virus and get it removed by computer repair technicians, but they often don't realize there is a lot more they can do to prevent computer viruses from infecting their computers.
Why is my Computer Running Slowly
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- Published on Friday, 25 May 2012 20:43
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Why is My Computer Running so Slow?
In the computer repair business, one of the most common questions you get asked is "Why is my computer running so slow?" While there are hundreds of possible reasons for this, it's more common that its one of 4 or 5 issues. The most common reasons that computers start running slowly, or take forever to start up, or even freeze or blue screen always seems to boil down to a few minor issues.
Lack of Hard Drive Space
One common misconception for the everyday computer user is that they should be able to fill their hard drive to capacity without any problems. But the exact opposite is true. Sure, you're 2 TB hard drive might have a ton of space, but doesn't it make sense that the more information you have on a drive the longer it takes to find? Think of your computers hard drive like a room full of files. When your computer starts digging through the house, or hard drive, to look for that one word document that you need, the more stuff it has to dig through, the longer it is going to take.
So how can I start to clear some space? The easiest way to do this is by getting rid of things you don't need anymore. Pictures of your drywall damage that you had to snap 500 pictures of can go if it's been repaired right? Clear up some of the random bloatware, crap programs and toolbars you've downloaded over the years, move your movie files to a new drive or delete them completely. Just remember, if you haven't used it in over a year, the likelihood is you won't be using it again... period.
If you're not willing to delete files and need more hard drive space, check out our hardware installation and upgrades services and we'll help you add more storage space to your computer.
Fragmented Hard Drive
To play into the "crowded house" example from the previous paragraph, think of your hard drive as if it were not an organized house. When your hard drive is full, and especially if it's been around for a while, your computer will start writing on any space it can find. Thought you deleted a file by putting it in the recycling bin? Nope, it may not be visible, but there are traces of that file in your system, on your hard drive, fragmenting it up. Think of it like leaving a bunch of files that we're supposed to be in one pile in a bunch of random different piles. It would take a while to dig through and get everything together right? The same applies to your computer's hard drive. When you hard drive is heavily fragmented, it has to skip around all over the drive to find the fragments of the file your attempting to open.
The simple solution to this is to defragment your hard disk. Use your windows search function and type in defragment and it will point you in the right direction. Click a few buttons and you're on your way. If you leave your computer running 24/7, Windows 7 (and possibly Vista) will allow you to set up a schedule to defragment your hard drive during times when you're not on the computer. If you don't want to leave it running all the time, try to defragment your computer every few months.
Tons of Start Up Programs
If you've noticed that your computer is taking too long to start up, you might want to check out what programs are set to run automatically when your computer turns on. The more programs your computer runs at start up, the slower it will be when it boots.
Virus or Spyware Infection
If you've been good, and occasionally perform normal computer maintenace and are still having problems, it's possible that your computer may be infected with some type of virus, spyware or malware. If you're not sure how to remove viruses or malware from your computer, check out our virus and spyware removal services
Article written by Taylor Clark of myRise Design. Taylor is a professional web designer and internet marketing expert who absolutely loves blogging! He spends most of his free time developing new marketing strategies and working with clients to develop their brand or business online. If you're interested in improving your business exposure online, check out his website at www.myRiseDesign.net
What is Malware?
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- Published on Saturday, 19 May 2012 12:00
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Understanding a Malware Virus
Malware is a generic term for just about any type of malicious software that makes it's way onto your computer or network without your knowledge. Malware stands for Malicious Software. Trojans, viruses, worms and trojans can all be considered malware, and will all have different effects on your computer or network depending on the intentions of the malware's creator.
Malware is designed to serve many purposes, but usually only has one goal, to invade your computer and interfere with it's normal operation. These types of software can simply be intended to play a joke and mess up your system or can be intended to destroy your computer or steal your information.
In most circumstances, malware will make it's way into your system by attaching itself to emails, hiding inside websites or could be included with apparently safe software. Once malware is inside your computer system, depending on it's purpose it can begin modifying your system files to disable your antivirus software or attempt to sell you fake antivirus software, logging your keystrokes to steal your passwords or access your accounts.
While malware is extremely annoying and potentially dangerous to your personal information, there are always solutions to remove it from your system. Should you start to notice that your system is slowing down, acting differently, directing your web browser to websites you didn't intend to go to or you may even see new software show up that you didn't install yourself, it's possible that your computer may be infected with malware.
To protect yourself from malware computer infections, it is important to ensure that you have reliable antivirus and computer security software installed, and even more important that the virus and malware definitions are up to date. Should your system become infected with malware, programs like Malwarebyes (http://www.malwarebytes.org/) can help you remove it from your system.
Should you continue to have malware issues with your computer or notice that your computer is acting differently or running slow, be sure to check out our Virus and Malware Removal Services and give Geeks Anywhere a call to get your computer back to normal.
Article written by Taylor Clark of myRise Design. Taylor is a professional web designer and internet marketing expert who absolutely loves blogging! He spends most of his free time developing new marketing strategies and working with clients to develop their brand or business online. If you're interested in improving your business exposure online, check out his website at www.myRiseDesign.net
Help! My computer wont turn on!
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- Published on Friday, 18 May 2012 19:42
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How to Diagnose a Computer or Laptop That Won't Turn On
We are constantly connected to our digital devices, so when we lose/break our cell phone, forget our tablet at home or find out that our computer has a virus, it's almost as if we're missing a limb and can't get it back. One of the most frustrating issues for any business owner or personal computer user, is walking into the office to find that your computer will either not load Windows, or simply won't turn on at all.
There are plenty of simple reasons why your computer or laptop may not be starting up, some of which may be much more simple than others. Whether your computer has a history of overheating, you attempted to upgrade hardware on your own and forgot to connect a wire or your power supply is going bad, there are plenty of quick solutions that won't require a huge time investment.
Before you make a phone call to your favorite Geeks Anywhere computer repair technician, make sure to follow these quick steps to ensure the issue isn't something you can handle yourself:
- Ensure that the power cord is connected to the computer, and that your power supply is connected and the reset switch is in the proper position. This may sound sarcastically simple, but you'd be surprised how many straying feet or small pets seem to knock cords loose that go completely unnoticed.
- Disconnect the power supply from the computer.
- If you're using a laptop, remove the battery for a few seconds.
- Press and hold the power button for 30 seconds
- Reinstall the laptop battery pack and connect the power supply
- Attempt to start the computer or laptop
If this quick solution doesn't solve your problem, send us an email or give us a call to get a quick diagnosis and a great price to get your computer running again!
Article written by Taylor Clark of myRise Design. Taylor is a professional web designer and internet marketing expert who absolutely loves blogging! He spends most of his free time developing new marketing strategies and working with clients to develop their brand or business online. If you're interested in improving your business exposure online, check out his website at www.myRiseDesign.net
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