While searching for web content we were presented with the above captioned web site asking us to install “Extreme Flash Player”.  As a computer service center we see infected computers on a daily basis, along with computer owners seeking virus removal in Milwaukee who are dismayed that their antivirus product didn’t prevent the infection.  When it comes to trojan-horse programs, the very nature of having a computer means that at some time or another you will need to install software on it– so the computer must allow this to happen. As computer users we need to be aware of what we are installing and cannot expect anti-virus software to know the difference between something we are installing because we know what it is and we need it, and something that the computers user has just been tricked into installing. For this reason every computer comes with something called User Account Control shown here. User account control has been designed by Microsoft as a last line of defense against malicious software and gives you the opportunity to take one last look at what it is that you’re installing on your computer.

Given that the web site we just went to told us to install “Extreme Flash Player” should be the first point that arouses our suspicion. The user account control dialog box then tells us that we are about to give control of our computer to “Guangzhou Shibei Information Technology Co. Ltd”. At this point a computer user must decide whether they trust what they’re being told to install as clicking “Yes” will give full control of the computer over to the software that you’re installing. Unlike viruses, Trojan Horses are programs that the computers user has chosen to install and this is how malicous software gets installed onto peoples computers. Clicking yes on the User Account Control dialog box shown here will give any program full access to your computer be it a malicious program or not. Clicking yes on the User Account Control dialog box shown here will give any program full access to your computer be it a malicious program or not.

There are a number of different products on the market that are designed to remove Trojan Horse software and thus avoid a potentially costly computer repair bill, but the best solution is always going to avoidance. Trojan horses are not specific to the PC and Mac, Tablet and Cell phones are equally susceptible to them. There is no computer that is immune to infection and damage if the computers user is willing to install unchecked code onto the machine. The moral of this story is not to rely on anti-virus software to protect you from malicious software. In many cases having an anti-malware protection system installed will help to remove a trojan horse however if the malicious software is not removed immediately then in most cases you will be faced with what would have been an avoidable computer repair.

If you are located in the Waukesha or Milwaukee metropolitan areas then IT Connect computer service center can make sure you will not lose any of your documents and other personal information that is stored on your computer. If your computer is infected with a trojan horse then you are most likely to need the help of a professional so as to make sure that the infection does not come back and that you don’t lose any of your data.ojan Horse infections there is little that can be done to prevent computer users from installing them.  The trojan horse, by definition is not a virus, and anti-virus software provides a very poor defense against them.  The best approach to Trojan Horses is avoidance; be wary of any software that asks you to install it in order to view content.  While there is a program on most computers called “Flash Player” that is real and useful for viewing certain types of websites, a real update to Java or Flash will either happen automatically, or appear in the ‘tray’ in the lower right corner of the screen.  Anything appearing in the web browsing window itself if more likely to be malicious and should not be installed.

Clicking yes on the User Account Control dialog box shown here will give any program full access to your computer be it a malicious program or not.

The nature of having a computer means that at some time or another you will need to install software on it– so the computer must allow this to happen.  As computer users we need to be aware of what we are installing and cannot expect anti-virus software to know the difference between something we are installing because we know what it is and we need it, and something that the computers user has just been tricked into installing.  For this reason every computer comes with something called User Account Control shown here.  User account control has been designed by Microsoft as a last line of defense against malicious software and gives you the opportunity to take one last look at what it is that you’re installing on your computer.  Given that the web site we went to told us to install Extreme Flash Player should be the first thing that arouses our suspicion.  The user account control dialog box then tells us that we are about to give control of our computer to Guangzhou Shibei Information Technology Co. Ltd. At this point a computer user must decide whether they trust what they’re being told to install as clicking “Yes” will give full control of the computer over to software. Unlike viruses, Trojan Horses are programs that the computers user has chosen to install and this is how malicous software gets installed onto peoples computers.   There are a number of different products on the market that are designed to remove Trojan Horse software and thus avoid a potentially costly computer repair bill, but the best solution is always going to avoidance.  Trojan horses are not specific to the PC and Mac users, cell phone users, and owners of Tablet computers are all equally susceptible to them.  There is no computer that is immune to infection and damage if the computers user is willing to install unchecked code onto the machine.  The moral of this story is not to rely on anti-virus software to protect you from malicious software.  In many cases having an anti-malware protection system installed will help to remove a trojan horse however if the malicious software is not removed immediately then in most cases you will be faced with what would have been an avoidable computer repair.

If you are located in the Waukesha or Milwaukee metropolitan areas then IT Connect computer service center can make sure you will not lose any of your documents and other personal information that is stored on your computer.  If your computer is infected with a trojan horse then you are most likely to need the help of a professional so as to make sure that the infection does not come back and that you don’t lose any of your data.

When making the decision to either repair or replace a broken computer it is important to remember why you have the computer in the first place and what makes it valuable to you. In most cases the computer is used to store and access photos, email messages, contacts, documents and other important data that is an important part of daily life. Treating a computer like a television set that you can simply throw away after unboxing a new one is usually not an option given the importance of the data that is on it. This is why it is important to make sure that you have a computer service provider with a good reputation for not losing any of this valuable data. A computer repair or replacement that is performed incorrectly can result in a permanent loss of everything you have often spent years to create and accumulate and to simply discard it all and start over with a new one is simply not an option. The greater portion of computer repair work often involves backing this data up and preserving it prior to performing any work on the computer as well as setting up the email system, moving contacts and other data and reinstalling important programs such as Word, Excel, Outlook and any other necessary programs. If you run a small business then you may also have additional software systems that need to be moved such as Quickbooks or other accounting software that needs to be backed up and reconfigured on either the existing or new computer. If you are an expert in computer repair work then you can most likely back up and restore all of this data yourself. If not, then you will need a reputable computer service center to take care of it for you. Determining the true cost of computer repair work involves subtracting the cost of backing up and moving the data and other programs and then subtracting that from what you are being quoted to repair your computer; since buying a new one will still require this same work to be done before you can start using it. This is the very reason why corporate IT departments employ departments of highly skilled IT workers to manage the companies’ data instead of simply throwing the equipment away and buying new whenever something breaks down. In short the real value of a computer usually lies in what you have on it as opposed to the nuts and bolts.

Buying a new computer still involves the time and expense of moving all of your data and important programs. For this reason it is usually not advisable to go with a cheap computer from a big box retailer since the most expensive computer ends up being the one that breaks down requiring many hours of data backup and restoration in order to prevent the loss of data. When shopping for a new computer it is at least as important to consider the brand and model as the hard drive and memory sizes and CPU speed. Two computers that have the same hard drive and memory sizes and CPU speeds may be built with vastly different quality of components. While a typical home model computer from a big box retailer might appear on the surface to be the same as a computer that is labeled for business use when it comes to RAM, hard disk size and CPU, a business computer is labeled as such since it is built from better quality components that are less likely to break down resulting in a loss of your valuable data. Since a moderate amount of data and programs can take an entire day (or more) to backup and restore it is usually advisable when purchasing a computer to buy a computer that is labeled for business use since business computers are built with better quality components and make it far less likely that you will end up needing to buy a computer repair in the first place. If your computer does break down during the warranty period then the manufacturer covers only the repair itself and does not usually include the backup and restoration of your data and other programs in their warranty repair services.

In conclusion, the decision as to whether to repair or replace your existing computer is a complicated one. If you are not already an expert in computer repair projects then it is advisable to consult the best computer repair service company you can find in your local area. A qualified computer repair service company can help you determine the true cost difference in repairing or replacing your existing computer and will assist you with selecting a quality replacement computer and move all of your data and other programs should you need to replace your old desktop or laptop computer with a new one.

By Jason Roskopf

1. Industry Certifications:  Although not required by law, industry certifications prove that a computer service technician meets the minimum requirements when it comes to their level of knowledge in certain key areas.  A computer service technician should at the minimum possess certifications from CompTIA for both A+ and Network+ and anyone supporting servers, networks and network infrastructure should have a certification from Microsoft for MCSE (Microsoft Certified Systems Expert).  In short there is only one reason why a computer service or network technician would not possess these certifications—because they can’t pass the test.  While it is possible to succeed in a corporate job with no certifications, an IT services consultant will be faced with a much wider variety of issues on a daily basis and will be ill suited to provide quality IT support without MCSE certification.  Certifications can be easily verified through Microsoft by clicking on this link.
2. Size: If the company that will be servicing your computer and network systems is too small that may not be a good thing.  Many small IT firms consist of a single owner/operator who will inevitably need to take off from work for vacations, sick time, bereavement, or other life issues.  If there is a computer or network emergency that occurs at a time when this person is not available then what will your business do?  Likewise IT firms that are very large often lose touch with their customer base and/or have a large amount of overhead they need to cover that will be reflected in their fees.
3. Length of time in business:  How long the company has been in business is a good indication of how well they interact with their customers.  A computer services company that is not able to maintain good relationships with their customers does not usually manage to stay in business for long.
4. Reputation/Customer Reviews:  Stories from current and past customers are a great indication of what type of customer experience a computer network, service, repair or data-recovery business provides.  Every business is going to have a few dissatisfied customers at some point, and reading these reviews to see how the company has responded to them can be a great indication of how far they are willing to go to make sure their customers are happy.
5. Speed:  When your computer or network is down then that is an immediate problem.  You aren’t going to want to wait two weeks to get your computer back or to have your network brought back online.  If you call during business hours and get voicemail or are told that someone will get back to you then that is a good indication that you may end up waiting for a long time to have your problem solved.
6. Cost:  How much does the company charge for diagnostics?  Beware of any computer service company that doesn’t charge a fee for diagnostics.  Performing proper hard drive diagnostics can  take anywhere from one to three hours and includes testing hardware first to rule out the possibility that software problems are being caused by failing hardware.  Just because a hard drive is running and successfully loads up the operating system doesn’t mean it will pass diagnostic tests.  Look for a company that charges a low flat rate for diagnostics.  Computer repair companies that don’t charge for diagnostics aren’t charge for it because they don’t do it.  They may be able to get a computer running again by performing a software repair but if the original problem was caused by an underlying hardware problem that went undetected then the problem will reoccur in the future for the same reason it occurred the first time; often right after the service providers labor warranty expires.

Who you should trust to with your valuable data is something that many people do not consider until it’s too late.  Once your data is lost or you’ve paid money for a computer repair only to have it happen again then it’s usually too late to go back and fix it.  By following these key principles you can make sure that your computer or network is serviced correctly and efficiently and that your data is safely and securely preserved so you can remain productive when it comes to satisfying your own customers.

By Jason Roskopf