Compressed air

A few years back I bought a 4- or 6-pack of compressed air when it was on sale, knowing that this was a good tool for a PC Doctor to carry in his bag. I hardly ever used it to clean out a laptop, but it is a very valuable tool, as I found out his week.

I was getting a can out of my storage cabinet to use on a customer's laptop. It had some sticky keys and short of removing key tops or a keyboard, I thought his might be a good first step.

Was I surprised when I tested the can out on my own laptop. My laptop had gotten sluggish lately, but like the shoemaker's kids, this laptop got little attention from me. So I tried the can out, mosly just to see that it worked okay, on my Acer laptop. This machine is maybe 4 years old. As I shot the compressed air into all of the vents, I was very surprised to see dust fly out. Hmmm. Maybe this is what is ailing my laptop, I thought. So I continued and finished up the job, and to my amazement the sluggishness is completely gone form my laptop!

All in all this was a 10 minute exercise. It required no dismantling of the laptop, and was a near-instant fix to what had been ailing it. I bought my compressed air at Costco, but I know that Staples and Best Buy carry it, as do most all computer stores. It might just help you out with your machine and is a small investment. It sells for about $5 per can, although most stores seem to prefer to sell packs of 4 or 6. Suggest this fix to a few fellow laptop owners and share the cost.

Compressed air or even a small brush will also do the trick on desktops. Open up the case and look for the dust and get rid of it. Mostly you will find dust around the fan(s).

The Stanley Cup!

Monthly Updates Time

I had 20 updates from Microsoft this update Tuesday on my Windows 7 laptop and have successfully installed them all. One of these was Microsoft's Malicious Software Removal Tool (MSRT). I have not run it yet, but will after I get through the following:

It so happens that the MVPS HOSTS file for June became available today, so the first thing I am doing now is a run of Spybot Version 1.6.2. It is running now and then I will download and install the new HOSTS file.

After all of that I will run MSRT! Whew, a busy evening while I watch the Red Sox in Tampa and the Bruins in Vancouver!

I recommend you all do the same! :-)

The beat goes on

What can I say? Every day now we are presented headlines that show our computer sytems to be unprotected, especially these days when there are so many techies out there with evil intentions. These two are just a sample of what I see in the mainstream media this morning:

Thieves Found Citigroup Site an Easy Entry

Hackers breach US Senate website

I was not looking for these. They were just there. If I was looking for articles like this I might have found several more. The bottom line is we must protect ourselves and our data from such breaches. If you didn't read my post of Sunday, June 12, please do, and take some action to protect your computer(s). The only necessary investment is some of your time.

HAPPY FLAG DAY!

 

Spybot Version 2 - Beta

Refer to item number 7 in yesterday's post. I am not at all pleased with Spybot version 2 Beta. But then Beta testing is always risky. They throw it out there, probably because they had a deadline, and ask users for feedback.

I ran 2 different options (full scan and rootkit) and neither was satisfactory. The full scan actually had problems, the rootkit showed me some results without comments and I had no clue as to whether it was information only or if I had a problem. I assumed the former, mostly because there was no option indicating "remove" or "fix" or anything.

Stick with Version 1.6.2 for now, found under "old versions" on filehippo.com.

Security Baseline revisited

There are no changes to my baseline, but I have added a few comments or links that may help.

From time to time I refer to my security baseline. My security baseline is merely a list of programs I use (all free) and recommend for anyone to use to keep their systems secure. This applies to YOU if you use Windows XP, Vista, or Windows 7.

Remember, all of these products are FREE, but will do as good a job as any fee products you may use. I make that statement and stand by it based on 43 years of experience with computers.
 
1. Microsoft Security Essentials - V2 now available. If you have V1, upgrade now  (FREE!) This is a very impressive anti-virus program and can replace any you have now. DOWNLOAD HERE
2. Windows Firewall (Standard part of your operating system. Check the Security Center to be sure it is on.)
3. MVPS HOSTS File - download the current month's version and update monthly DOWNLOAD HERE
4. CCleaner - check for newer version than you may already have. Run weekly. DOWNLOAD HERE by clicking on Download Latest Version in the upper right hand corner of the page.
5. Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware - run bi-weekly. DOWNLOAD HERE
6. SuperAntiSpyware Free Edition - run bi-weekly in the off week after #5. DOWNLOAD HERE
7. Spybot Search & Destroy - run monthly just before downloading new HOSTS file. I am testing the new Beta version 2, and I recommend, for now, downloading Version 1.6.2 under "old versions". DOWNLOAD HERE

I will be happy to assist you with any or all of the above installations. This can be done remotely.

Questions?  Comment below or write me, pcdoc at brpcdoc dot com