Category: Computer Tips

General tips on using your computer

Ninite

     I’ve mentioned Ninite in “Removing Malware” but wanted to dedicate a post to this nifty site. Ninite has a categorized list of some of the most useful applications and bulks the installation files together to streamline the installation process. Ninite fully automates the installations so you don’t have to click “next”, says no to installing toolbars, chooses the correct version for your PC (32 or 64), installs the app in your PC’s language, and updates the app if it is already installed. The site comes in handy if you have to wipe your operating system and need to re-install the applications; this can save HOURS. I’ve discovered many new apps that i had never heard of because of this site and best of all most of them are free.

On a personal machine this is what i would choose to download on a fresh Windows install:



Blue Screen of Death

 

  
    


















    One of the most dreaded error messages for a Windows user is the blue screen, or the Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) as it is popularly known, which suddenly pops up informing you that something is seriously wrong with Windows. What this screen essentially means is that Windows has crashed and needs to reboot to recover. The most powerful troubleshooting tool out there is Google. Type in the error code you are receiving and try to narrow down the results. Another user has almost certainly come across the same issue you are facing.

 
Problems causing BSOD:
 
The BSODs are generally associated with five problems faced by Windows:
 
-Software or device drivers may have a problem
 
-A hardware device is malfunctioning , or was removed while Windows was running, or does not fully support Windows. On older machines, outdated BIOS information can also cause errors.
 
-Hardware or hard disk errors during installation of Windows.
 
-Corrupted startup files, hardware, and driver software during Windows startup can also be the cause. This type of error will always require troubleshooting before Windows can start up normally.
 
-Intermittent errors that appear randomly. These can be caused by an overheating processor, a defective memory system, a dying or dead hard disk , or faulty software and device drivers.


WOT: Web Of Trust

    I recently came across a browser add-on called WOT. This application is great for increasing security in your daily web browsing. The application alerts you when you come across an insecure or untrustworthy site. Most notably, it blocks your browser from loading un-wanted pages and pop-ups in return, preventing malware from accessing your machine. 
   
    
    WOT works for Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Opera, and Internet Explorer and is available for download here: https://www.mywot.com/en/download  You don’t have to register in order to use the add-on however, select a setting after installation (basic is recommended). 


Jing

    As a provider of tech support i find screen shots incredibly helpful when troubleshooting a user’s problem. If everyone knew how to do this it would make my life, as well as the clients, a lot easier. Capturing a screen shot can be as easy as using Windows 7’s snip-it tool or simply pressing the Prnt Scrn (print screen) button and pasting it into paint. From there you can upload the screen shot in order to share it with others or save it to your machine. This is all fine and dandy but i find a little program called Jing a step above. Jing can capture a precise screen shot or video, let you edit it in a user friendly fashion, host it online, and then gives you the option to copy it to the clipboard as a url or download it. 


Jing is free so give it a try: http://www.techsmith.com/download/jing/


My take on SSD’s



I’ve been getting asked a lot of questions about SSD’s lately so i figured i would post about my experiences with them: About 4 months ago i put a 60GB OCZ Agility ($110) SSD in my desktop and have absolutely loved it. I put my operating system (Win 7 Pro x64) and programs on this drive and still have 20GB left over. The biggest performance increases are faster boot times (around 20 seconds), programs startup as if they are minimized, and installations are very quick.

After the hard drive failed in my Dell notebook i decided to upgrade to a Corsair SSD based on my experience with the one in my desktop. I use my notebook mainly to take notes in class, browse the web, and check emails so i opted for a small 30GB SSD (Also, because i couldn’t afford a larger capacity). I store all of my data online (mainly dropbox and google docs) so this justified my reasoning behind this decision as well. In the future i plan to replace my optical drive (CD/DVD) with a high capacity hard drive, for a total of two hard drives.

Now, for my recommendation: If you have a machine that you would like to upgrade and have the money, go SSD. The cost of SSD’s is slowly coming down so if you can’t afford it, wait. If you can decrease your dependency on local storage (your hard drive) then you can sacrifice capacity for a cheaper priced SSD. A great program to figure out how much space you are using on your current machine is Treesize free. This will display how much space you are using and where the utilized space is located.


Removing Malware (PC)

    The number one computer repair i perform is malware (malicious software) removal. It comes in many forms: virus, trojan, worm, spyware, scareware, rootkits… the list goes on. My last post on this topic was a little outdated and unclear so i figured i would start from scratch on the steps i take to perform this chore. These methods are by no means full proof and the only guaranteed method is replacing your machine with a new one.

-Machine is still operating but appears to be infected:


 1: Less severe infections like adware and scareware (ads or a program that try to convince you to purchase their product) can be removed by doing a system restore and performing scans. This is not always the case because the system restore files can also be infected, cross your fingers. On Vista and Windows 7: Click the start button and type “System Restore” in the search box and click enter. Choose an earlier date before the infection occurred and let the program do its work. On XP: Click on the start button->Help and Support->Type “System Restore” in the search box. 


2: Next we will perform scans to make sure the malware is gone. Using another computer, download (free) scanning tools to a USB drive or CD. Download the program (do not install), go to your downloads folder, and click and drag the program (.exe file) to your removable device (USB stick, CD, etc.) I recommend SuperAntiSpyware, SpyBot, and Malwarebytes. 

*Optional: Run CCleaner beforehand to speed up scans 


3: Before we run the scans we must boot into Safe Mode. To do this: restart the machine, tap f8 when it is starting back up (this works on most computers, if not Google your model along with “how to safe mode”), and select “Safe Mode”. The resolution will look odd but stick with me. Plug in the USB stick/ put the CD in the tray and run the installation of the scanning programs. The rest is pretty self explanatory; run the scanners, wait until they are finished, and remove any malicious items that are found.


-Machine freezes or does not boot into Windows


1: Using another computer, download (free) scanning tools to a USB drive or CD. Download the program (do not install), go to your downloads folder, and click and drag the program (.exe file) to your removable device (USB stick, CD, etc.) I recommend SuperAntiSpyware, SpyBot, Malwarebytes, AVG, and Avast.




2: Before we run the scans we must boot into Safe Mode. To do this: restart the machine, tap f8 when it is starting back up (this works on most computers, if not Google your model along with “how to safe mode”), and select “Safe Mode”. The resolution will look odd but stick with me. Plug in the USB stick or put the CD in the tray and run the installation of the scanning programs. The rest is pretty self explanatory; run the scanners, wait until they are finished, and remove any malicious items that are found.


-Machine will not boot into safe mode/ Infection cannot be removed with previously shown methods.


1: Using another computer, download the Avira Rescue Live CD ISO here: http://www.avira.com/en/support-download-avira-antivir-rescue-system.

  Once the download is finished, take out a blank CD/DVD and put the disc in the tray. In Windows 7: double click the ISO file to burn to disc. For XP and Vista I recommend using ImgBurn. Once the file is burned to the disc: restart your machine and tap F12 (this works on most machines, if not Google your model along with “how to boot to CD/DVD”), select boot from CD/DVD. Once Avira starts up, click on the British flag in the bottom left hand corner to change language. Next we want to make sure configuration is set to remove infected files and check the box that says to change the name of the file if it cannot be removed. Once that is done we can run the scan. The scan will take a long time so let the machine sit and do its job. Once the scan is done feel free to skim through the log and take note of files that were removed or renamed. Reboot the machine and hopefully windows boots up. If not, follow the directions below.


–This process can also be done by making a bootable USB device with Avira

*I have left out a very powerful program called ComboFix. In my opinion it is for more advanced users because of the destructive problems it can cause. Here is a guide if you are interested.

-The above directions didn’t work
    
   Malware can do very destructive things to a machine and mess with a ton of settings that are exhaustive to troubleshoot. Instead of wasting a ton of time on this I recommend starting from scratch by reformatting your hard drive and re-installing the operating system (Windows). Hopefully you have all your files backed up, if not try using a Live CD like Ubuntu to recover them. This is a great time to upgrade the operating system if you want to. If not, find the installation disc that came with your machine or purchase one. Restart the machine and tap f12 to boot from the CD/DVD drive and follow the step-by-step installation process.


Feel free to comment below if any of the steps above are not clear.


*Side note: for an always running anti-virus program i recommend Microsoft Security Essentials (FREE). Make sure to uninstall your previous anti-virus program before installing because they can conflict with each other and cause problems.