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Simple Preventative Maintenance and what NOT to install on your computer

Windsor Senior Computer Users' Group. Simple Preventative Maintenance and what NOT to install on your computer. Ross Guistino July 8, 2013. Today’s Agenda. What software to keep up-do-date Anti-Virus and other scams Helpful PC software utilities and how to install them Search tips

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Simple Preventative Maintenance and what NOT to install on your computer

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  1. Windsor Senior Computer Users' Group Simple Preventative Maintenance and what NOT to install on your computer Ross Guistino July 8, 2013

  2. Today’s Agenda • What software to keep up-do-date • Anti-Virus and other scams • Helpful PC software utilities and how to install them • Search tips • How to uninstall software • What does it mean to Recover your PC?

  3. Safe things to Keep Up-To-Date • Windows XP, 7 and 8 Security Patches • Java • Adobe Flash, Reader & Acrobat • Your anti-virus software, including MS Security Essentials, McAfee, Norton, Symantec, AVG, Avira, ESET, etc • CCleaner & MalwareBytes

  4. Java by Oracle Java is a utility used and needed by some internet websites. You should keep it up-do-date whenever you are prompted. Here are examples of some of the icons to look for when an update is available. You may all of a sudden see a flashing yellow and blue Microsoft shield on your task bar. Click it and if it says Java, then proceed. You may also see a flashing orange Java icon in the lower right corner of the screen. Click it and proceed. Don’t be concerned with the different formats of Java (JDK, JRE or SE), simply update whatever Java tells you to. The different formats are more for developers of software and not regular consumers.

  5. Java Do’s and Don’ts When updating or installing Java, DON’T check the “Ask” toolbar dialog box, as shown here: DO uninstall old versions of Java via Add/Remove programs Control Panel

  6. Adobe Flash What is Adobe® Flash® Player? In Adobe’s words it is a cross-platform browser-based application that delivers uncompromised viewing of expressive applications, content, and videos across screens and browsers. If you get a pop-up that Adobe Flash needs updating, go ahead and proceed. Be sure to uncheck the box that asks to install Chrome. It is not needed.

  7. Adobe Reader or Acrobat What is Adobe® Reader? In Adobe’s words Reader is the global standard for electronic document sharing. It is the only PDF file viewer that can open and interact with all PDF documents. Use Adobe Reader to view, search and print PDF files. The advanced form of Reader is called Adobe Acrobat. This is an expensive program that allows you to create and edit .PDF documents. Reader, however, is free but only allows you to view documents. Be sure to uncheck the box that asks to install Chrome. It is not needed.

  8. Know your Anti-Virus Software’s Name Ask yourself one simple question….What is the name of my anti-virus software? Is it McAfee? Norton? Microsoft Security Essentials? If any of these popped up on your screen, should you click on it? The answer is a big fat NO!

  9. Know your Anti-Virus Software’s Name Look at each of the examples. The first one says Microsoft Antivirus—wrong name! The second is Security Essentials 2011—again not right. And the third is Antivirus XP 2008—is this anything close to the correct name of your anti-virus software?

  10. PC Tune-up Utilities There are many so-called PC tune-up utilities on the market today, some are legitimate and some are not. Do they work? Some may and some may not. I don’t have all the answers, but what I do know is I would never pay for any kind of utility. Ask yourself this question…if a software promises to make your computer go faster, clean up viruses, and generally makes promises too good to be true, then skip it. Especially if said promises come at a cost, generally in the $50 - $100 range. Some fake or poorly written utilities include: Presto Tuneup, TuneUp Utilities 2012, PC Tuneup Maestro, PCTuneUp.org, Comodo PC TuneUp. There are plenty of legitimate tune-up utilities on the market, none of which I would pay for. They will try hard to convince you that their product is the “cats meow” but proceed at your own risk. I’m not going to list nor recommend any utility other than my stand by go-to one: CCleaner. Type this address into your browser to download the latest copy of CCleaner: http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner On the following pages, I will illustrate the default checkboxes and how to run both the cleaner and the registry cleaner. You can also uninstall programs with this utility if you wish.

  11. CCleaner (formerly called CrapCleaner) Go to the CCleaner website and click the Download button, then click Piriform.com as shown below. Click the Download button and either save it to your hard drive or click the run button to install it immediately.

  12. CCleaner Alternatively, you can do a Google search on CCleaner and one of the websites to download from is CNET. Although this is a legitimate site, it is loaded with advertisements. Don’t be fooled into clicking the wrong button. READ before you CLICK.

  13. Install CCleaner In Three Easy Steps 1 2 3

  14. Configuring CCleaner After the installation is finished, click on Options > Advanced and uncheck the box as shown below

  15. CCleaner: Using the Program Click the Cleaner icon, then press the Run Cleaner button. Results show how much crap was removed.

  16. CCleaner: Using the Registry Cleaner Click the Registry icon, then press the Scan for Issues button. When the scan is finished, click Fix selected issues… button.

  17. MalwareBytes To download, go to http://www.malwarebytes.org/, hover the “For Home” tab, click on Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free, then click the FREE Download Now button

  18. MalwareBytes Now unfortunately, MalwareBytes makes you go through one more step on Cnet’s website. Click the Green Download Now, save it, then double-click the file. WARNING! After the download is complete, close the browser. Cnet fills the page with alluring ads to download a multitude of not-so-free programs. Ignore them all by closing the browser.

  19. MalwareBytes As you begin to install MalwareBytes, just click thru all of the default dialog boxes.

  20. MalwareBytes You will finally reach the final configuration dialog boxes:

  21. MalwareBytes Finally, you’ll reach the general interface of the program.

  22. MalwareBytes If you have a clean computer, you’ll receive a dialog box and a summary. Close all windows and exit the program.

  23. MalwareBytes If there is malware, you’ll receive a dialog box showing all of the infections. Click the Remove Selected button. For good measure, run MalwareBytes again. There are many websites that describe how to run MalwareBytes; you can do a Google search on “MalwareBytes How-to” for more information.

  24. Email Scams – Fake Bank Alert

  25. Email Scams – FedEx (or UPS, USPS)

  26. Email Scams – Hotmail / Outlook

  27. Email Scams – AOL

  28. Phone Scam: Microsoft Tech Support Some of you have received a call from “Microsoft Technical Support” but as you’ve found out, and heard from this class, these calls are fake. Most likely originating in India, not in Redmond, Washington—the headquarters of Bill Gates and Microsoft. Remember these four points: • Microsoft does not make unsolicited phone calls to help you fix your PC • You have not won the “Microsoft Lottery” • They do not request credit card info to validate your copy of Windows • Microsoft does not send unsolicited communication about security updates • For more information, go here and read more on this phone scam: • http://www.microsoft.com/security/online-privacy/msname.aspx

  29. Search Virus: Conduit What it is: search.conduit.com redirect is a homepage hijacker which is installed by free software like browser toolbars and more. When you agree during the installation process to install search.conduit.com as your default homepage it will replace the homepage on all your installed browsers--Chrome, Firefox or Internet Explorer. Never click too fast thru the installation process of freeware, as you may be installing all kinds of adware you don’t want. Search Conduit is one of these, they will monitor your search queries and display all kinds of annoying advertisements. Once installed, it can be difficult to remove, and at the very least, has numerous steps to bring your computer back to normal. If you want to attempt to fix your computer, start at this website: http://malwaretips.com/blogs/remove-conduit-search-virus/#uninstall

  30. The Dreaded Fake Anti-Virus Virus

  31. And the Worst of them All:The Fake FBI Ransom Virus

  32. The Fake FBI Ransom Virus • First of all, don’t panic! You do not have the FBI spying you! • This particular virus is called ransomware because they try to extort money from you to fix the problem. Don’t fall for it! • This can be a difficult virus to eliminate however, if you have access to a clean computer, you can do a Google search and find the multiple steps to rid your computer of the intrusion • Essentially cleaning your computer involves starting in Safe Mode—IF YOU CAN, that is. The last time I battled this, I couldn’t even start in Safe Mode. This can be a very destructive bug. • The take away on this slide is that you can get this virus at any time and to be sure you have a good backup of your data just in case your computer needs to be restored from scratch. • Have restore disks available or the disks that came with your computer when you bought it.

  33. Search Tip: Ignore the yellow box!

  34. Search Tip: It! • My go-to search engine is www.google.com. I find it gives me the best results. Although some people love Yahoo or Bing. • I recently received an email about a seemingly impossible feat of engineering called the Escherian Stairwell. I watched the video then did a little Google searching. Let’s watch it now: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBY4HaAngaA • Looked real, yes? But a Google search came up with several very good resources that tell the truth. We’ve all heard of Snopes, but did you know there are better resources than that? Namely: • http://urbanlegends.about.com/ • http://www.truthorfiction.com/ • http://www.hoax-slayer.com/ • The point I’m making is a) Use the internet to help you make better decisions and b) If something seems too good to be true, it probably is. Google is your friend. Use it!

  35. Search Provider Default Alerts Sometimes your anti-virus software may warn you when something is attempting to change your default search provider. In this example, it is a legitimate alert box, but you don’t have to accept the change. Personally, I feel Yahoo is the worst website, search provider and email client in the world today and avoid it at all costs. This is my opinion only and not necessarily that of my colleagues and clients. I’m not a fan of Bing either but in this case, I received this screenshot from a friend who had Bing as her default search provider. I suggested she click the button to stay with Bing and to click the box that will prevent programs from suggesting changes.

  36. Uninstalling Software • Despite how careful you may be, sometimes software gets installed that you don’t want or need. Let’s review how to uninstall software. • Click the Start button > Control Panel > • Windows 7: Programs and Features • Windows 8: Uninstall a Program from the Programs category • Windows XP: Add or Remove Programs • Windows Vista: Programs > Programs and Features • Click the program you wish to install then click the Uninstall, Change, Change/Remove button (depending on your Operating System)

  37. Know how to Recover Your PC! • Every computer manufacturer has a proprietary method of restoring your computer back to factory default, that is, restore your computer back to the first time you ever started it • In the old days, computers came with Windows installation recovery disks, but now most computers have a built-in method to restore Windows • If you don’t know how to recover your computer after a catastrophic event, FIND OUT HOW—NOW! • Keep in mind, when/if you have to recover your computer, it will erase everything—documents, pictures, music AND programs—from your computer. So be sure to have a good backup of all of your data!

  38. Know how to Recover Your PC! • The program your computer manufacturer uses to restore your computer back to factory default will probably have the word Recovery or Restore in the program’s name, such as: • Acer – Acer eRecovery • ASUS – ASUS Recovery Partition • Dell – Dell Factory Image Restore • Gateway – Gateway Recovery Management • HP – HP PC System Recovery • Sony – Sony Vaio Recovery Wizard • If you can, I would recommend making Recovery disks if you have that option, otherwise, research how to recover your computer before something happens. Go to your computer manufacturer’s website for more information

  39. >>The End <<To create this presentation, I used:-Microsoft PowerPoint 2007-Snag-It http://www.techsmith.com/snagit.html -Google-Internet Explorer 10-While listening to Pandora on-line Radio For a copy of this presentation, go here: http://guistino.com/Training/Simple Preventative Maintenance.pptx Open it with either PowerPoint or PowerPoint Viewer

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