Newsletter

During a recent password audit, it was found that a technically unsavvy PC

user was using the following password:

           MickeyMinniePlutoHueyLouieDeweyDonaldGoofyOttawa

When asked why such a long password, they said they were told that it

had to be at least 8 characters  long and include at least one capitol.

LOL (Laugh Out Loud)

See below for editorial

Malware & Viruses

Lets talk about the serious risks out there on the internet.

Cyberspace is  proliferated with viruses & malware.Their sole

purpose is to ruin your system or cheat you of your hard earned

money.

    These problems are at an epidemic proportion these days.

You can minimize your risks by avoiding peer to peer sites like

Limewire Bear Share etc where you PC connects directly to another

system over the internet. When you do this you are overriding your

built in security protocols, firewalls & antivirus systems. If you get

warnings about infections on your PC & you can't verify that these

messages are from your own Antivirus programs then they are

likely fake alerts or malware. These programs take over user

control of your computer sending constant virus alerts or

preventing you from using your system. They usually request you to

log on to their site to scan your system. They then request your

credit card info to clean your system. Please understand your PC is

not usually infected at this time they have just taken over user

rights preventing you from using your own computer.

***THEY USUALLY ONLY WANT YOUR CREDIT CARD INFO*** .

    Do not provide any info to them. They masquerade as Microsoft

warnings & even operate like Microsoft error codes (Blue screen

of death & fake reboots Etc). If you are infected your system can

often be repaired by experienced PC repairers like Computers And

Things with little or no data loss. It is extremely difficult for the

average user to repair.

    You should have an antivirus program at the  very least & ensure

that it is activated & up to date. You can get AVG free on my

website computersandthings.ca. There are some excellent Pay

versions available as well. I use & recommend Kaspersky Anti Virus.

Call Pete at Computers And Things if you have any concerns.

    905-885-9290

Lets be careful out there in Cyberland

Peter Burton

Swell Guy LOL

I have included 5 examples of fake virus/malware screens below.

If you see these or any like them do not click on them.