Question - Do I really need antivirus software?

For 99.9% of computer users the answer to that is ABSOLUTELY! Who are these extremely rare .1% who don't and what makes them special?

They do things a little different than the rest of us that reduce their risk. They don't open email attachments from anyone. If their mom sent them an attachment they wouldn't open it for fear of the junk she may have on her computer.

They also don't visit sites that may have banner ads that also have viruses. Did you know it was possible to get a virus without actually running a file? It is, and the websites you visit play a huge role in this.

The problem is most of us don't pay attention to these things as much as we should or we accidentally click something or visit a site we googled because it may have the information we need but it's packed with advertising that may be a risk.

That's where antivirus software can protect us from the obvious stuff. It can tell us when something fishy is going on and hopefully save us from our own bad habits.

Brandon Deschene
InvisiMax Customer Service

 

Didn't your Mom teach you to Dust?, October 10th 2008

I know my Mom was all about dusting; it didn't matter if it was tables, chairs, or knick knacks. I never really saw the big deal, it didn't seem important in the scheme of things as long as it wasn't an inch thick. I have since found a very important reason to dust, my computer. This comes down to more than some of us enjoy a shiny new computer more than others. Dust is a major factor in the health of your computer.

Your computer is like a mini-vacuum with those fans pulling air in one way and pushing it out the other, unfortunately dust tends to stick and not make an exit. The dust in your computer acts like an insulator, trapping heat and causing it to sit in the worst possible spot in your computer, the processor. This is a bad situation because the heat will cause system instablility and lock ups. How many people have ever had their computer lock up? If you have had your computer stuffed under your desk for a while then there's a good chance it was caused by heat. This is the most common complaint we hear when people bring their computer in for repair is that it is locking up. After a few questions about where they keep their computer and quick glance inside at the dust bunnies it's not hard to determine what's going on. There are usually some other factors to consider if your are having computer problems, but when a computer is dusty overheating is usually the root of the problem.

Dust and heat isn't just a problem for lock ups either. It effects the whole system because the processor is the hottest component in most systems any extra heat causes stress on other components as well, especially the hard drives. While a lock up is an inconveinence most times, the loss of a hard drive can bemuch more serious.

How do we tackle this problem? The quick and easy solution is a can of compressed air. They sell it in most places that sell consumer electronics now and it's cheap. A quick blast from that will remove most of the dust from your system unless it hasn't been done in a very long time. Make sure the computer is shut down and unplugged before you do this or you may run the risk of doing damage to your computer.

InvisiMax also provides this service anytime we perform any of our Renew Computer Repair services. We take the time to look at your whole system before we make a repair and try to send it back to you looking like new. For more information on our Renew Computer Repair services please visit us on the web here.

Mark Wimpfheimer
InvisiMax Customer Service