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VALLEY WEB SOLUTIONS NEWSLETTER WHAT'S NEW, FUN, HELPFUL, AND INTERESTING IN THE WORLD OF COMPUTING
All of us here at VALLEY WEB SOLUTIONS send our best wishes and hopes that you and your families are having a good 2009 so far!
Our many thanks to our loyal customers who have kept us so busy that January just went zipping on by with a "Hi! How are you?", then a "See you next year".
WHAT'S AN "E&R"?
Those of you who have had those of us here at VALLEY WEB SOLUTIONS take a look at your misbehaving computers may have heard us use the term "E&R". "E&R" is a blurb we here at VALLEY WEB SOLUTIONSuse for a process we call "ERASE AND RESTORE".
FINE. HAVE IT YOUR WAY. WHAT'S "ERASE AND RESTORE" MEAN?
When you call or email us here at VALLEY WEB SOLUTIONSto take a look at your misbehaving computers, many of you suspect you may have picked up a virus somewhere, and more often than not, your suspicions are correct. The bad guys are getting better and better at embedding viruses in just about ANYTHING, and I do mean ANYTHING. Almost anything with "active content" in it is vulnerable to having a virus attached to it.
"ACTIVE CONTENT"?
"ACTIVE CONTENT" is a term used to describe anything that has action applied to it. This can be sound, music, motion, color change, video, or anything that essentially doesn't just sit on the screen and stare back at you can be defined as "active content".
WHERE DOES IT COME FROM?
"Active content" can come from just about any source. Have you ever received an email from a friend that had music play when you opened the email, or you open an email and there are dancing teddy bears walzing across the page, or you open an email, and a short cartoon or video clip plays? That's all considered "active content".
This problem can be multiplied exponentially if there is an attachment to the email that has more "active content" in it, or the email has a link you can click on to take you somewhere else.
SO I SHOULDN'T OPEN MY EMAIL?
This is where the discussion is long and the list of opinions goes out the door and down the sidewalk, but it is essentially up to the client's discretion. Many of us have friends who forward us all sorts of cutesy-poo stuff they find out on the Internet. The problem is that most people sending this stuff don't scan it with their security software first to see if there is any unwelcome payload embedded in what they're just passing along, so not only does THEIR computer get infected, now YOUR computer is infected, too.
THAT'S NOT VERY NICE...
No, it's not. But that's the price we pay for being a global community through the Internet. And the situation is getting worse. In the early days, it was primarily kids goofing off, or wanna-be hackers who created and distributed the viruses, and there weren't as many avenues across the Internet for infection as there are today. Now we have people across the globe who are creating viruses and embedding them in places most of us don't even think are possible. And it's not just for fun anymore. It's for profit. The bad guys are looking for ways to steal your identity and ESPECIALLY your money. Most viruses created today are created for the sole purpose of separating honest, decent people from their hard-earned money (and I'm not talking just the I.R.S. here...)
WHY DOESN'T MY ANTI-VIRUS CATCH THIS?
You could have the best anti-virus program ever created running on your computer, but the minute you click to open an email, click to open an attachment, click to follow an Internet link, or any of a dozen other things that require the user (that's you) to do something, then you override your computer's security. As far as the computer is concerned, by you clicking on whatever, you have given the intruder PERMISSION to allow whatever you have clicked on to bypass your computer security and get into your computer. If there's a virus attached to that whatever, then you're infected.
WILL RUNNING BY ANTI-VIRUS PROGRAM FIX THIS?
The best answer to this is a definite "MAYBE". The bad guys (the virus programmers) are about 1-2 months ahead of the good guys (the anti-virus programmers) as far as recognizing and intercepting the virus(es).
However, and this is where we get back to discussing what an "E&R" is, there are viruses that integrate themselves into the main operating systems of your computer, such as the basic Windows start up routines (boot files), the Windows Registry, System Volume Information folder, and other critical function areas. Sometimes the virus cannot be removed from the file, so the only other option is to delete the file, which if you do, will cause your computer to run improperly, if at all.
Sometimes you may be successful in removing the virus infection by running your security scans, but since the virus is hiding in a system or Windows start-up file, your computer will just become re-infected the next time you start up your computer.
SO NOW WHAT?
As much as we wish we could fix all virus infestations, the plain truth is that there are times we can, but most of the time we can't. Regardless, manual virus removal involves a whole lot of hands-on labor for all the digging and extracting of the malicious entries throughout the computer, then testing to make sure we haven't removed something critical. Manual virus removal MAY be accomplished, but from experience, it usually takes at least 10-12 hours of hands-on labor to do so.
For the rest of the time we can't fix the computer without resorting to an "E&R". We may need to get rid of the files that are harboring the virus, and the only way to do that is to delete infected files, which as, I stated above, may be critical to the operation of the computer, and their removal will cause the computer to run improperly, or not run at all.
Essentially what we do when we run an "E&R" on a client's computer is to first run a program called "ntbackup", which makes a complete backup of everything on your computer's hard drive. Then we use a tool in windows that backs up all the data files (documents, music, photos, email, etc.) to a hard drive on one of our shop-use computers.
Once we've backed up all the data, we then proceed to erase your hard drive (the "E" in "E&R"). Once we've erased the hard drive, any viruses or other malware has been erased, too, so we can begin restoring (the "R" in "E&R") your computer for use.
While the restoration process is running, we scan all your data with multiple anti-virus, anti-spyware, and anti-adware programs to clean your data as much as possible, and remove any infected data files. This way, once we've completed the process of erasing your hard drive, reinstalling the Windows operating system, run all the Windows updates, installed all the peripheral drivers, and put on VALLEY WEB SOLUTIONS'special security software package, and returned your data to your computer, we can be confident your computer is a clean as it was from day one.
The whole "E&R" process generally takes 15-20 hours to perform, with all the installations, updates, configurations, etc. that have to be done. But since most of this can be run unattended, we only charge for our actual hands-on time working with your computer. More on this later...
HEY, I USED TO HAVE xxxxx PROGRAM ON MY COMPUTER, AND NOW IT'S GONE. WHERE DID IT GO?
The "E&R" process restores your computer to the state it was the first day you took it out box. Unfortunately there is no process to restore the applications (programs like MS-Office, ITunes, QuickBooks, etc.), unless you have the installation CD- or DVD-ROMs for us to install the programs, because these programs have to integrate themselves into multiple areas of the Windows operating system while they're installing, and it's almost impossible for us to re-create that process without the original installation media.
We do everything in our power to restore your computer to as close as it was when we began the "E&R" process, but it's difficult for us to get it EXACTLY the way it was when you gave it to us to fix.
BENEFITS TO THE CUSTOMER FROM AN "E&R"
As I stated, the "E&R" process restores your computer pretty much to the state it was the first day you took it out box. This GUARANTEES that your computer is clean, safe, and virus- or other malware-free. It also serves the purpose of "de-junking" your computer, which removes all the "junkware", or gunk that has built up in your computer left behind from Internet sessions, installed or uninstalled programs, trial versions of software, etc.
We also physically clean your computer, inside and out, clean and lubricate all fan bearings, and test all peripherals within your computer for proper operation.
Another benefit from the "E&R" process is that you'll probably notice once you have your computer back home, it will seem to run faster than it had before the "E&R" process was run on your computer.
HERE'S THE BEST PART!!!
But the #1 benefit from the "E&R" process that most customers agree upon is the cost savings. VALLEY WEB SOLUTIONS charges a flat rate of 4 hours in-shop labor for an "E&R with Data Save" as we call it, plus a flat $50.00 diagnostic/pickup fee, and a flat $50.00 delivery/reconnect fee. So for $340.00 (at our current fee structure, plus tax), you're getting a computer that is clean as a whistle inside and out, and guaranteed to be working as smoothly and efficiently as possible.
Plus it's better than the alternative of having to pay us for 10-12 hours of labor to try and manually de-thread a virus from your system.
SOUNDS LIKE A DEAL TO ME!!!
We at VALLEY WEB SOLUTIONS do our best to provide our customers with the best value for their money. We know things are tight financially for all of us, and we do our absolute best to keep our charges as reasonable as possible. Add to that the personalized treatment you receive from VALLEY WEB SOLUTIONS you don't receive from the "big box" stores, because we TRULY care about our customers. Our customers are not just numbers on a ticket to us. If our customers aren't happy with us, we can't just say, "Oh well, there will be someone else to take their place", because that's just not the case. We survive on our good name, and our customer's confidence in our quality of service. Without that, we may as well hang up our tools and close up shop.
We value the trust and confidence our customers have placed in us and continually pledge to make sure our customers never regret having done business with VALLEY WEB SOLUTIONS, and for that we say a very humble and grateful "THANK YOU"!!!
ONE FINAL THING:
If you have a suggestion for a topic you'd like to see in one of our newsletters, feel free to let us know. Sometimes I just sit at my desk scratching my head wondering what I should write about, and Duane keeps after me as to when the next newsletter will be ready, so your help and suggestions are VERY welcome!
Valley Web Solutions provides individuals and businesses with computer- related services including virus cleaning, new computer purchasing, data backup services, individual and small business websites and much more!
For a full list of services, please visit this link:
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