|
|
DUANE OLSON
|
|
OWNER AND PRESIDENT
|
|
|
|
DAVID PRUEHER
|
|
HARDWARE SPECIALIST
|
|
NEWSLETTER EDITOR
|
|
OCTOBER, 2008
| SCHOOL'S STARTED. HOW'S YOUR COMPUTER? |
With all the late summer/early autumn last-ditch cleaning we're all doing in preparation for 7 months of being housebound, this is also the PERFECT time to take a look at that computer that may have not seen much use over the past couple of months while we were enjoying the best Wisconsin summers have to offer.
| IS IT TIME FOR A TUNE-UP? |
Hands up all of you who have been doing your security and maintenance scans regularly over the summer??? I thought so. Now is the time to be getting back on a regular security and maintenance scan schedule, because while we've been relaxing in the Great Outdoors, enjoying our cookouts (brats=yummy!!!), vacations, puttering around with our lawns and gardens, or just relaxing in the sun, the bad guys have been busy as politicians on the campaign trail coming up with some REALLY nasty bugs just to make life more miserable for our computers.
Have any of you heard of the WindowsXP2009 virus yet? If not, I bet you will soon. That's one of the latest and most virulent bugs to come down the pipe in a long time. We've already had to fix 6 computers since the early part of August that have contracted this particularly nasty infection.
Please, please, PLEASE do not panic. The WindowsXP 2009 virus does not just mysteriously infect your computer when you're not looking. It has been found most often to infect a computer by riding the coattails of something else. It seems to be most prevalent in the computers of people who download a lot of FREE things: music, movies, games, software, etc., all the things that are copyright-protected and usually cost money to buy. I mean, who is going to report having their computer infected by a virus while they were doing something they really shouldn't have been doing? It would be like a bank robber calling the police to report his car had been stolen while he was in robbing the bank.
Now, hands up again all of you who know what the Windows Registry is? The Windows Registry is the central repository of all the code for the programs and everything else that runs your computer once Windows starts up. Essentially, it's the logical "brains" of Windows. Most computers have over 250,000 code entries in the Windows Registry (I read an article once where one user's computer had over 2 MILLION entries in his Registry. Wowwie.) And if even ONE of them gets messed up, deleted, or otherwise changed from it's original configuration, your computer will start acting "goofy": Your computer may slow down; programs may now take "forever"to open up; you may receive some oddly coded error messages; the open program you were working on will suddenly close all on its own; your computer comes to a screeching halt; or the computer may even spontaneously reboot (over and over and over.).
| WE'VE GOT YOU COVERED ON THIS ONE... |
I bring up the long and laboriously boring topic of the Windows Registry, because that's where the WindowsXP2009 virus does its worst damage. So far, the WindowsXP2009 virus has shown it is immune to EVERY anti-virus program out there. The only way anybody has found to rid it from a computer is to de-thread it, line-by-line, from the Windows Registry, which takes about 8 hours, or else to totally wipe the system hard drive, and reinstall the entire computer system, which takes about 15-20 hours to do completely, thoroughly, and properly.
Valley Web Solutions calls this process an "E&R", which stands for "Erase and Reinstall", and we're very good at performing this service, including preserving most, if not all of the client's data, as long as there's been no physical damage to the system. And we only charge for our "hands-on" time put in to working on your computer, which is typically only 4 hours, even though as I stated above, the entire process takes 15-20 hours to do. Great deal for you, huh?
| CHECK OUT OUR NEW "Q&A FORUM"... |
There are plenty of novice computers users out there who may have no idea what I am talking about above, and some who may care even less. All they care about is the fact their computer is NOT working right, and it needs to be fixed NOW!!! But what if "now" is 3:00 a.m., and you're up late working on something REEEEEEEALY important that needs to get done a.s.a.p.? I know it's tempting to call your favorite computer service provider: Valley Web SOLUTIONS, and we'd certainly be happy help you, but at 3:00 a.m., even OUR brains are a bit muddled.
So, here's the next best thing: the Valley Web Solutions website now has a 24/7/365 resource where you can check for possible solutions to your problem. We've named it our "Q&A FORUM", which stands for "QUESTION AND ANSWER FORUM". I can hear some of you saying "so what?" Well, here's what: You click on "Q&A FORUM" on the Valley Web Solutions website, and it takes you to a page where there is a list of discussion topics. All the topics listed contain information, questions and problems submitted by people, and answers or suggested fixes to those questions and problems.
Spend a few minutes surfing around the "Q&A FORUM", and you may find a solution to that problem that is vexing you so. If not, there may be links to other websites similar to the Valley Web Solutions "Q&A FORUM", that can address your problems.
| HEY, LOOK AT THIS: IT'S FREE!!! |
The best part about this "Q&A FORUM" is that it's FREE to use. You don't have to pay a cent to ask a question (or place a "posting" as it's called in web-speak), leave an answer, or discuss an issue. There's also a topic titled "Techie Corner", where useful computing tips, fixes, and hints are posted on a regular basis.
So why not take a look at the "Q&A FORUM" on the Valley Web Solutions website. While you're there, feel free to ask questions, leave comments, post your own solutions for problems you've found and fixed, or hints and tricks you've discovered to make your computer run better.
Good Computing Everybody!
GO PACK GO!  ® TM
As we say in Wisconsin, there are 4 seasons: Almost Winter, Winter, Still Winter, and Road Construction. It's hard to believe summer is already over. It seems like just yesterday the returning robins were knocking on our windows looking for food. But now the leaves are starting to turn color and fall, and in about 3-4 weeks we'll be shoveling instead of raking! But the Packers and Badgers are playing football again, so all is good, except for all those darn political commercials.
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:
|
