http://www.schiffkey.com/schiffkeynews.htm
July 28, 2006 - Newsletter by Jerrold Schiff
1) My Computer is Dead - subtitle - Hard Drives Failing
2) Scary Fact: Mcafee reported July 6th passing a milestone:
200,000th virus. It took 18 years to reach 100,000 - Sept 2004.
3) Phishing - Making a web site or email look like the real thing.
Take the test: www.siteadvisor.com/spywarequiz
4) BSOD - The Blue Screen of Death
BSOD - The Black Screen of Death --- how do they differ?
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1) My Computer is Dead - subtitle - Hard Drives Failing
There has been a rash
- almost an epidemic of hard drives crashing lately.
What is a "hard drive" ?
That's where your computer stores all your pictures,
documents and files.
Its where your operating system and programs are located.
Its the "storage area" for everything that's on your computer.
Think of it this way: When you press the ON button,
the power supply unit turns on (yes, these die too!),
then the motherboard turns on (gee, what happens when these go?)
then the RAM - Random Access Memory kicks in
(RAM acts flaky before it dies)
and finally, your hard drive is read to bring in WINDOWS
- the operating system.
All this happens in minutes - while the Microsoft logo appears
across the black part of your screen.
What can you do to protect yourself against a hard drive crash?
The first and most important thing to do is BACK UP YOUR DATA.
Back it up to CD's (if you have a CD Burner).
Can you still get data from a dead hard drive? Yes, sometimes
- if it still spins.
Is there a better approach?
The easiest approach is to buy a second computer
- but that is very expensive.
The second "easiest" approach - is to put in a second hard drive.
Use it to back up your documents (etc).
And if the first one fails, you can flip over from the first
and start using the second drive as the primary drive!
Do you have an older (unused) computer?
You will need 20 gigabytes or more.
New hard drives run about $80 for 80 gigabytes.
I've got a sale going on installing fully operative 2nd drives.
You'd expect to pay $80 for the 2nd drive,
$180 for installing an operating system
and $80 for transferring data - plus training to keep
everything current.
My price? $160 ! However, because of the number of calls
I expect to get, it may take more than the one day turnaround
that you are used to getting!
What would it cost to go without daily emails?
- Or lose all your pictures, documents and emails forever?
- Or to be without a computer for a week or two?
2) this item needs no details
3) Phishing - Making a web site or email look like the real thing.
To protect yourself from phishing attacks
1) keep your operating system up to date
Open Internet Explorer, click on TOOLS and WINDOWS UPDATE
- Do NOT click on the "windows update" icon in the bottom
right desktop. Programs like Spyquake, Winantiviruspro,
Pest Trap - highjack the icon!
2) Do not click on a link (any link) in an email message.
Instead, open up your browser (ie Internet Explorer)
and type in the web site (ie www.suntrust.com)
3) To test a link, enter in a phoney password !
If the web site does not challenge the password,
something is wrong!
4) Make sure there is a "lock" icon at the bottom of
your browser.
This tells you the site is secure.
(exceptions abound - but its a start)
5) Do not accept emails from strangers.
6) Take the test: Is it a real site or a fake site?
www.siteadvisor.com/spywarequiz
http://www.siteadvisor.com/quizzes/spyware_0306.html
4) BSOD - The Blue Screen of Death
BSOD - The Black Screen of Death --- how do they differ?
The BLUE Screen usually happens when you add new hardware
- like a printer. It represents a conflict of the
software settings.
Write down the error message (ie PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA)
- give me a call - set up an appointment
and I will be there ASAP.
The BLACK Screen usually means the hardware in your computer
has failed. Could be the RAM, a Power Supply Unit,
the Motherboard or the Hard Drive.
Except for the motherboard, these errors are fixable
- but at a cost.
After the diagnostics, we can go over the options
to see if its time to buy a new computer or if its
economical and possible to fix your computer!
