CompuClever Blog

Computer fixes: tips for avoiding malware on your computer

by

Over the past month or so you may have heard about a threat to your computer called “DNSChanger”. As a result of this malware, millions of computers around the world could have potentially lost all connection to the Internet on Monday, July 11th. This is because the DNSChanger malware infected computers by modifying a computer’s DNS to point toward “rogue servers”.

In a nutshell, DNS is an extremely important service that is used to convert a website’s name (eg, www.compuclever.com) into a distinct IP address that is easily found by your computer.

In this case, DNSChanger malware infected computers to send web surfers to its own fake web pages, ideally to generate profit from ads and upload even more malware and viruses onto visiting computers.

The FBI discovered what was happening and actually hosted fake web pages of its own to analyze the traffic being sent to DNSChanger bogus websites. The crooks were captured (they were from Estonia, birthplace of Skype and Kazaa), and the FBI decided to pull the plug on its fake web pages on July 11, 2012.

As a result, owners of computers infected with DNSChanger have to figure out some way to reconfigure their DNS, because it will be impossible to surf the internet without it. Continue reading...

Speed up Internet Explorer

by

There’s a couple of tips and tricks for both Windows Explorer and Internet Explorer that should speed things up.

If you use the IE browser and want instant access to your favorite websites, add a sub-menu from the Windows 7 Start Menu to get instant access to your Favorites. Here’s how you do it:

  1. Right-click an empty area of the Taskbar and choose “Properties”
  2. The “Taskbar and Start Menu Properties” multi-tabbed dialog box should appears
  3. Click the “Start Menu” tab
  4. Click the “Customize” button
  5. The “Customize Start Menu” dialog box appears
  6. Check “Favorites menu”
  7. Click “OK” on the dialog boxes to close them

You now have instant access to your favorites!

A cool shortcut for Windows Explorer – use check boxes!

You can select non-adjacent files in Explorer using Ctrl-click, but there is an easier way using check boxes. In Windows Explorer, click Organize, then select Folder and search options.

On the View tab, under Advanced Settings, scroll down to select Use check boxes to select items. Now you can easily select multiple items using only the mouse. Continue reading...

How to create a system repair disk

by

blue screen of deathIt’s inescapable: there will come a time in the life of your computer when you will not get it to start properly. It could be caused by a virus or malware, a hard disk failure, or a corrupted registry.

The end result is the same: your computer will not start, and you will be unable to access any of the programs you’ve paid for, including, for example, Microsoft Office suite or even Windows itself. Replacing the software from scratch can cost hundreds of dollars, and sometimes it’s even necessary to replace the computer itself.

At the very least, you’ll be saving yourself hefty computer repair fees, which can run towards $100 an hour!

How to create a System Repair Disk

If you have one of those bad Windows days where you can’t boot up your computer properly, what you really want is something you can quickly use to get at a command prompt so you can properly troubleshoot.

Windows 7 now includes the ability to create a system repair disc, which is essentially a CD-bootable version of Windows that just includes the command prompt and a suite of system tools.

The trick is to create a system repair disk *now* rather than later when you’ll need it. Continue reading...

Speed up your Internet by resetting your web browser

by

Despite lightning-fast broadband and low-cost computers that seem to be growing more powerful every year, many people are still putting up with slow Internet speeds.

Toolbars are a common culprit here, and are often inadvertently installed as add-ons to Internet Explorer. These add-ons can be very difficult to remove.
Did you know that PC TuneUp Maestro has a great feature called “Reset Internet Explorer”, which resets your IE to “factory default mode”? This trick allows you to return Internet Explorer to its original, pristine, “factory-installed” state in order to solve common performance problems and errors caused by the installation of too many add-ons, “accelerators”, and search providers, all of which conspire to slow down your Internet. To access this amazing feature, click Fix & Clean, select Internet Explorer Repair, locate the item Reset Internet Explorer and then click the Reset button.

Delete “junk files” to increase Internet speeds even morePC Clean Maestro

However, resetting Internet Explorer to its original clean, fast factory state may not be enough to achieve the fastest speeds possible, and you may continue to experience frustratingly slow Internet speeds.

This is because, even after Internet Explorer is reset, your PC can still contain mountains of “cached” or stored data. Continue reading...

Protect your online identity

by

protect your online identityIt’s the Christmas season, and more and more people are doing shopping online in order to save time and to stick to a budget. If you’re doing a lot of online holiday shopping, are you taking basic steps to protect your online identity?

You might be surprised by the amount of personal information that is stored on your computer – everything from passwords to, in some cases, banking and credit card information.

If you happen to download malware such as a Trojan or a virus, it may be possible for someone to learn and use your personal information – after you’ve been using your credit card to buy Christmas presents, for example – which can become a nightmare to fix.

So, to save you some worry, here are 2 tips for protecting your privacy online:

1. Scan your computer for cookies, passwords, chat email history, web search term history

Every time you use the internet, your browser stores “cookies” that remember personal information about the websites you’ve visited – personal information such as passwords for your online banking, your birthday, or even your mother’s maiden name, for example.

Your internet browser also saves the specific search terms you’ve been using to find things on the internet. Continue reading...