CrexTechs Blog

Updates are irritating.  That little balloon pops up at the corner of the screen, "Updates are ready," prompting you to ask,  What updates?  Why should I care?  Do I really have to install these?

These are automatic updates to your operating system and your browser. And yes, You should install them if you want to keep your machine free of viruses, malware and spyware.  Windows and browser updates are plugging holes that let the bad guys in to do their dirty-work.  So keep up-to-date.

Then, be sure you are updating your antivirus program, and if you are a high risk user, your anti-malware program and your anti-spyware program.

Oh my gosh, do I really have to have all these programs?  Anti-spyware, anti-malware?  I thought the anti-virus program took care of all that.  Isn't it all just a bunch of viruses?

You do have to have all these programs if you are a high risk user.

Malware, adware, spyware and viruses work differently and the intention of their creators is different.  Some of these  programs just want to know where you are going on the net so they can blast you with ads.  Some want to know your passwords and account information and will sit undetected until you are logging in somewhere.  Viruses usually want to shut you down infecting behind the scenes files and spreading like a disease, finally grinding you to a halt.  Malware is down and dirty, trashing your hard-drive before you know what hit you.

You can get the anti-malware and anti-spyware programs free or you can pay for them.  What kinds of sites you visit on the net will help you decide if you need to  pay or if the free version will be enough.  Check out our earlier post to assess your level of risk out on the internet.

http://crextechs.com/blog/2010/01/are-you-at-risk-for-viruses-trojan-horses-malware-adware-or-spyware/

Check out these  anti-malware and anti-spyware programs.

http://www.superantispyware.com/download.html

http://malwarebytes.org/

Also check out http://www.kaspersky.com/ Kaspersky bundles anti-virus and anti-spyware into one program.  You can get a free trial but if you like it you will have to pay for it and it is not cheap.  We recommend this for Mac users as Macs are starting to fall prey to the baddies.  You must have an Intel processor to install this.

We still recommend Vipre but Vipre does not protect you from everything if you a high risk user.  You will still need anti-malware and anti-spyware programs to keep you as safe as possible in this ever changing world of cyber space.

CrexTechs now accepts old computers and monitors for recycling.  Fees are as follows:

• tower  $10.00
• monitor $10.00
• laptop $15.00
• printer $5.00
• whole system (computer, monitor, keyboard, printer) $20.00

We offer discounts of 50% if you are purchasing a new system from us, and a 25% discount is you are having service done by us.

We hope you will recycle your old equipment as there are pollutants in these components that are very harmful to the environment.

Here is the easiest way to get to CrexTechs from State Road 70 (Hwy 70 from Minnesota)  Map

If you are traveling east on State Road 70, turn left (north) on Russel and west (left) on St. George Avenue.

If you are traveling west on State Road 70, turn right (north) on Russel and West (left) on St. George Avenue.

Watch for our sign on the mailbox on the north (right) side of the road.  Our shop is a basement shop with access on the side of the house.  Don't be shy, come on in.   We are open Monday through Friday from 9 to 5.

Kind of like in real estate where the three most important words are location, location, location.

Are you terrified that you or your kids will inadvertently import viruses via email?  Are you on every imaginable spam list possible or does your mail server mark legitimate mail as spam even when it's from someone in your contacts list?

Do you import your mail to Outlook and find that you are importing way more spam and questionable messages than ever, messages that may contain malware or spyware right onto your machine?  And what happens if your computer crashes taking all of your contact and calendar information with it?

If you are using a mail account through your service provider you may be reticent to change providers despite the cost or poor service because  you don't want to change your email address, you don't want to learn how to export your calendar and contacts list and you don't want to learn how to import that information into a new account.  Then there is the problem of  contacting your friends and associates with the new address and hope they will take the time to update their contact list.

But you can avoid these hassles and others by having a Gmail account.

Gmail is a webmail provider that allows anyone to set up an account that will never have to changed.  They provide a myriad of other features and  services as well as targeted information.  But best of all, they are dedicated to providing the most secure email system on the net.  Once you have a Gmail account, you store all your contact information and your calendar on their server where you will never have to change it and even if your computer crashes, you will never loose it!

And Gmail is FREE!!

Check out the following link for more information:

http://mail.google.com/mail/help/intl/en/about.html

CrexTechs recomments Gmail because it is so secure and has top of the line spam filtration.  Here are some other features of Gmail.

Use Google search within Gmail to find the exact message you want

With Gmail, each message you send is grouped with all the responses you receive so you won't have to hunt for replies.

You can now use Gmail on your mobile device to access your email from anywhere.

Built-in chat: text, voice, or video

With Gmail, you'll never see pop-ups or untargeted banner ads.

Just like bank and credit card websites, Gmail uses always-on HTTPS encryption to keep your mail secure, so someone sharing your favorite coffee shop's public wifi can't maliciously read it.