CrexTechs Blog

CrexTechs has three radio ads running this month on WXCX Red Rock On Air Radio out of Pine City.  We'd like to make this information and the same offers available to our readers who may not have heard the ads.

Here is the text of our ads. To redeem offers, just mention you read about it on our blog or mention WXCX or Red Rock On Air.

Slow computer?  Give your desktop or laptop a tuneup at CrexTech in Grantsburg.  We can add memory to increase speed and upgrade you to a better anti-virus program. Get support with a paid Vipre anti-virus subscription purchased through CrexTechs. Mention WXCX and receive half off a spyware cleanup and a one year Vipre subscription.  That’s a $70.00 value for just $35.00. Visit us at CrexTechs.com and CrexTechs.com/blog.

Get rid of that old computer, monitor and printer cluttering up your garage or basement.  Recycle your old computer at CrexTechs in Grantsburg.  Drop that old computer system off for $20.00 recycling fee.  We take towers, monitors, printers, keyboards.  Recycle your Laptop for $15.00.   Mention WXCX and get a coupon for an equal amount off your next service at CrexTechs.

Need a new laptop?  Look no further than CrexTechs in Grantsburg.  Our Lenovo IBM laptops are fast, rugged and ready to meet your wireless computing needs.  As a Lenovo retailer we can service your laptop quickly and troubleshoot your Lenovo or any machine, laptop or desktop, remotely over the internet. We build custom Windows 7 desktops too! And can service any machine here in our shop. Visit us at CrexTechs.com and CrexTechs.com/blog.

We also have two refurbished IBM Think Pads running XP with 1.6 ghz Intel Centrino processor and 33.4 gb and 51.1 gb hard drives at really great prices! Come on in and see them.

I have lots of those cheap little power strips around the house that I plug stuff into--ours is a 70 year old house with inadequate outlets.  I have thought that these little strips give me some protection against power surges as they have little built in breakers that will pop and have to be reset from time to time.

I know now that this is not true.  They are convenient and cheap but they really offer no protection, especially for your electronic equipment.

We are advised by most electronics manufacturers to unplug all appliances when they aren't being used including TVs, sound systems, microwaves and computers (and especially toaster! and other small kitchen appliances).

I only unplug when I'm going on vacation but significant power surges can take place every day and can blow out computers, monitors, printers, TVs as well as toasters, microwaves etc.   (Toasters can actually heat up due to shorts caused by a power surge and cause house fires when left plugged in--this is one of the leading causes of house fires.  Unplug those toasters when not in use!)

Most of these electronics items are not covered by homeowners insurance -- they don't amount to enough to cover the deductible of most policies.

So the question is, what protection is enough protection for computers and other expensive electronics?

Some computer users need to know that if there is a power outage, their computers will stay up and running, at least long enough to be shut down properly--they need battery backup.

Other users, most users, don't need battery backup but we do need to know that if there is a significant power surge, our computers will not be "blown away" or adversely affected in other ways.  All computer users need more than those cheap little power strips to be certain of this.

When shopping for a "surge protector" you will want to look at the "joules."  Protecting against up to 2400 to 2800 joules of surge is great coverage.  We recommend at least 1800 joules.

If you don't know what a joule is, here is a definition: a single joule is  a unit of electrical energy equal to the work done when a current of one ampere passes through a resistance of one ohm for one second.

Okay, so that wasn't very helpful.  Suffice it to say, a joule is a small unit of energy.

Small surges that can be accommodated by the appliances themselves are very common (though this can shorten the life of the appliance).  Spikes that can cause significant wear and tear or damage your equipment are quite common too.    The life of your electronics can significantly shortened by failure to protect against daily common power surges.

CrexTechs sells CyberPower surge protectors as well as battery backups.  Check out our offers at http://crextechs.com/blog/category/forsale/

Keep in mind that surge protectors suffer wear and tear and can fail over time and will be burned out by large surges caused by electrical storms and transformer malfunctions.

Here are a couple of website that can give you some more information on power surges.

For an "reader friendly" explanation check out:

http://vagabonders-supreme.net/SurgeElectric.htm

For a more in depth discussion check out:

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voltage_spike

We just want to remind our readers that right here at CrexTechs in Grantsburg you can a buy new or refurbished desktop or laptop computer.  We will set your new machine up with the software you use and with state-of-the-art  anti-virus protection.  We can even build a computer to your specifications if you have specialized needs!

We also sell lots of other stuff!  Stuff even the hard-core techie can use.   We have new or refurbished hard drives,  RAM, cards of all sorts, power supplies, fan motors, cpu coolers, the works.  And, for those who are, what we fondly call, less-than-technically-savvy, we have surge protectors and power backups, keyboards and mouses,  screen cleaners, laptop cases, cables and cords of all kinds, and a sympathetic ear not to mention a tech-savvy person who can come out and show you a few tricks for a reasonable hourly rate.  We also do remote troubleshooting and problem solving.

Check out some of the things we have for sale at http://crextechs.com/blog/category/forsale/

Let us know what you need and we will let you know if we have it or can get it for you.  We are here to serve all your technical needs!

Call CrexTechs at (715) 463-2365

or visit us at 506 West Saint George Avenue in Grantsburg

(just off  State Road 70 and West Olson Drive)

If you are not sure what "Phishing" is, it is just what it sounds like but with a Ph instead of an F.   These sly hackers set their bait and then wait.  When someone bites, they get the info they want.  I guess we could call these hackers anglers or maybe fanglers as they are anglers with fangs!

There is a new kind of  "phishing" expedition out there now that everyone should be aware of, it is called tabnabbing.  This new MOD involves users who have multiple browser tabs open at one time.  While the user has let one tab go dormant the hacker substitutes the target with a page of their own that looks just like a log-in page for maybe Yahoo or Gmail.  When the user goes back to that tab they think they have "timed out" so they go ahead and log back in.  Now the hacker has a user ID and a password.  They can search your mail for private information, they can try your user ID and password on other locations you might frequent like credit card sites (hackers know people like to use the same IDs and passwords because they don't have to remember so much), or they can launch other operations from your mail account using your contacts.  The sky is the limit once they have crack one of your accounts.

At present it appears that Firefox Beta edition is shielded from these attacks.  If you have Firefox, be sure to update it before you rely upon it to protect you.

If you don't want to use Firefox, always close tabs when you are done. And never log back into a site that you  have timed out of without first closing your browser and reopening.    Also, be sure you log out of sensitive sites when you are finished.  One of my banks allowed me to navigate away then use the back arrow to get back into my page.  That should not be allow so I always, always, always logout of pages when I am done with them especially bank and credit card pages.

Here is a link for more information on this new kind of phishing expedition: http://www.azarask.in/blog/post/a-new-type-of-phishing-attack/