P Cube Services field report, a must read for Windows XP users

Our service record for the past two months shows that Rootkit infection is on the rise. All infected computers run on Windows XP.

Installed Anti-virus program at the time of infection were AVG and Symantec in different flavors. Computers were infected when users clicked on a seemingly legitimate popup prompt on a compromised website.

What you can do now to protect yourself:
Insure that your Anti-virus program has the latest virus signature.
Insure that Windows Firewall or installed firewall is turned on.
Insure that Windows XP Service Park 3 is installed.

Rootkit is a powerful and mean program.
It disables Anti-virus real-time protection and blocks internet connection.
From our experience, it can’t be removed by simply running ANY Anti-virus or Rootkit removal program.

We use TDSSkiller to detect a Rootkit infection.
We have the link to Windows XP Service Pack 3 from our blog.

Please do not hesitate to call or email if you have any questions.

Secure your router in 5 minutes! A guide for non-technical people.

Routers to technology is like doors to houses. Bugs and flies can enter if your door is open. A hacking program can infiltrate your network if your router is not secure.

The most effective way in locking your router is changing its administrator password to a complex one. Why? Because there are many hacking software that can figure out simple secret codes, in 2 minutes.

Simple secret code example: 6789, happy, admin

Complex secret code example: IAmComplex39!, @Indis-tructible80

How do I change the router administrator password?

(You can use the following steps too if you have to reset your router.)

BATCH 1

Click on Start,

type cmd and press enter,

type ipconfig and press enter,

note the default gateway.

BATCH 2

Open Internet Explorer,

type the default gateway and press enter,

enter your current login information.

BATCH 3

Look for administration,

look for router password,

type your new complex password,

save settings.

To check if your router is armed with the new hard to guess
password follow BATCH 2, this time use your new secret code.

Congratulations your router is now solidly barricaded!

The best desktop upgrade scenario!

Reading time: 1 minute
Difficulty: easy, mainly for Windows XP and Vista users

The projected release of the new Windows is on 2013.
The geek community calls it Windows 8.
The current Windows operating system is Windows 7.

Based on P Cube’s service history, 95% of our customers upgrade
because their computers are slow.

Typically, we find the cause of slow computers:
• Degraded hardware.
• More computing power required by newly installed complex programs.


Popular trends in our service records:
• Windows XP users replaced their memory (RAM) and hard drives to
faster versions and upgraded to Windows 7.
• Windows Vista users only added more memory
because their computers are still reasonably fast.

The best desktop upgrade scenario:
• The hard drive has 64M cache.
• The memory is 8GB in total, and it’s clock speed is the highest the
motherboard can support.
• Windows 7 Professional 64-bit for business use to maximize
advance networking features and support for the 8GBs of memory.
Also, newer Windows versions have better and shorter ways of
handling calculations and they can more efficiently use the
advance features of your hardware. Furthermore,
a newly found security hole is actively patch by
Microsoft via updates delivered to your PC.


To buy or upgrade?

This question can be answered by asking yourself the following three questions:
1. What is my budget?
2. How much faster will my computer be after the new hardware
and software is installed?
3. Is the cost of the upgrade much less than buying a totally new computer?

Hopefully, this news brief offers insight into when and how to upgrade your computer.

As always, if you have any questions don’t hesitate to call or email us.

Short and sweet steps on how to rename your Outlook archive folders.

In your Outlook, go to your archive folder.
Right click your archive folder and click on "Properties for Archive Folder".
Click on the Advance tab.
Then click on the name of your archive folder and change its name.

P Cube Services PC Tune-up and Outlook cleaning event!

Why not extend your spring cleaning from your home to your office?

As you have stuff to throw away out of your house I’m sure you have
stuff to remove and clean in your computer.

We can do a secure offsite work by remotely logging in to your computer.

Please note that this offer ends in April.

Happy 100th International Women’s Day!

Fourteen years ago, in Montreal, I was enrolled in a computer

intensive course. Of the 25 students there were only 2 women.
I completed the course earning the respect of my peers and my instructor.

I believe that without the women's movement, and without the women challenging the norm, I would not have fulfilled my dream of establishing a computer repair company.

Thank you for your support.

Sincerely,
Lydia

3 Social Media sites used by a Geek Girl