You may have heard of the crypto locker virus. This virus came about late last year and has affected thousands of people and businesses. One of the business types that has been infected is the law. Police offices, lawyers and the bunch have been hit hard by this infection.
Back in December, Computer Geeks was featured in a news report from WBZ news to talk about the experience that people have with this virus. Computer Geeks is focused on not only removing the virus, but saving your data. Typically people infected with this virus have a one percent success rate of recovering their data and even paying the ransom may not guarantee you get your files back. Because of this, Computer Geeks recommends a data backup solution. This solution can be as easy as an external hard drive that you back up to on a scheduled basis or going up into the cloud and using a source like Carbonite to back your data up securely.
Computer Geeks IT support for law firms has been helping many lawyers not only to protect their data but also prevent infections such as the crypto locker virus. Computer Geeks also recommends a brand new product that we offer through Carbonite. This new appliance is set up to give you onsite data backup and cloud storage for redundancy of your files.
Please note that most people don’t think about how valuable their information is until it’s lost. This isn’t just for consumers, but businesses as well. Putting the focus on IT support for law firms, think about how tragic it would be if you lost your case files, client data and other vital information. Now that you’ve taken a minute to think about it, isn’t it worth contacting Computer Geeks to find out how you can protect that data with just a simple phone call?
Has this ever happened to you? You’re getting ready to watch TV or have a get together. Your phone rings. The person of the other end says they’re from Microsoft, a certified partner or professional. From there, they’ll tell you you’re computer is seriously infected or thousands of errors. They will then request to take over your machine remotely and clean your computer out. If you haven’t received this call, please note that this is a scam. If you receive this call, there are many different ways this could go. The best way is to get off the phone with them and call us because they may have put spyware on your computer to get your information. If you have decided to go further, and let them into your computer, you may have even more issues because not only do they have your information, but now can hold your computer hostage for a high sum of money.
Computer Geeks is a well known computer repair company located in downtown Boston. We never solicit outbound calls to people telling them their machine is infected. We rely on customers to call us when they have a problem. The next question you may have is how do I know if I have a problem? In this blog, we’re going to tell you a few things to look out for that could tip the hand that your computer is infected with viruses, spyware, and/or malware.
The key to knowing if your computer is infected is just like any other illness and infections, knowing the symptoms. If your computer is running slow and is under three years old, you could be looking at an issue where your computer is infected. There is always a slight chance you’re overusing your resources by having multiple applications begin at the start of Windows without you even knowing. Another symptom that you may be infected is that you are not going to the websites you have requested to go to. If your computer is redirecting your web browser to another site your computer is infected. If you’re getting multiple pop-up ads, your computer is infected.
Fitness trackers are becoming all the rage, mostly for adults. Now, kids as young as four can get in on the latest technological craze.
Leap Frog, a leader in child education technology, is releasing Leap Band in August 2014, and is the first Kid Fitness Tracker. This wristband will run you $40, and this health tracker is for children ages 4 to 7. It gives children exercise and dance commands, and rewards their totaled physical activity by giving them virtual pets. Parents can monitor their kid’s activity through an app or website. This comes at a time when wearable technology may or may not be the next big thing.
The word ‘tracking’ is the concerning word for me, especially when it comes to children this age. They should not be subjected to having their private info handed over to advertisers, corporations, government agencies or anybody else. Thankfully, there are laws virtually forbidding data collection for anyone under 13. So the only ones doing the tracking will be the parent/guardian. But Leap Frog isn’t the only tracking device for kids. Flip is a device where parents can track their kids every move. I have mixed feelings about Flip. I understand why this would be appealing to parents. But to put tracking devices on kids just to see where they are is just creepy to me and borderline infringes on right to privacy. At least Leap Band encourages physical activity and tracking is very limited. Do you think kid tracking devices will be of help or of hindrance?
I’ve blogged about this a week or two ago. Some are taking heed; some are dragging their feet. So let me remind you what’s going to happen on April 8.
Effective Tuesday, April 8, 2014, Microsoft will shut down support and security for Windows XP operating systems. If you’re going to be stubborn and keep windows XP after the 8th, you will be extremely venerable to malware, spyware, viruses and other attacks. It means if your business is governed by regulations like HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act), you may not be able to satisfy such regulations. I’ve seen the penalties for breaking such requirements, like fines civil lawsuits, stiff fines, even prison time! Software vendors will no longer run products to support Windows XP. Hardware products will no longer support Windows XP.
Now that I’ve scared you straight, there are things you can do about it. You can buy a new PC. There are a lot cheaper than they used to be. Computers made after 2006 aren’t going to carry XP. You should never use a PC over 10 years old anyway. I’ll go even further: If your PC can’t run Windows 8.1, get another computer. It’s cheaper, easier, and more convenient than it ever was. At the very least, you can convert your software system to Windows 7 or 8. Personally, I prefer 8. This is simple and inexpensive to do as well. So what’s your excuse for staying with XP? Oh that’s right: you don’t have one!
Facebook wants to buy Titan Aerospace for about $60 million dollars. Titan Aerospace is a company that makes solar powered drones that can stay in the air for five years without landing. One of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s passions is to supply Internet access for the billions who have no online access. They want to use these drones to blanket the world with the Internet, starting with Africa, the continent with the least access. These drones would be atmospheric satellites that will operate in orbit. They’re looking to build over 10,000 Solara 50/60 models. In the daytime, they ?store energy stretching 20KM above sea level, making them ripe for regional Internet systems.
I respect where Facebook’s heart is. I’ve always believe that in 2014, everyone should have online access if they’re going to even have a shot at global competition or to have a chance to stay in the race. But I’m weary about using drones to do it. That’s because drones have been in the news for not so good reasons: to spy on people, to get information on people and turn it against them, even to kill people. And thinking about what part of the world this is going to, this could easily happen. Do you think drones can be used to bring good to those who need it? Or are drones just inherently evil?
As many of you know, the Healthcare.gov sight works only when it wants to, when it wants to work at all. Telecommunications giant Verizon is going to help the government help their online health system.
Verizon’s Enterprise Solutions have been asked by the US Department of Health and Human Services to help improve the troubled healthcare.gov site. The site is critical to the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare. According to Aneesh Chopra, who was once President Obama’s chief technology officer, “”There is an existing ‘best and brightest’ available to call in… Verizon is one of those already under contract.” Verizon also works for Medicaid and Medicare Services on information technology. Many in the online community are confident the problem will be fixed. However, neither Verizon nor Dept. of Health and Human Services are confirming anything.
I hope something gets done. I’m not going to rant about whether I agree with Obamacare or not. This isn’t the place or time. But I do know tens of millions of Americans were and are depending on this website. People’s lives are on the line. And what are these stories of cancer patients who couldn’t get their medicine during the shutdown? Look, Americans’ view on their government isn’t very good right now. One way they can start to make things right is to make this website right. It would be a great start. If Verizon can help do that, then God speed to them. But for them to be? preaching this system for years, and then for the healthcare.gov website to act like this, something has to be done.? Will Verizon be enough to get healthcare.gov up and running again?
