Not even close to the same thing!

Oh no! You’ve been infected. All your internet searches return porn sites, all your icons  on your desktop have been removed, you getpop ups every 20 minutes, even though you haven’t clicked anything. You get error messages that say “Click OK to clean your PC!” and you, the unwitting computer user, keep clicking them to get rid of that nasty infection.

Unfortunately, virus attacks are a part of owning a computer. Anytime there are two computers networked in the world and one of the users isn’t exactly a stand up guy, someone’s going to get a virus. The good news is that it isn’t the end of the line for your machine. The data can, in most cases, be saved, and the virus can be cleaned by a professional within a couple hours.

There are several types of computer attacks. Most are called spyware, and are basically just little programs that monitor your internet traffic, though a few can do more harm like monitor your keystrokes to record things like passwords. Slightly worse on the scale are actual viruses that just latch on to downloads or applications, and can usually be cured with any standard anti-virus program. One of the worst attacks is call a root kit. This virus will enter your computer’s registry, which is basically the inner most part of the operating system, and embed itself there. Unfortunately, at this point, a standard anti-virus won’t be able to help you.

Here you will need professional help, but not all is lost!  Most times your computer tech will be able to fix the registry, remove the intrusive virus and save all your data and you can get right back to what your computer should be doing, not causing you a hassle and a walletful.

Riverview Technologies is more than happy to take care of problems like these and others more efficiently than you would be able to trying to figure it out on your own. Let our skilled technicians take the problem off your hands and clean your PC the right way.

[And as always, keep your data backed up. An external/portable drive like the Western Digital Passport with 1TB space can be very handy to do backups and keep safe.]

Remember the good old days when the only thing that stressed you out was paper?

Imagine for a moment, that you’re talking to a friend on a spotty cell phone connection, and the two of you are trying to compare expense reports. You ask your friend for his expenses, but he only hears part of what you’re saying, since the connection is bad. He tells you a few things, part of which you miss too because your connection is also bad. At the end of the conversation, you two have entirely different reports to give to the boss, and he isn’t going to be happy about it.

In that example, you and your friend represent your computer and the email archive on the server. When your computer is slow or the connection to the email archive is spotty, after a while, you or the archive have different sets of data that should be the same. Now, since your friend is at the office, he can just ask the boss for the real expense report, and the boss gives it to him, correcting his errors. In the same way, the email archive is usually on, or in very good communication with, your server, in our example, the boss. But your computer does not. This is what leads to email problems.

Now down to the details. Email, has an archive file on your computer. When your computer is very slow or there is a lot of lag in your network, this file can become corrupted, resulting in your server becoming unable to connect with your local computer’s email, and the email archive unable to send you emails.

The best and easiest way to avoid this problem is proper shut down. Don’t leave your computer on all night when you leave the office. If you do need to leave the computer on, don’t leave your email open. This is what causes the error. Instead, simply shut down your computer properly, or close your email program. Leaving your computer on too long between proper shut downs creates entirely different problems in and of themselves, so it’s probably better to just shut down the computer normally anyway.

-Stephen

Are you beginning to notice that when you go to a website, you can’t see as much of the page because of numerous toolbars? Do you have a program that keeps appearing and warning you about viruses? Have you found a few programs on your computer you don’t recall installing?

If you have experienced any of the above, then you’ve missed the ‘additional’ products that come along with a lot of downloads nowadays. It has become more important than ever that you take the time and read every window, every screen that you go through when downloading a program, music, ebooks…anything to make sure that you have not opted to accept ‘additional’ offers.

Yes, it does take more time to read each screen. Yes, sometimes the additional offers are a bit confusing to understand what they are. And yes, if you don’t take the time, you could end up with more than just a toolbar that takes up room inside your browser.

Spend a little more time, save your computer and yourself the expense of cleaning up the problems that quick and excessive clicking can cause.

This Year’s Mobile World Congress Expo, [i]the[/i] premier technology exposition that focuses on mobile phones, unveiled what is emerging to be the superphone trend, that is, phones with quad-core processors and more muscle under the hood than the average laptop. The Samsung Galaxy Beam, for example, is running a quad-core, Android 4.0 (aka Ice Cream Sandwich), and a built in projector. Because who hasn’t been hanging around friends and thought, you know what? I’m going to display pictures of my cat on the wall. I need a portable, convenient way to do this.

Quad-cores aren’t the only things making a splash at this year’s MWC. More emerging trends include the aforementioned Android 4.0. Ice Cream Sandwich has been talked about, flaunted, fawned over, and ultimately accepted by the larger mobile phone community. After a few hiccups with flash support and compatability, ICS is quickly becoming the standard on all our lovely Android phones. New features like the static, customizable buttons at the bottom of home pages and more efficient use of more processing cores makes ICS as mouth watering as its namesake.

More on the Mobile World Congress will be released later this week and so far it looks very promising. Sony, finally done with its drawn out breakup with Ericsson, has released a couple phones that have been well received. They’re no groundbreakers, for sure, but if this is the start of Sony’s new phone lineup, the results are looking promising as well. Results like the Xperia P and U are similar to the Xperia S, only modern in hardware.

Check back here later this week for more Mobile World Congress news!

-Stephen Rawlings

"Hey Doug, I was thinking I could go test-drive a car without brakes, to let the company know it doesn't have brakes" -You

According to a blog by PJ Hough, the corporate vice president of the MSO division, very few details are being released. Even the people signed up under the current technical beta had to sign a disclosure agreement, so they won’t be shedding any light either. Hough explained in his blog that Office 15 is “the most ambitious undertaking yet for the Office Division.” then went on to describe, “Microsoft will simultaneously update its cloud services, servers, and mobile and PC clients for Office, Office 365, Exchange, SharePoint, Lync, Project, and Visio.”

Expected to officially release later this summer, Office looks to coincide with the release of Windows 8, also expected to release during the second half of this year.

That likely means that Office will be designed as a Metro-app for Windows 8, to take advantage of the new Win8 UI. It won’t hinder the company’s development on a desktop flavor of Office though. The profit margin of their desktop consumer base is far too great to leave in the corner. Expect to be using a new Office and Windows8 by the end of the year.

-Stephen Rawlings

Wii U Up first we’ve got the Wii U and its new TV-in-a-controller. The Wii U’s controller takes immersion in gaming a step further with a built in touchscreen thatt interacts with the game you’re playing on the main display, of course being your living room TV. The new controller has been showcased doing a variety of things like acting as your inventory, being a window into a three dimensional space, giving one person a personal TV while everyone on the big screen tries to hunt them down, and even using the controller itself as a prop, like a shield or a window of a helicopter. Wii U’s new controller aims to capture even more of the casual gaming crowd.	(put it on your wish list)
iPad Mini More a mini in price than model, Apple reportedly plans to launch the tablet in Q3 of 2012. So far it seems to be a middle ground between the iPad and the iPod Touch, perhaps trying to cater to the personal digital assistant market, or perhaps to create a niche of its own. It will of course interact seamlessly with the Apple Digital Environment, and perhaps appeal to the eReader crowd with a smaller profile and more battery life. The mini is expected to start out at a cool $200.
If you already have an Ipad Iphone 4 4g PS3, then a Mini Wireless Bluetooth Keyboard might be something you could use. Check one out.
UltraBooks More and more tech companies are realizing the potential of making extremely portable, yet extremely powerful Netbooks. Of course since the term “Netbook” has been sullied by underpowered, and ultimately disappointing, tech products, the new term “ultrabook” has been coined by the corporate populace. Ultrabooks pride themselves on decent battery life, powerful performance, and mid cost. The best thing about ultrabooks? Flash memory that doesn’t use a noisy, battery sapping hard disk.
15” Macbook Pro/Air? Hipsters and Baristas rejoiced at the rumor that Apple might unveil a next gen Macbooks Pro and Air this year, and who’s to blame them? The new macbooks will be more durable, have a longer battery, and of course be more slim and powerful. In competition with the aforementioned ultrabooks, however, Apple has some serious thinking to do on pricepoint and selling options, since similar devices are starting to do what Apple does, but better and cheaper.
Apple Airplay – Apple’s new WiFi feature showcases the ability to stream Audio and Video over a WiFi connection, however, the products that are compatible with the feature tend to be pricey and overhyped. Streaming data over WiFi is certainly no new thing, but the feature on Apple products is new and, frankly, long overdue. If they can just get the pricepoint down, it may be worth looking into. Until then, we’ll have to be content with Apple TV and AirPort Express.
Kindle Fire 2 The Kindle Fire has been all the rage with bookworms who need a bit more color. The Tablet is certainly no slouch, but it isn’t the next big thing either. Kindle Fire 2 promises to be the answer to what Kindle is capable of. With promises of better features, more supported formats, longer batteries and higher rez screens, KF2 might be the next big thing. Add in Kindle’s plans to release a 10” tablet that’s cheaper than Apple and Kindle might be the top seller in its class this year. May be available mid-year.

iPhone 5 Apple may finally jump on the 4G bandwagon this year, but when is anyone’s guess. The iP5 is plenty of upgrade from iP4, but as to what it includes, is also anyone’s guess. Apple, as always, keeps a tight lip on their new toys.	iPad 3 Another number to another product in Apple’s inventory, the iPad 3 is rumored to debut in Q2, though when and for how much is a good question. Higher resolution, better battery life, and an upgraded OS are all rumor mill stock. There’s little information on the particulars at this point.

Apple TV Trying to get its hands into the LCD TV cookie jar, Apple plans to release the Apple TV this year, with promises of WiFi capability and seamless integration with the Apple Digital Environment. With support from AirPlay, ATV will be able to stream audio and video with its fancy Wifi connection, but how and how much it will cost is another mystery altogether.
PlayStation Vita Sony’s lost a lot of customer base in recent years, and hopes to pull itself out of a slump with the new handheld Vita. The Vita promises dual analog sticks, a nice big touchscreen, and graphics to rival the PS3. It will hit U.S. shelves on February 22 (an actual release date for one of these products? Holy Circuits, Batman!). The WiFi only bundle will be sold for $249, while the WiFi/3G flavor will be a penny shy of $300, plus the added cost of a basic 3G plan. This could be the device that gets Sony back in the black.
Nook Tablet2 Barnes and Noble’s answer to the Kindle Fire 2, expected to release in Q4 this year, continues to build on the great success of the Nook Color. Competition is always good for the consumer, so as long as Nook and Kindle duke it out, we win. Hopefully better battery life and a little Bluetooth are included in this round.
Nikon D800 Looking to misplace three grand and find a full-frame, 36 megapixel, pro-consumer camera instead? I didn’t think so. But, in case you really do like losing money and finding more megapixels than your brain can comprehend, the D800 will likely launch in early 2012. Or pickup a new case and put the camera on a wish list. Nikon Case for Most Digital SLR Cameras – Black
Canon 5D Mark III Maybe you’re a savy camera shopper and you only want to fork out $2500 for a full frame ManyMegaPixel thingie. Maybe you’re a professional and 2500 bucks isn’t a big deal. Maybe you’re hoping it will come out in mid to late 2012. Maybe I’ll stop writing in hypotheticals.
Ice Cream Sandwich Androids new facelift, Ice Cream Sandwich, promises to add even more functionality to the homescreen and personalization to your static buttons. ICS has been showcased as having customizable static icons on the bottom of your homescreen that stays there no matter which screen you’re on, as well as updating the old menus and contact lists to make them more intuitive. ICS, however, is experiencing flash problems and will continue to do so at launch.

4G We’ll see a LOT more 4G phones and hopefully a wider 4G service area. I know in my hometown in Columbia, MO, we’re expected to finally have 4G this year. Here’s to hoping small town USA gets access to this lightning fast skynet.	Windows 8 Yes, yes, the next highway robbery/circus sideshow act is slated to release late this year. Microsoft is trying to get all its ducklings in a row with integrating the Xbox 360, Metro Smartphones, and Tablets with its next gen operating system. No word on how much you’ll spend trying to figure out how to get your programs to run again.

And that just about wraps it up. This year, expect to see more of the same, but better, faster, stronger, harder. In the wake of recent natural disasters, the tech market has some catching up to do, and might just be playing it safe until a new idea comes along.

-Stephen Rawlings

Enter Kingsoft Office Suite Free 2012. It’s a great little software made by a Chinese company of the same name, based in Hong Kong. Kingsoft seems to be heavily influenced by MSO 2010, and for good reason. ’10 simply works, and Kingsoft does too.

Kingsoft is a full suite, offering counterparts to Word, Excell, and powerpoint, and does good on the MSO addicts by offering file compatibility with MSO. It’s been rated highly all over the net, so feel free to look into its credentials to see just how well the software holds up through rigorous testing.

Kingsoft also seems to perform faster than MSO. Even on my high end laptop, MSO still takes forever to load up just one text only document.

Now don’t get me wrong. OpenOffice, GoogleDocs, and LibreOffice are still great alternatives, and Kingsoft’s free version doesn’t include everything the Pro version includes, but if you’re willing to give it a try, you won’t be disappointed. Who knows, maybe it will catch on in your office and save your company hundreds of dollars a year on software costs.

Just try not to thank me all at once.

"Press OK to install Mouse Fart Toolbar. LOLOLOLOLOLOL" -Good Old Days

Take the new “SpyEye” Trojan that an Israeli based Security firm Trusteer found a few weeks ago. This sneaky little virus will wait for you to log into your bank webpage, then steals your credentials. It tricks you into giving it your debit card information, and hijacks your account. Pretty standard for a financial virus so far, right? Here’s where it gets real scary.

SpyEye uses advanced track covering techniques. First, it monitors all the transactions the criminal makes, then it changes the characters on the infected machine to erase all evidence of the transaction, giving the criminal time to push the money to his own ends, and the consumer has no idea. The virus doesn’t actually change the bank systems, just what is displayed on the infected machine’s web browser, meaning the only person who would know about the attack is the consumer if he happened to check his balance at an uninfected machine, or at an ATM.

The virus’ evidence wiping is “a very scary tactic,” said Avivah Litan, a financial fraud analyst at consulting firm Gartner. “Everybody thinks all they have to do is check their transactions and their balances. That’s not true anymore.” He goes on to say how important it is for consumers to report virus attempts and infections, as they’re still a staple in following the latest hacking trends.

Basically, your plastic is cleaner than your online account.

“Most banks let the first transaction through, because if they stopped everything that was potentially fraud, consumers would get annoyed,” she said. In most cases this lets the criminals get their one important transaction through, and they usually only steal from an account once.

Evidence covering techniques have been used by viruses in the past. A simpler version of the virus helped criminals stay undetected with the same web interception trick, but this Trojan has a better potential for success, because it involved third party debit card used and multiple banks and multiple security systems.

Basically, if you have financial malware on your computer, it’s game over. Regular virus screenings will help combat this, as stopping the virus before it strikes is the most effective way to deal with fraud in the first place.