One of the most regular discussions we have with customers concerns machines infected through the use of music/video download programs such as Limewire and BitTorrent...
Microsoft debuts quick fix clicks on some support pages...
ads news headlines
Spotify. The answer to getting free music 23.01.2010...
Internet Explorer security flaw repaired 21/01/2010 ...
Microsoft has released a fix for a hole in Internet Explorer that was the weak link in a "sophisticated and targeted" cyber attack on Google....
Millions tricked by 'Scareware'
Scareware, or pop-up windows designed to look like legitimate security warnings, have become a major issue recently, conning many people into downloading and sometimes even paying for, software they do not need...
Ever wandered why your WiFi is so unreliable...
Taken from the BBC, this article goes a long way to explaining why many people using WiFi in their homes find it so unreliable...
Windows 7 pricing announced...
Microsoft have released further details and prices for Windows 7, which is due to be released on October 22nd...
What exactly IS spyware and Malware? ...
Spyware is software that hides itself somewhere on your computer collecting information about you and what you do on the internet...
File sharing site owners jailed...
The founders of file-sharing website The Pirate Bay have been sentenced to a year in jail in Sweden...
NOD32 version 4 latest news...
As the title suggests, there has been an update to NOD32 and ESET Smart Security to the latest version - version4...
Article on Cyber Crime...
The BBC have produced an excellent article on how cyber crime has become big, organised businessg...
Microsoft debuts quick fix clicks on some support pages...
Microsoft has started putting the button on its web-based support pages that detail the most common problems hitting PC and Windows users...
Adobe PDF (Acrobat) Reader problems...
We have seen numerous PCs over the past few weeks with Adobe Reader related issues...
Fake antivirus sites closed...
As the title suggests, the US government are actively shutting down the servers of several companies that use scare tactics to sell unecessary and ineffective security software...
How spam works...
The BBC have done an interesting article on how spammers make there money...
Excellent article on Scareware...
The BBC have done an excellent article on a very common phenomenom at the moment - Scareware...
Scam Antivirus installation...
A lot of customers have fallen foul of the recent WinAntivir or Windows Antivirus 2008/2009 "infections"...
BitTorrent file sharing shut down...
Peer to peer file sharing utility TorrentSpy has been forced to shut down operations, along with a fine for $110million dollars (£56million)...
Illegal downloaders face their internet disconnected...
People in the UK who go online and illegally download music and films may have their internet access cut under plans the government is considering...
You could just skip to the last sentence in this article, but heres the low down on the new quick fix links.......
Microsoft has started putting the button on its web-based support pages that detail the most common problems hitting PC and Windows users.
Clicking the button kicks off a download that, once run, carries out the series of steps needed to fix a specific problem or remove a bug.
Microsoft also has plans to extend the click-to-fix system to help users recover from a crash.
Problem pages
The "Fix It" button first started to appear on Microsoft's support pages in late 2008. Now it appears on more than 100 separate entries, Lori Brownell, Microsoft's general manager of product quality and support told tech news website Cnet.
Microsoft has kicked off a project to trawl through the thousands of pages in its support system to find problems that can be fixed by the quick fix tool.
The button helps Windows users fix common problems, such as restoring the Internet Explorer icon to the desktop and enabling a DVD library in Vista's media centre.
Using the tool is not mandatory and people will be able to follow the steps outlined in support articles themselves, rather than rely on the scripted fix.
Microsoft is also planning to extend the quick fix system to its bug reporting system, so it comes to life after a crash or other software problem. In the future, rather than simply report a problem, Windows users will get the chance to fix it.
"Microsoft has a huge database of all the problems that people experience," said Tim Danton, editor of PC Pro, "and they'll know the common pages that people go to as well."
"But," he added, "the trouble is that computers are horribly complicated things and there are so many companies loading up different pieces of software."
Problems can emerge when those different programs conflict, said Mr Danton, and teasing out which one is the culprit can be tricky.
However, he added, a small number of problems have obvious symptoms that could be fixed automatically.
Beyond that small number Microsoft might be better advised to leave well alone because of the "diminishing returns" involved in too much tinkering.
"The best way to get help is to find someone that knows their way around computers," he said.
Downloads
Our convenient downloads section is full of the most useful Windows utilities and anti-virus/malware software to help keep your Windows PC clean and useable.
Have a good look to see what you need
[go to downloads]
Google web search
Quick tips
Our new quicktips section will be full of tips to questions we hear frequently.
Coming soon...