Summer Time Blues

Arizona doesn’t give us much of a chance to enjoy spring. Temperatures are already reaching the 90s and it’s only just April! While regular computer maintenance should be a fact of life for any PC owner, it becomes especially important as that old thermometer rises.

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Heat

Heat is one of the top killers of any electronic hardware. Just about every computer has a fan to combat this. High end computers sometimes have 5, 6 or even more. While these help to keep heat away from important components they also suck in dust.

Dust / Dirt

The Valley is a dry, sandy place and all that dust in the air in combination with summer temperatures can be a system killer for an otherwise healthy PC.
SoftQue Computer recommends blowing the dust out of the tower or laptop with a can of compressed air at least once a month. Also, while the portability of laptops and notebooks have increased their day to day usage, it is ill advised to leave them in your car for long periods of time. Not only are they more likely to get stolen but the temperature inside a parked car during the summer is even hotter than the temperature outside.

Softque Premier Computer Services
62 North Stapley Drive
Mesa, AZ 85203
480-834-1318
softque.com

Modern Virus / Malware Threats (Part Four)

To continue our discussion on Virus/Malware infections, we will discuss The following dangers:

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Spyware Toolbars Viruses / Trojans

Spyware

Most spyware is not malicious but causes performance problems. As you travel around the internet sites you gather files called cookies which may contain pieces of spyware that live your computer. This allows the website to share data about your browsing habits and the parts inside your computer with 3rd party advertisers. Most cookies are not spyware and most spyware does not have access to sensitive information on your computer. It can, however, slow down your computer over time and clog up your hard drive. It's not a good idea to leave Spyware on your system, it needs to be cleaned off regularly.

Toolbars

It is Easy to accidentally install with legitimate software just like adware. You will notice your view of the internet shrinking as more and more Toolbars dock themselves below the address bar. Your browser will start to become sluggish and unresponsive. There are two classes of toolbars. The first type are simply an annoyance, while the other can carry other infections with them. The second type can hijack your browser, steal your personal info and even open up a backdoor to your computer like a trojan virus (named after the Trojan Horse in Greek Mythology).
e.g. Type 1: Yahoo Toolbar, Ask Toolbar, Google Toolbar
e.g. Type 2: Babylon Toolbar, Conduit Toolbar, Snap.du Toolbar

Viruses / Trojans

While less common these days, Viruses are still a huge threat to your computers safety. Designed to infiltrate and disrupt the operation of your computer, viruses disable a lot of the tools designed to keep your computer safe. Often on computers with lots of malware there is a virus that opened up the computer to those infections. Trojans are a type of virus made explicitly to open a backdoor to your computer. Named after the famous horse of mythology, they function in the same way, allowing attackers past your defenses and leaving your system at grave risk.
Virus/Malware infections can be serious business and there may actually be little or no indication that they have infected your computer. At SoftQue, we are experts in finding, identifying and removing these threats for you. Come in for a check and tune up today!
Softque Premier Computer Services
1155 South Power Rd.
Mesa, AZ 85206
480-832-4600
softque.com