Positive Technology Solutions from Positek.net LLC

Welcome to Positek.net

Providing technology advice and guidance to small businesses, home offices, and Microsoft Windows® personal computer users since 1999

 

If you read nothing else on this website, please read this:  One, most of the bad stuff that messes up computers actually comes from someone else's personal computer.  Two, the viruses, junk email, malware and other bad stuff will infect any unprotected computer, and then spread to other unprotected computers via the internet.  Three, unless you've obtained good protection software and/or hardware for your personal computer within the last year, and have kept it up-to-date, the chances are good that your computer has bad stuff on it, and is spreading it elsewhere.  Four, if your computer has bad stuff on it, virtually any of your information stored on it is also compromised - your credit card numbers, passwords, personal information, etc.  So if you do nothing else, please make sure you have and maintain good protection for your personal computer!

Our Personal Computer Security Recommendations:

• First, keep your computer system up-to-date.  This includes the operating system (Windows) by using Windows Update or Microsoft Update (see the Internet Explorer tools menu), and programs that you have installed on the computer.  For this, visit the software manufacturer's website and look for updates to the software you have.  In particular, keep up to date on:
  • Adobe Reader and Flash Player (www.adobe.com)
  • iTunes and Quicktime (www.apple.com)
• Second, get and use protection software and keep it up-to-date.  Our top recommended security suites are Zone Alarm Security Suite (www.zonelabs.com) and Trend Micro Internet Security Suite (www.trendmicro.com).
• If you haven't been diligent about the first two recommendations yet, you not only need to start, but you need to clean up your system.  While protection software is good at preventing infections, they are much less effective at removing existing infections.  You may need to use a number of tools to remove spyware and other bad stuff.  We recommend tools like Spy Sweeper (www.webroot.com), Spybot Search & Destroy (www.safer-networking.org), and Ad-Aware (www.lavasoftusa.com).  Be aware that many protection programs do not work well together, so you may need to install and use one at a time, and uninstall it before using the next tool.
• If you have broadband, you need additional protection.  If your Internet Service Provider (ISP) hasn't provided you with a security router, you need one.  For home use, we recommend the widely available and inexpensive Linksys WRT54G (www.linksys.com). Small businesses with greater security concerns should consider a Sonicwall or Cisco PIX hardware firewall.
• Your computer manufacturer should also be a source to check for updates.  Visit your PC manufacturer's website routinely and install the latest BIOS and system drivers.
• If you value the information you've stored on your computer, you should back it up someplace else - if your computer becomes unusable, you could lose all the data that's on it.  For backup, we recommend a USB-attached external thumbdrive or hard drive, or a network-attached storage drive.  Most come with a backup program to streamline the backup process, or you can use tools built into Windows.  For Windows XP, we also like the free Synctoy program from Microsoft (get it at it www.microsoft.com, although you need to identify all the locations on your hard drive where you have data.  In particular, users of Outlook need to locate their "pst" file, and users of Outlook Express need to find both the OE data files and the Windows Address book "wab" file.
• And of course, everyone should follow "Safe Computing Practices" and we have a handy list here.

We recommend a very paranoid view of the internet - don't download anything you aren't sure is safe, and don't include any 'free' add-ons to the specific software you need. For example, we recommend Adobe Reader, but we don't recommend any of the add-ons they automatically offer with the free Reader download. Be sure to add Adobe Reader's update feature to your computer maintenance checklist.

And finally, please be aware that software is updated fairly often.  You should always get the latest version from the software manufacturer's website, and/or any updates they offer.  Older versions of most software have security vulnerabilities that hackers take advantage of.

Current News:

• If you need telephone technical support, we have had good results reported by our clients from the for-fee service at www.yourtechonline.com (877) 717-7111. If your computer is still under warranty, you may (or may not) be covered for some problems, but be aware that most computer manufacturers only warranty defects, not problems as a result of spyware, viruses, misuse or abuse.
• A recent survey showed that most home users think they're safe, but most aren't. One in five have a computer virus and four out of five have spyware. Do you? [more]

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Welcome! We've put together this website to help computer users and IT managers deal with many of the myriad problems and solutions involved in 21st century computing. We focus on personal computers and PC-based networks, and the Microsoft Windows® operating system. Our goal is to help you to help yourself in finding solutions to problems or issues you may encounter using computers, the internet, and technology in general. We admit to being biased in our opinions, but we practice extensive comparison testing of products and service to ensure our clients get the best advice available. So we figured why not let everyone benefit from this effort? The advice and recommendations you find on this website can be used or redistributed freely by you, with or without attribution to our company. Positek.net considers this website a public service and part of our business strategy--teaching clients to help themselves, thereby reducing their overall IT expenses. So click around, and see if you find what you need! And feel free to contact us for more information, or to obtain a quote for professional services (Washington D.C. metro area). In keeping with our Truth in Advertising policy, Positek.net accepts no advertising fees or income from any software manufacturers, hardware vendors, or services companies identified on this website. We are a Value-Added Reseller of Earthlink, to provide competitive pricing to our clients for web hosting services.

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