Recently we had a case where we could not retrieve our customers music from their back up.  With the feeling that all hope was lost, she pointed out that all of her songs were on her Ipod and she was wondering if we can just take them off of there. Having done this in the past, I knew that it was possible but in the past it was really hard to do and I wanted a program that could make this a little less painful.

The program that we found and have come to love is called Iphone Explorer.

With Iphone Explorer we were able to find the music folder and transfer it back to the computer. One thing to understand is that the files have no meaningful name and neither do the folders. But if you import them into Itunes and make sure that you have enabled the option to let Itunes manage your library, they will all get their names and folders back. This is also only one use case, you can use this to store files on your ipod/iphone that you could not before as well.

You can find Iphone Explorer at http://www.iphone-explorer.com/

Who can see your Facebook profile? If you haven’t changed your settings, everyone can. We have recorded a video to help you update your privacy settings.

The other day we came across a computer infected with Personal Security. Here is what we found out about this malware.
From Bleepingcomputer.com

Personal Security is a rogue anti-spyware program from the same family as Cyber Security. This program is promoted through the use of malware that will install it on your computer without your permission. In order to protect itself, this program will automatically attempt to terminate security programs that may help to remove it. When installed, Personal Security will be configured to start automatically when Windows starts. Once started, it will scan your computer and display a variety of infections, but will state that it will not remove them unless you first purchase the program. In reality, the infections it finds are either fake or legitimate programs that if deleted could cause problems with the proper operation of Windows. Therefore, please do not act upon any of the files it states are infections.

Removal Instructions: Bleepingcomputer.com

Please note that neither Dweebs On Duty or Bleepingcomputer.com can be held responsible for what may happen to your computer while trying to remove malware.

We do offer our computer services in the Monroe, Detroit, and Ann Arbor Michigan areas, so if you are having problems removing this please give us a call at 888-693-9332 or email us.

CCleaner is one of our favorite programs.  We use it on every computer to get rid of some garbage files and it speeds up malware scans considerably. To get CCleaner just head to http://www.ccleaner.com.

Video:

Is your computer running slower than it used to?

Here is your guide to speeding up your computer, for free!

Follow the steps below and your computer will be running quicker than it has in a long time.

CCleaner
Ccleaner does a great job of finding and removing garbage files from your computer. You can get Ccleaner from http://www.ccleaner.com/. Download and run Ccleaner to free up some space on your hard drive it will cut down your antimalware scan times by alot.

Antispyware:
In an earlier post we talk about our favorite antispyware program. That, of course, is malwarebytes and you can find it at malwarebytes.org. Download this program, install it, and run it. If it finds anything tell it to remove them and that alone will help speed up your computer.

Antivirus
In another earlier post we talk about our favorite free antivirus program Microsoft Security Essentials. If you do not have an updated antivirus, then you should download and install this program. If you already have an antivirus run that to get rid of any potential virus threats.

Check Your Start Up Programs
Many times program start themselves up when your computer turns on and there is no real benefit to you, in fact it slows down your computer. Windows has a program built in called msconfig. The video below tells you how to use msconfig.

If you do all of these on a semi frequent basis you should be running pretty smooth.

Of course, should you have any problems that this wont fix feel free to Contact Us, we offer remote computer services for those who are not in the Metro Detroit area.

How many browsers do you have?

One is not enough, you want to have a backup at all times. Internet Explorer can fail at anytime leaving you without a browser.

Before this happens, head over to http://www.google.com/pack and download and install Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox.

With a staggering 90% of computers having spyware on them at one time or another. It is important to have the right tools to detect and remove the malicious programs. While antivirus is a good start, you need an antispyware program to supplement your security suite. Our recomentdation is Malwarebytes Antimalware you can find it at http://www.malwarebytes.com

Have you ever been at a computer and wished you had your bookmarks and passwords?

Xmarks is the program for you.

Get It Here: http://www.xmarks.com

Often, my customers ask me what is the best free antivirus software out there. I always mention Microsoft Security Essentials.

Lifehacker reported that AV-Comparatives.org gave Security Essentials very high marks.