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April Showers Bring Ruined Computers

4/16/2015

 
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This time of year the storms come rolling through. As a result, we often run across a handful of computers that have sustained damages from the lightning. Here's some advice so you can avoid being one of our clients who needs a new computer.

Unplug Your Electronics--and Anything Connected
Electricity follows the path of least resistance, and any physical connection to your computer should be disconnected. That is, it's best to unplug your computer, as well as all cables and cords, including Internet cable, printers, external hard drives, monitors, etc. Laptops should also be unplugged. Don’t forget to unplug your modem or router as well. If your computer uses a wired Internet connection, and the modem is still plugged in, a surge can travel along that path.

An easy way to unplug things efficiently is to have everything plugged in to the same surge protector or power strip, then you can simply unplug the power strip as storms approach. Although we do recommend having a surge protector, we've seen situations where the surge protectors do not offer enough protection from lightning, and during a storm it's best to unplug altogether. Do not assume your surge protector is sufficient protection, and do not rely on it to save your system. Unplug everything every time.

Why Are Surges Dangerous?
The power supply in your computer is designed to convert the incoming AC power into the various DC voltages required by the components in the computer. Both the circuits in the power supply and on the various chips inside the computer have a range of tolerances for the amount of electricity flowing through them. When that tolerance is exceeded, the component will fail, sometimes in a spectacular fashion i.e., bursting into flames. In the case of a power surge from lightning, any or every component can fail, immediately or slowly go down over the course of the next couple weeks or months.

Why Are Power Outages Bad?
The operating system on your computer is a complex series of files that are constantly being created, modified, and deleted. When your computer shuts down unexpectedly (as in the case of a power outage), that process is interrupted. When that happens, the data being written can be corrupted or left incomplete. The result is that the next time you start your computer it may have incomplete or damaged instructions, thus causing malfunctions. You can also lose the files that you were working on at the time of the shutdown. Modern operating systems such as Windows 7 and 8 are more resilient to this kind of file damage and have more robust repair options, but even they will fail if there is widespread damage to critical files. This is another reason to have a current backup of your data!

If You Have a "Zapped" Computer
If your computer is struck, your home or rental insurance policy may cover the cost of replacement. We can provide an assessment, estimate and replacement, if you should need one, we can also recover data from your old computer. In the case of a lightning strike, it is usually recommended to replace the computer, as there is no reliable way to determine the full extent of the damage, and some problems appear in the days or weeks following the strike.

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April Emsisoft Sale!
Just a reminder that we are offering a sale on a 3-year license of Emsisoft Anti-Malware through the end of the April! Contact us for details.

Antivirus - Free vs. Paid

4/14/2015

 
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Those steeped in the technology world know that antivirus programs aren’t always consistently effective. Experts collect data to keep track of which antivirus programs are reliably turning out good results, which ones are simply “okay,” and which are not a good option. It’s important to know how these programs are rating, because while one will do well for several years in a row sometimes, it’s unusual for an antivirus to turn out quality performance for many years at a time. I personally keep track of how these programs are performing, partly for my own desire to keep my systems running “clean,” but also because I want to make good recommendations for my customers’ virus and malware protection options.

For about the two last years, Avast Antivirus has been a top performer. It was consistently producing great results by catching the majority of viruses that were being circulated. We were using it for our personal computers, as well as offering it and installing it on customer systems. For 2013-2014, it was a great choice.

This changed, however, at the end of 2014 when the new detection engine from Avast started slipping. I noted this change with concern, since Avast had been my favorite for a while. After examining the current situation in which Avast finds itself, I realized I needed to find a new “favorite.”

There are three software companies that offer a free product that have been getting the top reviews lately: BitDefender, Avast and AVG. While these three companies offer good products, they all have issues. BitDefender offers strong protection but virtually no customization or control, and while the protection element is one of the most unobtrusive in existence, the ad window is annoying. Avast offers an excellent interface with a lot of options, but since the 2015 update, detections are down, leaving users more exposed--and this of course is why we decided to make a switch. AVG’s free product is the weakest of the three, and while there are plenty of options, the constant nagging about upgrading to a paid version is aggravating. The other issue I have with these free products is that they are primarily “antivirus” programs meaning they offer little to no protection against other malicious software such as worms, potentially unwanted programs, adware, spyware, (collectively known as malware) etc. To get adequate protection using free software means adding more programs to deal with these additional threats. This in turn hampers computer performance, and in some cases the effectiveness of the programs, as not all of them are compatible with each other.

At the end of the day, a paid antivirus program will give you better protection than a free program.

The question then becomes, which one do you choose? My answer? Emsisoft. Emsisoft actually uses Bit Defender’s detection engine as well as their own anti-malware engine built into Emsisoft’s interface, giving you the controls that BitDefender does not. How does it rate in reviews? It garnered “Top Rated Product 2014” from AV-Comparatives, and continues to score 97-99+% in real-world testing. Here are some features:

“When you purchase Emsisoft Anti-Malware, you purchase 3 layers of malware prevention. Surf Protection: Preventing connection to known dangerous and fraudulent websites. Real-time File Guard: Scanning for malware, in real-time.

Behavior Blocker, The Ultimate Defense: To catch zero-day threats that aren't yet included in the signature database, Emsisoft Anti-Malware continually monitors the behavior of all active programs and raises an alert as soon as something suspicious occurs.” (Quotation from the Emsisoft website.)

Why is it called "Anti-Malware" and not "Antivirus"?
Viruses make up less than half a percent of total computer infections, thus calling Emsisoft an “antivirus” program would be incorrect. Emsisoft protects against far more threats than viruses, including rootkits, password stealers, adware and many others. This is where Emsisoft stands out from the crowd.

Emsisoft is a protection service that we offer, as we are wholesale Emsisoft suppliers. If you would like to upgrade to their service, we would be happy to help you make the upgrade. We are offering a sale through the rest of April. Contact us for details! 

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