What is malware and how can I protect myself from it?

Malware, short for malicious software, is software designed to infiltrate a computer without the owner's informed consent. The expression is a general term used by computer professionals to mean a variety of forms of hostile, intrusive, or annoying software or program code. The term "computer virus" is sometimes used as a catch-all phrase to include all types of malware, including true viruses.

Software is considered malware based on the perceived intent of the creator rather than any particular features. Malware includes computer viruses, worms, trojan horses, most rootkits, spyware, dishonest adware, crimeware and other malicious and unwanted software.

To protect yourself from malware you can download Malwarebytes Anti-malware for free. This will remove any malware programs you may have.

Update Your Anti-Virus and Anti-Spyware

We have referred many people to AVG Anti-virus AVG because it is an excellent anti-virus program and is free to personal users. However, just because you have an anti-virus program loaded on your machine, don't assume this is always up-to-date and that you are fully protected.
-If you have AVG Anti-virus loaded, you should be able to see the AVG icon (yellow, blue, red and green square) in the lower right-hand corner of your computer. Click on the bracket in the blue circle to expand the icons if you initially do not see this. Right-click on the AVG icon and select "Update Now." This will search for any updates to the software. You will need to have Internet access in order for the updates to occur.
-Even if you have an anti-virus program, you can still get viruses if you click on an unknown attachments (be especially careful with .exe attachments). Never double-click on an attachment unless you are 100% sure it is safe.

Keep Your Computer Clean

Remember to clean your computer by deleting old or duplicate files, unneeded emails, temp files and emptying out your Internet cache and recycle bin. Keeping excess documents will slow your computer down.

Back Up Your Data!

Recovering data is a lot more stressful and expensive than having an existing data backup system in place. Whether it's a daily online data backup or a periodic backup to an external hard drive, make sure you don't lose critical data! Contact us at 303.596.8567 or at support@52890computers.com for a consultation and estimate to backup your data.

Your Computer: Leave it on or turn it off?

We frequently get asked whether a person should turn their computer off, or leave it on when they leave their desk every night. A July 24, 2009 article by Mina Shaghaghi gives three good reasons why you should turn your computer off.

Nearly half of all U.S. workers leave their PCs on overnight. Here, three urgent reasons to turn off before you head out:

1. Hackers spend their waking hours prowling for vulnerable computers. Don't assume your firm has up-to-date security—a third of small businesses don't.

2. Your computer is a carbon-spewing beast. Computers left on standby will emit 20 million tons of carbon dioxide this year—roughly the same amount as 4 million cars.

3. Powering down may save your job. U.S. companies waste $2.8 billion annually keeping computers on after hours—in tough times, that's a heck of a lot of salaries.

NY Times Anti-Virus Blooper

In May, The New York Times published an article in the Gadgetwise section recommending to disable your anti-virus to speed up your computer. While there are anti-virus programs that do slow down your machine, we do NOT recommend you work on your computer without anti-virus protection. Read more at Computerworld's blog, as well as view the original article. As we've stated many times, we recommend AVG virus protection. It's free for personal use, and it works (and, it won't slow down your computer like other programs do)!

The Skype is Ringing

More and more people are moving to VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), such as Skype, vs. traditional phones. The advantages? You have unlimited calling anywhere for a small monthly fee (local or internationally), you call from your computer, and it's very easy to use. Read this article about how to use Skype - or simply visit Skype's Web site at Skype

Twitter...what's it all about?

Everyone is atwitter about Twitter but many people still don't quite understand what Twitter is or what it's all about. The quick definition? Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co-workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?

Everyone seems to be using it, both personally and for business, and it is the fastest growing social networking site.

If you're interested in a brief history about Twitter and how people are using this technology, read Wall Street Journal's, Twitter Goes Mainstream. A good recap about the founders and how people are finding innovative uses for tweets. Or, simply check it out for yourself at www.twitter.com.

Free Television Shows on the Internet

Don't let the current economic state deny you of music, movies and other entertainment. All you need is a computer to receive a plethora of television shows, documentaries, movies and music from any genre.

Hulu is a website that offers commercial-supported streaming video of TV shows and movies from NBC, Fox and many other networks and studios. Hulu provides video in Flash Video format, including many films and shows offered in high-definition. Simply search by channel, movie or use the easy search box for whatever you are looking for.
Visit Hulu.com for more information

OpenDNS Content Filtering

OpenDNS is a free service that works for networks of all sizes providing users protection from phishing scams, Web content filtering and can even increase Web site loading speed.

Home and business users can block unwanted Web sites and phishing scams. They can also benefit from less down time and management of user Internet use.

Visit OpenDNS at www.opendns.com for more information or contact us if you are interested in learning how you can benefit from OpenDNS.

Conficker Computer Worm

Many of you have heard about the Conficker computer worm that can infect your computer and spread itself to other computers across a network automatically, without human interaction.

Most antivirus software can detect and block the Conficker worm, so if you have updated antivirus software on your computer, you are at a much lower risk of being infected by the Conficker worm.

For more information on the Conficker worm, how to remove it and how you can protect yourself from other harmful viruses, visit Microsoft's site at

Microsoft's site

If you have any further questions, contact 5280 Computers, Inc. at 303.596.8567 or via email at support@5280computers.com.

Free Music on the Internet

Don't let the current economic state deny you of listening to your favorite or new music.

Pandora is an automated music recommendation and Internet radio service created by the Music Genome Project. Users enter a song or artist that they enjoy, and the service responds by playing selections that are musically similar. Users provide feedback on approval or disapproval - which Pandora takes into account for future selections.

Simply create a user name and password and Pandora will remember your favorites every time you log on. Much easier than creating all those tapes and CDs!
Visit Pandora.com for more information