We will cover topics ranging from malware, spam, online shopping, identify theft and more. We hope to see you all there!

We all have to deal with that at some point, even us geeks. However, when you deal locally with independent companies, rather than “big box stores”, you get some benefits you probably wouldn’t otherwise. Probably the biggest difference is in customer service. That is one thing we strive to provide our customers: remarkable customer service.

What do we mean by “remarkable customer service”?

Well, first and foremost we’re available. Believe it or not, we like people. We love interacting with people. We like it when you call! And even if we can’t answer the phone right when you call, feel reassured by the fact that we know you’ve called and we’ll be getting back to you as soon as possible. We don’t want you to just be a customer of ours, we want you to be a fan.

Secondly, we go the extra mile for you. You’re not just a number to us. You’re a person just like we are. You get frustrated when things go wrong. We understand that and we work with you to resolve the issue, as well as tell you how to prevent it from reoccurring. We will do what it takes to fully resolve your issue.

We take responsibility. If we screw up, it’s our fault, plain and simple. We will also fix our problem. Even we have run into companies, and we’re not naming names here, whose services had a technical issue. We contacted them, explained the issue, and they subsequently claimed the issue was on our end and charged us for our trouble. That’s poor customer service.

Lastly, most people are not cut out for a career of customer service. It can be daunting and exhausting to be on the front lines day after day. When customer service reps go bad, this is why – they are burnt out. So instead of our technicians being stuck in a dead end position with no room to grow, we offer our techs room to advance. As we grow, so do our techs – into management positions or into our business side or even our web development department. This helps keep our technicians happy and that keeps our customers happy.

We strive to provide you, our customer, with remarkable customer service.

But by using some network administration “magic”, we were able to locate some (but not all) of these devices that seemingly grew legs and walked off. We were only able to track these devices down because we had access to expensive network equipment that small business or home user typically do not have. So the question then, is how would a home user have any chance at locating a computer that “ran away”?

An open source project called the Prey Project helps address this problem by allowing home users to track missing device quickly and easily. You simply install a small piece of software that will “phone home” in the event that your computer is stolen. The Prey Project (www.preyproject.com) is an anti-theft program, which means that it helps you recover your missing device whether that be a desktop, laptop, or other mobile device. It is compatible with Windows, OSX, Android, or iOS.

It works like this – once the software is loaded onto your device you’ll have access to a control panel on the Prey website. If your device is lost or stolen (or if you would just like to play around to try out the program) you can set a device as “missing” in the control panel. This will activate the Prey software, which will start “listening” for your missing device.

Once the software locates your device, you can get a location, a capture from the webcam of the device, and even a screenshot of what the thief is doing on your computer. With this information, the police should have enough evidence to recover your device.

The Prey Project will allow you up to three devices for free, and for any device over three you can pay a small monthly fee.

There are also options for businesses – for a little over $1.50 per device per month, you can track all of your business computers. Even if the device is not missing or stolen, you can still keep track of where your mobile devices are located. The plans range from 3 devices all the way up to 500 devices.

There are other solutions available as well, such as LoJack for Laptops, Gadgettrak and a few others. With any solution, make sure that you actually install it and always record serial numbers of the devices and keep those in a safe place – this information will help identify the stolen devices.

I’ve personally never lost a laptop but I have lost a smartphone and I was unable to recover it. Doing a little prep work could have saved me from having to buy another expensive smartphone. I highly recommend this software for home users and businesses alike – it might just save you some cash down the road.

MyGeek Computer Services has no affiliation with the Prey Project.

TechCrunch wrote up a little blurb for me detailing the service. Article at TechCrunch

Feel free to leave any suggestions for the service here, I’d love to hear them!

A key thing that I want to really stress is the importance of never entering sensitive information, such as banking information, usernames and passwords, addresses, etc. into a computer that you believe to be infected with any type of malware. Some types of malware harvest this information and send it to identity thieves. Now that we have a basic understanding of what malware is, let’s look at how to address it.
Using the free forum services like BleepingComputer.com, GeeksToGo.com or others can be a cheap way to rectify a virus infected computer, however it may not be the best way. These services are offered by volunteers who are not paid, but donate their time. There is no direct contact with your technician other than through the website’s forum. It’s more of a back and forth approach rather than a phone conversation. However, if you’re like me, sometimes you just want to talk to someone. If that’s the case, then you should skip these websites and go straight to your favorite computer technician.
Of course, it is also a good idea to take the initiative and try and prevent infections from the start. By keeping an up-to-date anti-virus application (such as Microsoft’s Security Essentials), keeping your computer up-to-date with all the latest software patches from Microsoft or Apple, and being weary of emails and websites you don’t know; you stand a much better chance of avoiding infections all together. Keep in mind though; no anti-virus will prevent infections 100% of the time. No matter the precautions you take there is still a chance of infection, but by following these simple guidelines you can limit the risk and hopefully avoid the issue all together.

But, I have some good news for you and your wallet. If you have access to the Internet you can get that virus removed for free! This method does require a little bit of your time, and some level of comfort with your computer. No, there is no catch to this – it’s just nice people who volunteer their time to help people. I should know – I volunteered within these communities for over 5 years.

Communities like GeeksToGo.com, BleepingComputer.com and TechSupportForum.com provide virus removal as a service to anyone who needs it, though it does require a bit of user interaction. All of these sites are run by everyday people that have an interest in malware removal, and a desire to help others. Some of these volunteers are mechanics and desk clerks by day and malware removal experts by night. Others built careers out of these communities. One well-known malware removal program, Malwarebytes, got its roots from these communities and still pulls strongly from information gathered here.

Each helper in one of these communities is put through a rigorous training academy that specifically trains them in the art of malware removal. They learn to detect malware with the most powerful computers on the planet – the human brain. Once detected, they use powerful applications to rip the malware from your computer and point you in the right direction to prevent it from happening again.

The process goes a little something like this – initially you are asked to do some preliminary work to determine if your computer is actually infected and to get rid of some of the easy to remove malware objects. Once complete, you’ll be asked to generate a log file that gives the malware expert some very detailed information about your computer (this does not include any personal information whatsoever – only technical data). This data pretty much looks like Greek to the untrained eyes. The expert will go over this log and customize a fix specifically to remove the malware on your computer. This fix is specific to your computer and its infections – hardly ever are two fixes the same. Once all the malware is removed, they will give your computer a clean bill of health. These volunteers will gladly accept tips, but tipping is not required.

All in all, if you have a light wallet or are just trying to save some money, give one of these communities a try. You won’t be disappointed.

One bug specifically relates to activation of the plugin.