Ask the Geek

One of the nastiest computer viruses out there is the Sality virus, which is a virus that allows hackers to remotely access your computer, steal information, download additional viruses into your computer, and cause your computer to perform at a low level. If your computer is infected with this virus, you will notice that it runs slowly, has less available memory, and that you are being flooded with pop-up ads. This virus can also alter your desktop settings and Internet settings. It is important to eradicate this virus as soon as possible after you detect that it has invaded your system. Usually, the sality virus is downloaded via email.

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Many people are wondering whether it is normal for their headphones to get hot. The answer to that question is yes, it is perfectly normal for headphones to become hot. If you have been using your headphones for a long period of time, they will most likely get hot. Additionally, your headphones may also get hot if you leave them in a place where they can be exposed to the sun.

Headphones can be quite expensive so you want to make sure that you take good care of them. Below are some tips for taking care of your headphones so that they can last a long time:

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As digital information becomes an increasingly hot commodity among black market operations, email scams are increasing in number and sophistication. Most internet-savvy individuals can spot scams of the Nigerian royal family variety with little trouble. However, scammers that are more adept have moved on to tactics that are less obvious, such as spoofing bank sites or phishing for financial information via official-sounding correspondence. Here are a few tips for avoiding the more elaborate scam emails today.

Your Bank Never Asks for Password or Log In

Some scam emails mimic correspondence from your bank and request that you provide a password or user name in response. Often, these emails reference an issue with your account. The scammer may try to unsettle readers with warnings or information that will cause concern, increasing the likelihood that an account holder will act quickly by sending in the requested information. Once the scammer receives the information, they have access to your bank account.

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Toolbars can be helpful but they can also be a nuisance. Most browsers like Google and Firefox offer toolbars that users can customize to make surfing easier. However, there are also toolbars that install themselves without your permission and only serve to clutter your desktop. Here are basic tips on how to uninstall a toolbar from your browser.

Using the Windows Add/Remove Programs Utility

The easiest way for Windows users would be to use the Windows Add/Remove Programs option. To do this, you have to:

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Email is an essential part of the modern world. It is one of the quickest ways to communicate for business or personal reasons. It seems that almost everyone uses computers as part of their daily lives, and millions of people are online.

There are dozens of types of email services out there, but it is impossible to say that one of them is superior to others. What type of service is best depends on your needs. Different users have different needs. First, you should consider if they need a free or paid service. The difference is usually the presence of advertisements in free email services.

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In Windows, it is a simple matter to learn how to lock (password protect) your computer. A password protected computer cannot be accessed without the password being entered. Having a password will prevent unauthorized viewing of your computer files, computer history, and other personal information. You might also want to create multiple user accounts on one computer, each of them being password protected. For our purposes, we are going to assume that you are running the latest version of Microsoft Windows, which is Windows 7. These instructions will also work for those who are running Windows Vista.

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There are times you wonder why the guys who produce viruses and malware cannot make better use of their time and skills. Let’s face it, life would probably be much better for these guys (and everybody else) if they will simply channel their creativity to more legitimate ventures. In the past few weeks, creators of malware have managed to come up with an invention called the Flashback Trojan horse. At the last count, over 600,000 Macs had been infected by this virus.

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Laptops are great to have at home or on the road. Battery life is no longer an issue, especially in netbooks that can now last up to ten hours. There are a lot of issues that affect battery life – wireless options being turned on, faster processor speed, etc. The most important issue is brightness of the screen. In fact, it is the screen that consumes a lot of power, so it is important to lower the brightness if you want to conserve battery life to last longer while unplugged.

Every laptop is different, so adjusting the brightness will be different from the steps mentioned in this post. However, you can understand the steps involved in this process, thus helping you do so on your own.

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Your personal computer is a necessity for you. It allows you to email friends, family, potential jobs, etc. It allows you to surf the Internet, keep up with social media sites, find weather conditions for your area, and sometimes can even allow you to make phone calls. It holds all of your important documents and contact information for friends and family. It is your number one tool. You should keep it protected, but you should also know how to tell if you have a computer virus.

How to tell if you have a computer virus by asking yourself these questions:

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Someone asked me just today about why their computer locks up when downloading files. Well, there can be many causes of lockups, especially when you are trying to get files from the Internet. For example, one person has this problem: “When i go to the windows updates site or they download in my system tray, at some point my computer locks up.”

Yet another person has this problem: “I have a good internet connection via my university. However my computer usually crashes when downloading from servers that I can get a good xfer rate from. Often when I download with a speed above 500 kb/s the computer locks up, the same thing can happen if I do several downloads at the same time even if they are going slower. What happens is that the screen freezes, I can’t do anything and I have to do a hard reboot.”

At this point, I don’t have an answer, but I will keep you posted, as I am researching the problem now.