There are some variations on which are considered the five most dangerous computer viruses of all time on the net. It is quite a subjective classification, having looked at the information on the net, we at Affordable Computer Repairs and Service provide below what we believe to be the five most dangerous viruses of all time.

Dangerous Computer Viruses

Melissa – 1999

This virus was spread through emails and was written to infect Windows 98 computers.  As a mass-mailing macro virus, it shut down internet email systems as they become clogged with infected emails which spread the worm.

The creator of the worm David L Smith named it after a Miami stripper called Melissa.  The reason for the name was because the file contained within Melissa had passwords for 80 pornographic websites and was simply called List.Doc.

The huge success of Melissa was because the email containing the worm appeared to have come from someone that the precipitant knew.  Thus the opening rates were very high.  At the height of the infection, it even caused Microsoft to close their email servers to prevent further spread of this virus.  David Smith received a 10 year jail sentence of which he severed just 20 months.  He was also banned from any future access to a computer.

Damage caused by Melissa has been estimated at $80 million.

ILOVEYOU – 2000

ILOVEYOU is a computer worm and is considered by many to be the most dangerous worm ever written.  Spread by email it contained an attachment LOVE-LETTER-FOR YOU.TXT.vbs with the subject being ILOVEYOU.  This worm caused an estimated $5.5 billion in damages.  It caused the British Parliament, The Pentagon, the CIA and other major corporations having to shut down their e-mail systems.  It was estimated to have cost $15 billion to remove this virus.

ILOVEYOU only infected Microsoft Windows systems. Once installed the worm overwrote important documents, images, multimedia, music etc with copies of itself. Even more damaging it sent the virus to people listed on the user’s Outlook contact list.

ILOVEYOU was also known as The Love Bug, Love Bug work and Loveletter. It was first detected in Hong Kong and quickly spread through the world. All in all it was believed that the worm affected a total of 45 million computers.

Poison Ivy – 2005

Poison Ivy is a remote access Trojan which secretly accesses computers through the backdoor and then allows the person to obtain full control over the computer.  Once the computer is hijacked and the virus installed, the perpetrator can edit documents, passwords, pictures, make online purchases and even record both audio and video.  Poison Ivy is spread by email and your computer could be infected without your knowledge.

The largest damage caused by Poison Ivy was to chemical and defence companies in the U.S. and other western countries.

Whilst the origin of this Trojan was traced back to China it is also popular with amateur hackers throughout the world.  There are even YouTube tutorials which show how to install this virus meaning that anyone with computer skills who want eyes inside your machine has the tools to attempt this!

agent.btz – 2008

This virus is famous for stealing information from the Pentagon after it was uploaded via a thumb drive.  The impact of this virus was so bad that the Pentagon had to temporarily ban USB drivers from all computers.  Of most significance is that agent.btz resulted in a whole new military department being created in the U.S. with cyberwar then becoming a formal part of the U.S. military strategy.

The infected thumb drives contained malware that steals data which was transferred to servers.  It was suspected that the virus was the work of spies within a foreign intelligence agency.

Conficker – 2009

The Conficker virus infected millions of Windows-based computers all around the world.  The worm hijacked computers which were then remotely controlled with the aim to steal financial and other information.  This virus was highly complex and thus difficult to halt.  Antivirus researchers attempting to eradicate the virus named the super worm and the superbug.  Conficker disabled access to antivirus sites and used scareware in an attempt to scam money through various different threats.

Damage caused by Conficker was around $9 billion.

PS If you are seeking an affordable virus removal service in Brisbane, please contact us.

The definition of “What is a Computer Technician” from Wikipedia is shown below.

When asking what is a computer technician it does also depend upon the work that the technician does and who he or she works for.

Computer technicians usually work within a company, have their own business or work for a computer repair business.  No matter who a computer technician works for the skills and knowledge that they require are very high.

The skills and abilities of a computer technician working within a company do however differ from mobile computer technicians that serve the general public as well as small to medium businesses.

Computer Technician within an IT Department

A computer technician based in an IT department of a corporation or company will need a greater level of knowledge relating to computer networks.  Often they can be very sophisticated networks.  He or she will also have a very good knowledge of the IT requirements of the business that they work.  They will also understand the needs of the employees of that business.

Local or Mobile Computer Technician

An IT technician working as a local repairer will have a more diverse set of skills and knowledge base.  It’s not to say that your local computer technician is not as expert as a technician employed by a large corporation.  The skill base is different.  Yet the skills needed are still extremely high.

When working for the general public in order to be successful the person needs to be both a PC technician as well as a laptop technician.  They also need to have a really good knowledge of Apple computers.

A skilled computer repairer needs to be on the ball regarding both hardware and software issues.  They need to keep up with changes and new technology.  There is a huge amount of information that a repairer needs to have.  Without this they will not be able to run a successful business.  Nor would they stay employed!

Where do you find a Good Computer Technician?

It can be extremely hard to find a good computer technician.  The knowledge and abilities of a good technician is very high.  Often though the income earned does often not align with the high level of skills.  Thus over time this has become a less popular choice of job for local technicians.  In-house technicians usually have a higher earning capacity.  Therefore this is a more attractive proposition for some computer experts.

The rapidly changing and ever evolving nature of technology makes it difficult to find a good technician.  Generalising, the more mature technicians can find their knowledge base cannot keep up.  On the other hand younger technicians can often not have the background understanding of technology.  This information is important in being able to troubleshoot IT problems.  Whilst this is generalising, the fact remains that expert computer technicians are few and far between.

Thus if you do find a good computer technician make sure you carefully store away their contact details. You can be assured that you will need their services again.  Whether it be in 6 months to 2 years…

The job of a computer technician is not easy.  A successful computer technician needs to have a very high degree of technical knowledge and abilities as well as good communication skills.  This is particularly true if the technician is working for the general public and small to medium businesses.  In a large business a computer technician whilst still needing the technical knowledge and abilities can err a little on the side of good interpersonal skills.  Although this is not always the case.

Local Computer Technician Skills

To exceed as a computer repairer serving the public and small businesses the IT technician needs all three of these computer technician skills.  In order to meet customers’ needs these three skills are equally important.

One of the major obstacles to opening and successfully building a computer repair business is gaining the trust of customers.  Many customers do not have the technical knowledge to be able to judge whether or not a computer technician is proficient in his or her job.  Thus this gives rise to concern on behalf of the customer that the job will be done correctly.

Rightly too, clients are often concerned as to whether they are being charged a rate that is in line with the work that is undertaken.

Finally many customers (business and individuals) also need to trust their IT expert often with confidential and valuable information.

These demands give rise to the need on behalf of the local computer technician to be proficient across all three of the skills required for his or her job.

Specialised Skills of a Computer Technician

A successful computer ‘doctor’ will be fully informed on all computer software and hardware.  He or she would have a very good knowledge about the working of laptops, PCs as well as Macs.

Naturally too the technician needs to know about both older and newer machines and software.  In a market of rapidly changing technology this is quite an achievement to be met.

As many customers are concerned about the likely cost of their repair or IT service a technician needs to be highly experienced in working with many different types of computers and software such that a customer can be informed beforehand what the likely problems may be with their machine and the costs associated with resolving these problems.

Troubleshooting skills are absolutely essential for an expert repairer.  An inquiring mind and able to thing ‘out-of-the-box’ together with determination and perseverance are the makings of a great technician.

Computer Technician Interpersonal Skills

As for most businesses interpersonal skills are very important in achieving customer satisfaction which leads to returning customers and referrals.  This is particularly true for computer repair experts.

As mentioned above customers need to be able to trust their computer repairer.  Whilst this does growth with the successful completion of work for clients it relies on good communication skills on behalf of the technician for new clients.

To be able to win trust from potential clients an IT repairer needs to be able to avoid ‘geek speak’ and explain to clients in plain English the likely problems and outcomes of their particular IT issue.  This is often a challenge as many technically minded people are not as good at conversing with customers as they are at working on computers.  Interpersonal skills are one of the most important computer technician skills.

Specific Computer Technician Skills

Listed above are the specific computer technician skills that are needed in order to be able to run a successful computer repair business or hold down an IT tech position within a company.

With rapidly changing technology I believe we can definitely conclude that there are easier jobs out there and if you find a good computer repair expert make sure you put their contact details in a very safe place…

You are now on a computer technician website.  Thus if you are looking for an expert, friendly computer technician in Brisbane please feel free to peruse this website and in particular read the customer reviews.  Affordable Computer Repairs and Service are open Monday through to Saturday and can be contacted on 3397 1215.

If you are looking for ways to make your computer faster, as a computer repair and It Servicers business we have provided some advice below.

Advice on How to Make Your Computer Faster

RAM

Before you go rushing out to buy more ram, consider the following… All components in a computer work together. Thus if you have an outdated motherboard and graphics card and a small hard drive then your purchase of additional ram may not be effective in making your computer run faster.

Older Computers

There may be some basic things you can do first that could substantially increase the speed of your machine. However, older machines are just not built for the demand of new programs and if you computer is over five years of age and you are looking to run contemporary memory hungry programs then unfortunately you may be looking at the purchase of a new machine. It is not in our interest to suggest such an alternative as while we do build new computers our core business is in repairing PCs, laptops and Macs.

Virus Programs

If you have two virus or malware detection programs active at the same time this can considerably slow down the performance of your computer. It is best to have only one active program and two or more malware programs that you run at regular intervals. One sure way to make your computer run faster is to deactivate one or more of your anti malware programs so that you have only one running at the one time. Do not however forget to regularly run the other malware programs sitting on your hard drive.

Programs Running in the Background

Do you have numerous programs running in the background? Often these days computers come loaded with lots of applications and programs that you will never need. Having these programs running in the background will significantly reduce the speed on your computer.
In this case a simple answer as to how to make your computer faster is to disable any programs that you don’t need that automatically start when you turn on your machine.

Cluttered Hard Drive

Is your hard drive cluttered with programs that you no longer use? A good clean out may help your computer run faster. Please back up before you do such an undertaken and also make a restore point. Then delete unwanted programs and files, sort by largest to smallest so that you delete the most important ones first.

Defrag

The purpose of a defrag is to tidy up and clean up your hard drive so that it functions better. Again we strongly recommend you do a complete backup before you run a defrag. It is also necessary to close down all programs before running a defrag. You need to be aware that a defrag takes quite some time so maybe it would be a good idea to do this overnight.

Affordable Computer Repairs and Service

We have that the advice we have provided on hot to make your computer faster is of some assistance to you. If you still have a problem with your machine running too slowly, give us a call and we will discuss with you any other options that are still possible to help make your computer faster.

Advice on How to Make your Computer Faster from

Affordable Computer Repairs and Service

Recent NAB Phishing Campaign

An email phishing scam has been targeting National Australia Bank customers over the last couple of months.

Several different types of emails have been sent to National Australia Bank customers – and also to people who don’t even have an account with National Australia Bank…

If you don’t have an account with NAB then it’s obvious that these emails are a scam.  However, if you do it is very tempting to click on the link that they provide as the emails are quite realistic.

It is always the email address that the emails come from that give away whether or not they are a scam or the real thing.  Just by closely looking at the email address you can quite easily determine whether or not it is a phishing scam.

Latest NAB email Scams

The latest scam email that I got from supposedly the National Australia Bank had the following email address:

nabsecure [account-security-noreply@e-secure.com]

The previous scam email I had again from supposedly NAB has the following email address:

nabonlineservice [information@nbaa.com]

As you can see the email address is a dead giveaway that the email does not come from the National Australia Bank.

The first email I received from these scammers told me that I had been given an incorrect password for my NAB account and need to confirm my details by clicking on the link provided.

The aim of this campaign like so many others is to steal your login and bank account information.

Another dead giveaway that an email is part of a phishing scam is that the email is not personalised.  That is the email does not include your actual name.  There is no Dear xyz, there is, in fact, no salutation at all.

Also the link itself that you are enticed to click on looks suspicious.

If you do click on the link provided you will be taken to a phishing site and you need to ensure that you do not do this.

The second scam email I received informed me that my internet banking account had been disabled.  Again there was no salutation and the link looks suspicious.

Policy of Banks Regarding Personal Information

All banks will never ask you to provide details particularly your password via email.  This is the biggest give away of all.

Only recently Westpac, Coles and Bunnings were targeted by a phishing email campaign as well as.

Advice Regarding Suspicious emails From Banks

If you receive an email supposedly from your bank that you are not certain is valid there are several ways you can check whether it is a valid email or not.

1. Contact the bank directly to confirm whether or not it is a valid email.
2. Check whether it has been written to you personally.
3. Check the email address.
4. Question yourself, would a bank really ask me to do this through email, do you feel safe clicking on the link, if in doubt don’t do it.
5. Check for use of company logo and also who has sent the email.

Advice from Affordable Computer Repairs and Services

The question, “Are Apple Macs Becoming Increasingly Difficult to Repair?” is rather a contentious issue.  We at Affordable Computer Repairs and Services are however finding that unfortunately newer model Macs are both more difficult and more expensive to repair.  This is borne out by iFixit’s analysis of the new 2015 Retina MacBook.

2015 Retina MacBook

iFixit gave the Retina MacBook an impressible low 1 out of 10 for reparability and yes you can’t really get a worse score than that.

The reasons why the Retina MacBook is very difficult to repair are provided below:-

• The large battery within the Retina MacBook is glued, yes glued to the case. Furthermore if you wish to replace the battery the logic board has to be removed first so that the battery cable can be disconnected.
• The display is a fused unit and thus will be very expensive to replace. Thus if you break your glass or the LCD panel, the entire display assembly needs to be replaced.
• The logic board includes the processor, storage and memory all soldered onto the board. Thus should one of these component fail, the entire logic board will need to be replaced.
• There is only one USB-C port thus it will get more wear and tear, being the only port available. This means that it is more likely to need repair at some stage. However as the port is buried beneath other components and under the display brackets as well as secured by tri-wing screws it is going to be a difficult and tricky repair job.
• Opening the Retina MacBook is also very difficult due to the proprietary pentalobe screws and the fact that some components are actually housed on the lowercase and connected to other components inside the laptop via cables. Thus ones needs to be very careful in even just trying to open the case.

Many Apple users believe that the Retina MacBook is difficult to repair as in order to make MacBooks increasingly slimmer and the ultra-slim design is the cause for the low reparability of the computer.

Others disagree say that they believe that MacBooks are deliberately being designed by Apple to be replaceable (disposable) items rather than repairable computers.

2014 Mac Mini

The latest Mac Mini received a much higher rating from iFixit for reparability – a score of 6. One of the main reasons the Mac Mini scored so much higher than the Retina MacBooks is because there is no glue used in the Mac Mini at all.

Some of the negative items listed by iFixit in relation to the reparability of the Mac Mini include:-

• The RAM of the Mac Mini is soldered onto the main board and thus no longer upgradeable.
• The same applies for the CPU.
• Due to the assembly including T6 Torx Security screws it is harder to access and clean the fan or replace the hard disk.

iMac 27” Retina

The latest iMac scored a 5 by iFixit in relation to how reparable the computer is. Again the main reasons given for the poor score were due to accessing difficulties. In order to reseal the iMac you need to very, very carefully remove the double-sided sticky tape and then apply new tape. It’s a fiddly and tricky job. Again as for the MacBook, the iMac glass and LCS is one unit meaning if you break the glass you have an expensive repair as the entire display unit needs to be replaced.

Affordable Computer Repairs and Services – Expert Apple Mac Repairs

What is Spyware?

Wikipedia’s definition of spyware is provided below.

Spyware secretly install themselves onto your laptop or PC.  You may not even be aware that you have this type of insidious malware on your computer.

Spyware can be installed on your machine in many different ways.  The most common ways of installation is by being hidden inside of software such as screen savers, free games or animated cursors.

You are also more likely to obtain a spyware infection if you visit dodgy websites or click on links in dubious emails.

What are the Signs that you have Spyware on your Computer?

If you have any of the signs below there is a good chance your PC has become infected with spyware.

Your home page, search engine and/or mouse pointer changes

New toolbars, favourites and links appear that you didn’t add to your web browser yourself.

When you type in a specific website address in your browser you are taken to a completely unrelated website.

Numerous pop-up ads appear on your screen – sometime even when your computer isn’t connected to the internet.

What are the different types of Spyware?

There are many different types of spyware and the list below is of the most common types of spyware.

In general each type of spyware usually specialise in performing one task, such as collecting information, displaying advertisements, or changing browser settings etc.

Adware

Once the adware has gathered data about your internet shopping and browsing habits then you will start to get a lot of pop-up and other forms of advertisements for products or services which you may have been looking for.  With an adware infection you are therefore likely to get displays of unwanted or annoying advertisements.

Browser Hijacks

Browser hijacks are software programs that take control of your website browser and change your settings like your home page, favourites and bookmarks.  You will know that you have this form of spyware when your home page changes or you get strange search results..

Keyloggers

Keylogers secretly monitor and record keystrokes into a log file.  Thus keyloggers record passwords, account numbers and logins etc.  This allows the intruders to access online banking accounts and passwords for programs and websites.

How to Remove Spyware?

We will soon be writing a blog on how to remove spyware from your computer, so please check our other blogs on this website.

Effective Spyware Removal

Affordable Computer Repairs and Service charge a fixed fee of $190 to remove all spyware and other forms of malware from your machine.  We often run two or more anti-spyware and anti-virus software programs to ensure that we identify and remove all forms of malicious software from your computer.

Should you wish us to provide this service for you please call us on 3397 1215 or 0411 403 511

If you want more inforation about our spyware removal service visit our spyware removal page.

PayPal Email Scams

The latest bout of email campaigns that is occurring in Australia at the moment if scammers posing as PayPal.  The purpose of these emails is to fraudulently obtain your PayPal account login, password and your banking and credit card details from you.

There have been several different versions of these PayPal scams that have come through various email accounts in the last few weeks.

PayPal Scam – Legal Announcement

The first PayPal scam poses as an official email notice from PayPal announcing change to legal agreements.  This sneaky email has successfully taken in many poor unsuspecting victims.

There is more information available about this particular scam here.

PayPal Scam – Discount on Goods

The second PayPal scam cleverly draws you in by offering you a 15% discount of goods – as well as pretending to be a monthly PayPal Statement.  This scam is given away in the same way as the first.  The sender of the email is paypal@e.paypal.com – obviously not the official PayPal email address.

PayPal Scam- Transaction Declined

Another PayPal scam informs you that your PayPal transaction was declined.  The email then provides information on how to ‘complete the payment’.  Should you follow these steps you will end up providing the scammers with your banking details or credit account details…

This hoax PayPal email attempts to make you click on the links in order to make contact with “customer service” regarding a purchase that you did or did not make.  In this instance the senders’ email address really gives this away as a scam – news-bounces@actv20.org – on behalf of PayPal.

Recognise and Avoid these Scams

The images below show you what to expect and avoid.

Advice on PayPal Scams by Affordable Computer Repair and Service

From Minor to Disaster…

We are a computer repair business in Brisbane and a large proportion of our work is malware removal.  Thus we are only too aware of what harm malware can do from only a little disruption to your computer operation through to causing extensive damage and money loss.

The Worst Damage

Probably the worst damage that malware can do to an individual user is to obtain your banking details, credit card numbers and passwords and use them or sell them to a third party.  The information is used to drain your bank account or fraudulently run up bills on your credit account.

Loss of Files, Data and Programs

Malicious software can destroy, delete and corrupt your files, data, software programs and even your hard drive.  For individual users, small business and large corporations with massive networks this can mean a complete breakdown and loss of vital information.

Uses Up Memory

As malware more often than not send and receives information from your computer or network to a remote system it will slow down your connect and can use up for internet allowance.  Another way that malware uses up memory and slows your computer is because it is always running in the background – you can often detect tis too by the fact that your hard drive is overworking, even when your machine is idle.

Time and Money

Secondly malware costs you time and money.  Time because you are more often than not able to work or play on your computer until the infection is removed.  Money because you will often need malware to be removed by a computer repair specialist.

Disrupts your Computer Operation

Forced advertising – one form of malware – results in frequently and very irritating advertising pop-ups occurring on your machine which hinder your use of your computer – or even completely halt your ability to use your computer.

Another annoying result of malware can be the redirection of your browser taking you to websites that you didn’t choose to go to, more often than not advertising websites trying to obtain sales from you.

Changes your browser settings or even changes your default browser or home page.  Browser hijacking software can really hinder your use of your computer by changing your toolbars, search bars etc generally making it too difficult for you to effectively use the net.

Freeze your Computer

Ransomeware is a form of malware that freezes your machine providing a threatening message that unless your pay a ransom you will not be able to access your computer again.  There is no point in paying the ransom as it is highly unlikely that the malware will be removed.  Should your machine become infected by ramsomeware usually your only option is to have the malware removed by an experienced computer technician.

Affordable Computer Repairs and Service

What Harm Can Malware Do?

If you do have some form of malware on your computer you may want to know about our malware removal service.