You likely have multiple usernames and passwords for multiple websites.

Exhausting, we know.

Especially when you get to a website and get stuck trying to remember what the password is.

For the past 12 years, we’ve been telling our clients a simple, yet very secure method of creating and remembering login information.  It’s both memorable and you may even have a little fun doing it as well.

The username is simple.  Try to stick to your email address and a very unique user name as some websites want an email address and others want a username. The more unique, the better. That way, when you go to a website, you know it’s one of two or three usernames.  Done.

The password is where we will have our fun.  Really.  First, think of a creative password.  Try to sort it with a simple word and simple set of numbers. Keep it simple.  In this case, we’ll go with “maple929″ as our password.  Now, we’ll take it a step further and see if we can modify a few of the letters and numbers.  For instance, let’s replace the letter “a” with an “@” and let’s also substitue one of the numbers with a “#” (no reason at all).  Additionally, let’s capitilize the first letter (“M”) of our word.  You can do your own creative twist of letters and numbers if you’d like.  Just try to keep it simple.  Now our password looks like this: “M@ple9#9″.  This is effective because you are thinking of the secret word, “maple,” followed by your numbers.

Now for the fun part, and why this is a secure way of doing things!  We’ll now add a special letter to the very front of your new password.  Not just any letter, but the first letter of the website you are logging into.  For example, if you are on amazon.com, the first letter of that site is “a” and therefore that will be the first letter of your password for that site “aM@ple9#9″.  That is the letter “a” for Amazon, followed by your regular password.  On the website eBay.com, your password will be “eM@ple9#9″.  That is the letter “e” for eBay, followed by your regular password.

That way, if your password was ever compromised on one website, it cannot be used on any other… that is, as long as the website doesn’t begin with that letter.

We know this post has the potential to make your head spin, but we hope this helps you out with organizing your passwords. Final note… don’t write your password on a sticky note in front of your computer.    Happy surfing!

Fact: Even if you have virus protection, you could still get infected.

Gasp.  I know. I just though I’d go ahead and put that out there.

Your virus protection does a great job at fighting and preventing viruses, but has little to no protection against Spyware and Malware.  Imagine the police department playing the roles of our fire department and medical crews… they just couldn’t!  Some virus developers claim to attack Spyware and Malware, but we haven’t found anything on the market that does a good job of it.

Why not?  We’re not sure.  If we had the resources, we would!

For the most part, virus & spyware protection is all you need. If you have a teenager in the house that shares pirated music (LimeWire) or visits strange websites or pornagraphic material, malware protection is a must.

So what kind of software is out there?  We have a few that we recommend.

1. Norton AntiVirus + AntiSpyware ($40/year ) – Virus, Spyware
   Does a great job and leaves you alone.  If you select this, buy the basic $40 version as the larger versions aren’t worth the upgrade and slow your computer down.
2. Microsoft Security Essentials (free) – Virus, Spyware, Malware
   This one is new to our recommended line-up.  Though it claims to handle spyware and malware, we have noticed it miss on occasion.  Scans are also a lot longer than the competition.  We recommend it because it’s the best virus program out there that is both free and tracks a decent percentage of malware.
3. Spyware Doctor ($30) – Spyware
   The absolute best Spyware scanner in the industry.
4. MalwareBytes (free).
   The absolute best Malware, Trojan Horse, Root Kit, bot, worm scanner in the industry.  And it’s free!

If nothing else, always make sure you have virus protection on your computer.  Never, ever have more than one virus scanner installed on your computer at a time. If you ever need assistance, please do not hesitate to give us call at 352-872-5333 or visit our virus removal service page.

Welcome back to Gainesville, students!  We hope you enjoyed summer break!

We know you have a thousand things on the to-do, including buying books (crazy expensive), securing the apartment, and finalizing student loans.  We know how hectic it can be.

Go here.  Go there.  Pay this.  Get Gas.  Eat.  Sleep.  Repeat.

Yeah, it can be pretty overwhelming the first few weeks!  In addition to your crazy list, please make sure to secure your laptops and computers as theft is a bit on the rise.  Really.  We know your data is valuable, but please make sure to keep backups handy.  If you have a mac, it’s even easier with Time Machine.

For all students and educators of Santa Fe College, University of Florida or any private/public school in the area, we offer a special 20% discount on any of our already low-cost services.  It’s our way of giving our students a little slack when it comes to all the steep costs around town, including our high gas prices!  Yeah, that’s an entirely different story!

We just wanted to remind you that students at Santa Fe College, University of Florida as well as any public/private school in the area all are entitled to our special 20% discount on our already low prices.

Sources (like this one, this one & more) are continuing to show that Apple Computer is entering the final stages of EVT (Engineering Verification Test) of the Verizon iPhone, which is one step before the official production.  We were in a very close race to see whether T-Mobile or Verizon would get it first, but it does look like Verizon will be getting it and shipping in 1Q 2011, likely in January.  Some sources are showing that the Verizon iPhone will gain a 1.2 Ghz next-gen A4 chip, a large 3.7 inch retina display and an all new internal antennae in much more durable design. We’re pleased to hear about the new antenna design, despite all  the media hype from the iPhone 4.  We’re just glad our Verizon clients will finally be able to upgrade from their current phones without having to jump carriers to get a new iPhone.

Update: Verizon is still looking to be getting the iPhone in January, but the improvements will likely be coming in the iPhone 5 in June of next year.

This is a very clever, yet disastrous, criminal enterprise.

The goal of this enterprise is to quietly install a fake anti-virus software onto your computer without your knowledge or approval.  It will then quietly suppress your current anti-virus program and invite viruses, spyware and trojan horses into your computer.  We say “quietly” because it wants to put itself in place before it takes over your computer (just like a trojan horse).  Once in place, it then acts and looks like a legitimate virus scanner, alerting you that you are infected and popping up repeatedly to buy the removal tool. Eventually, t will slowly lock you out of common tasks and alert you to enter your credit card so it can remove the infection.  Completely bogus.

Simply put, this is a ploy to steal your credit card information.

If this happens to you, quickly turn off your computer and call us immediately.

What does it look like?
Though they go by many names, it all has a very legitimate look.  A popular name is “Internet Security 2010,” like the image below.  However, they all go by a large list of names (see name list further below).

Can I remove it myself?
The internet is loaded with removal methods on any kind of virus.  Be warned: doing so involves editing of the system registry, Windows System files, Temporary directories, proxy settings and much more.  Even then, many removal methods usually involve one type of virus and your computer could be crawling with multiple forms.

The List
This is the current list of Fake Anti-Virus names that we are aware of (with help from Wikipedia).  Please note that the goal of some of the names is to mimick the name of real products, including legitimate ones from Microsoft, SpyBot and others. We are currently working on keeping this list updated, so please let us know if we miss any.